# Dont you love it "ITS A LITTLE JOB"



## korby_17 (Jan 7, 2011)

Dont you just love it when you talk to a guy and says he has a basement to do and it is nothing. just a few pockets with bead but nothing much, can you give me a price without looking at it. Yeah right, price without looking at it.  This is not a huge job but the way he was talking he was implying that a few days.  He didnt really want to spend over $1000 BOARD AND TAPE. AHAHAHA. People are so funny.<img smilieid="24" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.drywalltalk.com/images/smilies/blink.gif" border="0"><br>


----------



## carpentaper (Feb 28, 2009)

curious to know what it really cost. nice job by the way.


----------



## korby_17 (Jan 7, 2011)

Well he is a framer do we swapped some work so we both got a deal but I think he come out on top of that deal for what he had to do


----------



## Forced (Mar 19, 2012)

:thumbsup:nice job!


----------



## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

I had to do a job very similar to that a few years back. Looked almost exactly the same. Good job bro! Allot of work in that little section.

I've also learnt in my few years of experience that trading jobs like that, swapping job for job, never works out. For some reason, the other guy always comes out on top compared to the work we had to do.
Not any more. You pay me at what I do and i'll pay you for what you do. If you don't like my price, find somebody else.


----------



## guitarrick (Aug 22, 2011)

Nice work :thumbsup: Looks like it'll be a rockin theater room. $1000 for board AND taping?! :lol: The h/o's don't _want_ to spend a lot of money on their projects... just like we didn't _want_ to spend a lot of money on our TOOLS.


----------



## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

The last time I gave a price for a basement job over the phone..The h/o kept saying...It's only 30 boards!!!..
When I got there I found he was right..only 30 boards.....with 260 ft. of bead.. We had too regroup..:whistling2:


----------



## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

moore said:


> The last time I gave a price for a basement job over the phone..The h/o kept saying...It's only 30 boards!!!..
> When I got there I found he was right..only 30 boards.....with 260 ft. of bead.. We had too regroup..:whistling2:


I never give prices over the phone anymore. Most of the time I dont even give prices after looking at the job right away either. I tell the home owner i'll think about it and get back to them.
Sometimes home owners ask for a price right away because they want to catch you off guard. So I call them back in the next day or two and give them my patiently revised and well planned out price.


----------



## Tim0282 (Jan 8, 2008)

I agree! I do not like to give a price standing in front of the Home owner. I'd much rather think it through in the truck on the way home or wherever. Take good notes while there and think it through. Safer.


----------



## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

I do the same guys.. hey ..A guy calls me 2 weeks ago wants a price ..I say wheres the house ? I'll take a look ,,and get back to you with a board count @ price.. He keeps on about a price ,,blah,blah ...I said listen chief! I,m not giving you a qoute over the phone...............................CLICK. he hung up on me!!

My price is just abit higher than some in my area...This guy was looking for a base. He had no intentions on using me ..But he tried to use me..


----------



## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

moore said:


> I do the same guys.. hey ..A guy calls me 2 weeks ago wants a price ..I say wheres the house ? I'll take a look ,,and get back to you with a board count @ price.. He keeps on about a price ,,blah,blah ...I said listen chief! I,m not giving you a qoute over the phone...............................CLICK. he hung up on me!!
> 
> My price is just abit higher than some in my area...This guy was looking for a base. He had no intentions on using me ..But he tried to use me..


Ya exactly!
Gotta love when that happens. When people just call, ask "what do you charge a sq./ft?" then say "thanks" and hang up! lol.
My prices are the most expensive in town! I'm not gonna lie!
Sometimes I wonder why I even have employees. Knowing what I charge some clients, I can make a ridiculously good living, just working myself. Or with one helper.
But we do perfect work! And we don't mess around. And I tell my clients straight up too! I make it a point to tell them:
"Im not the cheapest guy in town! Someone will probably do this job for half of what I'm charging you. But they will most likely do crap work...probably try charging you a bunch of extra's you never agreed upon, the job will be 2 weeks behind and you'll lose your painter and flooring guy...oh! And then he'll try telling you that the price he gave you was a cash deal, and you can't pay by check....and you're not getting a receipt either."

lol! That's pretty much my sales pitch!
Yes...I am more expensive. By far. But *YOU GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR!* That's my favourite line to tell my customers.
"I don't have to look at your crap taping job from my house. So I don't care if you save a few bucks in the process. You guys have to stare at it for the next 20 years though...so you might want to care a little more..." :thumbsup:
Done deal! You're hired!
Feel free to try that Moore!
Just be honest with your clients! I tell mine im the most expensive guy in town. haha. It works. :thumbsup:


----------



## korby_17 (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks guys for the compliments. A short span that took a lot of time. 

I am the same way. Never give a price without looking at it. My problem is the people that you know but not that well and they expect a deal. I have done WAY to many jobs where after I pay my guy I'm not making ANY money. I have 2 buddy's that I would hardly charge but other then that it is just my immediate family that would get a break. Everyone gets charged the same no matter who you are, just price the job appropriately. I am a the end of it, no breaks anymore.


