Guys, this post is something different from my normal ones, this one is a walk around a real customers garden and how I price things.
I thought that would be something of interest here on the hive platform as when I first started this I had no clue what to charge and this could be potentially a big help to someone else who needs the help.
I am so excited to say that my customer gave me the green light to do this post with her garden, and it gave me a great buzz to be able to show something that I think explains what I do and how I price the job up.
For starters, I want to tell you that my take-home goal for the day is £150 after tax and paying for things like fuel and expenses I want to have at least £100 left.
So sometimes you need a few jobs to get that amount of money or one really good job that pays over a few days.
I will explain my method and take you through the journey of a job price up as we go along.
This garden is not the biggest and has an artificial lawn which is a bit of a downer for me as I like to cut the grass when I do these jobs.
So this first picture is of where the artificial grass meets the customer's path, whoever laid the grass needs their eyes looking at as it is probably the worst job I have ever seen.
With no weed suppressant present grass had grown between the lawn and the path making a wave of knee-high grass to contend with.
The grass wasn't even pegged down and had no sand or hardcore under it and it had never had a wacker plate neither.
The customer doesn't want it lifting and relaying but wants me to get rid of the grass between.
For this, I would charge £10
This next picture is of the garden looking up to the back fence, there is pots that have been left for years and they need emptying and re-planting. this job alone would take somewhere between 2 hours and 3 alone, this would be a £60 job, including going to get the plants and compost.
The next job on the list is at the top of the garden, there is some soil that is blocking the gate from opening.
She would like the soil moving to her raised bed area so she can open the gate, this would take me about 20 minutes and cost around £10 in labor.
Weeding the path between the wall is another job she would like doing, this isn't a big job, but weeds have destroyed the path and when they are removed the path will need to be patched, the job would take about half an hour at £10 but then to add tarmac down to fill the gaps this is another job in it's self. and would set her back £120
The raised bed needs fixing and more soil adding to it as it has been knocked over by her dogs, this has made the soil come out and onto the lawn.
This is another job she would like me to sort out, I quoted an hour for this which works out to be £20
One other thing that I do add to my price list, Dog shit, I hate it, if I have a customer with a dog I always tell them that they need to clear up beforehand otherwise I won't be doing the job.
If I have to return to a job there is another fee of £10, that covers my expenses for fuel and loss of earnings while going back and forth.
This job would cost all in about £200 but seen as I know the lady pretty well I am only charging her £20.
She is ill and I have a soft spot for her, she makes me laugh and my kid walks her dog, I can come and go as I please and get it done between jobs.
I know I am losing out on money by doing something like this but it isn't in my nature to charge a venerable person loads of money as it just isn't me.
Hope you liked my walkthrough, and until next time my friends, stay safe.
It really made me go "awww" :)
There are jobs... and there are things you do for someone because you simply want to.
That's right buddy, This lady two years ago had her bank account emptied, around £3000 went missing, the bank said that someone had her pin and had been using her bank card over a period of time.
My mother was the one to get to know this lady first, and she is so trusting and vulnerable it breaks our hearts. she has been used by her family and people she classed as her friends.
She also gets kids trashing the front of her house as well, she sits in her seat watching tv with a knife at the side of her from the fear of been attacked while she is on her own.
When we go around to her house she always shouts come in, without even knowing who is at the door.
She had a cleaning lady who was stealing from her left right and center, she found out because she went into a cupboard that had towels inside it and they were all gone, so were all her plates and tools too, I couldn't believe what I was hearing but her daughter was telling us the same.
I wouldn't want to take anything more of her as I think she has gone through enough, and I also like to spend time with her too as she is well funny and has a lot of personality.
Oh my... You'd think that bad things don't (or shouldn't) happen to good and kind people and then you hear stuff like that.
Make her garden pretty!!
I had my front done a couple of days ago. Trees towering to 30ft, hedge had not been done for 3 years, took 3 dudes 4 hours to get it all done, £250.
The dodgy-looking dude in charge kept insisting I had a great deal.., insisted on cash and told me he would be back in the morning with a receipt..., never saw him again.
Why are these people always so shady?
wow @slobberchops, this sounds so shady, I do receipts on the job, customers can have one either in paper or electronically it is up to them.
£250 for 3 dudes and 4 hours might be about right, as the price to dispose of green waste at the minute is £195 per ton. that is if it has even made it to a green waste center.
£20 per hour for the first guy, and £10 per person as a laborer for 4 hours is £160 then depending on the waste weight to dispose of it, could be around the £250 mark.
Sometimes a skip can be cheaper, but that is depending on the price at the time.
As long as your happy with the job that they have done mate and your happy with what you paid then that's the main thing. :D
The job was OK, it has typically been £150-£180 in the past, but I have left it for years and it has got out of hand. Striking the deal is always important as well.
A tree which I didn't mention, they refused to include as it wasn't in the original deal we agreed on.
Negotiating these 'deals' isn't my idea of fun.
I never liked talking about money, it has been something that I have had to learn to do, I used to say to my customer that I would go away and come back to them with a price, this was easier to talk to them over the phone.
Now, however, I tell them right there and then how much, I also get them to walk me around to show me what they want to do, and while I am walking I am taking notes in my diary so I don't miss anything. (I have missed things in the past) lolz