how do i charge for shrubs??

[DavisandSon]

i have only been in the business for two years but i have already lost a couple of years due too not wanting too mess with the shrubs . how do i charge for the bushes and is it worth doing???? thank you all!! roll tide

[Seascape]

Comercially i think theyre well worth it. Residential on the other hand is touch and go. sometimes ive had to perform shrubs for less than id like just to close on a job that intails them. I like to charge an hourly charge. Otherwise i estimate hour i think it will take . i charge typically 44 an hour. so if i think its a 2 hr job i would charge about 88. I dont sell them as a service i only take them when requested orlike i said if someone calls about mulch i may suggest we cut shrubs while we are there than give them a quote for the entire job. If they want it broke down you will probally have trouble getting 44 an hour from some residentials. People have no problem paying 40-50 an hour to have theyre $30,000.00 car serviced but get sketchy paying 44 an hour to have theyre $350,000.00 house serviced. Ive yet to figure that out. anyway, $88 for 2 hrs of pruning really aint my cup of tea so i dont go looking for it but sometimes i cant avoid it to close a $2500 mulch job.
mike

[Maddog]

I also try to get an hourly rate. $35 per man hour. I have made $50 per hour on several and they keep having me come back.

[grasschaser]

I charge a little different I charge by the shrub. I charge by the size of the shrub small $5 per shrub, medium $10 per shrub and large $15 per shrub. If it is a row of shrubs grown into a hedge I just break it down into separate shrubs and charge accordingly. Most houses have at least six to ten shrubs in the front of the house so thats not bad money using this system. Now if the shrubs require me to use a ladder that is an additional charge per shrub. So what do you think of this method?

[Scott]

grasschaser,
I also charge by the shrub but I start at $3, call me a scrub.

[grasschaser]

Scott you are not a scrub people have always agreed to pay the price I give them. I do not tell them how I came up with the total price they don't have to know that. All they need to be concerned about is the total price. If they don't like it I do not trim there shrubs. I do however give all my contract customers one free hedge trimming per year. This little incentive is worth it since they signed a contract for the whole year and I put a clause in that they will be trimmed at my discretion.

[bobbycat02]

i do alot of shrubs and hegdes up here and its very profitable most of the time i get the shrub job then they like what they see and that leads to other work on their property by the shrub is a good way to start until you know how long it takes after a while you will be able to price by the job a shrub takes 10 to 15min at the most so 5,10 15, a shrub is not bad rate also rember to charge for clean up time min 1 hr and the dump 25 min dump fee for clippings.

[BamaSnapperMan]

good deal

i like the deal about chargeing by the shrub . i think i might try that . i just need some good clippers now . what kind should i look for. every thing esle i have is echo and i have not had a proplem with anything yet . what other brand and how much? thank you

[Scott]

I just picked up a new set of 24in stihl hedge trimmers for just under $400. I wanted the Husky's but they didn't have the model instock and I needed them that day. The husky would've cost another $100, yee-ooouch.
I have a set of echo 1500 but they either need new blades or sharpened. The cut is only 18inches also so that slows down production, but you'll never truly know unless you have experience with multiple sizes, brand names. Once I get new blades or sharpen the 1500's they'll serve their place, right next to that little stinkin chainsaw that never gets used anymore.

[mavsfan]

Hey Scott, how do you like your Stihl hedge trimmers?

I recently moved away from Echo and have been replacing with Stihl. I haven't replaced my hedge trimmers yet, but I need to very soon.

I have been very unhappy with Echo products, for the most part over the last 2 years. Their equipment seems to fall apart, especially their backpack blowers. I am so much happier with my Stihl backpack. It seems like most of the lawn guys I've spoken to in my area feel the same way about Echo. Everyone is replacing their Echo equipment with Stihl.

[Scott]

I've got no bad reviews on them as of yet. They're still new but I've already put a ton of hours on them and they're still going strong. I'll have to give you a better answer at the end of the year to see how they work in the long run. One thing that I do know is the there's a huge difference from 18 inch and 24 inch trimmers. Kinda like going from a 21 inch mower to a 48.

Hey what size echo bp blower where you running? I was considering buying the 750 but was waiting for reviews after they've been out a while.

[Maddog]

I have a Kawasaki 24", Cub Cadet Commercial 24" and a Cub Cadet Commercial articulating 19" trimmers. They all do great work and have paid for themselves several times. The 19" articulating trimmer was a good investment and saved a lot of time on cutting those high hedges. They have the long reach and hedge rows that I use to have to get the ladder out on I can just stand on the ground and walk along. After getting those I did a hedge row that took me 2 hours the first time with out them and ater using them I was able to complete the whole job in just one hour. As a matter of fact I got qa call yesterday to schedule in that same hedge row for next week.

I got a good package deal on the two Cub Cadet trimmers. The 19" was a demo so the dealer told me if I bought both together he would take $550 for the set (the 24" was new). Just the articulating trimmers ran around $500 list.

[Scott]

that sounds like a great deal. I'd love to have a set of articulating blades but they are steep.

[thillteamsource]

MADDOG - I'm ignorant about "articulating" trimmer. Can ya take a minute and educate me?

Thanks

[Scott]

Stihl
Shindaiwa
Echo