John, I have the same experience. I have gotten to the point that I don't even want these jobs. Your efficiency is based upon too many variables and because you are doing "bulk work" they expect a lower price. All it takes are a few open windows, people forgetting to remove their furniture off the deck, or a couple of decks without working electricity and there goes your profit margin. We may be busier than you, but I would be very hesitant to offer cheap rates. Another bad thing about condos is the neccessary prep and shadow box dividers inherent to many of them.
I am the high guy in my market and quality, craftsmanship guarantee and maintenance are also what we offer. We did a job last week for a single condo owner and four neighbors approached me. I bid them like I would any single family home. Two were impressed and paid the rate, two complained the last guys charged half as much. The usual balks followed by the same question from me.. "where is that company now?" I also get these pseudo enticements from condo owners/associations. "The last guys that did decks here ended up doing fifty of them" Great. And with the aggravation, bidding, time wheeling and aditional labor I would make more doing 50 single homes and I wouldn't be pissing off my real client base.
My question is Deckrock, is this an all or nothing proposal? If you get one job do you get them all or is it left to the individual owners to decide? Fifty decks times an average of $450 is a nice payout. Twenty decks times an even lower average would be a waste of time for me. |