What would you quote this job at? (2 "removals")

[urbanlogger52]

I climbed and topped trees for 25 cents when I was 12-13 years old.I am still climbing at 58 years old. My worst accident was in Construction where I did not walk for 2.5 years after. I went back to trees and ok since. You did mention you had to charge so much because of the danger. Yet it seems trees have done us well. I hardly ever bid anymore so there is no rush when you get paid by the hour and no time spent chaising down estimates for which ya never get paid for doing. NOW the person who figures how to charge for an estimate will do us all a favor.

 

[BC WetCoast]

I climbed and topped trees for 25 cents when I was 12-13 years old.I am still climbing at 58 years old. My worst accident was in Construction where I did not walk for 2.5 years after. I went back to trees and ok since. You did mention you had to charge so much because of the danger. Yet it seems trees have done us well. I hardly ever bid anymore so there is no rush when you get paid by the hour and no time spent chaising down estimates for which ya never get paid for doing. NOW the person who figures how to charge for an estimate will do us all a favor.

Unfortunately not all of us can live in the idyllic setting of the Comox Valley, where the biggest traffic jam is at the Tim Horton's drive thru near the Air Force base, and the clientele is rich retirees from the rest of Canada.

Try brining the 'we don't do estimates' approach to the Big Smoke (where there are 75 tree companies listed in the Yellow Pages of just one suburb) and you will quickly find yourself in the EI line. Our company has a great rep, and we are scratching and clawing for any kind of work right now.

 

[urbanlogger52]

Hey BC thats a good one. We are hit here also down 38% last year. but will survive. ANd yes it gets bad at Timmies. in fact comox is trying to ban drive throughs now cause of the traffic problems it creats at peak times. Small towm has good and bad points.Here there are so many laid off loggers trying to keep their places doing the simple jobs for cheap. But we would do the same for our famlies . Hope Van pics up soon

 

[jefflovstrom]

Here is my last post on this topic. Do any of you wonder how Componies like Davey and Asphlund can grow as they have. Send a crew and truck to your area and put them up in a hotel and still get work???? We make it easy for them. Fall 2 trees for 300-400 and they come in and do it with clean up for less next time . Makes them look like gods.The bigger they get the better their buying power becomes for Equipment. THe lower their Unit costs become. Sit in on a utility arborists event at a local ISA conference sometime and listen. They are business men intrested BUSINESS.Now componies like Bartlette and Save a tree are growing using similar methods. THis will be the future of tree service unless independants learn how to get in on the bottom line. Many of our municipal and commercial customers I have had over 20 years . My company has grown and our rates have gone up without any questions .Now the municipalaties do try others when we are busy but I hear all about it later . They shoot themselves in the foot. We still have our customers
Now I do alot of business by email the email us the location and maby a pic. I reply with an expected date for work to be done. NO ESTIMATE. I bill when work done. If I see something else that needs to be done at that site I do it and include it on the bill. Do any of you like doing Estimates??? They really are a waste of time.build a name so you don't have to .Local conditions may affect your prices. Know what your cost of work is. Add a profit margin and get to work. Build a business not an oppertunity for others. ENough said if you don't get this I give up

:monkey: Thought you said this was your last post on this topic. You got a big ego and dont realize who is here. I am here and you sound like you are something, hmm, Think before you post, You are not the only one thats been around, I am operations manager of a preferred company so dont think you will be blowing your crap up my ass, I started climbing in 1977 and am certified also.
Jeff Lovstrom

 

[treeslayer]

:monkey: You got a big ego and dont realize who is here
Jeff Lovstrom

opcorn:opcorn:

Go Jeff.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Me going!
Jeff

 

[jefflovstrom]

Are you eating popcorn Dave? Waiting?
Jeff

 

[urbanlogger52]

I know who I am . A 58 year old man losing my hair with a bum leg . I am 100% shure at least 85% of you here should be able to whip my ass climbing. I walk slow caus when they put my leg back it's not straight so I go easy on it. THat having been said I would still have bid the job 1-2 hours @135?hr +tax. Charged a one hr. Min if I got it done in the 20-25 minutes it looked like it would take.and moved on to the next job. Sharpen your pencels and remeber GM. It's a tough economy out there. If you are swamped with work bid high if you like then if you don't get the bid it's ok but if you have a mortgage payment and need to put food on the table bid to get the work. OK I am bent over waiting for the shots .

 

[ropensaddle]

I know who I am . A 58 year old man losing my hair with a bum leg . I am 100% shure at least 85% of you here should be able to whip my ass climbing. I walk slow caus when they put my leg back it's not straight so I go easy on it. THat having been said I would still have bid the job 1-2 hours @135?hr +tax. Charged a one hr. Min if I got it done in the 20-25 minutes it looked like it would take.and moved on to the next job. Sharpen your pencels and remeber GM. It's a tough economy out there. If you are swamped with work bid high if you like then if you don't get the bid it's ok but if you have a mortgage payment and need to put food on the table bid to get the work. OK I am bent over waiting for the shots .

Bid one tree for 1500.00 today and got it!

 

[urbanlogger52]

I am glad fo you rope. Here is Something to think about. You Have a good Name and I am shure your Company is well known and Established. I am 99% shure at $1500.00 it was not a simple 1 to fall and one to chunk down only. You probally had the job before you bid as you were known to them or recommended. THe price was formality. True os false? WHen you are starting out you need to work to build your name and company. Help the guy to work is that fair enough. I also do lots of single removals over $1000.00 BUt that was not the info requested True????

 

[ropensaddle]

I am glad fo you rope. Here is Something to think about. You Have a good Name and I am shure your Company is well known and Established. I am 99% shure at $1500.00 it was not a simple 1 to fall and one to chunk down only. You probally had the job before you bid as you were known to them or recommended. THe price was formality. True os false? WHen you are starting out you need to work to build your name and company. Help the guy to work is that fair enough. I also do lots of single removals over $1000.00 BUt that was not the info requested True????

