Cheers
Bluey
Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
http://www.ahgs.com.au
"Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."
We all have to contend with Air Tasker now also. Which is even worse than the beer bobs
Spot on Mate.. I didn't mind helping new guys out, that were starting up, but now I see new guys every day , they work it out for themselves.
If I wasn't a contractor and was wanting to get into a business no way on gods earth would I think of mowing lawns, I mean your thoughts would have to be wow it must be pretty cut throat, every second ute has a mower hanging off the back.
I recently lost a very good lawn I had been looking after for years , for an elderly lady, she used to play bowls at the club I worked at , so she knew my background, I had her blue couch lawn in pristine condition and the hedges trimmed neatly all the time.
Anyway a phone call one night and I'm sacked because her nephew has got someone else and he is paying for it , wow after all these years and you get the flick just like that, that's why you should only treat them like clients nothing more.
Went past this ex clients place today and out the front is a shiny new trailer loaded with all the cheap tools and the old push mower , obviously a start up, all the weeds in the lawn didn't give that away, but yeah good luck to him , a lot of these guys are good at talking themselves up , I don't talk it up, just do my work . But it does get you when you lose a good job to a clown like this, sounds harsh but f em
Hopefully soon enough we won't have time to get on and complain about them.
Everything said on previous posts is true enough. It cuts some more deeply than others.
As someone else has said - nothing a good drought won't fix.
It does not matter how close you think you are to clients, as said above they should be treated only as "clients".
Yep. Very true. What has happened to Taxi drivers with UBER will happen to us with whatever App that comes along. How could it not? They are talking about driverless cars. Companies like UBER are allowed to undercut in this country with bugger all regulations and they pay bugger all tax until they wipe all the competitiors out. Their model will be used by others for almost any industry. They are much more dangerous than the beer bobs who eventually put themselves out of business. And both sides of politics stand aside and let it happen cause yep you guessed it the average punter what's the cheapest option possible and couldn't give a stuff what other affect it has on working people or future jobs.
From wiki
The Airtasker process begins when a user posts a job they need completed, setting a suggested payment as well as any details needed to make a decision. Other users can post their interest in completing the task along with their own suggestion on the payment amount. The user who posted the task can make a decision on whom to award the task based on the applicant's profile, task history and ratings. Once this decision is made, the Airtasker platform allows private communication and payment to be made between the parties.[11] It is free for users and applicants to join Airtasker; however, once a task is successfully completed and paid, there is a 15% commission charged to the applicant per task.[12]
This is the Gig economy. The smoke and mirror bull**** that is invading modern life. You meet some random dude on the internet who might just happen to be a decent person but almost might be a rapist or a serial killer but hey it was the cheapest price. And when it all goes pear shape, the parasites who take the 15% commission wash their hands of it which is exactly what UBER does. There is also a contract involved when you use these people that they cannot be sued. Will the person doing the job have been vetted to make sure they have the appropriate skill level and insurance and is of a reputable character. Ha ha ha.
I cant see the gardening industry recovering myself. I'm going into my 26th year, my Dad started the business in 1970, i've seen tough periods before but we are taking hits from all angles. The internet has opened this right up and its made it easier for non gardens to up their skill based much quicker than ever before. Only thing that will save it, and yes i know i'm a broken record, is a prolonged dry spell. Far too many players now. Volume players kill the industry.
They have a responsibility to the industry though, no one wins if everyone undercuts everyone else. $100 an hr became $80 an hr then $80 become $60 now $60 is fast becoming $45, where does it end. Some of the contractors near me are charging prices i was charging 10 years ago, you can't survive on that.
Two independent operators i know who have been doing this for well over 10 years,one does a nature strip for $5.He says it's only two houses from a bigger job.The other guy does this small back lawn for $10,i have said to both of them is it really worth the time effort and fuel.
I said to both these blokes and to new customers getting a quote looking for a better price than quoted.
e.g.Can you name any other business who will drive to your home and work for $25 and give you 20 minutes of labor for that money ?.
Crazy hey. And a lot of other trades have call out fees and minimum charges. Pool cleaners even do. Pool cleaners near me are $80 an hr plus chemicals, minimum $80. Sprinkler repairers local to me charge out at $110 for the first hr, $88 an hr after that. Compare that to Mr Gardening man.