Well, as with everything in this line of work one is not like another. Pitch of roof for walking? Bushes, trees, koi pond that challenges ladder placement? Hasn’t been cleaned in at least four or five seasons, so now compacted with heavy debris? Or do you only do gutters with flat level ground, no obstacles, and that take a cursory simple scoop of some leaves and then hose down?
they sussed out that you are very easy going and now are milking the situation. best to ignore them, if they keep in touch tell them “stop bothering me,or i will call the police”
this gets rid of nuisance pests i find
1 Like
Cost of business:
- Ladder $150
- Gutter scoop $5
-Trash bags $5 - 5 gal bucket $4
- Gloves $10
- Per hour(?) $60
-Drive time/gas $25
Total $259
ROI 75¢ per foot or $2 per foot?
75¢ for 100 feet = $75
$1 for 100 feet = $100
$2 for 100 feet = $200
Hobby, or business?
1 Like
you need to get over it. if crazy customers acting crazy eats you up, you are going to hate running your own business.
it’s best to describe exactly what the customer is going to get for their money before you do the work. that way they can decide if what you are selling is what they want.
and if you have options for them to choose, you increase the likelihood that you have a package that fits their idea of what’s necessary.
6 Likes
Wow, you are spot on.
This is actually one of the parts of business I find most difficult. Caring too much when problems come up. I’m working on just accepting that there will be a handful of issues that come up every year, just like there are for any business. When they arise, deal with them and move on. Try not to spend too much time sweating it.
Always set the expectation before doing the work.
Mrs. Jones first we hand scoop all the debris into a large lawn bag, flush your gutters and downspouts with water using a water hose to insure there is no remaining debris, flush the downspouts making sure there are no clogs, pick up the remaining debris below the downspout and leave the bagged debris on the side of your house all for only $175.
$60 for gutter cleaning is way to low. We average $175 per job. Your hourly rate for gutter cleaning should be much higher than window cleaning.
You take all the risk, climbing the ladder, walking on the roof etc. Explain that in your presentation. Mrs. Jones do you really want your husband on the roof?
4 Likes
“Is there something seriously wrong with using a snake in water jug vs a hose” Answer Yes. It is about customer perception. Use a water hose.
Cleaning the gutters “your way” for 8 months doesn’t mean it is the best method. Those customers that did not complain to you, could have been very disappointed with your process and may not call you next season or worse tell their friends and neighbors not to use your service. Most customers will not confront you and discuss their displeasure with you. They just won’t use you again.
6 Likes
Please don’t take this the wrong way. Constructive criticism.
First you need to accept responsibility that this situation is your fault. By setting the expectations “before” beginning the work, this situation most likely would not have occurred.
If you explained to the customer part of your process is using “1 gallon jugs” to check for clogs, this would have given her the opportunity to question your methods.
2 Likes
You price all your jobs like this?
see you’re not being honest here. yes the ladder costs $150 but are you only ever doing one job? if you do 100 jobs with that ladder then the ladder costs $1.50 per job.
so here are my costs
ladder $.25 (i’ve used it a lot)
gutter scoop .10
trash bags .00 (i can usually dump it in their green waste bin)
hose .10
5 gallon bucket .10
gloves .40 (i use the thick disposable nitril gloves)
drive time (part of the cost of doing business -so i don’t charge extra for within 25 miles though most of my work is within 10)
total cost of supplies .$95
if your costs on every job are $259 you’re not running your business right
with an extension pole and gutter spoon it limits the ladder movements, and my ladder is a multi lader so i can work around a lot.
so i end up making $50-75 an hour charging close to $.50
a house with 150 feet of gutter would take me just a little longer than an hour, at $2 a foot that job would cost $300 that’s insane, that’s more than my father in law the doctor makes, doesn’t that seem a little absurd for scooping leaves?
1 Like
That’s what’s crazy is they asked me as soon as I got my stuff out if I was going to hose them down and I said no I’ll be using a water jug and plumber snake they said okay watched me do it then had me go to their dads
See post below, sounds like I failed to explain here instead
You are right, I understand that
Question: Why are you responding to Calebs response to t_grove post…
Unless @Tgrove28 and @Xyience_28 are one in the same…
Question is why…
Hmm… Ive been slammed over the last few days…
so now the question still is why …
Explanation is due if its is fact.
@Tgrove28 or @Xyience_28
Just bring a fake hose up with you not connected to anything and as you pour the water jog out make a shhhhhhhhhhh sound effect. Then while your at it you can also perfect the helicopter sound effect and tell them that you actually inspect the downspouts via chopper!
“Cha cha cha cha, this is eagle one to ground hog, we have clean downspouts, over and out”
Now you can charge $40 a foot 
5 Likes
I had to go undercover, everybody was hating on me
We will have to delete the second account (Xyience)
That happens only once.
3 Likes
Great advice in your posts. Thanks for taking the time to post.
