Where do you draw the line ?

[firewood]

Does the milkman put your bottles of milk in your fridge, does the postman open your letters & read the contents to you?, i think people look on log merchants the same way as they did the coalman, putting the coal in their bunkers for them. Trouble is , if this guy is going to be a regular you have to tell him it will be extra to lug the bags upstairs, or next load sell him a load of green willow to get rid of him.

 

don't be too hasty in getting rid of this customer. going the extra mile (or extra steps) for a few customers can reap rewards. No doubt he appreciates your extra effort and will be busy telling all and sundry what a good egg you are , recommending you to others. Marketing achieved by word of mouth / personal recommendation is 100 times better than advertising in the local rag or parish magazine. It creates a personal link between you and your customers that they will be loathe to break in favour of other suppliers. in effect you create your own market and lock out the competition through their loyalty. humping a few bags up or down steps is a small price to pay for

lots of loyal paying customers.

[gensetsteve]

don't be too hasty in getting rid of this customer. going the extra mile (or extra steps) for a few customers can reap rewards. No doubt he appreciates your extra effort and will be busy telling all and sundry what a good egg you are , recommending you to others. Marketing achieved by word of mouth / personal recommendation is 100 times better than advertising in the local rag or parish magazine. It creates a personal link between you and your customers that they will be loathe to break in favour of other suppliers. in effect you create your own market and lock out the competition through their loyalty. humping a few bags up or down steps is a small price to pay for

lots of loyal paying customers.

 

By the end of the winter you will be supplying everybody in the area with steps:thumbup1:

[Dave Martin]

By the end of the winter you will be supplying everybody in the area with steps:thumbup1:

 

Just woke up after falling asleep on the sofa ... Pleeaaase NO MORE STEPS

[firewoodman]

Does the milkman put your bottles of milk in your fridge, does the postman open your letters & read the contents to you?, i think people look on log merchants the same way as they did the coalman, putting the coal in their bunkers for them. Trouble is , if this guy is going to be a regular you have to tell him it will be extra to lug the bags upstairs, or next load sell him a load of green willow to get rid of him.

 

spot on mate, but i would always be honest.

 

i charge £25 per cubic meter to barrow and stack, i'm honest with the customer and tell them its so expensive because

1. i hate doing it

2. if i did it for everyone i would spend more time stacking than splitting

3. it hurts my back

4. i really do hate it

 

 

 

don't be too hasty in getting rid of this customer. going the extra mile (or extra steps) for a few customers can reap rewards. No doubt he appreciates your extra effort and will be busy telling all and sundry what a good egg you are , recommending you to others. Marketing achieved by word of mouth / personal recommendation is 100 times better than advertising in the local rag or parish magazine. It creates a personal link between you and your customers that they will be loathe to break in favour of other suppliers. in effect you create your own market and lock out the competition through their loyalty. humping a few bags up or down steps is a small price to pay for

lots of loyal paying customers.

 

well......yes and no

 

i've found i do keep some customers, but then i found others to be quite ungrateful.

 

on a funny note, for the 6th year in a row i delivered, barrowed and stacked 3 cubic meters for a certain customer, gave him the price over the phone for the lot and he accepted.

when the job was finished and he was writing out the cheque, he asked the question again..how much was it ???

 

i replied with the price, and his 7 yr old son spoke up and said..." dad, how is that far too flippin much for what its worth????"

 

to save his dad embarrasment i replied " cos everything should be free""

 

i drove away laughing so much i had tears in my eyes

[tommer9]

on a funny note, for the 6th year in a row i delivered, barrowed and stacked 3 cubic meters for a certain customer, gave him the price over the phone for the lot and he accepted.

when the job was finished and he was writing out the cheque, he asked the question again..how much was it ???

 

i replied with the price, and his 7 yr old son spoke up and said..." dad, how is that far too flippin much for what its worth????"

 

to save his dad embarrasment i replied " cos everything should be free""

 

i drove away laughing so much i had tears in my eyes

 

Priceless:thumbup:

[firewoodman]

tommer, of all the quotes from top gun you had to pick the worst one (imo)

 

"Let me ask you something. If you had to go into battle, would you want him with you?

 

I don't know, I just don't know "

[muldonach]

Depends on the customer - if it is a pensioner or someone who is obviously unfit to do it we will put them in a shed or whatever and try to smile and remember to bring a wheelbarrow next time - if it is a 20 year old dressed out of a catalogue they get chucked at the back of the trailer

 

cheers

mac

[Dave Martin]

Depends on the customer - if it is a pensioner or someone who is obviously unfit to do it we will put them in a shed or whatever and try to smile and remember to bring a wheelbarrow next time - if it is a 20 year old dressed out of a catalogue they get chucked at the back of the trailer

 

cheers

mac

 

It was a thirty year old `dressed out of a catalogue` .... on another delivery being somewhat wiser I asked about steps and he said `about 5` .... it was 10 but at least it was downhill instead of up

[slack ma girdle]

If every job was like this then you would have to charge extra, but do you charge less if you only have to tip on the drive ?

In the long run these extremes will balance each other out. What counts is giving the customer what they want. Word of mouth and recomendations are worth their weight in gold.

[APC]

Price includes delivery, dumping on drive or garden. Sometimes drop in the Southsea which is a nightmare as no driveways, narrow roads, parked cars, busy 2 way traffic. I always ask the customer before I go what the drop will be like and what I will do. I always give the price and if they say "is that stacked" or something similar, then I just say "that's more, we just drop and go as a rule". The fact it's more generally stops them. I have carried a metre cubed over a pavement and stacked at their front door once before. Charged a tenner for that which I thought was fair as it took me a while.

 

One time someone wanted a full trailer, 2.2cube or thereabouts. They told me there was loads of room outside. Got to their place, cars all over. No way was I getting the trailer in the tiny Mini-sized gap outside theirs. Had to drop it about 3 car lengths away down the road. They asked me again whether I'd drag it for them. Seeing as there was nowhere to even park (I was blocking the road), I had to give that a miss and told told them to use their wheelie bin. If push came to shove, would have got it to their house for £20 maybe £25.