Need some help

[Chuck Sinclair]

I need some help witha a letter to DROP some undisirable customers any of you have one you use for this.

[CMerLand]

Sinclac,

Easiest letter youll ever have to write. You didnt specify why you wanted to get rid of these customers but my guess is its probably they are not money makers for you. If thats the case try this.

Dear XXXX,

Please be advised that effective 6/9/01 your lawn maintenance service price will be increased to $ xx.oo per visit. If you wish to continue service please sign and return the acknowledgement below stating the new service charge. If you wish to discontinue services, please contact the office by phone so you can be removed from our schedule.

[Chuck Sinclair]

Guess i should have said why they ALWAYS pay a month behind they have never been ontime with a payment :angry: and i loose my butt doing them.

[1MajorTom]

Well first off, any sample letter you get, you will need to tailor it to your specific situation. I say honesty is the best.
Why do you want to drop these customers?
Too far off the route, LATE PAYERS, terrible terrains, low profit yards? Whatever your reason, then use it. Just be upfront and professional.

Dear Mrs. Smith,

I regret to inform you that starting June 9th, 2001, our company will no longer be able to service your lawn because we rely on timely payments to bring our customers the best possible service. Because of the late payments, your service has been discontinued.

Since you no longer want these customers, no need to draw it out. Keep it short and sweet.

[Fantasy Lawns]

just say "your present per cut is $45 .....due to rising cost the next cut is $65.00" ...... fish bites ..... land it :->

[thelawnguy]

What a bunch of wusses...Jodi seems to be the only one with the guts to tell it like it is. "Drop" doesnt mean raise the price; all that will do is get you more money to run thru dog dirt, have the check arrive 6 months from now, etc.

Be a pro, if its drop you want use Jodis letter, if its mo' money you want use one of the others.

[Toroguy]

I just sent out a sloppy handwritten note dropping a nit picker.

A summary of the letter:

GOOD BYE!

[Keith]

Dear Customer,

Effective immediately, I will no longer be able to provide lawn service for you. Unfortunatly I have run out of money. I have several delinquent customers like yourself and I can no longer even afford gas to get to your house.

If you have any friends that like to pay there bills please refer them to me. Our new company policy is to only take paying jobs. You can contact me at the Circle K, where I will be working to pay my outstanding debts. By the way, they are hiring....hint, hint.

Sincerely,
The guy who comes to your house to mow for free.

PS: If you decide you would like to pay the outstanding balance (I don't know why you would), please send payment to Exxon, account # XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-X. This will speed up the process of getting my card back.


:D j/k

[David Gretzmier]

though I found the previous post entertaining, I would raise prices and use late fees etc. slow payers bother me, but I have been behind before as well. keep it professional, and state the need for additional cash to finance those who do not pay on time. Dave g

[mowerconsultant]

Jodi is right....
be up front and to the point....
If you are dropping a guy because of lack of payment, and you raise your prices hoping he drops you, if he accepts your raises, what makes you think he will pay any better ??

Keith, you are too funny !!!! But it is true !!

[Scotty]

Call them, explain to them you have bills and employees to pay and it's difficult to do when their paying late. Tell them from this point you will be billing them one month in advance and services will not be performed until payment is recieved. We just tried this with one customer who finaly paid us in March for last November. So far it worked in May

[Chuck Sinclair]

:p Thanks for all the replies. i'm going with Jodi's Keith i like your's too.:D

[CMerLand]

Sinclac,

When you say they always pay a month behind does that mean they pay you every 30 days, just 30 days behind the month you send them the bill? Sounds like a good paying customer to me, who may have some cash flow issues. Maybe they only receive a check once a month and when you bill arrives yours is not on top that month. Maybe they have lost their job or are going through a financial pinch. Its a different story if they pay you once every 6 months, but talk to the client to see what you can do to make sure your payments keep coming in.

If your cash flow is so tight that you cant carry a client a month or two without getting paid then you need to look into your business and find out why as much is going out as is coming in. My guess is that you bid this job too low, cuss, piss and moan the whole time your doing it, and then get even more frustrated when you have to wait it out a bit to get paid. You'd rather drop them then admit the mistake that you made in giving them the price you did, and go up to them and ask for more money for the job.

I'll stick with my original post and say that if you are losing money on the job then increase prices to a profitable level. Bill them for addtional late fees for having to carry their costs. Give them the option of dropping you so they dont go out and tell everyone that your company just drops clients in the middle of the season, leaving them stranded. (Trust me they wont tell other people the part about them being late payers, or that they were too cheap to pay the increase, as it makes them look bad.) Just like you're doing they will look to blame you for the problem.

Let us know how it all works out in the end

CMerLand

[jeffyr]

I used to send invoices at the end of the month, net 30. I wouldn't get them until the end of the following month , 25-30 days. I switched to billing at the 15th of each month and I have most or all the payments by the end, 15 days. I have found that most pay at the end of the month regardless of when the bill was sent.

This doesn't help you any Sinclac, but I found it an interesting fact.

jeffyr

[Chuck Sinclair]

Well guys believe me the more I think about it the moneys not bad $50.00 a month in and out in 15 minutes. There's always an excuse for not paying me on time (oh I lost my check book or I can't find my check book, I lost your bill how much do I owe you) but every Saturday there is at least 2 kegs of beer on the patio from Fridays party. when I signed him up (a year ago) I said I bill on the first of the month for the previous month and I expect payment no later then the 15th he said fine, well the first of this month I got Aprils check I'm just tired of it all the time

[leeslawncare]

Slap them with a late fee after date due put it on your statements.I do an it works .If they don't pay i late fee them an stop mowing till i get payed ,then i charge them for the weeks that they are behind when i go back.50 lawn took two weeks to pay i add 100 to the next cuttin .pisses them off but they start paying on time or find someone else an thats what you want to happen anywho.good luck