Chem Lawn out of biz

[LAWNGODFATHER]

lets get togather and put Chemlawn out of biz

WHO'S WITH ME?

with this web site we can get togather and start our own Chemlawn (Waterlawn) and do the apps correctly instead of high volume of accounts no chem in tank

[AndrewLawn]

sounds good to me.......

[bubenberg]

ase on past expierience i can tell that this company with their telephone marketing strategy is beating straied customers back into the fold BY ANY POSSIBLE METHODE (sometimes not very leagel or correct). their telephone marketing staff per location equates the applicator staff and at certain times is even greater. This is especially as they start a new season/fiscal /sales year. the sales staff that contacts the customer (by phone and later on possibly gives advice on the particular lawn) has very little education in agronomy and almost none have ever worked in any aspect of our business ...TODAY THEY SELL lawncare ....tomrrow the telemarket for a dating service or sell CIRCUS TICKETS. We could start to become a buying power by (as a group) contacting Lesco that is where Chemlawn buys alot of their products. At a later date we could explor how to locally (where ever we hang our shield) to buy via a national (our center ) to purchase the liquide products just like chemlawn does.
Am not for unions eventhough i worked for quite a while in that system ... But a professional association/purchase power i would love to serve on and make my pc services available as far as i know how at no cost to the group.
the percentages that some of the top producers and even lower managers of sucessful chemlawn branches are making are astronomical .... during my affiliation with them i saw a bonus check. the initial invest. was in the ten thousands eighteen month later that person received a check for close to a seven figure amount

[Bower's]

I'm with you!

[MATTHEW]

I worked there for 10 years. Now that I am on my own and
having great results (1% cancel rate as opposed to their50%)
I am going to target Tru-green Chemlawn exclusively for my
new customers!:D

[HOMER]

The time and energy your going to spend trying to put a company that size out of business is wasted time and energy. Take the same amount and turn it in on your business and see how you can improve it. If you can target their accounts and provide the service then go for it, putting them out of business is really stretching things a bit..................putting a dent in their business is still stretching it. Just concentrate on you and yours and be the best that you can be at what you do.

[Runner]

I agree with Homer. There is just way too much work out there. Last year, for instance, Chemlawn did 25 MILLION dollars in Genessee County alone. It would be just too easy to get a piece of that pie without trying to focus on putting them out of business. As a lawn service, you could retain more customers easily by putting the care into it with optimum service. See, Chemlawn is NOT a lawn service. They are a MARKETING company that just found a market is all.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

lawn fertilize applicating is actulaly the cheapest (to get in to) and could be the most profitable part of this biz

all you realy need is a $300 speader and the knowlage of applying fert. and herb. you can do it all granular or all liquid

but I have found better resaults using granular fert. and liquid herb.

yes I know it would actualy be a waist of time to try and put a billion dollar a year biz out of biz

but if every one in lawn care especialy the ones on this site gets togather we could get the buying and selling power to put a big dent in their company

all it would realy take is doing the apps. the proper way and letting the customers see the resaults that they would expect from pros

every one in this biz and on this site is considered a pro if he or she does this for money (and some of us for fun to go with the money)

marketing: what a better way to market how many members are on lawn site about 5000. that would be 5000 person marketing staff
how many cities I have seen mostly the mid west to east coast. what a good start
all you would have to do is move fert. up on your marketing statagy every one on this site markets lawn mowing
out of all the services I provide fertilizing and spraying for weed is the most profitable and biggest revanue generator I have(not including landscaping instalations and retaining walls)

in St. Louis there are hundreds of lawn maintenace companies as apposed to a few (maby 5 just fert. co.s) a lot of the LCO's offer fert but a big majority do not
the one CO I don't see a fert. truck is Brickman

I was one offered a big chain of stores to maintain Chemlawn did the fert and sub the rest out. I was bidding on it to take over all the work the fert, the mowing, etc... but Chemlawn had the price so low I would have been paying the chain store to work for them.
it would cost me money to do the work. no ptofit and to go to over 100 locations in the area it was not worth it

but any ways you see where I am coming from and where I want to go with this. It would take to much more to market the fert.

fertilizing one employee can generate almost $150,000+ a year as apposed to 2 or 3 mowing

when you guy put you fliers out or send contract don't forget to move the fert to the second thing you offer or even the first

good luck every one LGF:D

[MATTHEW]

Of course we cannot actually put them out of biz. I mean in my
area alone they have 20,000 plus customers. If I could get a
mere 400, I would be booked up and producing over $100,000.
But one reason they lose so many customers is that many of
the guys there think it is just fert and weed control. But when
problems arise such as a disease or insect problem-many times
it is overlooked by a guy doing the 100 yard dash across the
lawn. We can offer a superior service by actually checking the
lawns on our knees. You can't see billbugs and chinchbugs from
6' up.

