show up; I dont need it cut.

[E-man]

during the dry weather we had, we had shown up to a few places and the owners have come out and said not to cut. I clearlystated in my yearly letter that in times of dry weather to please call and let us know it dont need cut .I even told them to please call next time and they still dont. They act like my time does not matter. Most of them are curtious to call though, its just a small handfull that Im tired of dealing with. So my question is ,do you guys have a small charge for just showing up. I dont feel its the best option but when you have an employee in the truck and yourself thats time and money wasted.:mad:

[bridges]

You would have to ride the route the night before.

Even better Setup webcams of those jobs.lol

Tony

[Eric ELM]

I would put in my yearly letter next time if they cancel when you show up, there will be a show up fee of $xx.00 if they do not call the night before.

[Evan528]

You know people this day in age....... "fee, huh?, Oh i called last night you must have not gotten my message"

[Grasshog]

You do realize these people hired you because they are busy enough in life like it is. I wouldnt expect them to call me.

I just try to make use of the extra time on your hands.


I do like Tony"s idea. I think I"m going to try that.

[eslawns]

If I decide it doesn't need mowing, no fee.

Otherwise, they get one warning. If you want to skip this week, I need to know before I begin the route. Just like late fees, I hate to do it, but some clients are more trouble than they are worth. My time is valuable.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Well this is one of the times I am going to take some of the advice that has been given here on LawnSite.com. I am going to add this no call charge to my contracts for next season. Do you guys think full charge or a smaller fee? And how much of a fee would you suggest?

LGF:blob1:

[kutnkru]

You will basically know how many times per season you are going to render services to your clients. Divide this number over the duration of your your season (8-10-12 months) and then you will have a steady flow of income.

Our biz is the law of averages. For example:
If they only get 28 of 32 cuts this season but they paid for it anyway, then next year if they receive 34 or 35 cuts, they pay the same amount as they did this year.

Hope this helps.
Kris

[65hoss]

I tell people up front I cut weekly. If it absolutely doesn't need to be cut then I will skip it. But it is my decision. Not theirs. This eliminates people saving a buck on the lawn guy.

[cat320]

You can't get it if it's not in the contract.So for next season I would put it in when they sign it and make sure it's pointed out in bold print or another color.I would keep the price the same charge as the lawn cut It takes just as much time to go thru the motions of going there then talking to them and so forth.At least you will have a signed contract if they don't want to pay then just bring them to court if all else fales.

[dhicks]

If they can't call in advance of me arriving, I will not mow. But I do charge a $1.00 per mile from my last job to their house and return fare to my home. It adds up.

[E-man]

Thanks for all the good replys I think I will put in my contracts but only will charge half the price of the service.


GrassHog Most of the people that dont call are retired , I know how busy people (we all are) but we answer phone calls from 7:00 AM untill the last call comes in. Im sure they can find a few seconds in there busy day to call.

[VnDrWLawnCare]

Are you talking about commercial accounts or residential. Because i have the same problem with one of my res. customers. She always thinks it doesn't need cut. I always tell her that it is tall in back, but she thinks that it can be skiped till next week. She is really starting to piss me off. I cut the yard directly behing her so i am there anyways but her complaining about the price, "no rain", and how gas prices went cheap once this summer is taking away my valuable time. Should i possibly drop her or tell her it is my decision as of next year? Just wondering if it was a comm. or res. Also do you have a contract in written form for your cust?
Eric

[SLS]

VnDrWLawnCare:

I had an old lady that tried the same thing with me. I cut the lawn across the street from her once a week...with no problems.

Inevitably she would come out as I was coming over to her yard and say "I want to wait until next week". The thing that erked me was that when I agreed to do her lawn I explained my schedule and she agreed that I could cut her lawn when I cut the one across the street. I put up with it only a couple of times. The last time she did it 3 times (weeks) in a row. Her grass was about 10'' tall the last time...and more rain one the way!

I dumped her then and there.

Someone else cut it a couple of weeks later and left a ton of clippings and stragglers...and did not trim.

Then the lawn was not cut again for several weeks.

Later in the summer her 'home health care' person came over and asked me if I would cut the lawn again. I asked her what happened to the last people that cut it. She told me that the old lady was loaded ($$$) but could never keep a lawn service for more than a couple of months because she always pulled the same 'wait till next week' stunt...to save a buck. She really wanted her lawn cut once a month but knew better than to tell any new lawn service...so she just 'played her game' on them instead of being honest. :angry:

Needless to say, I was "booked" and couldn't fit her in. :D

Homer (a wise LawnSite member) once said: "If you dread it..shed it!" I have taken that advice a few times this season...with excellent results.

On to the original topic:

I have only taken on accounts within a 3-4 mile radius of my home so I can keep tabs on them easily and have a minimum amount of drive time. We've had a dry spell and I got totally caught up as the grass quit growing. I went out last Tuesday and made the rounds to check on the lawns and timed myself.

31 lawns inspected...22 minutes total drive time. No need to charge 'trip time' because I pass right by most of my accounts every time I go out.

This is where targeting a specific area pays off...I could never understand driving more than just a few minutes between jobs.

Time is money...

