Anyone interested in removing this oak?

[Khriss]

37 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

Are you having a stroke?

.. Now.. What he does in the privacy of his own home, is no ones business but him. K

 

( draw the curtains mate 😉) 

[agg221]

1 hour ago, Chipperclown said:

It's interesting to me that some of you/us feel that  you/we should breakdown costs to therefore justify our quotations based on a photograph. Also interesting that the size of a company and time of which we/u finish work is worth mentioning.  Work is work, skill is skill. I work directly and  also indirectly (as a subcontractor at times) with arborists whom are simply excellent at their job, better than me and more knowledgeable (even though I try) in every area. However I charge more than the majority as I am a business who provides a good service  (I think) and whom expects to be rewarded via a wage for doing so.

 

You/we are professionals in general, why under value such a serious business when all is said and done?

 

 

 

 

That wasn't the point I was making, although a breakdown can be a useful approach to meeting price objections, even in a situation of competitive quotations since it ensures that the customer can validate that they are comparing like for like quotations in terms of what they will get as an end result.

 

The point I was making was that the price which the OP was quoted may enable some businesses to make a perfectly respectable income. To understand whether that is the case, it is necessary to understand costs so that a price can be set which generates the desired margin. The size of company and finish time is relevant in understanding the costs, which is why I mentioned it - if a team of 4 finishes a job very early, it indicates that the job could be completed by a smaller team. A smaller team has lower cost of wages, so it can quote a lower price and still pay the same wages to the team and make the same margin. Similarly, the people who add more if they feel the customer can afford it may reasonably lose a number of jobs to those who price based on margins instead.

 

It is a competitive market, although less so at the moment. That means a customer is likely to get multiple quotations and choose the lowest from someone they believe will deliver to the time and quality they require. I am not talking about a race to the bottom, or buying work but I am talking about working out what rate is actually needed for profitability at the level which makes it worthwhile to you. I am also saying that one approach to achieving this is averaging a number of different effective rates for different jobs which require different levels of skill. If you have a USP and there is enough work that requires that, you can premium price every job accordingly but if it is sufficiently niche that you also do more general work, you are unlikely to get the same rate on jobs which do not require it as someone else can reasonably quote lower - their skill level may be lower overall but they can be equally competent to deliver the job in hand.

 

Alec

 

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by agg221

[Mark Bolam]

Alec stop ruining this thread with your good sense.

Thank you.

[agg221]

28 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

Alec stop ruining this thread with your good sense.

Thank you.

My apologies. I just wanted to join in and I don't know enough about cultural practices in Norway.

 

Alec

[trigger_andy]

15 minutes ago, agg221 said:

My apologies. I just wanted to join in and I don't know enough about cultural practices in Norway.

 

Alec

You should try it, its quite liberating. Im heading back in 3 weeks, I could hold your hand (as it where)  

[Stubby]

10 hours ago, Mark Bolam said:

The truth of success is in between Mick.

Some companies local to me are successful simply because their web presence is good.

Their tree work is awful.

 

Steve is redesigning my website as we speak because it’s so dated.

I get by on word of mouth now, but missing creamy local jobs because of my lack of web presence annoys me.

 

 

When Steve has done the web site that just leaves the tree work then...No , no sorry Mark . Only in jest mate 😁

[Retired Climber]

I'd be very interested to see the website when it's done. @Mark Bolam

[skyhuck]

9 hours ago, agg221 said:

That wasn't the point I was making, although a breakdown can be a useful approach to meeting price objections, even in a situation of competitive quotations since it ensures that the customer can validate that they are comparing like for like quotations in terms of what they will get as an end result.

 

The point I was making was that the price which the OP was quoted may enable some businesses to make a perfectly respectable income. To understand whether that is the case, it is necessary to understand costs so that a price can be set which generates the desired margin. The size of company and finish time is relevant in understanding the costs, which is why I mentioned it - if a team of 4 finishes a job very early, it indicates that the job could be completed by a smaller team. A smaller team has lower cost of wages, so it can quote a lower price and still pay the same wages to the team and make the same margin. Similarly, the people who add more if they feel the customer can afford it may reasonably lose a number of jobs to those who price based on margins instead.

 

It is a competitive market, although less so at the moment. That means a customer is likely to get multiple quotations and choose the lowest from someone they believe will deliver to the time and quality they require. I am not talking about a race to the bottom, or buying work but I am talking about working out what rate is actually needed for profitability at the level which makes it worthwhile to you. I am also saying that one approach to achieving this is averaging a number of different effective rates for different jobs which require different levels of skill. If you have a USP and there is enough work that requires that, you can premium price every job accordingly but if it is sufficiently niche that you also do more general work, you are unlikely to get the same rate on jobs which do not require it as someone else can reasonably quote lower - their skill level may be lower overall but they can be equally competent to deliver the job in hand.

 

Alec

 

 

You are of cause correct.

 

I used the method you describe when I first went on my own 25years ago. I was making more than I had as a subbie climber. But I fortunately discovered I was far too cheap. I remember a Horse Chestnut I dismantled. I put £350 on it, me and a groundie completed it easily in a day. While having a coffee and chatting with the client, I asked what other quotes she had had. There was only one, it was from one of the firms I had been subbing too, it was for £1000.

 Had I still been subbing I would have received £60, for the exact same amount of work, other than tipping off, chipper pickup etc. 

 Since that day I never simply ask myself what the job will cost me and add profit. I try to think what will others charge and work from there.

[IronMike]

 

27 minutes ago, Retired Climber said:

I'd be very interested to see the website when it's done. @Mark Bolam

Just to chip in and say Steve did my website, and I’m very happy with it. Click the link below should you feel the need to cast your eye over it.

[rapalaman]

There’s no link?