[summitgroundskeeping]

don't get me started on Chem Lawn. They tell my customers the reason the have chem burns in their lawn is because I scalped it. When I drive down the road I can tell which house has Chem Lawn do it, because it looks like crap. I have several customers next to each other (reduced neighborly rate) and if I fert. one it is easily detectable who has Chem Lawn do theirs. They do such horrible jobs, why do people hire them? And then sign 2 year contracts? Lets go bomb some tankers.:angry:

[LAWNGODFATHER]

yes mat

that is the way to do it

that was the way Chemlawn used to do it

but we could provide superior sevice and limited call back with the equpment that is now avalable

[lawnman_scott]

It wouldnt be all that easy, impossible moreso. In florida you have to work under someone that is licensed for pest control/fertilization for 3 years before you can be licensed yourself. I would put the time and effort into your own business.

[MOW ED]

So how come so many people choose ChemLawn?

How can we as small time applicators overcome this fast food approach to fertilizing?

I am not looking to put them out of business but I am looking to put me into business by educating the consumer and showing them how I can do it better. Persistance is necessary. The homeowner is already brainwashed by the nice big white truck with the flyfisherman on the side. Its the Home Depot mentality. Bigger is better and you can get a deal. No thought to what might happen down the line, and mayby they dont care either.

There is much to be made ($$$ in apps), finding the customer that wants better than below average is the key.

[roscioli]

The thing to do is come up with a system whereby we (everyone that wants to) can get a discount from Lesco or a similar business for ferts and herbicides, etc.. We come up with a name, that we can say we are "Licenced by the JimJoesBlowJoes application corporation" to do apps. Using that name accross the country, people will start to recognize it. If one of us (I would be willing to try, but I know nothing about fertilizers), could set up the company name, and rates, everyone else on Lawnsite could "buy" free (or low rate) "franchises", in which you get some sort of catalog so that we are all using the same apps in the same situations (pending climate of course). If charging a low rate to get started (to cover start up fees), and a low annual rate, we could advertise in magazines, major newspapers, etc.. and people will get the name even more. It could be a requirement that if YOU want to get involved (buy a "franchise"), you have to be a lawn care company, not just some shmucks like chemlawn. We could get bulk discounts on everything, flags, doorhangers, chemicals, spreaders, etc.. just using a name. We could all order from Lesco (or whereever) separatly, and say I am "JoeBlow applicator company number 10102049488090, please give me my discount." Yah, i think we are onto something here, and i want in. SOrry if my wording makes no sense to you, it sounded good in my head, i get it... TALK TO ME GUYS!

[jonspolaris]

my mom lives in a condo complex and they have Chemlawn. That company is a joke, all they do is spread there "fertlizer" which is 99.999% water. the lawns in this subdivison are irrigated, i looked at the bid from Chemlawn and it does not take into acount the irrigation. There bids are a joke too, just a bunch of vague satments.

I think so many people have them because they dont know anything about fertalizing and there cheap. They dont provide a good service, people higher them just because it sounds good to have a service fertalize your lawn.

Watching them work i know they must have a HUGE profit margin, mostly everything is water and thats cheap.

jon:blob3:

[powerreel]

SERVICEMASTER.......
That's who TruGreen Chemlawn AND Landcare is owned by. They also own Terminx and Merry Maids, just to name a few. They are listed on the NYSE as SVM. They are a GIANT company that the members of LS can do nothing about, except get ready for them to hit the residential market with landscape services, yes they WILL be mowing near you soon. The enemy is @ the gates....

[roscioli]

Yikes! "They are a GIANT company that the members of LS can do nothing about" No offense to you personally, but that is the wrong attitude, big time. Of course we can do something about that HUGE company, we can start our own SMALL company. How do you think chemlawn started? I am willing to bet they didnt START as a 2 billion dollar company. I think my idea listed above is great, now i just need someone with knowledge of chemicals... SO, please volunteer if you have it!

on a side note: There is a company out of a town at least an hour away that takes care of some of the lawns that i mow, and they happened to be at one of my lawns today while i was there.... holy cow! This kid was working for the summer for the company, driving a chevy 3500, pulling a 16 foot trailer (why, i have no clue), and he was putting down lime today. Just a regular old Lesco spreader, and put down a heavy cover of lime..... For a GRAND TOTAL OF: $88!!!!!!! I couldnt believe he limed for $88, i have done it for 30 on bigger lawns! Talk about profit

[carl28]

[SIZE=4]HATE THEM, HATE THEM, HATE THEM[
/SIZE]

WONT LET THEM NEAR MY LAWNS CONSTANT PROBLEMS WITH RED THREAD

[grassyfras]

I think starting a free or a very low franchise is a great idea. I would do it if I was of age inless it would make my be able to fertilize legally.

LawnGodfather what part of St. Louis are you in?

