It starts off very subtle, hows it been goin' buddy? I've heared you do a fine job, that's why I called you. I know you make big money so I got you some big ole' money maker logs to fly through. pecker poles ... Then the mood tapers a bit after the sawing starts. Why did you do that? Why didn't you do it the other way? The other fellow I had to saw for me is preee...ty good, he didn't do it that way. Things need to go smooth from start to finish so I try to refrain from replying in a stern manner. Sometimes, what I would really like to say is, you need to get your foot off my gizzard, get in your truck and quit trying to suck up to drop the big bomb. Who's got time to teach the customer how to saw wood? I would really love to lolly gag around, spend half the day talking and even give them a big break like a buddy at my choice, but I can't. I have a family to support. When I'm really tired, It seems more personal because they are taking from my family. What are your customers phrases and what are your replies? Here are a few of mine:
Them--- Why are the boards bowed?
Me--- Because it's wood!- Because it is relieving stress.
Them--- You only worked 6 hours and made $175. That's good pay.
Me--- You must think that all the work is done at the mill. I was up till midnight sharpening blades for today. Got gas, wear & tear, vehicle ect.
Them--- I don't like to pay $25 for a nail blade.
Me--- I don't like to pay $25 to hit your nails.
Them--- after the job is over and making out the bill: You aught to give me a price break for this being such an easy job and for all the buisness I send your way.
Me--- That's like saying, now that the job is over I think I'll raise my rates over what was agreed on because I'm such a good sawer.
Them--- Some of these 20' boards are thicker on the end. What's wrong with your mill?
Me--- Now you know why they call it rough sawing. Now you know why they make planers.
.......
Buyer: The last guy I bought cedar from only charged 80 cents a foot.
Me: Well, he knew what HIS lumber was worth.
Buyer: I'll be back tomorrow to pay for it.
Me: It'll be here when you get here.
Buyer: Some of this lumber has bark on the edges. Or, I can't use this whole board because of that bad knot.
Me: Perfect lumber requires a perfect price. How good of a board do you really need?
Buyer: I can't have any defects.
Me: Ok, but I'll have to change my quote based on the new specs.
Buyer: How small an order will you take?
Me: Nothing less than one board. If I cut it in two, then I'd have two boards.
Just remembered their best ploy.
Buyer: I am looking for a price on a 1000 feet of lumber. (Comes by driving a minivan)
Me: Oh, about $1.00 per foot.
Buyer: That sounds real good. I don't have my truck with me today. I was wondering if I could get about 40 feet and see how it works out and I'll be back in a few days to get a big load.
Me: Sure I'll sell you 40 feet.
Buyer: Whips our $40.00, Says $40.00, right.
Me: No, that price was for big quantities. Price is $60.00 for small quantities.
One of 2 scenerios follows.
1st scenerio Buyer: That sounds fair to me. I'll be back later with my truck.
2nd scenerio Buyer: Hey, you said $1.00 per foot. I told you I'd be back.
Me: I just don't like worrying about whether you'll be coming back. This way it doesn't matter.
Them: You do coustom sawing?
Me: Nope! :D :D :D
Them: How come you want so much extra for seasoned firewood, all you did was leave it a pile for a couple of years, I can buy fresh cut for $XXX a cord?
Me: Can I use your yard & borrow $25,000 from you interest-free for a couple of years? ;D
Me - The bill is $500 for the 2500bd I sawed.
Customer- You are getting rich sawing. I think I will get a mill so I
can make big money like you.
Me - What brand do you want, I have the phone numbers of
several good companies that sell mills..
1st customer: Your gona' have to cut the wane off them boards, I can't build nothin' with that! .............. So I saw the mans wood, spend extra time and cut my profit for framing studs! Just try to please the customer and GET GONE.
Next job, different customer farmers ect: (now I'm sorta' programed to continue to saw this way)
Boy .............! yer waistin' my wood! Don't you cut that edge off!
Quote from: Cedarman on January 06, 2006, 01:32:15 PM
Buyer: I'll be back tomorrow to pay for it.
Me: It'll be here when you get here.
I don't have any quotes to add, but I sure like that one. I think I am going to write it on my hand so I don't forget it. Cash and carry.
