reality check, please?

[treeman82]

I need to bounce this back against the board and see if I am ok, or if something is off.

Last spring I was referred to a new client who is friendly with a few other clients. They asked to have 1 hemlock out of a row of hemlocks removed. It's a property line tree, but the neighbor agreed to the removal. The client was away (typical) when I went to do the job. I get all set up in the driveway (no small feat) when the neighbor comes out begging me not to cut the tree down.... the neighbor is also friendly with a bunch of clients. I said to the lady that I would leave, and let her sort it out with the customer... I'll come back. Nothing else happened with them last year. Today I drove by, Savatree is working in there doing some pruning.... I'm wondering what I did that caused them not to ask me back?

Last year I was asked to check out a new property abutting a good client (new owners). Found a real nasty 7K maple removal while doing the inspection. Guy found somebody else to do it for 4K but offered me 5K but I would have do basically drop what I was doing and start it within 72 hrs. I declined the job and he found somebody else for all the work. Last week he calls me back, please come back to look at some work. Head over the following morning while on a visit to the existing client. Meet with him and his wife, they ask me to do an inventory, and give a schedule and estimate for a spray program.... no problem. Can you start spraying today? No. Tomorrow? No. They want a phone call every time before I go on the property. Told them give me a few days to get an inventory done and I'll be along shortly with a price and schedule.... basically I knew I needed a half hour to walk the property without them hovering over my shoulder. Get an e-mail Saturday night... can you be here 9:00 Sunday morning? No. Long story short, they canned me... they feel I was unresponsive.
My feeling was that if they fired me last year because I was more expensive, why should I bust my butt for them this year when I have better quality clients to service first? Now of course if my existing clients had called asking to meet with me on Sunday morning at 9:00 I would have said no problem.... because I know they want more work done, or they want to pay me.

So I'd just like to know if these are problems that I caused, or if they are things that you guys would have handled in a similar way?

 

[sgreanbeans]

They were probably milking you for good info. I have had condo HOA's have me come out, walk the property with the board. I explained to them what needed to be done thru out the property.
Gave them a price and all was well. THE NEXT DAY, I was across the street getting a coffee and I look over, the biggest meth head hack in town is over there, the main guy with the HOA is walking around with him, while hacker has pole-saw, main guy points, hacker cuts. Every thing I told him, he was telling hack ta do.
Happens all the time in this industry, don't let it get to ya.

 

[Bigus Termitius]

In short, looks to me like you're dodging a few bullets just fine.

My bottom line, I will not be treated like their personal hourly lawn boy, nor have my price dictated to me. I have too many high quality people that appreciate me to deal with nonsense from the likes of some.

I had a potential client call about a week ago wanting a spruce tree planted in the same spot where one had died. He's about 45 mi away, it was raining hard and soggy, so we discussed the job and agreed to look things over when I was scheduled to be in that area doing a job the following week. He wasn't in a hurry, and no work was going to get done in the mud anyway. He did keep pushing for a price though, but was nice about it.

So there I was, finished a job, and went on to bid another for the same client, and called this guy when I was done.

His wife answers, I ask for him and she says he's out and asks if she can help. So I'm mid-sentence introducing myself, hadn't even got to my name yet and she cuts me off with "Who is this?" all nasty like.

I'm a bit taken aback, but I calmly repeat myself while giving her the benefit of the doubt.

She says, "Oh, well, we already got someone else to plant it since we couldn't get any information out of YOU." same tone.

No more doubt.

Lol. Yeah, some folks are better off left to themselves and the poor suckers that have to deal with them. Since I was in town, I drove past to find what I suspected. No tree planted, and a stump right in the middle of a mud circle in the flood zone that they call their side yard.

Good luck with that new blue spruce. :hmm3grin2orange:

I hope this woman bad mouths me to every last one of her friends and family. Think of all the time she'll save me, I almost....almost feel guilty for not sending her some sort of compensation. :msp_tongue:

 

[sgreanbeans]

I hope this woman bad mouths me to every last one of her friends and family. Think of all the time she'll save me, I almost....almost feel guilty for not sending her some sort of compensation. :msp_tongue:

Word!

 

[imagineero]

Nobody can post mortem something like this without having been witness to all the dialogue. I this is just a one off and you live in a town with a big big population then I wouldnt be worried. If it's happening regularly or you are often finding yourself missing out on work, or you do live in a smaller town then maybe you'd do well to get a bit of coaching.

How you position yourself in the market place is a very personal thing, there are no hard and fast rules. A good guide though is to pick someone who you admire in the industry, someone who is successful and model yourself on them as much as you can. In my experience, people who are successful in this industry are often sincere, passionate, responsive, and squeeze more into their day than you would think is possible. They are friendly with most, even the difficult, and the extremely difficult they simply avoid in a pleasant way.

Guys who don't do well often are the ones who pre-judge clients, dont have time for smaller jobs, dont think it's worth their time to explain things. For myself, with new clients I very quickly give them a price range (not a quote) to sort the wheat from the chaff. Some clients simply dont have the money to pay for quality work, and I don't wish them bad, I just cant afford to give them a lot of free advice. I do often give them advice though, and can tell them a lot in just a few minutes. They do appreciate it! When clients indicate the price range is within their budget, I set to work building a good relationship which for me consists of understanding their needs, listening, giving advice (without preaching), making sure the shoe fits. Clients can very clearly sense when someone really cares about the work, or doesn't. There's no way to fake this, and if you've gotten to the point that you are interested only in the money and not the client or the job then it might be time to try a new career ;-)

Each client has different needs, some are ok to never meet me at all; I might quote when they arent there, do the job while they are at work then get paid by bank deposit. Some really do need interaction. Some are ok for me to drop by whenever I have a spare half day, some need an exact time. I try to be flexible to my clients within reason. At the end of the day, people are paying you money to do a job. I see the 'client interaction' part of the job as being equally important as the tree work itself. I win most of my work on client relationship, not price. I get most of my new work through word of mouth, and I do get a lot of repeat work from old clients too. If you're not, then thats a sign that you may want to re-think your approach to clients.

