Getting quite pissed...

[FrankenScagMachines]

One customer is alittle picky (likes how I do my work though) so she has no complains with me and since I can do a good job at a good price for her, she is very happy with the work (these types will tend to be this way if you do the job to their satisfaction) anyhow I don't have alot of customers. Well her teenage son sometimes mows her lawn for her, maybe once every 3 weeks (I mow twice, he mows once, I mow twice, he mows once etc.). Well she's not on a contract because I am underage to do so, or this wouldn't be happening. The excuse I'm given is "he's doing it as a way to save me money". Well I'm getting really annoyed with her because I plan my week to do her yard on Thursday, call her on Wednesday to remind her to leave the check out and let her know that I'm coming, and she says well my son did it. It's a real booger for me when she does this. I plan my schedule and budget around doing this and this is really ticking me off. It's small enough that a homeowner could do it with a push mower (what they have) but I use my 32" Toro because it's faster better cut and stripe dont' have to walk etc. Well he uses a push mower on it all and it also messes up my stripes somewhat when he mows. So you can see how much this is pissing me off! Don't know what to do. If I get alittle "cocky" about it around my parents they get mad at me for being mad at this situation but I know I'm right. I can't afford to dump her and I'd like to keep a good reputation and good customer relations; what do I do??
Thanx a ton in advance,
Eric

[LAWNGODFATHER]

That's life, welcome to the big leagues.

[Brickman]

Life sucks man, get used to it.

I would say that you are in a tight spot. It pretty much looks to me like you either put up with what the situation is, or dump her.
Some body else might see a number three here, but I'm not seeing it.

[kerr lawn]

i would think if you are doing quality work dump her and move on and you will pick somebody up in the next week or so that is easier to deal with. Also trust you enought to know when not to cut the grass. Likes your work and pays better per hour. life is a bi**h, work smarter.
bryan

[Toroguy]

Part of growing pains.

In order to make money you need customers. And starting out I know I did alot of weird things like tearing down a garage? Bear with her until you can replace with a weekly only customer.

You might be in the situation we all may have been in...a marginal customer is better than no customer. Get her to commit on "two on-one off" and visit with friends during the off week.

Always try to remain upbeat.

[cowman66]

lifes tough, get a helmet

[awm]

your key comment was " u cant afford to drop her". that leaves u with little alternative but do things her way . or it seems to me anyway.
i had one tell me not to come 2 wks running . then was upset when i charged
15 more when i did come. that was imho the amount of increase in wk necessary to get the lawn the way i try an leave them. she said ,cant be payin more . i explained why it was more,and after a little talkin ,told her, no hard feelins ,ill
just take u off the schedual.i couldnt afford it either. but my service is going to
do a my best job . or it aint gonna do it.
and i aint in this for my health,so they pay what im worth.or get somebody not worth as much.:)

[Albemarle Lawn]

Just think if all your customers were like that. You would go bonkers and broke.

YOU MUST DROP HER NOW.

Do it immediatly, new doors will open I promise.

Ken

[Phishook]

Samething with my father inlaw.

Lawn looked like a checker board, then he comes along and choped it down to about .25"(literally, there was more dirt than grass).:eek: He thought he was doing me a favor. The way I figured it, I lost about $30 to labor and travel time.

I made a few jokes to get my point across, and then bought a small "For Sale" sign and put on his mower. ( 30" craftsman)

But for you, I'd say move it to Monday or an easier day for the occasional accounts.

[65hoss]

You have very little negotiating room. Her way or no way. When your older and have more and better accounts then it will be your way or no way. I sure do love being in that position.

[John Gamba]

ERIC
Every Customer Is a %%%***^^^ In One way Or another.
Don't let it get You Down. AND DONT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH.
Johnny G. :cool: :cool:

[David Haggerty]

Customers like to dictate conditions to you.

But you kind of brought this one on yourself. You need to set the conditions you'll work under and stick to them. If you call on wednesday to discuss mowing on thursday, she thinks it's OK at that time to say yes or no. Call her on monday. Explain that you need to get your weekly schedule set up. Or whatever you think's reasonable.

Don't hesitate to set conditions. Just be firm, not cocky.

I've had jobs filling in for fickle teenagers too. They eventually loose interest. Especially in the heat of summer. :D

Dave

[ProMo]

when i was a kid i hated mowing the lawn put sand in gas tank and the mower just wouldnt start

[FrankenScagMachines]

I guess what I meant was, is there anything I can say to her to get this to stop, or should I just forget it? I would dump her but right now there's not that big of a reason to, and I need the money (for a truck and better equipment).
Promo, I'm not going to put sand in her gas tank if that's what you mean! I know of better less suspicious ways to 'blow up' engines if I wanted to do that but I'm not the vandalistic type...
Thanks,
Eric

[scottb]

Sit down with her and talk about it,see if you can set up a regular rotation so that you will not be wasting your time. People skills are somthing that you can be working on now,just sit down and discuss it rember it cant it cant hurt and that you were looking for work when you found this one and you will be looking if you lose this one.

