What is your largest $ Tip received and how often?

[MattB]

I charge $60 an hour for most work. 8 hr days come out to $480. I get checks written out for $500 fairly frequently.

A couple weeks ago a $900 job was paid with a $1000 check. The job went longer than estimated and I think the home owner appreciated that I bid low to start with. I also had to make nice with one of the neighbors. My client said he had checked in with them about pruning back to the property line. He had checked in with the husband but the wife was pissed!!!

"Yes Mame. I'm sorry Mame. It won't happen again Mame."

 

[highpointtree]

one job we got $20.00 per man and thats fine, but what I like is the question the lady asked. It gave me a good laugh.. she asked if there was some kind of mental proficiency test you had to FAIL to become a climber. just watching got her dizzy.

 

[ozzy42]

I used to climb a lot in the really cold weather in this old sweatshirt that had holes everywhere. I got tips nearly 50 percent of the time. Wife finally threw out the sweatshirt, and there went the tips. I still miss them both. (The shirt and the tips)

I think you should be on the lookout for a NEW old sweatshirt.LOL

 

[pdqdl]

They don't tip tree services much out here.

My only tip ever was $300.00. Giant cottonwood for $1800, I thought I could do it from my bucket truck. I was wrong. That huge tree dwarfed the back yard, and I underestimated the size of everything there. The lady told me that Asplundh took 3 crews (and 3 climbers in shifts) and one whole day just to get the single lead over the power lines. I think she felt sorry for my pitiful underbid.

I got a $1000.00 referral fee once. I was too busy to pick up a really nice contract, so I referred it to a competitor. They told me that they were impressed with our work and told us to give them a quote to do the work. Regretfully, I was swamped. At the end of the season, he gave me one grand.

They fired him the next year...I wonder why?

 

[treeslayer]

so I call a HO today, (an older guy, big fancy brick house in a great neighborhood), that I bid on 5 dead oaks last week, and tell him I will knock $200 off the bid, as I need some dry wood to sell for some wood orders, and I'm hurting for work.

He calls back an hour later, says come on. what the heck, 15 deg, windy and snowing, drop 5 trees??????????

I go over, he says run my saw will ya, its been sitting all year. a brand new 361, sharp as can be. I flop 3, set ropes for 2, and BAM. bucked, done and gone in less than 2 hours.
he paid full price. $200 tip, and 8-10 face cords of super dry oak on the ground where we can back up to it tomorrow.
and the kicker? He's the president of the HO association, got me a dead oak job on either side of his house, and there are almost a dozen houses in this neighborhood (behind mine, 5 min. away) with pine beetle ravaged yards. easily70-80 dead pines in this hood. little 50-60 footers, and WOW, did I not discount the right guy?

I'm happy to be working, albeit cheaply right now, but not many are, up here.

The moral? do the right HO right, and reap the rewards.
I'll get that saw, too...........

 

[RAG66]

tips

I got one for $200.00 in late June '09. I'm amazed because I under bid the job by quite a bit. I was not making production the way I usualy do. The temps were in the high 80*-to mid 90*. That is pretty high for Wa. The customer did not say anything about the job or our work totaling 5 days on his property. Then when we got ready to leave, we exchanged paper work, and he says "Hey you did one heck of a job, here is somthing for you." I just about fell over. I have not had that kind of treatment ever! It really made me feel good. The cool thing was my ground guy had been with me 3 yrs. and I gave him $100.00 of it. Then he just about fell over.

 

[Pruning Artist]

I get a lot of tips, mostly cause I bid so low right now........

I get tips 1 of 3 jobs & have felt this must be the reason . I hate it when they hear the bid & say OK without blinking an eye .
Got any advice / resources to help biding . I have no desire to be the " cheapest tree service ". I prefer the best possible work for the most reasonable price .

 

[Mikecutstrees]

I get tips 1 of 3 jobs & have felt this must be the reason . I hate it when they hear the bid & say OK without blinking an eye .
Got any advice / resources to help biding . I have no desire to be the " cheapest tree service ". I prefer the best possible work for the most reasonable price .

It takes practice. Keep notes. Take a measurement with a diameter tape. Make sure to note weaher the tree can be flopped, cut and toss, rigged or is more complicated. On prunes take careful note of how much access. Also factor in distance to dump. # of trips and # of men. Don't just throw a number at it. Make up an estimate form with boxes to fill in so you don't miss anything. Tag all trees to be removed or pruned with different colors of flagging tape. You will get better..... good luck..... Mike

 

[custom8726]

We get tips pretty often, Not huge tips but a $20 or $50 on the regular. Although its not rare to get a 100 doller bill either. The biggest tip We ever got was 1k on a 3,600.00 dollar job. We were there 2 days and the other two bids the home owner got were for 4,500.00 and 5k. The home owner was well off and appreciated our professionalism and attention to detail (His Words).. I will say the lesser income houses and or blue collar working home owner's are in general more appreciative of our hard work and offer a tip or simply just some hospitality (Coffee or water) more often then the wealthier (500k & up) houses.

 

[tree md]

Got a $300 tip about three years ago (grossly underbid job) and got a $100 tip about a year ago for cleaning up a tree that had fell though a fence and onto a neighbors property. Client paid for the job and the neighbor tipped us.

However, I consider it a fault when I do get a tip. I pride myself on bidding things tight and if I receive a tip it means I misread what the client was willing to pay for the job...

 

[custom8726]

Got a $300 tip about three years ago (grossly underbid job) and got a $100 tip about a year ago for cleaning up a tree that had fell though a fence and onto a neighbors property. Client paid for the job and the neighbor tipped us.

However, I consider it a fault when I do get a tip. I pride myself on bidding things tight and if I receive a tip it means I misread what the client was willing to pay for the job...

Thats one way to look at it, and many times correct I would think? On the other hand if I hire some one to work on my house and/or rental properties and I feel they went above and beyond what I expected, I am happy to throw them some extra cash to show my appreciation. I think with my tree company it's the same concept most of the time, it's the detail's in life that make the differance IMHO.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Not often. But generally $20 or so. Something monthly usually.

Biggest was around $120.

 

[JCONN]

We usually get around 20 or so. I get a lot of ho's that have coffee, water, all sorts of drinks, then get us lunch sometimes pizza. Once had a lady make like 4lbs of lasagna for two of us and wrapped up the leftovers. Had a huge cottonwood job that took 3 days, first day was hots and hamburgers, second was bbq ribs and chicken, third was shrimp and lobster tails no buddy wanted to leave that job site.

 

[familytreeman]

What is your largest $ Tip received and how often?:deadhorse::jester:
that sounds kinda g*y

 

[dieselcutter]

Thread rerailer

Tip that stands for Tie in point right!:greenchainsaw:
I've got one tip last year it was $40 on a 460 job. I didn't even think of getting a tip from the customer before.
I always got it from the tree!!! Make sure the are good they have a tendency to bounce!!!!!!!!!:yourock: