Price shoppers

Many times once I catch a hint of the price shopping goal I will just come right out and say, "Have you already called Surveyor A or Surveyor B or even Surveyor C already?"?ÿ They aren't expecting that so may be truthful with their response.?ÿ If they admit they have already spoken with Surveyor B I may say something like, "Did you get a number somewhere between $XXXX and $YYYY?"?ÿ If they say that is correct,?ÿ I will usually tell them to call them back if all they care about is dollars and are not necessarily concerned about the time to get the job done or prior experience with the subject property or surveys completed that will help with accomplishing their survey.?ÿ That normally takes the wind out of their low-dollar sails.?ÿ If they get around to asking what I think it would cost for us to do it, it will always be higher than anyone else they called.?ÿ We are not potato chips or crackers.?ÿ There are distinct differences between survey outfits, especially if Surveyor C is going to spend a day of travel time and an overnight somewhere to accomplish the needed hours of local research, monument hole digging and all fieldwork required.

Start charging for a quote. If you get the job then apply the quote payment to the cost of the survey. If someone is shopping around they probably will not be willing to pay for the quote.?ÿ?ÿ

I assume they are ALL price shoppers. ?ÿThen when I land a job, I figure either nope, they werenƒ??t, or oops, I left money on the table.

They often leave little hints that let me know they're shopping: "I just need one line surveyed", or "it should be very simple (easy) to survey it." I usually don't even call back....

@rich-roberge Whenever a layman tells me it should be very easy, I tell 'em they should be able to save some money by doing it themselves.

-S

For local lot surveys I only need to know the location. I've developed a set price range that makes them fill-in work loss leaders.

It's not a big part of my business but it does keep the name out there and gets PC out of the office for a few hours. For other work I don't give any estimate until I know I have the work.

And because of the developed data base there isn't a local subdivision were we don't have almost every block on our coordinate system.?ÿ

I don't bid any work anymore. Those requests are either deleted in my in-box or sent to the round file next to my desk. This has been my business model for a few years now and what a shock, profits are up. Imagine that!!!

Don't be afraid to say no.?ÿ

@mightymoe I usually say ƒ??noƒ? with my higher fees and longer estimated timeframes. ?ÿWhen I lose the job, it makes the winner look better and Joe Public feel a little better about the winnerƒ??s high fees and long timeframes.

@sergeant-schultz?ÿ

Everytime I hear the survey "should" be easy and "shouldn't" take very long at all, I cringe to the known value of what that does to surveyors and the crews alike.

Maybe we need to get a live stream tv show on discovery or something so people can be elucidated to what where and why they are paying for what they want. Like that king crab show. People would Love to pay 5 dollars a pound for king crab.

Morons..... ???? ???? ????ÿ

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@brad-ott?ÿ

I don't know how the construction surveyors that do government construction and funded work keep in business. I do quite a bit of construction surveying but it's for private concerns. I'll be heading out later this week to start a boundary survey that will also be staking line which is basically construction surveying.

No bid, no estimate, 100% chargeable.?ÿ

We tried to get some government boundary work two years ago, sent in bids for the work and never even got a sniff. Wasted a good 30-40 hours getting "qualified', sending in bid packages for the jobs. The local one we really wanted and thought we had the best chance to get got pulled for "lack of funding".

Frankly, should have circular filed it with the rest.

Even if we would have gotten one of the jobs the profit was sucked up by the bidding process.?ÿ

@mightymoe roger that, brother.

Posted by: @jph

I'm trying to figure out how to reply, or even if I should.?ÿ A woman called saying she needed a boundary survey and septic looked into.?ÿ We spent time researching and communicating a lot of information to her.?ÿ And now I find out after sending her a follow-up email, that we're "significantly higher than the other estimates."?ÿ WTF

I know, we've all been through this before, too many times.?ÿ It's just, come on, lady, you bought the house for half a million, did you really need to shop around for the cheapest survey??ÿ And if I'd known that she was price shopping, I'd have given her a few minutes, and that's all, wouldn't have bothered doing anything else.?ÿ?ÿ

I'm glad for the desperate company who needs to do cheap surveys to feed their families, apparently.?ÿ But, christ, I'm becoming a bitter man

Would you spend twice as much on a product that to you appear identical? Would you engage a business for a service that you know little about without doing some comparison shopping.

I completely understand the frustration, but it is just rational capitalist behavior.

There is also, the Price Checker - someone who's going to engage their mate but wants to know they're paying mate's rates. That's the one where you then say it'll cost $5,000 knowing that matey is charging something like $25,000. Think of the bottom lip quivering, and the chin retracting, like the picture in my Avatar, which was taken just after the local garage said a quote for a car door repair would cost $25.

Frankly, private concerns price shopping doesn't bother me. Survey services are usually triggered by Banks, local Govm'nt when subdividing, and the odd 'sitch where an owner actually wants his boundary marked/rehabilitated.?ÿ There's certain minimum standards of service LSs must provide and since it's a standardized product the the client doesn't care about quality, only price. Quite reasonable.

When I first entered the private sector after 6 years of public sector employment I was used to "do it right no matter the cost and protect the public."?ÿ After a few months in the private sector the owner took me aside and told me my work was impeccable but the goal was to produce the cheapest work product that met Govm'nt?ÿ standards because the client don't care, cheapest is best for the client.?ÿ He told me to get my ass in gear and up my productivity by 30% in the next few months or I'd be laid off.?ÿ I lowered my standards and did so.

I guess I became a gung ho whore but the pay was stellar and the Christmas bonus was in the five digit range.?ÿ I finally had to leave because I became the "main man" working 80 hour weeks running 6 crews with no vacations affected my health.

But to return to price shopping?ÿ for a cold call client I'll try to determine their scope, locale and expectations in a few minutes of conversation and advise them I'd estimate two days fieldwork,?ÿ 6?ÿ hours of RS/deed document prep, fees/recordation costs for an estimate of at least $4,000+ and they hang up.?ÿ Let them shop for a cheap alternative and they'd be mostly happy unless the sh*t hits the fan in court.

@aliquot?ÿ

Definitely.?ÿ In retrospect, I'm more upset that I didn't sniff it out sooner.?ÿ

I'm usually pretty good at knowing when someone is shopping around.?ÿ And it seemed like she was hearing the issues we brought up for the first time, like she wasn't talking to someone else.?ÿ?ÿ

Live and learn

I had one call that wanted me to look for original corners in a subdivision plat. She hired someone else, but then wanted me to write a critique on what original monuments were found in the area. REALLY? Why not ask the surveyor who did the corner recovery?

Most of my work is in one town.?ÿ I have a working plan with most of the properties input and many of the traverses input with LS network adjustment.?ÿ In adjusted areas I can setup the field crew to go in seconds.?ÿ It was a ton of work and it is not done.

Price shoppers call and state, "Well, you did the survey next door so this should be easy (ie cheap)."

I respond, "I have surveyed them all.?ÿ This does not change the fee."

@jitterboogie damn... I had to go lookup "elucidated".

@bryan-newsome?ÿ

It's ok,

I use the occasional $0.10 word instead of the alternative Marine Corps DI vocabulary to keep my brain flexible.

Doesn't feel as good sometimes, more during others too.

???? ?????ÿ

Just listened to a voice mail from a price shopper: "My name is -------- and how much will it cost to survey my lot. Would you call me back." I did, and told him I don't do residential surveys. He was disappointed, which is not my problem.?ÿ