How 'full service' are you?

[georgel]

When you set up a maintenance contract with a client does that include full care of the lawn including flower bed maintenance and upgrades, tree maintenance(Feeding, trimming, removal)? I am just curious how you define "maintenance"?

Thanks

[bobbygedd]

it depends on what they want. i have customers that want sevice packages that include spring and fall cleanups, fert programs, as well as weeding of beds, trimming bushes, keeping limbs off house, gutters clean, etc. but most of my people r just cutting and fert program. sell them what u can, offer full pkgs

[jeffyr]

I'll keep this short and sweet :

What Bobby Said.

[georgel]

I hear folks charging around $30/visit for the accounts they service. Does that include more than cutting and trimming?

Thanks

[bobbygedd]

george, around here(new jersey) $30 is about the average fee for a cut. a "cut" includes the cutting itself plus weedwacking, edging of walkways on every other visit, and a blow off of walkways and driveway. for us this also includes disposal of the grass if we used a catcher, some lawns we do, some we dont. anything else(trimming of bushes, ferts, first time edging, etc. is an additional charge.

[MATTHEW]

Watch out on the extra's. Everyone has different
ideas on how things should look. Best thing to do
is offer those things on an "hourly" basis. I try
to get $30.00 an hour for those little, hard to
define jobs. But on a thing like shrub trimming,you
should go higher. You will use power equipment and
possibly pay for disposal. I offer most any type of
outdoor maintenance but do not really advertize it.
I was worried about making ends meet with the very
dry weather, but I have been asked to do a lot of
extra work and I'm still booked!

[lawnboy82]

i do for normal maintanence is cut the grass, trim, edge the gardens, and blow pavement. anything else is extra. as for my list of extras, they are tree work, landscaping, fert / pest, and some other stuff too.

[bobbygedd]

hey lawnboy, what does that mean on the bottom of your page"u pickin my ......../?

[lawnboy82]

ok... you are in jersey, i work for a big lawn mower shop in new york. the owners are italian, and the parents came from the old country. so one son's name is flavio, or flaviano. the mother used to say when the kids were younger, who'sa pickin on mya flaviano, i breaka you face...
she is a big italian woman. really nice people, but very crazy.

[David Haggerty]

I'm just about strictly a cutter. Cut & trim. Pretty much what everyone here wants. But then Kentucky bluegrass grows wild here. Cut it proper, and it gets thicker every year. I'll do other services when I can, or call someone in for the big stuff.
Dave

[Eric ELM]

lawnboy82, I can understand her having that on her signature, but she isn't posting here that I know of. So why do you have her saying on your signature? Maybe someday you will have one that I do understand, at least I hope so.

[lawnboy82]

sorry eric, i was just tryin to think up something in a hurry for a signature. i think i feel a new one coming on.

[bubble boy]

offer what you want,for the price you want. just spell it out in your contract

the last thing you need is someone thinking they should be getting more than you planned on giving. "why didn't you do this" "you forgot to do this" "im not paying until you do this"

At that point you'll be gratefull for earplugs.