The Most Outrageous Customer Ever...

[Sean Adams]

I was talking to a friend of mine who owns a lawn and landscape company here in Pennsylvania on Saturday. I actually sold part of my business to him a few years ago. I asked him how some of my old customers were doing and he told me that I would not believe the story he was about to tell me.

He said that 2 weeks ago he went to meet with this couple that were former customers of mine. When they were my customers they weren't too difficult to deal with, but every once in awhile they would put me through the ringer.

Ayway, he said they asked him to meet with them to go over some things they wanted to do this upcoming year on their property. They have a nice place - about 4 acres, very well kept. He showed up and at first they did not answer the door. He checked his book to make sure he had the right date and time, which he did.

He waited for about 10 minutes on their front porch and finally started to walk away to get back in his truck.

Suddenly, the front door flew open and the man of the house yelled out to him. He walked back to the front porch and that was when it all started...

He said he could hear the guy's wife yelling from inside the house. He asked if this was a good time and the guy told him it was fine.

He walked into the front entrance and the wife came walking down the stairs and asked her husband, "Did you tell him or should I?"

The husband remained silent. My friend said the woman walked up to him and said the following... (and I believe him because I don't think anyone could even make this up....)

"We have decided to get divorced. However we cannot come to an agreement on who gets the house. Therefore, until the judge decides, we are both going to live here. There are things he wants done in the yard and there are things I want done in the yard. He wants the fornt of the house to be newly landscaped so we can sell the house. I have no intentions of selling the house so I want a new patio and bbq in the back near the existing patio."

My friend said he stood there with his mouth wide open... he could not believe what he was hearing.

Then the best part....

The woman said, "Oh, and you will need to bill us separately - one bill for him and one bill for me because I don't want him claiming I am spending his money any more."

I laughed as hard as I have laughed in quite some time.

I know you guys have dealt with some serious nut cases too, so let's hear it... I love these stories.

[Charles]

:laugh: That is funny Sean!

I think I told about this customer of mine before on here. She was like Jeckle and hyde. You never knew who she was going to be when she showed up at the door. The sweet lil ol lady or the witch or the mental case.

She may run out the door when you were just starting to mow and yell. "You can't mow today, there are spiders and snakes in the yard!!. Come back when they are gone" She meant it too lol

Or she would come out and start dancing and swatting at the spirit world. This while she handed you your check

One day, I see her come around from the back yard covered with fire ants. I said holy &^%$ let me help you get them off. She said "Oh don't worry about them, they are my friends" and walked back into the house.

Another time she gave me this piece of paper which was written to the bank. Give Charles $45 for cutting my lawn. I called the bank and they said "no way!":laugh:

[Supper Grassy]

That is a funny story sean

[LawnBoy89]

:laugh: That is funny Sean!

I think I told about this customer of mine before on here. She was like Jeckle and hyde. You never knew who she was going to be when she showed up at the door. The sweet lil ol lady or the witch or the mental case.

She may run out the door when you were just starting to mow and yell. "You can't mow today, there are spiders and snakes in the yard!!. Come back when they are gone" She meant it too lol

Or she would come out and start dancing and swatting at the spirit world. This while she handed you your check

One day, I see her come around from the back yard covered with fire ants. I said holy &^%$ let me help you get them off. She said "Oh don't worry about them, they are my friends" and walked back into the house.

Another time she gave me this piece of paper which was written to the bank. Give Charles $45 for cutting my lawn. I called the bank and they said "no way!":laugh:

That last one was funny.

[Lynden-Jeff]

Thats a good one but I had a crazy CRAZY one this winter.

I subbed for a friend doing an HOA of about 40 homes. This has been a record winter, near the end of one of the last storms we had just finished a push at this one place. The snow blower guys usually do the driveways and I do the road ways and back drag some of the driveways if they are behind. Well the blowers of course do a way better job and 1 driveway I back dragged did not get cleaned up by the snow blowers.

So we leave and a few hours later my friend beeps me and says one person is complaining we missed the driveway and they can't get out (which im positive I didnt miss one). I said id be back as soon as I could to check. So I get back and my friend is right around the corner so he is going to come aswell. I pull up in to the driveway to back drag it again (now its 2 inchs of hard pack and 2 inchs of fluff since the storm ended). I backdrag while the other 3 guys with me shovel the walkways and scrape hard pack off. While this is happening some 40 y/o **** comes out and starts yelling at my guys. "You stupid ****s missed this driveway" and "Why the **** didn't you do this driveway!. "If you damaging anything im gonna sue your asses". At this point I beeped my buddy who was just pulling up that this guy was a wackjob. The guy walked right up to my very calm friend jamming his finger in his face saying "Where the **** were your ****ing wimps earlier!!" . Amazingly my buddy turned around and got back in his truck while the guy continued to ask where he was going and maybe he should do his fing job. At this point he tried yelling at me through my half open window which I rolled up in his face.

The funny thing is his MOM who he lived with came out and said "come back here im never going to get my driveway plowed again!"

Crazy people I tell yea.

[LawnTamer]

I have 2 which come to mind. One was an older 'gentleman' who was always plastered, just reeked of booze, I never saw him with a shirt on. He would always come out and complain about the heat, then pat his chest and try to get us to spray him. One time he was very insistent, "Shpraay mee, c'mon, shrrraay meeee" while patting his chest and blocking my way. I was applying 24-5-10 granular. :hammerhead:

One yr I had a client who was legally insane. Her husband and guardian gave her the spray service for her b-day. She would sit around all day and dig holes in the yard, burying bails of hay and various lawn ornaments. Per the husband's instructions, I just sprayed/fertilized where I could, I usually ended up treating about 1/3 of the 6k I had bid on.:laugh:

[MJS]

One yr I had a client who was legally insane. Her husband and guardian gave her the spray service for her b-day. She would sit around all day and dig holes in the yard, burying bails of hay and various lawn ornaments. Per the husband's instructions, I just sprayed/fertilized where I could, I usually ended up treating about 1/3 of the 6k I had bid on.:laugh:

What the heck?!? :hammerhead:

I think I have a topper, though:

A customer I used to have - dropped her last year - was about the wierdest person I have ever worked for, and I get some weird customers.

So she had the sewer line in her front yard dug up - line replaced, etc. Once they filled up the hole in the yard, they also had to replace a section of the sidewalk and street (concrete).

So they washed their tools off in her hose, left a little bit of cement dust behind/grey colored mud in a few spots. Not a big deal, right?

When I come to mow she is all worked up - saying that the guys had contaminated her lawn blah blah blah. So she offers to pay me $30 (!) to dig out the cement (dust) from her front lawn. :laugh:

So I go to get out my shovel, thinking that I would just throw the stuff in the bed of my truck - she runs out of the house with a bunch of old plastic butter tubs - wants me to put the dirt in that. lol. Says that she called St. Louis Co. about disposing toxic waste (?!) and that she thinks it needs to be in sealed containers.

SO. . . I dig the crud out of her lawn, fill about four of those little butter tubs with "grey" colored dirt. She handles the whole thing like it's radioactive - gloves - carries the stuff out in front of her etc. Puts it in her garage so that she can dispose of it during the next "toxic waste" pickup. I tried really hard to keep a straight face - convince her it wasn't that big of a deal - "No, no, this is really bad stuff, cement dust". lol :laugh:

She paid the $30, but it wasn't too long after that that I dropped her. Wonder why. :dizzy:

[topsites]

I'd have to say that would be me lol

[lawnspecialties]

I have 2 which come to mind. One was an older 'gentleman' who was always plastered, just reeked of booze, I never saw him with a shirt on. He would always come out and complain about the heat, then pat his chest and try to get us to spray him. One time he was very insistent, "Shpraay mee, c'mon, shrrraay meeee" while patting his chest and blocking my way. I was applying 24-5-10 granular. :hammerhead:

That was hilarious.:laugh:

[americanlawn]

508 views & only 8 replies??? What's up with that? Anyways....I got one..... A long time customer (a man) often comes to the door dressed as a woman. Skirt, nylon stockings, fake boobs, yet has a 5:00 shadow of a beard. Sometimes he will walk me around the yard to show me areas of concern. He's married to a beautiful wife. They have been loyal customers for over 15 years -- both for lawn care & tree/shrub care. Very nice people -- certainly not outrageous, just unique.

