bad biz

[ProMo]

mowing 4 of my upscale properties yesterday and these guys are delivering fliers to the door. while i was blowing i opened one and it was the cheasiest flier for lawn service it started to rain as soon as i finished so i called the number and asked the girl that answered if they always deliver fliers to a property when there is a guy on a dc mowing the yard heard her talking to her boss i guess and then she replied "its a free country we can do what the hell we want to do" all it had was a cell number and an answering service dont think they will get any lawns in a half mill + subdivision i was humored as i walked the street removing them

[Sammy]

I understand what you are saying, but, how are you going to feel when someone removes your flyers ? :rolleyes:

[ProMo]

i dont use flyers the only reason i removed them was because the girl basically cussed me out and said she was going to kill my bizz bzzzzzzzzzz wrong answer

[FrankenScagMachines]

You're right, that's no way to conduct business even with competition. I always try to be real polite to customers (or competition). I act like I'm talking to someone important like a boss. I'm not afraid to rise against something but I don't cuss people out like that.
Eric

[scott's turf]

Be confident in yourself. If you are good your customers will stay with you. Why waste your time removing someone elses flyers. They are free to advertise even with you on the property. It may seem rude to you but don't take it personally. It is business.

[Got Grass?]

Kinda funny as yesterday I just finished 4 lawns on this one block. Blowing off the drives. This guy in dump shows up & starts looking arround the yard, then knocks on the door.
I'm like WTF I just picked this customer up 3 weeks ago & thay said thay loved my work.
I was back in the area later that day as the neighbor wanted me to pick up a check (customer actually called & wanted to pay me).

Saw the guy outside so I went over & asked why the guy was there & I thought thay were happy with my work.
He told me it was his brothers friend, who he asked a few weeks ago for advice on building some raised/walled beds. He said the guy was from pretty far away & not to worry about loosing his lawn & that guy dosnt do lawns anyways.

Luckaly thats all it was but man was I upset untill I found out. Good paying lawn...

Anyways back on topic:

Isnt it a bit late in the season to start spaming with fliers to beging with? These guys must really need the business.
Sounds like you called the guys wifes cell. Personally I would never pass out fliers if there is a contractor/lawn guy there. Even if thay look like thay have one I wouldnt flyer them unless its a poor job.

There is nothing wrong with a little friendly compition, to make a living. But when you tell another guy your tring your hardest & will odviously do whatever it takes to take away from his livelyhood. Yer gunna have to start runnin...

If anything you saved the neighborhood. Ya did the right thing.

[ProMo]

i was removing litter from an upscale neihborhood ill try to get a pic of this thing it spells scrub all over it every home out there has a service if im done and rain is coming i help other companys get finished and im well respected out there i could care less if they want to put out fliers on a prop i do accross the street but draw the line when im on the site working they should have waited until i was finished

[ADMowing]

That was pretty low of them! People may be putting out fliers here in Florida 'cause we're just starting to get rain and the grass is starting to grow. This is going to be where the trailer gate meets the pavement! Can they hang through the summer? We'll see!

Our customers get this stuff and rip it up. They are happy. So, we don't worry about it. We do give cards and quote sheets to neighbors who ask and occassionally, if a lawn looks like it needs tending, we'll leave a business card on the door. Otherwise, we don't do fliers. We're thinking about it though, but we don't want to do like these guys did -- and it would be totally by accident if we did. Usually, if you've been in business long enough, you can spot the lawns that are professionally maintained anyway.

We have lots of respect for other professional LCOs out there. We like to see the ones who stay in business and work out there with us year after year. There are enough lawns to go around. There are new developments going up all the time, so we all stay pretty busy. It's the scrub who won't hang and who is not doing things up to our scale who bothers us. Let 'em come out there, though. They won't last too long in the searing Florida heat! If they're newbies and are in it for the long haul, that's a different story all together. Do your research. Know your turf. Have good equipment, do your job well and run your business legitimately. And... don't lowball us! This is professionalism.

Promo, obviously these flier people are NOT professional and people are going to see this even if they do call them.

P.S. WE dropped a CUSTOMER for swearing at us on the phone....

[ProMo]

I only called them because it was raining and i was waiting for it to stop was going to give them some freindly advice and maybe even a couple of my non profitable yards until i got cussed out I actually thought it was funny

[Chuck Sinclair]

That is one BUTT ugly flyer!!!

[BerksLawn]

You did the right thing, I would have done the same. It is free to advertise like that but I think it's wrong when you see or can tell a profesional does the lawn. We try to be friendly with all the mowers around here and u can tell the ones that dont wave at u think their better or don't have respect for us. Theres a company that cuts a big field behind a western auto we mow and they use to cut it every month or so and the first couple swipes shot it all on our grass. Things like these would make u not want to talk to other mowers. But just today we had a mower come give us big thanks, one of his customers asked us to mow because he wasn't doing it weekly. Well we told her talk to him first and then we would see well i no some of these companys would of just took the job no questions asked. Theres plunty of lawns to go around, things would go so much easier and we'd make more money if we respected and helped eachother out.

