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  1. ward

    Employees know your gross sales? I

    A couple of problems for transparency: 1. if everyone knows what everyone else is being paid, there is bound to be resentment, friction, condescension, jealousy, etc. (its human nature). 2. if the crew working is aware of the price of the quotes, then if they are lazy there is a way for them to...
  2. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    Wow. Nice to have a husband on hand to whom you can give a slip of paper and he'll drop the load of logs right in their yard with carved $$$ signs! That's an accounts receivable department with teeth! I am not inclined to either husband or logs in the yard. Could open up a whole can of worms...
  3. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    Dan, I've been thinking about doing this for awhile. What's your experience with a. dropoff of customers who would have asked you to come out but for the absence of a free quote and b. success rate of the customers who are being charged a fee to meet?
  4. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    I appreciate the point about itemizing all trees. This would have spared me the agony of the lot line problem, as I had just described it on the quote as the "group of firs" and we were on our day rate with with the client. The idea was to get as much done on them as we could while we were...
  5. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    Bait, Wait, and Switch Games In this class of games, the customer gives indication that they would like your service, but they delay and at the last minute go with a cheaper competitor's quote. This is not ordinary soliciting of bids and choosing a provider, sealing the contract. Here the...
  6. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    I believe the ISA Certified Arborist has such requirements (formal education/experience (i.e., "apprenticeship") of 3 years. That is on a par with plumbers, electricians, and (if you subtract the baccalaureate) lawyers in terms of time demand. To accurately assess and describe proper tree work...
  7. ward

    Yelp

    Nick this is a great contribute. Your solution to the free estimate problem is very good, balancing expertise vs motivating the client to go with your work. I did want to mention a strategy that I use for my angieslist client review page that could work for the problem you mention with respect...
  8. ward

    Beater Chip Truck

    That has probably got a pre-turbo 7.3 L, a workhorse but you are not going to be hauling chippers on the interstate at great speed. Seems to have all the usual New England rust problems. I like the configuration. Nice. (oh, sorry, noticed its got a 460) How many miles?
  9. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    Lots a worse ways a client can crap on you than with doggie doo, too!
  10. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    A more antiseptic/legalistic term I've seen used is "pet waste" as in "please remove pet waste" from the scene before the show begins. Thank you, T.F. M., for the example.
  11. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    The yards we work in might have at most 5-6 dog craps. I instruct the crew (even as I was instructed by my former bosses) to clean up the shits with a rake and shovel BEFORE the work begins. Most unfortunate to have this happen to one, but it could be seen as a kind of negligence on the part of...
  12. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    I often find there is great variance between what my customer initially wants over the phone and what I will allow our guys to actually do to the trees. Educating the customer is a part of the process, shaping their understanding of what they truly need. This is not simply following their...
  13. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    Customer may suggest she has one or two firs...upon inspection she has a whole stand that call out for work. She is curious about your findings and wants to know more....like a fool you cross your own principle....tell her more than she needs to know. I think these might be called Free Estimate...
  14. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    Fair enough. And if you can get it into the contract beforehand then that is okay--I ca see no games playing. Even you would admit, however, that if you tried adding a charge to her account at settling up time on account of a "dogshit clause" that she'd never agreed to in advance, you'd face a...
  15. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    I'm undecided on whether a dog shit clause is more of a slap to the face of a client or a justifiable charge that can be forwarded as such. I don't know if a 'dog shit clause' is mere games playing by the arborist. I mean how many dog shits must be present per sq. ft for it to go into effect? Is...
  16. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    I think that Renter-Owner Games deserve classification as a genus, rather than a species of games. I can think of a number of them off hand: renter commits to owner paying for the work; owner denying renter was authorized to contract the work; renter paying for work which owner didn't authorize...
  17. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    That's not a question of the sort "are you still beating your wife?"is it, in other words, a LOADED question. :) But to answer, I tend not to think of what I do with them as a form of games playing. I think of myself as a straight shooter. But this question requires that an important...
  18. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    Yes, but is an attorney able to foresee all of these possible areas where conflicts can arise? Some of these you've got to experience first to understand how the game is played to be able to protect yourself. My legal paragraph at the bottom of the estimate grows by the year. Perhaps I should...
  19. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    That's a good one. I've seen that one before. With all the different versions of the estimate they can, on the day of the work, show the foreman a job description from the list--the more expensive option but which they told you they didn't want. The foreman will be put into a tough situation...
  20. ward

    The Games Customers Play

    "The Whittler"...very funny, I think I've met him. His cousin is called "the Chiseler" and they honed their technique together! Seriously, here is another The Molalla Bid Game. I call it this as it is named after a town far on the outskirts of the metropolis. Its in the hinterlands. People...

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