Warning signs of potential bad customers

Holytree I had something similar happen to me about a year ago. Well similar in the fact that the customer concocted a story b4 ever calling a single tree service. When I go look at jobs I write down any and all damage I see to the house or fence or anything that could be blamed on us after the job is done. So I am at this chinese dudes house and I see what looks like a hole in his roof, so I mark it down on the bid form and since they have to sign it they are in agreement that it was a "preexisting" condition. So this guy proceeds to read the form and then tries to convince me that there is no hole in his roof, so I get up there and tell the guy "yep it is a hole." His next words shocked me. He said"aww, come on man, you have insurance!?" So all along this guy was wanting to get someone out there to do a little tree work so he could blame a roof hole on them and get a new roof. GEEZ. Needless to say I walked away at that very moment and threatened to call the proper authorities about his fraudulent scheme.

D.W.H
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Hey Flash...that's a good one! Maybe your guy and my ole broad from my story could team up and make babies! LOL! Those kinds of people always get what's coming to them...you never have to do anything...karma always comes back to them tenfold!

About the "free estimates" policy...tried to get all the guys together in town to agree on amending this policy...meaning doing away with it. Everybody was in agreement and concurred that we needed to do something about it, meaning charge for an estimate, etc., because of (especially last summer, the gasoline and diesel prices) the waste of time and gas bidding jobs that were: a. a waste of time; people who were just curious about how much something would cost and had no intentions of doing the work, or b. were getting quotes from everybody in town anyways.

Problem is, even though everyone agreed to charge for estimates, they were NOT adhering to this. You would go out to bid a job and client would tell you that XYZ Tree Service didn't charge for their estimate and client wanted to know why your company was charging for its estimate...so needless to say, you can't do that around here or you won't be bidding any jobs!

True enough, bidding is part of this business; however, one can still be aggrevated because of the extra overhead involved for wasted gas and time...we don't have to pretend to like it!

I still give free estimates because I have no choice, but the ones that really aggrevate me are the ones that expect you to drive out to the "boondocks (Louisiana term...LOL!)" to give a free bid and they have no intentions of doing the work anyways or they totally balk/freak out over pricing, not realizing the costs, gas, time, labor, and expense with bringing all of that heavy equipment out that far. Personally, I believe a lot people try to "play stupid." Just saying...
 
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I still give free estimates because I have no choice

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You always have a choice. Whether you can make it work or not is another question. I think it says as much about the company/salesman as the market when people all refuse, but maybe I'm spoiled.
 
Unfortunately, with the market around here, Babberney, I don't have a choice as far as charging for bids. Sure wish I could, but I would be the only company in business in my smaller metropolitan area of around 100,000 that would be charging for estimates...been down this road before...everybody wants to do this but will not stick to their guns when continuously adhering to this policy. It doesn't do any good when I am the only company abiding by this policy and no one else is...would end up costing me jobs. In order to do this around here, you would absolutely have to have all the guys on board...it'll never happen here...hasn't happened in all my years in business...it's either an "all or none."
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Again, you run into too many clients that want to question you as to why you are charging for your bid and ABC, XYZ, and CDE Tree Services did not charge them...then if you try and explain the policy to the potential client, they get "put off" by it and end up using your competitor that did not charge them for an estimate. I know...you will probably say then that's not the type of client I would want anyways and should just walk away from the project. Easier said than done, though....been in business for a long time and have fought this policy for years. These guys around here just refuse to adhere to it...got 16 other competitors around town...

Again, it's either don't charge for estimates or you will not be bidding work around this market...LOL! You just may be spoiled yet! At least it sounds like you don't have a bunch of cheapskates around your market or maybe your market has folks who are little more sensible about this policy...especially given the current economic downturn.
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Last year we started to charge $20 an estimate, our sales only increased, our # of estimates decrease (thus operating cost) and got rid of the customers who are only price fishing anyway. I strongly suggest it to all tree services as it has worked very well for another company in my area as well.
 
Just tell them that you have to pay for your time and fuel and that you will take it off the cost of the job if you get it. We were worried about the same thing but our sales went up because when we charged $20 people wanted it back so they hired us.
 
