Medic Archive
Thread: Charging for your services?
Is there a protocol emerging for being healed at med centers? Is it a billable service now?
Chris
Im usally hanging around the Anchorhead area unless im off gather resources
Imperials need not ask me to heal them
Healing is, and always has been,justas much a billable service asany other services or goods. And the only "protocol" is what an individual medic decides on. Most medics seem to have decided to heal for whatever tips their patients feelare deserved. But that doesn't stop any medic from charging up front, if he or she wishes.
A Master Doctor can heal wounds very, veryquickly, no matter how extensive they are... so I can imagine someone being willing to pay up front, and pay well,for that convenience. But if you're not, by all means turn the offer down, just as you would for any item or service you didn't feel worth the price.
And if there's no one else able or willing to provide it... well, then maybe the stated fee wasn't so out there, after all.
Brad
/climb on soapbox
I never, NEVER specifically "charge" for my services. If the people feel like tipping me, then they do. I personally don't need the money because I can get all of the materials for my meds without help from anyone else. If someone doesn't have money and can't pay, I don't care... as long as they tell me. Courtesy goes a LONG way in my book.
I don't force people to tip. However, I have a very good memory. Anybody who comes in and gets nine hours worth of healing without even a thank you or a tip gets put on my list. Next time they come in (and they always come in again.... they never learn to clone), I give them their warning. One more time, and I don't heal them anymore. And here's the kicker.... I know most of the medics who work in my town. And they know how it works too.... if someone doesn't do the right thing, they aren't getting healed in Tyrena.
Asking for money up front just seems ugly to me. For example, I was in the cantina and there was a dancer saying "tip me and I'll dance for you." That may be the way things work in a real life strip club, but not in this game. It's a low class way of going about things, and anyone who does it that was gets no respect in my book.
Having said that, I usually end up getting about 200 per patient on average.... without asking for tips. The people want to tip me because:
A) I'm nice (I talk to them while I heal them, instead of being a soulless robot)
B) I'm good (I'm quick, and get them out of there as soon as I can)
Medics can get by without charging for tips.
By the way.....if you're on the Sunrunner server, and you're in a town where the medics force you to pay up front, come to Tyrena on Corellia. We'll make you feel at home, not an HMO. :-)
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Cypherr Lydell
Tyrena, Corellia (Sunrunner)
Thank you for saying what you said Cypherr. It seems like I can't look at these boards anymore without some new post about how medics don't get enough tips, or how we should stop healing if we're not paid, or stories about medics people know that require payment up front. If credits is THAT big a concern to you, then get yourself a pistol, and start training. In about 1 days work you'll be able to do destroy missions solo. Since you can pick up two at a time, you can get approx 2500cr - 3000cr in 10 to 15 minutes. Do this for an hour, you've got a bit more than 10 grand.
Also, when I'm in the medical center healing people.. i'm doing two things:
- Gaining medical experience to go towards finishing my doctorate and my CM status.
- Helping and teaching new medics (there seem to be alot lately) about the game, healing, and how things are generally done... in a nice and positive atmosphere.
Now I'm one of those medics that hates to survey. I make all my stims by hand, and I buy all my resources, or use ones given to me as tips. Just recently I went out and bought enough resources (OQ > 900 on all) and made a batch of 15 health wound, 15 action wound, and 3 of the four sub-type wound meds. All of these were C's. I calculated my average heal cost to be about 16cr. Each one of these heals for about 150-225 wound damage... so I'm going to be using 10 wound heals for a really really bad patient (not all black ham, but bad). That comes out to 160cr I need to make to earn my money back. Now lets say that 1 out of every 5 customers tips me 200, and one out of every 7 tips me 1000. That's 7 patients cured for a cost of 1120 if they're all really banged up (which isn't really the case with everyone as we all know). I just made 60 credits, and 32,812 (roughly) medical experience.
Quit complaining! I'm getting an itch in my ear.
-BD
Depending on the level of medicine you are using, and the costs of materials on your server, 200 cr a person doesn't cover the cost (if you even get 200).
If you sample yourself. you are using up your time to heal others (time that they are usually doing something more fun than sampling).
If you have harvesters, you have to pay maintenance, and or/ pay for power/ some kind of generator.
A profession that can't make money on its own (without taking another profession) is not an effective profession.
Believe it or not, scout is also in this boat (scout is pretty much impossible to play without a combat skill.
When you get to tier 3 doc or CM and also have to support a house/droid (for personal craft station), and a factory (for factory parts... or pay others to use theirs/but crates... the 200 cr gets even thinner.