[MATTHEW]

When I was there, a few guys were leftovers from the 70's when they got started. There was no competition. They told me that they were stopped by someone interested at every other stop.
Now,people hide from them. Their secret is mega-marketing. They
call and call and call until the customer finally breaks down and buys the stuff. The sales staff sits behind a computer that dials the number for them. If there is no sale, the number goes back into the pool where it is brought back up in 2 weeks. You cannot get off the list. If you change your number-they will get it. They get lists of all new #'s from the phone co. If you move, they find you.The only way out is to die. It is the only escape.
As far as fert concentrations, in OH. we used 1lb of nitro in the spring(liquid) then backed off to 3/4 lb in may, then down to 1/2 lb in the summer. And the guys usually have a serious chem. variance defecit. Sometimes as much as 30% light! So that 1/2lb of nitro is now much less.And for weed control, they use non-2-4-d weed control as a gesture of concience,even though there is no evidence of health problems. As for insect control, they only use it
after 1/2 the lawn is dead and the bill bugs are seen by the thousands on their boots. I had it and quit!

[Just Turned Pro]

I found this on a local news channel website. I hope this link works....

http://www.komotv.com/news/story_m.asp?ID=12585

It is kinda funny

[SLS]

That article above makes wonder if that was Agent Orange on my white coveralls instead of good 'ol dog pee! :eek:

Would "a little tank contamination left over from a previous job" cause this kind of death?

Do they spray RoundUp too?

[LAWNGODFATHER]

yes that is funny

I have seen that and other things happen to a lot of Chemlawn accounts


by the way guy I am working on the Fert/Spray biz

I have a supplier that will give a big discount rate on fert and spray but they are only in three states but he will ship to other states right to your front door COD


still working on it LGF:blob3:

[osc]

This conversation is rediculous. It's like trying to put Domino's out of the pizza business instead of concentrating getting your own piece of a billion dollar pie. I remember why I don't frequent this site as often as I used to.

[bubenberg]

was not to go head to head with chemlawn .... but to form a buying power and each of us depending on the size of our own business to give them a good run for their money ... worked for them at the mgr level would love to pass on some of the tricks .....THATS ALL

[LAWNGODFATHER]

osc and Bubenberg


I know there is no way to put them out of biz tou must not have read all of the posts you would have read that

but concentrating on going head to head is feasible

I have put togather the buying power for chemicals and soon the equipment

it doesn't take a lot of work to put this togather

I will soon be working on a price scale and applaction plan

well who is interested?

[kutnkru]

What they have is a MARKETING BUDGET that we CANNOT POSSIBLY surpass.

They also have the CONSISTENACY factor of a NATIONWIDE NETWORK. Which we also CANNOT surpass.

If you think that people who are under educated about chemical applications are truely going to take an interest in becoming so, you are blind.

People just want to know that their lawns are fertilized and green. The lawns are usually green for a day or two which to them means its doing what they have paid for.

Dont forget that more often than not, these clientel are price shoppers and are not interested in quality. They want the VOLUME discount they are recieving for being part of this NATIONWIDE NETWORK of CLIENTEL.

If you want to get your piece of the action, advertise by whatever means on a weekly basis to get your name imprinted into their heads, offering neighborhood discounts when 6 or more sign up for your Renovation Services.

Thats how you get a bite of their pie of customers IMHO.

Kris

[lawnboy]

I think this is a great idea!! There is no way that we are going to put chem lawn or the Brickmans corp out of business, but we can compete with them. There are some major problems that would have to be addressed such as a franchise fee for advertising, and the training of people to apply the material. I personaly do not have a applications liscense, but would be interested in getting one, because of the training laws in michigan. I do see the need for competition though. I am envolved with the Blimpie franchise, so if you guys have any questions, or are serious about starting this franchise let me know.

[eslawns]

SERVICEMASTER.......
That's who TruGreen Chemlawn AND Landcare is owned by. They also own Terminx and Merry Maids, just to name a few. They are listed on the NYSE as SVM.

General Motors is the largest company on the planet. They're having so many financial problems that they are in the process (it may be done by now) of selling DirecTV.

They are a GIANT company that the members of LS can do nothing about, except get ready for them to hit the residential market with landscape services, yes they WILL be mowing near you soon.

They're already here. The more people who go with them, the better. They lower the bar so far that people are amazed when they hire a contractor who makes promises and then honors them.

The enemy is @ the gates....

Bring it on!

I have several new commercial accounts who went with me over Chemlawn/Landcare even though I was significantly more money. C/L mows right next door and I haven't lost one yet.

[toroboy]

IM WITH YA


LETS PUT THOSE CON MEN OUT OFF BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:angry: :angry: :angry:

[brucec32]

I once dated a member of their management team. I informed her that a client of mine was being ripped off by one of their applicators. He was a WWII vet and I wanted to help him out. They were charging him for weed treatment but not applying it. (huge clumps of fescue in a zoysia lawn, year after year, left untreated). I figured I had an "in" with them and could get him help. But she had a "so what?" attitude about it. I dumped her, right then and there.

Despite my filling him in on what they weren't doing, years later, he STILL used them. he still had huge weeds in his lawn, too. For some reason, people prefer a big name to a good name.