Jump to content

RyanH

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    1,223

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by RyanH

  1. Posted · Report reply

    I guess scenario 2 would be you might lose some volume, but have increased revenue from the ones you retain, so your net income remains the same, albeit with less effort and work on your behalf. Either way is a benefit to the business owner, to a point. With your extra time, you have the opportunity to explore other avenues or customers you may have ignored due to lack of availability. I suggested a similar approach to my wife's firm during this year's Christmas party. Bourbon and beer were involved, so I didn't mind offering a group of attorneys some advice :) They take in pretty much every law case that walks through the door and are all over-worked. There are always people who believe they are getting better value than that for which they are paying, so a slight increase doesn't represent anything negative to them. They can selectively ignore cases with a high PITA factor and still have the same cash flow. The concept is equally applicable to the PW industry. I vaguely remember something from economics 101 about this situation and it's why Taco Bell ($1 crappy taco, but HUGE volume) and Uncle Julios (good mexican joint in Atlanta, $8 taco, not so huge volume) both experience awesome cash flow.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    The problem with saying that the lowballer will be out of business in a year is that another lowballer will come along to replace him. In the past 5 years I haven't seen a decrease in the number of $99 house wash signs littering our corners. Just think...if it cost $99 five years ago, and still costs that today, imagine the diminished quality you can expect considering their overhead has increased drastically. When confronted with "so and so only charges 1/5 what you charge" I tell the customer that they have indeed found an exceptional offer and should consider their services because for the equipment and effort I put into a job, and the satisfaction the HO can expect afterwards, I simply cannot compete with them on a price level. However, if they want to discuss *quality*, that's a whole new ballgame.

  9. Posted · Report reply

    I bought this trailer at an auction and its well build and rock solid but it aint worth no where near what the PD paid for it.

    Is there no limit to what a government will spend when all they need to do to replace spent money is to tax and collect more???

    When I see these trailers I like to test out the calibration of my speedometer...over a range of about 40 mph (speed limit - 20 mph to speed limit + 20 mph). So far they are all pretty close, though it's funny to see how they flip between my speed and that of the guy in front of and next to me.

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Welcome to the board!

    The best way to avoid the drips <ahem> is to upsell the project up front to include windows and garage doors, trim...basically the entire house.

    If the customer simply wants the gutters cleaned and nothing else, you can try putting a smaller quantity on the gutters. Use just enough to "get the job done" then rinse adequately. For this, you'll put away the Xjet and replace your applicator with a pump up sprayer, then use your pressure washer to rinse copiously. Pre-rinse the areas of concern (windows, etc.) to ensure that anything that hits the surface will be immediately diluted, then continue to rinse frequently. Spray gutters, scrub, and rinse no more than about 6 feet at a time (that's worked for me pretty well).

    If you simply must use the Xjet to get the chems up high, simply douse the house with water first, apply the chems, and rinse the house immediately while the chems work. Then blow off the gutters and the house together.

    Again, welcome to the board. How about a little info about you in your signature?

  12. Posted · Report reply

    It takes about 7 or 8 seconds to clear my line, so the time isn't an issue as some people have implied....And the mistake you make in your logic is that it isn't pure chem in the line...So no, there's not 1 gallon of chem in the line "defeating that 'uses less chem' argument". There's about 1 gallon of water/chem mix, of which about 10% of that is chem, of which about 90% of that is pool chlorine.

    Err...note that i said 1 gallon "solution." And while it is true that flushing your lines once or twice isn't significant, when done many times over the course of a job it can add up. The additional cost may be neglible to some, not so much others. There is a definite advantage in not having to carry around buckets and extra hose though.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    The benefit is that you use less chem, and you leave your chems on the trailer rather than mixing them at the jobsite and dragging them around the house.

    The downside is that your entire line fills up with the chemical mixture, so you will have to be vigilant of when to switch your tips so that you don't up wasting too much chemical (a little over 1 gallon of solution per cycle with a 3/8" line at 200 ft...kind of defeates that "uses less chem" argument). However with experience you will be able to tell when you should switch to still make use of the chemical in the line. If you are doing large commercial applications or something like condos where you will be applying chemical for a relatively long period of time, a downstreamer is ideal. However, if you are doing smaller residential-type jobs where you will be changing between rinse water and chemical water often (every minute or two), an Xjet is the better solution.

  15. Posted · Report reply

    You also have to consider what you are allowed to ask for as a deposit. Be careful. If your state requires licensing (ours does) then you might want to check before you establish your deposit amount. In Maryland, we are allowed to ask for up to 1/3 down. It's important to do this, because if you end up with an unhappy customer who decides to make problems for you, and they say "well, XYZ Company asked for half down" and the law says you can't, it just looks worse for you. Cover yourself and check before you take a deposit. Try your State agency that governs home improvements...they should have your answer....

    More coffee....:cup:

    Beth

    Stupid government telling private companies what they can and can't charge. I have to pay 100% for items I order online days before I receive them, why should services be any different?

    As for the fee if the job can't be completed, that's a good idea. I had a customer who had other work being done at his house at the same time he wanted me out. I was expected to work "around" the guys installing a pool while I was cleaning a roof, and to work "around" carpenters while I was supposed to clean a driveway (their equipment took up 1/3 of the driveway...the "expectation" was that I would return at a later date to complete the other 1/3). He was shocked when my final price included service charges for the 5 trips I made to the jobsite for a job that should have taken a total of about 8 hours. The service fees totaled more than the cleaning job itself. Having that arrangement up front saves both of you in these situations.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    You're pissed about the war budget? You should take a look at what the candidates spend on their campaigns! If that doesn't alert you to the type of free-spenders these people are, I don't know what will. I understand the money they spend is from donations and such, but damn!

  19. Posted · Report reply

    Who on this board even knows who my current avatar is??

    I try to pick interesting ones or Brett Favre (not that he isn't interesting).

    I'll say who it is if no-else can figure it out. My guess is that someone around 55-60 will figure it out.

    I always thought it was Festus until I took a closer look. Now I don't know.

    I think JOgden has the best avatar...I always liked Mega Man, and that one is WAY COOL!

  23. Posted · Report reply

    The $.45 - $0.48 is the standard IRS mileage deduction; that's how much you can deduct from your total income when you file your taxes, and has no real bearing on what you can charge. The actual value is posted on the IRS website, but I think it's currently $0.42 per mile. Richard's point is what you should take: use the fuel economy of your vehicle and the time it takes you to get there (along with your desired hourly rate of pay) as your basis for cost. If you want to count beans about it, then you can also account for miscelleanous costs. For example:

    If you have your oil changed every 3k miles, and it costs $50 to have it changed (plus your cost for waiting), you would add " Mileage x $50 / 3000 " to your cost.

    If you change your tires every 80k miles, and it costs $800 for new tires, you would add

    "Mileage x $800 / 80000" to your cost.

    And so forth...basically anything business related to you being able to do business, you should charge for. That's why you are able to take the tax deductions, because the government assumes you account for these costs of doing business in your fees. Many small time companies ignore these small fees and just "give away" their time. Other companies lump all of it together and call it "overhead." I've had many headbutts with my management about having such large overhead when we could break down costs in this manner and apply it to specific jobs.

×