Mulch Question

[Flyscaper]

Hey Guys,

I would like to get some thoughts on this. I got a phone call from a customer which i have never delt with in the past. On my answering machine he said he had 27 yards of mulch which he purchased, and would like me to lay it it for him. He went on to say he did not need edging or cleanup he would do that himself. My question is, how would i price this job Or should i just not deal with it because he seems to be more worried about how much he can save . I have seen the property in the past and the beds are spread out over 1 acre.If i am going to quote him i was thinking 40/yrd to install.

Thanks for any input

Shaun

 

[dvmcmrhp52]

If you can get it for 40/yd have at it. I doubt you will get it for that price because he's just looking for a young back to do the grunt work.
That's about what we get after the cost of mulch,but it includes
the edging and light cleanup.
Considering you are in Pottstown I would think it would be a bit lower,but I could be wrong.

 

[Premo Services]

I had that same thing happen to me at the beginning of last season. A customer of 5 years calls and tells me she will be getting the mulch delivered and all I have to do is put it out here and there, and she said it shouldn,t be that hard, right?. She had a large hill in the back. She had 20 yards delivered and wanted me to spread it for peanuts.
BS, I gave her a price per hour for a 2 man crew to do it. She became very angry with me, kind of startled me for a minute, but I stuck to my guns and didn't come a penny of the charges. She found some poor sucker to do it for nothing. I drove by there and it was a week later, he still didn,t have half the pile gone.
She called me about a week and a half later and asked very kindly if I would finish up because the guy never showed back up to finish. It was all I could do to bite my tounge and not bust out laughing. I kept my composure and told her that I was booked up for a while and also she needed to find someone to do the mowing for her also. I felt soo good after that phone call.

Morale of the story look out he is most likely wanting you to do it for nothing. Good luck if you get the job though.

 

[charlies]

i would tell him no. throwing mulch into beds without bed-and-edge prep looks crappy when finished. our company does not want to be associated with crappy work.

 

[tiedeman]

I think that he is looking for someone to do the work at a very cheap price. Like stated above, the grunt work

 

[jester]

If you dont have much work right now and dont mind doing it I would just tell him my labor rate is $30-$35Hr and it will probably take 12 hours or 2 guys 6 hoursso give him a quote of at least $360.00 at the minimum.

 

[jester]

If you dont think you can do it in 12 tell him more. I dont know, it could take some people 20hrs. I think me and another guy could do this in 6-8 hours.

 

[Justcutslawnserv]

The cost of mulch around here is $25 to $30 a yard. Now I double and charge $50 to $60 a yard installed. I would find out how much a yard of mulch goes for and charge him that x 27.

 

[Flyscaper]

Thanks for your replies. I quoted this guy $25/yd for labor. So the job came out to $675.00. He ordered black root which around here runs between 17.50-22.00 yard and we only get about $40.00/yd installed 50 if you are really lucky. I think i can get the job done in eight hours with me plus a laborer and the trusty old dingo.

What do you guys think?