Is this price right?

[wglawncare]

I just hand raked a gentleman's lawn. I didnt quote him an exact price, he just said go ahead and do it. Last year I charged him $80, @ $15/hour for his approx. 22000 sq foot yard. This year I have a better understanding of the prices in my area and am charging $22/hour. If I use this rate I get for the 11 hours I was there( hand raking his lawn) I get $242. That is a 300% increase. Should I try to shave off some not to piss him off to start the year off. ( He tells me he will be getting me about 5 jobs in his area, neighbors) Or should I stick to what the price came out to be? I really need some help on this one!!:dizzy:

[cwlawley]

You need to let people know what your price will be before you do the work, not after. Even if you don't know the price let the customer know what your hourly rate will be. I would stay stick with your new rate, but you may lose a customer in the long run.

My question is, why did you handrake? Why not use a blower, etc? I don't know many people willing to pay $250 for leaves.

[lowballer17]

Just a guess, was the customer over 70 years old?
Old timers love hand raking, pushing the broom, and using the shovel. I had one old lady yell at me the first year for using any mower bigger than a 21" push mower.

[CC Lawncare]

You are in a tough one with that kind of a price change. If the customer tells me to "just go ahead and do it" , I still try to give them a ballpark so that knowbody has a heart attack when it is time to get paid. Word of mouth can be the best advertising you ever get.....or the worst.

[CC Lawncare]

CSlawley is right about letting the customer know upfront but I disagree with someone not being willing to pay $250 for fall cleanup. We charge a reasonable rate for our work but the hours can add up on a job that is of any size. I enjoy my work immensely but I expect the proper pay for the work performed. If it is in the hundreds, it is in the hundreds.....just so the customer knows about it BEFORE you do the work.

[wglawncare]

The gentelman is in his 30's. He lives on the lake and is pretty loaded. He SPECIFICALLY asked for the handraking because he felt that it needed the attention(thatch and leaves). I had been charging $22 for my leaves towards the end of the year last year, so he does know my hourly rate. The guy I dont think will have a problem with the price, but Im really not sure.

[Sin City Lawn Care]

In your statement you said that it was $80 total at $15 an hour = 5.33 Hours

Your new price is $22 an hour for 11 hours = $242

question is why did it take you twice as long to rake the same yard?

[wglawncare]

Last year I expected it to only tkae me the 5.33 hours @ $15/ hour. So I quoted him $80. I ended up going over that amounted time I thought it would take me to about 10 last year. This year I took the route of actually doing the work and giving him a price afterward. He didnt seem to have a problem with it.

[KCLandscape]

45 per hour...But you beter be REALLY RAKING....
Where are you putting all the debris
Are you by East Troy???

[wglawncare]

I am about 30 miles away. All of the debris went across the street to a vacant piece of property that he owns.

[KCLandscape]

well, you still have to consider that hand work is a pain. I usually use a blower of some sort to get it in a pile, and go from there...
At least you have a close dump site :-)

[gammon landscaping]

charge him 180 and tell him what has happened and we will understand that it was more than you thought but tell him what it will be from now on

it is easy to ask for alot upfront and get paid but it is hard to go up once you have commited to something that was too low

[HOOLIE]

Your original estimate...5.33 hours, how did you figure that?? That's being a bit too precise, it can be tough to judge leaf removal times, I look at them in blocks of time. Say a minimal job is 2 hours, then a larger one a half-day, an entire day, etc. Be more liberal with the times and you'll avoid this situation in the future more often that not.

[wglawncare]

Last year was my first in the business. I wasnt too sure of how to do estimates, but that is what I can to. All last year I learned not to be that precise, but still try to stick with my estimates, within a couple of hours. Any other opinions?