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• PRO

  Gary RK February 9, 2011 at 5:34pm

  I would say you are massively undercharging...

   

  You effectively charge yourself out at £10 per hour while unloading - what about travel time & fuel ?

   

  How far do you have to travel to dump ?

   

  Personally, I would either charge for a skip on site and chip/shred into it, or chip/shred to site and reuse.

   

  We've stopped taking our green waste directly to waste transfer station as when you tot up the time, fuel, gate charges/wt charges and wear and tear on vehicle/trailer its massively expensive.

   

  I'd rather my guys be out earning money than spending it....

   

  We now have a 12 yard skip at our yard changed weekly or two weekly depending on season, with anything other than grass/leaves - shredded into it.

   

  This works for us - only you would know what would work in your case.....
• 

  Chris Auld February 9, 2011 at 5:41pm

  Yeah i know mate but people still think that is expensive, there are so many cowboys around here that drive around in their ford mondeos and get into the dump for free just because theyre not in a van and dont have a big trailer so i find it hard competing with them, especially on hedge cutting jobs. Im thinking of raising it to £80 from now on.
  Gary RK said:

  I would say you are massively undercharging...

   

  You effectively charge yourself out at £10 per hour while unloading - what about travel time & fuel ?
• PRO

  Gary RK February 9, 2011 at 5:44pm

  Chris,

   

  Look at professional shredders - one I'd recommend straight off is the Eliet Professional. Its a clever design, will fit in most vans, powered by a 9 or 13hp honda engine, effectively self feeds and second hand ones are around for under a 1K. Then you can start to offer a reasonable green waste service.

   

  We have a little leaflet we include with our quotes.

   

  It sets out the EA Duty of Care in simple terms and also shows - upfront - official gate & waste charges. You need to educate your clients, especially the new ones.

   

  Down here the charges are 'an arm & a leg' anyway !

   

  We don't hide it, we don't make on green waste BUT we do make our clients aware of the legal options.

   

  If they baulk at it, then they aren't clients for us.....
  
  Chris Auld said:

  Yeah i know mate but people still think that is expensive, there are so many cowboys around here that drive around in their ford mondeos and get into the dump for free just because theyre not in a van and dont have a big trailer so i find it hard competing with them, especially on hedge cutting jobs. Im thinking of raising it to £80 from now on.
  Gary RK said:

  I would say you are massively undercharging...

   

  You effectively charge yourself out at £10 per hour while unloading - what about travel time & fuel ?
• 

  Geoff Norfolk February 9, 2011 at 6:44pm

  I know what you mean there....... all my customers would pass out if I told them it was going to cost them £60 to get rid of a trailer full of rubbish!!.......... its amazing how people think you can magically get rid of rubbish for nothing lol.  
  
  Chris Auld said:

  Yeah i know mate but people still think that is expensive, there are so many cowboys around here that drive around in their ford mondeos and get into the dump for free just because theyre not in a van and dont have a big trailer so i find it hard competing with them, especially on hedge cutting jobs. Im thinking of raising it to £80 from now on.
  Gary RK said:

  I would say you are massively undercharging...

   

  You effectively charge yourself out at £10 per hour while unloading - what about travel time & fuel ?
• PRO

  Gary RK February 9, 2011 at 6:54pm

  I'm staggered.

   

  So, do you not discuss it before hand or show your clients the true costs to ensure they know its not you trying it on ???

   

  Why would you take jobs on that are basically running at a loss ? ie you are effectively paying your client to dispose of their rubbish ?

   

  If your client had builder on site, they would expect skip costs.

   

  So, why would they not equate it the same for green waste from a landscape gardener ?

   

  Have you looked at the way "you" approach it, set expectations and educate your clients ?

   

  I feel sometimes we are our own worst enemy.

   

   

   

   
• 

  Chris Auld February 9, 2011 at 7:02pm

  We always hire skips when doing landscaping jobs to remove soil, brick rubble, stones, etc. and i use a chipper for any tree work we carry out. Im talking about hedge clippings, leaves, weeds, etc. I have found that clients just dont realise the work and costs involved in removing this waste.
  Gary RK said:

  I'm staggered.

   

  So, do you not discuss it before hand or show your clients the true costs to ensure they know its not you trying it on ???

   

  Why would you take jobs on that are basically running at a loss ? ie you are effectively paying your client to dispose of their rubbish ?

   

  If your client had builder on site, they would expect skip costs.

   

  So, why would they not equate it the same for green waste from a landscape gardener ?

   

  Have you looked at the way "you" approach it, set expectations and educate your clients ?

   

  I feel sometimes we are our own worst enemy.

   

   

   

   
• 

  Matt Brown February 9, 2011 at 8:22pm

  my customers all have green bags. in birmingham you can put out 17 green bags per fortnight per household. usually i plan tasks round the 17 bags or they ask neibours if they would put a few outside theirs. i have shot myself in the foot kind of with existing customers as i take away bags of leaves and any other 'compostables' and i havent been charging for it as i take them to my allotment and fill my huge composters up. any spares i have there is a queue of other plot holders that want bags of leaves,