LOL, make sure to keep the keys in your pocket.
7 Likes
Anyone who hates me that much won’t come around to find this opportunity anyway… lol
1 Like
My pressurewasher pump crapped out. It’s hobbling along but shipping the replacement has been delayed so I was up against the wall on this one. I used a broom and blower and was running out of sun for even that moisture. If I’d have used a shooter I’d have probably gotten trapped up there for hours with the weather waiting for it to dry. It’s nice to have alternatives and redundancy. Luckily the family knew that cleaning would be done later on next spring and were very thankful I rushed out to clear the crud off the roof as they are all out of town and it’s their 80 year old mother’s roof that needed attention. I guess they were having snow and ice dams and looking at all that was up there…it makes sense!
Next stop box truck baby! Assuming I can find something within my parameters… Price, not beat to heck, etc etc.
Always amazes me how people neglect their stuff for a decade+, then it has to be done before the weekend…
6 Likes
Yeah. I find that pretty amusing myself. Even funnier was that I quoted them about a month ago when there was a stretch of nice weather. I told them I wasnt being a used car salesman but that were headed into September and nice days are rare. Gave them a quote, and they shopped around and of course now needed to do it. I kind of wanted to charge them more for being inconvenienced. Having to wait for sections to dry so that I don’t slip and slide to my death throws off what I want to make hourly.
If I didn’t need the money to put towards upgrading my gear, I would have told them to get bent but…here I am 
1 Like
Yeah, I hate that. I used to put on my estimates that they were good for 30 days, this year I cut it back to 15 with all the price increases. I definetly wouldn’t do anything extra for them without an upcharge/job change. An estimate is an estimate, not an invoice. I don’t normally go above it, but there are rare exceptions. But check the law in your state.
If I’m checking the law when it comes to customer relations, I’ve already lost for sure.
1 Like
So far from what I’ve learned. With roofs…metal ones in particular…whatever I think I should charge…double it because it’s always harder than I think
3 Likes
Each state is different, some states might have language that says something to the effect that estimates are good for x number of days. There are an initial 15 pages of legal mumbo jumbo, then all kinds of rulings regarding contracts etc in my state. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
Reason I tell him to check the law is this: In my state, basically an estimate can only be revised upwards of 10 percent, without a change order. You wouldn’t know this and someone could actually fail to pay you and be ok in court if you tried to charge more. Additionally the homeowner can back out of an signed contract within 3 days. Lots of other boring tidbits.
I live among hillbillies, many have been gaming the system for 3 generations. You gotta stay frosty.
I think the point was, if that comes into play, it’s a bad result either way. I think @Dallsheep was more venting than actually saying he had wished he had changed his pricing…all of our quotes say “good for 30 days”, but we routinely do jobs for prices given 6-8 months ago. It’s not worth it to make any sort of stink about things unless something has materially changed (and often not even then). I could be out $100 or $500, or get the “bait & switch” reputation from trying to avoid a $500 loss one time. It’s never worth it. TBH, if I even feel that $500, then I’m not running things very well overall. All those things are overcomeable easier than a hit to your reputation.
1 Like
I think that has to do with the size of the operation you are running. Us small time guys would notice a $500 difference in a job. That’s not to say that you are wrong, because I don’t believe you are, as long as we’re talking about large operations.
1 Like
Agreed, but it’s still the same principal proportionally. But TBH, if I was making $2k/month, I’d still eat $500 before I’d risk my rep. But everyone has to determine what the threshhold is for themself.
I get people fairly regularly calling me back on quotes I gave 6 months ago, that I’d written off, saying, “Well I’m finally ready for you to clean it.” I always honor the quote. Not worth it to try to bump them for a the difference. I just eat it.
The same on some of my commercial contracts - that I give a quote for pricing for the next year. Property managers run on budgets. I’m not going to bump up someone who’s giving me a lot of business because my fuel bill went up. I’ll eat it till the end of the time period.
Curious as to what @Innocentbystander does on his apartments that he washes regularly, some every 6 months.
I’m washing this year based on the quotes I gave last year when bleach was $119 a drum instead of $220 and gas was $2 bucks cheaper a gallon. I’m going up 5% across the board next year but this year I’m eating it. Probably to the tune of $100k, but I’m not losing properties by trying to raise a quote I gave. It’s not their fault. They budgeted based on the figures I gave them.
1 Like
Wow. $294 a drum for me before shipping ($190) and $1237 for a 275 tote before shipping ($937).
Craziest part? I’m thinking about paying that because I absolutely hate pouring 40 bleach bottles into my 55gal batch mixing tank. It’s the worst.
1 Like
Transfer pump @Dallsheep
Doesn’t work with 1 gallon bleach bottles
My regular supplier that delivers me pallets of 13% 5 gallon carboys ran out of sh a few days ago. I hate wasting time like this but you gotta do what you gotta do…
Found another supplier with better service in the meantime!
I would say, try farm/agriculture places.
Trust me. I’ve been all over it. Unfortunately it’s Costco 3 packs 0f 7.5%SH at like 6 bucks a gallon for now. When I get my box truck I’ll spring for a tote and bring it up here. Or because DOT regs i might not. Im still debating that one.
Recycling 40 bleach bottles is a real pain in the butt especially when you have multiple roofs in a week. So is loading all that garbage. My logistics are the absolute worst.
The challenge for people outside of some USA places like Florida etc, is getting equipment, products, chems, sh… Because not everybody does pressure washing here.
The upside though is we can price our services to make it worthwhile, because not everybody does pressure washing here.
2 Likes