[bill8379]

The Worst customer I ever heard of (or maybe the funniest) was posted in another thread. I wish that guy would re-post it here because it was great.

To the best of my memory, some lady asked him to trim hedges for $50 and he wanted $200. So the lady got her redneck son to go out and threaten him and it just got funnier.

[lawnman_scott]

The Worst customer I ever heard of (or maybe the funniest) was posted in another thread. I wish that guy would re-post it here because it was great.

To the best of my memory, some lady asked him to trim hedges for $50 and he wanted $200. So the lady got her redneck son to go out and threaten him and it just got funnier.It was bohia or txlawnguy I think, that was funny. They called the cops on him because he wouldnt do the trimming I think.

[STIHL GUY]

wow thats some funny stuff

[laxative]

Not my customer but a neighbor angrily took my license number today because I blew clippings on her car and driveway. The clippings were very slight, and I apologized and made every attempt to blow them back out of her yard. Not sure what she plans to do with my license number. She was in the yard on the phone talking loudly as I pulled out. To the police? She's crazy.

[mybowtie]

508 views & only 8 replies??? What's up with that? Anyways....I got one..... A long time customer (a man) often comes to the door dressed as a woman. Skirt, nylon stockings, fake boobs, yet has a 5:00 shadow of a beard. Sometimes he will walk me around the yard to show me areas of concern. He's married to a beautiful wife. They have been loyal customers for over 15 years -- both for lawn care & tree/shrub care. Very nice people -- certainly not outrageous, just unique.

DIDG>>>DING>>>DING...We have a winner. I thought I had some weirdo's.
These people make mine look real good............:usflag:

[Az Gardener]

I had a very wealthy client with a little over an acre in the middle of Scottsdale Az and we would be walking around with him pointing out things he wanted to do and he would just drop his pants and begin pissing :confused: with me right there next to him. I was caught off guard the first time but after than I would see him begin to undo his belt and I would just walk off to the side further.

Had another woman in the Boulders a big resort in Carefree Az. She had 20-25 pots on about 7-8 different levels around the house and pool deck. She met me at the nursery to pick out flowers then we got them back to her home and placed them in the pots still in containers had her take a look. She had us shuffle some, loose some altogether and so on until it was just right. Thats perfect was her reply, I remember very well.

That evening she called me up to say that they just weren't quite right and that they looked much different in the dark and with her L/S lights and since thats when she did most of her entertaining they would have to be redone. No problem I said the next day we picked some flowers that were more to the white and yellow range did the whole thing over again and she was happy. I was too because I billed her for 50 flats of flowers, labor to remove 25 of them and about 5 hours of consultation time. Give me your Pitas !

Just this week one of my clients was arrested for being involved in the biggest prostitution ring in Az history, it ws all over the news. Very surprising, this guy was very mild mannered guy, radiologist Dr. served on the board of a couple of hospitals. The last guy in the world you would think would be involved. I was pleasantly surprised to receive his check for Aug. services just yesterday.

[Charles]

I had a very wealthy client with a little over an acre in the middle of Scottsdale Az and we would be walking around with him pointing out things he wanted to do and he would just drop his pants and begin pissing :confused: with me right there next to him. I was caught off guard the first time but after than I would see him begin to undo his belt and I would just walk off to the side further.

.

I had a customer who did that when I first got into the biz. Kinda out in the country. Just like yours, he was walking the yard showing me what to do. No warning, just wizz:laugh::dizzy::hammerhead: I just walked to the side and stared up into the trees:confused:

[mybowtie]

I had a very wealthy client with a little over an acre in the middle of Scottsdale Az and we would be walking around with him pointing out things he wanted to do and he would just drop his pants and begin pissing :confused: with me right there next to him. I was caught off guard the first time but after than I would see him begin to undo his belt and I would just walk off to the side further..

OMG....I think I crowned a winner a little too soon...........;)

[Lawn-Sharks]

The Worst customer I ever heard of (or maybe the funniest) was posted in another thread. I wish that guy would re-post it here because it was great.

To the best of my memory, some lady asked him to trim hedges for $50 and he wanted $200. So the lady got her redneck son to go out and threaten him and it just got funnier.

Ahhhh I remember that post.....didn't the red neck son tell'em he was going to call the police on him because he wouldn't trim the hedges for $50 and after the 3rd time calling the cops for his B.S reason they then the old ladys son off to the clink????

[socallawndude]

I can't believe some of these stories, spit up my beer quite a few times. Weirdest I ever had was a guy with one leg who kept his cash stashed in his boot (of his real leg), and a trophy wife type that thought my reference to the crab in her lawn were the little sea creatures doing damage underground...

[Midstate Lawncare]

I worked for someone in 2005 and it was a dry year in Illinois. I had a customer call me at 9:00 p.m. and ask why her lawn was dead (in august). I replied, "well ma'am, we haven't been getting rain for quite some time now so the lawn is pretty dry". She says " well you water my yard!" I say "ma'am, I only spray it 5 times per year" she says "well thats enough ain't it?" I asked her "are you serious?" with a little laugh. She said she was and didn't apprecieate my tone. I said "I only apply 5 gallons of liquid or less once every six weeks.... that is nowhere even enough.... she continued to argue saying the lawn dying was my fault, I said well I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do... she cancelled..... She called back the following spring for an estimate, and didn't remember she had ever had her lawn taken care of by us. She had been a customer for 11 years.

[Branch manager]

I had a rather wealthy client years ago that was high demand. As soon as I finished one project, he'd envision two more. He never seemed content, and it became a compulsion. The good part was, I could put in as many hours as I could schedule on the property.The bad part was, he wasn't real good about paying me in a timely manner. As I'd worked for him for several years, I allowed him to run up a considerable tab. He'd write a check for about a third of his total,claiming it was all he could afford 'right now'. Yet, an hour later, he'd come home with a $2000 oriental rug for his home! AND, he'd ask me to help shlep it into the house....I dropped the account shortly afterward.;):laugh:

[SILVERSTREAK INC]

ill never forget the time i was doing a trimming job and got stopped on the side of the street by a neighbor who wanted me to do some work at their house, he was a 300 pound russian man with a suit and driving a black mercedes, i say i will meet him soon as im done this job

when i get to the guys house (its a resi neighborhood development) he comes running out in his underwear and a wife beater, seriously, size 52 fruit of the loom white underwear and starts showing me these bushes that are blocking his satellite dish, i tell him he can go inside and change while i get to work, meanwhile my 2 guys are standing on the curb afraid to come over hah, the guy ends up staying out there for the entire 2 hours while im working....got paid though

[DBJR]

I went to do a spring clean up for this elderly lady who recently lost her husband who did all of the yard work. when I get there she says what we agreed to charge was to much, before asking three times what that was, and says she will pay this. I said o.k. and did the appropiate amount of work for that. we set up a mowing schedule for the Summer and it was all fine. I get there for the first mow, finish, go inside for a check and she says everythings great and that probably the last cut she will need before winter, confused at this point, I remind her it is only May and would probably be back a few more times.
Needless to say I recieve payment at evey visit and she still doesn't know what time of year it is.

