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Post by dograt on Aug 5, 2009 9:38:38 GMT 1
I have been watching this topic on both forums and have generally not posted as much of what I would have said has been said at some time or another, but just thought so you two didn't feel like the only posters here (Where is everyone ?) . There is one point I feel everyone has missed, I have always regarded the wasp "Season" as 1. A bit of a bonus, we don't relay on them and never have done, the van is already sitting there anyway to enable us to do the contracts so if we are passing by then £40 for a wasp nest is fine by me. 2. I have always also thought of wasp nests as paid advertising, its a chance to get your name out there and if you do a good job at a sensible price then that person should be a customer for life. Ok people dont have a wasp nest every year but how much business is by referral a lot I would say, its that indefinable part that you cant price, joe bloggs has you for x then tells y who goes on to etc etc. Its horses for courses every area is going to have different prices and with different competition and each person will have different needs some like shiny vans (Me LOL) and these have to be paid for some will make do and therefore dont have such overheads, if you have £100,000 per annum in contracts then perhaps the odd wasp nest is just an inconvenience (We wish) ! every company/ business IS different its not right its not wrong if it works for them than they have to be doing whats right for them.
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Post by eradicator on Aug 5, 2009 13:41:40 GMT 1
my point exactly. shiny van yes i am guilty of that especially when its clean, wasps seasonal yes
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Post by wayner on Aug 5, 2009 17:15:09 GMT 1
Ends on an even better note thanks for the input dograt very vaid point about the referal's and to be honest one which I missed, we can all live and learn eh, Ps have a karma point for the tip, thanks
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Post by nick on Aug 5, 2009 18:06:27 GMT 1
I'm £40 for wasp nest. Then differing prices for second nest or third etc.
I do not lower my prices, when my council was cheaper than me. I sold the fact that I was same day, not many councils during busy season do the same.
Wasps are seasonal and a bonus. You have to build a contract portfolio or a good referral list. Like Dennis I attended the BPCA "Pricing for Profit",good points about sustaining and growing your business.
But you can spend too much time worrying what others are charging, look at yourself and sell the difference. Here in Kent some councils cheaper than me , but I still get the phone calls and I don't mind losing the odd one. Once again sell the difference.
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Post by moose1976 on Aug 5, 2009 20:32:44 GMT 1
here's one for you all 2 years ago i did a wasps nest for the LA i work for sadly due to the amount of work given to me that day i didnt have time to stay around and chat and if im honest did the job properley but didnt hang about for chit chat. I get a phone call for myself this morning from the same customer, just got back from there and as i did it for myself had the time to chat with the elderley couple, have a brew and shoot the breeze as it goes. they didnt recognise me from 2 years previous and said they said that they had used the la previously and allthough they did a good job (thankfullY ;D) they wished they were more like me basically what im trying to say is that being friendly and having a chat and a cup of tea can do wonders and as somone once said its the small things that count!
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Post by eradicator on Aug 5, 2009 20:59:19 GMT 1
Certainly is Moose, after all look at me a short ass, time to talk to customers, it makes all the difference, and as nick says stick to your prices, i dont change mine at all from one end of the year to the other, that is my price for the year and thats final. £5 a nest not bad eh,Lol only joking
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Post by wayner on Aug 6, 2009 11:17:06 GMT 1
Jeez, a fiver! That’s it then I'm £4.50, lol Nice to see more joining the thread, (even if it’s near run its course). Have you all been on your hol's I guess you worked out your price from overheads etc Nick Ive just re-done my working out and it looks as if I could have been a bit cheaper £42.00 and still hit my margin still I won’t change it this late in the year and at £47 they have been coming in nice and steady plus only 3 in the last 2 weeks have bulked at the price or come up with that famous " I will give you a call back" line. I might go for £43 next year in view of Dograts excellent view point “looking at wasps nests as paid advertising” I really missed that one what a great lead into new customers. They do say that in promotion it’s often the obvious that’s missed. In hindsight after Dog’s words of wisdom it does seem obvious, but I never saw it at all. So thanks for that one. I may also put a fixed price in my advert next year as this may attract custom. What about second nests? I charge these (when on site not to re-call) at £13.00 this makes two £60.00, if I set this at £15 next year all doubles would only be £2.00 less but but singles @£43 as a fully insured and guaranteed wasp treatment price in an advert sounds pretty good to me. Eradicator we must have worn the vinyl hard on this one between us, does anyone know is Matt on his hol’s? I would have felt sure he would have had something to contribute. Gosh!!! Is that the time! I only popped in to send of an order so Id best get back 2 more this morning and 3 this afternoon with a couple of contract visits so unless any more come in a cushy day. ;D Have a good one!