After the truck is loaded and the bill paid:
Customer: "I might need one more board, can I take one more now?"
me: "if it goes down the driveway, it goes paid for......."
Cusotmer "How much do you want for your lumber"
Me "$5 a board foot."
Customer "Sounds like you're a mght bit high, don't ya think?"
Me "Well, you asked me what I wanted, now we're dickering about price. "
"How much do you charge to saw?"
"Twenty cents a board foot."
"For one by's?"
"yes"
"How much for 4x4's"
"twenty cents a board foot".
"That's not right."
"Why?"
"You can cut 4x4's with less sawing. They should be cheaper."
"Oh! Yeah, I guess you're right. One bys are fifty cents a board foot."
Him.. How big are the boards?
Me... Well they're Random Width, Random Length @ 75 cents/bdft
Him... How much is that per board??????? ??? ??? ???
Tony 8)
Buyer: I'll be back tomorrow to pay for it.
Me: It'll be here when you get here.
This goes with this also : In God we trust , all others pay cash !
Them: How much is your cherry?
Me: $4.75 a bdft.
Them: I can get it for $4.50 at so and so's. (an hour and a half drive away)
Me: Tell so and so I said hello.
Them: But I don't want to drive all that way!
OK, so here is where I drop the ball. ::) I know that you shouldn't feed the family pet from the table, it only encourages more of the same behavior. So I know I should repeat:
Me: $4.75 a bdft.
but the sap in me usually knocks a few cents off my price. They only get away with this once though. I too make a list and check it twice! I always scale in the customers favor, but when someone who played me on the last sale returns, I can scale as tight as the best of them! ;D
A former local sawyer used to claim he sold his lumber by the 'leverite' system. The cost is $X per bdft. If you don't like the look of a given board at that price, 'leverite' there, the next guy might like it.
I've heard it all to when my father was farming. Only it was employees wanting advanced week's pay on their first day's work. It gets worst from there on. ::)
Customer: I'll give you hafe of the wood you saw off my place.
Me: Which half :D :D
Cutomer (getting in the way): "Can I help you with that?"
Me: "Sure, but it'll cost you 30 bucks an hour."
Quote from: Brucer on January 06, 2006, 11:32:30 PM
Cutomer (getting in the way): "Can I help you with that?"
Me: "Sure, but it'll cost you 30 bucks an hour."
:D :D Reminds me of. .... Rates: $40 per hr. - If you watch $60 per hour - If you help $80 per hour.
Cedarman, when the guy comes back for the other 960 feet, you could knock $20 off the price.
Or just keep it for the aggravation. ;D ;)
Engineer, if they come back for a big order, I always throw in a few extra boards, usually boards that are good, but not the very best and let them know those are some freebies. I have found that most people want to be treated fairly. They know small orders are more expensive, they just try to get the price down. Those people that can get the price down real low think of it as a game, a game I refuse to play.
Buyer: Can I sort through that stack?
Me: Sure, but the price per foot just doubled and you have to restack just like you found it.
Buyer: Oh, well, can you get me some boards with these specs?
Me: Sure can.
(Ever see a lumber stack at Lowe's at the end of the day?)
Quote(Ever see a lumber stack at Lowe's at the end of the day?)
Did ya ever try buying something right off the top of one of those stacks at Lowes? :o
customer over the phone "I have a tree I want taken down, come on over"
when I get there the tree is in the lines, over the house, crap, crap, crap
customer "I'll let you have it for the firewood"
me sorry I have no come back, I'm usually way to ticked off to say anything else than "No thanks, here's my card when you figure out you're going to have to pay to have that tree taken down"
then when they call back the price usually is 50% higher
I had one fellow around here a few years ago looking at some 2x8x16 red pine. It was nice stuff. At any rate, he then proceeded to ask "Can I borrow 10 of these for he weekend? I want to move a garage."
I was kind of dumbfounded and replied with a "You want to what?!"
"I want to borrow some of these to strap my garage together while I move it."
I had to ask him if A&P allowed him to borrow tomatoes in such a manner. I don't know if he ever got it moved or not...
Tim, that takes some really big ones or some really small brain cells
Yup, Jeff, those piles of lumber at Lowe's is another reason to own a sawmill.
Caller: How much is your lumber?
