We don’t use a hose. Unless the customer wants to pay for the “use a hose” package.
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Here is the problem with that math equation. It doesn’t compute. To do one job or one hundred and fifty jobs, you will not be buying a ladder for 25¢. You have an investment in your company for “tools of the trade”. So lets say you wake up tomorrow and someone stole your ladder but you have a gutter job in the afternoon, will 25¢ put you back on track? Your gloves are torn and no longer serve a usable purpose, will 40¢ be enough to get the job done? You never figure in fluctuations in gas prices, oil, tires, wear and tear on your vehicle, auto insurance, 1/2 hour of your time to the job and 1/2 hour from your job, all FREE - yes those all fall into a category of “the cost of doing business”, it ain’t free.
95¢ total supply cost? Bull. But feel free to run your hobby.
so you charge $1200 to clean 10 windows cause your wfp cost $1100 right?
or charge $20,000 cause you might wake up and your car was stolen?
no you can’t make money that way leavingnc . my van cost 11k used, wfp setup 3k, various other stuff 2 k
so 16 k total, i need at least a 4x markup so each window is $64,000. i understand as long as i am confident i will have no problem charging higher prices.
PRICE WAR!!!
$1.00/ft 1st story, $1.50/ft 2nd story, $25 for downspout snaking.
Hand cleaned, rinsed, downspout flush test, pictures of cleaned gutters, and tow away bags.
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Right, you are a math wizard I could never compete with. Lets just say you have a formula that covers all things business cost related and so do I. A reasonable charge that covers things that are “the cost of doing business” is expected. I also left out the cost of GL Insurance. That alone is not 95¢ worth of cost to do business, otherwise we would all be working for pennies per job. Sure, you can buy a newspaper for 50¢, but you can’t buy advertising for 50¢. It would be impossible to sell a newspaper or magazine individually what it cost to produce one. Some magazines cost $3 per issue while others cost $5 per issue. They are both made of paper, ink, binding to hold the pages together, writers, publishing executives, and print staff put both together, printing presses, distribution networks - but the cost of doing business somehow figures differently. I’m bored with your arrogance and lack of understanding on this. 95¢ total cost to do business is envious. More power to you in your pennies on the dollar purchases. Leave me from this subject. Thank you.
I haven’t had to snake one yet so just threw out a random number.
it’s not arrogance, you’re just completely misrepresenting the cost of doing business. yes i didn’t include every cost, but if you take your insurance payment and break it down to how much does it cost to insure me for each hour of work, it’s less than a dollar for that gutter job, same with advertising. nothing you’ve said comes close to justifying your price, unless it’s taking you 4 hours to unclog those gutters on the 1600 square foot house, $300 is way too high
I price my gutter jobs by eyeing them. I’ve done enough of them through a company to have a general idea as to how much I need to charge per hour. On average, it turns out to about $60-$70 an hour, but I’m meticulous.
I use a hose with a 3-way. One with a turn-spinner sprayer thing and the other is a 3ft. length of cut hose to clear out downspouts. I usually walk the roof and scoop the debris out into a bucket and dump it into leaf bags, or sometimes compost bags. I’ve had customers keep the compost for their garden.
- Scoop debris
- Flush downspouts
- Hose out excess
- Leave hose running medium on the opposite side of the run from downspout while I green pad scrub
- Final rinse
No complaints so far. If someone does complain, I would ask them to try another service company.
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Your assumption of price gouging is wrong. I aim for $100 per hour. Last week I did 45 feet of gutter for $90 in 50 minutes. Ladder sets and working around trees weren’t ideal so you couldn’t just walk up, climb up, scoop, next. That calculates out to $1.80 per minute which turns out to be $108 per hour, not $300 per hour.
Get a good gas leaf blower and blow those bad boys out. Stop with this water jug madness when it’s warm out
Wow all of this about gutter cleaning… So let’s just let people be who they want and charge what they want and we can all get along finally on here. Yay!!
JK that wouldn’t be any fun
Personally we won’t go to a house for less than $100 to clean even a single foot of gutter. I don’t feel need to provide my breakdown of operations nor do I care to. I’m in business just like plumbers and electricians, and anyone else who remains in business, to make money. The costs of running a business only goes up and I don’t mind charging a fair price for the services we offer. If someone thinks $60 is fair fine but why should that person hate on the guy or company that has already figured out the need to charge more for the same service?
And while I’m at it… Don’t post a story on here, a question or a comment if you don’t want an honest opinion from others. My $.02
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why did it take you over a minute to clean 12 inches of gutter?
Why does anybody need to justify their rates? What gives one WC the right to call another WC a gouger? Why is your price “right” and his “wrong”? How did you determine where to set the gouger line? Why is your line binding on others? Those are honest questions. I’d love to hear answers.
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Good post!
You did nothing wrong. The lady is crazy, don’t do anymore work for her even if she calls you back for windows. Any sane person would accept your offer to come back and address their concerns.
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@Tgrove28
“I had to go undercover, everybody was hating on me”
It’s a bummer that you feel that way…
Most people here are super helpful and very knowledge about business. I think what might help you alot is take notes and apply the advice your given before saying “your crazy” “i heard from a friend that got a flyer on her car it, flyer wont work on houses” ect…
There’s so much tried and true advice on this forum, you dont have to try to recreate the wheel man.
When it comes to any service you offer be it gutter cleaning, window cleaning ect believe in what you do. Really learn the business side of things. Be confident in yourself and dont worry about the money it will come with time.
Use that search button man theres decades of free knowledge there for the taking and it free all you have to do is read and learn buddy. It the WCR UNIVERSITY!
No more fake accounts man, where all grow ups here, sometimes you have to take your lumps like a man bro!
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