True Professionals Don't Mind Lowballers and Novices

[yardguy28]

i don't see how having set prices for services is demanding.

you don't go to the grocery story and haggle over the price of a dozen eggs. you don't go to best buy and haggle over the price of the computer your trying to buy.

something closer to our work, you don't call up the electrical company and try and get a cheaper price. you don't haggle over what the plumber charged you to fix your toilet. those places provide a service just like we do. why should we set up our business so we can haggle price?

i mean if you want to set things up that way, thats your business. but i don't think it's demanding and there is nothing wrong with set prices. it sure makes things easy on me. i give the estimate and they either hire me or they don't. i don't have to fool around with lowering the price or refiguring my price to see just how low i could go.

some would also add that it depends on how hungry you are for business and i would agree. most of the years my schedule has been pretty much full so i'm not really ever in great need of new business so if they don't want to pay my price thats fine i really don't need the business anyway. remember i'm solo and wanting to stay solo. that means i have a certain amount of slots for the week and once there full, i'm not taking on anymore until there is an opening.

one time jobs are done in the order they are received. regular service is as i said, once my weekly slots are full no one gets in until i either fire a client or they fire me. i work between 40 and 50 hours a week. no more, usually no less.

[weeze]

i agree on the needing customers is the biggest factor here. if i was full or close to it i would give them my price and they could take it or leave it. i'm not full though since i've only been in business for 2 years going on number 3 so i would be willing to take a job for $5 less because i need the income. it all depends on where you are in your business needs.

[Smallaxe]

That is a good point... even if I can get $XX.xx from one neighborhood, that doesn't mean that I could get it from another... Sometimes the Pro will price himself out of the game, becuz he has an unrealistic notion of the value of his service...
As long as it is a 'living wage', so to speak, I believe it is a fair price...

[Duekster]

Originally Posted by yardguy28

i don't see how having set prices for services is demanding.

you don't go to the grocery story and haggle over the price of a dozen eggs. you don't go to best buy and haggle over the price of the computer your trying to buy.

something closer to our work, you don't call up the electrical company and try and get a cheaper price. you don't haggle over what the plumber charged you to fix your toilet. those places provide a service just like we do. why should we set up our business so we can haggle price?

i mean if you want to set things up that way, thats your business. but i don't think it's demanding and there is nothing wrong with set prices. it sure makes things easy on me. i give the estimate and they either hire me or they don't. i don't have to fool around with lowering the price or refiguring my price to see just how low i could go.

some would also add that it depends on how hungry you are for business and i would agree. most of the years my schedule has been pretty much full so i'm not really ever in great need of new business so if they don't want to pay my price thats fine i really don't need the business anyway. remember i'm solo and wanting to stay solo. that means i have a certain amount of slots for the week and once there full, i'm not taking on anymore until there is an opening.

one time jobs are done in the order they are received. regular service is as i said, once my weekly slots are full no one gets in until i either fire a client or they fire me. i work between 40 and 50 hours a week. no more, usually no less.

Actually have gotten a lower price for electricity. The trick is not to be a commodity or an off the shelf product.

[cpllawncare]

I personally don't like to haggle prices for the most part, but my mother on the other hand haggles everything and I mean everything, drives me nuts.

[clydebusa]

Originally Posted by cpllawncare

And we see where saturn car is today don't we? OUT OF BUSINESS! I remember someone on here saying be careful about demanding things from the customer.

Just used them as an example. Most people dicker on prices of cars and lawncare. Period

[yardguy28]

Originally Posted by clydebusa

Just used them as an example. Most people dicker on prices of cars and lawncare. Period

guess I'll consider myself lucky then because I have yet to have someone (minus one lady) to ever dicker over my prices.

they always just say yes or no.

[cpllawncare]

you don't call up the electrical company and try and get a cheaper price.

And how many power companies are in town? ONE! BIG DIFFERENCE!

[Nate'sLawnCare]

On the professionalism side, I was at the cell store this morning getting my son a phone. When I came out, a guy was mowing at the Chili's restaurant next door, so while I fiddled with the phone I watched him for a few minutes. He was moving pretty slowly, surprising since the grass was pretty thin, then I saw him mow over a clump of paper and it went everywhere. Since the grass was low, I'm sure he could see the paper before hitting it, I just couldn't understand why he didn't pick it up instead. I always pick up trash at any commercial property I service, either before mowing or as I go. Wow. I don't know, maybe he picked up all the little pieces after I left

[Duekster]

Mowing trash will often get you fired as fast as any thing else. Perhaps that tells us more about the owners standards than anything else. Tough in the food industry these days. Not sure when the last time I was at one of those establishments. Likely 8 years or more ago. Trash in the grass will not help the image they have.