professionals don't make that much

[KDLAWN]

I went and priced a yard the other day and walked the yard. it sloped pretty steep in front, some of the back is flat and then slops from a retaining wall. there is just as much trimming to do as grass to mow. and then I have edging to do. 60% has to be mowed with a 21" push mower because of the steep banks.

so I quoted her 65 dollars and was low at that. she said that she could only afford $40. so we sat and talked for a few. Before leaving I told her that I would do it one time for $40 just to see if it was worth it. O by the way she wants it bagged. so I cut, trimmed, edged and blew off. took me two hours to do. I told her that it just was not worth $40 for two hours of work. She told me that for Two hours of work that sounded reasonable to her. I tried to explain to her that up keep on equip. gas, and bills that have to be paid it was not worth $40. She went on to tell me that professionals don't make much more that.

I have been mowing yard now for a few years and take pride in my work. I don't rush through just to get it done most of the time.

so needless to say I will not be mowing her yard .

what do ya'll think on this.... was I to low on my est. price...

[cowman66]

i dont know the lady but if u went higher..maybe she would of went higher too

[Hawkeye5]

Technicians make more than that today, let alone professionals!! Either the woman has no idea what real professionals make, her reference is back in the '60s, or what she defines as a professional is way of!. JD

[southside]

Professionals don't make that much? Then thats their problem
not yours.You have a business to run.

[Richard Martin]

My response would have been "Ma'am, I am a professional". 2 hours work here is going to cost her 90 dollars.

[lawnstudent]

Was she inferring that you are not a professional? I hope not.

jim

[AltaLawnCare]

Originally posted by KDLAWN

She went on to tell me that professionals don't make much more that.


She must be talking about a professionals' net hourly pay. Apples and oranges.

Hire an accounting firm for two hours, or..
a plumber, or a bull dozer...

She's not employing a person for two hours, but contracting a business for two production hours of work.

:rolleyes:

[awm]

reminds me of the lady once told me she could get an electrician cheaper than me.
u guessed it . i told her next time her lawn needed care call that electrician.
that really happened, long time ago.:)

[lawnstudent]

Good call. And did she follow your advice?

jim

[awm]

dont know jim ,but u can bet whoever did it ,left there w pocket change.:)

[Remsen1]

What a flake. If by professional, she means Doctors, Lawyers etc. she is waaaaaaaaaaaaay off. They make $100+ per hour in my area and I live in one of the most depressed areas in the country.

[robert payer]

KDLawn,

Why second guess your self? I am sure that you are fairly confident in your business needs.

Business get better when one learns to say no to work that just does not fit.

You work hard, why give your professional service away!

I do not mean to offend any one: Why whor@ your service out!

[kerr lawn]

None of us no matter if were thinking about cutting grass or making millions in this business are called "Free landscaping and grass cutting." These ppl (customers)are so stupid (making me really mad at times )and need to realize that this stuff is not brain surgery, but that it is hard donkey manual labor which means we need to be fairly paid. These ppl need to also know their role and not watch us like a hawk looking for dinner.
I had a customer that once told me that i wasn't worth $30 per hour per man to blow leaves since this was just was a job for side cash not really trying to support myself. That happened last fall and i dumped for other reasons about 4 weeks ago. The beer went down a little better that night, i have never looked back. no reason too.
Sometimes ppl just need to be put in their place and once we have done that their eyes open up like jack in the box.
peace
bryan

[wolfpacklawn]

I know my doctor charges me $65 per visit, I usually see him for all of 10 min. My attorney charges me $175 per hour.

A lawn that takes 2 hours should be at minimum $70 probably more like $100.

[Brickman]

I like Wolfpack's prices. Drop a PITA like this like a bad habit and move on. There are more fish in the sea, trust me.

I have them lining up hoping that I will have time work for them. I could do twice as much work and still have more coming in. But there is only so much a guy can do.

[65hoss]

You should have never dropped your price in the first place. Read people from the beginning and walk away when you need to. The idea of closing 100% of the deals is not good. You were doing pretty good about estimating how hard the lawn was, you just let her get to you on the price. Stick to your guns, especially when you know the level of difficulty is higher.

[Tony Harrell]

When I see a 30 degree slope, I always wonder what is being charged. They're clearly being cut with a 21 and it really looks like a pita. I wonder if a self propelled 21 would pull itself up a 30 degree slope?

[KDLAWN]

well I did it one time for $40 and told her it was not worth the $40 dollars to do. so she is droped. I had a friend go by and price it after telling him that she would not pay more than $40...

I think he drove by, and didn't even stop after looking at the front yard..

[MOW ED]

Long ago and far away this thread was posted by Ray Kirby. I believe that it is quite possibly the best explanation the has come along. Customize it for your operation. I have it printed and have made multiple copies and put them in my estimating folder and in my general business folder.

