Pricing All To Cock

[Scouse Lee]

Hi fellas sorry this is a long post but I need some advice. When I was operating out of Dorset I had loads of work including lots of regular customers, most of whom told me my prices were cheaper than others they'd used but over here in Devon things seem much different. I priced 2 jobs back in January, one involved dismantling a large Ash growing over a garage & road with telephone lines going through it, I proposed having a climber in the tree while & was on the ground lowering, all the wood was to be cut to 1m lengths & stacked & the brush burnt on site, I priced at £300 but someone came in lower. 2nd job was 8 conifers about 30' high sitting on an 8' high roadside bank, the road, which was out in the sticks and had no pavement, was quite busy rising up to the brow of a hill about 150m from the work site & while I was there vehicles were coming over the hill & down past the site very fast including a few big wagons. Everything had to come down roadside & the least I could have got away with was a climber, myself on the ground lowering and cutting & 2 guys on traffic duties. The client said he had had a few others price it up & not to bother if I was going to suggest anything over £500. I was then sidelined with a shoulder injury which had to be operated on but returned to work last week when I went to look at another job which basically involved dismantling 5 trees,(Ash/Beech), of around 50' each in height, one of which was right next to the house with the canopy reaching over the roof & again had telephone lines through it and another that was tight up against a glass dome over a swimming pool, removing 2 stems of around 20' from another tree, reducing a Beech of around 20', reducing a large Hawthorn & trimming a length of hedge that was up on a high bank. All wood was to be cut to 1m lengths & moved to a central area & the brush was to be dragged to a burn site. I priced this last job at just over £1300, (I reckon back in Dorset I would have got at least another £400 on this), but again someone came in lower. Be honest guys am I going way over the top or are tree surgeons over here just going out too cheap, I understand that this isn't a wealthy area but I reckon the art of tree surgery is being devalued by some people.

[Tom2020]

Never try and match some one else it will only end up with you losing out in the end. If you think a job is worth £500 charge £500 You need to make money at the end of the day and live,

 

Let some other mug that the chance of maybe only making £100 of the job.Never doubt your pricing Each job is different and each Tree Surgeon has there own price.

 

The last job i got given i priced it £600,£300 extra then what i should of charged i won the job as i then found out the next quote the lady had was for £2,800 all it was for was a weeping willow tree crown reduction and thin.

 

Cheer up Lee you will start winning work again

[David Goss]

maybe you have more door knockers where you are now...

[Stuart A-C]

Yes, prices are different down here, We charge a reasonable day rate and still make a good profit. Others are charging way too much and have very little or no work, and of course there are a lot of door knockers about. That conifer job on the main road sounds familiar, was it holsworthy way????

[gensetsteve]

One possibility is someone is taking the wood for logs and offsetting the cost. I process cordwood and occassionally take timber away for tree surgeons but have never and dont want to fell a tree.

[Stereo]

Have you tried pricing in pasties? Us likes they down yer.

[Stuart A-C]

Have you tried pricing in pasties? Us likes they down yer.

 

Or cider!

[Scouse Lee]

Hi Stuart, yes it was the one near Holsworthy. I could try the pasty route I suppose, after all they do cost over £3 each,(mind you they're worth every penny the size of 'em lol).

[Mesterh]

Move back to Dorset!:001_tongue:JK

 

I think thats just the way of the world and proves the differences from region to region.

 

Dont forget everyone is happy with different wages and different profits.

 

It is all good and well to say stick to your prices but if your not winning any work then!!!

[Mark Bolam]

There will always be someone pricing lower.

 

They may not last long, but they will always be replaced!

 

Keep your prices and your standards high.

 

Alright then, £250 cash.