Need Advice on "On Call" Basis

[DMAN]

I just received word from my largest client that they will no longer be able to "support" weekly cutting of their properties(one commercial and one residential) this year. The owners now want to know if i would be willing to cut on a "on-Call" basis?? These accounts is important to my bottom line and they are very good clients with payment. However, I don't know how to approach this situation. I don't totally want to lose the account but i don't want to get a call when "they" think the grass has to be cut and it ends up taking me more time per cut then last season. should i raise my price, demand bi-monthly cutting, drop the account and move on?? BTW this account is not on a contract. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

DMAN

[walker-talker]

I would say it depends on how busy you current schedule is. I do this for a real estate management firm and I do charge a little extra for this option. I go mow and bill, there are no estimates involved. I only mow part-time and it is no big hassle. Within a year or two I will be full-time and will have to deal with this as you are now. It they mean that much to you, I would work with them.

MATT

[65hoss]

You need to ask the question of:
Who will be cutting it normally?

If someone will be cutting it regularly and they will call you when they can't get to it, then ok.

If they plan to have nobody cut it and just wait until it gets high and call you then forget it.

I have 1 person I do this for. They only have a front lawn. I told her up front that if her husband would be cutting it regularly and it was being maintained then ok. But if they let it grow up then I would charge 3x's the price or not do it at all. I end up doing it for them about 8 or so times a year. They have always kept it maintained and looking nice, so I just fly thru and no problems.

[Bob Minney]

I do these on call mows as time allows. No set pricing though, I see the job then price it accordingly. I have an old mower that I use for these special jobs so I'm not putting my best equipment in places it shouldn't be. Like most other non weekly services it can bring premium prices.

[LAWnENFORCER]

It sounds like this client has some financial problems. I had a similar problem with a residential account. They wanted to do the "as needed" service, instead of every week. I agreed, but told them I would decide when it needed to be mowed. I mowed it every two weeks and everyone was happy.

GOOD LUCK
KB LAWN SERVICE
CENTRAL TEXAS

[strickdad]

this useually ends up being a "mess" they will wait till its knee deep then they will call and expect you there in 10 min. they will expect the same results as normal, and it want happen. if you are catching grass, you will be off of mower more than you are on it. if you discharge it, its easier if you bring a hay bailer than it is to rake. they wont expect you to go up on price, but you will have too. we have had a couple like it and they almost never work out!!!one idea to help lower there intial cost is to put them on a 12 month plan...

[Mowingman]

I have placed some conditions on this type of will-call service. Grass must be no higher than 4" or pricing reverts to my regular $/hr for the service and the contract rate no longer applies. Also,customer must call by the Friday preceeding the week he wants it mowed. My only guarantee is that I will then mow it "sometime" during that week.:)

[MWHC]

The last few posts are dead on. It rarely ever works out to your benefit when the customer is making these decisions. Remember that these people are not in the lawn business. They have no concept of what your costs are.

When customers play this game (yes it's a game) we charge by the hour / no exceptions; if we choose to keep them around. Usually i dump them. If you keep them make the rate so high you make BIG money.

[TOSLC]

Something else to think about is your image? If the other people driving by, or neighbors see the grass getting high, then see you coming to cut it. What will they think about you? This will be a direct reflexion of your business, regardless of who's at fault.

[BRIAN GALLO]

I couldn't agree more with the last 4 replies. I had some customers like that, and all you do is fight the lawn. Then they usually ask you why you can't make the lawn look like their neighbors (a retired guy that keeps his lawn 1 1/2" high and cuts it every 3 days) all for $15 bucks! I used to think I had sub-standard equipment because I had to go over the lawn 3 times to get rid of all the clumps.

[thelawnguy]

"Need Advice on "On Call" Basis "

Simple...don't, unless you enjoy tackling foot-high grass.

[LAWNS AND MOWER]

I won't even consider doing 'on-call' customers. What a scheduling nightmare. It's my way or the highway. I'll put them on my schedule and that's it. If they call in advance and ask that I push there yard up or back a day, then I'll accomadate them, but I would never consider allowing the customer decide when the grass is ready to be mowed. Had one lady that lives in a cluster of weekly accounts I have, and would come up to me every other week and ask me to mow her yard. The yard needed to be mowed every week along with the other accounts. I played her game for 2 mowings and then insisted that I put her on a weekly mowing schedule. She agreed. The closest thing I have to a 'on-call' customer is a buddy of mine that goes away for 4 weeks in the summer and I'll take care of his place. TOSLC makes a very good point about image. This is the first thing I'll explain to cheapo's when they request on-call services.

LAWNS AND MOWER

[Remsen1]

I would tell them that it will be the same price either way. Once that is settled then you can tell them that since the price is the same you might as well mow it weekly. On-call can create many obstacles and no benefit to you and practically no cost savings to the customer.

Some Obstacles:
Getting called when you don't have the time.
Job taking 3x's as long. Looking 1/2 as good when you're done.
Somebody else doing it and ruining the turf.
Having to keep track of when you worked.
Making sure the customer knows/remembers when you worked.
Neither you nor your customer will be satisfied with the quality.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by thelawnguy
"Need Advice on "On Call" Basis "

Simple...don't, unless you enjoy tackling foot-high grass.
There is a reason they are doing this.

