Could not believe my ears.

[StBalor]

As most of you know i started all new clients on a fixed monthly payment this year. The end of july and 1st half of august was rough here in maryland. No rain and high temperatures was putting a hurting on the grass. I had 1 customer who just would not water her lawn. i had to skip it twice. the 2nd time i could have trimmed some high spots but she told me to skip it.
well i have them pay a month in advance and she was withholding my august payment. I knew what was up, but kept cutting. friday i left here an invoice for september which all invoices are due the 1st of the month.
Well she and her husband comes out while i am there and says she wants to know how much i charge per week so she can pay me. I tell her i do not charge a weekly fee it's a fixed monthly payment. She says " but you had to skip it a couple times, you mean it's still the same price. I said yes ma'am, it's always the same price and it's the price that we both agreed on when you signed my agreement.
now the part i cold not believe. I never had to say another word, the husband took over in my defence. He started telling his wife how i am trying to run a business and that she agreed on the price and how i was always there on time and did a good job. She started arguing with him that she should not have to pay when i do not cut. He begin to tell her that i am running a business and i still had to pay for gas, and my help to come by and check on their lawn. Well that's the most of it, but he argued with her for a good 10 minutes and made some very valid points on my behalf.
husband then said we can go back to the old lawn guy, who we could call when we needed him and would not show up for days later, if at all.
In the end i won, she paid me for august and september. I just could not believe how the husband went to bat for me, i could not get 1 word in after he started.

[KrayzKajun]

I love those customers. The ones tht realize how hard we work!

[TURFLORD]

I want to hear what they said to each other when they went back inside.

[Mr Priceless]

I want to hear what they said to each other when they went back inside.

they must've been up in years, since the husband had no interest in what was to possibly happen that night:laugh:

[tjsquickcuts]

Well I do also think its a little unfair to charge someone for work not done, but that JMO.....Any lawn that we have had to skip during this crazy weather will be made up for during Sept, or either I aerated if I had to skip to many visits.....I think it has help make all my customer relationships a lot stronger because they actually feel like they are getting what they paid for, and not getting cheated out of visit on the excuse that it was too hot. Its customer service if you ask me....but getting paid for nothing is good, but I am trying to establish a high class business, and something like that might not fly over with some of my accounts....but to each their own....but I do see her point....

[cgaengineer]

I explained the yearly service agreement with my neighbor and at first she thought she was getting ripped off. When I explained to her that I cut every 4-5 days in the growing season and that it balances out in the non growing season she understood.

[carcrz]

tsj... it's an average over the year. It's still the same amount either way. It just helps the customer & our companies budget better.

[HOOLIE]

That's cool the husband went to bat for you :weightlifter: Yeah this summer's been dicey for the flat-rate customers...you figure skipping here or there at some point but many lawns didn't need to be cut more than every 3 or 4 weeks for awhile. But they complain either way...either they are paying and not getting cut, or they complain that the old LCO would mow 'when it was dead'. I feel mowing a browned-out lawn is more of a rip off than having them pay a flat rate.

[Mrs. H]

Wish more customers were that understanding.

[jsf343]

very nice that he did that.

I think a lot of people do not understand that in the end it all evens out. :nono: What I mean is in the lush wet spring you are there twice as long but don't charge her extra because you are doing an equal pay system, same thing in fall when there is 1.5 million leaves on the ground and you are expected to get them all cleaned up. Summer is our time to recover from those longer times spent during the spring and fall, we spend less time but still get the same loot. It is a great system but sometimes you have to explain it because they don't see or think about all the extra time.

[newz7151]

Well I do also think its a little unfair to charge someone for work not done, but that JMO......

Do you have a cell phone plan? If you didn't use it for one whole month, do you think you would get a letter in the mail saying you do not have to pay for that month because they see you did not use it?

Look at the condition this great United States of ours is in.. but the President still gets his $200,000.

[tjsquickcuts]

Its called roll over...

[tjsquickcuts]

Do you have a cell phone plan? If you didn't use it for one whole month, do you think you would get a letter in the mail saying you do not have to pay for that month because they see you did not use it?

Look at the condition this great United States of ours is in.. but the President still gets his $200,000.

The President is on a salary, he is not charging us individually....

