What's your minimum?

[Toddppm]

What is your minimum charge to do a tree job like a trim or removal considering you will need at least 2 people with a truck and tools? Hauling or not , even if a 30 min. job for somone who is not a past customer, just calls from an ad. I say 2 people just to be safe, I won't do any climbing alone anymore and don't expect an employee to do it.
Depending on the time of year we try to get at least $300-400. I will go out and do stumpgrinding and even remove a tree if I can cut it down from the ground and throw it in a pickup by myself for less.
We apply the same minimum for landscape work too. Been doing a whole lot less running around since I started this and I think it's been worth it?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

It's been around four years since I did any bidding, but we would have a $60 minimum for a two man crew to show up on anything. These were the little shrub jobs or crab apple in the front yard type that you can pick up at the end of a day or the one guy can bust out while others are raking.

In jun I usualy did 9k in $150 or less shrub work. Revolving accounts that I would just call up and say I'm comming to do it.

 

[sonny]

I always figured that was the only way to do it . state your minninum first for new clients.Not saying we had a minninum.But you have to figure out how much it cost to get the crew out there.If your paying your men by the hr. You have always payed the at least a 1/2 hr. before they leave the yard.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Yup and you have to cover the drive time between jobs. Had a lot of jobs that it took more time to get to then to do the actual work.

You can still cet to alomst anywhere in the count in 20 min. I could make it to the Maas estate in under 40 on a work day.

 

[coydog]

I charge a fifty dollar minimum for things I can do myself. I never climb alone but I'll do easy climbing jobs solo if the homeowner is competent and keeps an eye on me. I've been charging a 100 dollar minimum to fell a tree if there is a potential to do damage. If I need a helper it's generally a 150 minimum. The easy fifty or one hundred dollar jobs can add up really fast. I wish I had enough of those that thats all I had to do.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I would say keep your minumum as low as possible, maybe $75.
Once you get on the lot there are almost always more things that need doing, and you can sell some more work.

 

[sgreanbeans]

we have a 200 minimum, we have droped below from time to time for freinds and family. the way i figure it, im not gonna put myself at risk , no matter how small the job, for any thing less than 200. this way atleast i can cover the cost of stitches if i were to need them!

 

[DDM]

My Bucket wont Roll out of the Yard for less than 250.00 But if im already in the Neighbor hood i'll pull down a limb or 2 for 100.00. If its something i can drive a pickup to and dont have to climb 75.00.
I wont fell any tree for less than 100.00
My deductable is 500.00 and Murphy"s Law always applies sooner or later.

 

[Treeman14]

Officially, our minimum is $160. But I'll go below that if we're in the neighborhood anyway or if they can wait and do the job as a fill-in. We often get neighbors of customers who just want a limb or two cut, or they have a few sticks to throw in the chipper. I've done stuff like that for $10 or $20. Lunch money for the crew.

 

[DDM]

Todd? whats your minimum to show up with a lawn mower?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I just figured it went without saying that when going bare minimum you state that it will be done at your convieniance before a given date, when your in the area without a call ahead.

Then if your right next door and the neighbor wants to dicker down a little while the crew is cleaning up you do the cash job to by a mess of tacos or help cover the new guys parking ticket, but don't you guys do this without telling me about it.

 

[Toddppm]

Originally posted by DDM
Todd? whats your minimum to show up with a lawn mower?

$1050 for the season

When I started out I would run all over the place to do a $150 joband sometimes even less. Cost money just to go give the estimate too. I still don't understand how somone could expect you to bring equipt. and at least 2 guys for less than a couple hundred dollars ....but they do!
I guess you do lose alot of contacts you could have made , but is that the kind of people you want to contact you?
I've got no problem doing an extra job for a neighbor while we're there at all, usually it's straight gravy. Had a guy come over while we were doing a trim job the other day and gave him a price of $165 to shape 2- 30 ft. Leylands, told him it would be $350 if we had to come back , he said it was too high. Good luck to him is all I can say.

 

[DDM]

I was doing a removal a couple of weeks ago and a Neighbor asked Me how much to remove a bradford pear it was about 12" DBH and that tells you about how tall it was. I told her 150.00
as i was finishing the other removal she came back and offered me 75.00 i told her i'd remove it for 100.00 while i was there but no less she told me she would think about it. 2 days later she called me
told me to cut it down i told her okay 175.00 she was apolled. I told her 100.00 was while i was there that day!
she told me she'd have he son inlaw cut it down. I wonder how many Trips to the dump he had to make? Of course the tree wouldnt have taken 45 min to Drop and chip but its the principle you know!
Todd, Still havent found a rock yet LOL

 

[underwor]

Saw an ad in a local paper for a lawn care service that I am sure is short lived. Said their bid is guaranteed to be 15% below any other.

Bob Underwood

 

[DDM]

Ive Heard that Deal Bob They just never show up to do the work!
Theres No money in a 35.00 Lawn Much
Less a 29.75 Lawn.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Having a couple 25 min shear for shape can round your day out.Then you pick up the neighbor, you have 150, then the other you got 275. These are revolving accounts that you can set up so you go back every year. A crab apple you're thinning the sprouts out of every year because it was butched five years ago.

I've always seen it as building a client base. And as Mike said you can always recomend more. Sorta like getting your foot in the door.

I have one guy I just do $100 every spring, then I stop. Little her, little there.... Climb the two catalpa and do one or two branches...Oh that's my next door neighbor

 

[Jumper]

$$$$

Nearest I can figure, our company charges a minimum of C$125 for two people, and chipper. Some of these small jobs take a half hour or so. As for pruning we do a lot of condos, and I have seen the charge as low as C$55, but then we were already there, and there were alot more expensive jobs in the immediate area.

 

[ArborView]

I've gone down as low as $30. If I get a lot of calls for tiny jobs, I'll schedule them all at once, and bang them all out in one day. A lot of them are just remove a couple of limbs, only need a pole saw, don't even have to climb. A lot of times they call back for something else and if they're little jobs they often pay cash. Works for me but I'm a small operation.