A few recent threads (most recently lefty's) have reminded me of something that I've been curious and meant to ask before...
How do you professional techs get (adequately) compensated for your time when you are diagnosing/trouble shooting and engine that a customer brings in to you? Do you get a deposit or some type of diagnostic fee up front? If so, does it generally adequately cover your time? I would hope so as I can imagine that some (many?) will bale when you present them with the labor and material repair costs after you diagnose the problem(s).
Michael