Well most of my work is repeat as is this one. It is fairly simple but will probably need to climb out of bucket cause it is 110 foot tall declining water oak probably 36" dbh total clean-up and stump with topsoil put down afterward. In all probability I will likely end up with more time than I quoted it for but hey, its paying some bills. True just actually enjoying something to bid for a change looked at 13 pines yesterday word of mouth job and I only quoted the first three for now 1800,00 got those as well but prolly should of bid more. There was a crew in the next yard working on the neighbors tree and it made me worry about loosing the work so I greatly discounted it. Oh well, I can turn it into a paying job if I feel my oats when I do it lol. I was also thinking of the remaining 10 that she said we could do through the summer which I always like to bird dog some work.

 

[deevo]

Here is my last post on this topic. Do any of you wonder how Componies like Davey and Asphlund can grow as they have. Send a crew and truck to your area and put them up in a hotel and still get work???? We make it easy for them. Fall 2 trees for 300-400 and they come in and do it with clean up for less next time . Makes them look like gods.The bigger they get the better their buying power becomes for Equipment. THe lower their Unit costs become. Sit in on a utility arborists event at a local ISA conference sometime and listen. They are business men intrested BUSINESS.Now componies like Bartlette and Save a tree are growing using similar methods. THis will be the future of tree service unless independants learn how to get in on the bottom line. Many of our municipal and commercial customers I have had over 20 years . My company has grown and our rates have gone up without any questions .Now the municipalaties do try others when we are busy but I hear all about it later . They shoot themselves in the foot. We still have our customers
Now I do alot of business by email the email us the location and maby a pic. I reply with an expected date for work to be done. NO ESTIMATE. I bill when work done. If I see something else that needs to be done at that site I do it and include it on the bill. Do any of you like doing Estimates??? They really are a waste of time.build a name so you don't have to .Local conditions may affect your prices. Know what your cost of work is. Add a profit margin and get to work. Build a business not an oppertunity for others. ENough said if you don't get this I give up

Around here, 1 of those 2 companies you mention you need a bank loan to get tree work done by them. I dropped 2 75' dead poplars that were on a lean towards customers home, the HO cleaned them up for $600, took me 2 hours with another groundie(had to rig em etc etc...) They told homeowner they had to bring in the bucket baby crew, estimated it was going to take 9 hours. $1800.00 no clean up. Other estimate was for $750.00. I got 3 more trees out of the deal later in the year as well. I don't charge for the hour for just like some of ropensaddles examples. All the equipment/knowledge/training etc etc. $135 an hour wouldn't keep your business viable/profitable:greenchainsaw: for too long most days. If it works for you then great, but if you are accustomed to a certain lifestyle etc. I'll keep charging what I charge which makes me happy and have fun doing it!

 

[deevo]

so at 2 to fall only for $500. you should be able to get 8 jobs like this out a day if they are with in 30 minutes of each other so lets say $4,000.00 a day $20,000.00 a week. Hell I might just move there

With the economy the way it is, you might not get this in a week.....or 2 (for some) Guess I'm lucky in some ways with 3 contracts I'm usually guaranteed work to keep me and my crew busy. that being said 1 municipality I do work for ran out of money last year for their parks and rec dept and couldn't get the trees removed that they wanted. So it goes on this years budget and so the story goes! Anyways Plas sorry to interupt your thread, have patience maybe they will still call you!

 

[ropensaddle]

I don't rule out a bid for quite a while I just did a tree I bid for 1500 almost a year ago. Sometimes they get cost to budget for the job and sometimes they check out the competition you win some you lose some. My best is repeat because they are buying my skill I have customers that would not use anyone else because they know I will not put something through their roof. I have some that use me because they know, I will not mutilate their 200 year old White Oak. Most of my best customers are right next door to topped out hat racked yards. They can then look at crown reduction and thinning vrs sucker growth falling and believe me they call me and say you were right lmfao.

 

[tree md]

Glad to hear your getting some work rope.

Plas, did you try to schedule the job when you bid it? I always tell them I am available to do the work on such and such day or ask if they would like for me to put them on my schedule (when I have work). If they say they are not sure, want to think about it or are going to get another estimate you can open negotiations if you feel you can do the job for less. You can ask them if they feel the price is too high and if so you can explain to them why you are charging what you are (liability to the house or whatever) and lower your bid if you feel you can do it cheaper (or you are hungry). You can tell them that business has been slow and you need the work and offer to do it for a little less. Try to close the deal when you give a bid. $375 is a pretty fair price for those trees in my opinion though. I think the cheapest I would want to do them for is $300 and that would be dirt cheap.

 

[fishercat]

hey Plas..................

instead of picking that tree apart,get a rope in it, get groundie to pull with rope puller or truck ,climb half way up and fold that sucker!

Those are pretty simple.I'd say $3-500 depending on time.With no clean up,you should be out of there in less than two hours easy.

 

[rarefish383]

It's just one job, go get the next one. We've spent more time talking about it than it would take to do it. I know when you need work, you need work, but some times you just have to quit wasting your time on a cheap skate. You don't want to build a customer base on people like that any way, good luck on the next one, Joe.

 

[treeseer]

Plas, maybe you did not get the job because the owners came to their senses and decided to keep them. That hickory had a very small looking wound, maybe less than 10% strength loss. Any treecutter who tells them the tree is dangerous is doing hack work, with their mouth. A competent arborist *might* prune 10% of the lever arm, and manage the roots.

If you want to make a living by managing trees, learn some biology.

If you want to make a living running machines, get a lawnmower.

Just sayin, nothing personal.