Thoughts on Minimum Pricing for Small Jobs

[Al_trees]

What equipment does it take to get it done?

How far from shop?

Sounds like too much to me...unless you don't want the job, then go high.

I'd rather keep a customer.

Nonsense. 200 is not a lot of money to charge to get a professional out. What is your hourly rate to run your company? Real numbers are hard to look at. If you honestly consider how long a 15 minute job takes you will find a one hour charge is more than reasonable. Don't believe me? Try going to 10 fifteen minute jobs all in the same day and in a five mile radius. You can complete them but it would take all day. Jeese that is only 2.5 hours worth of work. It takes time to drive, set up, break down, take a leak or drink a water and then drive to the next job. If you charged say $75 a call your $750 at the end of the day would leave you broke. Unless you didn't have an employee and operated out of a pickup with a dump trailer. Even then you need to account for time to dispose of and any cost of material.

 

[Al_trees]

We don’t usually have extra crew at all but if your next door to our job and we have time (usually don’t our scheduling is pretty on) I will do a 5 minute thing for free
And the 90% of them schedule a free estimate
Also will throw a $100 add on but only if we have time

Of the 90% who schedule a free estimate...which costs you more time and money to go and look at...what is the percentage who hire you? Charge them something to at least cover your crew and equipment. Just because you are in the neighborhood doesn't mean you need to work for free. If you throw in a free ten minutes to every customer who is actually paying you and you do it ten times a week that is over 3 hours a week. 2 x hourly rate say $300 is $900 a week. $3600 a month. That is the payment on a new bucket truck and chipper.

A freebie here and there over time adds up. Our clients often ask for extra work and they have no problem paying for it. Doing a $250 job while already there for an extra $50 or something is still a great deal for the customer. There is nothing wrong with going above and beyond on service. But if you were a painter and someone asked for anothet wall done you can't do it for free. "Oh but they are a good customer we are there regularly." Well then you can't afford to work for free all the time either. Again provide them your best service and extras at a preferred rate based upon their loyalty. Keep in mind some people hire you for A and then expect to tack on B and C because you are already there.

By working for a neighbor for free you are taking advantage of your paying customer by not charging the trip charge or minimum rate to the neighbor. You pay your guys out of your own pocket. A small fee of even $75 to the neighbor would be more respectful to your customer and yourself.

 

[VenasNursery]

Of the 90% who schedule a free estimate...which costs you more time and money to go and look at...what is the percentage who hire you? Charge them something to at least cover your crew and equipment. Just because you are in the neighborhood doesn't mean you need to work for free. If you throw in a free ten minutes to every customer who is actually paying you and you do it ten times a week that is over 3 hours a week. 2 x hourly rate say $300 is $900 a week. $3600 a month. That is the payment on a new bucket truck and chipper.

A freebie here and there over time adds up. Our clients often ask for extra work and they have no problem paying for it. Doing a $250 job while already there for an extra $50 or something is still a great deal for the customer. There is nothing wrong with going above and beyond on service. But if you were a painter and someone asked for anothet wall done you can't do it for free. "Oh but they are a good customer we are there regularly." Well then you can't afford to work for free all the time either. Again provide them your best service and extras at a preferred rate based upon their loyalty. Keep in mind some people hire you for A and then expect to tack on B and C because you are already there.

By working for a neighbor for free you are taking advantage of your paying customer by not charging the trip charge or minimum rate to the neighbor. You pay your guys out of your own pocket. A small fee of even $75 to the neighbor would be more respectful to your customer and yourself.

Well $3k free work a year probably turns into 40-50k of work a year and 5-10 great reviews

It works for us
We’re not setting up a lift or climbing anything for free
but pruning a branch or two off a roof or something that takes 5 minutes I don’t mind if we have time

 

[flushcut]

I had a customer balk at our minimum last week. He goes on and on about how difficult it is to get to this on 30' 8" diameter limb hung up in his willow over his wife's prized garden. "it's like an 8 minute job" LOL oh well, I said "good luck finding somebody."

 

[ATH]

Well $3k free work a year probably turns into 40-50k of work a year and 5-10 great reviews

It works for us
We’re not setting up a lift or climbing anything for free
but pruning a branch or two off a roof or something that takes 5 minutes I don’t mind if we have time

And cheaper than any advertising...

 

[climbingmonkey24]

Okay, here are my thoughts on charging for estimates.

I think on one hand for a well established company that has a long backlog, a lot of new potential customers calling everyday to schedule estimates, and thousands of dollars worth of overhead...then charging might make sense if you’re willing to lose a couple clients who don’t want to pay for the consultation.

On the other hand, for a newer business or a smaller business with less overhead, charging for estimates might cause you to lose some potential clients and thus income. Just because someone doesn’t want to pay for an estimate doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to pay for quality work.

Furthermore, this is a customer service based business. I regularly take time to talk with people and give them honest advice and opinions even if I’m not going to bid on the job. Because the fact you take time to help them can go a long way. They remember that. And who knows, they may call you back down the road or refer you out.

I’m in this business not just for income but also because I enjoy tree work, enjoy business, and enjoy helping people. I’m not gonna nickel and dime someone just because I think I need to be paid for every second of my time. If I’m making enough from jobs and have the time, I got no issues going out of my way to help people even if there is nothing in it for me at the time.

This post might cause a shit storm or be misinterpreted, but that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

I’m not saying work for free or don’t charge what your worth, I’m saying every situation is different and charging for estimates could be both beneficial and harmful, depending on your particular situation. Same thing applies to how high of a minimum rate you have. Every business is different.