Hello all. I've been wondering about how to charge for one-off leaf clearance jobs? I have a few customers on maintenance contracts with X visits per year, so their leaf clearance comes under the regular visits and I collect what I can in the regular visits. But I have a few customers who usually only use me for eg. grass cutting, who have asked me to clear leaves instead. Usually can't use the mower to lift them as it's too wet so it's raking or blowing. I don't want to be clearing leaves at the same price as mowing and the time taken can vary depending on conditions and how they are cleared, so pricing as a job seems impractical.
I expect there might be the odd call from new people as well, who just want some leaves cleared and nothing else.
I'm wondering if this is the time to use an hourly rate, which I usually try to avoid. I've also thought about bundling in other jobs like pruning, border/bed maintenance and offering fortnightly or monthly visits until things are sorted, leaves all gone etc.
So how do you price your 'one-offs' for leaf clearances for customers who aren't on regular maintenance agreements and do you try to combine it with other work over a number of visits?
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Great question, Austin. Could be done in lots of ways and I hope a full discussion results. How about taking the state of the leaves in terms of degree of difficulty to clear into account, then offer a price for that and some other work. For instance, where have the leaves come from? Point out the damage rotting leaves cause to lawns so how about a tree pruning session to save lawn recovery costs later? Or it could be a hedge or shrubbery to cut back, which opens up space for some planting . . .
I'd go in a bit less "Tigger" than freshscaped.... :-)
Doing a good job at a fair price is often the only "sell" you need if that's all the client wants right now. Going to quote to clear a few leaves and trying to sell in major tree work, lawn recovery, shrub pruning and a whole new planting plan? I can't see that getting me recommended around, and that £20 job might lead on to so much more if you treat the client fairly.
I'd agree with Andy. If it's all the client wants then price it fair and hope it leads to more work, but also factor in that wet leaves are a pain to pick up and cost a lot to dispose of.
That's taking things a bit too literally, Paul. I was thinking more of conversations which could arise later, ideas which may find their way into the same leaflet or email to drum up some seasonal work. Or perhaps there is some small thing which would be of benefit if done now.
Throwing that lot at anybody who wants their lawn clearing of leaves is likely to get a seriously barricaded response and rightly so. Common sense comes in useful here and there.
Some useful stuff there - thanks. It's definitely not easy trying to persuade people to spend more when it's obvious that in many cases they are happy to see the grass has stopped growing and are looking at saving money. That doesn't stop the leaves falling though! I do always try to steer people towards a regular schedule but that's easier done in Spring or Summer when the gardens are growing like crazy.
Different conditions are interesting - most wet leaves still seem to blow ok and unlike dry ones they don't all just waft away when a tiny little breeze blows back to you! I did some a week or so ago and when the breeze came up I felt like I was in one of those shaker snowstorm things with leaves instead of snow.
Yup. Then, all done and looking tidy, as soon as you drive off along come a few strong gusts and it looks as though you never cleared them at all!
In my experience, it's best to:
Don't spend ages blowing wet leaves that are stuck firmly to the soil/path/turf. Use a rake and/or broom to pick up majority then blow loose debris.
IMO leaves should, if possible, always be re-used in the garden they're collected from. Pop them in the compost or level behind mature shrubs/hedges (as long as there's no danger of them being blown back into the garden).
That's what I do. I dump them behind hedges. Mulches, gives nutrients, supports insects and amphibians and hedgehogs if any, stops weeds.
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