Run in with another LCO today

[CS Lawns]

Got a call from a residential customer yesterday 1.5 acres with little trimming most flat land. Anyway I show up there today to look at as I was talking to the owner and another lawn company dont know the name or ever seen him around so I will refer to him as Jack Ball comes up steps in front of me and starts taking over like I wasnt there I know he knew I was also bidding by the name on my truck CS LAWNS which he parked next to. I came close to smacking him, The owner noticed this and told him he can wait until I was finished and then she would be happy to talk with him, of course I get a look from him like he wanted to kill me for some reason, like I am the one who interupted him or something. Anyway he goes back to his truck to wait the owner couldnt believe it I gave her my price she said it yours and there was no way in hell that guy was going to get it. She also gave me her mothers place and daughters COOL 3 in one shot! told me to just invoice all together by the month. She walked me back to my truck which Jack Ball was next to and told him he need not worry about giving her a bid man was he pissed at me for some reason, last thing he said was he will see me around. Now what am I supposed to do watch my back, truck and equipment from now on jeeze ? I love people like this! I dont blame her for getting more than 1 bid but dam! this cat was a jerk. Anybody else experience anything like this? :blob2:

[Doogiegh]

Hey,
I never had a run in with another lco like that since I'm not in the business (yet), but I would of casually memorized and jotted down his license plate number somehow someway. This way, just in case something of yours does turn up missing in the next month or whatever, you'd have a plate for the cops to just check out as a start.. Of course I doubt the guy would do anything directly to you since stealing equipment is rather ballsy to begin with.

But I have had it where I've come home from work and parked across the street, a house or 2 down is a strange vehicle with 2 guys sitting in it.. As I turn in my driveway, they drive away.. I get their plate without second thought, just in case some crap goes down, it gives the cops a place to start...

If everyone was alert and had their eyes open, there would be virtually no crime. <G>

Gary

[PAPS]

There's nothing I hate more is when a potential customer has us landscapers come to bid on a job at the SAME time !!! most of the time thats happend to me... me and the other guy laugh it off and then agree on a same price !!! and submit the same price bids !!! I mean.. have a little respect (if your a client) and schedule appointments for different times:rolleyes:

[CS Lawns]

I agree with you about scheduling at differant times but I am glad he showed up it worked to my advantage. Hate to think of what might have been if he was polite.

[JimLewis]

I agree that it's a pain when clients book appointments at the same time. However, I must say this hasn't happened to me in years because 1) I don't advertise in places where you would call more than one contractor (e.g. newspaper, yellow pages, etc.) and 2) I am almost always there before anyone else could possibly show up.

But there are jerks like this all over. I have one big one just up the hill too. He has a bigger company, is rich, and has a lot more experience than I do. But we take over his accounts every month and he pisses people off on a daily basis. To the point where we take care of more lawns in his neighborhood than he does. So when they call us, and see how polite and professional we are [well, usually are - mind the peeing in the yard story] we look like saints.

So in a sense, guys like this just make it better for the rest of us. I've always said that was one of our strongest points, that we look and act professional. And I've been told this on many occasions as well.

Don't worry about the jerk. My experience is 95% of the time, you end up worrying and nothing happens. Just smile and wave politely when you see him. That's the best thing you can do.

[mike payne]

Most of the other lco in my area are very friendly. They have given me leads to customers close to existing accounts and tried to hire me to catch them up when they get behind do to weather etc. I belive the way you treat other people is the way other people will treat you.

[mdb landscaping]

ive found that most lcos in my area are friendly too. i put out flyers and one customer asked me to do some minor installation of shrubs etc. after i was done he offered me the mowing too. i realized i took the account from somebody else, but the other LCO just talks to me nicely now and has never said a word. later that year one of my customers moved, and he picked up the new people, so it evened out. i havent run into a bidding problem like that yet, but im sure it wont get physical:D . i think it evens out amongst LCOs in the long run. if i do run into some jerk though, he wont get the friendly wave everytime i pass him.

[CS Lawns]

A wave will be what he gets from me, thats the kinda guy I am, none confrantational, This was the first time I have encounterd anybody that acted like that, was shocked actually. I think the small guys should be nice to each other not like I am going to be able to mow every house in the city There is enough for everyone! at least our prices would be similar that way but I geuss its easier to complain??? ????? :confused:

[Scotlawncare]

I have only had one wierd run in with another LCO. I bid this leaf job and was told to do in one morning. I get there ontime and get ready to start and another guy pulls up and we start talking. he asks me which house i'm going to do and when i tell him he says the lady told him to do it also. The dude was cool about it but i do hate it when a customer does that to you. If i had been 5 mins later i would have lost the job. Thank God for prompt and ontime.