[Mid Rivers]

It's the bed you made. Sleep in it or get out.

If you MUST have the money then stop crying, if you don't then call her and tell her what has to happen for you to continue mowing. Chances are her son will get sick of doing it weekly and she'll call you back. That's when you tack a couple extra dollars on to the price.

[maple city]

We had a similar situation this year. Our very first customer is having her grandson mow her yard because he needs the money since he lost his job. It was a good account and I hated to lose it, but that's the way it goes.

In your situation, I think I would first explain your situation to the customer. Let her know that you need to keep your schedule and mow every week or not at all. I think the son will get tired of mowing and you'll get the account back in the long run. I agree that the price should go up just to teach her a lesson.

[John Gamba]

Eric
Seriously Just have Her Call you Two Day's in Advance. So you Don't wast your time Going over there. Then You can grt rid Of Her When you Can Afford To. See Will Do Anything To not have You Mow the Lawn So She doe's Not Have to Pay You. See Would Probably Dump You For Someone Five dollar's cheaper Wait till that hapen's It hurt's. Good Luck.
Johnny G.
Lawnone Ct.

[ProMo]

contract is what you need tell her year round xx amount of cuts for price or bi weekly wich would be 1/2 of that plus say 20% more per cut and if the kid doesnt mow it and its extra tall there will be a per cut charge that way you are bringing in a regular monthly income plus the price of a regular cut anytime its not done the week before you are scheduled to service that yard

[FrankenScagMachines]

Well Promo if I had my way everyone would be on a contract but as I said I'm underage to legally do that.
Eric

[ADMowing]

Charge her payments to "by the month" instead of "by the mow" -- that way, you are still getting your income no matter who mows it. Money up front -- our policy! No pay -- no mow!

Tell her you're changing your policy and want customers to pay you by the month. That way she will not think you are singling her out and you can, hopefully, maintain a good raport with her.

Just my thoughts!

A & D

[FrankenScagMachines]

Oh yea I don't mind the fill in type customers, whose yard I do when they're away or unable to, but this one is supposed to be a weekly and the fill in type always give me a couple weeks notice not let me know day before I should show up. See the difference?
Eric

[FrankenScagMachines]

Good idea A&D, then I would probably get to do it every week.

[ADMowing]

Yep! And if you don't have to mow it 'cause the son did it, drive on by and be happy that you've already been paid for the month and go on to the next customer.

We don't like ANYONE else to mess with our lawns we are servicing. A couple of mobile home park managers have come in and mowed down a whole row of lots and right across ours -- at about 1 1/2". We mow well above that, especially with the drought we've been having. We let the lawn grow a little after they do that, but it looks bad for a while and weakens the root growth. We submit a list to management, but the guys on the mowers don't look at it.

We have already been paid by the customers, so we just keep on driving, but it ticks us off because we take better care our lawns than that. But the money end of it is no problem.

Glad you like the idea. I hope that it works for you!

A & D

[rixtag]

I say get an agreement that works for both of you or you don't work for her.

In a similar situation, I had been working for a guy, who was a friend of the family that didn't get along with his next door neighbor. When he found out about his neighbor wanting me to do some work, he said " If you work for him, you no longer will work for me" I had just started out and I was getting $15.00 per cut using his mower. I realized that there was no way that I could continue to put up with this for any amount of money. I told them both that I was too busy to do the work for either of them and that they would have to look elswhere. Sure, I couldn't afford to lose the money but it was too much stress to continue the way it was.

In my opinion an acceptable loss.

Rick

[BigJim]

Getting quite pissed...
Down here thats a slang expression for "I'm getting quite drunk", :D Yep this job can drive you to drinking:drinkup:

[FrankenScagMachines]

BigJim, it takes more than grass to get me drunk :D

[sirsweatsalot]

just expect her to have you mow for 2 of those days and then if her son mows it or not she can call you if it needs to be done. don't drop it she still might be telling other people how good of a job you are doing...thats the best advertising.

[Cooper Landscaping]

what is technically the legal age to engage in contracts?
-Coop

[ProMo]

when you sell your service and the person agrees to pay you xx dollars per service ,month etc you are basically entering into a verbal contract if you do the work and the lady decides that she doesnt want to pay you there is basically nothing you could do about it because you are under age.The same would apply to a written contract so i would use them regardless of your age so that the person has an agreement explaining your scope of service should any q,s arise you are basically only going to get experience presenting your agreement to the customer until you are 18 unless your parent or guardian sells your service either verbally or written

[FrankenScagMachines]

