We develop long term relationships with our customers.  We sometimes get early resistance when, for example, we charge for diagnosis and won't apply that diagnosis time to the repair.  But over time, as customers realize we won't take advantage of them and we stand behind our work, that resistance goes away.

I suspect you get many more one-time customers who don't understand what it costs for you to be in business.  This puts you in the position of constantly explaining why you have to charge what you do and that's the worst part of the job.

You have probably already developed a short explanation in simple terms explaining why you have to charge for everything you do (so you can pay those bills at the end of the month).  You might include something on your website - "Why We Charge What We Do" since most people have no clue what it costs to operate a highly regulated business in California.  Rough description, few hard numbers: Office rent, telecommunications, licensing, monthly payments on $75,000 trucks, insurance on same, maintenance on same, driver's pay, driver's benefits, etc.  The list could get very long and most people would get the point.

Hope this helps.