Me: That's kinda like walking into Wal-Mart and asking how much is their cheese. Could you be a little more specific.
Caller: How long are your posts?
Me: How long do you want them to be.
This actually happened about 5 years ago.
Guy loading up a load of slab wood when he shouldn't be and I happen to catch him: Fellow down the road said they were free and I could take all I wanted
Me knowing he was lying: You know that same fellow told me you were coming and were going to give me $40.00 for this load. You wouldn't want to go to jail for stealing now would you?
Jeff, I look through the piles of lumber at Lowes, HD and Carters but I try to restack them for the next customer. Carters is the best one to look through. I have purchased beautiful pine boards at #2 pricing and they even cut the 16 footers in half for me.
Farmerdoug
I usta attempt to clean up those piles at lowes that were stacks when the day started... I solved the problem by getting a new job... :D
I have one for ya from a repeat customer which is why I got suckered in.
on the phone
him- I have five truck loads of logs when can you saw them for me?
me- be about 2 weeks.
him- I need them right away.
so I was able to get a grace period from another customer that was not in no hurry and went right down on the following Monday 5 loads became 1.5 and my blood pressure started to go up.
We set up and started sawing had two of the my best days ever on that job when we finished I counted the lumber and gave the customer his bill.
him- that is some of the best lumber I have ever seen the consistant thickness is amazing do you have a computer that adjust the thickness for you.
me-no I don't have a computer you can get them on the mills but I adjust the saw head for each board myself it just comes from time spent sawing and knowing your mill.
him- here is two checks.
me. ???(very confused)
him- I need you to hold this one for two weeks and this one for a month.
me- >:(I don't like to do work like this if you needed a month to get the money than why the hurry.
so I left on that note since I know that once I go his signiture on the checks it was as good as a signed contract.
phone call from me to him on next day.
me-I am going to deposit your checks.
him-I thoght you were going to give me some time.
me- well last time I checked the bank don't cut lumber and I don't give credit.
this all took place in June last month he call me to come cut some more wood but I haven't been able to get over there yet I don't know why.
Them: (upon presentation of the bill) Wow thats more than I was expecting.
Me: We agreed on that price before I got started cutting???
Them: There is good money in milling Lumber.
Me: Yup and most of mine ($)is in it too. :D
Quote from: customsawyer on January 08, 2006, 08:22:20 AM
him- I have five truck loads of logs when can you saw them for me?
me- be about 2 weeks.
him- I need them right away.
so I was able to get a grace period from another customer that was not in no hurry and went right down on the following Monday 5 loads became 1.5 and my blood pressure started to go up.
Sounds like one of the local loggers. Says he has 30 loads of hardwood sitting on the ground and needs mill tickets to get them moved. I go out and there is barely 4 loads. ::) :D :D :D
SwampDonkey, did he mention just what size truck he was talking about?
:D Well he walked out of the office with a fistful of tickets for 36 tonne loads, so I assumed tractor trailors. But, ya never know he coulda ment wheel barrels. :D :D
Woodbowl,
In the 18 months I've been sawing, I've only had one customer really try to force me down on my rate. When I saw where he was going, I just started smiling. He told me a big tale how the guy "just down the road from his place" would gladly saw his lumber for 9 cents less than my offer. When he finished, I politely told him he would probably be best off taking his logs to the guy "just down the road" and kept right on smiling. He never came back and I still have more than enough sawing to keep me busy without lowering my rate.
I learned in a previous life that bad business costs more than no business. I work to ensure my quality justifies a decent price, not the other way around.
Warren
My line :
" Have a nice day!"
Painted on the blade gaurd of my mill for all my cuss-tom-ers to read.
FAST, CHEAP, GOOD
Pick any two
[/size]
On a tangent ;D
Jovial customer: Howsit going?? I need some 2X4's. Ya got any??
Me: You bet. Got lots. How long you wantem??
