Think I was High? (Priced that is)

[limbwalker54]

So.....got a client who is a contractor, refers me to everyone.

One of his good friends wanted a White Pine pruned away from his house, and a few limbs elevated. He also wanted a Norway Spruce pruned off the house, about six limbs at the 30 foot level. Then he wanted me to line clearance prune the house drop on a White Pine to the right of the house, then remove one limb from a hemlock in the back. All told it was supposed to be one of those....ok do it he will pay what you charge deals.....

Told him 700 to prune the White Pine as I would have the most time in this one, he wanted a price on removal as well but decided just to do the trim. When i gave him the removal price of 1500, he asked for a price on the other three trees (Norway, Other White Pine and Hemlock) and I told him another 700 for me to do that. So all told with him going with all of the pruning I charged him 1200. Nothing was major, but it was still about 5.5 hours worth of work in a very, very rich area where most people care about who works on their trees.

Was 1200 bucks for an afternoon worth of work a fair charge? Oh and we chipped a big pile of brush to the left of the house that he left all tangled up cause he had tried to trim these trees himself.....have pics of the ladder to prove it....

 

[limbwalker54]

To add, the guy who thought it was high was the client, not the contractor
The contractor was relaying this to me via text message as he knows the client well and actually is friends with him. He was trying to justify the price to the guy for me.

 

[deevo]

So.....got a client who is a contractor, refers me to everyone.

One of his good friends wanted a White Pine pruned away from his house, and a few limbs elevated. He also wanted a Norway Spruce pruned off the house, about six limbs at the 30 foot level. Then he wanted me to line clearance prune the house drop on a White Pine to the right of the house, then remove one limb from a hemlock in the back. All told it was supposed to be one of those....ok do it he will pay what you charge deals.....

Told him 700 to prune the White Pine as I would have the most time in this one, he wanted a price on removal as well but decided just to do the trim. When i gave him the removal price of 1500, he asked for a price on the other three trees (Norway, Other White Pine and Hemlock) and I told him another 700 for me to do that. So all told with him going with all of the pruning I charged him 1200. Nothing was major, but it was still about 5.5 hours worth of work in a very, very rich area where most people care about who works on their trees.

Was 1200 bucks for an afternoon worth of work a fair charge? Oh and we chipped a big pile of brush to the left of the house that he left all tangled up cause he had tried to trim these trees himself.....have pics of the ladder to prove it....

I think that's decent for the amount of work you did. You were within range of what I would charge

 

[limbwalker54]

Excellent

 

[jefflovstrom]

So.....got a client who is a contractor, refers me to everyone.

Was 1200 bucks for an afternoon worth of work a fair charge? Oh and we chipped a big pile of brush to the left of the house that he left all tangled up cause he had tried to trim these trees himself.....have pics of the ladder to prove it....

Seriously? You want to know from us if you did ok? Not to be mean, but that is a stupid question.
Jeff :msp_unsure:

 

[limbwalker54]

Well one thing I've learned in life is....stupid questions are the ones that aren't asked....

I was feeling like the guy thought I overcharged for the services I performed. I wanted a little confirmation that I was being fair for the market. Not asking specific pricing questions.....or hourly rates.....

I can't compete with you, Jeff.....you're in California aren't you?

 

[jefflovstrom]

Well one thing I've learned in life is....stupid questions are the ones that aren't asked....

I was feeling like the guy thought I overcharged for the services I performed. I wanted a little confirmation that I was being fair for the market. Not asking specific pricing questions.....or hourly rates.....

I can't compete with you, Jeff.....you're in California aren't you?

Yeah, The economy is different in different states. I just figured you would know the answer to your question. I mean, you know when you under charge, right?

 

[limbwalker54]

True, true. Yes, definitely know when I undercharge..... The main thing is I didn't expect the guy to question it, because I have done work before for him, and charged the same rates I always do.....

Maybe he had an off week or something.

Talked to him earlier tonight and he asked me to come back and take off two more limbs he had concerns with and I said no problem. He said everything looked great and he liked my work. So I guess everything smoothed over.....

 

[treemandan]

I am having a hard time how it could take 700 to clear a pine from the house drop. I mean how bad was it man!!!???


How many guys and what equipment?

 

[chillingfire]

True, true. Yes, definitely know when I undercharge..... The main thing is I didn't expect the guy to question it, because I have done work before for him, and charged the same rates I always do.....

Maybe he had an off week or something.

Talked to him earlier tonight and he asked me to come back and take off two more limbs he had concerns with and I said no problem. He said everything looked great and he liked my work. So I guess everything smoothed over.....

This guy was probably trying to save money that's why you felt like he questioned you about your rate. Also, you mentioned about him tried to cut off branches by himself, that's one proof of him trying to save money. Then he probably asked around after he paid you up about rates for doing your service and found out that you just gave him a fair and just rate. Maybe that's why he was okay the second time he contacted you.

 

[limbwalker54]

@ chillingfire: Yes, I think you hit the nail on the head there. He was satisfied with the result but was pinching pennies cause this house will be for sale in a couple years when he retires from being an MD full time.....

@ treemandan: The 700 bucks was for taking out a ton of weight off of the house on the left White Pine, not clearing the drop. I had a few hours in this one.....and a ton of brush. Went all through that sucker....and had the sap all over me to prove it. I told him it should be removed but he wanted us to trim over both the neighbors and his side, and thin some of the branches ( yes, thinning on a White Pine....interesting....) End result it looked pretty good and reduced the chances of breakouts over the houses in the winter months......

The rest was plug and chug....but it added up to climbing four more trees.....

 

[tree md]

Sounds like you did well. I like to get $1200 for a full day (and I consider anything over 5 hours a full day) but I am lucky to get a thousand these days. Hard to get 7 or 8 hundred for a prune anymore. I did do one for $500 on Thursday but it was a major prune for line of sight clearance for the satellite. I bid a prune for a thousand on a huge one last week. To tell the truth, I'm hoping she don't call back on that one as I feel I under bid it.

It might be a little high for the current market value but kudos to you for getting a fair price. My work is still going for about a third less than it was 3 years ago. That's what the market will yield right now.

 

[lone wolf]

So.....got a client who is a contractor, refers me to everyone.

One of his good friends wanted a White Pine pruned away from his house, and a few limbs elevated. He also wanted a Norway Spruce pruned off the house, about six limbs at the 30 foot level. Then he wanted me to line clearance prune the house drop on a White Pine to the right of the house, then remove one limb from a hemlock in the back. All told it was supposed to be one of those....ok do it he will pay what you charge deals.....

Told him 700 to prune the White Pine as I would have the most time in this one, he wanted a price on removal as well but decided just to do the trim. When i gave him the removal price of 1500, he asked for a price on the other three trees (Norway, Other White Pine and Hemlock) and I told him another 700 for me to do that. So all told with him going with all of the pruning I charged him 1200. Nothing was major, but it was still about 5.5 hours worth of work in a very, very rich area where most people care about who works on their trees.

Was 1200 bucks for an afternoon worth of work a fair charge? Oh and we chipped a big pile of brush to the left of the house that he left all tangled up cause he had tried to trim these trees himself.....have pics of the ladder to prove it....

You must be high!