Customer - barrow mower

[BillyRgn]

OK so i am out in front of my house changing a light on my dump truck, and a car pulls up, and the guy probably about 28 years old asks, "Do you do landscaping ??? "so i reply yes (not to mention there was 3 trucks and a trailer full of mowers with landscaping written all over it in the street), and he says he just moved in a couple houses up from mine and has not purchased a mower yet and how much would i charge to cut his grass? so i tell him thirty bucks. he then kinda mumbles thirty bucks, and then says, "Can i barrow one of your mowers for a half hour, forty five minutes? i look at him, totally surprised and say NO !! he then had a look on his face, wondering why so i then say, i don't let anyone barrow my mowers, they are ten grand a piece. he then replies, O there that much, well i guess it was worth a try and then drove away. has anyone ever had this happen to them, i am not talking about a close friend or family member asking a favor, i have never seen or talked to this guy in my life. the cheap bast**d would not pay me thirty bucks to cut is lawn, but i am supposed to let him borrow my machine that i use to put food in my mouth. i am just having trouble getting over this, i am just totally amazed as to how cheap and can't believe that someone would ask me that. whats he going to do,?? burn all my gas up, and probably ruin the blades or something, and then hand it back to me and maybe say thank you?? i mean first he asks for a price, and then asks to borrow the mower. i mean it might have made a little more sense, if he asked to borrow the mower first and i said no, and then asking for a price. but even still i can't believe it, my business is landscaping, i am not a rental company, but even still, this guy was looking free-be, so i am guessing he probably would not even pay to rent a mower.

[DaughtryLC]

You should have said "How about I cut it and give you $30 bucks"

[cgaengineer]

The nerve of some people!

[Supper Grassy]

This would anger me but if you wanted to be a Bbuster you could have said
sure you can borrow it
it will be 25/hr
+30 for blades
+30 for gas
+30 for wear
so for ~105 you can use it, how does that sound?

[k911lowe]

just part of the job.we come into contact with a lot of people and a large percentage will be strange and want and do the strangest things.this guy probably does this all the time and if he wasn't successful some of the times,he wouldn't do it.

[zemzabob]

Now thats some crazy stuff I have never seen anything like that before.

[cgaengineer]

Maybe you should have just stopped what you were doing and said sure, no problem and started unloading!

[CLARK LAWN]

i had some old lady that i had for a few years ask me about trimming her shrubs, i gave her a price she said she couldnt afford it. well a couple days later she calls and asked if she could barrow my hedge trimmers when i told her no she told me that she would no longer need my service because i wouldnt let her use me equipment.

[elite lawns]

that's a first

[lawnspecialties]

I'm really enjoying reading this thread.

But I'm not surprised at some people's redicuolous requests these days. :hammerhead:

[marthanmike1959]

OK so i am out in front of my house changing a light on my dump truck, and a car pulls up, and the guy probably about 28 years old asks, "Do you do landscaping ??? "so i reply yes (not to mention there was 3 trucks and a trailer full of mowers with landscaping written all over it in the street), and he says he just moved in a couple houses up from mine and has not purchased a mower yet and how much would i charge to cut his grass? so i tell him thirty bucks. he then kinda mumbles thirty bucks, and then says, "Can i barrow one of your mowers for a half hour, forty five minutes? i look at him, totally surprised and say NO !! he then had a look on his face, wondering why so i then say, i don't let anyone barrow my mowers, they are ten grand a piece. he then replies, O there that much, well i guess it was worth a try and then drove away. has anyone ever had this happen to them, i am not talking about a close friend or family member asking a favor, i have never seen or talked to this guy in my life. the cheap bast**d would not pay me thirty bucks to cut is lawn, but i am supposed to let him borrow my machine that i use to put food in my mouth. i am just having trouble getting over this, i am just totally amazed as to how cheap and can't believe that someone would ask me that. whats he going to do,?? burn all my gas up, and probably ruin the blades or something, and then hand it back to me and maybe say thank you?? i mean first he asks for a price, and then asks to borrow the mower. i mean it might have made a little more sense, if he asked to borrow the mower first and i said no, and then asking for a price. but even still i can't believe it, my business is landscaping, i am not a rental company, but even still, this guy was looking free-be, so i am guessing he probably would not even pay to rent a mower.
Sounds like a true bleeding heart liberal to me.In his mind i'm sure he thought you owed it to him lol

