I have a development client that provides typically $500K a year in revenue for my firm. The client’s wife has a realtor for a best friend. They are very much a part of the high society crowd in my neck of the woods. I met this realtor and she is eccentric to say the least, but does close on a property once or twice a year and she always insist that I do the survey work. She gets a thrill from telling people she has her own surveyor and what a better price she can get from me and the turn around time. I detest boundary work and would not perform this service under most circumstances. However, I will do her work and charge 50% of what would be the going rate for this work. She is always pleased and whenever we all get together she has nothing but raves about by company and my client’s wife is always reminding her that she was the one that got us together.
I bring all this up because of the preceding thread about the $200 survey. I will confess to doing a 3 acre boundary survey for this lady for $300. I am not sure the revenue paid my vehicle and equipment cost, but the benefit I receive far out weighs any profit that could be made from this survey. Sometimes not all is what it seems at first glance. In fact, I would venture to guess that if a TV show wanted me to provide a survey and promised me some exposure, I would at the least, give them a discount and maybe do it for free.
-I detest boundary work and would not perform this service under most circumstances.-
That says it all and you probably should not be doing any boundary work because of your preferences. Are you doing enough research, is your field work up snuff do you really have a handle on property law and rules of evidence in relation to boundary's? I don't know nor am I saying you don't, but you may not even be worth what you are charging for these surveys you detest.
jud
whatever
your unedited post was better!!
After re-reading my post, I understand your response, it came out arrogant and boastful. That was not my intent. I was merely trying to defend why a surveyor may have provided a cost that does not seem reasonable. I feel surveyors are quick to judge each other without knowing all the details.
We do in fact perform all the necessary work required to produce a quality survey. The reason we don't like to perform these types of surveys is because we cannot compete economically with those that do them every day. Please note that I did not get my license out of Cracker Jack box; I am educated, trained in the art of surveying by qualified mentors and sat for the exam just as most people on this board.
Gene
I don't think you have something to be ashamed of necessarily. You've got to do what you've got to do. The real estate lady gets a thrill that she has a surveyor that will undercut any of the other people that make their living doing those surveys, that's going to rub some people the wrong way. It's dog-eat-dog out there and if that's what you and your company think you have to do to fluff up your big client, who am I to cast the first stone? Nobody, that's who.
I have a little rock band that plays parties and events, usually for free just for the fun of it. There are a lot of musicians in town that are actually trying to make a living or at least a supplemental income from their gigs. I get feedback now and then that we are undercutting their income by giving away what they charge money for. I justify it because the places we play don't have money to hire a band anyway or it's for a charity event, etc. I see what they're saying, though.
> I have a development client that provides typically $500K a year in revenue for my firm. The client’s wife has a realtor for a best friend. They are very much a part of the high society crowd in my neck of the woods. I met this realtor and she is eccentric to say the least, but does close on a property once or twice a year and she always insist that I do the survey work. She gets a thrill from telling people she has her own surveyor and what a better price she can get from me and the turn around time. I detest boundary work and would not perform this service under most circumstances. However, I will do her work and charge 50% of what would be the going rate for this work. She is always pleased and whenever we all get together she has nothing but raves about by company and my client’s wife is always reminding her that she was the one that got us together.
>
> I bring all this up because of the preceding thread about the $200 survey. I will confess to doing a 3 acre boundary survey for this lady for $300. I am not sure the revenue paid my vehicle and equipment cost, but the benefit I receive far out weighs any profit that could be made from this survey. Sometimes not all is what it seems at first glance. In fact, I would venture to guess that if a TV show wanted me to provide a survey and promised me some exposure, I would at the least, give them a discount and maybe do it for free.
Why then would you even charge a fee?
By doing so, you have created more conflict, confusion and misrepresentation to this profession than if you had charged $200 like some jacklegged surveyor would have.
-- Thanks for helping the cause.
BTW - Since you "detest" boundary work so much,
do us both a favor and don't do it.
Or a least - don't charge your high society client any fee
That would probably be the better option, Gene. Rather than scoop up $300 so somebody can have a nice dinner, just don't charge anything. That way, they know that the people that do this for a living actually charge something for it but you are giving it away for the PR value.
> Why then would you even charge a fee?
>
> By doing so, you have created more conflict, confusion and misrepresentation to this profession than if you had charged $200 like some jacklegged surveyor would have.
>
> -- Thanks for helping the cause.
>
> BTW - Since you "detest" boundary work so much,
> do us both a favor and don't do it.
>
> Or a least - don't charge your high society client any fee
:good:
for detesting boundary work, my man's got a '$500K a year development client'!? life's a bitch 🙁
I like Gene's business model. It works for him.
If he loses money on the survey but makes it up on the totality of other projects, then its a loss lead for him.
AS long as he does the work right, then he can charge what he wants in order to make the client happy.
I must concur with the "no charge" approach.
There is nothing wrong with rewarding certain people for what they have done for you. But, please do it in a way that clarifies the true gift. Bill it as you would any other job then deduct the full amount or everything but mileage or something like that. That way the recipient understands precisely how much you value them.
sad thing is, the beneficiary is just the best friend (the realtor) of the clients wife if i read it right - The gratis work (or low ball fee) does nothing to benefit the well-paying client per se.
I guess you don't think that she puts the word out that you do $300 lot surveys and all other surveyors should meet that price? Around here, if you did one for that price, all the other realtors would be beating down your door.
Steve, thanks for explaining the anger in most of these these replies. I honestly had no idea how those two paragraphs could be so offensive and cause personal assassinations to my character. And yes, I would do these for free, but the lady (did I mention she was eccentric?) would never accept charity. Like most peole, she would be offended if I even offered.
When I get phone calls to perform these type of surveys I explain that I only do them for friends and refer them to another surveyor. He returns the favor whenever someone calls requesting construction services.
Once again, I was just offering a real life circumstance to an otherwise unexplainable occurrence. Just recently we sent a proposal for an 18-hole golf course survey. The winning proposal was so out of line, I immediately suspected the surveyor was going to perform poorly. I even called some of the other firms to see what their thoughts were. The banker involved was friend of mine and later explained the winning proposal had actually done the survey six months earlier for a failed transaction. I was embarrassed to say the least, which is usually the case whenever I suspect the worse of people.
I don't know about your house, but when my wife likes someone, I keep them close by. I always try to get to know my clients wives, it's good business and you never know, you might even become friends. You can never have too many of those.
If mama ain't happy, aint nobody happy.
You did what you have to so that you can play the game. Nothing wrong there.
> I don't know about your house, but when my wife likes someone, I keep them close by. I always try to get to know my clients wives, it's good business and you never know, you might even become friends. You can never have too many of those.
You would have a better chance of becoming friends if you did the work for free, your approach makes you lool like a patsy. Posting how much you detest boundary surveying on a surveying forum makes you look like a tool.
I don't know any surveyors theses days with a regular 500k per year client, while admittedly I don't know everything, I am gonna call BS on that one.
Best regards,
$300 Lot Survey>Suggestion
What we do, if we reduce a fee, is note the invoice as if it was a "normal" project and then show a "professional discount" for particular clients...... Such as an engineer that we do a ton of work with has to have a plan done for his house; $6,000, professional discount $2,500, total due $3,500.....
$300 Lot Survey>Suggestion
:good: I like this idea, lets them know in black&white you're both fully cognizant of the courtesy / quid-pro-quo arrangement
Simple question. If you aren't making a profit at $300, then why are you doing them at all? I don't get it. What is the "benefit" that you are getting from this?
