??"thanks I'm calling around getting prices"
I know the project won't be mine.?ÿ Which is OK with me!
Yeah, that is a dead giveaway to not even waste your time.
I have told some folks I will do a good job for them and give them a good survey for a fair price but I am the one who decides on what is fair.
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As soon as I hear, "I need my lot surveyed and how much will it cost" I am out of there.?ÿ
A little education can go a long way. ?ÿI have done several surveys for some clients who foolishly started their first phone call that way. ?ÿWhat I mean is some of those have turned into repeat clients. ?ÿReal estate agents and lending officers need the most education. ?ÿIt's not their money that is getting spent. ?ÿThey mainly want it done so they can complete their part of the deal.
We are all ignorant about certain things.
I try to make sure they are comparing apples to apples and use that opportunity to explain why they might see large differences in fees.?ÿ?ÿ I'm often blunt and tell them that they could indeed find someone to do it cheaper.?ÿ So even if they use someone else, I might have at least put it in their mind that "you get what you pay for" is true in surveying as well.?ÿ
Being one that likes to put a caller at ease right off the bat with a little levity I usually reply to their question "how much will it cost?" with "how much you got?"
Then I can dive in on what it is they might need and my explanation of tasks, costs and time.?ÿ ?ÿI also like to explain if they're looking for the cheapest they can probably count me out.?ÿ I like to tell people I charge exactly what it takes to get the job done and not a penny more.
here's how i closed the response to a broker the other day who squawked at a twelve thousand dollar fee for an ALTA on an 8.5 million dollar office building property:
"I??ve performed hundreds of title surveys on similar sites over the last two decades, and there is nothing particularly outstanding here in terms of the scope or fees involved. It??s my experience that clients investing millions of dollars in sites tend to appreciate the quality and cost of a thorough and complete survey... after they??ve experienced how a cheap survey can cost them in the long term."
i did manage to refrain from pointing out that my fee amounted to a bad tip out of his fee for closing the deal.?ÿ he called back 30 minutes later, kind of hang-dog, telling me he "got the go-head" to do it, as if there was some unspoken understanding that i was holding a knife to his throat...
hahaha- didn't see this when i posted, but the had the exact same thought- that very scene was running through my head when i was on the phone with the broker.
As soon as I hear "do not hang up", I think, my, you are paranoid. Then, hang up.
Nate
After I give them a number to add to their budget for a survey I've done what they have asked of me.
All the talk that they continue after that tells me that they want me to survey their property for less money.
Only a certain amount of people come straight out and say "I want you to survey my property" and really mean that knowing that I will survey it and not hold them ransom afterward.
When someone asks for a "ball park figure" I tell them 56,000, the seating capacity of Dodger?ÿ stadium.
Our receptionist simply says "I'm sorry we do not provide Surveying Services to the Public". We always recommend a Surveyor who can provide the service the caller is requesting. ?????ÿ
Holy is dead on. Some of my best business relationships started with a price shopping call. It's an important part of business development. The longer you stay in a given community, the more it pays off.
"When your company surveyed my property (5 years ago) they never set my back corners. I need you to come back and finish the job I paid for."?ÿ
About 45 years ago I learned to reply with, "OK, we'll be right out, and if we find those corners (you accuse us of not setting) you'll owe us for our time at $150 per hour starting when we leave the office to when we get back."
Some people lose track of their property corners, and think if they accuse the surveyor of not setting the corners we''ll come out and find them for free. This worked for maybe one or two times until I learned the drill.?ÿ I am so tired of people acting like they honestly believe the corners were never set. Ninety nine per cent of the time they saw the flags and monuments when the survey was done, but over time they lost track of where the corners were. These land owners simply want us to come back out and show them where their corners are for free.?ÿ Most of the time, if a land owner is honest and up front with me about the fact they simply can't find a corner, I will re-flag the corner for free.?ÿ I just don't appreciate being accused of not having set a corner.
When I get that call I treat it as an opportunity to do a service to the profession. I assume that I have no chance of getting the job. Instead?ÿ spend a few minutes trying to educate the caller about what to look for and the potential pitfalls of hiring the lowest bidder. Luckily, I do not rely on this type of client to pay my bills.?ÿ
I try to give a Rough Order of Magnitude with two possible outcomes
1. Qualify the caller. If the amount is completely out of bounds, then I am not the person they need.
2. Establish a baseline for the next call. Make the amount high enough that the next guy will seem like a deal. Not artificially high, but say $3000 to $10000.?ÿ
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Then the next guy gets a bit more info and can give an estimate of $3500 or $6500. They have some idea that guy isn't trying to screw them.