ultimate low-ball?!!!!

DOG

DOG

owner
check this out...
i bid on a 2 story vinyl not too dirty $255
concrete 1000 sq. ft. X.15= $155
220 linear feet of gutters clean inside and out $220.
call today to follow up... she's got some guy coming out next weekend to do all of it FOR $200!!!

this guy has no pressure washer?? he mis-informned customer that PWING siding is wrong.... HE WILL BE BRUSHING WITH A BUCKET HAHAHA...??
how will he do the concrete?

then tried explain to customer that i will come out after he's done to demonstrate how professional grade equipment and chemicals produce greater results....

SHE WAS INSULTED THAT I COULD JUDGE THIS MAN AND HOW HE WORKS????
I QUICKLY ENDED CONVERSATION...

must be some kinda racial thang????;)
 
Here is my opinion :

When customers get defensive about something like that, they are probably lying to you about the "price" that the other guy gave her. She probably didnt contact anyone else and she just said this to get you to lower your price.

If my customers tell me "Oh well this other guy said $200 - can you match that".....I say - I need his company name and phone number, I have to verify that he is licensed with the state of colorado, has insurance and uses the same quality of equipment that I do.........I am not price matchin Joe Blows Powerwashing using a Dewalt pressure washer out of the back of his honda hatchback....sorry!!!!!;)
 
When they tell me that somebody else is cheapre etc.. I simply explain how I am do the job and why i do it the way I do. Then they are at least informed enough to oversee or ask questions of the other guy.

What makes it some kind of racial thing?
 
I think I'd amp up my advertising, teach this guy to use a Pwasher and hire him out as a sub!! Tell him you'll keep him busy at those rates and he won't have to waste any more time advertising, marketing, selling, etc.
 
There you go Jon :) Lowballers are good for a couple of things - like Jon said, hiring on OR taking care of the folks who just are never going to pay for professional work. While they're out selling on price (or the lack thereof) you can focus on selling your professional quality to the market who cares - they will never be able to deliver that therefore, they are not any competition anyway. They're actually saving you time & money from the perspective that if you pre-qualify your potential customer to see if they're price shopping, that lowballer just saved you from going out.

Celeste
 
I had a call last year from a woman who said she had a guy washing her two story home, detached garage, deck, and all her concrete for $225. She said something had happened to him and he couldn't do the work and she was looking for someone who could do it for the same price. The house was only a few miles from me so I went and measured it out and left her a quote for nearly $600. Needless to say I never heard from her again. Judging from the looks of the house I think she had a price in mind she was willing to pay and made the rest of the story up.
 
It happens all the time, Not much you can do but wait for him to screw something up. I put a bid in on a wealthy house of about 455.00 aluminum house. She received another bid of 200.00. But at the end he was on the side of the house with a ladder and it damaged the siding good.

I wondered what she saved in the end.

I will stay in bed for that kind of coin.

Matt
 
she had already hired him so it was not a negotiating tactic. but Nicole that is what i am going to do next time this arises.

Hey Larry tried to explain that and she got defensive?? racial? just a feeling i got about it is all.

Jon yea thats funny:D no way in hell would i do what your suggesting. next thing you would see after the first couple jobs is him using your equipment(or his bucket and brush) doing the neighbors houses.

good seeing you around Celeste, i understand what your saying but for someone just starting out it's not that easy to accept. i'm sure you know this, you were not born with a silver lance in your mouth:p . how did the round table go? hope well, whens the next one? i will be there. i am looking into doing concrete overlays as well. one thing at a time tho.


here is the kicker to all of this. she is the GM of two La Quintas and wanted me to bid them..... i toke measurements last week researched the proper chems involved priced the manlift and had the numbers ready to submit. then call today and get this? i know the proper way to clean DRYVIT now haha..
wonder if she thinks her guy can use a brush for a six story hotel??
 
