Customer calling trends...

[Hobby Climber]

I've only been playing around with this tree care stuff for about 10 years now and notice the following calling trends from customers.


Early Spring:
-Lots of calls but not so many jobs by folks price shopping, usually rude..."the other guy was cheaper...". Lots of dead limbing and trimming branches back from other structures.

Late Spring:
-Just as many calls but they want you at the job ASAP or they'll go to the next guy. (I was told I had the job only to show up and the tree is gone!) No new customer loyalty!

Early Summer:
-Moderate & steady number of phone calls but people are less rude and more accomodating to your work scedual. Just happy that someone showed up at all.

Mid Summer:
-By this time I'm cought up with all the earlier bookings, the calls seem to drop off during late july & early/mid August. (Most family are on vacation during this time is my guess).

Late Summer:
-Late August /Early September on...Most jobs I get this time of year are from co-workers (Day Job) and their family/friends via referals. Not so many new customer phone calls for some reason.

Fall:
-New customer calls increase and many former customers call back for follow-up work and offer customer referals. Lots of removals & crown reductions/thinnings during this time of year, more requests for larger tree removals!

Winter:
-Calls drop off a week or two before Christmas and nothing until after January. Usually winter storme damage but that generated more work by neighbors seeing you.

Then it starte all over again the following spring.

*

I've been booking the bigger tree removals for the winter. This frees me up my time to catch the many trim & prunning jobs during late summer/fall.

*

Do you guys have similar customer calling trends also or are they all together different from what I described?


HC

 

[Stumper]

Bob, Yes similar but as the years and reputation have accumulated I just seem to stay busy except for that semi-dead time of X-mas -February

 

[SkwerI]

Around here there's no such thing as 'booking for wintertime'. There's so much competition for so little work that few tree guys are willing to put work off for several months. The jobs tend to disappear if you don't jump on them when they come up.

 

[rfwoodvt]

Similar trends here.

Since we stopped using marketing that attracted mostly "Tire-Kickers" we don't get the cranky/rude ones much any more. Those few that do call us get screened at the phone.

There are times when the market is such that first call-back gets the job and that is what we had this spring.

And we have had those days where we showed up only to find work in progress or already done. Don't see much of that any more since we have gone to requiring a signed workorder.

Anyhow, with rythms, Each year is different and this year was no exception.

Our first slow down in calls usually happens late Aug through Sept and our high volume calls are lage june through July. This year was just the opposite.

We try to book through the first week in December knowing that we might work closer to Christmas due to weather. Also, if the weather copperates we've been busy straight into January.

Anyhoo, once we have the first week of Dec booked we still take calls and book jobs but we let the customer know we can't promise to get it done before spring.

Most of the time they are cool with that and they accept our explanation that we are committed until at least March. Sometimes we also explain that while winter is a great time to work, knee deep snow makes the job go slower, makes clean up impossible, and often requires a plow or loader to gain access to the tree(s) which in turn makes winter work more expensive.

Usually these two explanations help them agree to a spring scheduling so we end up sometimes 6 weeks of early spring work pre-booked.

Since our staffing and setup is such that we can't promise timely completion of winter work if the customer is still in a hurry then we refer them to one of our Year-round competitors.

We ask the customer to be sure to tell the other tree people that we gave the referral.

There are a lot of local companies that will take winter work, but from what I hear quite a bit of it does not get done due to weather. I'd rather lose the job now because we can't promise to do it as opposed to saying we'll do it and then not.

Quite often I'll get a call back in the spring,"so and so said they'd do my tree this winter but didn't. And now they are not returning my calls. Can you come out...?"

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents on the subject...

 

[treetx]

Around here there's no such thing as 'booking for wintertime'. There's so much competition for so little work that few tree guys are willing to put work off for several months. The jobs tend to disappear if you don't jump on them when they come up.

Same thing here.

The dead time in Austin is traditionally late Oct-Jan.

If you are really SELLING, try hitting up commercial accts, especially churches, etc to see if they have year end money that has to be spent. I had luck with that in the past. Other than that, all we can do is hope for an ice storm.

After IKE and with my other irons in the fire, I have already packed my gear away for the season. I would love to practice for the TxTCC but I think this year I will be an assistant rather than a contestant.

 

[gf beranek]

A few times over the years I've received calls from people who want a hazard assessment on a tree near their home. And I've learned a lot of these people are fearful of the tree and wanting someone to tell them that it is a hazard and should be removed. Even if it isn't. They can't make the decision themselves.

My point being, in each case where my assessment deemed the tree sound, healthy and perfectly safe to persist in proximity to their home, a week later I drive by and that tree is gone.

It's happened enough to make me rethink some hazard assessments and recognize more the customers fear of their tree. Which brings conflicts in risk assessment and ones own ethics to land a job.

 

[darkstar]

Same thing here except we began a gradual slow down about now.

 

[Newfie]

Customers usually call when I least want to deal with them.

 

[Stumper]

Mike, Get revenge. Have Eric call them.

 

[treetx]

GB - awesome post about hazard trees.

Brings me back to thinking how most folks need a psychiatrist, not an arborist.

 

[Greenhorn]

Peaks in June here - tapers off in either direction. Probably the worst thing about the tree biz besides finding/keeping good climbers.

 

[Hobby Climber]

Another point I forgot to mention ...

In late fall I get a lot more calls but haven't the time to get to each one the same week.
I noticed that if these little jobs are not done by the first week of December, the customers tend to change their minds about having work done at all. :what:

HC

 

[Newfie]

GB - awesome post about hazard trees.

Brings me back to thinking how most folks need a psychiatrist, not an arborist.

But trees are scary......

 

[Old Monkey]

A few times over the years I've received calls from people who want a hazard assessment on a tree near their home. And I've learned a lot of these people are fearful of the tree and wanting someone to tell them that it is a hazard and should be removed. Even if it isn't. They can't make the decision themselves.

I have written up tags saying that if this tree falls over I will come remove it for free. Its usually for older folks with small perfectly fine trees. It gives ammunition to the spouse who likes the tree and wants to keep it.

Right not I am in crazy busy mode and am trying stock up as many jobs as possible. In the summer if someone balks at a price they think is too high I write 10-15% off if done after Dec. 1st. That usually feathers my nest for winter. I was busy most of last winter with only a few weak weeks. I think I did one or two jobs between Xmas and New Years. I am hopeful that I can beat last years numbers this year. My slowest month was August. It sucked and I am almost done with the stupidly low bids I gave out then to drum up work.

 

[Monkeywithasaw]

here busy from feb -oct trimming palms and doing monsoon storm damage then get some of the most ugly and biggest removals thru the winter

 

[sotc]

ive got a bunch of postcards im going to mail out after 2nd elk season, see if that wont drum some work up for my slow winters

 

[Hobby Climber]

ive got a bunch of postcards im going to mail out after 2nd elk season, see if that wont drum some work up for my slow winters

-----------------------


Willie,

Just mention that the next 5 guys who hire you to do tree work will be invited to a free Elk BBQ!






Bob

 

[sotc]

depends which town im bidding in!