shropshire mole 190 Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 I do a set price for set up and pick up, if I need to do a 3rd vist they get charged half again, if I have to make more visits they pay no more and it is Personal between me and the mole. This doesn't happen often but can get emotional if the little blighter is set on making me look a fool. What I do find at this time of year is that regular customers gardens and small areas, that I have already done earlier in the year or back end of last year call with '1 or 2 hills that came up last week'. I tell them that I can do the visits but it may be it is a male out looking for love that may have moved on and it may be waiting a week to see if any more activity is seen. If they are the sort that can't bear to have any more damage I will go out. If no traps are bunged up/fired/dug around and no fresh hills or surface runs we call it quits and my customers understand and Pay up. I do at least 3 visits, IMO need that 3rd visit to ensure no more moles about, less chance of a call back 1 Quote Link to post
Nicepix 5,650 Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 I do a set price for set up and pick up, if I need to do a 3rd vist they get charged half again, if I have to make more visits they pay no more and it is Personal between me and the mole. This doesn't happen often but can get emotional if the little blighter is set on making me look a fool. What I do find at this time of year is that regular customers gardens and small areas, that I have already done earlier in the year or back end of last year call with '1 or 2 hills that came up last week'. I tell them that I can do the visits but it may be it is a male out looking for love that may have moved on and it may be waiting a week to see if any more activity is seen. If they are the sort that can't bear to have any more damage I will go out. If no traps are bunged up/fired/dug around and no fresh hills or surface runs we call it quits and my customers understand and Pay up. That's a fair point. If it is a case of a couple of molehills recently discovered I advise them to squash them down and call me back if they pop back up. Sometimes it isn't an infestation, just a traveller passing through. Got an offer I simply could refuse a couple of days ago. A farmer who I'd worked for 2 years ago suggested that I might like to take a trailer up to his place and while I was setting some mole traps on his land he would fill the trailer up with alpaca poo. Same when I checked the traps. No money changes hands. So basically he is proposing that I do €200 worth of work in return for three trailer loads of something I don't need and he doesn't want, as he's giving it away free to anyone who wants to collect it. Hmmm.............. I won't be working there again. Just to put it in perspective I paid the village handyman €20 for 2 tonnes of steaming horse droppings delivered and tipped. Quote Link to post
DIDO.1 22,840 Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Iv never had a set price for any job. Depends what mood I'm in when I answer the phone....any strange accents who call me 'my friend' get doubled and anyone who tries to haggle gets the time wasters premium. 3 Quote Link to post
swarmcatcher 15 Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Some interesting points of view, we have been doing moles for a longtime and as mentioned by someone its very easy to be a busy fool. Not sure I understand the 3 visit rule - why return a 3rd time if job is complete on 2nd visit. Definitely don't understand the no mole no fee - has anyone tried moling in made up ground as found in a lot of properties these days, at what point do you decide to give in, not only that some moles are definitely more wary than other moles, we had a job on a couple of months ago where we took out 13 moles over 3 visits in one property and it took multiple repeat visits to catch a single mole at another property (7 or 8 visits) 1/2 mile down the road. Please someone explain why one would want to visit so many times and not charge for the visits - there needs to be a minimum visit charge. Think someone else said it only takes a couple of minutes to put in a mole trap - really does it? You have to drive to the location, you need to go through the spiel, you need to set a minimum of what (6 traps), you need to sort out the paperwork, then you need to travel somewhere else. Our solution is a fixed set up fee (for regular customers its reduced as the number of moles has already been controlled), visits thereafter are covered by a price per mole caught with a minimum visit charge. We charge per mole because we have set mole traps accordingly, if we don't catch sufficient moles to cover a visit our minimum visit charge is applied. I always laugh when we get called into a job that a no mole no fee gardener has tried and failed and then had to give up because its costing too much in time and fuel to look at back filled undermined traps. We also tend to charge extra because it normally takes longer to do the setup - then again we usually have a mole in the trap on the second visit. Mind we are not cheap - but we are good at what we do;.A bit like the chap from Cornwall I should imagine. We don't deny that we ran round like idiots early on with the no mole no fee crap - and we still have competitors offering the same, but now we go to a job, do it right and we all know where we stand so everyone is happy. Obviously this does not apply to farms its purely residential large or small garden same price setup. Its well worth thinking about it. 1 Quote Link to post