[cooltype]

I usually get too frustrated to keep crazy people around.

One time i priced a job to rip out a bunch of old landscaping and told the lady to just call when she wanted me to do the work and we would schedule a day because she wanted to wait a week or so. well she called me the next week on a Tuesday at about 11am. She wanted me to do it that day and i said i am sorry but i have about 8 yards to mow today i wouldnt have time but how about Thursday. She asked me why i was waiting so late in the day to go mow grass and i should have started that at 7am so i could pull her shrubs out today! I was still in college at the time and had just got out of class i told her and after her yelling at me and telling me i needed to be there today in enough time to finish the job I told her to call somebody else.....

Another lady i mowed for just quit coming to the door when i came to mow and told her friend that i mowed for i had quit showing up and i wasnt reliable. I came one day to mow and the door was open she was sitting on the couch and had a dog tied to the storm door handle growling at me and she never came out so i quit showing up lol

still not near as crazy as a few on here but theres a couple

[TRILAWNCARE]

I usually get too frustrated to keep crazy people around.

One time i priced a job to rip out a bunch of old landscaping and told the lady to just call when she wanted me to do the work and we would schedule a day because she wanted to wait a week or so. well she called me the next week on a Tuesday at about 11am. She wanted me to do it that day and i said i am sorry but i have about 8 yards to mow today i wouldnt have time but how about Thursday. She asked me why i was waiting so late in the day to go mow grass and i should have started that at 7am so i could pull her shrubs out today! I was still in college at the time and had just got out of class i told her and after her yelling at me and telling me i needed to be there today in enough time to finish the job I told her to call somebody else.....

Another lady i mowed for just quit coming to the door when i came to mow and told her friend that i mowed for i had quit showing up and i wasnt reliable. I came one day to mow and the door was open she was sitting on the couch and had a dog tied to the storm door handle growling at me and she never came out so i quit showing up lol

still not near as crazy as a few on here but theres a couple

Thats a good one...

[Tuna3679]

In Indiana I once had a client who was my high school football coach, nicest guy in the world always a 200 bonus at Christmas time, well anyways from March 1st till Sept. 31st every year I was to cut his grass on MONDAY, WEDENSDAY, and FRIDAY, at $80 a cut!!! And trim the shrubs everyweek. He would stand on his Front/Back porch the ENTIRE hour I was there, walk around the entire lawn, check all my edge lines, eyeball my stripes, check the beds and shrubs THEN write me a check for the $80 plus $10 tip EVERY WEEK! Sadly one day a couple weeks after his wife died I pull up to his lawn and there are cops everywhere he had commited suicide at the age of 85 because he could not bear being without his wife. Three weeks later I get a check from his lawyer covering the amount for every cut every week for the rest of the year PLUS my Christmas Bonus. I still have that check to this day.

[DLAWNS]

In Indiana I once had a client who was my high school football coach, nicest guy in the world always a 200 bonus at Christmas time, well anyways from March 1st till Sept. 31st every year I was to cut his grass on MONDAY, WEDENSDAY, and FRIDAY, at $80 a cut!!! And trim the shrubs everyweek. He would stand on his Front/Back porch the ENTIRE hour I was there, walk around the entire lawn, check all my edge lines, eyeball my stripes, check the beds and shrubs THEN write me a check for the $80 plus $10 tip EVERY WEEK! Sadly one day a couple weeks after his wife died I pull up to his lawn and there are cops everywhere he had commited suicide at the age of 85 because he could not bear being without his wife. Three weeks later I get a check from his lawyer covering the amount for every cut every week for the rest of the year PLUS my Christmas Bonus. I still have that check to this day.

That's a crazy story. It's sad to lose a customer that seemed like a very giving person.

[godzilla]

For whackos... well let me think.

1) Did a job for this old man and his wife. End of the day they wanted me and my guys to get undressed for them so that they could give us baths / showers and clean clothes to take home.

2) This past summer I worked for one trophy wife and her husband at their new weekend house. She would come out in the morning and complain about one thing or another. Then after lunch she would come out and she'd be really happy. Pretty sure she was a nymphomaniac, because she'd wear tiny little bikinis while vacuuming the carpet with all the doors wide open. There's other stuff that would back up the claim.

3) Used to work for a guy who wanted the lawn cut 2 or 3 times per week, however a few times I'd show up "It's too hot to cut the grass today" or "It's too wet." some kind of crap or another. I found out that one day just out of the blue he fired his secretary that had been working for him for 13 years without any problems.

[Branch manager]

A sad story, for sure. Yes, we find an occasional client that stands-out from the whiners and cheapskates. We give them the very best service possible, and miss them when they are gone, for various reasons. It kinda balances out working for difficult people.I decided long ago, I wasn't going to work twice for my money;if someone gives me a hard time at payment, I cut them loose. Life is too short to dance with ugly women!

[MJS]

In Indiana I once had a client who was my high school football coach, nicest guy in the world always a 200 bonus at Christmas time, well anyways from March 1st till Sept. 31st every year I was to cut his grass on MONDAY, WEDENSDAY, and FRIDAY, at $80 a cut!!! And trim the shrubs everyweek. He would stand on his Front/Back porch the ENTIRE hour I was there, walk around the entire lawn, check all my edge lines, eyeball my stripes, check the beds and shrubs THEN write me a check for the $80 plus $10 tip EVERY WEEK! Sadly one day a couple weeks after his wife died I pull up to his lawn and there are cops everywhere he had commited suicide at the age of 85 because he could not bear being without his wife. Three weeks later I get a check from his lawyer covering the amount for every cut every week for the rest of the year PLUS my Christmas Bonus. I still have that check to this day.


Wow man, that is a crazy story - it's always a shame to lose customers like that. . .$270 + every week. . .

[M and S Lawn Care]

Wow... what a thread. There's some good ones in here!

We had one elderly customer... Mrs. Marvay. Her number is in my cell phone, and my partner and I always refer to her house by name. We cut her lawn every Friday. Every thursday, she called to check if we're coming the next day. "Yes Mrs. Marvay, we'll be there. Anything else I can do for you?" "Nope. Thanks Mike, I appreciate it"

Now. Mrs. Marvay LOVED how I trimmed, and apparently did not like how my partner trimmed. If she was home and he trimmed, she'd call about 45 minutes after we left and say "George (her husband) just doesn't like the way Sean trims. I just thought I'd let you know since you're in charge and all". Truth is, my partner and I are 50/50 in the business, and he weighs about 100lbs more than me, so if anything, he's in charge :)

If she wasn't home and he trimmed, no call. Then, unfortunately, George got very sick and went to the hospital/nursing home. Still, same thing, she claimed that George didn't like the trimming. The thing is, there's no way George could see it. Oh well.

Then once I'm halfway through with her front yard and she comes running, as fast as she can for an old lady, asking that I come back in 15 minutes. "Why, is there a problem?" "Well yes, the fertilizer people just came two hours and forty five minutes ago, and right here (hands me the receipt) it says you need to wait three hours to mow the lawn. I told her she was our last house in the area, and I couldn't come back, but assured her everything would be alright. She was maaaaaadddd.

After we sent out the season's last invoices, we get a not back from her daughter saying that Mrs. Marvay tripped and broke her hip and shoulder. We're going to go visit her in the rehab home. She drives us crazy, but honestly, she's very very nice. When I broke my foot she sent me a get well card.. you know she cares about people.

[lawn crafters]

I FOUND THE POST OF THE GUY CALLING THE COPS


http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=187286

[Barefoot James]

It was a Saturday this fall in Louisville, KY. My Aunt and Uncle called and said they had tickets to the UL game football and basketball - all in one day - WOW. So my son and I go to the football game that afternoon and my daughter and her boyfriend go to the basketball game that evening (with me).

