over pricing jobs

Fairfield

I got a call from a customer today about removing 3 Maples in her back yard. When I got there I seen that there was two wires under one of them, the other was next to the house but not towering it, the other in the middle of the yard. They all stand aprox 35' 40' tall and have plenty of room to work them. I gave her a price of $1,900.00. Thinking she would think about and call me later if ever she said ok you have the job on the spot .
Then she told me the two other guys that came told her 2,300.00 and 2,400.00 . I know who they are and they are always killing the unaware on jobs like this not to mention they love toopping trees. Have any of you guys had to talk to customers about keeping there eye out for blow hards like this?

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Eric Frei

There's some who charge a little more, that doesn't bother me and good on them really but it's when you get lowballers that bid like $1300 on that job of yours I worry.

I find with the removal quotes that they're in many instances not a previous customer, those that are usually trust you and give you the job regardless. So personally I'd be a little shy to say lookout for high ballers coz for all you know it could be you!

Imagine that, I feel talking less about competition, more about your way and promoting your business is the safer angle. By your accounts it seems you also just priced it then she gave you the job informing you of the others.

At the moment here there's a fair bit of low balling going on by many companies.

Bidding, not easy really, you want the work but you want the right money too, those weren't too far out to your bid.

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Fairfield

This is very true about it not being too far out of what I did price it at. Even more true about the low balling that happens. Get that alot around here also. I think the whole idea is crazy. I dont know about the rest of the world but here the grass guys have been low balling each other for so long that now all of them have a hard time making any money.. Then turn around and blame each other. For the most part by me it is guys over doing it on the price of tree work. I just dont like seeing people being taken for a ride bugs the crap out of me.

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Eric Frei

That's good news for you, better than low ballers anyway.

Do you think they're that busy they can afford to jack the price up a bit?

I know when it's real busy and ya booked for a month ya tend to do that.

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TrevMcRev

The "right" price is this industry is a difficult thing to establish.

The job 1 company wants $1500 for someone else will want $1000 and someone else $2000. Really, they may all be correct. And its possible that any one of them will be the one with the best quality and service.

Every single tree business will have different costs, overheads etc. Only if you know your own numbers inside out will you be giving the "right" price.

The $2000 dollar guy might lose money on the job and the $1000 guy might pocket the most profit.

Different jobs will suit different crews better or worse depending on their equipment and skills.

I think of high/lowballing more as giving a quote for $2000, then finding out someone else quoted $1500 so you drop to $1450 to get the job.

Know your costs, price to make a honest profit and dont discount to get work just to pass the time!

Sell yourself to the customer on value not price. THe best customers dont decide soley on price.

Drouin Tree Service

No such thing as an over priced tree job IMO.

I agree with the above from Trev.

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Drouin Tree Services | Excavator Hire - Drouin and SE Gippsland | Landclearing Melbourne

Fairfield

Some ways to look at it that I didnt think of there. Well live and learn right. I think maybe I should be the one with more of an open mind next time.... Still cant stand those topping fools though.

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Eric Frei

I just bid like $2000 to cut down 3 palms today, sounds like a hell of a lot but if all goes well I make $500 tops.

The reason, 35T crane req'd.

Now some-one else might bid $2500, which is OK too, but the fool will be the one who bids $1100 with no crane. Oooooh, that'll be one ugly job.

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Fairfield

Back braking all day for no gain that would be depressing

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treejames64

I would have to say I have seen some companies high ball some customers. They will tell an old lady that this tree is an extra difficult removal because it is so dangerous etc., and that they have to have it taken out immediately. They use scare tatics. I also agree that you should know your cost of doing business. This can be especially difficult if your just starting up. I also know about low balling. Today I did a job that I under bid. It was a bunch of small pines in a back yard. They looked puny until I had to hand truck them out to the front yard. It feels really good to put those ones far behind...

Grais

I wouldnt exactly call them 'highballers', after all we're talking about a difference of 500.00$, that is peanuts, and if they figured the job was worth that then they have every right too charge that.
Like Ekka what gets me is the lowballers, TREE WORK IS NOT AFFORDABLE, it is not meant to be, and trying to make it affordable leads to low balling and 'hap hazards' out there doing the work.
I charge what I charge for private work, we did a buzz job after work this week for 1100.00, took 3.5 hrs for 3 guys, as far as I was concerned she got a steal, the job could have been an easy 1500.00-2000.00 BUT we were right in the area so we did not have to travel far, and it was very easy work, the kind that just takes a bit of time, no tricky moves, just time, so the lady got a very good deal, a deal she never would have got had we not been working right beside her house to start, and we all went home that night with an extra 360.00. But that is as cheap as I will work after a 9 hour day, gotta at least be making 100.00 an hour.
Stay safe ,
-Grais.

treevet

Like Mr. Lopa said.....you get what you can (without being dishonest). Supply and demand. 2 services doing the same thing are not necessarily done the same way or of the same quality. Peace of mind is worth a lot (for the client) and doesn't take much imagination the horror encountered if a disaster occurs on a high risk job.

