The way it should be--

[Sunrise Guy]

I went out to bid a take-down: Large hack leaning on an apartment complex. A bit tricky. I had done work for this place before and they were cool. I quoted them $850 as it looked like it was going to take a good while. The owner calls me after I left and tells me he got another bid for $450. "Cool," I tell him, "let 'em have it! Just be sure to check their insurance." About two hours later he calls back, "When can you start? They gave me an insurance card and when I called the company they said that the guy had made the first monthly payment and then nothing for the last ten months. No coverage."

If we all just remember to play the insurance coverage option when non-pros outbid us, maybe the above scenario will play out more often and we'll get more of those middle to upper bid gigs.

A note here, I did the gig in three hours and so, nice (or too nice) guy that I am, I gave the owner a $200 break. You can bet he'll have me back for more, in the future.

 

[kevknep]

Nice job, I really liked the way you handled it. I think it is great to make sure the customer knows to verify insurance without scaring them. I once got a fairly nice job even though I bid more than another company because the previous company spent so much time emphasizing how important insurance was that they came across as not sounding confident.

Nice to hear that you cut the customer a break also. I don't think that happens too often. If you realize that you definitely way overbid the job, I think it is a great idea to cut the customer a break. That indicates a very high level of sincerity to the customer. Guarantee they will recommend you to anyone who asks.

 

[Timberhauler]

I've been playing the insurance card alot lately and it's been working well for us.

 

[diltree]

$200 break? what ay ya crazy? never cheapen your price, looks like you were not giving your best price from the start......

 

[treeseer]

Smart to check the competition is legit,:jester:

$200 break? what ay ya crazy? never cheapen your price, looks like you were not giving your best price from the start......

but I'm with dil on that one. Why not plant them a tree if you want to do something nice? wtf are they going to do with that $200, give it to their tenants? Sherrr...:monkey:

 

[bendtrees]

Great job,

I totally support kickin back a break on some jobs depending on the customers. Obviously, never for a PITA. Some jobs have so many contingencies and variables that we bid high to avoid getting burnt. Our market is small enough that the trust factor pays off more than the extra $200. That being said, I probably would have only nocked off $100. Gotta have a cushion bank for the bad ones.
nice work

 

[TimberMcPherson]

I give people a break if Im way under. It can go a long way in the longterm in insuring people come away from the deal feeling that they got a good deal and that your good value for money. They remember this as in this life it doesnt happen very often! the 200 you give back is a small investment a long term client and someone who is more likely to tell there friends that your reasonable and fair.

I have a network of clients that I got through a landscaping mate. I price high with them, and tell them Im doing so as often the jobs are a little tricky. Then I cut them a break if we are under (which we often are). They have given me 2 weeks worth of work in the last year. (which for me is alot) Alot just ask me to come do the work and charge when Im done. Trust invested in, and showing a great return.

 

[Beast12]

I've been playing the insurance card alot lately and it's been working well for us.

I have been doing the same thing recently. EVERY job we quote (unless is is something minor like a chipping job or a stump) we have been showing the "potential" customers our insurance papers as well as our WSIB forms.

It will help seperate us from the "hacks" and weekend warriors.

My Dad has been doing this for almost 30 years and has been asked to see proof of insurance less than 10 times. That's crazy!

-Matt

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I too will tell the prospective customer to get a Cert. , but I tell them to get it from the broker/agent not from the practitoner.

Showing the paper does not mean that the paper is current, I have mine mailed out from the broker. Their number is on my speed-dial so it can be faxed or mailed.

I see no reason for giving back some money as a token of good will. They may have seen you out there for a short period of time and then take it poorly if it looks like they are getting taken.

"It went better then my worst case estimate, so I'll drop the price."

I PO'ed a neighbor of my parents once. He had a bunch of arbs that he wanted down and dragged to the street. I offered an hourly rate, he wanted a bid. I said $150 because I migh have had to top some of them out. Turned out that they went over without any problems and I was there for 1.25hrs. I still wanted the full bid price and he could not understand why I would charge the full amount.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

As I said, and as some might have missed, the client for whom I cut the break has used me before and will use me again. He is a big investor in fix-up and flip apartment complexes and my good-faith refund will return to me the sum I gave up many, many times over in the future. I don't say that anyone else should do the same, it's just a tactic that felt right for me in this specific case.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

$200 break? what ay ya crazy? never cheapen your price, looks like you were not giving your best price from the start......

When I quoted the original $850, I was thinking that the job would take about six hours, as the tree was hung up in a second floor gutter of the building. As I worked it from the roof, a flat-rolled easy platform to stand on, I was able to carefully disengage the limbs and the whole tree slid down to the driveway in one piece. I started at 9AM and was done and loaded by Noon. If you feel cool charging $850 for three hours, that's fine. I didn't feel good about it, I actually like the client and my company has taken him to dinner, and so I cut him the break. Crazy? That's your take on it, while I see it as making very good business sense.