We pull up to Freedom Hall for the basketball game about 2 hours before tip off (had VIP eats) and sitting there in the parking lot for about 30 seconds and BAM. Something hits my Honda. A quick look around and no cars. My daughter yells "that guy just ran head first into the side of OUR car!" I say WHAT! I get out and some dude is rolling around on the passenger side (ground) and gets up. I go around and have a HUGE dent in the side front panel (door won't even open). I'm like - are you ok dude what happened. His buddies come over from 5 car spaces away and try to explain. Apparently this guy had way too much (to drink) at the football game and he got out of the car and started to fall - in trying to catch himself he ended up basically running with his head low and ran into my car head first. Well this certainly broke his fall (very painful). Anyway about $900 and a new quarter panel later my car is fixed and this guy - Jeff - paid for it and has reevaluated his life. I have invited him to church and hopefully he comes someday. What a painful and expensive wake up call. I think I will end up good friends with this dude. He pays for his mistakes, thats a good sign. But Jeff needs your prayers.:drinkup: - no Jeff come to the light. Moderation dude - LOL!

[JeffW0011]

In Indiana I once had a client who was my high school football coach, nicest guy in the world always a 200 bonus at Christmas time, well anyways from March 1st till Sept. 31st every year I was to cut his grass on MONDAY, WEDENSDAY, and FRIDAY, at $80 a cut!!! And trim the shrubs everyweek. He would stand on his Front/Back porch the ENTIRE hour I was there, walk around the entire lawn, check all my edge lines, eyeball my stripes, check the beds and shrubs THEN write me a check for the $80 plus $10 tip EVERY WEEK! Sadly one day a couple weeks after his wife died I pull up to his lawn and there are cops everywhere he had commited suicide at the age of 85 because he could not bear being without his wife. Three weeks later I get a check from his lawyer covering the amount for every cut every week for the rest of the year PLUS my Christmas Bonus. I still have that check to this day.

Was this dude like all there? Something doesn't really make sense here. This guy was having you cut his yard approximately 12 times in March. My experience with Central Indiana weather has me anticipate that my first full cutting week is the 2nd week of April. Maybe the first. A few early growers or late starters aside, I think in a typical year, the 2nd week of April is about DDAY. So by this time you had already cut this dude 15 times? And then he got no more services after Sep 31st? And when you say you still have that check are you saying you never cashed a check that would have been hundreds if not thousands of dollars? The first lawn I ever cut when I started was a $30 job. The guy paid me in cash....I framed that $30 and hung it on my office wall for posterity and good luck. Not sure I would have done the same with a $1000 check. Maybe I am not understanding something here. I am interested to hear more about this. Not trying to be a jackass or anything, I am just truly curious.
Thanks

[americanlawn]

We recently did snow removal on a driveway over 3 weeks ago. It was a "duplex". Yesterday we got a complaint. He said we shattered his basketball hoop while removing snow. Now he wants a brand new basketball set-up . Problem is .... we did the 'other' driveway (NOT his). Then there's the "why wait over 3 weeks???

I guess the economy is hitting all of us, but why why lie/cheat/steal?

[DLAWNS]

We recently did snow removal on a driveway over 3 weeks ago. It was a "duplex". Yesterday we got a complaint. He said we shattered his basketball hoop while removing snow. Now he wants a brand new basketball set-up . Problem is .... we did the 'other' driveway (NOT his). Then there's the "why wait over 3 weeks???

I guess the economy is hitting all of us, but why why lie/cheat/steal?

It never ceases to amaze me what people will try to do to get a handout! You're not going to buy him a new one, are you?

[Southernlandscape343]

Don't you hate when customers try to pull the wool over your head. :nono:

[americanlawn]

Clowns like these are always reaching for straws. No way are we going next door to provide him a free gift.

I truly cannot figure out the logic going through the heads of people like this.

People like this are theives. I wish they would get a job. :confused:

It never ceases to amaze me what people will try to do to get a handout! You're not going to buy him a new one, are you?

[jerrydean]

Once I was got a call in the afternoon from an old guy that I had just serviced (fertilize and spray weeds). He said "Your fired!" I said "May I ask why?"

He said - I just tasted the grass and I don't like the flavor of than new weed killer you are using.

Not a joke - He was right - we had just switched to a new type of herbicide. His testacles have probably fallen off by now..

[Barefoot James]

Was his wifes name Bessie by any chance? :laugh:

[lawn crafters]

this is kind of weird..

i get a call from some one who i dont even service..

they call and asked if i was there they said my first and last name. kind of weird. anyway they wanted my to plow their drive way i said ok what is the adress. they said its right across the street for another house i plowed earlier, now here is the catch i dont even plow anyone on this street. she is argueing with me that i was across the street. she is saying how do i have one of your buisness card if you werent next door.in the middle of this she has had to reapeted my first and last name 10times and said my buisness name 5 times. i said i have no idea which house is yours, i have never met you and do not plow anyone on your street. she says well i still think it was you. im like ok. i go to the house with my truck and got the snow job, i said to here after how i dont plow the person across the street from you, and she finally agreed after seeing my truck.

not really funny but different

[Mike09]

I have a pretty good one. Last summer a lady calls and wants some shrubs, and other things cleaned up in her yard. I had a crew of three guys with me and we were all out working in front of her...front window. Now this lady is about 65 plus and must be lonely because her husband died. She comes out of her shower obviously and is walking around completely naked staring three feet out the window watching us work. She then calls in one of our workers Lupe to come and rub lotion on her body!! Nonetheless lupe said we had to go or he was going to leave. Ever since then whenever i go to take care of a few things she is always asking where lupe is and why he never seems to come back. Along with that, I am scarred for life after the rolls and other details we dont need to discuss were seen. Granted she is a great paying customer but I am never looking up from the ground whenever we go back to work at this property!!! Lupe, my crew leader is so scared to come back there after we game his crap for months about his new "girlfriend". Be afraid, VERY afraid!!!

[sssupercar]

I agree that customers can be a real pain - the key is dropping those 3 customers that cause 80% of your grief.

[scagmower]

wow! yeah sounds like hes got some work lined up though ahahha...

[scottgalat]

I really do. Lupe needs to learn that some customers just require a little more "TLC" than others.

[DLAWNS]

Definitely not the most outrageous customer, but a funny one nonetheless. I was cutting a lawn in a senior community and a lady stopped and asked me to trim one shrub in her front yard. It is not a customer I have done work for before and I really didn't have time to do it. But it would only take a few minutes and it was like two houses down so I told her $10. I have a soft spot for old people. Either way, she screams $10-your insane! Your crazy! Than she peels out while stills screaming at me. Please no one critique the $10 price. I am not a lowballer, it was a two minute job.

[supercuts]

i worked at a police dept for some time, one of my favorite calls was "please i need help, my husband is going to beat up my boyfriend"....gotta love it, he found out and was going to take care of it

[FourTrees]

Worked with an uncle while still in high school and we built an 8ft privacy fence for him on a large property, (nice Iranian gentleman). Came time for payment and uncle went into his house gave him the bill, customer says just a minute and disappears. Soon there is the sound of an power screwdriver coming from some were upstairs. Then the sound comes from another place in the house. This goes on for a bit then customer finally come back and pays entire bill in cash.

Another a guy I currently have, not sure why I take him back every year; but I do. I tell myself I won't again this year, but we will see. Anyway he comes from a wealthy family that has ...............a massive, massive company in the region.....................(don't wanna give away personal client info).........Well his job in the family business was Operations Manager, and from other sources I have learned a real hard guy to please. Well he is nearly blind now and runs his yard as if it is a billion dollar company. Stands out there watching me as if he can see what I am really doing. Well my fault for putting up with it ...........

