Quote Advice

[tsh1773]

This Quote is for a potential new account. The job involves 5 Lots. 1 Lot is 62 miles round trip. The other 4 lots are 20 miles round trip. If all lots all done in one trip (home to site 1 to site 2 to home) its 85 miles round trip. The 4 lots in Travelers Rest (its a town) have recently been graded with the strong possbility of businesses buying these lots for commercial use. At that time the buyer of the lot will be responsible for maintaning of the lot and will not be apart of this contract. Basically I have been asked to quote on servicing these lots every 3 weeks until they are sold. It's a realty company who is asking for the quote. The lot in Central already has grass will need service immediately upon the arrival of growing season.

What I'm having trouble with is the 4 lots in travelers rest will probably not need any attention until mid summer. It's possible I could be servicing all 5 lots by mid summer or any combination of the 5.

I'm looking for recommendations on how you would structure this quote. Also I will have to purchase liability insurance to maintain these accounts at an annual cost of $550. They can't guarantee me that cost will be covered being that these properties are for sale.

Any suggestions.

[tsh1773]

Any suggestions? I did have an idea that maybe the insurance agency will offer the liability insurance on a month to month basis. Has anyone ever experienced this?

[cgland]

Dude - All of that travel time for what you are charging!? No way! You will spend $60 in fuel alone! Plus the insurance? Not to mention...every 3 weeks. Are you taking into consideration wear and tear on your machines? Probably not. IMO I would'nt even bother with those properties. It is a total loser. Plus they could be here today gone tomorrow. My .02

Chris

[topsites]

Dude - All of that travel time for what you are charging!? No way! You will spend $60 in fuel alone! Plus the insurance? Not to mention...every 3 weeks. Are you taking into consideration wear and tear on your machines? Probably not. IMO I would'nt even bother with those properties. It is a total loser. Plus they could be here today gone tomorrow. My .02

Chris

First things first: Never do business with realtors.
But there are times when I can't seem to let it go... I find quoting a high price fixes this, because:

For 85 miles round-trip you would need to charge at least 30 dollars (35 cents / mile) just for the driving and it doesn't really cover your time, then you still have to add the cost of cutting: I am almost certain this realtor does not plan on paying this much.

So, are these lots 1/4 acre or 2-3 acres in size?
What kind of condition is the turf in?
SOME yards may only need service every 3 weeks, but if the turf on any of them is halfway decent, you will find yourself cutting knee high grass in the spring <- This appears commonplace with realtors, they apparently all want something for nothing...
But, I can not help you with prices without some more information...

[tsh1773]

The lot in Central is 1 acre, Travelers Rest #1, 2, and 3 are 1 acre each, #4 is 2 acres. Fuel will cost me $30.00. These lots should only take 30 minutes each. The one in Central is very easy. They all are flat. The Travelers Rest lots are purely dirt at this point. I do all the work myself. Thats why the price may seem a little low. No trimming required.