Customer: For quite a while, Im building a shed you know! :D :D
I had this one guy who always came around and hung out. Hangin out dont bother me but constant intteruptions do. This one day I see him commin up the road and Ive about had it. So instead of screamin at him and tellin him to beat it, I walked up to his truck, greeted him with a "Hello John. Sure is good to see you." I kept yappin at him steady. For the first 10 m,iniutes or so, he was lovin it. After about 20 min, of Percy-yapp, he starts to get a tad annoyed. I keep yappin about everything under the sun. Even used some of "Opie Says" expressions from Bibbys website. The guy is figurin Im havin some sort of mental crisis(he was right on the crisis but wrong on which one ;D). Anyhow he decides to leave after about 45 miniutes of me yappin. He gets in his truck but Im hangin on the door, splainin to him "just how smart that pig is." He's goin like " I should be goin now."
I go like " Hell, you cant leave , I aint got to the best part of the pig story yet. Common over here. I gotta show you where the pig poops. Its all orderly like.........wait! You cant leave yet!...JOHNNNNNNNN"
He has never returned.......... :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Percy-
I'd pay to have seen that !!!!....... pretty sure I could never pull it off...Man, do I know the kind your refering to though.....
I know a guy who is like that around the mill and bucking out on the wood yard. Only thing about it, you'd take him to be about half crazy if ya didn't know him. And he wasn't fun'n sometimes. Don't ever suggest or tell him how he should do things. :D :D
"How much do you want for that carving?"
"$80.00"
"Is that your best price?"
"No, my best price is $100.00, but I'll take $80.00"
:D :D :D
Woodcarver, I gotta add that to my list. That's just plain good. :D :D
This ole boy down the road builds cedar furniture and I finally got him to start buying his lumber from me. He was buying the side wood off cants from a circle mill so it was all different thickness and size. When he did start buying from me about 3 years ago he said that boards 7/8 thick and 5 1/4 wide would be the best for him, How much? I told him $2.50 each for a 8 ft board. So for 3 years he has given me $100 and picked up 40 boards cut to his specs.
The last month he stopped by with a $100 bill and wanted to know when he could pick up his lumber. Come by Saturday morning says I. Then he starts on about how he has so much waste that it is killing him. Not sure why so I ask if I could saw the boards different to help him. He said that most of time he has a piece about 14 inches long left over from every board and the shortest he can use is 16. So I ask if I saw the logs off at 7 ft then there would not be so much waste or I can saw them off at 9 ft and he could use the extra piece. He said 9 ft would be fine. So I got the order ready and he picked it up.
Comes in this morning and says that he knew I would be home because it was raining. He was mad because when he picked up his order last month there was only 35 boards. I tell him that is because they are 9 ft long now there will be less of them for the same money but then he will have less waste. He was some upset so he told me from now on sell him 8 ft boards so he can get his money's worth! ::) "Beam me up Scotty"
Mebbe ya shoulda told him ta switch da kinda glue he's usin', or mebbe jess stand a little further back from it. ;)
Hard to argue with "logic" like that!!! ::)
I had a customer that had a couple of 20" dia logs said he wanted them cut in 18" wide boards.
OK what do you want the rest cut to.
Oh I want the whole thing cut into 18" wide boards.
Ya right I'll put them in my board stretcher. :D
Good stuff. Keep 'em coming.
Sometimes you don't need to say a word to convey your feelings...quite a few years ago when I was younger and dumber, I had a guy working an excavator on my property. He was digging a hole to bury a pile of stumps and such. I went out and grabbed some lunch and brought some back for the guy. So there I am standing next to his machine and motioning for him to stop what he's doing and come down and eat the $4 sub I bought him. He was polite enough to stop after a few minutes of me standing there. As he jumped down he shot me a look that clearly said "What the F*%K are you thinking?" and grabbed the bag from me. I got the message and quietly left with my tail between my legs. It was a valuable lesson for me; don't mess with someone when they are working.
Never let it be said that I would be an arrogant SOB to someone who was bringing me dinner. I don't care how involved he got in his work, it was no excuse to be a jerk.
One thing to remember about heavy equipment. It's easy to place yourself in a position where the operator can't see you. It will scare the bejeebies out of him when he realizes someone is where he could have hurt them. That still doesn't permit someone to be a jerk.
::) :o ::) :o ::)
Reminds me of the time when dad hired an escavator to dig a drainage ditch. Dad didn't mention property lines. ::) Dad thought he could dam the outflow and the water would backup and disperse in the woods. ::) At the end of the day dad checked on the progress and the guy had a big 4 foot ditch from where he left him, 300 meters across our property and then 250 meters across the nieghbors and water running like a brook into the neighbors field. DOH!!!!! :o
Quote from: Part_Timer on January 10, 2006, 05:25:45 PM
I had a customer that had a couple of 20" dia logs said he wanted them cut in 18" wide boards.
