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  Chris Auld September 1, 2012 at 3:59pm

  Couldnt give a price without seeing them Ashley all i can say is you wont get every job you quote for and no matter how cheap you are there will always be someone cheaper! If the first hedge you mentioned would infact take 2 days with a 2 man team then £400 sounds very reasonable, if i was doing a 2 day/2 man job which included waste removal i would be charging about £700+VAT, however your only guessing it would take you 2 days, a more experienced company (no offence) might have come along and done it all in 6 hours. With experience you will get better at estimating jobs, i know when i started out i really messed up on a few and ended up making no profit at all. Good luck.
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  Dan Frazer Gardening September 1, 2012 at 4:31pm

  My instinct is that the first job might only take one day with the two of you, but I can't say for sure without seeing it. Forget the jobs you don't get - if you got every job you know you're too cheap.

  Do you have a petrol pole pruner for this type of work?
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  Ashley Meredith September 1, 2012 at 4:34pm

  No offence taken, iv never priced hedge work before let alone reduction and adding in another person. I added the 2nd day as a "just in case day" if there were any delays etc.

   

  Thanks,

  Ashley
   
  Chris Auld said:

  Couldnt give a price without seeing them Ashley all i can say is you wont get every job you quote for and no matter how cheap you are there will always be someone cheaper! If the first hedge you mentioned would infact take 2 days with a 2 man team then £400 sounds very reasonable, if i was doing a 2 day/2 man job which included waste removal i would be charging about £700+VAT, however your only guessing it would take you 2 days, a more experienced company (no offence) might have come along and done it all in 6 hours. With experience you will get better at estimating jobs, i know when i started out i really messed up on a few and ended up making no profit at all. Good luck.
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  James Dixon September 1, 2012 at 4:44pm

  Or to put the question the other way round: "Are your competitors pricing too low?"

  Can you distinguish yourself by proving you have things like insurance cover, better health and safety (proper access equipment etc presented in a method statement) or can you provide beter customer service or added value such as by working to a higher specification that they don't? May be they priced the job the same but had all these things?

  I bet they would pay more for a car badge (unless they drive a Kia or something) or an iphone rather than a cheap Paygo phone you can pick up at Asda. Badge your self as a Rolls Royce and charge a bit more because you can't compete with a yellow three wheel Robin  Reliant van!
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  Matt - Allscape SW September 1, 2012 at 6:26pm

  I would say, based on your description that the first job is probably a day for two guys but you will only know that with experience and you are right to add in a 'just in case day' if you are not sure, better to not get the job than get it and lose money doing it.
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  Ashley Meredith September 1, 2012 at 6:34pm

  Job looked ok, hedge tops had clean cuts on the Laurel. On the first call telling them the quote I did give them options to save money, and to call me back to have a chat. I dont really ever call people back because I feel im pressuring them, so I leave it up to them to call me and discuss options. So we both get a good deal.

  I do remember one of my local clients saying he saw a youngish man taking 3-4 ton backs away in his estate car with all the waste in. But I didnt really take much notice, his one of these people who just talks ha.

  Ashley.
   
  J S Tree & Garden Care said:

  As others have said it is very hard to say without looking at the job, for example what would the clear up have been like would you have had to sift through a gravel driveway to collect all of the cuttings and could you get the truck close for loading etc etc.
  
  As a guide I would have thought the first job could have been done in under a day and if an experienced firm went there they maybe would have priced it for this which could have made them cheaper that you. Nobody wins every job they price unless there are crazy cheap and who wants to be a busy fool! You said the job had been done, what did it look like and what was the clear up like? Do you ever follow up quotes with a quick call or email to see what there thoughts or decision was?
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  Ashley Meredith September 1, 2012 at 6:39pm

  Ye I have the Stihl kombi, so trimmer, pruner, blower, strimmer also had the chipper and scaffolding.
   
  Dan Frazer Gardening said:

  My instinct is that the first job might only take one day with the two of you, but I can't say for sure without seeing it. Forget the jobs you don't get - if you got every job you know you're too cheap.

  Do you have a petrol pole pruner for this type of work?
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  Craig Downey September 1, 2012 at 9:08pm

  If your new to the job, don't be scared, go and knock on... Explain that you haven't priced many jobs up, and basically why didn't you get the job... What's the worst that can happen
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  Matthew@Westend Landscapes September 1, 2012 at 10:27pm

  You might of found the other company may of charged the same cost per day as you, just either braver or more knowledge with the timescale. Over the years I've lost and gained on different hedge work as sometimes you just can't tell the waste volume. Maybe you should look at raising the day rate to 300 but taking the risk on the time, work on a bit later if needed. But this might get you more jobs to asses time/waste on whilst your learning.
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  Ashley Meredith September 1, 2012 at 11:12pm

  Thanks guys for all the advice and guidance, lets see if I can get some more hedge work and have a proper stab at it.

   

  Ashley