consultations...............

[budroe69moni]

hey guys,
checking out local tree services as well as some websites,
i've noticed a huge difference in prices for consultations.
i've seen anywhere from 20.00 per 1/2 hour up to 100 bucks.
i myself charge 30 per 1/2 hour. what do you charge???? what
would i get for my money if i hired you???? what's the difference
between a consultation and your proposal for work??????
peace,
budroe
p.s. 1st day of spring!!!!!!!!!

 

[DDM]

You actually Have to watch out Because if your very descriptive when giving an estimate you might find that the customer is picking your brain for ideas then hire some Dolt to do the work or do it themselves ive seen it happen.

 

[Treeman14]

Most of my consultations are for hazard evaluations ("I'm worried about this big oak over my house...") or some kind of ailment ("My tree looks sick, can you tell me what's wrong with it."). I charge $40 for a basic consultation. I'll typically spend about 15 or twenty minutes at the site talking with the customer and diagnosing the tree(s). I'll provide a written report if requested. The fee is deducted from any work we do as a result of the consultation. I also do not charge a fee if I can't determine the cause of the problem. That's happened a few times.

First day of Spring??? We skipped Spring and went right to Summer. Its been in the 80's all week.

 

[sgreanbeans]

charging for consultations! hmmm!i should try that!
we went from spring to winter! woke up this mourning with half inch of snow!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Some people call the estimating prosses a consultation, some offer a separate consultation to offer a opinion that has no interest in future work.

Can every on say that if called to evaluate a hazard tree, there evaluation would not be influanced by the possible profit in the removal?

Those who offer consultation for substantial fee are usualy the ones offering the disinterested opinion. If they are acting as a Consulting Arborist and member of ASCA, they are required to be independent of potential servives. the client/customer is hiring them only for the opinion/report.

Many times it is $X/hours including travel and office time. Inspection ofetn includes arial work and root collar excavation.

Then again it could just be a walk into the back yard and tell the little onld lady that the tee is sound from a visual ground inspection and it would cost $XX to continue

 

[budroe69moni]

treeman,
i really like the idea of putting the consultation fee
towards the price of the job. ddm is right, there are
some people that try to milk you for everything you've
got then get some hack in to do the job for them. alot
of times i'll show up for a free estimate and it turns
into a consultation. if they know what they want (free
estimate) if they don't know and start asking about this
and that, right up front i'll tell them about my 30.00 per
1/2 charge. now, i'll tell them that if they need any work
done, i'll take it off the final price of the job.
budroe

 

[Treebeard]

consulting vs estimating

There's a differeance between consulting & estimating. If someone has taken the trouble to become a certified consulting arborist, thats usually all they do, consult. They don't estimate or do much actual tree work themselves anymore. The consulting arborist folks aim at doing insurance claim adjustment work ( that tree was worth X to your property value based on...." &/or court work, giving testimony to one or another side about whether we, the working arborists, should or should not have known X or done Y, whether a property owner should have noticed a dead tree was about to fall on somebody elses house, etc. The certified consulting arborist I know (and New Mexico only has 2) charges $80/hr to do up a report for clients.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

There are a few ASCA RCA's working in this area, not many. There are a good number of people that offer consultation as part of their overall buisness. Some are small, others run several crews.

I feel we as an industry need to separate the bidding prosses from consultation. I dont agree with the word estimate either, most operators work on firm bids.

I realize this will never happen, just like the guys that lament there is not standard structure to bidding. I just feel it is a gimick similar to pshycology based sales.

Not that every one who uses it is unethical, just theat there are enough that are. Maybe the differeanc is to just say "Sales Consultation".