[White Gardens]

I definitivly wouldn't let anyone borrow a 10,000 dollar mower. I have neighbors that borrow some of my smaller stuff, but when it comes to the big machines I tell them to give me 5-10 dolllars in gas and I would do it for them. I like my neighbors so it's not a big deal.

As for a complete stranger, no way in H---.

[Digdug]

Thats definetly a cheap thing to ask. I would have said ya no problem borrow my mower and i'll borrow your wife.

[cej93]

Thats definetly a cheap thing to ask. I would have said ya no problem borrow my mower and i'll borrow your wife.

HA HA HA :) that is all. :usflag:

[topsites]

It never ceases to amaze me, either.

And it is worth a shot I suppose...
I had a couple of guys pull up beside me today in a car, asking if I wanted to buy a backpack blower.
Wow that sent a few thoughts racing, but I just said 'nah I'm all right.'
So definitely keeping one's cool pays off.

Then I've been tempted to ask them to let me borrow their wife before, too :p
But... Imagine if one said yes! :cry:
Or they pull a gun, and WHAT, why you!!!

[fastcat]

go take a crap on his front yard and charge him for ferting for him.

[RedMax Man]

Go ask him if you can take his ATV, bike, or boat for the weekend since its to expensive for you to afford one.

... And if he says no then get back at him and say, " Your a mean young man!"

[Evans Lawn Service]

i had somthing simular happen to me.I work construction (commercial) and one day i was at a new job at a body parts stamping plant and we was doing a new addition on the place. and all of a sudden i hear my backhoe (john deer 310 d) start up and i ran around the building and the plant manager was on it. i ask him what was he doing and is reply was "i was going to use it at my house just 3 miles down the road for about 2 hours" and i told him to get off or i will beat the living he!! out of him.you know he was mad i didnt let him use it

[Lawn Enforcer]

i had somthing simular happen to me.I work construction (commercial) and one day i was at a new job at a body parts stamping plant and we was doing a new addition on the place. and all of a sudden i hear my backhoe (john deer 310 d) start up and i ran around the building and the plant manager was on it. i ask him what was he doing and is reply was "i was going to use it at my house just 3 miles down the road for about 2 hours" and i told him to get off or i will beat the living he!! out of him.you know he was mad i didnt let him use it

Wow, I probably would've beat him, I would walk into his office and sit in his chair and use his computer and say, oh, I only wanted to use it to check lawnsite.com!

[Evans Lawn Service]

he was going to push some trees at his house. i called the plant owners and told them what he did and he was relocted to there other plant in georga. he came out before he left and said he was sorry.but i told him to go back inside and leave us alone. my guys wanted to beat him to death(most of my men have been in prison for major violations)lol

[RedMax Man]

he was going to push some trees at his house. i called the plant owners and told them what he did and he was relocted to there other plant in georga. he came out before he left and said he was sorry.but i told him to go back inside and leave us alone. my guys wanted to beat him to death(most of my men have been in prison for major violations)lol

I know what he did was outrageous but if he truly said he was sorry you couldn't say thanks?

[newz7151]

Thats definetly a cheap thing to ask. I would have said ya no problem borrow my mower and i'll borrow your wife.

You better make sure you seen his wife first, or he may be getting the better part of the deal.

