Solving the multiple-bidders conundrum

[tree MDS]

Ekka`s right!! some bum will tell the H.O he`ll knock off $50 from the scope of work bid on by so n so! he`ll get the work order & the knowledge of what needs done, he`ll get an idea of competitor pricing and whalla......he gets the job.

just charge them a flat fee & tell them for extra you`ll inspect the work to see that it has been done to proper standard!


LXT..........

Thats why I dread being the first guy! I just know thats what happened, even if the MDS charm was workin that day it all still comes down to $ for at least 40% of these people, lets face it.

 

[arbor pro]

Actually, I always try to be the first guy to meet with the client. It gives me the chance to dazzle them with my brochure and talk about my experience in the field. I sell my abilities not my price. Period. And, if I can't seal the deal by the time I leave, I know I'm not getting the job. Most of the time I get the job though (and I'm by no means the cheapest in my area).

Most service industry experts who teach a variety of bidding techniques will concur that, if you land more than 20% of your bids, you're bidding too low. I personally hate to lose a job for any reason but, you should expect to lose a percentage of bids to other contractors. Its how free market competition works. I started raising my prices because I was landing more work than I could keep up with and I didn't want to expand my business. As a result, the higher price didn't make all that much of a difference. I still get plenty of work (because I'm good at sales and get lots of referrals) but now I make more money than before so all is good...

Think about the kind of people whom you hire to do work for you. Do you always go for the crappy service people with no personality, intellect nor experience just because they're the cheapest or do you go with whomever you think is going to do a good job for a reasonable price? Price is only part of the equation. Reputation, experience, professionalism and a host of other qualities are all necessary for success in this or any other trade.

 

[appalachianarbo]

If the client is unsure of what work is needed then you will visit the site and develop a list of work for the consulting fee of $XXX. Then the client can get multiple bids on a fixed list of work.

Sounds like the best course of action for you and the homeowner...

 

[tree MDS]

Get real

Get real! if some old dude calls me up and says he wants me to look his trees and see what I would reccomend - I'm not gonna just say yeah its gonna cost ya! consultation fees?...you better be REAL good in my market! - and yes alot of rich F#$#$ here. But people aint stupid. That being said, there is a SUPER rich market here indeed, one that I havent gotten into just yet... so I guess I'm still learning, lol. Truth of it I dont know if I really want to, alot of headaches as well as dough.

 

[appalachianarbo]

consultation fees?...you better be REAL good in my market! - and yes alot of rich F#$#$ here. But people aint stupid. That being said, there is a SUPER rich market here indeed, one that I havent gotten into just yet...

There's already been a lot of discussion on this, but I believe you're selling yourself, your experience, and your knowledge short if you don't charge. That is, unless you're just a "removal specialist" who is just going to say that every tree should come down. Please don't charge (or bother consulting) if you are that guy.

I routinely charge for consultations - which is different than a free estimate (which I also provide). I have had one potential client balk at paying a consultation fee. One. From talking to him, he was the same sort of customer as in the original post. I didn't want him as a client.

 

[juststumps]

i hate price shoppers !!!!!

went to look at a job. on the way in, a buddy stops me : "are you going to so and so's house ?" YUP "he's cheap" OK

meet the guy ( now known as jack a$$)

JA shows me the yard, 10stumps 12-24" cut flush to the ground,, 2 30-36" next to the in ground pool.. have to screen those two..all the stumps have been there for a while... i usually get $100 per hr. i know, JA is cheap, so i figure 5 to 6 hrs, no clean up... throw out a number,,, $400, you clean up the mess.... FIRST THING OUT OF JA"S MOUTH,, "that seems a little high to me!!!!" (high compared to what ?????) first time he had ever heard of stump grimding, was when i left a sign at the end of his road...

next thing JA says, "what if i get the nieghbors on board" (on board what)( my buddy has stumps to come out when he is ready, but not right then)

tell JA , no , its a time thing. give him a biz card and a fridge magnet, let me know,,, leave...

fast forward 3 months later....

i do my buddy's stumps across the street from JA !! if i had a crystal ball, i couldn't predict the phone call i was going to get,, any better than i did !!!

JA: " hi , i saw you working across the street, can i get an estimate on getting some stumps ground out?" i didn't call back... then he called again...

JA didn't have a clue, i was the same guy... and frankly, i really don't need the money that badly... and i don't really like wasting my time dealing with people like him... ( i was temped to go out there, and throw $1,000 number out, just to F with him, and hear the story about the $400 bid he got over the summer,and call him an idiot for not taking it,, but i have better things to do.)

 

[nitromusky]

I went on a bid the other day,while talking to the customer she said she had two other bids. Both were lower . Well I explained to her why I was higher. I asked are the other ones insured ,I said I was. Then I told her I could not send a climber up a dead hollow limb . Large maple with 20 to30 foot spread in the crown . So a bucket was needed. She looked at me and said thanys for explaining and gave me the job.I agree it sucks when you find out others are bidding but like everone says make sure all are on the same page.

 

[Slvrmple72]

Experience sells, wisdom seals the deal! My prices will not be talked down and the customer will be told by me what the best care for their trees will be not what they think ought to be done because they have a price from the local hack for that work already rolling around in their hollow head.