----------



## chris (Apr 13, 2011)

moore said:


> I do the same guys.. hey ..A guy calls me 2 weeks ago wants a price ..I say wheres the house ? I'll take a look ,,and get back to you with a board count @ price.. He keeps on about a price ,,blah,blah ...I said listen chief! I,m not giving you a qoute over the phone...............................CLICK. he hung up on me!!
> 
> My price is just abit higher than some in my area...This guy was looking for a base. He had no intentions on using me ..But he tried to use me..


 We dont advertise for that there reason. If someone calls whos number# I dont recognize the first thing I ask is " How did you get my #}. Usually its from a close friend or supply house givin out my number.


----------



## chris (Apr 13, 2011)

nice job on entertainment center. The bead looks very straight and professionally installed:thumbsup:. I will be doing somethin similar in my basement if I ever get a lil time off


----------



## sos drywall (Dec 9, 2010)

gee... I did almost identical entertainment unit... and got screwed up big time.
BTW, nice job.



> I never give prices over the phone anymore. Most of the time I dont even give prices after looking at the job right away either. I tell the home owner i'll think about it and get back to them.
> Sometimes home owners ask for a price right away because they want to catch you off guard. So I call them back in the next day or two and give them my patiently revised and well planned out price.


thank you, no more quotes on the spot. No more phone quotes.


----------



## A smooth finish (Mar 19, 2012)

I always tell them Its a $100 minium thats all im going to tell ya. No matter what you need done its a 100 seems to work pretty good on my patch jobs.


----------



## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

A smooth finish said:


> I always tell them Its a $100 minium thats all im going to tell ya. No matter what you need done its a 100 seems to work pretty good on my patch jobs.


 100$!? Holy crap.
I tell people on the phone it's a minimum of a 1000$
I won't even get out of bed for a 100$. That doesn't even put gas in my truck to get to the job!
My base price used to be 500$, then I was getting too many calls, so I started telling people it was 750$, still too many calls, so I it's been $1000 now for the last 2 years. Weeds out the people who are serious about getting the work done and saves me a trip out there.
I'd go look at a 8 x 10 bathroom or bedroom and tell them 750$ and they just go "oh...we didn't think it would be that much.."
and it's like sweet....I could have not wasted my time coming out here for nothing...
So now I just tell home owners on the phone, regardless of what I do in your house, it's 1000$ minimum! Small jobs are more prep than bigger jobs. I have to pull my tools off another bigger job, which pays me more. Then go work at a smaller site, for only a few hours because it's not big enough to take all day, but my work day is pretty well shot because you don't have time to do anything else after. So im sorry, but you're still paying me for a full day's work regardless of how many hours I put in that day. Because I have bigger jobs I can be on rather than your little job. So that explains my minimum base charge. 
More or less breaks down to:
180$ to fill up my truck with gas.
200$ per trip after that. 
Now you guys know all my little secrets.
And once again, im honest about it. I'll tell my clients on the phone upfront. I'm a busy guy, and it might not be worth it to you guys to hire us to do it. Im sure some handy man will come in and do it for half the price. But most of the time we were recommended by a friend or something, so they use us anyways. Fine by me. But you're going to pay the same as everyone else. All you're doing is paying for more time.
Some peoples time is worth more than others.


----------



## mudslingr (Jul 18, 2010)

chris said:


> nice job on entertainment center. The bead looks very straight and professionally installed:thumbsup:. I will be doing somethin similar in my basement if I ever get a lil time off


I like this kind of stuff too. When I see a boring wall I'll try to suggest the HO does something similar to liven things up a little.


----------



## A smooth finish (Mar 19, 2012)

PrecisionTaping said:


> 100$!? Holy crap.
> I tell people on the phone it's a minimum of a 1000$
> I won't even get out of bed for a 100$. That doesn't even put gas in my truck to get to the job!
> My base price used to be 500$, then I was getting too many calls, so I started telling people it was 750$, still too many calls, so I it's been $1000 now for the last 2 years. Weeds out the people who are serious about getting the work done and saves me a trip out there.
> ...


 
Ya pretty much all i do is patch work. So for me a 100 is good for 2 hours worth of work. but to each his own. I dont do it full time yet so I dont get that many jobs to do.


----------



## Tucker (Feb 2, 2012)

PrecisionTaping said:


> 100$!? Holy crap.
> I tell people on the phone it's a minimum of a 1000$
> I won't even get out of bed for a 100$. That doesn't even put gas in my truck to get to the job!
> My base price used to be 500$, then I was getting too many calls, so I started telling people it was 750$, still too many calls, so I it's been $1000 now for the last 2 years. Weeds out the people who are serious about getting the work done and saves me a trip out there.
> ...


Very well said...I like this guy:yes:...in a non-gay way:whistling2:


----------



## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

PrecisionTaping said:


> 100$!? Holy crap.
> I tell people on the phone it's a minimum of a 1000$
> I won't even get out of bed for a 100$. That doesn't even put gas in my truck to get to the job!
> My base price used to be 500$, then I was getting too many calls, so I started telling people it was 750$, still too many calls, so I it's been $1000 now for the last 2 years. Weeds out the people who are serious about getting the work done and saves me a trip out there.
> ...