OK what do you want the rest cut to.
Oh I want the whole thing cut into 18" wide boards.
Ya right I'll put them in my board stretcher. :D
That kinda reminds me of when I was trying to sell half of a hog I was having butchered. One guy told me he would buy it, but all he wanted was bacon. I asked him how would he like the rest of his half cut up, and he said sliced into bacon. He had no need for anything except bacon.
I didnt know there were hogs that just had bacon :D
Quote from: SwampDonkey on January 10, 2006, 07:44:26 PM
Reminds me of the time when dad hired an escavator to dig a drainage ditch.
Quote from: getoverit on January 10, 2006, 09:29:07 PM
That kinda reminds me of when I was trying to sell half of a hog I was having butchered.
All this reminding, reminds me of the time(s) that a customer wants all 2X6's out of all sizes of logs. I tell him there will probably be some 2X10's, 2X8's and 2X4's as well. ................. I don't want any10's, 8's or 4's! All I want is 2X6's! ..................... Well the log dictates what your going to get up to a point. You can get exactly what you want out of the heart, but everything else around the heart, you take what you get. I'll be glad to split the 10's into a 6 and a 4.... and the 8's into two 4's at no charge. ......................... I don't want any 4's! Just turn them all into 6's! >:( >:( >:( OK, but I have to count what I cut off. There will still be some 4's and some 2X2's also. ................I DON'T WANT ANY 2X2'S! :-\ :-\
It was a customer like Woodbowl just talked about that caused me to change from bf to hourly charging. He wanted 1X6 X16' White Oak fence boards. Some of the logs were less than 16 ft long, others had a big bow in middle. A number of cants squared up at 11". All he wanted was 1X6 boards. Wasn't going to pay for anything other than 6". >:( Sure was a large waste pile. I made sure it was waste too, anything less than 6 ended up recut to about sticker size. >:(
Quote from: getoverit on January 10, 2006, 09:29:07 PM
I didnt know there were hogs that just had bacon :D
I had a few of those all bacon hogs. ;D The hogs had all bellies and no back or legs. They couldn't walk or anything, but they sure had a lot of teats. ::)
Them- The other guy called back after you and said he'd deliver and stack two face cords of seasoned oak for $50 a cord.
Me- You'd better buy it from him ;D
Greg, I remember hearing that when we use to sell firewood in the 80's. They think that you will undercut the other guy just to get their business, NOT. The one that really gets me is the weather will be nice for a week and then as a major snowstorm is hitting the phone starts ringing off the hook with orders for wood to be deliveried now. They always run out when a storm hits it seems. ::)
Farmerdoug
Sawing at a customer's site where the customer told me he wanted, "perfect" beams.
Me, "You mean clear?"
Him, "Yes."
Me, "So you're wanting clear, no defects, free of heart beams."
Him sternly, "yes."
Me, "I'll try, but your logs are bastard old growths, they were left because they were crap trees the last time they logged this site. Inside those seamingly perfect knot free logs is a 30 year old crap tree in the center."
Him, "But I want perfect beams."
Me, "I'll do what I can."
Later that day...
Him, "HEY, I thougt I told you I need these beams to be perfect."
Me pointed to various defects, "See all this sap? That's your shake from your log, See this big bark inclusion, that's your double top. See this huge knot, that's your knot."
Customer wasn't too happy. I think his vision had to be adjusted to reality.