Takedowns are cheap but removals will cost you. If I do a takedown and you call me later after you realize how much flippin work "removaling" that mess is it will be $500 more on top of what I gave you a printed quote/estimate for said same removal.
HO: "What!!! That's $2300! You said 1800! It says so on your estimate! I am not gonna pay that much!"
Me: "You see the information at the bottom of the quote/estimate form I gave you?" ( The same one I review with every customer just some people never learn to listen much less read )
HO: "Yes, but..."
Me: "When you are done considering your options let me know. Now if you will excuse me I am very busy. Good bye."

 

[Ekka]

Yes the bids that phone and it goes like this, "oh, I'm not sure what needs doing but the tree certainly needs something, I was thinking about a good prune, you do free bids dont you?"

"oh, that's not what I had in mind and I took Charlie the Chomp, he was much cheaper"

If clients want advice, then they need to ...

Check credentials of the person giving it because there's lots of this around. :monkey:

 

[Jlarnard]

To those who defend topping.
Are you sure topping should be allowed?
Sad picture, but thanks for sharing them.

 

[tree MDS]

Looks like the "wood stays" on that job.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

"Hello. I'm calling/e-mailing you to have you come out and bid a tree job for me. I have a number of trees and I don't know what needs to be done with them. I'm having four other companies come out to tell me what they think needs to be done and to bid this job

Thank you for contacting my company, we are a quality based tree company, not low cost. If you need assistance in determining what is needed we can provide consulting to assist you in forming bid specifications.

We happily give when there is a given task for a given plant. In this case we can bid in a competitive fashion. "Trim tree" is so subjective that supposedly competitive bids will be dissimilar in price and scope, with the low bid often being injurious to the tree.

I winged it here, but that was the gist of my response to the few I have gotten.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Just tell them you can hear there trees calling out over the phone, calling the owner a tight ass.

Better get used to it guys, the economy may be biting for a while.

 

[lxt]

Just tell them you can hear there trees calling out over the phone, calling the owner a tight ass.

Better get used to it guys, the economy may be biting for a while.

LOL!! I had a guy today say.....hmm could you do me a favor? well sure I can for a fee!! as if me taking down 4 big dead ugly ailanthus trees wasnt bad enough.....that not one other company in my area would even give him a bid....except stupid me!! But I did get some more work from it & charged him real good!!

+1 on the economy thing, gas came down 10cents in an hour in my area, right after I filled up at the higher price


LXT..............

 

[Sunrise Guy]

That topping pic made me physically ill, literally. I don't understand how anyone can do that or allow that to be done to their trees.

 

[treemandan]

That topping pic made me physically ill, literally. I don't understand how anyone can do that or allow that to be done to their trees.

When I first read that I thought you were just being a little priisy arborist. Then I saw the pics... yeouch!

 

[OLD CHIPMONK]

Write up an evaluation of what needs to be done ! Write it "as in your oppinion the following work is neccessary ", Bla! Bla! Bla!.... Retain a copy of the written estimate. Include your Bid Amount for the work! Bill them $125.00 for your expertise ! Make it known to the client that you will lower your bill by 50% if you do the work ! When they don't pay take them to small claims court ! You"ll win 95% of the time ! Tried & proven method when they ask for your oppinion !!!!!!!

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Write up an evaluation of what needs to be done ! Write it "as in your oppinion the following work is neccessary ", Bla! Bla! Bla!.... Retain a copy of the written estimate. Include your Bid Amount for the work! Bill them $125.00 for your expertise ! Make it known to the client that you will lower your bill by 50% if you do the work ! When they don't pay take them to small claims court ! You"ll win 95% of the time ! Tried & proven method when they ask for your oppinion !!!!!!!

Man, I'd like to have access to your court system. In any other court, you would lose 100% of the time if you're "sliding" a bill for your opinion in without prior agreement. If I'm going to consult on what needs to be done at a given site, I get a signed bid for my consultation fee before I write up my report. If anyone was stupid enough to stiff me, then I would prevail in court. Maybe I'm not understanding what you're advising, above. It sounds like you're saying to go out to a site where someone has asked you for an opinion, go ahead and give them the opinion along with how much you would do the job for, and then surprise the potential client with a bill for $125, for your opinion. Then are you saying that they will only owe you $62.50 for your opinion if you do the gig, or that you will undercut your own bid by 50% if you do the job!!!!???? If you were just kidding around, cool. If you're serious------Phew!!!

 

[Climbing Cutter]

I absolutely hate showing up for an estimate only to see that the homeowner has also scheduled xxxxxx tree service to be there at the same time. Usually i just keep driving. Sometimes tree guys just happen to show up at the same time, but its a different story when the HO has scheduled both to be there at the same time as a ploy to get a cheaper price. Those types are usually the very worst price shoppers .

 

[mckeetree]

Man, I'd like to have access to your court system. In any other court, you would lose 100% of the time if you're "sliding" a bill for your opinion in without prior agreement. If I'm going to consult on what needs to be done at a given site, I get a signed bid for my consultation fee before I write up my report. If anyone was stupid enough to stiff me, then I would prevail in court. Maybe I'm not understanding what you're advising, above. It sounds like you're saying to go out to a site where someone has asked you for an opinion, go ahead and give them the opinion along with how much you would do the job for, and then surprise the potential client with a bill for $125, for your opinion. Then are you saying that they will only owe you $62.50 for your opinion if you do the gig, or that you will undercut your own bid by 50% if you do the job!!!!???? If you were just kidding around, cool. If you're serious------Phew!!!

He is not kidding around. Lots of companies do that. I think my old boss at Park Cities Tree Service originated it back in the sixties. But I think you invented the word "gig".