Frustrated about my up-coming season

[BRIAN GALLO]

I need to vent! Man, I need a new customer base. I was out today delivering my annual "spring is coming" letter to my lawn accounts. No sooner do I get home and the calls start coming in. I find out that 2 of my customers are now in nursing homes (went in over winter) and more might be on the way! Add to this the customers I lost last fall to moving, the nursing home and death! I also get a call today from one of my good customers that says they don't want me to spray Roundup in the beds anymore because they are convinced that it is killing the shrubs - and from now on they want all hand weeding! I tried to tell them that the shrub deaths were due to diseases, but they didn't want to hear it. I am getting so sick and tired of always trying to "educate" my customers and having it fall on deaf ears! It doesn't seem to matter what the lawn care issue is, they don't want to think things can be done any other way. And the kicker is...they all want premium service (which I give them), but want to pay a lowballer's price!

[grassgobbler]

This may help you. Go to mistermagnets.com. They have magnetic bussiness card that are full color. 2500 for $362. I have gotten great response from them by putting them on peoples mail boxes. I'm still getting calls from people from last years hand out. Good luck!!

[Commander]

I hear ya Brian. I lost one of my best accounts this winter (moved out of country). Ya know how I am going to cope with it? I am going to replace them with the new people in the house who are doing MASSIVE construction to an already big house. They don't need me now though because the lawn is gonna go to heck anyways. Try to market to those people who moved into your old houses. They probably will want lots of new landscaping done. As for those who went into homes, their kids may now own their houses, and if not then the house probably went up for sale. Just new people to market to. As for spraying the round-up. Why were you using round-up and not some form of pre-emergent? Also weeding by hand is not a bad thing. It's a good money maker. "Ok. We can do this the environmentally friendly way." I have several people who pay for hand weeding because they will not allow pesticides near their properties.

[millsmowing]

Thats the nature of the business when customers are senior citizens. Even though they go into nursing homes and sometimes pass on they are usually the best customers when they are around. Sure they are picky sometimes but they are always the fir
st ones to pay their bill each month. Cherish them while you have them.

[LawnLad]

No offense to our seasoned citizens out there, but they are tough to work for at times. When you're 18 you think you know everything. When you're 70 plus, you're tired of people telling you what they know and they just want to make decisions to be in control of their life since they aren't in control of so many other things (their health, etc.).

Older customers are not bad customers, in fact, they can be very good. They're stable and pay their bills, but they may complain a little more and tell you how to do your job.

Younger customers may move tomorrow since their company promoted them, etc. You might have a tough time telling a younger person that quality maintenance practices will increase their property value and it's a good investment. You can't get them to stand still for 10 minutes anyways since the cell phone is ringing and the kids are screaming and they don't know if they're going to be in the house in 6 months.

I've found that we have been very successful in targeting homeowners who have been in their home for less than 3 years. They are done working on the inside, or they're ready to make changes on the outside. Most of our new work (in our older neighborhoods) comes from those who just moved into the house within the last couple of years. They tend to be younger (under 40) and with families. Very stable. It's a good market. And they aren't going to move into nursing homes next week.

Brian, I don't know where you or what your demographics look like, but try some new neighborhoods. Keep your head up... keep advertising and they'll come to you.

[lawrence stone]

http://www.clippermagazine.com/companyprofile.cfm

[MATTHEW]

Little old ladies will always be your toughest customers.

[TOSLC]

Have you thought about changing your target market? Or at least adding a mix to the basket? It's the old saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket." I had an elderly lady last year, with a very large property, and larger checkbook that I had to drop. Sure she could keep me busy forty hours a week, but what happens when we disagree, or she passes on? I decided then I would diversify my market. Some old, some young, some upper class, some middle, some residential, some commercial. So far it's working great, and I have a "sense" of security!

Plan for the worst, expect the best!

[proline32]

I generally find elderly customers are the best when it come to paying your bill's though many of them are on a fixed income and really can't afford what I'm charging.

Recently, I have taken my business cards and taped them to doors of neighborhoods and have gotten several new accounts this way. You just sometimes have to be persistant and keep at them.