That's like so many of my customers who think the knots are on the outside and once we get into the tree things will clear up and we'll start getting all this beautiful FAS lumber. ::)
Or they know that they put nails in the tree many many years ago, but the tree was much smaller, so they must be up at the top by now.smiley_goofy_face
Quote from: Brad_S. on January 11, 2006, 07:50:15 PM
Or they know that they put nails in the tree many many years ago, but the tree was much smaller, so they must be up at the top by now.smiley_goofy_face
:D :D :D .......... Are you sure the nails don't grow upward as the trees grow? .............. Well ............. maybe your right. I keep seeing 30 year old fences in the tops of trees. ;D
'That tree is the same as when God put it there, no bigger no smaller.' Now I heard a guy tell a story about a fellow believing that all his trees are the same as in creation and they didn't grow no bigger than they was in the beginning. As soon as he told where the story was suppose to have taken place it became believable. ::)
Doug
Them is the same people who flood the supermarket to stock up on bread/eggs/milk/tp every time there is a snow storm. If they can't remember their bellies you think they'll remember heat ::)
Getoverit
I bet you could make a fortune on them 100% bacon hogs. I see a new business coming :D :D :D
I have a set answer to those who try to get me to lower my price to match another. If it is sawing, and they tell me that my $.30 is too high. I hear the old "so'n so down the road will saw for $.20" I politely tell them that "I am certain that he knows what his sawing is worth. I know that my sawing is worth $.30!"
I think it took 5 years to convince one lady that that tactic would not work with my Maple Syrup. Seems every year she would refer to "that place up on Springmill Rd" that would sell her syrup for $19 a gallon. My reply: " I am sure he knows what his syrup is worth, Mine is worth $36" Every year after a slightly pregnant pause " Could you hold two gallon for me??"
I always believe that a person should know what his product is worth.. If he is selling it at a low price, there must be a reason.
BBTom,
I be happy to pay $18.00 fo a half gallon. I love it on my bar-b-que alligator.
Quote
Getoverit
I bet you could make a fortune on them 100% bacon hogs. I see a new business coming :D :D :D
You know, I thought the guy was pulling my leg, but then I realized he was dead serious about it. It ended up that I didnt sell the half of a hog to him, but found someone else that realized what they were getting and jumped on the offer. I was selling half of the hog for what it cost me to have the whole hog cut and wrapped, which was pennies a pound. All the time I thought the first guy was an educated sorta guy, but after that I had to wonder about everything he did. It takes all kinds in the world I guess...
I just realized the benefit of having a stationary sawmill compared to the portable sawmill and that is drop your logs off and I"ll call you when I am done !
Quote from: UNCLEBUCK on January 12, 2006, 10:23:54 PM
I just realized the benefit of having a stationary sawmill compared to the portable sawmill and that is drop your logs off and I"ll call you when I am done !
I wish I could do that when I set up at other peoples sites. ... Yall' go on back to the house now, and stay there. I'll call you when I'm done.. ........ The next best thing is to hurry up and knock it out. ...... Working on that system right now.
One of my personal favorites when I encounter someone that wants me to knock my price...
Client - Wow! You made that look easy! Would you take XXXX instead (usually about 10% less than agreed upon in the first place)
Me - Sure, but I take half the lumber I just milled
Client - I don't think so
Me- I don't think so either!
QuoteI have purchased beautiful pine boards at #2 pricing and they even cut the 16 footers in half for me.
Am I the only one that caught this ::) ::) :D :D :D :D
Quote
It takes all kinds in the world I guess...
I had a good friend that would disagree. He says we have all kinds, but it does not take all kinds ;D. I suppose we just have to put up with all kinds ::)
I always like the "but it will only take you five minutes with that big machine ." Meaning that you should do it for pennies.
Had a guy wanting me to sandblast some stuff for him for a case of beer . He said that the guys working on the brige would . I explained to him that that was stealing from the taxpayers . And that I had to pay for my equipment .
QuoteAll the time I thought the first guy was an educated sorta guy, but after that I had to wonder about everything he did. It takes all kinds in the world I guess...
Is this guy your governor?
Do you remember "the cronic raging man" I was sawing for last year? He said he wouldn´t pay SEK 350/hr. Sawing that slow (of his small crooced logs) he offered me 250/hr. I told him to count the right prise, did the job and I got SEK 700+ more for it than my bill should be. ;D Yes, he get more craysy when I told him but he payed.
He also payed for the time we was sitting in his kitchen for food and coffee! :D
Recently a customer told me that 350/hr was too expensive after I had set up the mill and sawed the first logs of his pile. I told him my "personal rating" is 0,4M3 nice lumber/hr. out of good logs. He sad that was a big difference and OK but he didn´t want sawing for more than SEK 10 000. I looked at the pile and told him it´s OK if he count the volume of produced lumber and take the firewood out of the pile.
