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WOW, all the others were $20

3K views 20 replies 16 participants last post by  DUSTYCEDAR 
#1 ·
well, did an estimate, and decided to post this after reading bastalker's thread about lowballers and scrubs. i agree about the quality work and the customer relations playing a major role in client retention, but, you first need to get your foot in the door. when i handed him my quote of $30 per cut, as well as the other service fees, his face lit up like a christmas tree. he said, "wow, i've been getting quotes all week, every one i got was not more than $20, some were even cheaper." we got to talking, every guy he called would not do any fert program, just mow and go for a $20 bill. i sold him on the benefit of having one company do it all, rather than one guy for fert, one guy for mowing. also gave him copies of written referels, pest license, and proof of insurence. even got my mullet cut off last week. not much else i can do. bastalker is right about client retention, but in my case, i need to at least double my client base, and fast , in order to survive, price may hold me back a bit, but i aint budging.
 
#4 ·
even got my mullet cut off last week. [/B]


LMAO!!!! Well I bet since your alot better lookin now, you'll pick up all the customers..;)

Think it was yardman that said "well you'll get quotes for half the price. You may even get quotes for 1/4 of the price, but you'll get 1/2 the quality.."

Jus tell em you'll rip thier head off if they dont sign the dotted line bobby...:eek: :D

Seriously though, Like anything else, people will get what they pay for........
 
#5 ·
the whole block! damn. sorry to hear that. i lost one last year after he asked me to lower my fee cus he was getting flyers with cheaper quotes on them. i said nope! saw him in the fall as i drove by, he was out there push mowing it himself. screw em.
 
#7 ·
I don't want customers that are only concerned with buying on price alone, I want customers who are buying on quality and consistency of service. I have clients that wouldn't drop me if someone offered the same service at half the price. My services are time tested, who knows what the new guy is going to do. The proof is in the pudding!
 
#9 ·
Originally posted by DUSTYCEDAR
I'm not holding a grudge or anything
i am just a little pissed i made these toilettes nice and now the new guy just has to float he cant screw them up
If a customer I had busted my butt for makin his place look awsome was to pull something like that, I would be knockin on his door that day for an explanation....

If he told me cause these guys are cheaper. I would simply say "Do you think for one minute that these guys are going to treat your lawn the way I did for the price they are going to charge?" "Do you honestly think that your yard will look the way it does now at the end of this year"

"If you have any problems with them, give me a call." "Good Luck"

I try not to burn any bridges. 9 times out of 10, you can let this new company dig a hole for themselves, and pick the customer right back up. He will more than likely be a loyal customer after that.
 
#10 ·
Originally posted by DUSTYCEDAR
I'm not holding a grudge or anything
i am just a little pissed i made these toilettes nice and now the new guy just has to float he cant screw them up
I've had that happen to me in the past. You spend an entire season getting a lawn looking perfect, then the customer dumps you for a lowball operator charging half your rates. Six months later when the lawn is ragged out again, the customer calls and asks you to start them up again. I tell those types of customers I'm not interested in cleaning up a mess created by another LCO. I tell them I want a 50% increase in price from the rate I charged before. If they don't accept, I hang up the phone.
 
#12 ·
yes, the mullet. you see, i never knew i HAD A MULLET. in fact, i never even heard that term. then, u guys said i had a mullet. so, i went to the haircutting place, where alot of pretty young chics work, and i asked them, "ladies, is this a mullet?" and they all said, "yup, it sure is." so i said, "are mullets cool?" and they said, "well, we think you're cool, but the mullet is not." so i said, "cut it off."
 
#14 ·
Bobby. You should check out the site Mulletsgalore.com. If you click on the "O" of mullet of the day there are some funny pics.
 
#15 ·
I put in a bid for a school district a couple of weeks ago and they had 5 bids, 4 of us were sitting there when they read the bids, 4 bids were all within a $1000 of the highest bid and mister lowballer was sitting there when they read his bid that was $6500 lower then the lowest bid we all got up glared at him and laughed I told him you will be broke by the end of summer.What a jerk. Oh well I guess we have to live with it and move on I guess.
 
#16 ·
it is amazing when we see these super low bids. He's got to be paying taxes because most all businesses/commercial accts issue 1099's. Right off the top he's got 13% for social security plus all the other taxes and expenses...man I'll never understand these guys. And btw, not all of these lowballers are here today and gone next year.There are 2 med sized companies in my area who are lowballers and they've been around for at least 5 years. I guess they live under a bridge at night so they dont have the expenses the rest of us do

after just finsishing all my accounting summaries for 2003, I'll have NO problem sticking to my guns on adequate prices. We have so many more expenses than Paul the Plumber or other blue collar service guys.
 
#17 ·
Thats great that you were able to sell your services even at a higher price.

I am noticing more and more that customers are getting tired of hiring the lowest bidders and then having to replace them yearly. I think more and more people would rather have a professional come in who is dependable, than someone who is cheap and just dont care.
 
#18 ·
Originally posted by bobbygedd
yes, the mullet. you see, i never knew i HAD A MULLET. in fact, i never even heard that term. then, u guys said i had a mullet. so, i went to the haircutting place, where alot of pretty young chics work, and i asked them, "ladies, is this a mullet?" and they all said, "yup, it sure is." so i said, "are mullets cool?" and they said, "well, we think you're cool, but the mullet is not." so i said, "cut it off."
Straight from the source! I love it. You shoulda asked "what the heck have I been paying ya'll for.......sending me out of here with a mullet & I'm unaware of it??"

I saw a guy the other day, back of the hairdo must have been 24 in. long, flapping in the breeze & the front was short but plastered down with about 1.5 cans of hairspray. All dolled up he was, wearing one of those full length western style leather top coats & smelling up the place also wearing what I'd guess was about 1/2 bottle of cheap cologne. This guy would have definitely scored high on the mullet web site.
 
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