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View Full Version : Do you charge for unloading your trailor?



glassngrass
17-02-2009, 07:38 PM
If I turn up at 9am, I start charging from 8.55 (travel time!)

I figure a full 7x5 trailer wil take me 30 minutes to get to tip, unload and return, and cost me maybe $10 - so I allow $30 to take a full load, but I usually end up charging 4x$5 plus 2x$10.

Have found it best to discourage taking clippings - use compost pile, around trees, in garden beds, or mulch instead.

Kim
17-02-2009, 08:10 PM
When I pull up to a clients house and the job is at say 9am for example.. I tend to arrive 5 mins early and unload and start the job at 9am, should I be arriving at 9am and unloading and packing up the trailor during the hourly rate? What do you all do?

Bluey
17-02-2009, 08:59 PM
If I am just doing a lawn I estimate just how much time it will take me to do the job. I throw in an extra 10 mins for loading and unloading my gear and clippings if I take them. I then give the client the whole cost of the job based on the frequency they want. I have had quite a few lately who want to go from 2 weeks to 3 or even 4 but still want the same price.

I tell them the grass grows longer and it takes me longer so they have to pay more. Most are ok with this but I have lost a few but I figured they were cheap skates anyway.

If I am doing gardening work I charge out at an hourly rate that begins from when I turn up. I charge for dump fees plus my time to transport to the dump and unload the trailer there. If I have to come back for another load I charge for that as well. If I have to travel a long distance to get to the job I cahrge a travel component too.

When I first started I sold myself short on this and it took me a while to get the right formula worked out but it seems to work ok now. Most clients are pretty accepting but you have to let them know about these fees up front. I get a few who get me in to do the work but they say they will dump the rubbish. That is fine by me and I guarantee that the second time around they will ask me to take it.

The trick is to charge fairly and be open about your costs. My hourly rate takes into account all my overheads and this too took me some time to work out properly.

Don't sell yourself short but don't overcharge your clients either. Remember the best advertising is word of mouth from these clients so look after them. Give the good ones a little extra every now and then and look after the pensioners.

geoff
17-02-2009, 09:01 PM
well i cant believe this FFS u charge by the job thats the only way because u know and the customers knowthe actual charge is.. i cant belive u would quibble about five f#$% ing mins geez get professional .... hourly rate is fine for large jobs but 5 mins come on........

ian
17-02-2009, 09:02 PM
from the time i arrive until the time i leave including unloading,refueling and loading up again also allow for the time i will spend driving to and from and unloading at the tip, if you employ staff they expect to get paid for this time so why shouldn't you

Bluey
17-02-2009, 09:13 PM
well i cant believe this FFS u charge by the job thats the only way because u know and the customers knowthe actual charge is.. i cant belive u would quibble about five f#$% ing mins geez get professional .... hourly rate is fine for large jobs but 5 mins come on........


Geoff maybe you didn't read my post correctly. I do charge for the whole job but I work out what makes up that cost. In terms of being professional I think this is a must. If you don't cover all your costs then you are ripping yourself off. How do you work out your costs? :i dunno:

geoff
17-02-2009, 09:31 PM
bluey sorry mate yes u have to consider all those things when working the price but i am a strong believer in charging a once off figure , so everone knows what the cost will be.... sure take in to account all those little things like tip fees , travel times etc.. we work out a job on how long it will take plus the add ons sometimes we win sometimes we lose but at the day its time....the hourly rate varies from state to state even region and towns, depends on the other contactors or weekend warriors...

Bluey
17-02-2009, 09:37 PM
No probs Geoff. One of the things I do that may or may not be a good idea is when I give them the quote I tell them I estimate it will take x number of hours but if it goes longer then they will have to make a decision if they want to go ahead with any more work. That covers any unforseen circumstances that may pop up. I have only done this a couple of times as I usually over quote the time and if this occurs I then discount the job. That makes the customer happy.

geoff
17-02-2009, 09:47 PM
sure bluey i guess it's like the guy that installs the aircon or the fixed price on the spouting replacement.....u know where u stand , but the mechanic that says geez dunno mate ill let u know when i have fixed the car and add this and double that lol...i just know from my point that i do like to know before they start the job on what it will cost...... most tradies do but theres a lot like plumbers sparkies that just charge what they feel like at the end of the job..I think we can put a $ sign on the job before we start...lawn mowing , gardening maintenance is mainly labour , so if we go over by a hour we are not going to go broke..how many times have u quoted a job and thought , geez i can do this in 4 hours but u get a flyer and do it in 2 hrs , i reckon it balances out...its the jobs involving expenditure like mulch and plants u have to be careful...

mowjoman
18-02-2009, 06:57 AM
Good posts Geoff and Bluey.
After 15 months in the game I'm prretty spot on with pricing lawns, however, I still struggle on the gardening jobs. I have over quoted and under quoted so I tend to justify it with the thinking...what you lose on one job you pick up on the other.
I dont like to give them an hourly rate as it makes the oldies especially a little nervous and everytime you stop for a breather and a smoke/drink they'd have to be watching their clock...I would be.
I do however if the job is huge but I'll detail my time at the end so they can see time stopped at breaks.