Scot

[Pacific Nursery]

Most of the LCO's here are decent people. However, one guy lets call him jar head(NOT a Marine). Has gone around to our job sites and tried, with some success, to hire our guys right off the job. The first time he did this I went looking for him. No luck:mad: After that I caught him in a public place but he wanted no part of me and claimed to have no problem.
He flips us off every time he sees us and tries to instigate something when ever possible. He will not fight and I'm sure he'd sue and press charges if I initiated something with him.
I've tried to ignore him but he continues to find ways to piss me off. Stole a pretty nice commercial acct from me this year. He's not worth the time I'm giving him in my head, but I can't seem to let it go. Some day I'll find him somewhere with no witnesses and :angel:

[SLS]

Hey Scot:

So she told BOTH of you guys that you had the job???

Why didn't BOTH of you guys do it? That way you would have been done in half the time and you both could have hit her up for each of your bids. That would have taught her not to play games...heheh. Her face would have been dry...but she did tell BOTH of you guys that you had the job didn't she? :D

[CS Lawns]

The closest I have came to this last year was a company knocking on my accounts doors after I left and undercutting me they took 2 accounts from me last year $240.00 out of my earning a month. I noticed them driving by alot but figured they were also working in the neighborhood, I just washed my hands and figured what ever, I think they ended up doing it to the wrong guy next time cause when I seen them mowing my lost accounts yard they both had not 1 but 2 black eyes thats 4 total. I had to stop get there attention and laugh. I have those 2 accounts back this year

[KirbysLawn]

I showed up for a large commercial bid ($25k) and there was another guy sitting in the lobby. While we were waiting we were joking about how we had never had anything like this happen before. She came, we walked the grounds, parted with her and talked for another 30 minutes. Turned out to be a very nice guy.

[CS Lawns]

It must be Iowa?? Everone seems to be freindly everywhere else? Better call the water company and have them test it LOL:D

[65hoss]

A couple of years back I showed up at this woman's house. There was one guy in the driveway, and one parked in the street. Both were there giving estimates. We all had ads in the paper. I get out, walk the property (she wasn't home) and start back to the truck. The guy in the driveway says "you here to huh?" I just laughed and said that I couldn't believe 3 of us here at the same time. I just couldn't believe she called so many people. He told me there were 3 other bids at the door. I told him I would leave this one to all the rest. He told me I might as well leave a bid, I was already here. He told me all the others were for $35 each.

I thought about it for a second, went to the truck to get my proposal pad. Wrote down $70 and left. I bet she got a shock when she saw everyone bidding the same $35 price and then saw mine for double. haha. I guess I was too high, never heard from her. :D

[HOMER]

Kirby..........................who got the bid??????????????

Don't leave us hanging.


I had a guy do something similar...........he got there ahead of me and the lady must have told her I was coming. As I was pulling in I saw him leaving the neighborhood. I knocked and told here who I was...........she acted scared.............she said the guy that was there first told her that he was the first one and she should give it to him. I actually think he intimidated that old lady. I left. This guy is the only one in town that I've ever had words with...........just don't like him.

[AVRECON]

If I see another person giving a bid, I just keep going till they are gone most of the time. I like to give folks the room they need to operate and would hope they would do the same. Its like someone's breathing down your neck otherwise.

[Five Star Lawn Care LLC]

Messed up LCO's......Was in a nice neiborhood ($500,000+ houses) and was probably giving about 5-6 estimates in the neiborhood, all the customers requested i just drop them in the mailboxes. i notice a scrub company go by but i didnt think anything of it. I allways make a callback a couple of days later and ask if they got it and ask for the sale, so when i did this all the people didnt recive my estimate, just an estimate from the scrub company that drove by me and followed me and took my estimate out and droped in theres. I got his # and scrared the *#%$ out of him, ive never seen him in that neibor hood since....i resubmited all the estimates and they all went with my company. but how completely dumb can scrub companys be, did they think i wouldnt find out.....Crazy

[Jason Pallas]

We leave bids/estimates for homeonwners sometimes (if they're not there) - only to find that other lawn companies have taken ours out and thrown them away - only to be replaced by theirs. So, it's sort of like the last one there wins!
Because of this, we try to leave them in mail slots that go into the house - or follow-up with a phone call to make sure they got the estimate.

[awm]

that part about ,ill see u around ,was his way of sayin,
id like to whip u good. an i will if i ever get up the nerve.
later now:)

[Green Care]

This is how most people do try to do get all these things done like there's no tomorrow. Call 10 people like it a meeting.

No need to worry about a fool!!!! Lucky I can't enjoy something like that.

