# Lowe's fair price



## weasel11

What would be a fair price to pay for 1X per week parking lot sweeping only for Lowe's. I have the contract on 24 of these and they now want us to include parking lot sweeping. I will have to use a few different companies and wanted to know what the rate should be on average. Thanks


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## 4700dan

weasel11;1410268 said:


> What would be a fair price to pay for 1X per week parking lot sweeping only for Lowe's. I have the contract on 24 of these and they now want us to include parking lot sweeping. I will have to use a few different companies and wanted to know what the rate should be on average. Thanks


Man you should have already known your price before you bid there is never a fair price there is only an actual price you have to know your overhead bla bla bla to know a price and your details about sweeping are very vage


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## whsiii2000

Once a week not even worth the time. Even if its right beside one you already have. They want to pay usm wages on their sweeping so dont expect more than $25 or $30 from them.


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## whsiii2000

I have done their sweeping before and got $65 but that was for 4 nites a week. Then they went to 3 nites then to 2nites and each time the price went down and the work got to be more. Quit dealing with them when they went to 2 nites a week and it was only done april-october. Don't make any $$ that way. If they are wanting it so bad i would charge like i do for mowing once a week. But in the end it's not worth the headache!


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## rsweeper

Weasel11. 
I will try and keep from getting on a rampage here. To start, There was nothing wrong with 4700dan's answer. Your question is vage. You asked for prices, but you didnt say what all they want included. Do they want a complete job including blowing walks, curb stop areas, cornors, loading dock, around carts and returns, I could keep going here, or do they just want a fast nothing extra truck vac sweep. You could spend anywhere from 30 min to 1 1/2 hrs on that job and maybe even more depending on what they want done and how clean they expect it. And as you stated, People using "normal judgments" is what is vage, as i answered above, too many ways that the job could be done. Now a bit more on pricing, You should be calling and asking the contractors in the area that you are needing the work done in for prices, Most contractors have different prices that they need to charge based on there overhead, truck payments, employee wages, insurance costs, do I need to go further? Your next thing that you stated, "Lowes will pay what ever they have too". No they wont, You are not god, and they know that. Most of these companys now know USM and other prices and know that they can find STUPID contractors willing to work for free. We have had the Nationwide companies call us before on these and they only wanted to pay 25.00 per sweep, I laughed my head off to them on the phone. I told them we wouldnt consider that for less then 100.00 per sweep on a 1 day a week job. Again my first answer to your questions above, quality and how clean dictate price. More days per week means less price per sweep as it wont take aslong per sweep to complete. And if Lowes wants the best price they will go back to sweeping contractors that wont sub out the work, because you will cost them more, you will add a mark up to what it costs to have the job done, so you make money, and Lowes will have to pay more then what it really costs. And if you have 24 of these accounts, why dont you buy a sweeper and take care of them in house, O thats right, you wont get any free money, you will have to take money out of your pocket first to pay employees, and truck payments etc, you will have to get additional insurance to cover everything, do repairs on the trucks, make sure that they are done and not highlighted by your employees, etc etc. I will stop here for now and see where things go.


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## weasel11

*Looks like someone wasn't happy*

I guess they had my other post removed....oh well......FYI yes Lowe's will pay what it takes...I'm charging $250 per sweep 2X per week at each store...$2000 monthly at each store....the average time has been 26 minutes per store......no I didn't sub....to many unreliable companies...

Final post here....thanks for the PM to those who helped


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## Superior L & L

I call BS on this. In your wildest dreams they would even pay half that.


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## rsweeper

We all know it is BS!!!!!

In his first post, he stated " he would have to use a few different companies"
Now he states " no I didnt sub"

He cant even keep his story straight, If he really had a sweeper, he would know what to charge and what he would be willing to pay to have them done if being sub out.

Now he has changed from being only 1 time per week to now it is 2 times per week. 

There is no way Lowes would pay that much per sweep, when we all know for the price he stated they wouldnt pay 2000 per month for 7 days per week sweeping.

He also stated that he has 24 lowes accounts, and he isnt subbing. So lets just say that with travel time between each store and the amount of time each store would really take to service correctly, and a 1 man truck, he might be able to get maybe 6 to 8 locations per truck. So he now has his own 3 to 4 trucks just doing Lowes locations???????And needs our help to price them?????? even if you space out the stores and days you need to have a min of 2 trucks almost running full time doing Lowes alone.


And, only spending 26min per night cleaning a Lowes that is only done 2 times per week, Maybe in dream land. If he is only spending that much per time, He isnt doing anything but sweeping at 20 miles per hour and not blowing or anything else. 