[droptine]

I had did one tree triming job for home in the subburbs that had livestock. The lady of the house would creep up on me well I worked, till I had to have her english speaking son tell her not too. The dad and son did 20% of the work. I told them over and over they did not have to help. The son knew but his dad wanted to help.

I had a bush triming job for a condo/golf corse. One guy would pay me a extra $5 a day to stop by his condo and take about 2cm off the top of his bushes. The golf corse was who was paying me over all.

& my last but not supper weird story is, I have this one home that I take care of year around. THe wife will all ways call or text me drunk most often at night to tell me that I do a good job. or that I need to add something to my work list for the week. & both the wife and husband get me to do work with out telling the other one. He pays for his work he gets done, she pays for hers. So I have no clue what i may be asked to do wheh I get there.

[FairGreen Inc.]

That's a crazy story. It's sad to lose a customer that seemed like a very giving person.

Very sad story. Some people just can't live without their "other half"...

[UltimateLandscapes]

Thats funny, some people are not made for each other!

[PORTER 05]

oh man i have a bunch...

one that i really like....i had 2 guys there + myself , this was last summer , we where removing dirt and rocks and making this big area level for my hardscape guy to come in and build a patio. So the owner of the house a woman she watches us all day long and i mean watches us staring. We take a lunch brake next to the dump truck and no joke she comes over and stands about 5 feet from us, we are all sitting there eating our lunch and talking, i get up and ask her if anything was wrong and if she needed anything, she doesnt say a word and just nodds "no" we sit there for another 15 mins , and she stands right there watching us, very f-ed up thing. I never wnet back there again. Best part of the story is my brother calls me up about one month ago and tells me to look at the police notes in the newspaper. I pick it up and look, sure enough i read a report about this lady same name same adress getting pulled over on her own road at 11 AM for DWI and gets aressted.

[PORTER 05]

i just had a customer also ask me if my lawn crew could pick up the dog sh*t every week while we are there mowing, i said no i dont think so sorry.

[beegreenlandcare]

These are all really wierd stories. I've been in the biz for quite some time now and have had many wierd/strange clients. Unfortunatley most of them just concern being a PITA and the games they play to try & get me to give them a discount. Had long time client tell me last year how he had such abad allergic reaction to my fertilizer that he had to go to the hospital. I sprayed and fertilized during this particular app. and if anything I would think he had a reaction to the spray but, no. Now we've sprayed fert. his lawn for several years but now all of asudden he gets an reaction:dizzy: Same spray=same fert. WTF????

[Branch manager]

:waving: I'd like to just mention that anyone can become allergic to something they never had trouble with before. This is especially true with chemical agents. I myself developed a 'dermal sensitivity' to glyphosate (R.Up) due to dribbling small amounts of the concentrate on my fingers( even thru latex gloves). Now, if I come in contact with even the diluted RTU, my fingertips go numb for awhile. We did treework for a client last year whose wife had hyper-sensitivity to just about everything. She would rarely leave their VERY nice home; and if she walked property with us, wore a surgical mask, and we kept a respectable distance, as we had on pit and cologne, etc., on. Literally a prisoner in her home. So, before you rage, stop and consider the back-story. Have a good one, and work safe.:drinkup::usflag:

[beegreenlandcare]

Yes, I'm sure your correct. I just found it wierd. The guy only gets 2 apps all year. A crabgrass/fert. in Spring and a spray(broadleaf) and granular fert. in Fall. He has very little exposure to the product. I suspect that he was out in his yard long before the R.E.I. expired sweeping granules of fert. from someplace he didn't like. He's a quere duck. I've seen him w/ a little wisk broom dusting off the window sills on the outside of the house to remove grass clippings. The same for the holding tank cover and he has one of those transformer boxes behind his house. We always blow grass clippings from these b/f we leave but apparently not good ENOUGH:dizzy:
Like I said, I'm sure your correct. A person can be "sensitive" to anything and this dude has become a "high risk" client. Good thing I was only doing what he ordered on his contract-following orders.....:rolleyes:

[GreenGuysNC]

i just had a customer also ask me if my lawn crew could pick up the dog sh*t every week while we are there mowing, i said no i dont think so sorry.

O man I have been there multiple times.. I dropped one customer because she first asked me to pick up all the dog crap then ever other time I would come "Thats not how you blow off a driveway" or "Thats not the right direction to trim the side of my driveway" ?? I didnt even know what that one meant... Anyways she even didn't recognize me one time when I came and yelled at me from her 2nd story window to stop and get off her property. This while I was picking up the dog crap out of her front yard that she told me she wanted done.. Well that was it and I no longer work for her... She had a cool dog though.. o well

[GrassesGuy]

I did a job for this old man I'll never forget. This guy calls me in like July to come mow his grass. First thing I think is this guy probably screwed someone before calling me, since it was so late in the year. Any way I decided to go check it out as it was on the way home. I roll up to this house and the grass is like f***ing three foot tall. I have no idea how this guy got away without having the lawn mowed by the city. I go up to the door and the inside smells like piss which almost made me puke. This old man comes to the door probably 90 years old and hunch backed with snot running from his nose. He said his name and what his address was, like he was some little kid who was taught to say it if he ever got lost. Just weird. I told the guy it was going to be $150 to get the jungle under control. He's like OK. I'm like weed eating this land like if Lewis and Clark just crossed the Missouri. I get done and the guy comes out grunting and snot running from his nose walking around checking it out. He says get over their better, so I zip it a little more, then he's like over their and I do it some more. He's like OK looks good and pays me cash and says I'll call you next year just smiling at his weed whacked yard like it was the best lawn in the neighborhood. To this day this guy is listed as the Old man on Elm st in my books.

[droptine]

if the lawn was not two huge, does not sound like a bad deal for you. but I hate Old people stink

[PJH Landscaping]

I had a guy drop me last week because I did not move his extremely large trampoline and mow unerneath it and because I did not move all of his lawn furniture. Ha! When he called me to tell me he was going to drop me he kept making up things that I did or didnt do. Oh well, I called him and tried to tell him we do not move lawn furniture and large toys from the lawn but he didnt care. Just thought that was a pretty dumb reason to drop me. Must have lost his job or something......

[lawnjocky]

The most outrageous customer for me was while plowing snow. This was a long time ago before I had a cell phone. I was done plowing all my regulars and was on my last one timer. While plowing this guys drive he comes out and says I have a phone call. The office knew where I was. I walk up to the door and the odor stops me in my tracks. The place doesn't just smell bad, it's the kind of stink that slaps you in the face and punches you in the gut. I reeaally don't want to go in there and I start making excuses not to. He will have none of it and talks me into taking the phone call. Once inside I find out what the smell is from. The guy and his wife are living with a half a dozen dogs of all shapes and sizes. He points me to the phone which is across the room. The floor is covered with dog s##t. And from looking around the rest of the house was to. Now, not only did I have to make my way across the room with tears in my eye's from the smell, he only had one lamp on for light. When I'm mowing a lawn and I step in something soft and squishy there's always a small hope in the back of my mind that it's not what I think it is. There was no such hope on this deal.

I answered the phone, got paid for plowing, and never ever went back again.

That was also the last time anyone called me at a customer's house.

[W.L.M.]

I was doing cleanups at a HOA and i started working at 7:30 got about 4 or 5 units done get to this one at 9:45 and I shut the bp blower off and was doing some raking and heard alot of yelling coming from inside the house so I fire the bp up a gain and proceed and am done with the unit and moving to the next when I hear someone screaming behind me. This women is ranting and raving and asks " how do I dare start at this ungodly hour of the morning"? At 10 am, I bit my tongue and told her I was sorry but I had permission to start as early as 7. When I what I really wanted to tell her is to get off her lazy ass at a reasonable hour and me working wouldn't be an issue. And no she does not work 3rd shift or anything like that she is just a lazy crazy ****.

