"George.com" wrote in message
...

"Si" wrote in message
...
Warrington, cheshire.

I charge £12, use my own equipment, but i think the average is about
£15
around here.... most round here charge a minimum of two hours

12 per hour? How the heck do you make a living at that price?


how do people cope on minimum wage?

12 per hour? How the heck do you make a living at that price?


how do people cope on minimum wage?



They cope, as does everyone no matter what their income. They could always
do with a little more because 'most' people live up to their income,
......some beyond ...... for a short while ;-((

Mike

Become a window cleaner, they charge £8 front and backs of a house for
about 1/2 hrs work, no overheads only a van. They can get a string of
houses and make a fortune and work in all weathers.

I get fround upon charging £8.50 / hr to cut grass and do the garden,
use all my own equipment, and have to support £1000 mower. If I say I
have used a bit of weedkiller, they look at me gone out when I charge
them an extra £1.

I've even had people say you can use any of the equipment in the shed.
Only to told at the end they charge £20 to hire out the scarifier. As
a joke, but some jokes hit home, and they get crossed off my xmas
list.

Then its, the grass is a bit wet today can you leave it till tomorrow,
after you have driven a couple of miles to get there.

There is no justice in this world.

how do people cope on minimum wage?

Sorry but they don't, if was not for the handouts. Have you been in
this situation. Its all down to the consumer not wanting to pay a
decent going rate.

It sounds like typical conservatism, nowadays called new labour. Yes
the low classes can live on £56 a week, but we can have our hair done
for £7000

Charlie Pridham wrote:
"Mike" wrote in message
...

This is not directed at your specifically but I do so wish people would
say where they live!

They don't all have a business to advertise and tout for

Since Hillhouse don't do mail order I can't quite see how they benefit from
all this advertising you seem to think they are doing? And as far as I know
they do not offer any garden services such as mowing which was the original
question.
Your own answer was perfectly reasonable but so was observation it costs
different amounts in different places.
--

He hasn't read the charter and is unaware of its position on a sig.file
like mine, so his remarks are, as usual, inane.
And no, we don't offer mowing services - we pay someone to do our own!!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

"Mr Big" wrote in message
...
Become a window cleaner, they charge £8 front and backs of a house for
about 1/2 hrs work, no overheads only a van. They can get a string of
houses and make a fortune and work in all weathers.

I get fround upon charging £8.50 / hr to cut grass and do the garden,
use all my own equipment, and have to support £1000 mower. If I say I
have used a bit of weedkiller, they look at me gone out when I charge
them an extra £1.

I've even had people say you can use any of the equipment in the shed.
Only to told at the end they charge £20 to hire out the scarifier. As
a joke, but some jokes hit home, and they get crossed off my xmas
list.

Cheeky pricks. $8.50 an hour would be a ludicrous charge to pay for work
done. You just would not see it. I got a joker to chemical wash the house
and he was $60-80 less than other quotes I received. I checked that was his
going rate and he said it was so he got the job and did ok. Not sure if he
was semi-retired or didn't pay tax. He got a cheque from me anyhow.

rob

I think you are right, people will generally complain about some services
more than others.

I've been on minimum wage. I coped - I lived within my means. I didn't
rely on handouts of any kind

and at the time I would have laughed to hear a question asked of somebody
earning £12 an hour on how they cope. *that* is the point.

also we don't know Si's circs - a lottery winner who likes to do a bit,
semi-retired, or generally just lives a normal life. anyway, this is
waayyyyyy off topic now.

I must go and sort out my garden, if I don't at least I know Si is only 20
miles away and charges £12 an hour.



"Mr Big" wrote in message
...
Become a window cleaner, they charge £8 front and backs of a house for
about 1/2 hrs work, no overheads only a van. They can get a string of
houses and make a fortune and work in all weathers.

I get fround upon charging £8.50 / hr to cut grass and do the garden,
use all my own equipment, and have to support £1000 mower. If I say I
have used a bit of weedkiller, they look at me gone out when I charge
them an extra £1.

