Hasn't anyone ever heard the term competitive prices.The only problem I have with that is,When I stop competing on price I STOP EATING,and paying bills and so on...The market I am in,doesn't afford me the luxury of riding out the weekend warrior no matter what any business GURU might come up,there are simply too many of them.I am sorry but no matter how confident I am with my skills,experience and abilities, waiting for superior craftsmanship and professionalism to prevail could end up sending me back to landscaping and being under someone else's thumb.I do consider myself pretty good at what I do which is mainly deck restoration and residential cleaning(house washes and the like).I have at this time over 350 decks under my belt which I have logged probably 6 complaints in 4 years.And that was my fault because I promised more than I knew I could deliver in the early stages of learning.I have done over 175 house washes,thousands of sq ft of concrete cleaning.Dozens and dozens of driveway sealcoating.I have around 275 gutter cleaning customers,which puts a lot of cash in my pocket for the winter. BUT I Know I could lose everything if I didn't adjust my prices to the craziness that seems to go on around me. I have earned a good reputation in my area and some people simply will not switch,but I know from experience,a lot of them would switch for $1.I have figured out the market I am in and have succsessfully outlasted a lot of threats to my business.You have to be shrewd and cunning and be willing to lose a few bucks to end up still on the roster the next year and so far this year I am holding my own.I sort of pity the people who have not had to endure the onslaught of potential threats that take away 75% of former customers because their overhead is zero and their prices are almost the same!!!I know many will say that's what business is all about but I would prefer to roll with the punches,adjust accordingly and stay busy than to let pride dictate my days(Like I said it would be nice but you can't eat it). I hope I haven't offended anyone but waiting for a select few customers to pay me what some of the big whigs around here claim they are getting,and staying busy earning my $450 a day I choose the latter.Feel free to riducule and chastise me all you want all I know is I will be providing for me and my family so I am makin'it and then some.
<FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by JR Wood on March 14, 2000 ]</font>
<FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by JR Wood on March 14, 2000 ]</font>