James. Thanks for mentioning that.

I too have been thinking of weeding out wasted time on estimates. I have dropped my rates about 20% and I am only getting about 4-10 of my bids. When the economy was normal I was near 7-10 bids and charging more.
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So, I don't know if this relates to the subject "Bad customers," but I relate it to "cheap customers."
 
I hear you, and I'm sure you know more about your market than I do. Having said that, most companies here give free estimates. We are one of maybe 5 (probably fewer) that charge for a site visit. We stopped charging awhile when the economy tanked last year and didn't seem to be selling any more jobs, though we did spend more time doing site visits.

We have plenty of cheapskates, and we don't get to offer a bid to everyone who calls. We don't mind, since those people are usually shopping for the lowball anyway. When people ask about why we don't give free estimates, I like to say the estimate is free, but the property evaluation is not. We are using our expertise and experience to make recommendations and that is worth something. Once we've been paid once, customers can call back to get answers or bids for no charge.

To help sell people on the idea, we have a short speech about what the certified arborist will do for them. We insist on meeting clients face-to-face so they can ask us questions and we can explain why what we're doing might cost more than what similar-looking companies are charging. We also take the opportunity to point out our credentials, insurance, etc.

I'm sure you'll do what you have to do, but consider sticking to your guns awhile. Some people will instantly hang up when you say you're charging, but others might notice that you're the only company in town that seems to value the service you're providing. It can set you in a niche above the rabble and might even allow you to charge more for the work you do.

Bottom line: people assume anything that's free has no value. Charge for your expertise and wise customers will see that it is worth paying for. I don't know if there's enough of those people there to keep you in business or not. Then again, I suspect that you don't know, either.
 
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Just tell them that you have to pay for your time and fuel and that you will take it off the cost of the job if you get it. We were worried about the same thing but our sales went up because when we charged $20 people wanted it back so they hired us.

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We tried that, but stopped doing it. Sometimes we will make an exception if it looks like the difference between getting a good job or not. I feel like people will assume I'm just adding the cost of the site visit to the bill so that when I subtract it I'm still getting what I want for the work. Again, I place a value on the time and expertise I bring to the table, and most good customers understand that and accept it.
 
Good points, guys...but, unfortunately, I know my market and charging for an estimate around here, just doesn't fly! Believe me, I've been hounding these ole' Louisiana boys around here for years about doing this, but they just refuse to budge on this policy.

True, some customers would understand the policy (especially the good ones), but in my market, most of the potential clients don't and I've had many take offense to it before, when I tried to implement the policy of charging for an "initial site inspection/valuation."

Been in business a long time and am the largest outfit in town, but apparently cheapskates are higher per capita in these parts. LOL! Can recite speech regarding proper licensure, arborist factsheet, and insurance requirements in my sleep...LOL! It's just these ole' coonasses down here like their beer cold, but their tree estimates free...b safe out there, ya'll!
 
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To help sell people on the idea, we have a short speech about what the certified arborist will do for them. We insist on meeting clients face-to-face so they can ask us questions ...It can set you in a niche above the rabble and might even allow you to charge more for the work you do.


[/ QUOTE ]Damstrait.
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I went to charging for consultations after getting certified in 1992. never looked back.

holytree, please note that Keith did NOT need or even try to convert all his competitors to make this work. That is a bs excuse in LA or anywhere, though granted some markets are tougher than others.
 
One thing you may want to point out to prospective clients is that the price for a site visit is built into all your competitors' estimates. It's part of the "cost of doing business". The only difference is you're being up front about it and only charging for the time you spend on them not every quote you do regardless of whether you get it or not.

It is in effect helping you to keep a control on your overhead so you'll still be in business many years from now.
 
No, it's not a BS excuse...it's, unfortunately, my market. Good point there, TreeHumper about "the being up-front."

I flew solo for a while charging for "consultations" and the phone quit ringing there for a little bit. I know, it's something you have to stick your guns to...fortunately, my overhead is not as bad as it could be, considering all of my equipment is paid for.

May have to give it a whirl again, and see what happens...but not in the middle of a recession.

Every market is different and what works in one market is not neccesarily the gold standard in every market.
 
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