No I think he has a set amount included in the say $40 and then $6 for every bag above that. Like if you fill a green waste bin for the $40 and then $6 for every bag you have to take.
well i reckon i would get the sack from plenty down here on that basis andy
its a give and take summer autum winter is easy harly any bags , just some springs that pop up that make it hard..most of my customer are two weekly all year round
I happen to charge $7 bag and most clients who have their bins full when I am meant to be using them will just accept me leaving full bags of grass next to them so they can dispose of them.
I work on 4 full bags of grass per cubic meter & it costs a minimum of $15 c/meter to dispose so equates to $3.50 bag and double it for taking time to tip! Its not only the extra cost on your wallet, but carting around - needing a trailer, the extra lifting - much harder on your body etc etc.
Work it out on 10 lawns a day and see how much longer it takes and how much more effort it takes also - and thats before going to the tip!
I don't think $6 a bag is that unreasonable actually. The time bagging, taking to the tip and unloading, plus carrying the extra weight around in your rigg. The costs all add up. Infact $6 is probably too cheap. But like you say Geoff basically customers just don't want to pay it, they don't see it the way we do.
I normally charge $5 a bag and the only reason I don't feel like I'm being bent over is because a lot of one off jobs are being charged twice that which off sets it. Sssshhh
Its not a matter of getting away with anything Geoff! When seasons can change so dramatically clients must understand the extra costs on your business - money & time & effort.
My regulars get looked after when things are not so crazy and most know it so most also understand the extra costs with $7 bag of grass!
Last winter I only had 1 that stayed fortnightly, fingers crossed for next winter with the new ones! It's the ones that put you off and then want it at the same price and not any of mine to date but ones that are mulched and complain when you open end them cause they won't go fortnightly and it's too long to mulch effectively.
guess where i tip for 18 bucks equates to twenty four lawns normally every two days in the heavy going so 75 cents per customer...think i would like to provide the service without the client worrying about putting up with stinking bins and extra grass hanging around ..would hate to see my older customers dragging out a large bin on collection day ..bit harse i reckon
My cycles generally go something like this!
2 wkly spring mowing, 2-4 wkly summer, 3 wkly autumn and 4-5 wkly in winter.
I use winter for my hols, etc etc and gives me a break from the same thing day in day out so when spring arrives I am (hopefully) ready to go again!
Your right Andy. Thats why I don't have too many of them anymore.
Its the same as the ones who say Ohhh it hasn't grown much, can you do it next week. Then won't go to more regular mows in the peak times but expect you to mow for regular prices. Oh and take the extra clippings for free.
And on a side note, for all the fresh newbies, my hot tip for this is to spend some time thinking about what you want to do, and set your job up better than I did in your first year of quoting.
One mistake I made was locking myself into set price jobs that had a set method. EG: always catch and take clippings. Some days if the grass is right and your back is a bit stiff from the big clean up the day before you're going to want to mulch it so if you didn't charge extra to catch it you're probably going to regret it.
Also have a think about what sort of clientelle will be on your dream schedule, 30 high end clients or a mixture of 50 or 80 ferals nearly monthly. might depend on your target area and what's there as well.