Nicepix 5,650 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Some interesting points of view, we have been doing moles for a longtime and as mentioned by someone its very easy to be a busy fool. Not sure I understand the 3 visit rule - why return a 3rd time if job is complete on 2nd visit. Definitely don't understand the no mole no fee - has anyone tried moling in made up ground as found in a lot of properties these days, at what point do you decide to give in, not only that some moles are definitely more wary than other moles, we had a job on a couple of months ago where we took out 13 moles over 3 visits in one property and it took multiple repeat visits to catch a single mole at another property (7 or 8 visits) 1/2 mile down the road. Please someone explain why one would want to visit so many times and not charge for the visits - there needs to be a minimum visit charge. Think someone else said it only takes a couple of minutes to put in a mole trap - really does it? You have to drive to the location, you need to go through the spiel, you need to set a minimum of what (6 traps), you need to sort out the paperwork, then you need to travel somewhere else. Our solution is a fixed set up fee (for regular customers its reduced as the number of moles has already been controlled), visits thereafter are covered by a price per mole caught with a minimum visit charge. We charge per mole because we have set mole traps accordingly, if we don't catch sufficient moles to cover a visit our minimum visit charge is applied. I always laugh when we get called into a job that a no mole no fee gardener has tried and failed and then had to give up because its costing too much in time and fuel to look at back filled undermined traps. We also tend to charge extra because it normally takes longer to do the setup - then again we usually have a mole in the trap on the second visit. Mind we are not cheap - but we are good at what we do;.A bit like the chap from Cornwall I should imagine. We don't deny that we ran round like idiots early on with the no mole no fee crap - and we still have competitors offering the same, but now we go to a job, do it right and we all know where we stand so everyone is happy. Obviously this does not apply to farms its purely residential large or small garden same price setup. Its well worth thinking about it. Why three visits? Because more often than not a neighbouring mole will come in and have a look around the newly vacated tunnels. Not an issue with an obviously isolated mole, but I have only had about two single captures in four years. No mole - no fee? Reassurance for the customer = more business. It ain't going to happen if you do the job right. But it converts more enquiries into jobs. IMO. The reason I don't charge for any extra visits required is to reassure the customer that they will be mole free for a set fee. Again, reassurance = more enquiries converted into jobs IMO. I certainly get recommendations based on that aspect of my fees. 1 Quote Link to post
Phil Lloyd 10,738 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 (edited) The phrase, 'No mole, No Fee' ...is not a new one... I've always worked on that basic premise,...I've also always worked on an agreed set fee, for the week's work... Most of the Mole Trappers and Rabbit catchers, that I mix with,..tend to specialise in controlling these critters ,...they don't do other types of Commercial Pest Control.. Our much valued customers, are paying to have their nuisance pests removed, they don't want to be charged for an Operative or a Visit,..or pay an hourly fee,..or become involved in a complicated, sliding scale of prices... We keep it simple... The agreement is transparent, fair and easily understood..,.I kill your moles, rabbits,.foxes ,..whatever,...and then,...you pay me,..the fecking money.... Edited April 25, 2016 by Phil Lloyd 4 Quote Link to post
earth-thrower 493 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 (edited) The phrase, 'No mole, No Fee' ...is not a new one... I've always worked on that basic premise,...I've also always worked on an agreed set fee, for the week's work... Most of the Mole Trappers and Rabbit catchers, that I mix with,..tend to specialise in those two disciplines,...they don't do, other types of Commercial Pest Control..Our customers are paying to have the nuisance pests removed, they don't want to be charged for an Operative or a Visit,..or pay an hourly fee,..or become involved in a complicated, sliding scale of prices... The deal is quite simple,.I kill your moles, rabbits,.foxes ,..whatever,...and then,...you pay me,..the fecking money.... I like this approach, Phil,...(rather than 'complicate' things,unnecessarily, perhaps ?,...lol) Edited April 22, 2016 by earth-thrower Quote Link to post
moxy 617 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 No mole no fee You would never make any money Quote Link to post
shropshire mole 190 Posted April 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 No mole no fee You would never make any money image.jpeg image.jpeg Is that a quad bike chain harrow on the back of bike? I have one but they are bloody heavy Quote Link to post
Phil Lloyd 10,738 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 @ Moxy 1 Quote Link to post
moxy 617 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 It's on the trailer mate but yes. The little 2wd doesn't like pulling it for too long. Particularly with the spikes down. The 4wd bike will chug away all day long. Quote Link to post
Nicepix 5,650 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 (edited) No mole no fee You would never make any money You can't fool, me. That image is Photoshopped. The mole, bottom right in the top image is the same one as the one three from the left. I'd recognise him anywhere. Edited April 22, 2016 by Nicepix Quote Link to post
moxy 617 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 White paws and freezer burns!! Quote Link to post
earth-thrower 493 Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 No mole no fee You would never make any money image.jpeg image.jpeg Nice photo,...but can you set them up, in a triangle shape, next time (just for variety !,..lol) ? Quote Link to post
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