They no longer want to pay to get the grass cut.

They will not call you untill the grass must me cut. Then they will expect the same quality you have provided in the past.

See Ya Gone Bye Bye

If it is being maintained by someone else and they call you in, your desision, I don't mess with these.

[Runner]

It has been my experience as just like everyone else is saying. They first let it get ankle deep to a tall indian, then call you. By the time YOU get to it within the next few days (because of your regular schedule to keep up), it is even higher. You're then double cutting, bagging, or whatever, and putting more wear and tear on the mower, and it still doesn't look as good. They're unhappy; you're unhappy; and you're no farther ahead. However, let me ask you this. Have you talked to them yet about this yet, and discussed the terms on which he thinks is "needed"? What was your history likewith this client? Is it possible that you were cutting rather dry conditions that perhaps you could have held off on in the past? Not drought conditions, but it COULD be what he is refering to in which case, I guess this wouldn't be SO bad, as long as it's only in these type of circumstances. If THIS is the case, (find out when you talk to him) this may not be so bad, if this is one of your better accounts. Good luck with it.

[awm]

i agree with the others . stipulate that on call mowing means variable cost for the cut ,according to difficulty.then charge them a fair price.they may see what the results of this is an go back on schedual.also u might point out that the general appearence
will have to diminish,under that type of service.otherwise u just get blamed for a crutty job. u dont need that being said about your wk.

[Toroguy]

Replace them with a customer who has money and abides by your schedule. Or raise the price to make the weekly service a better alternative for them.

Good luck

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by Runner
Is it possible that you were cutting rather dry conditions that perhaps you could have held off on in the past? Not drought conditions, but it COULD be what he is refering to in which case, I guess this wouldn't be SO bad, as long as it's only in these type of circumstances. If THIS is the case, (find out when you talk to him) this may not be so bad, if this is one of your better accounts. Good luck with it.

Runner brings up a good point I forgot about.

[mowngrow]

like LGF said bye bye, gone gone. we are in the biz to make money. Look for someone more profitable.

[cantoo]

DMAN, take pictures now so that later this summer when the lawn looks like heck you can show them and maybe get back on the old schedule. Nothing like a before and after picture to wake them up.

[cutntrim]

Only YOU know your customer. If you know them to be honest, then they most likely aren't out to screw you. If, like Runner said, you can work in some skips then perhaps you can offer a lower monthly fee. If they are very important to your business, then you shouldn't just dump them.

We've got a couple of customers that have large non-irrigated properties and I've priced them for 20 cuts over a 28 week season and then divided that into equal monthly billing amounts. We (not the customer) decide when/and if to skip a week. At the end of the season if we cut it more than 20x then we invoice them for the additional cuts on a "per cut" price.

That being said, you should still be on the lookout for more profitable, weekly customers as possible replacements if it doesn't work out.

[GrassCtr]

sounds like trouble for you . maybe you can figure how much you were making per hour, and then ahve them agree to pay at that rate. if they wait until it's knww deep and it takes you twice as ling then you still get paid.

[SLS]

The only person who benefits from bi-weeklys or 'on calls' is the cheapskate customer. The extra time spent and wear and tear on your gear can easily cut your 'profit per man hour' in half in these situations.

Besides, no one should be making scheduling decisions for your business except YOU.

Ditch it and use the time profitably elsewhere.

Dropping these type of clients and replacing them with weelky accounts was the best decision I have made as to boosting my 'bottom line'...not to mention
the increased savings in the headache/scheduling department. :D

If you do opt to give them bi-monthly service make sure you raise the price accordingly...you will be spending alot of extra time per visit...especially during rainy periods. Nothing can cut your profits in 1/2 quicker than these type of accounts.

Good luck!

[Harvestman]

I have a customer (my pastor) who will call me when he gets busy.But he knows what day I'm in his area. I will not make a special trip.His yard only takes a 1/2 to mow so if I'm in the area why not. But he does mow it reguarly, if he did not I would not.

[David Haggerty]

Originally posted by LAWnENFORCER

"as needed" service, instead of every week.

I would decide when it needed to be mowed.

KB LAWN SERVICE
CENTRAL TEXAS

All of my customers are on this schedule.

The only way to keep them on this schedule is to keep their confidence.
So I don't get too far behind in the spring.
And in the heat of summer I don't mow dead grass.

Dave

[LawnLad]

I'm in agreement with those who steer away from on call mowing. It's like the neighbor who flags you down to plow their driveway with 6" of snow. Why don't you have a contract? The liability (GL, appearances, scheduling, etc.) is too great to play with people who can't afford the service. If they can't afford to hire the professional to manage their site, let someone else do it who evidently has more time in their schedule.

That being said we will do this for customers we have an established relationship with. Vacation cuts for Mr. Smith for two weeks, or Mrs. Jones who is having a party and would like her yard to look neater/cleaner. We already have our foot in the door with these customers. They may never turn out to be regular customers (or they have already been, but do it themselves now)... but we do other work for them on an on call basis.