Prospective client %@% me off!

[alldayrj]

I love when homeowners brag about how much they saved on other projects, at least I'm entertained while i waste my time. " the drieway was done by johnnys uncle for 2grand, the stoop by his brother for free, the patio guys i paid cash and they did it for 5k". I love it. Its the best
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[DVS Hardscaper]

Originally Posted by alldayrj

I love when homeowners brag about how much they saved on other projects, at least I'm entertained while i waste my time. " the drieway was done by johnnys uncle for 2grand, the stoop by his brother for free, the patio guys i paid cash and they did it for 5k". I love it. Its the best
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So I have a business aquaintance whom wanted a paver walk last winter. I go to his house to get measurements and I notice a horrible asphalt paving job and I notice the driveway allignment is all out of whack. I kept my thought to myself and had forgotten all about it.

I call the guy a couple days later with the pricing. We are buddies so I priced it at rock bottom from the get go.

He says "I have x dollars to spend on this, if you don't want to do it for this I understand".

So I try to explain that his budget is just not realistic and that we had left over pavers that I am supplying for free and that he's already getting a deal.

He says to me "I work with contractors for projects at my house routinely, I know what I'm doing".

I almost fell over in my chair because as soon as he said that it reminded me of his piss poor driveway job I saw!


.

[MDLawn]

Originally Posted by zedosix

I offer a specific level of quality and detail that cannot be offered at a discount.

I hope there are still people out there who want this.........

[PaperCutter]

Originally Posted by Darryl G

If he had told you it was a pre-bid meeting up front I think that would have been fine. In many businessess it's not uncommon for the customer to have a pre-bid meeting with all of the potential contractors there to present the scope of work and have a question and answer session. Competitive bids are a fact of life and getting at least 3 bids is SOP for many.

I get this occasionally from prospects who are in some sort of a purchasing position for the govt or a big company. Low-level staff architects and engineers for commercial firms can be as bad, too. I did a design for an architect who also wanted me to coordinate the install. After getting pricing nailed down and everything set he comes back with "ok, I was able to get these trees at discount here, the boulders were cheaper here so they're being delivered tomorrow, half the shrubs will need to come from here..." Dude, I'm cooking, GTFO of my kitchen. That's one I was happy to walk away from. I went by six months later and the yard was still torn up.

Bottom line, the approach that works in the commercial world isn't directly applicable to custom residential. Your $15k front yard doesn't hold the same sway as a $400k school complex.

[Darryl G]

Originally Posted by DVS Hardscaper

Darryl, which post are you responding to? You didn't quote it.

Never heard of a "prebid meeting" in the residential world. Most residential contractors don't even fool with "bidding". We submit a proposal with intentions of turning out a top notch product and leaving with a profit. In the commercial world they have "prebid meetings" and yes, they "bid". And the margins are much much smaller. Usually the quality is not there.

Just curious which post you're referencing?

Sorry...was kind of responding to the OPs orignial post and replies in general I guess. I agree that in the residential world a pre-bid meeting with multiple contractors is not the norm. But I could see a homeowner who thinks he's "important" and has limited time to have more than one contractor there at the same time. Everyone knows that pencils get sharper when there's competition involved. It's hard to be yourself in a situation like that though.

If the homeowner made it clear up front that there would other contractors and that it was a competitive bid situation it would be different than showing up and finding another contractor there. A homeowner who sents everything to bid and shows no loyalty and desire to build a relationship probably isn't the best prospect....as others have mentioned...it all comes down to the lowest bid with them.

[DVS Hardscaper]

Originally Posted by Darryl G

...... A homeowner who sents everything to bid and shows no loyalty and desire to build a relationship probably isn't the best prospect....as others have mentioned...it all comes down to the lowest bid with them.

Well Said!

[alldayrj]

Haha lets not get rolling on low level archies who know they can get it done for 9/sf. The next can if worms is insurance adjusters over here. Tree uproots half a driveway eith no expansion or control joints and wants me to replace 417 sf only...
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[Gilmore.Landscaping]

Originally Posted by zedosix

Well think about it, you take measurements home, or to the office, you pull out the 11x17 drafting paper, and now you start with a ruler and pencil, marking out the perimeter of the house, then you take the plastic templates and draw the squiggly line to mimic the edge of the walkway and flowerbed, but wait a minute its not quite right, so a little bit of whiteout ok maybe alot of whiteout and that line is fixed. Oh damn spilled a bit of coffee on it, start over..... hahaha I remember those days well.

Ya I love it, for more than that, its a complete tool, measures and makes it a breeze to calculate materials. As long as you follow those measurements and your original measurements are accurate there is hardly a brick left over at times. Clients love it as well, but now I'm real selective about who I leave a plan with.

I had no computer experience when I started dynascape in '99 now its like putting a pen in hand.. only quicker. Here is an example of one drawing and then the real thing. Trees were just planted and next year its a gazebo and shrubery.

Love dynascape, do you use the Quotescape side of it as well? Have you ever done a Color Drawings from it?

[zedosix]

I haven't used quotescapes never really took the time to figure it out. I have the basic system, colour drawings won't help me or my business at this point in my career
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