Add in space travel (several thousand cr each way) to pick up rare materials for advanced components.
Add in training costs (tier 4 Cm and doc skills are 9000 cr each).
Piddly tips don't pay the bills.
If people want to suck up all the costs onto themselves and heal for free, that's up to them.
That's why I never stay in the med center... it just costs me money.
I run missions with groups... I still lose money healing others (I still pay out of MY pocket for med supplies), but at least it isn't a negative sum operation. I ahve had good groups cut me some extra cash at the end of the night as well.
Just because peopel want enough money to cover costs, it does not mean they are mean or greedy.. .they just want money to cover costs.
Nobody asks the local weaponsmiht or probot dealer not to charge for the resources that they use to make their items... that's where a lot of their costs come from too.. same as us.
But people that charge for healing get called names or treated badly, even by other medics.
As for 'I get XP', that reason goes away pretty fast. It is very easy to max out Doc and CM if you have a steady supply of wounded.
Why will you be paying your own money to heal other people then?
-T
FYI I don't hang in the med centers. But I am "On Call" to a variety of people. They do pay me to heal them (wounds). Many of them also drop a few k cr on me when they want me to heal on an extended group trip. It is only fair. It pays the costs of material/upkeep on what I need to make meds to use on them. I have no fixed price. On the other side of that. I always tip 500 cr per band member in cantinas, and train other medics/docs for free.
So now we're branding entertainers who expect payment for services as "low class/strip club" workers? What a lovely thing to say. But I'd like to know... did you really think about what you were saying before you said it? Did you consider how venomously insulting that statement appears?
There are so many occupations in this game, I'd wager most people picked theirs because they enjoy doing it. But at the same time, there's nothing wrong with or demeaning in trying to turn a profit, as an entertainer or medic any more than an artisan auctioning goods or scout selling resources or combatant accepting payment for fighting. We all want our better equipment and distinctive clothes and lakeside houses... it's one of the primary goals of the game. I don't think there's anything shameful in entertainers and medics trying to... even expecting to...attain them, especially when it's considered business-as-usual for every other profession.
Now, if one doesn't mind doing something for free, intending only to help others out, good for them. It's very charitable and kind to aid those in need without expecting anything in return, and I believe such selflessness is to be commended. But to sneer down one's nose at those trying only to earn a living, to outright insult them... there's nothing charitable about that, and certainly nothing kind. Which is why I find it so surprising when such actions come froma group of people who are otherwise so generous.
Brad
If I am doing healing I am doing it for the xp. So I will usally use use the wound kits I have available and then move to the next person. However if someone tips me I will use /tendwound to remove all wounds they have.
Traigus wrote:
Depending on the level of medicine you are using, and the costs of materials on your server, 200 cr a person doesn't cover the cost (if you even get 200).
/boggle I don't see how it can cost you 200cr per heal. You talk like you're pretty much at the upper end of being a Doctor -- so I'm assuming you make wound C packs. I get 24 heals out of my bad experiments, and 32 out of my really good ones. Lets say you get 26 on average. That means it costs you 5200cr to buy 36 organics, 28 inorganics, and 8 metal. You're either getting ripped off, or you're dead-*** wrong about your wound cost (which you ARE getting med crafting exp for btw). I can see 200cr for a full wound pack, but that comes to 7cr per heal.. which should be covered by the 200cr tip, even if not everyone gives it.
Traigus wrote:
As for 'I get XP', that reason goes away pretty fast. It is very easy to max out Doc and CM if you have a steady supply of wounded.
Is it safe to assume you've maxed the three med exp tiers of both professions? I know that once I have my med center time will be DRASTICALLY reduced.
/rant off
BTW -- Where are all these greedy medics in game? I always meet the nice ones! <3 Mos Eisley, Ahazi!!! Cheers all! You guys are the best!!!!
-BD
This reply is for those of you that think you are doing medics a favor by sitting in the hospital begging for heals, think again.
I am both a medic and an entertainer.
When I go to the medical center, I go to make money. The benefits of going to the medical center (and healing pathetic people that think 100cr is worth my time) are minimal. There is always the argument that I am getting xp. Yippy Frickin Skippy. Staying at the hospital for an hour, I make almost no money, and the xp sucks. I gain more xp with a group on missions than healing pathetic beggars at the medical center.