I personally do not offer any weed pulling anymore, I got tired of people getting pissed at me when I told them that weed pulling was on an hourly basis and that it would be 30.00 plus tax per manhour for the service. to many folks think they should only pay 15 bucks at the most around here so I gave it up and swiched to white vinegar as a killer and the use of casoron granule or some pre-emergent weed controller to keep weed down in beds. If a customer demands weed pulling from me I just politely inform them that it will be 30.00 per hour plus tax period, I find that these people then do the weed pullin themselves or hire some local kid to do it for dirt cheap and that is fine, I really don't care.

[Randy Scott]

[i] And the kicker is...they all want premium service (which I give them), but want to pay a lowballer's price! [/B]


This is what old people do! Many of them feel that we owe them the world. Bite me! I'm here to make money so that I have enough when I'm an old cooter poot to hire a lawn service also. I have one retired guy and he isn't too bad, but I really could care less if I loose him. I haven't called him back for this season yet and don't know that I will. I suggest some of you market elsewhere.

[Shady Brook]

I lost at least a half a dozen customers this past winter due to death or nursing home. Old people do that though, eventually they wear out. I hate to see them go too, but that is how our businesses will be. It is to bad, they may sometimes grump, or haggle, but they do pay their bills. I have rarely had any trouble with billing a senior. I think when we get older, much as we hate to think about it, we will have a different perspective. Many of us will be at the mercy of another both for information and for service in a way we are not now. It won't be easy, and we will probably come off as grumpy too. We may not mean it, and they may not either. I think we should try to be understanding of those aged ones. My old customers can get me going, but are really good to me too. Just a thought.

Jay

[Nebraska]

Change your marketing focus to those under 60 and older than 30 with income parameters?

[HOMER]

Cooter Pooters?

That's a new one.

White vinegar? Tell me more.

Old folks dieing.............now that's a new one too.

Might I suggest a yellow page ad. Pretty effective for me.

[Charles]

I been bummed out for the last few years with my business. Saturation of the LCO increasing every year and long term customers moving, dieing and others just getting plain hard to get along with.
I got a yellow page ad going and it is kinda invisible in the sea of lawn care ads. No calls on it so far this year.
I am branching out to do other things to make money. At least in my area the income potential of lawncare is diminishing every year. YOu have to kiss some serious azz to keep and get customers

[Nebraska]

Wonder if there is a message board that attorneys, dentists, doctors, printers, cleaning companies, electricians, and HVAC contractors say the same thing about too much competition? ;)

[proline32]

yea but those guys can charge the prices they do and no one gripes at them about it...... It's class warfare man... People think your a crook if you try to charge $35.00 per hour for work, but they don't have an issue spending 17.99 fora steak dinner at tony romas. How about female customers who are willing spend 25.00 a week to have thier nails done but try to get a freebee out of you because your charging them $35.00 to mow and trim thier lawn. ( A much tougher job I might ad than doing nails.) But that is the way it is. It's the perception that lawn mowing gets dumped on it.... unfairly. The paint contracting trade has the same exact problem, only they don't have weekly maintenance.

I gave a guy a bid for complete lawn restoration the other day and it came to about 3000 over the next 8 months this included weekly mowing and the works, He admits that he does not now how to do the work nor does he have the time, He is a cabinet maker/installer..... I call him back to discuss the estimate and he informs me that it is more than he is willing to pay, He thought it would be cheap to do the work!! Hello, I have the same expences you do Mr. Cabinet man, So I ask him how much he would charge to redo a kitchen complete, he say's " Oh' probably around 10 grand, so I say to the guy "Thats to expensive, I guess I wouldn't be having you do the work and hung up.

[Tim Canavan]

That's the way you have to look at it. As far as the weed pulling goes. I tell them that I have to mulch to insure that the beds stay virtually weed free. This way you only pull weeds once a season. Put a pre-emergent down before you mulch and you might pull two or three weeds each visit. You'll get what you deserve for pulling weeds one way or another.:cool:

Love the cabinet guy reference. That made my day.

[thelawnguy]

I am at least a dozen shy of last year due to death, layoffs, and moving.
Add to this the fact I blew a brakeline on the truck today in anticipation of starting cleanups Monday, (its a 95, steel line rusted through) and I am anything but a happy camper at this moment...

[RB]

Brian,

Losing customers is always a bummer. But look at it as a chance to replace them with even better customers. It really depends on you as to what kind of customer base (senior, younger, or commercial) you feel the most comfortable with, but the post from Jay made the most sense to me.

I am in your area and I know that seniors make up the majority of our customers. Although I have a few commercial properties just for snow plowing, I strickly market the senior residential market.

