[dandandan]

Just ready to start,van ready in garage getting sign written etc and the dingles turn up on my estate and start leafleting and putting boards with their mobile numbers on at the end of the street advertising their driveway cleaning.Watched them do 2 jobs out my window,they blasted mud everywere,all over the house,kept jumping back into the van to get out the rain,dad and 2 lads.Jetting done in 20 mins and then the sanding started,to my amazement one of them is sealing while the other is still brushing sand into the joints.While they were doing the damage i was trying to let the neighbours who were at home not to let them near their drives and got 3 jobs out of it,i`ll probably be putting the 2 they worked on right soon as well.The rats probably got 20 jobs in the days they were here in my area,they still had the ladders on the van roof from cocking fascia board up last summer.i`m a novice ,just about to start but i have studied this site for 6 months and took on board all your fine advice,these low life make me sick and give genuine blokes like the ones i`ve spoke to on here a bad name,gutted a week ago i`d have done all these jobs to the standards preached on this site.

[drivewasher]

Yes pikies give the job a bad reputation, but it can soon be put right. I can't understand how custys will give work to a mobile or 0800 only phone number.
I have my landline and mobile numbers on my van, my paperwork/leaflets also has my address on it. I don't put my address on van to help ppikies locate me so they can come late night shopping if you know what I mean. They very often come asking questions and can they have a card so they can ring for a quote  (they think we don't know there at it ) I tell em I aint got a card and just write the numbere of my van down and speak to my office

Anyway, word of mouth is a good advert. I go out of my way to clean up and rince down everywhere, including the street gutters and path around the job.
I tell my custy's they only pay when jobs finished IE sanded if block, and if their not happy with my work don't pay me, simple as that. no ones said thier not happy yet!!

[TVCS]

most of the time these pikies quote one price then ask for a higher one when finished.   HAd some round here.   Quoted £40 when they had finally finished they said that the 40 was per meter.   They didnt get it and the police were involved but like you said it makes it harder for us. 

I agree with the phone number point too.  I have land line and mobile on my van and all my stationary.  All my receits I give to custies have my address and numbers on etc.     

[drive surgeon]

there everywhere at the mo around merseyside and cheshire, its bad for business, noticed a decine in work lately/ its getting over run by cowboys and gypsies.

[mav]

hiya guys I am in the same position as dandandan and really looking forward to starting my own business, but I am still struggling to price jobs up, I don't want to lose custom by charging too much but I don't want to charge too little as I have invested a lot of money ( well it is to me ) in the business up to now and there is still sign writing to do yet and all the bits I am bound to find I am going to need. Also Drivewasher I am going to work to the ethics as you that I will go out of my way to make sure the customer is happy as I think customer satisfaction is sadly lacking in this country at the moment

Any help on the pricing woukld be appreciated

[dandandan]

Hi Mav,I have studied loads of prices and most of the lads go on a sliding scale depending how big the job is and how hard it will be,like if it is full of moss, oil or even if it has good drainage,you will have an idea how long it is going to take.I have started cherrypicking some easy jobs to get some experience,i have even done a few friends and family for cost and a pint to prove i can do the job right and get the word round,i`m in no rush and want to get it right.I am pricing at £2.50 a sqaure metre to clean and £3.50 to clean and sand,but if its a big job then you can chip a bit off to make sure you get it to avoid dissapointment,. for example i am doing 200 sq metres for £500 clean and sand.I`ve got a few little one hours work driveways to do and i have said £75 including sand.petrol ,weedkiller which makes it sound cheaper than it is.I have started stopping at houses in a nice position with good drainage and a nice layer of green on them knowing these will scrub up best and be easy to do and just knocking or posting a leaflet,get a house on a nice corner plot with a tidy garden and give a  fair price and you`ll probably get another 5 jobs off it,thats how i`m working,speak to you soon,anything i can help you with let me know,i`ve asked some green questions on here mate,it`s the only way,ha ha

[sherco]

Hope you guys have a PA1 and a PA6A certificate for applying weed killers/moss killers to peoples drives
as its the law you need to have pesticide training for applying weed killers.

[drive surgeon]

nope!

[dandandan]

Do you need these certificates  for normal off the shelf weedkiller or are you on about commercial heavy duty stuff,who is going to check on you?the council or enviromental agency,can`t see many people bothering with them .

[sherco]

Yes you do need them, even if its chemical you bought from a garden centre you can only use it one your own property, if your using it to do other peoples drives then you need it, Health and safety and the Environment agency are the ones who will stop you if they see you doing it. I have been asked twice in the last five years to show mine. SO BEWARE...its not hard to get your local agricultural collage do courses, its another selling point for your business to explain to customer that anybody using chemicals on there property needs to have it, and if you have one you probably will get the job.

[dandandan]

The big advantage honest traders have over cowboys is they do the job to the best of their ability at a fair price which i think is more important to a customer than a piece of paper saying you can spray weed killer.So if the cowboy showed these people he ripped off that he had a certificate to spray pathclear do you think they`d feel better?Doubt it.

[BDCS]

Also by law you need to carry a cosh data sheet for any chemical you carry on your van, how many of us do that, the only ones I have are in the carpet spotting kit supplied by prochem - I don't clean many carpets !!

[mark.laycock1@ntlw]

do you have to do this if you have sealer in your van?

[drivewasher]

do you have to do this if you have sealer in your van?

YES your supplier should supply the cosh sheets if you ask em

[BDCS]

Any supplier is obliged by law to supply cosh sheets for their products, the fire brigade want them if theres an accident

[Roger Oakley]

Also by law you need to carry a cosh data sheet for any chemical you carry on your van, how many of us do that

I do, for every chemical we carry we have a MSDS sheet. BDCS as you said you need to by law, esp for the fire brigade.