Some days later he said: now You´ve done your job, thank You.
There was still some nice logs and some firewood in his pile. I didn´t think my job was done, too short days becauce of cold weather. I told him:
- My sawmill is still here, let´s saw some hours tomorrow too.
He said: OK but don´t make the bill more than 10 000!
- That´s what we´ve said and my way to count You´ve not got sawing for that yet.
Some people ask about "how many logs I can saw/hr." Most people is thinking circular sawmilling here, have never seen a band saw mill and understand the philosophy before the job is done. Often talking to customers I use phrases ARKY wrote once, about "thats money made".
Swede.
About once a month I get contacted by someone who decides that since he has a spare 50,000 USD that they can plant their own plantation. After all, it is just putting trees in. I actually did a paper for people to explain that they are dreaming (nicely)
We just received a nice email by someone who owns trees with us AND planted her own. After about a year, she has ran the numbers and figured out that we are actually cheaper - and now she hows to figure out how to process her own trees (she has a lot of years to figure this out) and who to sell it to.
It is the same ole issue. The DVDs that I get from Microsoft for software costs me about 2,500 USD - to make the DVD itself probably costs under 5 dollars - but the time to make what is on the DVD is in the billions.
Knowing how to prepare wood and for me - grow good trees - is where the value is. When people miss the basics like this - my one liner is:
"If that comment is any indication of how much you understand business, I suggest you shouldn't quit the day job..."
Sometimes I say it nicer, but get the same idea across.
I said it before, and I'll say it again. People just want to find out on their own and there is no convincing them otherwise. Doesn't matter that it will cost them more, they are just going to do it anyway. ;) :D
Had to go rescue a sunk van at a neighbours yestiddy wit da tractor, plumber drove inta a soggy spot.
While I was standin' there admirin' da mess he made in da lawn, da neighbour asked da plumber if there was anything he could do about lowerin' da bill he just got...... ::)
Plumber just asked what da homeowner did fer a livin'?
Da neighbour said "Loans Officer at the bank".
Plumber asked if he was the lowest paid loans officer at the bank?
Homeowner said "No".
Plumber said "Me neither." and held out his hand.
Homewoner just smiled and put the cheque in da plumbers hand...... ;)
Good One Murf :D :D :D
Jerry
8) I'da charged double. :D
had a guy price cuting cedar logs
me : .25 a board ft
i guess that was to high cause he bought his own mill & is cutting them his self
but i sharpen his bands
I would have handed the plumber a bill for the tow job and the damage he did to my lawn. He should know better! >:(
Come ta' think of it, I shoulda charged da plumber ta git him back out. ::)
Oh well, I charge da homeowner enough ta do alla stuff he's too lazy ta do already. ;D
I had to wash my tractor again to, I got it all muddy yankin' him out. :D
Sometimes professional people try to take advantage of a situation. Especially if you need it in a hurry, But when having work bid on, I tell the highest bill " I know your tring to make a living, but you don't have to make it all off me!"
Shawn...
Shawn
Sometimes the high bidder does the best and most careful job too. :)
It's high bid because he isn't begging for work, and has all he needs because he is in demand.
The last in-house painter we had will be the one hired for the next job. He was fast, clean, and good! Worth the price to not have to prepare the area for him to paint, clean up after him, and touch up the mistakes.
I have seen some of the high bidders that must charge that much so they can come back and do it right. ::)
Will
Beenthere,
You have a point, but when 4 plumbers bid around $1200, Name brand plumber (RotoRoter) $2200. You do the happy math!!!
wiam and shawn
I hear ya both. Good points too. :)
:D :D :D A good one is:
Customer: Can you give me some sort of deal on these boards??
Me: O.K. Today only..2 for the price of three... :D :D
Which reminds me of a joke.....
My ficticious Ukrainian cousin Nick goes to a local miller to buys some lumber.
Nick says "Good after noon. I be looking lor some 4x2s. You havit???"
The miller says with a grin "Yeah. We callen 2x4's but whatever your fancy. We got lots. How long you want them??" asks the miller.
Nick replys " Oh, I'll be needing them for quite a while. Im build a house you know."
One of the better signs I have seen is this:
Cheap, Fast, Good.
Choose two.