Pricing.

[RobG 86]

Morning all. Hope all are well.  Just recently I have been asked to take out the tops for a few conifers in the same village but at different property. My question is what price would you be asking for to take out the top and reshape and to dispose of the waste? I think my pricing is fair but don’t want to be to cheep and course myself problems down the line or make it harder for people in the industry. Thanks 

[Foggy]

Shouldn’t really matter what other people are quoting. As long as you know how much it’s going to cost you to turn up, do the job, make a bit a profit as well as paying yourself and your team a fair wage. Most of the guys that end up driving the price down tend to making bugger all anyway. 

[RobG 86]

29 minutes ago, Foggy said:

Shouldn’t really matter what other people are quoting. As long as you know how much it’s going to cost you to turn up, do the job, make a bit a profit as well as paying yourself and your team a fair wage. Most of the guys that end up driving the price down tend to making bugger all anyway. 

Thanks Foggy. I totally agree with what you’re saying. I’m new in the game but seem to be finding plenty of work at the moment. Of course, I don’t want to be the cheapest, but then at the same time I want to be fair with my pricing. Thanks again. 

[lux]

22 minutes ago, RobG 86 said:

Thanks Foggy. I totally agree with what you’re saying. I’m new in the game but seem to be finding plenty of work at the moment. Of course, I don’t want to be the cheapest, but then at the same time I want to be fair with my pricing. Thanks again. 

If it’s as it looks in the picture just a single small stem that will all go through a chipper it would be under an hour to take it to the height you’ve marked and trim up the remainder to leave more of a hedge. 
Ask the client to block off or park there so you can have the van and chipper right next to it.  
If that’s all it is I’d be £200 ish plus vat.  From the picture it just looks like an hour to get it done and cleaned up.  
 

[RobG 86]

10 minutes ago, lux said:

If it’s as it looks in the picture just a single small stem that will all go through a chipper it would be under an hour to take it to the height you’ve marked and trim up the remainder to leave more of a hedge. 
Ask the client to block off or park there so you can have the van and chipper right next to it.  
If that’s all it is I’d be £200 ish plus vat.  From the picture it just looks like an hour to get it done and cleaned up.  
 

Thank you mate for the information really does help. The trunk is about 10 inch where it needs cutting. The customer would like it shaping into a dome or a ball which we can do. Most of the work can be done from the other side in her garden so yeah about an hour.  Thanks again Lux. 

[Stere]

Hard to make topped leylandi look good or domed shape as top will  look like this:

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Stere

[Mark Bolam]

Your customer will be disappointed.

It’s flat top or nothing initially.

[RobG 86]

7 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

Your customer will be disappointed.

It’s flat top or nothing initially.

No, she has been warned that there will be nothing left in the top, and it will still be tall enough that she won’t see the top but try and shape the sides before it gets to the brown dead stuff as it won’t recover.  

[RobG 86]

41 minutes ago, Stere said:

Hard to make topped leylandi look good or domed shape as top will  look like this:

 

Totally agree I’ve told her that it will be difficult as all the inside will be dead. There’s a good chance. She’ll ask me to take it out but she would like to see first.  Thanks 

[Guardian Forestry]

Like the other guys have said, I don't see how you can take the top out but also leave it as a dome so you may want to discuss and agree a price for the whole thing coming out before you start. I've had a few requests like this, and whilst the customer wants a nicely shaped finished specimen, it's never going to be the same as something that's been shaped and cared for over the years. The job itself is simple enough but I guess you don't want to be in the situation where the customer's not happy with the flat top but then isn't happy with the additional cost to have the whole thing taken out as inevitably, they'll hold the blame against you (completely unfairly of course!) Best of luck with it 👍