How'd it go today?

[lumberjack]

Roughly 25%. I'd say 500hrs is less then 25% of the expected life span of the unit. But there's the financing, nearly out of warranty, and not knowing how the used unit was maintained. I'm no Brendon but I do like to keep up on my maintenance more then most.

Yeah, I'd go new as well. Do not skimp on the options. Start a thread if you have questions.

Ground some stumps this morning and another customer added some work. Had sushi for lunch, then picked up another 2 jobs/~1 day's work for Scott and I.




ETA:

Here's the bigger of the two jobs, one co-dom is dead, the other, behind it from this perspective is still green.

 

[canadiantreeman]

Cleaned up a pine I felled for a buddy in the spring. He claimed he would get to it over the summer but never did, so I just showed up chainsaw in hand, bucked it and pulled it off the slope for him. Knocked down a little sib. elm as well for him. Don't blame him for not getting up there though...he's a little older and has bad knees.

Was about to do some hedge trimming for another friend when the wife phoned and called me back home to help her with the chitlins...she's sick too.

 

[rskybiz]

My big gig for this week cancelled she found someone else 400 cheaper (non insured) WTF, after I worked my rear off to be accomadating via paperwork for the credit card. Looked at two others got one, another cedar job and a hanger in a loblolly, with a pecan to remove some deadwood. Take pecan's to if you want them
Talked with the other owners who dont own the declining oak I mentioned earlier and hope their homes are insured. Still no one owns it.

 

[sotc]

Ask her if 400 is worth the risk for an uninsured worker

 

[rskybiz]

Did that already as well as told her I would do a hickory her friend wants for smokin wood that was discussed but not agreed upon. I realy thought my price was low to start as it was a monster split leader.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Sounds like a customer you really don't need anyway

 

[SkwerI]

Ditto. Not every person you talk to is a desirable customer. It's better to sit at home and not work than to work for somebody who will beat you up and then beat you down. And then they drag you out on your money after the job.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Ask her if 400 is worth the risk for an uninsured worker

Maybe ask her if having a higher risk of a catastrophic injury of death on her front lawn, in front of the whole neighborhood and her family is worth $400, but maybe in a slightly less blunt way. That is if you can assure her that you have the skills, training, and experience to run your company legit and take care of her split tree safely.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I had a customer once upon a time. He wanted an estimate on three pines removed. I gave him one. He decided to find a couple of yahoos to do it cheaper. He pulled all three 75-100 foot pondos with his jeep as one of the guys made the cuts. Two guys cleaned it up. All three leaning at the house. He almost lost the last tree as it started to pull his jeep backwards. He managed to get it into 4wd quickly (as he had forgotten to engage it prior to the pull) and got the tree down. Scared him. So the next time.. He decided I was worth the money I would charge for some other trees since the other guys pretty much did not know what they were doing short of making firewood and had no insurance. I figured, hey cool, I have turned this guy around.
I do the work, all of a sudden he has no money upon completion.
No .... you don't need customers that are always trying to find it cheaper. You need customers that appreciate your work and why you charge what you do. You get paid by them and often tipped. Generally referred to more work and called back for more from those also.

 

[sawinredneck]

Walk, be happy and take pics of the carnage later. It's all you can do.

 

[rskybiz]

I'll swing by in the am and take a couple pic's as the missus is getting some plant cuttings from her. I have been working the last five + yrs off of word of mouth= Good clients. not so much mad at her just pushed myself to do all the paperwork which I dont enjoy to accomadate her, pushed other jobs back to do it now i'm rescheduling arrrg.

 

[Old Monkey]

I don't fight folks over going for a lower, less legit competitor. I put my bid in, explain in detail what I would do and why. If they tell me that they'll let me know because they are getting multiple bids, I say "Hey that's the way of the world, I hope it works out for you whoever you chose" and then I walk off and totally forget the job. If I get it, "Hooray for me!" If not, "Oh well." Bid 'em and forget 'em is my motto. It keeps me sane.

My lighting project worked awesomely. I bought 12 of these $3 solar powered garden lights, took off their stands, attached fishing line to them and hung them in my now leafless ash tree in front. It looked so good tonight I got the go ahead from my budget conscious wife to buy more of them and put them up. The beauty of it is that it lights up the tree without the need for extension chords and increased power bill. They're not super bright but it looks good. I think they'll stay up there until they die for good.

 

[sotc]

Bid 'em and forget 'em is my motto.

Yessir, but some insist on calling to tell you that they didn't choose you

 

[Old Monkey]

When I get those calls I get the feeling they liked me and feel bad they didn't go with me. I have even gotten referrals from folks who went with someone else.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Yessir, but some insist on calling to tell you that they didn't choose you

That is some courtesy.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Bid 'em and forget 'em is my motto.

A fellow I worked for would always call them back a couple days later to see what they'd decided. Believe it or not, most people would tell him to go ahead and do it. I remember many a slow morning w/o work: he'd get on the phone and more times than not he's round something up.

 

[Newfie]

Yup, sometimes you have to do more than a presentation, you have to close them as well.

 

[Cobleskill]

I would guess he might have occasionally thrown in the "we can give you a discount today only" sale.

 

[lumberjack]

Unless I am told to, or the situation changes dramatically, I never call back. I don't like getting unsolicited calls from salesmen, figure most folks don't either.

 

[MasterBlaster]

It's not unsolicited. Remember, they called you first.

 

[lumberjack]

If they didn't ask to be called back, I call that unsolicited. If I call and ask for a price on a piece of equipment, get it and hang up, I do not want them to call me back in a week to see what I decided.

 

[FJR]

I agree. I will not hunt you down to work for you. I can't stand when people follow up 5 times whenever I get a quote on something, so why would I do that to someone else.

 

[brendonv]

I've heard it works too, but I've never done it as I don't like it done to myself.

 

[MasterBlaster]

LOL @ "hunt you down." One follow up phone call isn't considered out of line.

 

[sotc]

I would agree, one follow up call shouldn't be a big deal