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Post by wayner on Aug 2, 2009 17:56:57 GMT 1
I went to a lady yesterday who called me as she saw my advert in the Ringwood and Fordingbridge News, she told me she also saw the other persons advert but although I was £12.00 more expensive she felt safer with someone who is fully insured and qualified and guarantees their work, ;D. Of course I told her she was very sensible, I am amazed after working out my overheads etc how people can do the job so cheap do they pay for insurance? Do they pay tax? Do they ever do refresher training?
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Post by eradicator on Aug 2, 2009 21:27:09 GMT 1
hi Wayne the anser to your question is yes most of them do, i know of someone who put up their prices cos things were slow and they thought they would make money from the jobs he did and he lost all but one contract and nearly lost what work he had, and to top the lot, people went shopping around for a lower price for everything and then went to the cheapest, who knows for sure if the other pestie that you are talking about is insured, did anyone ask to see the insurance, does he guarantee the kill for wasps, again was he asked, did he present himself correctly. did the customer do as so many others do and think that the dearer they pay the better the job. i know of a pestie doing wasps for less that £30 and that includes vat and yes he is trained and insured and he goes by quantity and by god he is busy. so its not all about individual prices but can be reckoning on volume. also as a point was the pestie vat registered? and did he have a landline number. this could be a case of more questions than answers. Lol
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Post by wayner on Aug 2, 2009 21:52:18 GMT 1
I could not do many more than I have been, already need to play catch up with my contracts. But I still would not concider doing them cheaper if I was not busy. Every thing I price has a value and I will not undervalue or Lowball as this does none of us any good! I know what my overheads are and what I need to earn as an hourly rate to pay for me, my van, my office time, my holiday time etc etc. Anyone can be a busy fool, I am running a business.
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Post by eradicator on Aug 3, 2009 6:46:17 GMT 1
I could not do many more than I have been, already need to play catch up with my contracts. But I still would not concider doing them cheaper if I was not busy. Every thing I price has a value and I will not undervalue or Lowball as this does none of us any good! I know what my overheads are and what I need to earn as an hourly rate to pay for me, my van, my office time, my holiday time etc etc. Anyone can be a busy fool, I am running a business. fully agree, but that was not what i replied. every one has a price some are lower than others, some consider that we were dear last year and the year before, but we held our price the same for two years, and we gained a lot of regular customers from it, mainly because we dont deviate from our price structure. however saying that, after coming out of the business and then coming back into it this year i have dropped my prices in line with all others in the area and now we are gaining even more business. that does not mean to say that we wont be putting it back up later, and i also know of others that have had to do the same. this is especially obvious where there are not too many pesties covering an area and where customers shop around. having no contracts to top up my pest control business it is a case of anything is better than nowt, (i gave my contracts to a friend and competitor when i gave it all up), mind you i dont alter my price at all on my other business and so that is a good earner and pest control is only a secondary business any way.
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Post by rasp on Aug 3, 2009 8:00:38 GMT 1
We froze all price increases until next year,espesicially on renewing contracts, this has worked really well for us with no lost contracts at all.
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Post by dograt on Aug 3, 2009 8:43:19 GMT 1
same as Rasp
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Post by eradicator on Aug 3, 2009 11:12:55 GMT 1
Hi Paul You are the same as me now price wise. just going out to a flea job, got to dig out the exodus. plus its on a discount from one of the schemes i belong to.
nice day for it.
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Post by wayner on Aug 4, 2009 15:39:09 GMT 1
I picked this up on another forum who are discusing the same subject, this I think is very much the case with a lot of pesters.
"Most people in pest control do it because they love the job. some of them remind me a bit of young stable girls who adore horses and are willing to work hard long hours for a pittance just to be near horses. Fine while they live at home with no bills to pay. But in the real world you need to live not survive".
I am convinced that some look on pest control as a hobby, some just a second income and others that are seriouse about being professional and making a living at it. Many people have given it up duting the time I have been involved in pest control, most of these were doing it for a cheap rate. The ones that have been around and are staying around are the ones that are realistic with pricing. I could run round like a fool doing twice the nests by undercutting everyone around me but I dont as I would earn less because I cant cut my overheads.
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Post by eradicator on Aug 4, 2009 16:31:22 GMT 1
I picked this up on another forum who are discusing the same subject, this I think is very much the case with a lot of pesters. "Most people in pest control do it because they love the job. some of them remind me a bit of young stable girls who adore horses and are willing to work hard long hours for a pittance just to be near horses. Fine while they live at home with no bills to pay. But in the real world you need to live not survive". I am convinced that some look on pest control as a hobby, some just a second income and others that are seriouse about being professional and making a living at it. Many people have given it up duting the time I have been involved in pest control, most of these were doing it for a cheap rate. The ones that have been around and are staying around are the ones that are realistic with pricing. I could run round like a fool doing twice the nests by undercutting everyone around me but I dont as I would earn less because I cant cut my overheads. Wayne lets start from the beginning, i started in pest control approx 14 years ago, i was full time for most of that time, i earnt a good income whilst doing it and was never a busy fool. when i was a kid i was told that when the times get tough and finances are slow, cut your cloth accordingly. Now whilst you may live in an affluent area, a lot of us dont, thats not to say that we live like porpers we dont, and yes there will always be those that will undercut yours and everyone elses price if they can. Thats their perogative. but why does this subject keep cropping up, what matters what mr Jones charges or if he wants to undercut the council or undercut your prices. YOUR prices are YOUR prices and so stick to them, dont whine and whinge like a lot of other sheep about it. anyone in this game no matter who, wether it be UKPCO or this forum will tell you it is not about keeping your price to what you want, this job is only as good as the customer will pay. 1 job at £45 plus vat is of no use if the other twenty have been lost because the pestie would not drop a fiver. the pub syndrome will step in, equally i bet if a customer offered you a fiver more to get there a bit sooner you would take it, i certainly would. (then consider putting my prices up) no matter what you say or what you do most of the pesties out there are carrying on with two incomes for a part of the year cos they have to, thats not to say that they are rubbish at what they do but just the way things are. we all have our methods and good points and down points and as most that have known me a while will tell you, i am no exeption to this rule, i like to help where i can and i like to have a discussion where i can, but when i start to tell how it is people dont like it, which is one of the reasons i came a way from this and every other forum a while back. i have made a lot of friends both on and off this forum, i have known and still do know a lot of people that i dont associate with (even though i have their phone numbers in my phone) for various reasons on this forum and the UKPCO but if i thought that they were right and being slagged off behind their backs i would defend them. and so i just ask that as far as moaning about everything that every one else does i think it is about time that ALL forum members tried to act as the professionals that they are trying to portay. THIS IS IN NO WAY A DIG AT YOU OR ANY ONE ELSE IN PARTICULAR, BUT LETS TRY TO WORK AS A TEAM. criticisms are welcome but not to go on forever, like a record in a groove. Rant over ;D
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Post by abpest on Aug 4, 2009 18:39:11 GMT 1
Hi Steve,
Welcome back, good to see you again ;D
Last time was the KG training course wasn't it?