If you do an excellent job, as I'm sure you do, then you don't have to worry about senior complaining about the quality of your work. Those who have posted about seniors complaining must be giving them something to complain about. When workign with seniors you will always hear "I'm on a fixed income." The key is to kindly weed out those type of seniors.

Bri, don't sweat it! I bet you will replace them in a hurry.

Ron

[brucec32]

I used to have the same frustrations trying to educate people amazingly ignorant about lawns. My way of ending my frustration was simply not to try to do it. People are too dense and because you "just" do lawncare for a living they, in the back of their minds, assume you aren't very bright. It's a prejudice that's out there.

My way of enjoying my job more was simply to become "the lawn nazi". This means that while trying to remain flexible and customer oriented, just tell em how it is, and if they don't like it, move on and find another customer. So, when you get someone who says you killed their shrubs, your response should be "no, I'm careful not to (your mix shouldn't be that strong anyway). You're more than welcome to send your shrubs to be tested if you doubt that." They're basically calling you incompetent to your face, in case you didn't realize that. If they still want hand-weeding, tell em you're not in that business and move on. They're more than welcome to hire a local kid or homeless labor pool person if they want that kind of stuff done.

I've found that about 5% of the customer base out there is responsible for 95% of the headaches. Here in Atlanta finding customers is not a problem IF you provide good reliable service. You hate to lose customers, but in the long run, you will have a much easier time and more profits. My last "complaint" call was about 5 years ago. My customers are easy-going and appreciate the job I do. Anyone who gives me "attitude" that they aren't happy even when I'm doing a great job gets the heave-ho. This is a business, not indentured servitude. Eventually you attract only easy to deal with customers, and get to do only the kind of jobs you enjoy. Everybody wins.

[brucec32]

None of these are absolutes, but my best customers are single working women and retired widows. I suppose the older women value the service more since they can't imagine doing it themselves, and the younger working women also value someone not trying to take advantage of them in business dealings. Some older people don't understand current prices however, and remember the days when you got your lawn mowed for $20. My advice is to pass them by if they dont' understand you're not in business to be poor.

Men customers (retired and not) sometimes develop "manhood insecurity syndrome" which causes them to overcompensate by trying to criticise when there's nothing wrong or micromanage. They read a time-life book once and know it all.

My worst customers over the years have been younger corporate yuppie types who really can't afford the service but want all the trappings of success. They often are late payers and refuse services which would improve the lawn for the long term. Probably since they won't be in the house in 2 years. The young guys also probably feel like total wussies having to hire someone to mow their postage stamp lot because they'd faint if they had to do manual labor for 45 minutes. I found that this sometimes causes them to act resentfully towards the guys mowing the lawn.

Most of all, avoid UNHAPPY PEOPLE. If someone calls you and is gruff and impolite, that's a good indicator that they will probably be a pain.

[RYAN]

I could not agree with you more and feel almost the excact same way. Each year I get 2 or 3 customers who give me all my headaches. I will either do one of three things to remedy this: 1) If they are just completely intolerable and I know we will never get along I will dump them after the first cut. 2) Sometimes If I pick them up midseason I will try to tolerate them until the season ends and then not renew them in the spring and 3) I will tolerate them in until the season ends then come spring I inform them of what their price will be for the upcoming season which is much Higher than the last year. This will usually cause them to cancel and if not the price is high enough to make it worth listening to the complaining. The only trouble I run into is when a good customer give me a referance to a pain in the a$$ customer. When that happens I will usually do a #3 from above. I have had that happen several times and it is always tough. Luckily my 2 biggest pain in the butt customers from last year both cancelled before this year. I guess the feeling was likewise. I also know that they are the type of people who hire a new landscaper every year. Funny thing is they think all landscapers are the problem and not them. I know because I used to mow one of their lawns years ago when I worked for a different company. and the customer was a pain in the butt then too. And she cancelled on them the next year.

[HOMER]

Remember these words and you'll live a happier life:

IF YOU DREAD IT SHED IT!

Some things in life you have to deal with..............a whining customer is not one of them.

[odin]

There are some customers that jesus christ could not do a good enough job for.
When get that kind we drop em faster then flies can get on a turd.

Our cilents here are mainly 35 to 50 years old upPer income professials. We dont have trouble with them dieing off just moveing off sometimes 12 moved for this season .