If he is really getting that price, I want to see a copy of the signed contract including the price. But we all know that wont happen. 

So now this is at his stated price, 24 stores at 2000 per month = 48,000 monthly
48,000 monthly x 12 months = 576,000 yearly
Yea, right, over half a million a year, now lets go a bit further for fun here, Bye the price he stated of 250 per sweep and only 26 min per visit that would be about 9.61 per min of sweeping, DREAM LAND!!!!!!

O wait, wait, wait, I figured it out, He better look at that contract again, I bet he in his mind moved the decimal point making it 250.00 instead of the real price of 25.00 per sweep. 

I have to stop here, my chest is killing me in pain for all the laughing that im doing.


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## 4700dan

Now I guess I was not to far off asking him for more information plus telling him he should have known his pricing before bidding, but I'm guessing since I have been sweeping since 1994 I don't know what I'm talking about and that makes me moronic in weasel11's mind what an idiot


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## deicepro

This reminds me of lawn care....nobody wants to pay squat, 20 guys fighting over a nickel. Some of these guys are just stupid. Bidding on contract and asking for help after they already have a contract. I don't sweep, but even I know you couldn't squeeze that much out of a big box store!


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## White Gardens

weasel11;1439553 said:


> I guess they had my other post removed....oh well......FYI yes Lowe's will pay what it takes...I'm charging $250 per sweep 2X per week at each store...$2000 monthly at each store....the average time has been 26 minutes per store......no I didn't sub....to many unreliable companies...
> 
> Final post here....thanks for the PM to those who helped


Something needs to be taken in consideration here.

He might, and I hope he clarifies, that this Lowes might not be a corporate owned building. I've seen a few that were tied into local strip malls where only a handful of services, such as lot sweeping, were paid by the store in house and not exclusively run by a national.

From what I can tell, all if not most of the corporately owned Lowes location are now handled by the nationals for services.

So, to conclude I could still see a contractor getting top price, like it was before the financial crises, for handful of locations.

..


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## hickslawns

You guys are killing me.

Cut the kid a break. You know we were all teenagers and knew everything once. Now as we are older, we realize how foolish we were. 

I will recap though: 
Early January- doesn't know how to charge
Early February- Is knocking down big money, handles accounts in house, and doesn't want to play in the Plowsite schoolyard anymore. 
Mid February- MIA. Probably out sweeping while we are bashing him. lol

I can't wait until March and April. Something tells me there is going to be a sweeper truck for sale.


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## 4700dan

Amen Hickslawn, anyway how are things out your way, Thumbs Up this is Dan with Patriot


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## hickslawns

4700dan;1448662 said:


> Amen Hickslawn, anyway how are things out your way, Thumbs Up this is Dan with Patriot


Plugging away Dan! Just keeping our noses to the grindstone and plugging away. Haven't spent much time on the boards. Plowing/salting when we get the snow. Sweeping on the nights in between. Working on houses during the days. Finishing a fourth bedroom in my house and going to work on a rental property when we finish off this room. Never a dull moment. This is why I don't spend much time on this site anymore. Just get tired of all the negativity and childish games. I can sit around and get sucked into it. Or. . . I can worry about what I can control and go out and make a living. I work hard and I play hard. Deer season is over, so when I am not working, splitting firewood for our house and shops, or bidding jobs for spring, I am in the woods. Hunting coyotes and soon to be looking for shed deer antlers! Work hard, play hard, try not to listen to all the gloom and doom on the message boards. Hope all is well with you as well!


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## 4700dan

hickslawns;1454217 said:


> Plugging away Dan! Just keeping our noses to the grindstone and plugging away. Haven't spent much time on the boards. Plowing/salting when we get the snow. Sweeping on the nights in between. Working on houses during the days. Finishing a fourth bedroom in my house and going to work on a rental property when we finish off this room. Never a dull moment. This is why I don't spend much time on this site anymore. Just get tired of all the negativity and childish games. I can sit around and get sucked into it. Or. . . I can worry about what I can control and go out and make a living. I work hard and I play hard. Deer season is over, so when I am not working, splitting firewood for our house and shops, or bidding jobs for spring, I am in the woods. Hunting coyotes and soon to be looking for shed deer antlers! Work hard, play hard, try not to listen to all the gloom and doom on the message boards. Hope all is well with you as well!


Well same here we built a new facility getting equipment ready for spring just plowing an salting when it aRrives bidding on some work but I don't have near the chores you have, well I'm glad your still up and kicking I just turned another year older so I say another year in the toilet ha ha well you got my number call me when you have time


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