Down turn uncertainty domestic market

[rapalaman]

12 hours ago, Ty Korrigan said:

 

Why do you think you have such an abundance of work when the general climate is so lean?

  Tell us your f**king secret, NOW!😆

I don’t think there’s anything specific - I just price fairly but definitely not cheap- make a decent living and invest in new kit. Some families I’ve worked for for years I’m now doing stuff for the grandchildren who are getting their own places. 
I pass on work I don’t want to do to others - I’m honest and know my limits. Get a much younger freelance climber in to do the stuff I can’t anymore - not as flexible as I used to be 😏

I like the smaller domestic jobs - it’s not for everybody and I have the utmost respect for the guys doing the big takedowns and reductions.

A fair proportion of customers now just say book us in for same time next year as over the winter I was booking in 4-5 months in advance.

I won’t do gardening or weeding etc but there’s definitely a shortage of people who can do this properly - two guys I know are in constant demand and don’t even want their number passed on as they have no gaps

[Mark Bolam]

Still being a funny old year for sure.

Red hot, wet, cold, dry, wet.

Weather can’t put a run together.

 

I’m lucky being on my own, I wouldn’t fancy having a crew to feed.

 

I/we (as in the other lads I team up with on bigger stuff) have had quite a few chunky £2-£3k jobs cancelled or postponed.

 

I have noticed on social media a proliferation of parasitic companies offering to ‘find you tree surgery visits from just £99’ etc., which hardly helps matters.

 

Still way too many people out there pricing for wages, or less.

 

I lost a gutty but straightforward conny hedge rip out I priced at £700 for two of us. Easy day time wise.

 

3 builder/gyppo types did it for £500, took them 2 full days.

 

I have no wish to compete with that.

[maybelateron]

I wish more potential customers would ask to see copies of insurance certificates. I always attach mine to to the email I send the quote with. I live in hope it would root out some of the gypo/cowboy types. But then again, there are those punters who just want cheap cheap cheap, regardless of risk/liability.

[Mike Hill]

Here there has been a bit of a shift towards FB Market place for the budget conscious consumer.  They get a couple of quotes and then post up the job in the hope someone will do it for cash. Which they usually manage,fair enough,tight times for many and we as business owners aren't wasting cash these days

[swinny]

I looked at a job at the weekend, customer made a big fuss about the works over nothing really. 2 sections of conifer hedge to reduce nothing special. They then said I was the fourth to come to quote for the works... 

 

I thought ffs 😂 not sure if I can be bothered putting pen to paper

[Rich Rule]

BIt słów here in Norway.  Usually this time of year is boom due to the weather and a lot of public holidays means people look at their garden and surrounding areas and make decisions.

 

I have had 3 or 4 enquiries recently and got back to them in decent time.  Only to be told someone has already been and they have decided to go with them.

 

C'est la vie.

 

Apart from the fact I haven't really heard or seen half the companies mentioned before.

 

There have been a lot of restrictions brought in around the Oslo area in recent years.  The area i live is still restriction free and it seems many people are trying to get around the lack of paperwork requirements and want to earn a quick buck.

[tim361]

Seems to be unusually slow here in mid Sussex. This time of year things normally start to pick up with people heading outside and finding trees/fencing that needs doing. Looked at my first job for two weeks today, started off as a load of trees and some fencing that needs replacing. By the time we had had a look at a few bits it went to just a few trees to remove. By the time I left it’s one small maple to remove and I doubt I’ll get that so a complete waste of time. Out of every 5 jobs I look at I’m loosing 4 to people working for peanuts. Recently lost a job which i had priced at £3500 + vat for two of us for a week. Guy I lost it to had come in at £1200 and said two of them would have it done in two days. Spoke to the customer a couple of days ago about another job and asked how the guy got on with the trees. Said it took them 4 days with 3 men on site….. I honestly don’t know how people like this can exist running a business.

Were fortunate that we still have 8-10 weeks work in the diary, just hoping it picks up in the mean time. 

[lux]

18 hours ago, swinny said:

I looked at a job at the weekend, customer made a big fuss about the works over nothing really. 2 sections of conifer hedge to reduce nothing special. They then said I was the fourth to come to quote for the works... 

 

I thought ffs 😂 not sure if I can be bothered putting pen to paper

Totally , if I find out I'm the 3rd or 4th to quote on a simple tree job you know they are simply after the cheapest which I never wish to be and whatever you strive for in quality of work won't matter one bit to them. 

Likewise with the ones that call you for a quote but you never get the job yet they always call you next time for that good old price check....  If they haven't used me after quoting for 2 jobs you know you are wasting your time .... "Next" as they say. 

[lux]

9 hours ago, tim361 said:

Seems to be unusually slow here in mid Sussex. This time of year things normally start to pick up with people heading outside and finding trees/fencing that needs doing. Looked at my first job for two weeks today, started off as a load of trees and some fencing that needs replacing. By the time we had had a look at a few bits it went to just a few trees to remove. By the time I left it’s one small maple to remove and I doubt I’ll get that so a complete waste of time. Out of every 5 jobs I look at I’m loosing 4 to people working for peanuts. Recently lost a job which i had priced at £3500 + vat for two of us for a week. Guy I lost it to had come in at £1200 and said two of them would have it done in two days. Spoke to the customer a couple of days ago about another job and asked how the guy got on with the trees. Said it took them 4 days with 3 men on site….. I honestly don’t know how people like this can exist running a business.

Were fortunate that we still have 8-10 weeks work in the diary, just hoping it picks up in the mean time. 

Not far from you, right on the Surrey / West Sussex border. The Bread and Butter type jobs are very slow atm. No doubt the elections will generate more 'wallet cramp' with people waiting to see what happens -  like it will affect them..🙄

Got a couple of nicer bigger jobs to do, one mid June and the other subject to TPO permissions but there's a good 2 1/2 weeks of work on those for 2 of us. Small jobs seems to be cobbling a week together at a time, Luckily I have a few other things like the charcoaling which are coming into busy season for us to be bulking out the diary with. Strange times though. 

[Steve Bullman]

Early election isn’t going to help matters