We've stopped moving trampolines

[General Grounds]

:blob3: usually when we come across a customer that has a trampoline we move it cut under it and move it back, even though i crumbles into a dozen pieces. recently a friend in the business recieved a law suit in the mail from a former customer for a few thousand dollars stating that the landscaper moved the trampoline and when it few apart it was'nt put back together properly and their son fell off and broke 2 fingers. after hearing this i put a letter in the mail to all cutomers with such equipt. that we will no longer be moving them and asked that they rotate their location from week to week. some customers were very understanding and some had the attitude like "now what am i supposed to do", i tell them to put some stone or mulch under it and problem solved, never amazes me enough how lazy some people are. also, a cutomer of mine is a insurance consultanat and he strongly agrees that the trampolines should be moved by the homeowner. tony

[2 man crew]

I'm sorry, but things like that should not be moved in the first place. A trampoline is a stationary object, like a swing set or sand box. We trim around it, that's it.

[General Grounds]

:blob3: 2 man i agree, just thought that it looked crappy to mow a lawn have it look great and have grass 10 inches high under the object, tony

[Mowingman]

We never move that kind of stuff, or picnic tables, lawn furn. etc. We will move a garden hose or a few toys, but thats it. :)

[Runner]

75 cents for a garden hose, (no, we don't roll it up). 75 cents for bicycles and/or two or more toys. $1.25 for lawn furniture (moved once, not put back). Dog toys and small children are still free.:)

[thelawnguy]

The largest that gets moved (actually tipped on end, mowed under, tipped the other way, mowed under) is a picnic table. I agree no trampolines swings etc get moved.

[Barkleymut]

Even though none of my customers have trampolines in the back yard this is a good point and one to always consider. Morons will sue over anything nowadays and you should always CYA.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by Runner
75 cents for a garden hose, (no, we don't roll it up). 75 cents for bicycles and/or two or more toys. $1.25 for lawn furniture (moved once, not put back). Dog toys and small children are still free.:)

What you don't charge $2 to move a kid??????

After spending 2 hours alone trying to get Ozzie Smiths (not one but) "2" trampolines put back together, I tell everyone not to move tham at all.

We don't move anything anymore.

We will trim around soccer, base ball, basket ball, le cross or whatever nets left in the lawn.

Leave them there. they know when you mow and if they wanted moved they would move it.

[KirbysLawn]

Good post, very interesting. I move objects in the lawn as long as it's not too bad.

[scottb]

I moved two this past week without thinking it could come apart. Thanks for sharing this info.

[HLC]

I moved a trampoline ONCE. Never again. One of the legs popped out and I spent 30 minutes trying to get the @%&%#&# thing back together. Told the customer they could rotate it each week or I would just trim around it "the best I could"

[SCAPEASAURUSREX]

Good Thread...... I have a client that just got one a few weeks ago , and I have been dragging it back and fourth... Ugh...It's only 10' in diameter, and I think it's all bolted together, but now that s something to think about................... !!!!

[dfor]

I only have one customer with a trampoline. They ended up duck taping the joints so that it wouldn't come apart when moved. I just move it once and leave it there till next week. Lawn furniture really ticks me off. They know when we cut.

[LAWNS AND MOWER]

Originally posted by dfor
I only have one customer with a trampoline. They ended up duck taping the joints so that it wouldn't come apart when moved. I just move it once and leave it there till next week. Lawn furniture really ticks me off. They know when we cut.
Stack the lawn furniture in front of their garage door. This normally gives them a hint. On trampolines, they are the devil of all mowing obsticales. Being solo, moving these objects are no easy chore. I've stopped moving them. One customer complained, and I told her it was tearing up her yard when I moved it. She said she didn't care. After about 4 inches of rain one week and one dragging of the trampoline, she agreed and told me to stop moving it.

LAWNS AND MOWER

[Dennis E.]

We don't move anything else. If the hoses/toys get to be a chronic problem we start to bill extra to move them.
Some are REALLY inconsiderate though.:rolleyes:

[Just Cut]

We dont move anything, Its their job to pick up after themselves

[bob]

Along the same line are hammocks that have a metal frame. I've moved these before and never again. They always come apart!

[proline32]

Yup, I will no longer move ANYTHING.....I just mow around it and let the customer worry about it, as far as I'm concerned it's thier problem not mine, they know when I'm comming to work and they should pick up the yard. that is a good point about the trampolines, I moved one two weeks ago and the legs came off on one end, took me 20 mnutes to get it back on and straight. I definitely let the customer know that I will trim under it best I can.

[Pelican]

When I make my initial visit for an estimate, I look at the amount of stuff in the yard that needs to be moved and make my estimate accordingly. The first thing I do when I pull in is move things out of the way, it rarely takes more than a few minutes.

