Thanks for the info boys, now I'm going to undercut all of you!
Thanks for the info boys, now I'm going to undercut all of you!
yep, jims is no competition to an indy who knows what hes doing.
these guys pay jim 30,000 to start, then 130 a week plus $8 a lead.
they almost always price themselves out of work,
130 aweek and 8 for a lead!that's tough stuff.
Mate it happens what can you do i reckon i've been sussed out by would be gardeners about 10 times this year that i am aware of its going to happen no matter what goes on in the forum, what i dont understand is why we give the info up for free but as i have stated numerous times you go about things your way and i'll go about them mine i'm just putting it out there whether you take it on board or not is up to you. As for the comment about Jims they are the biggest boys/girls in the industry so what they do is relevant to all of us and there size and muscle means how they go about things affects us all whether you care or not is up to you. I wouldn't call it a fixation but thats your call and your intitled to it. Some gardeners do it for a lifestyle decision some do it to make money so it depends on where you are at i suppose as to whether you do care or not.
I don't see Jim's as a problem. I have only ever lost one job to Jim's, I had being doing it for 2 years, when the tender was due, A Jimbo came in and seriously underquoted me (with inside information), after 3 months they were begging me to come back, as he had stuffed up the lawns, left grass all over, never tidied up, complained he was not making money, etc. I got the job back at a higher rate than my original price and very little likelyhood that they will try that experiment again.
But have managed to pick up a few jobs from Jimbo, when the new client saw the job i was doing at the neighbours house, and they compared to the job they were getting. Generally they spoke to the neighbour and also compare prices. and Jimbo got the flick.
Your not looking at the big picture there bb1. What about all the big contracts/ or the top end work/regular work that go straight to the bearded one where the customer looks at no one else they see his ad get the quote and its done you dont get a look in wouldn't that come to you if Jims wasn't there, wont go into detail because i dont want to promote his business but people are familiar with that brand and for some they wont go anywhere else, where would these people go to if he wasn't there. So its not how many jobs that you know he has taken off you thats the problem its the potential new ones that you dont know about that are hurting the growth of your business. I have seen both sides of Jim one many many years ago when he was small and didn't take business off many of us at all and then the other side where you have the massive empire it is today where he has a big influence. So remember there are so many jobs that you dont even see that he gets so take how well your business is doing now and then double it because that is what you would have if the biggest player in the industry didn't exist. Competitors are every where but most compete on a level playing field where you can at least compete but with him its a different story. So back to the point why do we hand out stuff for free, its crazy you dont see top end businesses handing out there important info for free so why should we and thats the point i was trying to get across whether people listen or not is up to them its there business so they can do what they like.
Totally agree with you Scoob
There is enough info on here to get people going in the right direction but pricing shouldn't be one of them without membership.
"I'm not alone cause the tv's on yeah,I'm not crazy cause I take the right pills.... everyday" Jimmy Eat World
http://www.dreamlawnsandlandscapes.com
Forgot to mention the majority of new wok where I turn up to quote, and the potential customer has said there is no way I am even going to ring Jimbo. beacuse Mary, betty and Steve have all winged to them about Jim's. Yes Jim's is big, but his people have most probably upset more people as well. Remember the old saying do one good job, and they will tell 1 other person, do a bad job and they will tell 10. A lot of people are telling others how bad a job Jim's does as well.
I was thinking the same thing, they start on a $1500 per week guarantee don't they? and that would mean $75k for starters so $80k gross would be a beginner.
But I may be wrong.
they pay $30,000 to have the income guaranteed, some would say they paid themselves that income, AND Jim gets whatevers left after they make most of the g'teed income themselves.
theres no g'tee that after the g'tee period, that money stays the same,
and if someone calls jimbo direct and doesnt get other quotes, thats the way it goes
and i would rather that one guy gets it off the first call rather than me and 9 other guys have to go quote it.
i really dont get involved in a lot of quoting wars - if i suss out a customer wants a QUOTE rather than BOOKING A JOB IN I make em jump thru a few hoops and say "i'm not the cheapest, keep calling around, i'm too busy to just do a quote"
and I too have heard of some horrible jimbo's - one old guy i heard of used to do a yard that took me 20 minutes from start to leaving - the JIM took 40 minutes, with a coffee break in the middle, sitting on her patio eating biscuits - A REAL HARD WORKER, lol.
he was EASY to bump off.
I think we are getting distracted here boys/girls its becoming another Jim bash thread where as the original post was asking about a price check and my original point has been made so i dont need to say it again.