Billing Like Mechanics

What if management/business consultants charged prices like mechanics? I thought about this as I took my car in for some minor work and more and more problems were found.

If a consultant's time were billed like a mechanic's, I imagine it would go something like this, Mr Consultant, "Well, Bob, I can't give you an exact price until I really get a chance to look at your financial statements and get a sense of how your business operates, but we are looking at anywhere from $300 to $5000 depending on the shape of your business. What year was it founded? Oh, 1984...that was a tough year and I am sure there is quite a lot of build up that has occurred over the last twenty-three years that we will have to work with. I wouldn't recommend staying in business without getting the work done that I have to offer. I'll tell you what, I will charge only $1000 to look for problem areas and if I need to work on your income statement, I will throw in the balance sheet for free."

Not very likely that this would happen, but it sure was fun to think about. For what it is worth, the mechanic I went to was very trustworthy, but could not give me an accurate estimate.

The awareness for today is to look at yourself and see what stereotypes you are filling and how you can shift them.
~Paul