[Evans Lawn Service]

no he calles me every name in the book, got in my face and tried to get me thrown off the site. i was profesional by not beating the he11 out of him he only come out side when i called his boss.he is lucky he did not get fired.now my friend if someone got on your mower as you was weedeating and fired it up what would you do? would you let him say "sorry" and let him walk off or call the cops?or beat the hell out of him.i will ask lawnsite members the same guestion

[fastcat]

i would have atleast got in his face and said some choice words. it would be real hard to keep from beatin the shiznit out of him, but maybe if i got in his face he would have given me a chance to open up a can of whoop a$$

[SuperDuty335]

I can't believe that guy got on your backhoe and was going to leave with it! That's stealing! I would have went off.
Anyway, as far as sharing goes I have a great neighbor across the street who has a few things I don't and I have some equipment he doesn't so we're always at each others house doing stuff. The last thing I did was move a load of pine logs with my skidsteer and haul them off. He came down and tilled some flower beds with his tractor. I just bought a trencher so I'm sure that will present itself.:usflag:

[QualityLawnCare4u]

I had a guy pull up at a job site few years back, asked if he could borrow my truck and trailor to move his daughter from Jacksonville, Fla back to Waycross. I was blowed away by him asking such a dumb question. Had a client from H*ll (posted on here about her many times) ask to borrow my hedge clippers because she was to cheap to pay me to do the job, and last but not least the lady last who asked me to mow her yard for free since I was already next door and got mad when I refused. Yeah, I got some real winners here!:laugh:

[DanaMac]

One of my guys was working on a sprinkler system for a landscaper that did the original install. while my guy was there, another sprinkler "company' showed up to do some extra work that the homeowner wanted. Other "company" asked my guy for some fittings that he did not carry. they were basic poly pipe fittings. My guy had plenty and told him no way.

[robtown]

I would have lowered the price to mow his lawn to $15 bucks and seen how many power slides I could do in the turns. or how fast I could go. oh and if he wanted it trimmed that would be an additional $15. I am sure it would need a fair amout of trimming.

[jrush]

I was mowing at a cust house and the neighbor came out with her 13ish year old daughter (to translate) they wanted the shrubs etc... trimmed around the house, I gave them a price and before the girl translated said, "wow, thats alot" (how the hell does she know what alot is?) she then told her mother the price and I did'nt need to speak the language to know get the hell outta here this is a waste of time. The girl then translates and asks since thier hedge trimmers are broke can they borrow mine?:hammerhead: I just broke out with a chuckle, shook my head and went back to work at the neighbors.
Also had this scraggaly lookin construction worker ask me if I do brush clearing, I said yes, but he lives way outta my area, he then asks me how much I would charge to rent him my SCAG to do the job!!!

[AndyTblc]

I've let one neighbor borrow my trimmer, another neighbor borrow my john deere tractor just to do stuff around the house, and my former partner borrow one of my push mowers, and another good friend borrow a push mower, but I will not and never will let people borrow my $500 blower, or my mower (I don't even let my dad run anything). I let my partner borrow my edger because he knew how to run it and I've seen him run it before, then I seen him doing somebody elses sidewalk for money, so I asked him where my share was, and he looked at me and asked why he should share. I'm like, "uhh, you didn't replace the gas, then blades cost money, and it's my equipment" that was the last time I let him borrow that. Hmm where should I start with people wanting to borrow my truck. Each year wayland has their spring clean up, where people throw their junk out on the street, and people driver around and pick threw stuff, and I was heading to florida the day before that started and the neighbor said to leave my dad the keys so them 2 could go drive around, so I locked the keys up in my safe. Last year, I when I first got the truck, I went to florida 2 days after I got it, my mom called me up and said my neighbors wanted to take it to the ice cream store and smear ice cream all over it and take a picture and send it to me, but she didn't let them. 1 other neighbor was working on an addition to his house and he came over and said he needed my truck, and he just expected me to hand him the keys and say have a nice afternoon. I don't think so. Then one other neighbor came over 3 days ago and asked if I could drive him up to home depot to get some wood because his wife had their suburban at a softball tournament, so I told him yes I will drive him up there since I had to go there anyway to pick something up, so he paid me some gas money for it. And I had no problem with that. And the neighbors wonder why I lock my shed up and take the only key with me when I go camping.

