whens good to cut?

[woodie08]

I have a full time job mon threw fri 9:45 to 5:30. im only looking to provide service for residental lawn . can I just cut on the weekend, can I start cutting as early as 8:30 am durring the week?and knock out one lawn a day.. Im new just looking to get 5 to ten accounts this year. next year get enought to quit this panzy as# job'''' and go full time in landscaping. what are the norm hours for residental mowing? my guess is most likely 10 am to 4pm durring the week.can I get away with the hours I have to work with now. please give me any input you have..........

[brentcausey]

Hey,

I work 8-4:30 and cut in the evenings and on weekends. I also get 1/2 day off per week during the summer so that afternoon (or morning) is usually dedicated to mowing. Talk with your boss and see if you can come in an hour early each day and get a half day off per week.... you never know.

Most of my customers don't mind me coming in the evenings because they get to see me and can point out or tell me about specific things they want done. I also mow alot of rent houses so it really doesn't matter what they think! :cool2:

[DA Quality Lawn & YS]

woodie - i have a different opinion than brent....
Once you have gone over the specifics of your agreement with your residential customer, you really don't want to see them again, you just want to do your job and move on to the next one. Weekday daytime hours work great for this (unless you are mowing for retirees, they will always be watching you:). Most people work daytimes, therefore you can get in, do your job, and get out without distractions. Weekends are OK (if that is the only time you have), but then you are going to run into people being home, perhaps they will have company over, and they will not want you making noise in their yards at that time. In general, I figure I have earned the trust of my customers, the last thing they will need or want to do is come out and chat with me every time I show up - waste of time for them and waste of time for me (ok to say hi once in a while though:)
As far as hours go, don't mow residential before around 9AM for obvious reasons.

[brentcausey]

He has a point. There are some customers I avoid. But, the 85 year old lady that sits at home all day...just talking to her for 5 minutes might just make her day! :weightlifter:

He's right about having company over or just sitting down to eat dinner and see my fat A ride past the window doing 10 mph on the ZTR! ha!

[Dave_005]

I have a full time job mon threw fri 9:45 to 5:30. im only looking to provide service for residental lawn . can I just cut on the weekend, can I start cutting as early as 8:30 am durring the week?and knock out one lawn a day.. Im new just looking to get 5 to ten accounts this year. next year get enought to quit this panzy as# job'''' and go full time in landscaping. what are the norm hours for residental mowing? my guess is most likely 10 am to 4pm durring the week.can I get away with the hours I have to work with now. please give me any input you have..........

I start mowing no later than 7:30 am every morning on residentials. village ordinace says not before 7 am so by 7:30 the mowers are running, others in my area start right at 7 am.

[RGM]

I agree with not cutting on the weekends waste to much time talking to customers. I start at 9 and only on lawns I know for sure people are away at work. If I had to cut on a sat I would not start before 10 if someone was cutting one of my neighbor's early on a sat I would not like it. For stopping times I wont start a lawn after 5:30.

[Roger]

... never on Sunday.

[barefeetny]

you guys are nuts lol

i want to talk to my customers.... how the heck am i going to upsell if they never see me

i don't want to talk on the phone

thats almost as bad as new accounts

ASK THIS hows the yard look?..

..maybe you shoulf move that bench under the tree..

.it looks peaceful .a nice little place to enjoy the yard.

no you don't like under the tree!

what do you think would work

a patio out by where the barBq oh so you can watch your birdbath

but its going to be hot without a tree to shade you

yeah i could draw a few ideas up and we can talk about it next time

just my .02
but i don't want to mow the world

Nate

[HOOLIE]

It almost seems like too much effort to load up, cut one lawn, get all sweaty and nasty, then go to your other job. I don't know if you plan on showering afterwards, maybe at your regular job you're outdoors too.

The 'proper' cutting times have been debated endlessly on here before, but around me at least you see crews mowing residentials from 7am on up til 8:30 or dark in the summertime. A lot of people around here are gone to work by 6 or 6:30 to get a jump on the traffic. Personally I do 7:30 on weekdays and 8:30 or so on Saturdays. I have had to mow Sundays before but I wait until 10. Whatever you feel comfortable with.

