Charging for estimates.

[CLEARVIEW TREE]

Chg For Proposals?

Not a good idea to charge for the estimates. Sure i feel the pain and even know a pigeon toed guy who gets like 60 bucks to show up for ac work and doesnt know what a proposal is! If you do what you say when you say and you make em happy youll get the job and just figure it in, but be fair too. You can do darn great work but piss the customer off with an ungodly rate and you know what happens next. Just know your costs and you'll know your rates! opcorn:

 

[Slvrmple72]

I keep my operation small and use customers for referrals to keep me busy. I give them anywhere from 5 to 10 cards and I put their initials on the back or tell them to. They give them to a friend or family member and I send a "Thank You" for the referral(s) when I get more work that is a result of their recommendation. A gift card from 50 to 200 bucks with a thank you card really lets your customers know how important they are to your business and I certainly like not having to "chase my tail" dealing with phonebook or newspaper price shoppers. I have even given rough estimates over the phone based on several questions critical to the tree being considered for removal. This works out fairly well if the job is out of my area but still worth considering. I had one computer savy lady send me pics and I was able to e-mail her an estimate! She said I significantly changed her opinion/view of tree work and she took about 15 of my cards. I have gotten 16 customers from her referral. My "customer tree" is growing and I am thankful for the connections I have made and the friendships that have developed.

 

[treemandan]

I think the next insurance job I look at I will ask for the ins co's info and send it directly to them. Talk about a waste of time!? I will charge the ins co for the quote( no estimate) and if they won't pay screw it.