[americanlawn]

Had one yesterday. She said the backyard was not treated. (No sh$t...read on)

Problem was ---- she only signed up for the front & sides to be treated during the past 2 years cuz they were trying to re-landscape the b/y and establish grass.

I drove 30 miles each way (60 miles total) to her house in north Ames, IA and treated her backyard for $6.00 plus tax. God - I hope she realized that we were not supposed to go in the back in the first place. I also hope she understands that we lost money for "her mistake". I left her the six dollar bill and told her we would now include her backyard.

All too often customers forget that $30,000 trucks, equipment, fuel, products, expertise, and tech salaries costs money. :hammerhead:

[Mike's LawnCare Landscape]

lol ok I did not know this was a post your bad day !! But I like it . I will have to read it all over agian .

[americanlawn]

Had a customer call in last Thursday. He was concerned that his next app was not applied yet. (last spray date was only 4 weeks ago cuz he signed up late this spring).

That same evening (Thursday), we called him ahead --not sure why, ""cuz he has no locked gates or dogs outside"", but he "requires" a call the day before. Anyway, he says OKAY -- "come out on Friday". Friday morning I'm just 2 stops away from this guy's lawn, and he calls our office. He said, "Don't come out today, cuz I'm gunna mow".

So we pull it out of our schedule and asked if Monday was okay. He said "yes".

Then he called on Sunday and said he wants to cancel service because he is not happy with our company's service.

Friends -- we're still trying to figure this one out. BTW this guy is a cop. Yet we have dozens of law enforcement customers who are all good folks. I'm figuring there were other circumstances involved that we do not know about.

Cancelling a service that calls ahead, going out of their route to service them several times for one app (special trip, gas, & time), and we get this 8-ball.

I can't figure this one out. Can you? rscvp, thanks

[a plus bob]

Planted a shrub for a lady yesterday (she picked the spot) when I got done she didn't like it I told her it looked fine.So we move it over to a spot she picked again.It was off centered need to move it over!Long story short it when back in original spot!Then she wanted landscape stone around it.So I put down stone she stands back and says it needs mulch :dizzy: we shovel up stone put down mulch you guessed it back to stone! I told her I wasn't going to shovel up the mulch and put stone over it.When I gave her the bill she hit the roof about price I told her it would have been cheaper to only do it once :)

[JohnnyRocker]

I had a guy drop me last week because I did not move his extremely large trampoline and mow unerneath it and because I did not move all of his lawn furniture. Ha! When he called me to tell me he was going to drop me he kept making up things that I did or didnt do. Oh well, I called him and tried to tell him we do not move lawn furniture and large toys from the lawn but he didnt care. Just thought that was a pretty dumb reason to drop me. Must have lost his job or something......
Typical lazy, spoiled teen. Ahh, the 21st century!

[Stillwater]

I had a guy drop me last week because I did not move his extremely large trampoline and mow unerneath it and because I did not move all of his lawn furniture. Ha! When he called me to tell me he was going to drop me he kept making up things that I did or didnt do. Oh well, I called him and tried to tell him we do not move lawn furniture and large toys from the lawn but he didnt care. Just thought that was a pretty dumb reason to drop me. Must have lost his job or something......


No it is not a dumb reason to fire you, seriously who in the hell would want a lawn care company that has a policy that states "we do not move lawn furniture" what do you do mow around toys? mow around a lawn chair? do you have any idea how ******ed this looks from the outside looking in?

[americanlawn]

His dog got sick & his vet requested a label of the products we applied.

Here's the deal:

1) we applied a granular winterizer fert only (no pesticides)

2) backyard (where the dog is) was NOT treated cuz the gate was locked.

So we told the customer to look on his front door for the invoice. (invoice noted that we could not gain entry to the backyard cuz it was locked, and we would soon call ahead to finish the backyard).

He called back apologizing, cuz all he saw was our lawn flag. BTW I tailgate with this guy at HAWKEYE games & he has been a long time friend.

[Branch manager]

Planted a shrub for a lady yesterday (she picked the spot) when I got done she didn't like it I told her it looked fine.So we move it over to a spot she picked again.It was off centered need to move it over!Long story short it when back in original spot!Then she wanted landscape stone around it.So I put down stone she stands back and says it needs mulch :dizzy: we shovel up stone put down mulch you guessed it back to stone! I told her I wasn't going to shovel up the mulch and put stone over it.When I gave her the bill she hit the roof about price I told her it would have been cheaper to only do it once :)

Lots of people are their own worst enemies, and often outsmart themselves. Last week I had a client that I would admit isn't my favorite, walk me around the yard for 15 minutes, pointing at shrubs I didn't need to bother with. Would've taken about same time to touch them up....These people have more money than God, and are tighter than bark on a tree. Most people with money have it because they rarely let any of it go.:laugh::drinkup:

[jeffslawnservice]

Typical lazy, spoiled teen. Ahh, the 21st century!

Your kidding right? Because I have never seen an LCO move any lawn fixtures or play equipment. I worked for an LCO last summer (A full-time LCO not some scrub low-baller) and he would tell me not to waste time moving lawn fixtures.

[Stillwater]

Your kidding right? Because I have never seen an LCO move any lawn fixtures or play equipment. I worked for an LCO last summer (A full-time LCO not some scrub low-baller) and he would tell me not to waste time moving lawn fixtures.

A tramp could be considered a "fixture" not moved but trimed around, but various toys and lawn chairs are not fixtures.

That said why do you feel it is ok to not move small objects like balls bats squirt guns and the like?

[jeffslawnservice]

A tramp could be considered a "fixture" not moved but trimed around, but various toys and lawn chairs are not fixtures.

That said why do you feel it is ok to not move small objects like balls bats squirt guns and the like?

No I'm not argueing that. I guess I worded my post wrong. I do not move large fixtures such as trampolines and play houses but, will move smaller objects such as toys and lawn chairs. I was just saying that I am a "21st Century teen" also and I personally don't think I am lazy and the member who he was refering to from what I have heared does good quality work. I guess I worded my post wrong. Sorry if anything is spelled wrong I can't use the spell check for some reason.

[RHooper]

Hey guys,
I've got a story to tell you, and, it is a true story, that actually happened to me a couple of years ago. I took on a new customer(I'll call him Smith) no offense to any Smiths ! He had seen my work elsewhere, and also knew I had a Walker Mower, so he hired me, but refused to sign a contract. He told me without a contract, he could fire me any time he wanted. Red flags flew for me right then, so I told him thanks, but no thanks, and headed for the truck. He stopped me, and agreed to signing my contract. After I had cut his lawn a few times with my Walker, he told me I could not use my Walker any more, because he said it was sucking up his topsoil, along with the grass clippings. The next week, I showed up and cut his lawn with my Toro Z Master, with the mulching kit installed. I did not see him while on the property. The following week, as I was firing up the Z on my landscaper truck, and getting ready to mow his yard, he ran out the front door, suffering from some kind of demonic possession or something, and went ballistic on me for using the Z, and not bagging. He then demanded that I cut his large yard with a self propelled push mower and bag all of it. I told him I would be glad to do so, but that his monthly fee would increase accordingly. Needless to say, he fired me again. His wife called me later that day, to find out why her yard was not cut that day. I explained the situation to her, and she said she would be in touch. The very next day, he calls me over to his house, signs a new contract for more money, and I'm doing the Walker Mower thing again. He hasn't said much to me at all, except hello, goodbye, and the lawn looks great. GO FIGURE ! Oh, by the way, he gave me a $ 50.00 Christmas Bonus last year, and the check was signed by his wife ! He makes me smile !

