$40 a month?

[greenguy04]

OK I have been trying to get into this business and came across an opportunity to bid on a persons yard. The bid was to include mowing, weeding, edging, and cleanup. The yard hasn't been touched for around a month, so the grass and weeds are out of control. The tallest parts of the yard are around 2 feet high! No kidding. So anyway, I quote this guy a one time fee of $150 for initial cleanup and $150 a month for maintenance. The yard is of standard residential size and the drive is about twnety minutes. Well, long story short, I got out bid. The company that outbid me is going to charge a one time fee of $100 and $40 a month. I thought I bid ok, it might be a little high, but taking in to consideration the time it will take, I thought it to be fair. Any thoughts? Is $40 a month a more fair price? Need advice PLEASE!

[luke1]

You say $40.00 a month. Is that mowing once a month.

[greenguy04]

Yes, the guy was told that the property would only need mowed, and trimmed once a month. I am here in souther SC and it rains ALOT. I know that the yard will need to be serviced at least every two weeks. I think that $40 a month is way too low. I wouldn't do it for such a low price. What would a fair quote have been?

[TennYD]

Wow , 40 a month?... 40 a week maybe ......

[EastProLawn]

$40 a month would'nt cover my drinking money for a week.

[DRM Ventures]

I would forget it and move on......this customer is going to get what he pays for.....

I have a minimum of $30 per visit. I have a couple of very small condo yards I maintain 2x per month. Still they pay $30 even if I am there for 10 minutes....

Set your prices and quote them.......if the customers don't like them then they can go elsewhere....of course your work quality will have to support your prices.

Derek

[divi]

The other guy is right - just move on. I started doing landscape maintenance 6 years ago and heard my share of 'the kid next door will do it for $10 cheaper' or another contractor placed a bid below the amount I knew I could make money on the job. I used to second guess them and really spend a lot of time on it.

My advice, bid a price where you know your comfortable making money on the job - set a minimum. People respect that and know they get what they pay for - the clients will come - there are plenty of them out there.

I know do hydroseeding exclusively and still hear that someone else is cheaper, and in the end they end up coming back because cheap usually means cutting corners.

[turftammer]

just decide what you need to charge and stick to it the ones out there lowballing everyone won't last long because you typically don't get quality work at a bargain and as for myself my cheapest rate is $20 per week no matter how small ,I won't set foot on the lawn for any less

[Hawkeye5]

I don't know the size of a "standard residential lawn" in your area, but if drive time is 20 minutes one way, even your $150 a month may have been a bit low. The other bid is from outer space. Once a month? Amazing.

[greenguy04]

Thanks for all the advice. I must admit at first I felt a little foolish for bidding that high, but after reading this I feel it was a fair quote. The owner will get what he has paid for, bad service. And the company who underbid me will work their tails off for a measly $40 a month. Thanks for the help.

[C&J landscape]

I would stick to your orginal quote. All too often I get under bid and 3-4 weeks later the customer is calling about what a crappy job they are doing and will gladly pay more for me to take over. Just be patient, you will quickly find there are plenty of customers that will pay what you originally quoted for the same size yard if you provide quality work.

[greenguy04]

C & J, thanks for that. If I were to quote him again, I would say maybe $130 a month. That seems to be a little more fair. I did a job for this same guy about five months ago. He wanted some work done, and I quoted him without looking at the job. It was a lot more work than I thought. I learned from that experience, and I will learn from this one too. Thanks again.

[haynestotallawns]

greenguy,
I'm from around the Columbia area, your bid sounded dead on to me, I would have bid $160 a month just to cut, trim, edge and blow it all off every week. If someone thinks doing it for $40 a month is a deal, then let them go for it, I wouldn't re-bid the place or even take them on as a client later on after they find out the cheap guy only shows up once in a while or once school lets back in no one cuts your lawn anymore. Besides you would regret it in the long run. One thing I've learned, and I'm sure most on this board has as well, if they want the cheapest they will always look for the cheapest no matter if they are under contract or not, if that's how they are, let them go, smile and walk away. I lost a customer one time that I charged $35 a cut for to some teens who were cutting for summer money for $15 a cut, it looked rough and when school was back in they never came back to cut it. Well the guy calls me in September and says the kids haven't cut in over a month. I told him I wasn't interested in taking him back on. His grass wasn't mowed the rest of the year either.

Live and learn