I've even had people say you can use any of the equipment in the shed.
Only to told at the end they charge £20 to hire out the scarifier. As
a joke, but some jokes hit home, and they get crossed off my xmas
list.

Then its, the grass is a bit wet today can you leave it till tomorrow,
after you have driven a couple of miles to get there.

There is no justice in this world.

how do people cope on minimum wage?

Sorry but they don't, if was not for the handouts. Have you been in
this situation. Its all down to the consumer not wanting to pay a
decent going rate.

It sounds like typical conservatism, nowadays called new labour. Yes
the low classes can live on £56 a week, but we can have our hair done
for £7000

, so his remarks are, as usual, inane.
And no, we don't offer mowing services - we pay someone to do our own!!
--
Sacha
South Devon


Sacha you just cannot kill file me can you? Your admiration and hero worship
of me knows no bounds. You HAVE to reply to my posts from time to time.

As I told you before, I am not available. Sorry

But it is nice to know just how much I am admired :-))

(Had 3 women chasing me on the cruise as well :-))

Mike

Space wrote:
"George.com" wrote in message
...

"Si" wrote in message
...
Warrington, cheshire.

I charge £12, use my own equipment, but i think the average is
about £15 around here.... most round here charge a minimum of two
hours

12 per hour? How the heck do you make a living at that price?


how do people cope on minimum wage?

£12 per hour

30 billable hours per week (in a 40 hour week)

40 max workable week equivalents (rain, snow, frost & holidays wipe out the
rest)

12*30*40 = 14,000 top line business income

From which tools, equipment, public liability insurance, vehicle, etc have
to be paid before drawings.

No pension. No sick pay. No holiday pay.

£12 per hour is WAY too low.

Why is it that (some) people who enjoy gardening as a hobby expect to pay
hobby wages to anyone who does gardening work for them?

pk

p.k. wrote:snip
Why is it that (some) people who enjoy gardening as a hobby expect to pay
hobby wages to anyone who does gardening work for them?

pk

I don't think that's quite fair. Horticultural labour, like the
catering industry, has always paid low wages. I don't think that's a
good thing but a better question would be why e.g. Jonathan Ross gets
paid hundreds of thousands a year!
We pay the man who cuts our lawns what he asks us and what he asks is
the going rate round here. He is a retired policeman (early
retirement, I think) and now has so much work on hand that he cannot
fit in one more customer. There has been no attempt to screw his price
down and indeed, he and his stepmother have worked for us in the garden
or the house for years and years, so there's no question of them
feeling 'done' by us. A nurseryman, such as my husband, could complain
that (mercifully few!) people think that plants he's raised from
cuttings should be practically given away as they have 'cost him
nothing'. They overlook totally the cost of compost, pots, labour,
water, heating and all the peripherals. And he has no sick pay, and no
holiday pay and is still working, happily, well past retirement age.
He loves his work so much that he can just about tolerate 3 weeks'
holiday if it's full of interest and simply cannot lie in bed in the
morning! He has worked hard all his life andbrought a family up on the
back of his own hard work - no hand outs. I know very well that he
will never, ever retire. He owns his house and his business in which
his son is a partner and he is his own man, with no debts and no
mortgages but while he's not poor by a long stretch, he's no
multi-millionaire, either. Maybe the freedom and independence are
worth it to people who like to work for themselves.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

Yes but we are flexible, if it rains on Monday and Tuesday, we can
make it up on Sat and Sun or work till dusk on the other days.

But who is going to pay overtime rates, or whats this double time and
day off in lieu for working bank holidays.

What about the bad backs, housemaids knee, tennis elbow and all the
other ailments that make for early retirement onto the benefits
system. Because we have not been able to save for a pension.

Who pays if we are mid way thro a job and lashes it down with rain for
an hour. The council workers just sit in the lorry cab and relax. We
sit and worry.

I do wonder what gardeners in Scotland do (apart from get wet), as it
always seems to be raining or snowing up there.

How many 'mowers' cut the edges, or leave that to the gardeners to do.

The trouble there is too many people in this industry, who just do it
on the side, as a casual business, as a fill in job or whatever.

Do not talk about policemen retiring early. A friend of mine retired
early, took a very good handout, and then took another full time job
in the courts.