 THANK YOU!!!!:yes::yes::yes:


----------



## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

A smooth finish said:


> Ya pretty much all i do is patch work. So for me a 100 is good for 2 hours worth of work. but to each his own. I dont do it full time yet so I dont get that many jobs to do.


If all you do is patch work bro, that's even more reason to charge more.
Like you said, you don't do it full time and you don't get many jobs to do.
Explain to your customers, time is money, and seriously, just tell them 200$ doesn't even pay for your gas.
You can get away with charging way more my friend. And im not telling you this so you can go rob people. But you can make a pretty comfortable living, charging accordingly. I strongly suggest charging more. And if you're not sure about how to do it, call me. Seriously!
Im not joking. Go look at the job, think about it, tell them you'll get back to them in a day or so and then call me. Run it by me and we can bounce some numbers off each other. But I'd like to see you pulling in more than 200$ a patch job bro.
If you want to up sell, tell them you'll paint it too.
That saves them having to hire a professional painter. Who, trust me, will charge them way more than what you would. So instead of hiring two tradesmen who would each charge the client a minimum base fee for the little amount of work. The client would potentially save money by only having to hire one. But you can charge a higher base fee for doing the two jobs. And you're still saving them money.

Example: 
*Taping patch work* (you) 500$
Which is cheap! 
*Painter * 500$

Both trades charging a minimum fee because of how little the job is. The client is more or less paying you for your travel time because of how little amount of work there is.

Where as if you offer both services! 
You can charge them a total of 750$. You make more money than your initial 500$ and you still save the client 250$

Try it out. And tell your clients to compare prices. Give them your competitors number. No one's going to drop what they're working on for a small patch job, especially at the rate you're doing it for bro.
Your clients will find that they will not only have a hard time finding someone to come and price the job out, whoever does finally come out and bid it, there price will be way higher than yours. Win win! :thumbsup: Trust me!
Call or text me if you want advice.





Tucker said:


> Very well said...I like this guy:yes:...in a non-gay way:whistling2:


No **** bro! :yes:


----------



## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

PrecisionTaping said:


> 100$!? Holy crap.
> I tell people on the phone it's a minimum of a 1000$
> I won't even get out of bed for a 100$. That doesn't even put gas in my truck to get to the job!
> My base price used to be 500$, then I was getting too many calls, so I started telling people it was 750$, still too many calls, so I it's been $1000 now for the last 2 years. Weeds out the people who are serious about getting the work done and saves me a trip out there.
> ...


I was thinking about moving up to Moose country PT, give you some competition, thinking my minimum bid will be $950:thumbsup:

Plus I give my bid right a way. So while your humming and hawing while sharpening your pencil for a few days. I will already have the job done:whistling2:

Learnt that from my step father 30 years ago, it shows confidence. Most guys always say they will get back to you with the price. People who hire guys like us, have the bloody money, they just want the dam job done. It's not rocket science, just give them the bloody price:yes:


----------



## A smooth finish (Mar 19, 2012)

PrecisionTaping said:


> If all you do is patch work bro, that's even more reason to charge more.
> Like you said, you don't do it full time and you don't get many jobs to do.
> Explain to your customers, time is money, and seriously, just tell them 200$ doesn't even pay for your gas.
> You can get away with charging way more my friend. And im not telling you this so you can go rob people. But you can make a pretty comfortable living, charging accordingly. I strongly suggest charging more. And if you're not sure about how to do it, call me. Seriously!
> ...


 
Thanks Man I appreciate it. I will try it out. Now its just a matter of getting more buisness. The only thing Im doing right now for advertising is craiglist. Any suggestions on what to do to get more work out there. I have got a couple jobs by referal but not very many.


----------



## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

2buckcanuck said:


> I was thinking about moving up to Moose country PT, give you some competition, thinking my minimum bid will be $950:thumbsup:
> 
> Plus I give my bid right a way. So while your humming and hawing while sharpening your pencil for a few days. I will already have the job done:whistling2:
> 
> Learnt that from my step father 30 years ago, it shows confidence. Most guys always say they will get back to you with the price. People who hire guys like us, have the bloody money, they just want the dam job done. It's not rocket science, just give them the bloody price:yes:


The moose would eat you alive up here 2buck :laughing:



A smooth finish said:


> Thanks Man I appreciate it. I will try it out. Now its just a matter of getting more buisness. The only thing Im doing right now for advertising is craiglist. Any suggestions on what to do to get more work out there. I have got a couple jobs by referal but not very many.


Do you have any business cards?
Get in good with some of your local suppliers. Paint stores, anywhere that sells drywall & taping material. Try to get to know some of the staff, ask them if you can leave a few business cards around or if they would even hold onto a few for you. Allot of times they will have customers ask them if they can recommend anyone. If you have business cards you can pretty well leave them anywhere. 
That seems to work well. Especially if you like doing patch work. Go to a few local paint stores and leave them your cards. Allot of home owners and DIY's will go ahead and buy paint before the small patch is repaired and will ask the worker there if they know anyone. Bam! You're in.


----------