With my agreements, I service bi-weekly during the early spring and late fall and winter....weekly during late spring and summer. Keeps everyone on the same schedule therefore I can landscape and do lawn treatments in-between the maintenance visit, and not on the same day we just mowed the lawn which is a NO NO as for lawn treatments......44 visit is what each one of my accounts are told they will receive for the year, and 44 visit they will get. When the season is coming to a end, we only work 2 weeks out of each month with all maintenance(leaf blowing, etc) and are still getting the monthly amount. I visit only once during Feb, but charge them for the entire month because its in their schedule. They are paying for 44 visit, broken down over a 11 month period.

I.E. a account is $260 per month for 44 visits for the year, equals out to $65 bucks per visit over 11 months for each visit. Each account has a calender with each day we will be servicing their account so there is no confusion….. So we too have our months where we are getting more buck and doing less work, but they are all getting what they paid for no matter what. If I were trying to make up for lost visit this winter then I would be cheating myself along with my guys because we would have twice the work...plus most Bermuda is dormant and the only thing to do is blow leaves…. I agree that mowing burnt lawns is crazy, but leaving people with the feeling they are getting rip off is even worse....nothing like a bad taste in someones mouth....Yeah, most people would understand once explained, but at the same time, most people don't remember the last time we were this dry and they are still remembering last year when most lawns really needed to be cut almost every 3 days....I am not knocking you, more power, but I have built something from the ground up, and each one of my accounts was handpicked and I just dont want to lose anyone over a misunderstanding.....but thats just me....I am doing what it takes to keep my customer base happy. I haven't had anyone complain about being skipped once or twice. Plus with having a set amount of visits, I have a very tight route....Monday and Tuesday without a doubt unless its raining that morning I will be at all my Commercial and pita accounts....Wed-Fri, all of my high-end accounts....it would be too much work having to keep track of servicing someone every 4 to 5 days because you get off track....plus consistence is KING in this business. I get people saying all the time, I see you out here every what ever day it is.....and I tell them, thats the day we service this area.....unless it is raining, we will be there.....

I am sure everybody has a different opinion, but I think I would be a little ticked knowing that I was paying for something not done. I mean, you contract your cleaning service out....they come and decided you aren't making enough of a mess for them to clean....If I have already paid or if being charged for the month, then I want what I am paying for bottom line...no excuses...either let me know ahead of time, but not just showing up, and saying hmmmmm, they really dont need it and drive away would burn me up...sorry I feel that way, but my sister who is a lawyer said you can be sued for breach of contract for failure to perform what you agreed to perform....its not the customers fault you didnt take into account the springs is wetter and there would be more time spent of the lawn double cutting, and with the fall it would take more time picking up leaves....Out of my 44 visit, 8 are treatments, 4 are leaf clean ups in the fall and winter 4 are general maintenance visits, and 28 are mowing visits only....sounds like poor planning to me ..... You guys have to protect our shield, and I believe in my opinion you guys are hurting our industry.....but THIS IS MY OPINION.....I am sure many of you disagree, but don;t discount what I just said.....sorry I was all over the place, too many thoughts, not enough time to say all I want to say....

[Roger]

I have to agree with the woman complaining, and what tjsquickcuts has added here. I would not be happy to be paying when no work has been done.

So often, I read threads on LS saying "we use a monthly pay arrangement so that we continue to get paid during the Summer when we don't have to cut." Not everybody uses that language, but something similar. What is behind such a statement?

LCOs wouldn't make that statement and prefer to use such a payment strategy UNLESS it was of benefit to them. In essence, those who make such statements are saying "we want to get paid, whether we do any work or not, and such an arrangement is beneficial to us."

Personally, I would not expect any customer to pay if I did not work. Ethically, I would not use a fixed monthly program because of this reason. To be sure, monthly invoicing is easier, but that is a poor reason to move to a such a payment plan. If the record keeping and billing procedures are not able to manage an irregular property visit, then the procedures need to examined.

I had one customer, in ten years, asking to be on a fixed monthly plan. He wanted an irregular mowing schedule, depending upon growth rates. I accommodated his request for two years, then migrated him to a "per cut" plan. As stated above by others, I want a weekly program to be consistent, not four day cycles at one time of the season, six days at another time, and 10 days another. I have too many folks who prefer Thursday or Friday cuts, and I want my week's schedule laid out well. Yes, I am saying I want MY plan to best make my business work for me.

