Chem-lawn.....good or bad???

[turfguy33]

I have a large corporation account this year, it's about 13 acres total, really nice all wide open mowing. The manager who I deal with e-mails me from time to time to do something regardless if the work to be performed is not actually related to "lawn care", He said it's easier for them to go through one person, and not several. Some of the requested jobs are exterior window cleaning, powerwashing, and laying 120 ton of rock on a ditch bank. Most of the time I sub it out to someone else and tack on a fee for my trouble, I just got an e-mail saying that they would like the entire property fertilized, which is great, but I don't have the equipment to handle this job, and be competitive and cost efficient. I was wondering, in general is chem-lawn a good company. There is two companies here that can handle it, Chem-lawn and Scotts.......Which is best...
Chem-lawn said it would cost $522 to do the property, and Scotts said it would be about $555. Cost isn't an issue since I'm not paying for it, but I do consider it somewhat.

[bob]

I subed my best and largest account out to Chemlawn last year. They only got it right in 1 out of 7 visits. They constently skipped areas. I guess they thought that because it was a large area, no one would check up on their work. The real kicker is the same applicator was doing it every time. He must have a short memory. I wound up doing the last application myself. This year I subed it out to Lawn Doctor.

[earth works inc.]

$40.00 per acre seems a little cheap even if it is open and flat. I really doubt if any one using quality products could cover their costs at that price.

I would check around some more. Maybe thats what an acre goes for in Kentucky. Either company is good.

[turfguy33]

Tell me about it, I thought of doing it myself, but I knew that the fertilizer would cost that much, not including any labor. The commercial manager told me that their equipment can cover 5 acres an hour, and with the Chem-lawn buying power, the cost of fertilizer is far less than what most can by it for.

[thelawnguy]

If you are the one doing the mowing, forget those two.

Talk to the manager of a local nursery and figure out what the lawn will need to make it look good but yet not kill you with excessive growth. A local will work with you more than a chain will. Chemlawn will just supernuke it with liquid urea and double your mowing workload.

[KirbysLawn]

What?? $522 for 565500 sf? That's $0.09 cents per 1000 sf, I must assume you will get what you pay for!

Ever consider buting a 12v spreader and doing it yourself? (Not that cheap though!)

[turfguy33]

I know, I know,......I'm just telling you the price they gave me............Don't ask me, that's why I said there is no way I could compete with this...............That's why I posted it in here.........things don't really add up

[KirbysLawn]

Sorry, you didn't indicate you thought their charges were off any. If price is not an issue and you want the job done right, do it yourself.

No, I would not use Chem-Lawn for anything, Scotts maybe, however I prefer to earn my own money and not give away such profitable business.

Ray

[greens1]

Actually the cost is about right. I would personally go with Scotts, we used to use them at the golf course to fertilize the rough. They come by with a large spreader truck with giant flotation tires, less psf on the tires than your mowing equip. They showed up on time, got the job done right and got out quick.
Good Luck,
Jim L

[NateinAtl]

In my opinion, it only depends on the technician that does the work. In most cases, Tru Green uses their best and most experienced techs to do commercial accounts. And if the want to make more money and stay in commercial production, they have to do a good job. I would suggest that whatever company you use, make sure that you are the boss. You set the application dates, you schedule service calls, etc. You may want to meet the technician the first time he treats the property, and demand that he treats it every time to eliminate confusion. Good luck. Either company's products will work, it is just up to the technician and the timing of the applications.

[bam]

Currently, we sub out our turf applications.

We used to use Chemlawn, no more.

We now use several subs, one is a local operator the other is Scotts. We have many meetings with each company supervisor or manager, work on setting up schedules, directions, etc. and then the company updates us weekly as to their progress and any problems.

Scott's in our area has been good for the most part. They send one truck/operator for small sites and for large commercial sites, they'll send a crew of four, in four trucks, and nail it in a day.

There is nothing wrong with subbing out work, just remember you are the contractor and the one ultimately responsible. Out of the two, I would suggest scotts, and if locally you have turf applicators, research their company and see if they would do your site, and remember to mark up the price, to cover your time. Sometimes, other companies are better suited for a particular operation, and the time you may spend getting the ferts and equipment, could have been spent mowing several other lawns, or completing another task you are more proficient in.

[Skookum]

It's not actually the companies, it is the local employees at each individual branch. If you have employees, you know the problem of getting quality help today. In some areas, I imagine they have great applicators.

If TruGreen ChemLawn would have been doing a good job on my accounts, I likely would still be using them. Same with a smaller local outfit. The few apps that I do a year are a pain, but I know it gets done right.

The Chemlawn guys here use a foam marking devise for their tractor boom sprayer. The big places they do around here look OK, They must have a good applicator on the tractor unit.

[gene gls]

I agree with Skookum. I use Tru-Green over other opperators in the area because they are more in tune with business.They have two divisions in my area, a commerical and a residential. I talk with the field service rep on a regular bases as to what will be applied and when. I also keep watch for skipped areas. They garentee thier service and are very easy to work with and I can't compeat with thier price.

Gene