Pricing risk vs time

[Mick Dempsey]

There are the times when you turn up to a decent sized kill in a small garden and the customer goes "oh, so you're actually going up it!?"

 

Sod it, gob it and let it go then!

 

Quite.

 

Question; "Is this hydrangea/rhody/lilac precious?"

Answer 1; "No I've always hated it"

Break out the bigger saws

Answer 2; "my sainted grandmother planted it the day I was born"

Out comes the 150

 

It always pays to ask.

[Stubby]

It all depends if they're in or not.

 

And this .

[Stubby]

You are providing a service for a price,

 

e.g Tree gone for 500 quid.

 

If you turn up having agreed a price and suddenly its possible to fell it, bonus.

 

Also this .

[onetruth]

Never tell the customer how long it will take.

Golden rule.

 

I always do. Rounded up to the nearest half-day. Never had a complaint that it was done too quickly, many times I've been given a big tip if it takes longer.

 

I never like this argument, you buy a chipper to get the job done quicker so you can move onto the next one to get some more money... you buy the chipper/chainsaw for you, not the customer, why should they pay for it?...

 

Perhaps I might turn up an prune some privits and throw the clippings into the 50 grand bandit chipper an charge the customer two thousand for ten minutes work:thumbdown:

 

Silly argument. Your £50k chipper isn't making the job quicker, but if you didn't have a saw and tried to gnaw your way through the tree...

 

If any argument should be used, its this.. Look, I might end up breakin my neck or worse... thats got to be worth somethin...

 

Yes.

[White Noise]

I found myself involved in a discussion about pricing (dangerous ground I know).

 

The example was getting a large tree on the deck with a small drop zone, many surrounding targets and little room for error.

 

If you turned up on the day, felled it in one and walked away in under an hour would you charge roughly the same as a dismantle? If so how do you explain the price to the customer when they argue about how long it took?

 

How do you fell a large tree in a small DZ .. ? ...Maybe if your a class feller with experience and a decent winch . Oh and a helping breeze .

 

If your thinking about a dismantle price for it . Otherwise price for a fell .

 

 

If its a get it on the deck and the customer is clearing up ....you really have to weigh up the odds .

 

One bad job will be remembered longer than all those excellent jobs you did before ... Just my thoughts .

 

Always play safe

[oldwoodcutter]

Never tell the customer how long it will take.

Golden rule.

 

In our world of treework, dealing with all kinds of scenarios that the natural world can throw at us , the words 'always' and 'never' are seldom used. The exception is always avoid the question of time,and never tell them.

If you go about telling potential clients how long a job will take, you will certainly live to regret it.

If asked I just say 'oh it depends how many men come on the day, what the weather is like ' and they accept that.

Tell them it will take a day,and on the day you may have a first class climber on the job, and a team of groundys who've really got there skates on,you do it by lunchtime . Or tell them that big job will take 4 days and you do it in 3, your clients will be arguing the toss and trying to deduct your coin by a hefty amount.

Edited September 23, 2016 by oldwoodcutter

[Gary Prentice]

Had that in the past. Asked if they would have payed more if the job had gone over resolved the discussion.

[Vespasian]

Onetruth

 

Silly argument. Your £50k chipper isn't making the job quicker, but if you didn't have a saw and tried to gnaw your way through the tree...

 

 

My point was...

 

You buy things to make yourself a better/faster tree chopper.. axe/chainsaw... customers pay you for doin a job, you invest in equipment to get the job quicker..

 

Thats to say, if you're gonna argue the toss with a customer, you should explain how you've invested in order to get the job done safely and quickly...

not argue that they aught be payin for your choice of investment..

[Stephen Blair]

Put it this way.

Sectional dismantle for a 3 man team. £70 per hr.

Felling in close quarters near buildings with higher risk. £250 per hr.

 

You said 1 and did the other, what we all call a stunt fell.

If the customer wasn't in there wouldn't be as big a moral dilemma going on in your head, you feel guilty, you also feel you want rewarded for doing a very skillfull fell.

Unfortunately you changed the terms of your contract without the other parties consent and still expect the same result.

Reduce your bill, be honest and sleep better at night is my advice.

[Mat]

I found myself involved in a discussion about pricing (dangerous ground I know).

 

The example was getting a large tree on the deck with a small drop zone, many surrounding targets and little room for error.

 

If you turned up on the day, felled it in one and walked away in under an hour would you charge roughly the same as a dismantle? If so how do you explain the price to the customer when they argue about how long it took?

 

Do you trucks have a royal crest displayed on the side?

 

If so, probably best not to consider chancing a fell.....