[CS Lawns]

If that was his idea then when he is done trying to kick my A - - I will be taking him for what ever he has/owns or borrows. He may act like he never said Ill see you around when the police ask him but I bet he will forget I have a new account that will remind him when the time comes already told her if anything happens to me or my equipment I may ask her to verify my story. :D

[sheppard]

If it were me I would research this guy, get all the info. possible on him (pay a web fee and print out all the info) then I would apply for a concealed weapon permit. (Easy to get here in Florida).

The last thing I would do is contact the police and start a paper trail on this guy. Play it up w/ the police and say you were spooked by this guy. If you run into him again & he is not all that threatening then you could let him know someof the info you have on him and hopefully 'spook' him some.

Cordially,
Sheppard

[CS Lawns]

Good idea Shepard. I will let the police know about the first incident so if by chance this guy does try something ther next time he sees me it wont be the first report from me on him. Some people are just plain NUTS!:blob2:

[LAWNS AND MOWER]

Most of the lco's in my area are pretty cool, but there's always going to be a few bad apples. One a$$hole chased me down a couple years ago and told me I needed to change my signs on my van because I offered "Free Estimates". Told me I needed to charge for estimates. Maybe so for a $20,000 landscaping job, but not for a $35/cut mowing account. Also told me I needed to carry worker's comp. Not the case if I'm solo. Also told me I needed to charge more. What a joke!! Picked up some of his old accounts and discovered I was charging more than him. Clincher is I started mowing for his ex-wife last year. Make a long story short I told this guy what I thought about him and hasn't bothered me since.

LAWNS AND MOWER

[Randy Scott]

Good god, let it go people. The guy was a jerk, gave some smarta$$ comment to you, and was rude. Get over it. You guys are blowing this into some death threat by the guy. The fact you are worried about him, and are talking about him, and having someone tell you to do a background search on him and apply for a handgun is fricken' ridiculous. This crap reminds me of the testosterone pissing matches when you go to a bar and everyone there has the attitude they want to kick your a$$ because the alcohol makes them some tough guy. Probably why going to the bar nowadays is a joke.

This guy made some smart comment to you and that's it. About 15 minutes after it happened I would have forgotten about it. Be a professional and let it go and move on. Keep stirring on it and it'll let you find trouble. I wouldn't even acknowledge the guy ever if I see him on the street. It's not called being a baby, it's called being the better person. You want to spend time thinking and worrying about it, then sooner or later you will find trouble.

You got the work, now take care of them and retain them as customers and that will be your silent way of "kicking the guys a$$" so to speak. There will be no better justice than that. :)

[CS Lawns]

Randy, noone said this was some type of death threat

I started this thread to get some comments from others who have experienced the same thing and how they handled it.

Trust me I am a proffesional and am not worried about this Jack Ball and I am not going to be constantley looking in my rear view mirror !

You as well as the rest of the country know that people take things differently and react in differant ways so this is no reson not to be concerned and is not even close to being compared to a bar room pi$$ing match! taking someones quarters off the pool table or accidentlly bumping into someone are 2 reasons most fights in bars start, Getting accused of stealing an account which puts food on the table and pays bills is Totally differant.

[sheppard]

Dear Randy,

Thought I'd give a fuller explanation on why I recommended what I did.

IMHO protecting your self & Company is always a smart move. That's why I recommended research on the guy. If he has a criminal record that would change the dynamics completely in my view. It's easy enouph to find out.

Florida is one of the easiest states to get a concealed weapon permit. Crime has gone down DRASTICALLY because of this- liberals and conservatives agree completely on this by the way.

Could I be making too much out of this? Yep, could be! But this guy is the bread winner for the family. It would be doubly bad if this jerk decided to screw w/ him and his earning power was affected in any way.

One person's paranoia is another person's preperation.

Cordially,
Sheppard

[Scotlawncare]

SLS,

Man I should have done that but the other guy that showed up had absolutly NO EQUIPMENT on his trailer or in his truck. I didn't see a blower, rakes, or bags. I was there with mower, blowers, and other equip. I really don't see how he was going to do any work and he DANG sure wasn't going to use my equipment.

[kutnkru]

Just do like we dooz.

First you smack him right in hiz mout. It'll show everyone hes dont know when to keep it shut!!! Then you bust hiz fricken knee caps!!! This wayz if the jabrone aint gots no Z - hes outta the way. :cool:

C'ment bootz aint to bads neither, ya know??? -LOL!!!

[awm]

all this aint no real big thang. shoot thats the way men around here play the psyke game. nothin comes of it ,most the time.
if it does its still not a big thing, until one of you pull the clint eastwood stuff.then what could have been a story to tell your friends,instead changes your whole life.later now