Its said very well here;

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?threadid=177&highlight=really+and+tired+and+of+and+explaining

[crawdad]

I mowed one this spring, real tall, you could tell much of it hadn't been mowed late in the fall, also steep, I had to bring in my Gravely walk-behind, with 16HP and dual wheels. I worked hard fopr 2 and three quarter hours, and it looked good. I had told her I'd do it for $80, and let her know the seasonal price. So when I'm done, she comes out and says, " Don't you think $80 is too high?" I said, "not from my point of view" She told me to call her when I saw the light, and would do it for 50. She said $35 an hour was too high, I told her I usually get more than that for machine time, as there is machine prep time, travel time, etc. When I had first showed up for the estimate, she wanted an hourly rate, I wouldn't give her one. I am a contractor, not a helper/hired boy.
So anyhow, I was in her neighborhood yesterday, the lawn is way tall again, probably been cut once since I've been there. If she calls me I'm going to tell her a hundred bucks. I wonder how many lawn men she goes through each season. One for each mowing, I would guess.
Crawdad :drinkup:

[Hawkeye5]

MowEd, thanks for passing that thread along. The plumber I use has a brochure that is left with each invoice which describes the unseen costs that underlie each service call. I plan to use the same idea at some point in the future. JD

[KDLAWN]

well after all this at the first of the week.,I priced a yard the other week and he said that he would get back with me on it... got the call today that I'll be cutting it this summer. this is a yard that is flat very little trim work and edging. takes about 1hr to 1.5hr to do $$70. I am on the rebound...

[robert payer]

Professionals want to employ professionals.

[MATTHEW]

$65 was a fair price.

Trust me on this one. If a prospective client starts talking nickels and dimes on the sales call, they'll do it over and over again.

Just give them the price and let them walk. You don't need headaches like that. :realmad:

[slingshot]

:rolleyes: Well i think you screwed yourself.Everyone talks about being paid like professionals well if you want to get paid like one you have to start acting like one.you went there and told the lady 65.00 to cut her lawn and she said well that is too much so you go ahead and tell her you will do it one time for 40.00 and then you tell her you need to get more money.well you already did it for forty dollars and if you do it once she is going to assume you or someone else will do it for forty again. you see you just put the price on that lawn and screwed yourself and everyother lco out of that job she has 40.00 stuck in her head and she will get someone too do it for 40.00 it will most likley be a scrub so now every other lco in the area is screwed also when they go bid on that lawn. you made yourself look non professional when you told her you would try it for 40.00 that shows you do not have your estimating down and you dont know your cost of doing buisness. as far as comparing lco to doctors and lawyers or even plumbers they know what they have to charge to make a living and they never say listen lady i will try this kidney transplant for 60 grand but if your other kidney goes bad i might have to charge you more because i have no idea how long it will take me. hell even a damn barber knows how to do buisness he cuts your damn hair for 10.00 he does not look at it and say well ill try it for 10.00 but next time it will be 12.00 he knows he has to make 10.00 dollars on every head that comes in that door or he cant feed his family

[wolfpacklawn]

Slingshot- that was harsh but I must say that there is nothing you said that I disagree with.

[KirbysLawn]

Originally posted by KDLAWN
so I cut, trimmed, edged and blew off. took me two hours to do.....


.....what do ya'll think on this.... was I to low on my est. price...

I hope you understand you answered your own question.

[sirsweatsalot]

the best reply comes from joe dirt "maybe unicep will get into the lawn buisness but untill that im the next best thing"

[brucec32]

Ask the lady how much experience she has pricing lawn maintenance services. Then tell her your prices are final and non-negotiable unless she wants to give up some level of service, like the bagging part.

Don't get into a discussion about how much you're making with customers, especially some crone who thinks it's written in stone in the book of life that "dirty people who get sweaty" are supposed to be poor and happy to work for peanuts.

I make more per hour on-site than the majority of my customers make at their "professional" jobs. I just can't do it 8hours/5days/12months like they can.

You can only be earning "on-site" maybe 6 hours of an 8 hour day, so that's another factor.

Experience will tell you the going market rate for the job in your area. Prices seem to be all over the place here on the board. But by my formula I would charge $92 for a lawn that took 2 hours to finish, more if I had to haul the clippings off. ($12 trip charge to show which covers my average drive time and expense, plus $40/hour mowing time). $65 was a bargain.

Have confidence in yourself. Its like car shopping and dealing with salesmen. They will always try to make you think you're off base on what you're willing to pay/charge. Sometimes you're too low, not too high.

Couldn't agree more with a previous poster that you're screwing us all if you're wishy washy on pricing. Harsh, but true.

Finally. one post said something like "it takes me 1 to 1.5 hours and I charge $70". Whoa. That's a huge difference in time to do the job! Make sure you know pretty close how long it will take before you price a job. At 1.5 hours you're getting a fair price. At an hour you're getting a great price. Know thy costs.