Well the son doesn't do it on any regular basis because he's living with his dad part of the time, so it's just on and off as he feels like doing it. She says it like he is doing her a favor by doing it to save money and it's no big deal to just throw me off.
Well this just must be my week, I have about 4 regulars including my 2 acres, and a fill in one, and three of them cancelled this week! First one was this lady 'cause her son did it, second said his grass was too dry and hot and it IS fragile when it's like this (no rain) and it hasn't grown alot so the grass gets damaged by the mower when you mow like this, that was ok it was too low paying job with too much trimming. I was supposed to do it and the third one today. I missed out on 3 acres of mowing and trimming today so now I'm at home instead. Dangit! Well the third one (2 acres) excuse was that his mower was at the shop. This shop sells Husqvarna (his brand of LT), Walker, and Wright Stander's. So they had his Husky LT so long to work on that he was complaining alittle so they loaned him a 52" Wright Stander. So he got his yard done before he left this weekend. So I'm not needed. Man I hate this.........only got one $25 job done all this week (plus my 2 acres but that's 0 income). Feeling real bummed out.
Eric

[ProMo]

everytime i have ever lost an accout due to reasons like this something better came along stick in there

[Jeff11]

How about offering her a "marginal" discount to do the mowing everytime. Something small enough that it doesn't hurt you (if possible) but still makes her think that she is getting a deal. This is just an idea and probably not a very good one financially speaking. Other than that it looks like you'll just have to put up with it while wearing a big fat smile. Or just dump the b____!
Haha.

[ProMo]

or dump her and offer the neihbors on both sides a discount why should she have the nicer property

[darryl gesner]

If I'm scheduled to mow, I mow it, even if someone else already mowed it and it doesn't really need it. If I mow it, I bill it. If they don't like it, they can have someone else mow it all the time. Messing up the mowing pattern (stripes) would P me off though.

[spomerhome]

If he's mowing each third time can you figure out a price so that you can mow it every time, save her a little money even though you're adding this trip and you can maintain the look of the lawn you like and keep the account.

There's probably a way if you just talk with her candidly about her finances. For example: If you're charging $20/mowing and mowing 3x/mo (considering he mows once a month), offer to do it for $70, 4x/mo. she will be spending an additional $10 but you can control the finished look and keep the other kid out of the mix!

Try something, you'll figure it out, good luck

[SLS]

My suggestion is this:

Make better use of your time.

Substitute the time you have spent fretting over this one 'cheapskate' with making flyers and business cards...and distributing them. Once you have a couple of NEW customers to replace her with then you can quit worrying about this loser of a customer. Me? I would have already told her to let her son mow it from now on...and moved on to 'bigger fish'. I know that you are a young man, and just starting out w/ a limited area of operation,...but NOW is the time to get the rules laid out...not after you have wasted a bunch of time, effort, and mental energy on penny-pinching types.

Trust me on this.

You only want customers that are as good as you are.

I spent about half of my first year in the biz worring about this kind of caca and then decided to do whatever was necessary to get BETTER clients. Then I started to weed out the funky ones when a new one popped up. This is my 3rd year in full-time and I have 35 regular clients...and all but 2 of them are easy to deal with lawns. Those 2 will be history soon...very soon. I have "terminated" about 10 or so "originals" so far...but I set 35 clients as a sort of goal to achieve and just keep replacing the bad ones as the good ones come into play. Once I have 35 GOOD ones I will raise the goal once again...to 45...and all GOOD/EASY. I see a BAD/HARD lawn now I do not think twice about passing on doing an estimate. 10 day or 2 week cuts?....sorry, but that is not an option either. Turned down 3 just this week...too much effort for the "going rate" around here...I'll let someone else deal with that mess.

Don't allow your 'cheesy' customers to cause you to lose sleep over them...they are not worth it...and life is too short. Concentrate on building your customer base with GOOD/EASY lawns and GOOD clients. :)

This takes a little time and patience, BushHogBoy...but start now and you won't be sorry later. Keep your chin up, and your standards high, and everything will fall into place for you.

"Work Smarter...Not Harder!" :)

[LAWNGODFATHER]

SLS who will cut the PITA customers then?:rolleyes:

Someone has to do it. hehehehehe


ROTFLMAO

[SLS]

LAWNGODFATHER asks:

"SLS who will cut the PITA customers then?

Someone has to do it. hehehehehe"


Ummmmm....how about this guy?

http://bigrifle2.home.att.net/mowered.gif

http://bigrifle2.home.att.net/working.jpg


Or one of the 100's of others like him that pop up, and then dissappear, each year? :D

[brucec32]

Vandalistic? Ha. That's a great new adjective you just coined.

My hope is that you find some other work to do until you're ready to do it right and professionally. You're driving down rates out there for the rest of us! Seriously, If you can't afford to set terms that are fair with a customer (regular service, regular payment, etc) then you're not really ready to offer a professional service. Do you think Domino's pizza would be cool with you ordering a large pizza, taking two slices out of the box, then handing it back to the delivery guy, and offering to pay only for the two slices?

A customer takes up a "slot" on your schedule. IF they won't commit to the slot, dump em. You're selling yourself short if you don't and you'll wind up with more crummy customers, since word gets around you're a sucker who puts up with their various shenannigans.