Time to VENT! LOWBALLERS

[mikestr]

I went to price a job last night of about 5500sf of grass. It was a straight forward cut except for the 60 deg. hill on the side of the house to get to the backyard (38" gate btw) , unever terrain. Anyway, I priced cutting and 2X weed control/4X fert/and 2X insect control (as needed), Aeration (optional) etc ...

Anyways I gave him my price... and he flipped! :realmad: Why? Because he was quoted, get this... $600 THE WHOLE season, that's approx. 22-24 cuts and complete weed/fert/insect control! :dizzy: Do the math people... Seems to be the growing trend around here! Apperantly these guy score 2-3 other houses on the same street.

Anyways, I did my absolute best to try to stay composed and professional and I responded with. "Well, I hope that they will put fertilizer down and not just grab a handful of granular fertilizer and throw it on your walkway to make it look like they put it everywhere...." Then I followed up with "well, good luck with the other guys... Call me when you want Lawn Maintenance as opposed to getting your grass just cut because it is too long" Smiled and walked away.

I may be new on my own, but I refuse to lower my prices to beat some other guy/gal that pushes a lawn mower around and lose money in the process.

Off I went to another estimate and scored a $3000 landscaping job!! payup

[marko]

They will learn

[cashwillbefine]

I went to price a job last night of about 5500sf of grass. It was a straight forward cut except for the 60 deg. hill on the side of the house to get to the backyard (38" gate btw) , unever terrain. Anyway, I priced cutting and 2X weed control/4X fert/and 2X insect control (as needed), Aeration (optional) etc ...

Anyways I gave him my price... and he flipped! :realmad: Why? Because he was quoted, get this... $600 THE WHOLE season, that's approx. 22-24 cuts and complete weed/fert/insect control! :dizzy: Do the math people... Seems to be the growing trend around here! Apperantly these guy score 2-3 other houses on the same street.

Anyways, I did my absolute best to try to stay composed and professional and I responded with. "Well, I hope that they will put fertilizer down and not just grab a handful of granular fertilizer and throw it on your walkway to make it look like they put it everywhere...." Then I followed up with "well, good luck with the other guys... Call me when you want Lawn Maintenance as opposed to getting your grass just cut because it is too long" Smiled and walked away.

I may be new on my own, but I refuse to lower my prices to beat some other guy/gal that pushes a lawn mower around and lose money in the process.

Off I went to another estimate and scored a $3000 landscaping job!! payup


What is lowballing? If these guys are satisfied with the money they are making, and it happens to be eaqual quality to what you are offering than you really can't complain, that's just business. Some people do not require a large income to be happy, or maybe they are just starting out and really need the work. Either way, don't let it work you up, if they do a bad job you'll get the customer back, and if they don't, there are more fish in the sea.

[SouthernYankee]

Lowballers never last, can you haggle a price with another service like a lawyer or a Banker?

[procut]

I need to vent about lowballers as well. A few weeks back I put in a bid on two 1 acre cemitaries and a township hall. I bid 275.00 for all three each week. It even seemed a low in my opinion, but still havn't heard back, so someone else must have bid lower.

[mikestr]

I need to vent about lowballers as well. A few weeks back I put in a bid on two 1 acre cemitaries and a township hall. I bid 275.00 for all three each week. It even seemed a low in my opinion, but still havn't heard back, so someone else must have bid lower.

Unfortunately there is no way to fight this. Except stand behind your service and stress quality and the fact that you will actually SHOW UP to do the work. I mentioned to one client that I ALWAYS leave something behing the door advising then that I was there. He liked that! Everything little thing helps fight them off. I rejected 3 clients this week alone because they wanted a lower price because they were quoted a little lower. I need the work, BUT not going to run myself to the ground to save them $3 a week.

[richmadmax]

What is lowballing? If these guys are satisfied with the money they are making, and it happens to be eaqual quality to what you are offering than you really can't complain, that's just business. Some people do not require a large income to be happy, or maybe they are just starting out and really need the work. Either way, don't let it work you up, if they do a bad job you'll get the customer back, and if they don't, there are more fish in the sea.

YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOWBALLING. Lowballing are dumb people doing dumb stuff. Why would you charge $25.00 when everybody else are charging $40.00 or more. Plus most lowballer kept there prices down by cutting corners like no insurance, no paying taxes, and etc. So you see LOWBALLERS are scum. Like any business there are no room for lowscumers

[pagefault]

I just got my insurance and it is about $75 per month. Unless they only have one account, going without insurance is not what allows them to do a $40 job for $25.

As far as why they would do a $40 job for $25. I'm guessing that they could not get the job for $40 and could not come up with any way to compete other than price. Of course, if you can't keep the job away from a lowballer, then you are competing on price too. You're just not winning.

If they are bidding at a level so low that they can't make money, sure they will go out of business, but there will be another right after them. So, technically, that competition never goes away. Either you find a way to compete with that price, or you find a way to take price off the table.