Big trees = less money ( prophet )

[mad matty]

no not you fella a well known one....If I bump into you at a show I will tell you

[Pete Hart]

No worries mate! Look forward to it.

 

 

http://www.aatreesurgeon.co.uk

[benedmonds]

qutoted for a big monty pine £2300 3 days for 3........another firm has just quoted £1500 and customer has asked if i can match it..............no way was my answer. £800 difference

 

A lot of it is just variation in pricing, you can't get them all bang on, some are high some are low.. It's the same with small jobs you might quote £230 to some ones £150. The difference is with big trees is clients are more likely to get more quotes and therefore you are more likely to win the work you have priced on the cheap side.

 

When its a matter of tens of pounds the client is more likely to accept your quote, especially if they like you or think that's what they expected to pay. When it's hundreds they are more likely to look elsewhere until they find someone to mess up their quote on the cheap side. I've lost count of the big trees I have under-priced!! But I bet there are also loads I overpriced and some other fool got the work:)

[Mark Bolam]

A lot of it is just variation in pricing, you can't get them all bang on, some are high some are low.. It's the same with small jobs you might quote £230 to some ones £150. The difference is with big trees is clients are more likely to get more quotes and therefore you are more likely to win the work you have priced on the cheap side.

 

When its a matter of tens of pounds the client is more likely to accept your quote, especially if they like you or think that's what they expected to pay. When it's hundreds they are more likely to look elsewhere until they find someone to mess up their quote on the cheap side. I've lost count of the big trees I have under-priced!! But I bet there are also loads I overpriced and some other fool got the work:)

 

That pretty much sums it up Ben.

[shavey]

Agreed .

 

yes your tight defiantely better smaller trees/jobs:thumbup:

[Shane]

From my experience I think small jobs are much easier to price accurately.

You can picture virtually every cut and even work out how many dragging trips will be required. Chances are it will only take up a tenth of the space in the van etc.

 

The big ones where you find all sorts of tangles in the canopy, maybe an extra trip with the waste, the hours of ringing up the trunk etc.

 

On a small job a 10% error maight translate into 5 minutes extra, on a big takedown it could be a day. I recon mostr of my big profit days have been where weve done a number of small jobs.

 

PS the risk assessment is easier with Mrs Miggins bush (make sure Mr Miggins is at work all day).

[Jesse]

Do you guys find that the bigger the tree the less you make ? E./G trim up 6 times small silver birch 2 days = x amount prophet Take down one huge oak also 2 days = not quite x amount . Plus its more grunt .

 

Hi Stubby, your bang on with that rationalization , there are so many company's who are just happy to throw man hours at a bigger job just to keep staff busy , the best money is earned in what I call 'cramming ' thats lots of small jobs in one day, £750 to £1000 can be done in a day, is what I was doing, not every day but one or two really well planned productive days per week, down side they used to kill me. 3 to 5 small jobs in a day

[Jesse]

Hi Stubby, your bang on with that rationalization , there are so many company's who are just happy to throw man hours at a bigger job just to keep staff busy , the best money is earned in what I call 'cramming ' thats lots of small jobs in one day, £750 to £1000 can be done in a day, is what I was doing, not every day but one or two really well planned productive days per week, down side they used to kill me. 3 to 5 small jobs in a day

 

Should have said that thats two all singing whistles blowing top blokes both capable of downing 8 pints of Thatchers at the end of the day, AND WHO CAN BANG THE SAME WORK ETHICS OUT THE NEXT DAY, we breed them hard , fast and skilled down here in Somerset Hi Stubby , you know me

[Yorkshire Brummie]

Mmm, this thread seems to have answered or confirmed a few of my worries. I have been making a reasonable living for a while trimming Mrs Miggins's Bush, but of just late been asked to quote on some "Bigger" jobs. At the moment I seem to have "lost" more of them than won. We strive to do it the right way, Full Ins., tickets, PPE, etc etc. Although inexperienced in quoting for what I consider "Big" jobs, I feel I have been pretty skinny most of the time cause I really want the job for experience knowing I 'm probably working for nearly nowt but it will boost company profile and it beats hedgecutting and weeding! Do you think Mrs Miggins's hedge really warrants more of a payday than a decent takedown?!

[Marc Lewis]

Completely agree. Every man and his dog price the big jobs so price will usually be tight. And as Mr Bolam said, if your not kitted up for the big jobs, i.e hiab etc, then it takes time and a lot of hand balling. It might not be uncommon to have a couple of tranny loads of saw dust!! IME the bigger the job/tree the harder work it is also. When you're younger its great doing the big jobs (don't get me wrong, I do still enjoy them), but now I prefer a little birch section, in and out in less than 90 mins, £180 thank you.