My thoughts are the customer is paying for my service, I'm going to do the best job I can, regardless of the amount of items needing to be moved. I don't want Joe Smith driving by and seeing my truck at his neighbor's, and drive by again the next day and see a partially mowed lawn. That can't be good for business.

I will agree though, in cases of possible liability concerns, other arrangements need to be made.

[Grasshog]

I guess we just offer a little better service.

People use us for a reason. They have a busy life style. I dont count on are expect any of my accounts to remember that we are coming on a certain day. Small children, dogs, water hoses and lazyness. These are things I price into a lawn from the start. When walking the property for the first time ask questions. Look around for future problems. Do you see small toys in the lawn area? Do you see a dog? Do they have little children?
We have even been known to roll the trash can to the street on trash day if we get to the sight early enough.


No we dont move large objects like tramps, but we will put mulch under and around them. Now its not a problem anymore.

Pelican you must run a fine LCO.

[Ron9514]

Iguess except for a couple of people service has gone to hell. The one thing i DEMAND from employees is to do what it takes to satisfie customers.When a Co. wants to charge for moving toys that seems to me going to far.I work with my customers,if there is a trampoline in the yard when i give an est. i figure that in. Ireally wish I lived where some of u do ,I don't believe in Low balling but i Know i would have a lot of your Accounts just being customer sevice oriented.Well i have vented now time for Work see Ya BE SAFE:angry:

[tranum]

i guess if it's in my way i move it if i'm strong enough. trampolines & furniture are the biggest pain...very few of my customers have irrigation, so i don't mind rolling up hoses & moving sprinklers. (least they are trying to water}

[ADMowing]

We have gotten in trouble by moving small pools and toys out of yards to mow, so we don't do it. Customer said we broke child's little plastic pool. Of course, we didn't, but offered to pay for it anyway.

When we bid on a job and talk to the potential customer, we ask them if they would move these items since we'll be there on the same day every week. We do move hoses and a few items, but if it is excessive and a weekly problem, we leave them. You'd be surprised how fast they learn to move the stuff before we come to service the lawn. If we leave the lawn once or twice because of this, they learn that if they want a nice lawn, they need to move their stuff. Most of our customer work well with us in this area. We have one or two chronic offenders.

I think that they need to have some respect for our jobs as well as we have to have some respect for their property. I don't want to be damaging their stuff by moving it all the time (and they CAN and DO blame us for breaking things even if we don't). The liability thing is really an issue.

Picnic tables, hammocks, trampolines, swingsets, grills and smokers and lawn furniture in the middle of the yard are not fun to mow and weedeat around. If we see these things in a lawn when quoting, we also factor it into the cost.

Love the idea of mulching around and under the trampoline. That is a nice solution for the customer. It looks nice and solves your problem.

One other note about trampolines in Florida: The homeowner's insurance company will promptly drop them if they find out that they have a trampoline because a home in Florida with a trampoline is uninsurable. So I've been told by family members who own an insurance company. Sounds to me like the insurance companies know that trampoline's are a liability hazard too!

[roscioli]

I guess I am more generous than most, I move most toys and things free of charge, unless it becomes chronic. I have one house with a back porch about 4 feet off the ground, and for the past 2 years I havent been able to figure out if its the wind, or the owner sending all these toys and such off the porch into the lawn. This year I have finally convinced them to let me mulch the first few feet behind it. I wish I could put a net up, but they won't go for that. One house I had last year really got me aggrivated until I dropped it. They would NEVER move their kids toys, anything from balls to those plastic pools. I would ask every week, they would say, of course, just honk and let us know when you arrive. I would arrive the next week, sometimes with the lady IN THE FRONT YARD, and she would later claim she didn't hear me honk! By the end I was just kicking the stuff out of the way, trying to break it, and kicking it under their porch too. Then I gave up and dropped the lazy b___s. SORRY, venting. Good thread, very good point about the trampolines.

[proline32]

I have gotten in trouble as well over moving toys and bikes and stuff, so that is why I no longer move Items..... Not to mention having to pay for a wood table that was rotten because I moved it and it broke. If you think I offer poor service because I take this approach then that is your opinion, however I find that the customer gets the hint and picks up the yard before I show up, no one has complained to me about doing this, I've spent many years dealing with customers in sales and I have always learned that you can "train" a customer to do things your way, in the long run your happier and the customer is happier. I have also learned that if a customer can't or won't work with your system , hey no problem..... they find someone that they can work with and you part ways. This is why some people will only hire a scrub and some people will only hire a pro. I personally do not consider my self a high end professional landscaper, rather just a guy with a good lawnmowing service, I fit a certain need and cater to that market.