Really, it's not as loud as you think. At my old job one of my 'perks' was having my own lawn cut for free. I was always the first stop on Mondays, so sometimes on a holiday I would be off but some of the crews would work, and mow my lawn. I mean you would be surprised, it's not nearly as loud as you think. It certainly didn't jolt me out of bed or anything, and sometimes i didn't even hear them.

[HOOLIE]

you guys are nuts lol

i want to talk to my customers.... how the heck am i going to upsell if they never see me

i don't want to talk on the phone

thats almost as bad as new accounts

ASK THIS hows the yard look?..

..maybe you shoulf move that bench under the tree..

.it looks peaceful .a nice little place to enjoy the yard.

no you don't like under the tree!

what do you think would work

a patio out by where the barBq oh so you can watch your birdbath

but its going to be hot without a tree to shade you

yeah i could draw a few ideas up and we can talk about it next time

just my .02
but i don't want to mow the world

Nate

I agree on this...having that face to face time with your customers does wonders for customer retention, and it's a great time to talk up some extra work. You don't want to waste 15 min. at each lawn each week, but it's good every couple months to stop and say hi.

[Whitey4]

Nate, I am with you 100%. The last full service account I just got last night? "I never see the guy, just his crews, and they don't speak english. He's a nice guy, but how many times do I have to call about that patch they always miss behind the pool?"

If this guy was showing up, and listened, he would not have lost that account he had for 3 years. He will likely lose the next door neighbor to my business too. Every time I talk to a customer, it's time to sell. Not anything high pressure, mostly to let them know I'm paying attention and I give a chit. By the way Mr Smith, I think we should consider a growth regulator on that hedgerow.... explain the benefits, and let him think on it.

If a customer is unhappy, I want to know. If an elderly woman wants to gab for 10 minutes, that's fine. From a business standpoint, I cement the relationship, and on a human level, maybe I make her life better in some small way. I got ten minutes for that. God help me if I get to the point where I can't spare ten minutes. Besides, the old folk can be very interesting. Ask them about their childhood... and beore you know it, you've just "wasted" 20 minutes.... but was it wasted?.... really?

The beauty of being a solo.... has many advantages. I suppose I'm a fossil... but I always remember my customers are people.

[Lawnvision]

I try to schedule commercial accounts early, then residential if possible. Residential customers are picky, so take into account soil moisture(rain the night before and dew). If it is dry then I see no problem with starting at 7:30.

[RGM]

I still say to much wasted time on sat talking to make any real money. If my custmores needs something I call them and tell them whatever needs to be done. I send out a bills once a month and put a generic flyer/note in to upsell.

[lawnkingforever]

I work 5am-1pm, I usually do my mowing between 2-5pm, later if backed up. Some customers I see on regular basis and some I never see. One customer I have, I only seemed him twice all season. He called last year for an estimate, went out gave it him and he left an envelope with payment every week on porch all season, but I never saw him again until last cut and he told me I did a good job and to come back next year. Some customers just want the yard taken care of with no interaction, while others want to socialize for 5-10minutes, thats fine also.

[S L C]

Hey,

I work 8-4:30 and cut in the evenings and on weekends. I also get 1/2 day off per week during the summer so that afternoon (or morning) is usually dedicated to mowing. Talk with your boss and see if you can come in an hour early each day and get a half day off per week.... you never know.

Most of my customers don't mind me coming in the evenings because they get to see me and can point out or tell me about specific things they want done. I also mow alot of rent houses so it really doesn't matter what they think! :cool2:


Straigth ROOKIE with that post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hammerhead:

[barefeetny]

It sounds funny but i mow only full service accounts..

I don't really like or plan on just mowing.. I sell quality and service... so running like a maniac does not pay for me... nor is it scheduled that way

when johnny Q quick-cuts comes through town throwing flyers and doorhangers..45 i can do it for 20.. i don't worry

you can undercut my current base by almost any amount

I pet the dog.... ask about grandma... hows little jimmys little leaugue going.... keep your elbows up jimmy... Add the fact that they never see me rushing, I do a great job and allways treat them like people....its so much easier to keep them then to find them

If you have to cut lawns and rush around all day... you are never going to do anything but mow and rush all day....if you eventually want to do other things ... hardscaping, renovations, water features... you have to know people.... Or you can just wait for them to call you....

Nate