The last thing I do with all my clients is a very good clean up. My saws make me money, but my rakes and leaf blower get me invited back again.

Shaun

 

[David (saltas)]

managing the customer

I watched one day from the workshop and my friend the owner when out to the front counter to serve a customer.
He sold him a Sparkplug but gave him an excuse as to why he could not pay for it now, Just fix me up next time he said.

Back in the workshop he explained that he was a pain in the backside and that the next time he came by he would not have any cash on him and he would get out of the car realize and get back in the car and leave. He said the couple of dollar investment would be worth the peace and quite.

I smiled and thought this was a novel approach.
Well over the years I saw this guy get out and then get back into his car out of financial embarrassment many times and he never came into the shop again that I know of.

 

[imagineero]

I just wanted to add.... for most clients, tree work is a mystery. Most people might only use a tree service once in their life and may not have any friends who have used one, so it can be hard to understand even though for us it's a daily thing. The quality of the actual work is intangible for most folks, and selling it is a tough sell. You need to explain a lot, and they may or may not be interested in hearing.

Client relations is an easy sell though. If English is your first language, you have a neat uniform with a logo and are prompt and courteous.... you're already doing well. This is how a lot of folks are going to make the call on who gets the job. Especially with trees over houses or high risk trees. We do try to look neat, keep our trucks and utes in good order, and present well. For the clients, this, and cleanup is the most tangible part of the service. The rest is just cutting down trees... at least on removals!

Shaun

 

[Rftreeman]

I call that "weeding out the problem clients"........you are better off not working for them...

 

[ch woodchuck]

Dollar to a doughnut most of us have been thru that scene a few times.....Good to keep a sense of humor!Don't know how long you've been at this trade,but each and every situation is part of the learning curve.Two kinds of clients..those that want to have work done.And those who want a deal..I don't give deals...Business is what the job is worth.I tell em'you want a deal..go to vegas...Been in the trade for 37 yrs...Ain't got time for BS.All the work I want.....cheers!

 

[husabud]

I bid a job a week ago for two small pine removal over a deck and one near front of house I through in a couple low limbs because I would be there anyway. How much? I told him looks like $450 for the two in the back and $250 for the front. Why? Well I have to climb them and that 20 years experience I've got will keep everything safe. Ok do the back ones for now and when. This week I tell him.
I get a call the next day wanting to know why the other tree service is doing 9 trees next door for $900. Well I tell him, They work an a per day rate of $900, he will come in with a shear on his bobcat and his mini ex and stuff the trees in the chipper. He'll be gone in two hours. But I don't understand why two trees cost half as much as nine. If you want to hire the other service, feel free. It will cost you $900 for your two trees. Why? Ok this goes on and on until I have had enough.
Look sir you just bought your second home (seasonal) on Cape Cod and I need to pay for my first. The price is as I said, business is business and this is mine so would you like my services? Yes. OK.
I went there two days later and bombed the job in 45 mins.

When I went to get a check this weekend he dodged me for a whole day and said he would have to mail me a check as he was going out of town. Typical. I drove by today to see a brand new driveway.

Point is the customer is only a customer and not ever your friend. I don't trust anything most have to say and almost always get it in writing. I hate contracts, but I cannot count how many times they've saved my ass.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

They were probably milking you for good info. I have had condo HOA's have me come out, walk the property with the board. I explained to them what needed to be done thru out the property.
Gave them a price and all was well. THE NEXT DAY, I was across the street getting a coffee and I look over, the biggest meth head hack in town is over there, the main guy with the HOA is walking around with him, while hacker has pole-saw, main guy points, hacker cuts. Every thing I told him, he was telling hack ta do.
Happens all the time in this industry, don't let it get to ya.

I had an HOA try to set me up for the same thing: I spent an hour walking the area, writing up my report with recommendations. The woman in charge wanted to see the report, or so she initially said, before she agreed to my price. This was a five G's gig. When I called the woman to get her e-mail address to send the report, she asked that I send my report to her property management/landscaping contact. Yeah, sure I will! The :censored: I will! You have to be thick-skinned in this biz or any other business where you're the boss/owner. People try all sorts of devious crap, and you need to just let it roll right off your back without getting too flustered. Sooner or later you learn to see it coming, and avoid those who are chain jerkers.

 

[mckeetree]

I had an HOA try to set me up for the same thing: I spent an hour walking the area, writing up my report with recommendations. The woman in charge wanted to see the report, or so she initially said, before she agreed to my price. This was a five G's gig. When I called the woman to get her e-mail address to send the report, she asked that I send my report to her property management/landscaping contact. Yeah, sure I will! The :censored: I will! You have to be thick-skinned in this biz or any other business where you're the boss/owner. People try all sorts of devious crap, and you need to just let it roll right off your back without getting too flustered. Sooner or later you learn to see it coming, and avoid those who are chain jerkers.

You are right on that. People try ALL kinds of crap. I see most of them coming a mile away these days.