Last month I bid 5k on a removal across the street from my house. The neighbor told me somebody he had used before bid 4k and showed insurance but he really wanted me to do it as it was way over his slate roof, maybe 120 ft. tall and over high service wires.

I said I could not beat his price but the dude was gonna climb and rig, and I was gonna use my 75 ft. aerial and crane.

I came down to 46 hun. and he gave it to me as he has seen me do lots of these and other guy none. He gave me a 2 hundred dollar tip.

Makes you feel good to get a job for more than the comp. bids.

Garry Brockley

Reputation and recomendation are the two biggest earning factors in our business, nice one treevet

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stirmantrees

In orlando the under bidding is absolutely standard operation. I personally believe that most companies do not carry workers compensation. That makes me seem like i am gouging when in fact i am just looking out for me and the customer.
a tree fell over at one of my clients house the other day. she waited for me to get there to remove the tree instead of giving it to another business. I proceeded to move the brush and safely manage the logs as to not destroy there nice walkway to the front door. i moved all the debris for pick-up the following day to the driveway. I hauled all the wood(about 30" diameter laurel oak). i ripped out the blown over big stump(had to stick my saw in the dirt to cut a root as to save the walkway once again), put plywood down to protect the grass, walkway, etc. When she asked how much it would be i told her it was worth 1500.00 for the tree,stump, and hauling all the debris. and 200.00 to climb the neighboring laurel oak and fix the hangars. Apparently that night she couldn't sleep, she was sure i was gouging her. she called other tree services to get quotes and of course they all said that i was ripping her off and that a 1000.00 was adequate. only one guy came buy and he supposedly lived in the neighborhood. All the other quotes were verbal over the phone. after a heated conversation in which she told me that morning she was not going to pay me that much, it is a bad tree market and everybody else would be happy to have done it for 1000.00(thanks lady for wanting to take advantage of me and my situation), and that it is only worth a 1000.00, she and i negotiated 700.00 dollars for what i had already done.
here is the funny part i guess. One of my climbers which i have on my worker comp is a contract climber(i use him about once a week to help with the work load). mind u he is on my insurance when he is on my jobs. he works for all sorts of companies which almost none of have insurance on him. HE GOES out and gets the hangars out of the neighboring tree for this same job. Even better is that the company that finishes my job does not have workers comp anyways. I know alot because of him and because i actually speak to code enforcement officers all the time. i actually try to follow the rules.
so there you have it. i am a little tweaked about low ballers that are illigitimate.
i feel better now.

treejames64

I get work man's comp through a payroll company so it's not too bad. I make it a standard practice to call and give a price even on the just go and do it jobs. Sometimes you still get the look when they see that your done in a couple of hours however, if you tell them they have the option of paying time plus dumping fees; they never agree. They're really happy when you underbid one.

stirmantrees

i have quite a few go and do it clients. she was never meant to be one. shame on me and her. cant compete with the uninsured.
they love underbid ones while there eating dinner and your still working.

kel

Under-pricing/over-pricing??? Work out what you need per hour to keep you enjoing one of the best jobs around and try to average that. I'ld be called a "low baller" as I'm no longer surprised when the customer says I'm 1/2 to 2/3 the other quotes. Imagine that will upset the average site user but more power to you if you you can get those $. I've never advertised, apart from 100 photo copied flyers we letterbox dropped when we first kicked off, so with word and mouth I get 80%+ of all my quotes. I own everything including house on 55 acres, truck, chipper, 4 saws, new rental property and a month overseas ever year, but we do have a loan on the 2nd investment property.(getting greedy I guess). I will of only averaged 4 days a week in the 14yrs of lopping. Am I "low balling" or do I have lower over heads? As mentioned in another thread, one crew will see a job as a challenge when another will consider it a breeze, I must of got lucky. The only thing that ticks me off is that I see the signs of my tree days coming to an end as complacency is sneaking up on me, and I,ld rather climb down rather than have the SES lower me.

newguy18

Even though i work for another company now,i still have about 25 clients that won't let anyone else touch thier trees,they only want me,i built a reputation here in live as the go to guy for the worst trees,because noone else will touch them,i also am regarded as being knowledable.I'm not what i would call the best,but i'm good,with an ego to boot.On side jobs i usually tend to be higher than my boss,but he also has a dump trailer,a grapple loader,and a bucket.

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