Chipping Job

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I finally have my camera back but no real before pictures, just work in progress, this is a new subdivision that I have two crews in, it all started with one job then people stopped and asked for quotes, we will have two crews on this street for at least two more weeks which is great as I leave the equipment there. We use the X749's to move the chippers as they are all wheel drive and all wheel steer, even though these chippers are 2,600 pounds they will push them anywhere, we have hitches on the front and back. Anyhow these is what the client is left with, they can spray it with something very high in nitrogen and have mulch in a few months, what is interesting is our fees are almost an exact match for the value of mulch left, great selling line.

Attached Images

	Chipper-001.jpg (132.5 KB, 69 views)
	Chipper-002.jpg (133.8 KB, 31 views)
	Chipper-003.jpg (139.5 KB, 32 views)

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Andy
Halifax, Nova Scotia

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

WOW That is awesome! How often do you have to resharpen the blades on that chipper? I never took one of those apart.

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Originally Posted by Steve

WOW That is awesome!

How often do you have to resharpen the blades on that chipper? I never took one of those apart.

It really depends, if the wood is green about once every three days, the blades are double sided and there are 8 in this unit, if the wood is dry you might get 6 hours tops, it takes a lot of wood to keep it going for 6 hours.

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Originally Posted by Steve

WOW That is awesome!

How often do you have to resharpen the blades on that chipper? I never took one of those apart.

What is interesting and it makes me feel stupid in a way as I am always upselling, the customer came to me today and asked if we would consider doing his landscaping, I said of course, did up a quote and they accepted, then I thought geeze we have done 6 people on this street and they all need landscaping so tomorrow due to rain, I am doing up a letter and will drop it off to the people we finished and remember to talk about it when we do the rest of the people, not sure what I was thinking, I guess I simply wasn't thinking.

[Steve]

I am doing up a letter and will drop it off to the people we finished and remember to talk about it when we do the rest of the people, not sure what I was thinking, I guess I simply wasn't thinking.

What will the letter cover? Will it be to offer them landscaping services?

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Originally Posted by Steve

What will the letter cover? Will it be to offer them landscaping services?

Yes, because we send invoices and receipts by email, I was able to email all the locations we have completed, I will make sure starting today as we are back on sites that I mention this also, I sent the following email last evening and have one response already this morning.

Good Evening xxxxxxxx

On behalf of our company Oakridge Yard Care I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your wood cutting and chipping business.

I neglected to introduce you to our other services you may be interested in as a new homeowner, we provide a full range of excavation and landscaping services with references available at your request.

Landscaping can be an expensive venture, for this reason we do two things, being a commercial company we receive volume discounts on sod, Organic Lawn Soil, Mulch and Organic Lawn sprays, we pass the savings on to our customers and we break your property down into sections providing you with a detailed quote for each one. This allows our customers to decide which area is priority and within their budget.

I would welcome you to our website at www.oakridgeyardcare.ca as with all of our services estimates are free, if you would like to have an estimate simply fill in the contact information and we will set up a time to meet. We have been in your new subdivision for a few weeks and will continue to be here for at least two more, once our landscaping season starts we group areas together to save on transportation costs which is another savings to you.

Have a great weekend although the mother nature has put us back into what seems to be winter weather.

Kind Regards

Andrew

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Mother Nature was put us back into winter temps, man it's cold here this morning!

Brought this unit home to change the blades, just about to head out, this is how we transport the chippers, it's a fair amount of weight for the ranger, the chipper is just over 2,600 pounds, tractor close to 1,600 and the trailer itself is 2,100...

[Steve]

WOW That is a lot of stuff! I must say I love those trailer rims

Something I was thinking as I read this was how quickly it seems we can all lose focus on things we want or need to do. If it is important to talk to a chipping customer about additional landscaping services, how should one set it up so it's not forgotten?

If you are forgetting this and you are light years ahead of many, I bet others never even consider it.

So should a lawn care company have a check list of things to do while on site with each customer? One being make sure to offer them upsells on site, or is it better to give them a few days and follow up with an email about it?

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Originally Posted by Steve

WOW That is a lot of stuff! I must say I love those trailer rims

Something I was thinking as I read this was how quickly it seems we can all lose focus on things we want or need to do. If it is important to talk to a chipping customer about additional landscaping services, how should one set it up so it's not forgotten?

If you are forgetting this and you are light years ahead of many, I bet others never even consider it.

So should a lawn care company have a check list of things to do while on site with each customer? One being make sure to offer them upsells on site, or is it better to give them a few days and follow up with an email about it?

I have always made it a point to look around and do a walk with the client explaining we can do this or that, would you like this done etc. Then I follow up with an email listing everything with a price for each. I think or know what happened and what is happening is we are getting behind so it's started to be a get in and get out, just get the job done, plus I am really short staff until the guys are out of University.

I bid one job on this street this morning as we worked there today although it was brutal cold (-8), it fine once you get going chipping as you warm right up, anyhow I did the quote in the truck while the guys chipped at a house up the street, the owner accepted on the spot, I then proceeded to do quote for three other homes on the street that emailed me this morning, just waiting to hear from them.

Maybe we should have a checklist that has everything we do and as we are walking around check the things we see needing attention then talk to the client about it and follow up with an email quote.