Oak tree for sale/fell

[skyhuck]

1 hour ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

Good post that. 
 

Too many people seem to be thinking along the lines of “how low can I go to get the job” rather than “what is the VALUE of this task to the customer.”

 

It ‘could’ be smashed out in a day for 750, if everyone is happy being on the bones of their ass and so long as nothing goes wrong. 
 

A minor mishap, mechanical breakdown, vehicle problem, injury and it’d soon turn into a negative profit / potential cost scenario. 
 

£1200 would be a reflective price but if Ava GoHarry has slipped in with £750 cash on the back of a fag packet and the tree owner is more interested in £s than professionalism   It’s not even worth the time or effort to provide comprehensive advice / quote. 

Spot on!!

 

I've lost count of the number of times I've quoted a sensible price of say £1100+VAT, the customer is happy and ask us to carry out the job. Then some clown turns up and quotes £600. Obviously the punter bites their hand off and cancels us. No problem, but what fools the other Co are. The customer and I have already agreed the job is worth £1100+VAT, so all that's happened is the customers has made a huge saving and the other Co is working for peanuts.

 

[topchippyles]

40 minutes ago, Rough Hewn said:

Yeah overheads.
Machines and equipment break.
Trees don’t always do what you want them to do.
Sometimes they’re hollow or badly weakened.
Can’t always tell before cutting.
Why do a job that might cost you more than the job?

Fair point but you cannot price jobs thinking my saw is going to seize or van has a flat tyre scenario. If i price a stairs/cut roof ect and my planer packs up that has no baring on the customer. You maintain your equipment to prevent breakdowns but things go wrong yes. Each job is priced accordingly and what is quoted by one firm is never going to be the same quoted by another. 

 

[trigger_andy]

Just now, topchippyles said:

If i price a stairs/cut roof ect and my planer packs up that has no baring on the customer

Are these the stairs you told @eggsarascal you where off to take a picture of but then never did? 

[MattyF]

Spot on!!
 
I've lost count of the number of times I've quoted a sensible price of say £1100+VAT, the customer is happy and ask us to carry out the job. Then some clown turns up and quotes £600. Obviously the punter bites their hand off and cancels us. No problem, but what fools the other Co are. The customer and I have already agreed the job is worth £1100+VAT, so all that's happened is the customers has made a huge saving and the other Co is working for peanuts.
 

Also with your gear that you have invested in and years of experience you could probably get two to three times the amount done in a day.
I won’t do day rates any more just to cover labour its mental and you can’t replace or buy anything to make a job easier if you carry on like that.

[Rough Hewn]

Fair point but you cannot price jobs thinking my saw is going to seize or van has a flat tyre scenario. If i price a stairs/cut roof ect and my planer packs up that has no baring on the customer. You maintain your equipment to prevent breakdowns but things go wrong yes. Each job is priced accordingly and what is quoted by one firm is never going to be the same quoted by another. 
 

Contingency is the word I’m looking for.
The more difficult/dangerous/potentially expensive damage etc
The bigger my contingency.
Yes engines go pop etc.
That’s why we all carry multiple saws.
Own multiple vehicles,trailers etc.
You can’t just leave that tree half cut whilst you take your saw to a dealer for a few days.
But that’s only the long term view....
[emoji106]

[lux]

I think those saying anywhere around the 1100 ish + vat if applicable are about right in my view.
I agree on circa 300 + vat to do the stump properly.

It’s always tricky gauging volumes from the picture but I could see that job being 2 1/2 -3 loads ( transit sized in waste ).
It’s an easy looking tree and easily achievable in good time in a day.

I can’t agree with factoring in breakdowns and attributing it to the quote of that particular job.
Tree work is some of the hardest going on kit , I look after my kit pretty well but I probably don’t go more than a week without something needing a fix
That’s arb work. I generally see breakdowns as spread out across the life of a machine ( stupidity accidents aside )


This goes back to the point of pricing. These jobs should be priced so you are covering everything and the business is left with a clear profit after. If you cry about a chainsaw blowing up on a job I suspect you definitely aren’t pricing right on most of your jobs.
I’m glad to see people in this thread putting a sensible price on the tree and I suspect their businesses are doing well

The tree is easy for a reason- you know what your doing. Don’t undervalue that point.
Put a fair price on it and bank the profit

Far too many people undervaluing their work. It will always happen. Just try not to let it be one of you ....

[maybelateron]

16 hours ago, MattyF said:

I won’t do day rates any more just to cover labour its mental and you can’t replace or buy anything to make a job easier if you carry on like that.

Unless your daily/hourly rates are high enough to cover repairs/reinvestment

[maybelateron]

1 hour ago, lux said:

The tree is easy for a reason- you know what your doing. Don’t undervalue that point.
Put a fair price on it and bank the profit

Far too many people undervaluing their work. It will always happen. Just try not to let it be one of you ....

So very true. It frustrates me that too many of us underprice jobs - the customers need to appreciate the costs we face buying and running the decent kit that enables us to do the job "so quickly". Still, as I have plenty of work booked in, I am not going to be underquoting. Most firms around me seems pretty busy, so why underquote at all? 

[San]

On 22/12/2020 at 21:01, Alex1095 said:

Guys I got a quote for 750 to fell the tree and get rid of the extras. Can't find anyone that will have the wood at the moment. But is 750 average? 

Hi Alex, Please could you share me the tree surgeons contacts who quoted for 750 GBP.  I have got the same kind of work which I am after quotes around midlands.

[Ian Leach]

On 29/12/2020 at 19:42, djbobbins said:

 

At risk of going off topic - a mate’s dad when I was growing up was a joiner doing bespoke windows, staircases etc. He had a saying about “it’s worse than being in prison” for anywhere he went that the people didn’t offer him a drink - the implication being than even in clink you get a cuppa. If no drinks on the first day he used to take a flask and stick some extra on the bill!!

 

I call it twat tax