It is the same when I go to thecantina to play my instrument. Nobody that listens to me is doing me a favor. I can gain more xp and cash on missions. I go to the cantina in hopes that people will realize that they should pay for the convenience, not to gain 1000xp an hour. Yay.
As with the healing, I can go do missions with a group and get three times the xp healing friends than I would playing music and healing randompeople that come in thinking they are doing me a favor. If you think you are doing a medic a favor by sitting in the hospital waiting for heals, get over it.Not only are you paying me for heals and expenses for my goods, but what about the two minutes it takes me to make a stimpack? If I use three on you, that's 6 minutes of my game time I wasted helping a loser that thinks they are doing me favors, when they are just burning my time. That's almost 5000xp I have lost being charitable.
I hate to sound like such a jerk, I really do, but the day I can walk into the artisan's guild hall, and get free chairs whenever I stop in, I will heal people for free. After all, the artisans are getting xps for crafting the chairs.
Boo Hoo. Artisans are so snobby, they expect me to pay for chairs.
Doesn't that sound stupid? I play on Wanderhome, and I go by the name Dok'Tar Dak'Tari. Don't talk to me for heals unless you got the loot to make it worth my time. My last name is a form of galactic currency for a reason. No loot, here is what I've got to say to that "Shoo fly don't bother me." Sitting in the hospital is not fun. I would rather be rich and friendless, than poor and with lots of people that think they are doing me favors by wasting my time.
But, and here's the thing, I rarely spend time in a medcenter anymore. My xp comes from grouping. I will, on occassion, stop by a medcenter to see if there are any wounded and drop a few quick C-Heals(200 wounds a pop) on someone and then head back out.
But, when the time comes that XP is no longer a factor, and I have maxed out Doctor and the other professions I will be going, you had best believe that I will start charging.
To those who say 'pick up a pistol and do missions', well, I won't have enough skill points left, after mastering Doc and possibly BE, to have any marksman skills whatsoever. What's wrong with you, a person who already has combat skills, taking a few extra missions to cover the costs of YOUR healing?
Dak"Tari is a form of galactic currency? Wow, I never knew that.
I thought your name was referring to the old TV show named Daktari about the veterinarian who lived in Africa who had a cross-eyed lion as a pet.
Vapid, I think Traigus was considering 200cr for a full heal on the usual 1/3 HAM bar hurt player. Call it 600 wounds minimum including secondaries. At that rate you'd be getting back .3 credits for every wound you healed.
I think the big problem I am seeing with many medics is that they greatly undervalue thier services. If you try to look straight at cost of credits for the resources used to make a particular pack per wounds healed by that pack, then we should all be using As. Period. Most cost effective pack in game. All of 16 resources and you can use cheap ones at that. And the better a medic gets, the better he heals, so he'll be healing even MORE wounds per resource used, so he should be valued... less?
But we don'tnormally use A packs when we don't have to. Why? Because most of us realize that the cost ratio for an A is actually very poor because of the time we lose using it. And that is where our value really comes in. Time. Time for gathering those resources, for sampling or building harvesters, factories, and time spend on making the meds to begin with. And most important of all, time that someone who can do missions for money is actually out doing those missions (and making XP) instead of sitting to autoheal in a med center.
Consider this. A good group running destroy missions should be able to net 3k credits every 15 mins. (Taht's actually a bit conservative, IMHO, but we'll go with it anyway.) Now on the lowe en of the scale consider that adecent Doccaneasisly save most patients 15 mins ofauto heal time in the med center. Down time taht they could be makin 3000 credits in.
On thehigh end consider just how many charges of something like a Stm C that same Docwoulduse keepinga fighter group going for those 15 minutes, 15 mins with no downtimeI might add because a decentDoc with the right sized groupand proper tactics should rarely ever see a fighter drop to incap by anything other than mind damage, and proper tactics should get the mind damaged folks out of battle immediately anyway, so they don't fall incap. Let's say that doc uses 10 charges in that 15 minutes and that Doc just made 3k for being with that group. By that logic a 30 charge Stim C is worth 9000 credits. That's the healing potential for what it could net you by using it to keep going on combat missions.
NowI do want to reiterate that I don't mean to suggest that any of the medic classes should/have to/must charge for their services. I believe that should be left up to the ethics and roleplaying interstes pof each individual medic. Nor do I mean to suggest thatI personally charge anything for my services either (although I'm rarely in the Med Center these days, anyway, other than to check on the other medics to see if they need any help, training or resources that i may have spares of). I simply don't want to see all these other medics devaluing themselves just because the resource costs for their meds don't seem to be that high.