Call out fees for sole operators

[flatyre]

Hey folks there are a couple of small estates in my area whose grounds are in a poor state of maintenance. One particular estate borders a main road and drops debris onto it regularly. I would say its only a matter of time before whole trees start coming down. I'm going to introduce myself and offering my services as the nearest tree surgeon. What sort of money would you charge for out of hours callouts? And would it be worth drawing up a small information pack containing some basic information about the business, qualifications and insurances, yearly maintenance contracts, emergency work, etc. Just a few pages in a folder, professional looking or waste of time?

[Stephen Blair]

If they don't already have a contractor in place and a tree management plan, you have a lot of selling to do.

Road department will deal with most of their problems with a JCB in the middle of the night and then insurance pays for the wall to be rebuilt.

[flatyre]

Thanks for the reply Stephen, the estate I mentioned was owned by a notoriously tight fisted man who only had two working light bulbs in the whole manor. He passed away about a year ago and his cousin inherited the estate recently, by the looks of things the new owner is taking a bit more pride in the place and has just had the whole roof replaced, double glazing installed, and painted inside and out. Hopefully he hasn't spoken to anyone about the grounds with wanting to get the house in order first.

[richy_B]

I'd charge 50% on top of your standard charge for call out with a minimum charge (£90 is mine).

[Couldyajust]

If you are working on your own then be 100% sure you really want the extra work as once you start on 24hr emergency call outs the customers won't care if you have just had an incredibly long day & have an early start in the morning they will want the job done immediately or you won't get called again. If you are in the middle of a job somewhere else they will expect you to drop it & see to their needs.

Emergency call outs can be profitable but they can also be a real PITA.

[richy_B]

I don't refer to mine as emergency call outs, just 'urgent' and stipulate it means we can complete it within 24 hours. I'd charge a lot more if expect to drop everything and run.

[slack ma girdle]

If you want to get your feet under the door, i would not charge much extra for out of hours work. Showing willing, and going that extra mile, should provide work for the future.

Also given that you are self employed, you have no standard working hours.

[Goaty]

Local work is a real timesaver, as mentioned above if you want to get in there with regular work reactive work needs to be less of a sting.

I'd just drop a contact card in. Chat if they are amiable. Keep it casual, maybe drop a name of someone they know that you know, then if they lose the card they can still get in touch.

[eggsarascal]

Call-out work is for mugs, or should I say it can be. Being on call is fine if you are being paid for it.

 

If I'm on call/stand-by what are you going to pay me?, wether I go out or not.

 

How much are you going to pay me for a call-out fee?

 

Or do you expect people to be at your beck n call for free?

[skyhuck]

Call-out work is for mugs, or should I say it can be. Being on call is fine if you are being paid for it.

 

If I'm on call/stand-by what are you going to pay me?, wether I go out or not.

 

How much are you going to pay me for a call-out fee?

 

Or do you expect people to be at your beck n call for free?

 

THIS!!!!

 

I used to drop everything and rush off for call out, not any more, I've turned down 4 in the last 4 weeks, my family life is worth far more that any call out fee, IMO