Kim
18-02-2009, 08:14 AM
Thanks for all your responses I guess I will become more experienced at quoting, that is why at the moment I am charging by the hour because that way I can get used to how long it takes me, like the other day a ladies retic was broken, so I replaced the solonoid and still 3 stations wern't going but this took me an hour to figure out where the wires were underground to check the fault and where the bloody station box was, as she hadn't told me and wasn't home, but as she said she could only afford a couple of hours I stopped and will have to get the go ahead now to keep going, but when I looked at the job I could see broken wires to this solonoid and thought well obvious problem it will only take an hour, so I am glad it was an hourly quote. I also mow and whip her lawns and that is hourly rate also. I do always tell people that if I have to take rubbish away (not grass clippings as this is all part of hourly fee, or do you acccount for that as well?) it is an extra fee on top of hourly, I hope I am on the right track, but no doubt will soon learn :i dunno:

Stripes
18-02-2009, 08:22 AM
I prefer to put a set price on everything I do, but I do have a few jobs where they want 3 hours per week, so those jobs are on hourly rate, then I add on tip fees, chemicals and any other materials I use. Set price is much better, as you and the client both know exactly what they are up for so there can be no complaints later on when its time to pay.

In the past I have had clients questioning me about why they are being charged whilst I'm on the phone, the 2 minute break I had to have a drink etc. Its just much better to put a set price on it. Also my hourly rate is higher than most, so people will baulk at the figure when I tell them, where as if I tell them it will cost x amount to trim their hedges, they are more willing to go ahead with it.

When people are asking for hourly rates, you are competing with the weekend warriors, and the other factors people dont understand is the actual quality of the job, the time it may take a weekend warrior to trim something as opposed to a pro who has all the right equipment to get the job done quickly and properly.

Set price is the way to go!

If you over quote a job and the client is home, you can knock a little off the price and you can just about guarantee they will tell all their friends how their gardener not only did a beautiful job, but also did it cheaper than the quoted price.

Kim
18-02-2009, 08:29 AM
Ok good point! So I suppose in my mind if I take into account when I get to a job that this will take me 40 minutes I work out what I would charge an hour plus extras (travelling etc) and give them one price, now if it takes longer than expected is there anyway you can cover your arse with the client without sounding like a dick?

Stripes
18-02-2009, 08:31 AM
Ok good point! So I suppose in my mind if I take into account when I get to a job that this will take me 40 minutes I work out what I would charge an hour plus extras (travelling etc) and give them one price, now if it takes longer than expected is there anyway you can cover your arse with the client without sounding like a dick?

Quote a little higher that you think to cover yourself. Depending on the client, you can knock a little off the price at the end. Normally if a client looks after me- like offering a drink etc, I look after them when its time to do the invoice. ;)

Kim
18-02-2009, 09:45 AM
Thank you invaluable info :)

geoff
18-02-2009, 12:03 PM
Formal Gardens....u have nailed it , if we work out our hourly rate which covers a multitude of things from machinary to insurance to the cost of keeping the mrs most people would balk if u said 77.00 per hour , but if u said 100 buck to hedge and prune the front garden they know where they stand... now u estimate that on experience and even after thousands of quotes we still get it wrong sometimes , like someone posted before its a give and take .
You will never win quotes on a high hourly rate especially when there are some gardeners charging as low as 20 bucks an hour.
Work out your needed income for the week and the number of hours avaiable and add some profit for the rainy days and the new machinary u need to buy down the track.

Kim
18-02-2009, 08:37 PM
Is that what you have worked out to cover expenses per hour $77.00 :eek:

Stripes
18-02-2009, 08:52 PM
Is that what you have worked out to cover expenses per hour $77.00 :eek:

I quote at a bit more than that, but I dont tell the clients that it is what I base my quotes on. I just give a set price, but I am lucky enough to be in the position where I dont really need the work, so if I get knocked back, I'm not bothered.

A friend of mine that I help occasionally is telling his clients he is charging $77 per hour for each of us ($144 p/h for the two of us), and since quoting that figure he has only been knocked back once, and been accepted about 5 times so far. We have a job to do over the next month which involves about 3-4 days work all up, plus materials and they are happy to pay it.

Kim
18-02-2009, 09:05 PM
Ohhh i am sooo undercharging :frightene

geejay
20-02-2009, 09:18 PM
load trailer(3m cubic) =30min = $30
trip dump =30min = $30
tip fee = $25
unload = $30
miscellanous(cold ones) = $25

Total =$145

for cash(curry lovers move) =$155 ;frosty; ;frosty; ;frosty;

Kim
22-02-2009, 12:11 PM
for cash(curry lovers move) =$155
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