Seasonally Adjusted Quoting

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Just musing whilst walking the dog, looking at the early signs of life flushing back into the trees and thinking about tasks that are confirmed on price but not yet firmed up into the diary.

 

Does anyone have or use any calc's / formula for price adjusting according to leaf density, or do folks tend to just "cuff it", or just carry the potential additional cost / complexity when quotes are done in Winter season but the job carries forward to Spring / Summer?

 

Given that it is so much quicker and easier to work and move around in a barren tree, that timber is lighter and that a considerable additional volume by weight of chip may need to be taken away from a tree in full leaf, be interesting to hear how people approach this.

 

Not scientific but just for example:

 

A £1000 job quoted in Jan

 

1-30 April add 2% = £1020

1-31 May add 5% = £1071

1-30 Jun add 5% = £1124.55

1-31 Jul add 5% = £1180.78

1-31 Aug add 2% = £1204.39

 

Maybe those percentages are too low?

 

Any thoughts??

[Mick Dempsey]

Never seasonally adjusted, more likely to adjust because of lack of/surplus of work.

[eggsarascal]

Just musing whilst walking the dog, looking at the early signs of life flushing back into the trees and thinking about tasks that are confirmed on price but not yet firmed up into the diary.

 

Does anyone have or use any calc's / formula for price adjusting according to leaf density, or do folks tend to just "cuff it", or just carry the potential additional cost / complexity when quotes are done in Winter season but the job carries forward to Spring / Summer?

 

Given that it is so much quicker and easier to work and move around in a barren tree, that timber is lighter and that a considerable additional volume by weight of chip may need to be taken away from a tree in full leaf, be interesting to hear how people approach this.

 

Not scientific but just for example:

 

A £1000 job quoted in Jan

 

1-30 April add 2% = £1020

1-31 May add 5% = £1071

1-30 Jun add 5% = £1124.55

1-31 Jul add 5% = £1180.78

1-31 Aug add 2% = £1204.39

 

Maybe those percentages are too low?

 

Any thoughts??

 

I think you think too much.

 

Could you imagine if I priced a drainage job at your house in the summer that wasn't going to start until the 'wet season', then started hiking up the price because I needed to bring in a pump to pump away the water. Oh, by the way Mr Johnson the price of getting rid of the spoil as gone up because it's now sodden.

 

I think I know what I would be told!

[skyhuck]

Winter days are shorter, the weather is generally worse.

 

The last thing I would want is people pushing more to have their work carried out in the winter months, I struggle to fit in the current demand as it is.

 

Most work is carried out within the season its quoted, trees in leaf look bigger, so I don't really see an issue.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Never seasonally adjusted, more likely to adjust because of lack of/surplus of work.

 

And "other factors" that have been discussed before....

 

I think you think too much.

 

Could you imagine if I priced a drainage job at your house in the summer that wasn't going to start until the 'wet season', then started hiking up the price because I needed to bring in a pump to pump away the water. Oh, by the way Mr Johnson the price of getting rid of the spoil as gone up because it's now sodden.

 

I think I know what I would be told!

 

There are SO MANY smart ass ways I could answer that Mr E!

 

The point I was musing was that the task would be fundamentally different from Summer to Winter.

 

The complexity / time to undertake the task and the volume of materiel to be removed would be measurably different. Surely these factors should be included in pricing calc's? If you'd quoted for X cube of poo from my tank, but I actually gave you 2X I'd expect to pay for all extra poo! Sh1t happens!! :lol:

 

Granted, Winter work is often cold, wet and miserable with shorter daylight hours when compared to Summer. But Summer can be too hot too.

 

The original question was just theoretical... but I wondered how others might have considered the situation - if at all.

 

For my part, when quoting around this time of year I tend to enquire what the likely timeframe for completion is and inform that if done before coming into leaf it's likely to be more cost effective and then add a line in the written quote to allow for green waste as per weight in ticket.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Winter days are shorter, the weather is generally worse.

 

The last thing I would want is people pushing more to have their work carried out in the winter months, I struggle to fit in the current demand as it is.

 

Most work is carried out within the season its quoted, trees in leaf look bigger, so I don't really see an issue.

 

Operational scale must make it less of an issue though?

 

Mog, big cheaper, an extra ton or 2 of chip wouldn't make a great deal of difference I'm guessing (unless it was the final ton that meant another run.)

 

At the moment, I'm sick of Winter work - cold & wet through, filthy kit, wet gear, washing machine on every night, but grateful for the early finishes.

 

Looking forward Summer, then I'll be sick of sweating, flies, dehydration and long days....

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

I think you think too much.

 

Could you imagine if I priced a drainage job at your house in the summer that wasn't going to start until the 'wet season', then started hiking up the price because I needed to bring in a pump to pump away the water. Oh, by the way Mr Johnson the price of getting rid of the spoil as gone up because it's now sodden.

 

I think I know what I would be told!

 

I wasn't necessarily meaning that the detail of the on-costs would be communicated to the customer... Rather that they might be considered in the pricing calc. Appreciate you'd have to have a fairly firm start date from the get-go.

[Paul in the woods]

Does it work the other way around? If you quote in Aug but do the work in Dec do you offer a 20% discount?

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Good question... No reason perhaps why it shouldn't?

[Matthew Storrs]

I find this though with Agri fencing work, look at a job when it's bone dry and access across steep clay slopes (for example) is a doddle, but if the job then happens to land on bad weather it makes the whole job a complete nightmare requiring more speacialist access machinery potentially and time spent repairing damage to fields etc- the price doesn't change- just my stress and enjoyment levels- if can work vice veraasometimes.

Swings and roundabouts and all that- although I think a string of roundabouts sums up my work life pretty well lately