Newbie Pricing Questions

CKS1

CKS1

New member
Heys guys, please indulge me a minute of your time. I am just starting out in this field, but I have been self employed for over 20 years. Anyways, I'm out bidding jobs and I am trying to be competitive, but not the lowest price. I'm not that guy that is going to underbid everybody else just to get the jobs.

I have been using a formula to estimate each job. A linear foot cost for the hood, a fixed price for each filter, each roof fan, each duct. Factoring in other things such as amount of plastic tarping, number of cleans per year etc and adding on a company margin (profit plus overhead).

The numbers I am coming up with are $872 for a 16.5' x 10' double line w/ a 6' dishwasher hood; $1185 for a 20' x 10' double line w/ 2 six foot flame broil hoods (Greencheck); $940 for a 14' and a 18' line w/ a 5' dishwasher hood (Dou Air); $541 for a 13' line w/ a double haul (two extension ladders up to roof hood); and $2035 for a 30' line, an 18' line and a 5.5' dishwasher hood.

Do these prices seem in line with the rest of you guys' jobs? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Michael Baril
Commercial Kitchen Systems
 
Well Michael,
First it depends on the area you are working in. Here on the East Coast I was getting $375.00 for a system. I went to Florida and spoke to the manager of the same restaurant chain and he was paying $250.00.
Being that I have been working in this field for some time I can usually tell how much to bid by just knowing the size of the hood, where the fan is how many filters and the type of cooking and the last time cleaned.
This is how I bid over the phone for a single hood. Not Asian. Never Asian.
I have a minimum price of say $350.00. Thats $350.00 to leave the driveway.
The job is allocated 2 1/2 hours. If you get done in less, good for you. An (average job), single hood 6 + filters Short duct, should not take more than 2 hours. Anything over that is priced at say, $150.00 per hour. A maximum of 3 1/2 hours. COD. You have another job after that one. We do not clean appliances, or back walls. If the system is not done by the maximun hours and you cant stay longer. Thats it. If you want to work till you die and the place had a check right there for you, go ahead. Sometimes I tell them that it was let go so long that it will take a few cleanings to get it up to code.
 
Michael
Ive tried using your per foot approach when I started, I was always all over the map with prices, it is a place to start though. With experience youll start to get a handle on pricing.
 
Thanks Roger and Ed,

I appreciate your fixed price method Ed, and in the post above I mentioned a 13’ long hood that had at least six filters (I couldn’t believe they were cooking w/ no filters installed, very neglected system) for a price of $541.00. The duct went through the roof and up the side of the adjacent building about twenty feet above the restaurant roof to the fan. That meant more work/ladders so I added on more money. So I guess I’m in the neighborhood with that one.

The other quotes I was mulling over involved back to back exhaust hoods with a kneewall separating the cooking equipment. So in the first price ($872) I would need three collection tarps and barrels and have to clean three roof fans and ducts and 19 filters. In the second ($1185) I would need four barrels, four roof fans, four ducts and 38 filters. In the fourth ($2035) there was 53’ of exhaust hood with 28 filters and 6 roof fans. Three of the fans/ducts are small Cook dishwasher type fans. But the other three fans are different than anything else I’ve seen so far.

There are two ducts about 2’ x 2’ square coming up through the roof about six feet apart. Then the ductwork continues up to a 90 degree turn and they meet together in the middle in a larger duct that is connected to a 18” diameter round duct that is connected to the fan. Each of these duct assemblies is about 6’ x 10’ and looks to weigh about 150 lbs. or so. There was an access panel so I opened it and it looked like it had never been cleaned inside. (The restaurant is about two years old). I could see it taking eight hours for several men to do this job properly.

Today I was looking at a job and the fans were wall mounted (and filthy). I could see that it was going to be a challenge to contain the waste and the sous chef was telling me that the country club was putting pressure on the chef to lower his operating budget so I prolly won’t even bid it. But I wanted to mention it because I would like to hear how some of you approach a bid when you know its not gonna be a blow and go.

Roger, I agree that with time I will find my way. In the past I have learned from trial and error. I could pass on these big kitchens and just do regular size hoods and get some experience and a few employees, but I’ve never been one to shy from a challenge. There is a need and I’m trying to fill it. I just wanted to use this forum as a sounding board before I go back to these places with a number.

Thanks again Ed, for the info. You laid it out for me like I was a third grader and sometimes that’s the best way to hear it.


Michael Baril
Commercial Kitchen Systems
 
CKS1 said:
I would like to hear how some of you approach a bid when you know its not gonna be a blow and go.
Michael Baril
Commercial Kitchen Systems
Click to expand...

You do NOT want to sell accounts based on price. You are NOT running a charity, you are running a BUSINESS, and businesses need profit to survive.

I pre-qualify customers. If they are shopping for the lowest price, I simply recommend that they contact one of my competitors. I have found that presentation is the most important factor in closing the deal. Offering a FREE inspection and written quote, along with pics of the system set you apart from the guy who just looked at the hood and gave a price. Put your proposal in a folder with a business card and your insurance binder, add a list of references or testimonials if you have any.
 
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