Adrian.
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Post by eradicator on Aug 4, 2009 19:43:07 GMT 1
Certainly was Adrian, thanks for the welcome, it is good to be back albeit as a starter and junior member. But no doubt i shall upset a few along the way albeit unintentional. hows life your end.? as for us we streamlined the pest control business, but am still pushing our main business, just a bit quieter than i would of liked but still earning.
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Post by rasp on Aug 4, 2009 20:45:57 GMT 1
Steve`s right on this, A few years ago i was a busy fool, trying to get established & everything else. I was running about everywhere trying to get jobs done & in the end it got the better of me, If jo bloggs pest control was doing wasps for 35.00 i would do it for 30.00 & so on. Then one day i woke up & smelt the coffee, what a was i doing,where do i want my business to go & most of all what do i want my customers to think of me? The plan then changed, i set prices for all jobs where possible, set my standards as so to speak & if someone phoned for a quote & i was more expensive than others so be it,many an instance has come where clients have come back to me to get work done properly where others who do it on the cheap have failed.Nowadays things are better managed, i have a respectfull client base who will go nowhere else but use me & most of all recommend me to other new customers. I dont care if jo bloggs pest control are doing wasps for 30.00 i have my price & thats final,its dosent look good if you price match or go cheaper to get the work,this i have learned. I no longer twist my gut over missing out on work, 95% of calls received are jobs, others are quoters that get what they pay for as far as i am concerned.
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Post by wayner on Aug 4, 2009 22:12:45 GMT 1
Thank you Rasp exactly what I am saying! ;D Steve no winging matey I’m not from Ozz, this is my point of view as shared by some and not by others. We all do it the way we feel is right and hope we get it right! Dennis that I quoted certainly got it right he is still here while others gave up on pest control or had to do other work to subsidise it. Me well I ain’t no fortune teller, but I hope to be doing just pest control in many years to come and all the indicators from my accountant over the last few years would appear to indicate I am getting it about right. I look at Dennis and listen to the info he gives and it adds up while others don’t give anything near to constructive or reasoned advice. I was worried at first to charge a “real” price and take “all “my outgoings into account, but all my time including admin, holidays etc have to be paid for. PS. I respect the fact that you are entiteled to have a point of view, so I wont acuse you of winging,lol And for my next record , Why do you do it like you do? tra la la
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Post by rasp on Aug 4, 2009 23:07:42 GMT 1
The only problem Wayne is that in different parts of the UK prices vary so much, Dennis charges £60 for wasps, prices vary here,they range from £30.00 to £60.00. I know alot of people will not pay that kind of money, im on par with my local LA & i make a very reasonable profit from jobs that are local, further jobs are charged a bit more to account for fuel & time taken. I know one pestie who has to charge £25.00 (the same as his local LA )otherwise he would have no work at all. Its horses for courses & if you want to survive you have to charge accordingly. Here`s one for you, client phones up & asks for quote for wasps,my reply £35.00, he phoned back & asked if i would price match another local pesty (30.00) i said no & our prices are fixed & suggested he phoned the other company back to book them in quick!! How would it of looked if i had price matched, would it look if i was desperate to earn myself the money that i would even go lower!!, maybe even looking like a cowboy company grabbing what you where possible. I`m a firm believer of first impressions, from the moment the call gets answered to when the job gets done you are under scrutiny from your client. Are you polite,courteous on the phone & smiles & handshake at the job? All people want from you is a good job done & a fair price to pay for your services, this will lead to referals & extra work in the future. On the other hand if the client feels they have been over charged are going to call you back or refer you others? i dont think so Paul
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Post by wayner on Aug 5, 2009 9:06:51 GMT 1
Rasp, I agree with you and you’re well thought out reply backed up with good rational and reasoning. I think my price is at the top level for my area and I could go a bit lower but this would likely mean I would do more per week for the same profit. Most pest controllers seem to want to book nests in two to three days time the LA two to three weeks I try to do the same day even if that means going out again in the evening, but I believe that all about providing a service. I think the bottom line is YOU have to be happy with what you charge as its only YOU that will suffer the result's either way (god or bad). Regarding PR and the way you conduct yourself I could not agree more I think this is most if not the most important thing. Also changing price or being knocked down does not look very professional. I'm about done on this thread but this ends on a good post, have some well deserved karma ;D
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