On 22 Apr 2006 03:41:01 -0700, "Sacha"
wrote:

We pay the man who cuts our lawns what he asks us and what he asks is
the going rate round here. He is a retired policeman (early
retirement, I think) and now has so much work on hand that he cannot
fit in one more customer.

On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 10:43:57 GMT, Mr Big wrote:

I do wonder what gardeners in Scotland do (apart from get wet), as it
always seems to be raining or snowing up there.
Not always :-) Yesterday was a glorious warm spring day, we sat out
and enjoyed the sun most of the afternoon.

I do get cross with the erroneous perception that it always
rains/snows north of the border --------------- at least we don't
have to worry about drought conditions :-)
Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Removex to reply

Mr Big wrote:
Yes but we are flexible, if it rains on Monday and Tuesday, we can
make it up on Sat and Sun or work till dusk on the other days.

But who is going to pay overtime rates, or whats this double time and
day off in lieu for working bank holidays.

What about the bad backs, housemaids knee, tennis elbow and all the
other ailments that make for early retirement onto the benefits
system. Because we have not been able to save for a pension.

Who pays if we are mid way thro a job and lashes it down with rain for
an hour. The council workers just sit in the lorry cab and relax. We
sit and worry.
snip

Believe me, I do appreciate your concerns and worries but if they
outweigh the pleasure you get from the job, wouldn't you be better
doing something else? Something that provides a regular and guaranteed
income and whatever laughingly passes for a pension these days?
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

Yeah, my circumstances are that i work shifts and get lots of free time,
hence the gardening!

"Space" wrote in message
...
I think you are right, people will generally complain about some services
more than others.

I've been on minimum wage. I coped - I lived within my means. I didn't
rely on handouts of any kind

and at the time I would have laughed to hear a question asked of somebody
earning £12 an hour on how they cope. *that* is the point.

also we don't know Si's circs - a lottery winner who likes to do a bit,
semi-retired, or generally just lives a normal life. anyway, this is
waayyyyyy off topic now.

I must go and sort out my garden, if I don't at least I know Si is only 20
miles away and charges £12 an hour.



"Mr Big" wrote in message
...
Become a window cleaner, they charge £8 front and backs of a house for
about 1/2 hrs work, no overheads only a van. They can get a string of
houses and make a fortune and work in all weathers.

I get fround upon charging £8.50 / hr to cut grass and do the garden,
use all my own equipment, and have to support £1000 mower. If I say I
have used a bit of weedkiller, they look at me gone out when I charge
them an extra £1.

I've even had people say you can use any of the equipment in the shed.
Only to told at the end they charge £20 to hire out the scarifier. As
a joke, but some jokes hit home, and they get crossed off my xmas
list.

Then its, the grass is a bit wet today can you leave it till tomorrow,
after you have driven a couple of miles to get there.

There is no justice in this world.

how do people cope on minimum wage?

Sorry but they don't, if was not for the handouts. Have you been in
this situation. Its all down to the consumer not wanting to pay a
decent going rate.

It sounds like typical conservatism, nowadays called new labour. Yes
the low classes can live on £56 a week, but we can have our hair done
for £7000

Sacha wrote:
p.k. wrote:snip
Why is it that (some) people who enjoy gardening as a hobby expect
to pay hobby wages to anyone who does gardening work for them?

pk

I don't think that's quite fair. Horticultural labour, like the
catering industry, has always paid low wages. I don't think that's a
good thing but a better question would be why e.g. Jonathan Ross gets
paid hundreds of thousands a year!
We pay the man who cuts our lawns what he asks us and what he asks is
the going rate round here. He is a retired policeman (early
retirement, I think) and now has so much work on hand that he cannot
fit in one more customer.

Hobby wages to supplement a generous police pension. - while the market is
so keen to do that the market has no grounds to complain that there are so
few good and professinally trained gardeners to service the home market.

I used to do a little jobbing gardneing in wimbledon. my rate 10 years ago
was £10, I was sacked from one job where the client had been to see a friend
in the country who paid their gardener £4 per hour.

pk