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Post by nick on Aug 6, 2009 20:17:52 GMT 1
I leave the customer with a thank you postcard. Surprising the amount of referrals I get from that.
Second nest depends on difficulty and the customer. One of our local Boating Marinas, second visit to deal with another wasp nest, found a second whilst there, treated for free.
Owner has put my details up on club board, possible rabbit job already booked in to survey.
I was going to treat nests for £25 if in a 5 mile radius of base, not same day, just to wind up the new comers, changed my mind.
But it is all about service, you are either the same as the rest or you try and stand out. Yes we have poor areas but when party or B-B-Q is planned will pay the price. I do not compete with the Councils, their standards aren't as high as mine.
;D
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Post by andytps on Aug 6, 2009 22:25:51 GMT 1
We cover about 12 different council areas and I couldn't tell you the price any of the LA's charge, and quite frankly I'm not interested the wasp season is a bonus and I'm ready to pull my advertising very shortly today I believe we did over 18 nests and only 3 routines.
Met another pestie yesterday and he was telling me was charging £30 a nest he had done 4 yesterday with 3 to do the last 3 nests were over a 150 mile trip and a minimum including nests of 3 hours, I was speaking to him at 16.15, each to there own.
Its not worth jepordising your contracts for a few quid, we toyed with the idea of bringing in a dedicated wasp casual in a hire van but with such a large area to be covered it wouldn't work.
The points raised regarding the selling of the jobs is also very important, I won't go into details about how we harvest all our enquiries on here but all I will say is if you are relying on voicemails and answerphones I reckon 80% will hang up without leaving a message.
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Post by andytps on Aug 6, 2009 22:29:44 GMT 1
Also as far as the shiney van is concerned (unless they have seen your van) how do they know when they phone you that you have a shiney van?
PS all ours are under 2 years old and at 2 year old they will be replaced as part of our contract agreement, we can actually get an L200 cheaper than an astra van at the moment so this will probably be our next vehicle.
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Post by matt the rat on Aug 7, 2009 9:59:56 GMT 1
Never fear, I'm still here. Just been keeping my head down for fear of upsetting the great and the (not so) good..... Well, a very interesting thread. I'll give you my thoughts, which I know, may upset a few..... I charge a set rate per job based on my costs, my pay, and some profit. In reality, even if you do a good job and dot the I's and cross the T's, its rare for a wasp nest to take more than half an hour. Material costs (I use Ficam through a DR5) are minimal (probably less than a quid per nest), so I'm confident in charging my standard price of £35 per nest. Multiple nests are given a nominal charge, as the majority of the cost incurred is transport. I also offer a 'budget' price of £25. That is for nests that can wait for up to a week, and be sqeezed into a day when it's convenient for me. For those customers who are on a tight budget, and are not prepared to pay often inflated council charges (in order to ofset the cost of providing free or next to free rodent treatments) it works, for those who just can't wait, they pay the higher fee. If I get 10 nests to do in a local area on the same day, that is £250 of turnover for very little cost, and 5-8 hours actual work. I'm sure we could all prosper with that kind of turnover. It's all about offering choices to the customer. I'm not too concerned about what others charge for wasps or anything else. I charge a rate that suits me, and my customers, and as Hugh has rightly pointed out, jobwork (of any sort) often leads to other work which can be highly profitable. Wasps are a seasonal pest which are important for cash flow, and also for business promotion. Contracts on the other hand are vital for the long term success of any pest control business, and must take priority over the short term gain of wasps. Contracts are king.
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Post by dograt on Aug 7, 2009 10:29:01 GMT 1
Nice to see you back posting matt and nick perhaps our board owner could drum up some more topics well I suppose I could
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Post by Site Admin on Aug 7, 2009 11:03:51 GMT 1
Nice to see you back posting matt and nick perhaps our board owner could drum up some more topics well I suppose I could OK, I've got an offer about new topics. Every member who starts a new topic during the next three days will receive 5 bonus 'karma' points from me. Dograt, you are the first.
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Post by eradicator on Aug 7, 2009 13:14:40 GMT 1
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Post by wayner on Aug 8, 2009 0:03:17 GMT 1
Its good for da sole mon lol
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