[fiveoboy01]

This is my opinion:

If you have someone on a fixed monthly charge, and you're skipping because of the heat, you had better damn well make up for it somehow. Either be there on the skip days pulling some weeds, or picking up trash, or giving a chem treatment at some other point of the year, etc etc.

Anything else is cheating the customer. They expect to get what they pay for, and if you get 4 or 5 skips during a hot summer, you should be sure that they get something else to make up for it.

[StBalor]

Guess maybe i should of added this. I did not just not show up. i have a schedule and i stick to it. On 2 occasions i showed up at her house, me and my helper get out grab our tools and she comes out and says not to cut today. Once was after we already started. There is usually always something to do during the visit to keep someones lawn looking well kept. It was her decision to tell us not to do anything.

[Sweet Tater]

Whats about charging per cut and billing monthly? Thats what I can considering for next year

[MarcSmith]

If you have someone on a fixed monthly charge, and you're skipping because of the heat, you had better damn well make up for it somehow. Either be there on the skip days pulling some weeds, or picking up trash, or giving a chem treatment at some other point of the year, etc etc.

Anything else is cheating the customer. They expect to get what they pay for, and if you get 4 or 5 skips during a hot summer, you should be sure that they get something else to make up for it.

Lest say the last 5 years you cut 36 times a year....on average....this year you budget and set contracts up for 36 cuts....Based on historical data.

If you had a wet spring dry summer and wet fall, guess what youm ight cut 38 times...

The lady would be pitching a fit if you did not cut enough when it was growing and then if you cut and wanted to charge her extra, she'd scream bloody murder...now the it's just the opposite, you don't cut but still charge you're the crook in her eyes....They often forget about the 5-6 visits in April and may or the extra visits for the unseasonable warmth in November...

if you keep good records you'll find and be able to show her that at the end of the year you did all your visits. and as such are due the full amount agreed each month...If I found that if was way short in my estimate(more than 3 cuts, I credited towards the following year contract, by basically reducing their monthly payment.

[MJStrain]

Whats about charging per cut and billing monthly? Thats what I can considering for next year

That's what I do now. Works great!

[GreenT]

This is one of the reasons why I only take full service accounts at a fixed monthly price.

If the grass does not need cutting, there is always plenty to do to keep a landscape looking its best.

[tjsquickcuts]

This is one of the reasons why I only take full service accounts at a fixed monthly price.

If the grass does not need cutting, there is always plenty to do to keep a landscape looking its best.

I agree....I build everything I can think of that a property will need in order to stay beautiful into their yearly service cost, and divide it by 11 months which is my season....therefore I know all is already billed, and when the time is right we do it without any questions....I charge extra for aeration's, and landscaping....everything else is in their program....was out trimming hedges & shrubs today because most my property's have started to turn green again, but still really can wait a few days to be cut...example below...top pic when we pulled up....bottom two are when we were done....trimmed all hedges and shrubs, and spot sprayed all visiable weeds including the one by the mailbox lol....

But you guys really have to put the time in behind the scene and you will see your business take a face lift....We are currently seeking a few sites for a offices....not really going to say where because I dont want anyone taking my idea but its going to give me a HUGE advantage over everyone in my area.....Met with my accountant this evening to talk about numbers, because I will need to add two new maintenance crews by next summer to go with the two I currently run, plus a full 6 man landscape crew....its a scary feeling, because I am taking a gamble, but I have gotten a lot of great feed back from survey's from all my accounts and feel good about it....But I have been preparing for this from day one....just following my business plan, just a year ahead of myself right now do to the demand for our service.....this is just me....hope this helps....sorry for rambling, just a little excited..:dancing:

[GreenT]

Good luck with the big move tjsquickcuts.

I think with your attention to detail and ability to plan and execute, you will do fine in the long run. :weightlifter:

Although I'm sure you have some butterflies loose in your stomach right now.

[tjsquickcuts]

Good luck with the big move tjsquickcuts.

I think with your attention to detail and ability to plan and execute, you will do fine in the long run. :weightlifter:

Although I'm sure you have some butterflies loose in your stomach right now.

Man you just don't know....Just thinking about all the equipment that will need to be purchased, and payroll dollars set aside is making me dizzy :dizzy: ..... I have a few silent investors who see my plan as a great success and are taking care of all the $$$$$$, I just have to excute what I promised.....A lot of money is involved and thats the scary thing.....Oh, and will be changing the name also, it was part of the agreement with silent investors....More professional Name....will unveil all the details later once everything is worked out....