Rick :cool2:

[americanlawn]

Hi Rick -- that was a good one. Walker mowers have an awesome cut. Why would anybody want "narrow mowing pattern" on a large lawn in the first place? :confused: To me it looks unprofessional. Go figure. At least his wife has common sense. :laugh:

[DLAWNS]

Hey guys,
I've got a story to tell you, and, it is a true story, that actually happened to me a couple of years ago. I took on a new customer(I'll call him Smith) no offense to any Smiths ! He had seen my work elsewhere, and also knew I had a Walker Mower, so he hired me, but refused to sign a contract. He told me without a contract, he could fire me any time he wanted. Red flags flew for me right then, so I told him thanks, but no thanks, and headed for the truck. He stopped me, and agreed to signing my contract. After I had cut his lawn a few times with my Walker, he told me I could not use my Walker any more, because he said it was sucking up his topsoil, along with the grass clippings. The next week, I showed up and cut his lawn with my Toro Z Master, with the mulching kit installed. I did not see him while on the property. The following week, as I was firing up the Z on my landscaper truck, and getting ready to mow his yard, he ran out the front door, suffering from some kind of demonic possession or something, and went ballistic on me for using the Z, and not bagging. He then demanded that I cut his large yard with a self propelled push mower and bag all of it. I told him I would be glad to do so, but that his monthly fee would increase accordingly. Needless to say, he fired me again. His wife called me later that day, to find out why her yard was not cut that day. I explained the situation to her, and she said she would be in touch. The very next day, he calls me over to his house, signs a new contract for more money, and I'm doing the Walker Mower thing again. He hasn't said much to me at all, except hello, goodbye, and the lawn looks great. GO FIGURE ! Oh, by the way, he gave me a $ 50.00 Christmas Bonus last year, and the check was signed by his wife ! He makes me smile !

Rick :cool2:

That's a great customer story!

[jasonnau]

Here's my story. I pick up a new customer who wants me to cut his girlfriend's home ($500,00 home, inground pool, ect..) She is definitely his trophy girlfriend - boob job and all. I bid it high, and would send him the bill at the furniture store he owned. He'd pay it. This went on for most of the summer. This woman would be at home in the pool almost every time we were there. Most of the times I talked to her she was either in a bikini or wearing a loose shirt with no bra. Lots of times I was there there would be different guys hanging out in the pool area with her. She would introduce them as her friends, yada yada yada. Well one day in late summer, the bill was getting a few weeks past due and I gave him a call. He said, well, I'll pay this bill, but from now on it's up to her. He paused for a moment, then said "Between you me and the lampost I caught her with a black guy". No offense to anyone if you're black, but, that's how it was stated to me. Funny thing is, I'd been seing the black guy for a couple of months, and another older white guy too. Sometimes it would be her, the black guy and the older white guy hanging out in the pool. So I talked to her, she said it was fine. Then when it came to the next invoice, she said that he would be paying the bill again. It flipped again the next month. Finally, it got so hard to figure out who was paying the bill that I just didn't bother getting in touch with her the next spring. I laughed like crazy when he told me he caught her with a black guy though, because I saw that same guy all through the season.

[jasonnau]

I've got one more too. It's quick though. Not a pain in the ass customer, but a little bit funny. I have an older customer who had a boulder in the front of the home that had "Walter & Betty" engraved on it. The bill is sent to Walter and Jody. One day, Jody asks me to please move the rock to the back under the deck. So, we did that. About two months later, the Walter & Betty Rock pops back out front all by itself, then the next week it's back under the deck. Hmmm, I think Betty must have stopped by for a quickie or something.

[americanlawn]

A few years ago, we filed small claims on a gal who owed for 2 lawn applications. The app's were done about 2 months apart, and each app was about $60. (keep in mind that we never lose in small claims)

The wife & I appeared in court, and so did the customer. We showed invoices, etc to the judge -- then he asked, "Lady, why didn't you pay these bills?" She replied, "I don't live at this house".

I told the judge that I was there on both occasions, and I even talked to her each time. But since I couldn't prove it, the judge dismissed the case, and we got screwed.

So all they have to say is they don't live there. :confused:

NOTE: the home was owned by her boyfriend, but the account was under her name.

Also, we schedule our small claims during the winter when we're not so busy.

[Tom3982s]

These have to be 2 of the craziest stories I have ever heard.

[JCLawn and more]

In Indiana I once had a client who was my high school football coach, nicest guy in the world always a 200 bonus at Christmas time, well anyways from March 1st till Sept. 31st every year I was to cut his grass on MONDAY, WEDENSDAY, and FRIDAY, at $80 a cut!!! And trim the shrubs everyweek. He would stand on his Front/Back porch the ENTIRE hour I was there, walk around the entire lawn, check all my edge lines, eyeball my stripes, check the beds and shrubs THEN write me a check for the $80 plus $10 tip EVERY WEEK! Sadly one day a couple weeks after his wife died I pull up to his lawn and there are cops everywhere he had commited suicide at the age of 85 because he could not bear being without his wife. Three weeks later I get a check from his lawyer covering the amount for every cut every week for the rest of the year PLUS my Christmas Bonus. I still have that check to this day.

wow! That's incredible. A real pain in the butt but way worth it. He must of really liked you.

[MikeTA95]

Oh man I've had a couple Crazies.

The first guy is probably one of my best customers, but he does do some strange things. One time, he has us move a few small shrubs into his backyard, which he considers his "sanctuary." Its strange because he will pay us to mow the front lawn, and do all the work out front of his house, which used to be a mess, but he does the backyard entirely himself and keeps it very neat and orderly. He never lets us back there, but I guess this one time was special. He told us to plant the shrubs in the back corner of the yard, so we begin digging. Then he tells us "that is where I buried a few of my past dogs, so if you feel anything under the ground just move over a little bit." Well, of course after that we were nervous about digging up old pet remains, but fortunately we were able to avoid the dead dogs.

I have another person who is next door to one of my customers. He is always outside waiting for a reason to complain. He is all about his property line, the funny thing is how his property line changes. There are some bushes right on the property line and He will get mad if we mow too far past them, even though I am sure he is wrong. Anyway, the one day he was on his driveway washing his car, so we stopped where he always tells us to just to avoid conflict. He then had the nerve to complain we DIDN'T do it. Some people are impossible to please... not that I should even have to please this guy. He also gets mad when I use a weed whacker to cut a constantly wet area of my customers lawn. It's not even his property!

[TNT Lawn Maintenance]

I got a good one.

Last summer i was doing a complete landscape overhual on one of my higher end houses. I mean everything, new plants, edging, fabric, even put in a completely new sod lawn. The funny thing is after spending over $10,000 on all this new stuff we pull up the day we were supposed to put in the new fabric then go and pick out the new rock with the lady and shes in the middle of her driveway where we had piled the old rock from around her house. She was sorting through the rock one by one and making a new pile. when i asked her what she was doing she said "Im cleaning all the junk out of these rocks because i figured we could recycle the rock instead of getting new sutff" She should have thought about that before we tore up the perfectly good lawn and perfectly good edging.

[Will P.C.]

No it is not a dumb reason to fire you, seriously who in the hell would want a lawn care company that has a policy that states "we do not move lawn furniture" what do you do mow around toys? mow around a lawn chair? do you have any idea how ******ed this looks from the outside looking in?

Damn, if I was paying someone to cut my grass, and they couldn't take 5 minutes and move the trampo, mow, then move it back, I would never call them again.

This is one of the reasons people hire pros, because the average homeowner is going to have 2 feet of weeds and grass under his trampo.