DOG said:
good seeing you around Celeste, i understand what your saying but for someone just starting out it's not that easy to accept. i'm sure you know this, you were not born with a silver lance in your mouth:p . how did the round table go? hope well, whens the next one? i will be there. i am looking into doing concrete overlays as well. one thing at a time tho.

The Event was outstanding! We were thrilled to have 107 attendees which broke down to 67 separate contractor companies and 8 exhibiting companies (obviously with most having more than one person representing their company) Contractor and exhibitor participation made this day a success - anyone can coordinate bodies (me) but the folks that showed up to learn & network are the ones who made it as successful as it was :)


here is the kicker to all of this. she is the GM of two La Quintas and wanted me to bid them..... i toke measurements last week researched the proper chems involved priced the manlift and had the numbers ready to submit. then call today and get this? i know the proper way to clean DRYVIT now haha..
wonder if she thinks her guy can use a brush for a six story hotel??
Click to expand...

Hopefully this woman will remember why you were higher - because you knew your stuff - and will appreciate that when looking for a quality person to take care of her commercial interests.

Celeste
 
Dog,

First off, I've got to say that not everyone uses pressure to wash a house. I agree that $200 is way too low, but as you point out, he most likely will not clean the driveway. (Many of my customers don't think their driveway needs to be cleaned, so it may not be important to her either.) $200 is still too low for the house and gutters, and I point out to my customers that I can't - and don't - compete against uninsured contractors. (I also point out that in order to obtain general liability insurance, you must have a business license - at least in VA - and when you have a business license, you will pay tax on every penny of income. Those that charge absurdly low prices are not likely to be paying taxes or have insurance.)

FWIW, here's my pricing for this job: Assuming this house to be about 2500 sq ft, my price for all of the above work would have been $350 - $250 for me and $100 for my gutter sub. My time would have been 2 to 2.5 hours - right on target for my goal of $100/hr for residential. With the understanding of the difference between a legitimate business and someone out to make a little cash on the side, I get these jobs - competing against low-ballers - all the time.
 
DOG said:
maybe my price was a lil to high? so let me get this straight ya'll charge less than .50 cents per linear foot of gutter?
Click to expand...

If it's not too difficult yes. $1 sq.ft is good if all they want is the gutters cleaned. I usually cut them a deal if they ask for multiple services. $100 is average for me, but without looking at the property I couldn't say for sure.

$1 sq.ft minimum for really full gutters that are growing trees.
 
I charge a dollar for an inside clean , not real bad and they purchase plastic screen for a lay over on gutter, One year warranty on bird free install. All on a walk about.

House, I am high, Like my customers look at me, But they want it done so I look at it selling the best service and so on like what was mentioned above.

Matt
 
We would be at 250-300 for the house.
I dont like to brush gutters. And prolly would walk away if she was a stickler and wanted them bedsheet white. Or, refer her to someone I know that will brush them. I have brushed gutters and I would rather work on my trailor then have degreaser running down my arm. Sometimes my helper will sell the brushing as an "add on" and do it himself as I drop the trailor and go do estimate or whatever.
Timely process...

I have been lowballed bad. It is a ****ty feeling. Better than spending your time spare skin and using your eqpt for a crappy check though. You never know though that poor other entitiy may be on his last dollar and NEEDS the job to eat. In that case, you did a good deed!
 
Peerless said:
We would be at 250-300 for the house.
I dont like to brush gutters. And prolly would walk away if she was a stickler and wanted them bedsheet white. Or, refer her to someone I know that will brush them. I have brushed gutters and I would rather work on my trailor then have degreaser running down my arm. Sometimes my helper will sell the brushing as an "add on" and do it himself as I drop the trailor and go do estimate or whatever.
Timely process...
Click to expand...

I don't like them either, that's why I hire help to do it. Good thing about brushing gutters is that it doesn't take much equipment to do it. A bucket, brush, and a garden hose. Makes a big difference and I usually beat the lowballers because I know they won't do it.
 
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