[Yuanding]

I've had similar. A guy next door to where I was hedge trimming at a regular client one week comes out and protests about the noise:
- "It's 6pm. Are you going to knock it off soon? 'cos we're waiting to have our evening meal and we want to enjoy it, but we can't with all that racket going on."
Not wanting to be uncivil I told him ten minutes more and I'd be done, which I was.
Next week, I'm mowing at the same customer, and this neighbour comes round again.
"Hey, er, have you got that hedgetrimmer with you?" Thinking he might want to sign me up, I nodded. "Oh, well, can I borrow it for half an hour, 'cos mine just died on me last week?"
Wishing he'd die as well I said, "Yes I have got the hedgetrimmer, but I never lend it out."
Best thing of all, he looked really hurt and shocked, as if he thought I was his buddy and found out I wasn't. I still see him from time to time, but he doesn't come out to play with me anymore.

[93Chevy]

A guy I know does excavating and takes exceptional care of his equipment...washing and waxing his excavators and skid steer on a regular basis. He left his skid steer at job one night and the homeowner asked to borrow it. He just stared at them; he was so taken aback that he didn't even know what to say.

P.S. I saw "barrow mower" and wondered if there was a new wheelbarrow/ZTR on the market.

[Itsgottobegreen]

This is how I see it. The only people I loan tools to are people who are willing to loan me tools back. Which basically means there are 4 people. My 3 best friends and old man. All of us have pickups, dump trucks, skid loaders and trailers. So there is very little we borrow. Usually skid loader attachments, backhoe, lawn mower, or cement mixer, etc.

[topsites]

Btw, a good answer is to simply inform them that the local rental stores DO rent these things.

I got a couple of good ones:

Guy comes up, says for me to stop running my equipment because a national Television station was there to do a story.
It was true, at least their van had just pulled up...
But, I said "I will be done in a few minutes" and I kept going. :p

Guy at the mulch yard (another customer) tells me in a question-like way "will you tell that guy on the loader to put x cubic yards in his truck"... I told him NO... He's like "Excuse me" in that huffy puffy way... I was like "help yourself"
Yup, all in the nerves.

Now both of those sound like they were just being nice...
Fact is they were being polite, but they were still 'telling' me what to do, how, and when.

It's not so much about what they say, but how they say it,
that assumption they can just run all over me, what gets me...

Other less take-charge approaches have better success.

[GreenNation]

I Let A Church Friend Borrow My Polesaw To Do Some Light Small Branch Trimming At His Home. After 2 Full Months I Went Over To His House To Get My Polesaw To Use On An Upcoming Job. He Told Me The Polesaw Had Been Stolen, And Ask Me How Much It Was To Replace It. I Told Him How Much It Cost And He Said O.k. To This Day After 6 Months He Has Never Mentioned My Polesaw, Offered To Replace It, Or In Anyway Offered To Pay Me For It? I Have Let It Go Only Because He Is My Sunday School Teacher, But This Is Really Unbelievable!

[Sammy]

A guy across the street from a job site, where I was working at, asked if I had some gas I was not useing. He wanted to mow his lawn but was out of gas. I told him I would fill his 21" pusher up for $2.00. He just looked at me kinda dumb and said, "But I don't have $2.00" ! ...... He never got the gas !

[David C.]

I have a father in law who-----has all the tools I could ever want to borrow----and he gave me the "help yourself" to um 20 years ago when I married his daughter

Tractors, trailers, trucks, air impact tools, hand tools, chain saws, and the list goes on-----why buy when you have a father in law like mine???!!!

[Lawn-Sharks]

I was cutting down a tree for a customer and one of her neighbors comes up to me after i was cutting and asked me if he could have some of the wood i cut for his fireplace i usually dont let no one have any material left over from any jobs but this time i said ok! i'll help you load it in your truck but have to haul it off, so he does and then comes back 20 min later and asked me if he could borrow my chain saw & your gas can? because his was broke and he wanted to cut the free wood i gave him into smaller pieces. I said would you like me to drive you to the hospital when your throu cutting your leg off and pay the bill too, he stood their in front of me with a confuse look on his face as if he didn't have a clue as to what i was getting at. So i then said NO! so that there was no confusion on his part.