[gasracer]

I have a lady next door to a house that I mow that seems to want to have a fit if I mow inches into her yard. The homeowner said she has hated him since he moved there. One day I was moving with a different mower than I normally do and I had to move her bricks over a few inches. She comes running out of the house stating I was was tired of this family cutting across her yard and I as was trespassing passed the rocks.She went on to tell me everything the homeowner had done wrong to her and I seem to be the person she vented about it too. I finally stopped her said"I didn't do it and none of this stuff was my fault,I am just here to mow the lawn"."What ever issues you have with the homeowner you need to take them up with him"."If you want to call the cops for me trespassing then I will have you arrested for harassment."

3 months later I was mowing this same yard and I saw the lady come out of the house and head toward me.I shut the mower down and asked her if she was coming to yell at me again? He said "No,She wanted to see if I would mow her lawn while I was there."My first thought was to say NO WAY. I asked if she was going call the cops when I stepped into her yard?
I was shocked to hear her say that she was sorry for yelling at me for the issues with the homeowner and she knew they were not my fault. I mowed her yard and she has been ok since but I am still careful not to cross her line if I am only doing the homeowners yard. She has even moved the bricks out of the way.
The homeowner was shocked when I told him what she had said because I had told him about her yelling at me at the first time. Maybe her meds have started working.

[jonthepain]

Maybe her meds have started working.

rofl it was worth reading the whole story just for that line

[dboyd351]

I am a "21st Century teen" Sorry if anything is spelled wrong I can't use the spell check for some reason.

Nuff said! Guess learning to spell without spell check is out of the question.:laugh:

[mmcda18]

I've had two situations happen while cutting in Louisiana.

- First, I got to a friends house around 9 to cut (as a favor). I finish in about 15 minutes and leave. About 4 hours later i get a phone call from my friend who says his neighbor is complaining because i broke his car door window. I get the neighbor on the phone and ask to tell me the story. Guy starts telling me how he can see a hole in the wooden fence where my weed-eater broke through the fence and into his window. Unbelievable i know but i entertain him longer, he says that he knows it happened anywhere from 2am - 8am because he and his friends were on the roof drinking beers watching the meteor shower. My response was very simple. I guess a fragment from the meteor shower hit your car cause i wasn't there till 9. He hung up and i never heard from him again.

- Second situation, i was with my FORMER business partner and we pull up to a yard and notice that the neighbors back window on their tahoe is shattered. We decide to go ahead and cut, finish, and leave. Few hours later the owner calls and puts the neighbor on the phone. The neighbors response and i quote: "hey my neighbor saw you shatter the window to my truck, that makes you at fault. We already got it fixed and the bill was going to be $3,000 but we negotiated them down to $750. So do you want to pay by cash or check." My response was did you file a police report? To which the guy said of course. I told him that East Baton Rouge Parish Police Department would contact me if indeed he had filed a report and i would have my lawyer handle it after that. He called me once a week begging me to drop off cash or check for at least two months until i finally told him if he called again i would file a report on him for harassment.

You have to love catching people in lies.

[Mike's Lawn Care]

What the heck?!? :hammerhead:

I think I have a topper, though:

A customer I used to have - dropped her last year - was about the wierdest person I have ever worked for, and I get some weird customers.

So she had the sewer line in her front yard dug up - line replaced, etc. Once they filled up the hole in the yard, they also had to replace a section of the sidewalk and street (concrete).

So they washed their tools off in her hose, left a little bit of cement dust behind/grey colored mud in a few spots. Not a big deal, right?

When I come to mow she is all worked up - saying that the guys had contaminated her lawn blah blah blah. So she offers to pay me $30 (!) to dig out the cement (dust) from her front lawn. :laugh:

So I go to get out my shovel, thinking that I would just throw the stuff in the bed of my truck - she runs out of the house with a bunch of old plastic butter tubs - wants me to put the dirt in that. lol. Says that she called St. Louis Co. about disposing toxic waste (?!) and that she thinks it needs to be in sealed containers.

SO. . . I dig the crud out of her lawn, fill about four of those little butter tubs with "grey" colored dirt. She handles the whole thing like it's radioactive - gloves - carries the stuff out in front of her etc. Puts it in her garage so that she can dispose of it during the next "toxic waste" pickup. I tried really hard to keep a straight face - convince her it wasn't that big of a deal - "No, no, this is really bad stuff, cement dust". lol :laugh:

She paid the $30, but it wasn't too long after that that I dropped her. Wonder why. :dizzy:
That Is To Good

[Landscaping By Gregory]

Well these are all such great stories. I have had my sharee , well more than my share of goofs and nuts. This one lady that I was cutting.Did like to drink a little to much. She mainly paid on time. One time She came to the door smashed to the max. She had her check book in one hand and a bottle of jack half gone in the other. So she says I can not stop drinking at all , you want a drink. Yea rite. I said Nope not now it is 9 am. and I have so much to due. Well she said. Should i save you some . Hubby is gone out of town for some time . He doesn't't like me any more. I though that smashed I would not either.............. So just the check please are you sure you will not have one . I told her once I start there is no telling where it would end........... She points to her pool ............... and then tells she wants to swim , will i watch her ???? Not me i said got too run..............Another one lived in an up scale area. He would think of ways to cheat out the lawn guy but pay the irrigation guy way more. I took him to look at plants one day and he had the nerve too ask for my discount. Dropped his azz quick. The drunk lady and her hubby split up and she is out there some where .I do not care where...

[ndols2]

I do some HUD properties, and a crusty old neighbor comes over and starts yelling at me " I sick and tired of you assholes throwing **** at my house. where is your flappy thing? its against the law for you to mow with out it!" I tell him that nothing would be thrown into him yard because of the 4 foot wall separating the to yards (a 4 foot tall block wall) and tell him that it is a older mower, and I don't have a deflector shield for it. he starts in again " who do you work for? I'm calling your boss!" I tell him I work for the HUD contractor. " I'm gonna call the cops, you are going to jail" so I say, that's fine. and finish up with the yard. I get tired of waiting, get in my truck and pull out. "where the hell are you going?" I yell out the window " I'll be back in two weeks" smile and wave! been doing the house for almost a year and have not seen him since.

[ndols2]

Well these are all such great stories. I have had my sharee , well more than my share of goofs and nuts. This one lady that I was cutting.Did like to drink a little to much. She mainly paid on time. One time She came to the door smashed to the max. She had her check book in one hand and a bottle of jack half gone in the other. So she says I can not stop drinking at all , you want a drink. Yea rite. I said Nope not now it is 9 am. and I have so much to due. Well she said. Should i save you some . Hubby is gone out of town for some time . He doesn't't like me any more. I though that smashed I would not either.............. So just the check please are you sure you will not have one . I told her once I start there is no telling where it would end........... She points to her pool ............... and then tells she wants to swim , will i watch her ???? Not me i said got too run..............Another one lived in an up scale area. He would think of ways to cheat out the lawn guy but pay the irrigation guy way more. I took him to look at plants one day and he had the nerve too ask for my discount. Dropped his azz quick. The drunk lady and her hubby split up and she is out there some where .I do not care where...

sounds like a bad porn plot, LOL

[ndols2]

We recently did snow removal on a driveway over 3 weeks ago. It was a "duplex". Yesterday we got a complaint. He said we shattered his basketball hoop while removing snow. Now he wants a brand new basketball set-up . Problem is .... we did the 'other' driveway (NOT his). Then there's the "why wait over 3 weeks???

I guess the economy is hitting all of us, but why why lie/cheat/steal?

I had a customer for plowing. I was a sub, and every time I got there(3pm or 3am) they would open the garage door so I could drag out from inside. so my boss gets a call saying I hit the garage door. He never looked, just said ok and paid for a new door. a month later he told me about it, and I tell him that they always open the door and there is NO WAY I hit it. "did you look at it?" I ask " well, No. I guess I should have"