[VnDrWLawnCare]

The funny thing about this lady is that even during the spring the grass may not have grown as much as it does now and then i never heard a peep out of her. I guess she must be getting cheap. She told me that her last LC did it for 20 bucks. I charge her 27. But i suspect the other did not trim, nor did they edge. I have been nice to her by trimming little sprouts on a bush for free and spreading seed that i purchased for her ( got reimbursed) for 10 bucks. So i have been nice to her so i guess i need to lay down the law or drop her.
Eric

[HOMER]

If you can't count on these people then why waste precious time dealing with them? Get rid of her and find somebody that is interested in a nice lawn. If you keep her let the crap get tall, make one pass and let it lay there.............no way would I try to mow it to perfection! I have had older ladys and gents like this (key word...HAAAAAAAD) they are time wasters and you'll never keep them happy...............dump em and move on!

[Randy Scott]

That's why you need contracts, not letters. My customers are based on x amount of cuts per season. That's it, you don't want it cut, you are paying the monthly total either way. Also, if the grass is out of control and I have to double cut it, that's my loss. It all evens out in the end and if a customer doesn't see it that way, goodbye, get someone else. There are routes and schedules to be kept, and if they think that they are the only ones then they are sadly mistaken. I started my business to be in control, sleep in the bed I made, control my destiny, and that's what I am doing!

[Randy]

I try and call each client the night before if I can. I know this is not posable for all of you. But maybe you can find some one to do it for you. That way you don' t waest the trip out to the site and waest your time too. When the weather is not good for mowing or it is late in the season like it is now. I try and call to see if it needs done, or the leaves need done or what ever. This saves my time. Whitch I need now that the days are getting shorter. ;) Randy

[gene gls]

I have 2 customers that pull the "skip it this week" deal. One is a school teacher, its like talking to a tree. Next year I am going to have them call me when they want it mowed and charge by the hour. I'll see how they like calling me to schedual them on my list. What goes around, comes around.

Gene

[KirbysLawn]

Originally posted by Randy Scott
That's why you need contracts, not letters. My customers are based on x amount of cuts per season. That's it, you don't want it cut, you are paying the monthly total either way. Also, if the grass is out of control and I have to double cut it, that's my loss. It all evens out in the end and if a customer doesn't see it that way, goodbye, get someone else. There are routes and schedules to be kept, and if they think that they are the only ones then they are sadly mistaken. I started my business to be in control, sleep in the bed I made, control my destiny, and that's what I am doing!

Exactly! I get paid if they water in the summer or not, makes no difference to me, my income stays the same.

[65hoss]

Originally posted by VnDrWLawnCare
Are you talking about commercial accounts or residential. Because i have the same problem with one of my res. customers. She always thinks it doesn't need cut. I always tell her that it is tall in back, but she thinks that it can be skiped till next week. She is really starting to piss me off. I cut the yard directly behing her so i am there anyways but her complaining about the price, "no rain", and how gas prices went cheap once this summer is taking away my valuable time. Should i possibly drop her or tell her it is my decision as of next year? Just wondering if it was a comm. or res. Also do you have a contract in written form for your cust?
Eric

I'm referring to residential customers. I know which lawns can go 2 weeks and which can't. I've taken a much stronger stance this year. I don't ask anyone, I just show up and do it. No questions asked. If they don't like it then they are gone. I don't have time to be the checkbook balance.

I would probably send a letter to this customer. Explaining your position and what you will do for next season. Sometimes people just don't understand how bad this is on equipment or how much extra it cost you. They have all this time to decide what they want to do. Some people say contracts for residentials. Not for me. My business has been built on customer relationships. My business growth would be greatly hurt by contracts. People these days are very concerned about signing a contract of any type. Many of my customers that had contracts in the past will tell me they feel like they got screwed. All people want to feel good about a purchase. People around here feel tied in by a contract. For commercial I agree with contracts.

[Quail Creek LC]

Plain and simple, DONT MOW FOR THE OLD GRANNIES AND COMPLAINERS. I used to, but I now target the upper middle class folks and I never hear one complaint from any of them all year. It takes time to establish a good customer base, but when you do, your headaches are over and you dont have to worry if there gonna come out and complain or not want you to mow. Good Luck!!!! (by the way I do not make anyone sign a contract.)

[TJLC]

This happened to me this past sat for the first time. I was 3 to 4 passes into the yard and they come out and tell me not to cut. I was upset at first but then I thought, oh well, it's their yard. I did tell them though, if I skip this week and it's rough to cut next time I will have to charge them more. I guess I just wish they would have told me BEFORE I started on their lawn.

[gusbuster]

e man

Just like everybody has been saying, drop that client. On the other hand, if you don't want to, type of customer that you want to put on a contract.

You should charge the same whether you cut or not cut. We still pay a fireman a wage, whether or not there's a fire to put out, Right? We are no different than anybody else trying to make a living.

John

[grassman50]

i have the same problem. You just have to write next year a clear amount that they would be charged if they dont call and you drove there for nothing. so figure for next year, if this customer is a half hour away and it cost $3.00 in gas and you have a employee with you, and you are paying them $8.00 an hour, and it took a whole hour to go there and back, figure $8.00 for that and three for gas, so thats $11.00. And we all know that we could add other things like, i could have been mowing someone else, so im losing another $25.00. Probably should just charge them $10.00. If they are that big of a prob., just drop them and go out and get a better account to make up for it. good luck.