I met Mick Gatto last week....just sayin'
I met Mick Gatto last week....just sayin'
~ Joanne ~
Just had to Google him. Not familiar with the name around these parts but yeah, he'd do!
It makes me grumpy.
This week I quoted $75 to mow a 1/2 acre block. I know to cheap you guys say. Got done by a guy with a ride on at $55. 2000m2 for $55. How much fuel would his ride on have used?
Anyhow you win some you lose some. This was propably a good one to lose.
Cheers
hjl
Was it a full bare 1/2 acre or did it have a house on it? I used to do one slightly bigger than a half acre (with house and shed); thick kikuyu with the Honda 196 and it nearly killed me every time! I think I used to do it for $75 too back when I was starting out. What was I thinking!!!
Get payment upfront.... NO ACCOUNTS.... FULL STOP.
I know it has probably been mentioned before - but imagine you could buy fuel, groceries, new hot water system for the house, a set of 4 new tires for the car, Macca Donalds meal... all on account... It just doesn't happen.
Not sure why any business would want to be like a bank and not get payed like a bank with fees, charges and INTEREST calculated daily.
I learnt from my previous business and lost a few hundred thousand being a banker... it's just not worth it!
payment upfront.... clients now have no say in the matter... works for me
Simmo.
"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
It's your business and it should be on your terms... It is just about setting up systems and having ground rules.
If someone won't pay upfront... do you really want them as a customer? What respect are they showing you as a business owner?
With spending time and money sending letters, doing driveby's, getting debt collector's etc etc to pick up the cash weeks/months late or worst case senario... No payment.
Just a quick clarification.... why isn't it possible or practical?
Simmo.
Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you
Simmo a lot of my customers are not home when I do their properties and they don't want to leave cash out so I leave an invoice with my account details. I actually prefer people paying online, directly into my account so cash does not have to pass through my wallet but therein lies the difficulty as when people pay is ultimately out of my control.
same here i dont like leaving cash out (altho a few do, cos they havent got direct deposit knowledge.)
i only have about 3 or 4 non payers a year, i follow em up (mostly they forgot) and they pay quick then.
had to go to a "ladies" house one morning 2 weeks ago and threaten to leave a ute load of grass on her drive if i wasnt paid by monday this week,
i got paid yesterday (in bank AC) of course it was all the nasty banks fault that she had to try and pay me 4 times.
suffice to say i wont be going back there (and i didnt deliver any grass)
most are honest and nice people, i treat em that way till they burn me,
never been ripped off yet, touch wood.
also hate having all the cash, some neds to go in the bank to pay the bills lol
she was 11 weeks overdue on the payment btw. (sorry no edit)
I have found that if you are on top of your invoices and follow them up as soon as the fall over due you rarely have a problem. It conditions people to pay your bills on time. People will naturally be slow if you let them be so don't let them. For one off jobs always money up front and if you get a person who is a bad payer then put them back to money up front if you keep them. The worst payers are real estate agents and I do very little work for them now. Maybe that is why they are always looking for new contractors
Cheers
Bluey
Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
http://www.ahgs.com.au
"Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."
Optus
Ordered a phone online tue last week told it would be here last friday, friday comes no phone and told by cust service it was cancelled because the phone is no longer available, pi««sed off i went into a shop and signed up no worries, today i recieve the phone i ordered online that they said they cancelled bunch of fn moppets. i just spent 1 hour and ten min trykng to get them to take the fn thing back as i dont want to be harges for having two contracts. i have to wait nowb because they Re trying to get it organised and wait for a call back, i would have been better off saying i never got it and kept the phone. 4 hours of my time waisted
changed from vodaphone cause receptiln is crap,
Independent and i know it
I'm in mourning tonight. I discovered today that yesterday I lost my favourite, most useful tool I've ever owned. In monetary terms it was worth about $15 - $20 but in practical day to day use it was priceless to me.
It was a super heavy duty digging fork type head (which I found at a gargage sale about ten years ago) but it was made to fit to a hoe-handle. It was the best thing I've ever had for dragging branches and grass out of the trailer.
Yesterday I left it sitting on a pile of greenwaste at the tip when I went to get something else out of the car.
I forgot to go back and pick it up.......