I got lucky

[Dragger]

I got lucky after bidding way low on a job i took

I wish all the customers were this easy going

Got an email from a man wishing an estimate to mow/trim/blow his small yard each 10 days ,its a second house and he is never there but wants it to not be the worst on the block were his words.
I figured 30 minutes to do the job so called him with the bid of 90 a month on it and he accepted , then asked me about weeding and mulching his garden and i figured 2 man hours on that and gave him the price and he accepted paid the month in advance and said just call him when i have weeded and mulched and he would send me the money through paypal like he did with the mowing cost

well here where the Dragger screwed up part comes in to play ,Took 6 man hours to weed the mess dues to poison ivy growing all through the bushes.

i get home that evening and sit down and think how to deal with it and decided truthful is the best way but also to now demand more money as i had giving him a price for the job .

I explained to him that the job took longer then i thought it would but i would stick to to the price i quoted him i explained the reason why it took longer and how many additional hours were involved and said he could pay the quoted price the full price or meet some where in the middle and included pictures of the weeded beds .

his reply was just bill me for the hours you put into the job and that the yard look great.
With in 30 minutes he had trasfered the full amount to me and this morning his girl friend calls and ask me to give her a price for her lawn

over all a good day but lesson learned

DO NOT rely on your memory to quote a job

[Hedgemaster]

Poison ivy?

I would have paid HIM to let me get the heck OUTTA THERE!

:D



I had it BAD last summer for the first time in my life. Both arms, both legs, chest, and more. Blisters 1/4" high on my arms... nasty.
I couldn't get more than an hour or two of sleep at night and the whole process took FOREVER to heal up. If I had medical insurance I would have gone to a doctor or the ER. I NEVER go to the doctor - it was THAT bad.

Think I may have a spot of it on my left forearm now. Possibly from trimming a bunch of "mystery weeds" in an overgrown yard.



Glad to hear that it worked out for you.
It's refreshing when someone recognizes your efforts and adjusts accordingly. As a noob, I've screwed myself plenty of times by bidding too low, but many times I've been given more than I had asked for by people who saw how much work I put into the job.

[LawnMoore]

Yep it seems like the rich ones who screw ppl for their money will screw you butt he wealthy ones who work for there money will reward and tip you.

Basically how i can tell what a clients character is too.

[Steve]

Now that is a story!

Would you say that is the biggest lesson you have learned so far or do others stand out more so?

[Dragger]

Now that is a story!

Would you say that is the biggest lesson you have learned so far or do others stand out more so?
Do not rely on your memory it will fail you at the worst possible time.

Instead of thinking i knew what the gardens looked like that needed weeding I should have went back to look at them before giving a price on the work .

[Hedgemaster]

I take photos of nearly every property I do an estimate on.

It's a good idea to snap a pic of the house address first so that when looking through them all later, you know that anything after it belongs to that address.

My memory sucks, so the photos help a lot when I sit down later to think about the bid.

[Dragger]

I take photos of nearly every property I do an estimate on.

It's a good idea to snap a pic of the house address first so that when looking through them all later, you know that anything after it belongs to that address.

My memory sucks, so the photos help a lot when I sit down later to think about the bid.
Very Good idea as i keep a camera in the truck any way as i have several out of town customers who i snaps pictures of there property for when i finish work there and send them the invoice .

[Steve]

That is a good idea. Do you ever use the photos as a sales tool as well? Where you can point out different issues in the photo to the homeowner, possibly sent through the email?

Or maybe edit the photo to add a landscape feature that you feel their yard could benefit from?