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The question is a good one: half the battle is clients thinking they get less for their money.
I just won't do fortnightly jobs. If there is terrible weather one week in the busy season I'm not coming to you for a whole month, and that means I have ten times the work to do, and you're not happy as it's a mess for four weeks. In reality, fortnightly clients expect to be "fitted in", and that's unfair on the weekly payers.
The key, I guess, is trust. You might get a long, dry summer (I wish), and do almost no work. You could also get a wet spring and autumn, and be working like mad for ne extra money. The client benefits from averaging it out over 12 months, and you get a regular income, but they have to understand it's an AVERAGE, so sometimes you might seem to be doing less than another year.
I try to word things as openly as possible. Saying "40 visits per year" only opens you up to the inevitable "you only came 39 times", when they conveniently forget last year when you came 42 times!
Paul McNulty said:
Good point Paul, the way I have worded it with the few I've approached so far is that we will balance it at the end of the tax year. Also, any requested additional visits or materials will be invoiced at the end of the month they occur to keep things more on track.
the other thing to watch for is if people decide to end yourt services, you can guarentee they will do it when youve just put in a bunch of visits and not in the winter when their debt to you is balencing out!
David Cox said:
Had this often enough! I'm not sure what the answer is, though. I think most domestic customers wouldn't accept long notice periods in the contract? I say 6 weeks, but have never enforced it: if someone doesn't want me then I don't really want to continue working for them.
If you do agree to a get out clause then think about printing a schedule in advance of the contract start date. If a client pulls out then you can send a termination invoice which, in effect, recalculates the price retrospectively based on the time you have completed on site.
Of course, it's important that all terms of engagement are laid out in advance and that any client understands their obligation.
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Paul McNulty said:
A contract is enforceable by law. We tie in customers for a 12 month period. In ongoing then a new contract is started
Why should a gardening service be any different to say a mobile phone contract? Have you ever tried to cancel your phone contract and have them say its ok to do so without penalty?
Top answer Nick.
A contract is enforceable by law. We tie in customers for a 12 month period. In ongoing then a new contract is started
Why should a gardening service be any different to say a mobile phone contract? Have you ever tried to cancel your phone contract and have them say its ok to do so without penalty?
Cheers, Eugene
Yes, but let's be fair here. We're answering someone trying to convert his existing clients to a completely different style of payments, where they will naturally be on the defensive?
To use Nick's analogy, imagine your mobile phone supplier rings you, with the offer of a massive change in your charge structure, which they are sure will benefit you? We'd all be slamming the phone down, assuming they were trying to sell us something that was to their benefit, not ours!
I think that changing from an hourly rate to a proper contract is the most important thing any of us can do. That's a hard sell sometimes, and expecting domestic clients to sign legal documents with a 12 month tie-in might not help that initial change-over?
Fair enough with new clients: we can pick and choose who we work for if we're fully-booked, and tailor the terms accordingly. For people who we've been working for years on an hourly rate, the sales-pitch needs to be less restrictive.
As I said, I've had contracts ended at the worst time financially. I suppose I could sue them, but to be honest I don't want to work for them once they've moved on, and I'd rather spend the time on new clients. And, the last thing I want is a reputation as someone who takes legal action over simple gardening work: it would be the death of a small, very locallised business built on personal recommendations IMO.
I've just had a very nice job forwarded from a former client who did exactly this: she ended an annual contract at the beginning of December when I'd spent hours clearing leaves, and paying to tip them, throughout October and November. You should always try to keep the cancelling customer happy, just as you would the new customer.
For my lawn cutting, I have an ad hoc / on request price, a different price for regular cutting and a slightly reduced rate if spreading the payments over 12 months. Added to this are various bolt n services. The clients can cancel the monthly standing order at anytime by giving one months notice but if we haven't completed say at least 12 visits then each visit serviced will be invoiced at the ad hoc rate plus any additional servives that have been completed at their one off price. On the flip side if for example the hedge cutting or lawn feeds haven't yet been serviced then if applicable, I will refund any difference.
I think all my clients see this as being fair and only ever had I client cancel and that was due to relocation with their work.
Yes a contract is a contract but it should also be a two way street. I find it is all down to how you present your quotation and to make it the most attractive for your own particular circumstances,
Phil Voice said: