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charging hourly for landscaping

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  fivestarlawnken 
#1 ·
i tried a search on this with no success.
my question is, if you are doing a job for a customer on an hourly basis, would it be considered reasonable to charge more per man hour for the foreman/crew leader? they are foremen/crewleaders because of their experience and efficiency, and therefore i feel that one should be allowed to charge more for their capabilities.. BTW our current houry rate is 25 per man hour. any input would be much appreciated.
thanks, kevin hall
 
#3 ·
I have found very few customers that accept an hourly wage.They want to know what the bottom line is.My customers don't even know I have a hourly rate,sometimes it is better that way.The only time i have charged hourly rate was a lady bought mulch from somewhere else and got tired doing it.Bad for her,good for me.
 
#4 ·
yes, i agree on your thoughts. however, many customers get my actual "bid" and say thats a lot of money, cant we go on an hourly basis? our condo association does mulch exactly as explained. they pay cost for the mulch + delivery, then we charge them hourly to spread it. i guess i shouldnt have limited it to only landscaping. what i really mean to say is ay type of work, besides lawn maintenance. IE bed edging, bush trimming, renovations and cleanouts, leaf removal etc. etc. ive also encountered situations where the customer always tries to add something else on after we have agreed on a price, then they wonder why we ended up charging what we did. if our total is over what origina bid was there is always an explanation as to why, yet customers dont always see it this way. therefore people who i do charge hourly are usually done so in the best interests of myself and them. these clients have a tendency to come outside every 10 minutes and slow down production,, make any sense? sorry if this post is so long, just trying to get other perspectives.


BTW 25-30 per man hour is about the norm around here for companies our size.. ---under $500,000 annual sales.. the big boys charge 38 and up
 
#5 ·
I agree if some cust need to be charged an hourly rate and it works for everyone thats good for you.Little ad-ons I will either just do(if my profit is good on the job,good cust,etc.) or tell them I will ad it on the bill.If your "foreman" is on the job just up your hourly rate for everyone.;)
 
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