Later,
Steve

[proline32]

I haven't done much flyer type of advertisment but I do occasionally put business cards on doors, as a policy I will never put a card on a door if I see another LCO working on the property and won't bother to pursue the business after the guy has left, I won't take food out of another mans mouth or steal his business. If I show up to offer a bid and another LCO is also bidding at the same time, I'll talk to the other lco and tell the guy to go ahead and bid and that I'll just call the customer and decline to offer a bid, I won't do anything I feel is underhanded, I won't rip flyers off of doors, rather I'll just skip that area for a week or so then put out a card....It doesn't do me or the profession any good to do underhanded or unprofessional tatics.... I have had plenty of them done to me, and I can accept that but it won't change what I do, I do find it a little unprofessional for a service to put a flyer on a door while another service is working on the property, the flyer clearly looks unprofessional and reflects the attitude of the business concerned.

[gogetter]

2 Wrongs don't make a right!!

They shouldn't have put a flyer on a home where a company is clearly mowing.

But you have zero right to remove that flyer, let alone all the flyers on the block. If I was a homeowner on that block and you came along and removed a flyer, you'd have one angry person to deal with. Once it's on my property it belongs to me. Who are you come on my property and remove it?! That's ridiculous.

[ProMo]

considering there is a sign at the front entrance that says "no soliciting" i would consider it a good deed if you would like one i can mail it to you

http://home.cfl.rr.com/mowing/images/promo_logo1.gif

[Lanelle]

Hi Promo, I like your new logo. It's definitely a keeper.

[Mowingman]

Earlier this year some lawn service hit our street with fliers. Besides my house, I do 18 others in the neighborhood, so I always hate to see the competition putting out fliers. This bunch was using some cheap masking tape to tape them on everyone's brick mailboxes. The wind was blowing hard and within 10 min. 99% of them were laying in the street. My wife said it was a shame to see all that litter in the street, so she took off picking them up. When she got back from her walk around the neighborhood, she had two shopping bags full of fliers. I didn't see anything wrong with cleaning up our streets and we had a good laugh about it.:D

[gogetter]

Picking something up off the street and taking something off of someones mailbox/property is two different things.

Promo sounds like you're not that sure about your business if you're threatened enough by a scrub flier that you have to remove them. Have a little confidence man.

[Bob Minney]

I'd be p oed if someone left a flyer while I was working, but after seeing that I would have left it.
Let the customer see it, it should remind them how well off they are with you.
Also I try to get along with all competition, those who I don't care for I wouldnt go out of my way to create animosity.
I dont need to add another worry about my equipment while I'm working.

[hubb]

I came home the other day and a flyer was on my door that was really simular to the one that you posted a pick of. Clearly scrub material. The funny thing was that my truck was parked in my driveway. With REALLY big signs on it! That say "HUBB'S LAWN CARE". What the heck could they have been thinking? I would've done the same thing as you Promo.
A scrub just stole about $30,000.00 in contracts from me. I used to mow 7 apartment complexes and now I only have 3. Screw the scrubs!!!!! That my 2 cents!

[SLS]

hubb:

Same "flyer" thing happened to me back in the spring. I had come home to grab lunch and return a few calls and when I pulled out I saw a "mowing" flyer on my mailbox.

Funny thing was that my truck (with big door signs) and trailer were sitting in the driveway (not 20 feet away)...loaded with a 60" Lazer and a 36" Turf Tracer (and asst. trimmers, blowers, ect).

These guys musta been riding around smoking something while plastering the neighborhood with paper. Or maybe they just thought I was tired or something.....:D


Promo Lawn:

If you really want to smack these 'foul-mouthed' scrub guys here's an idea......

Take their flyers, scribble "$5.00 to cut your grass-first cut FREE!" on them, and drive across town to a very seedy (low-rent district) and re-distribute them at the worst of the properities. That should REALLY give that girl something to cuss about! Remember what she said about it being a "free country" and all??? :laugh:

[ProMo]

that is funny but im not threatened by anyone was just waiting for the rain to blow over the area when the guy was walking up i had to shut down my machine so he could walk by all but 6 of the houses are my customers and i had to walk by them anyway my point was to get there address from reverse lookup and deliver them back so they could destribute them in a place were they would fit in I wont leave any flyer for lawn service on any of my propertys regardless if it is right or wrong

http://home.cfl.rr.com/mowing/images/promo_logo1.gif

[FrankenScagMachines]

If you really want to smack these 'foul-mouthed' scrub guys here's an idea......

Take their flyers, scribble "$5.00 to cut your grass-first cut FREE!" on them, and drive across town to a very seedy (low-rent district) and re-distribute them at the worst of the properities. That should REALLY give that girl something to cuss about! Remember what she said about it being a "free country" and all???


LOL ROFLMAO!!! I would seriously do that if I were you/were in your position, Promo! thats too funny!

[FL_Rob]

Wow... I don't even know where to begin.

I'm thinking… if you really want to screw them you could just torch their gear… or hey why not just shoot them if they come in your territory again.

Does it really matter that the flyer looked like scrub work? What if the flyer was from a giant service company… my guess is your complaints would be that "this giant corporation… blah blah blah" and you still would have picked them up... maybe you should check your customer's mailboxes for direct mail too?

I'm new to the business but not new to business and I can't tell you how unprofessional this sounds and how unethical IT IS - I would fire you straight away if I were your customer.


http://web.tampabay.rr.com/jinx/trailer.JPG

[cowman66]

LMAO! good plan sls:D

[lawnkid]

Someone did that to me once too. It was great. I called and asked them to give me an estimate and so a guy comes and he says to my dad $20. He said that sounds reasonable and he had him come. They show up a week later and I'm mowing the lawn. He's like what the hell? Shows up in a rusty truck, 2 guys with no shirts on, a beat up Scag, and some old stihl equipment. It was great, never saw him again on my street.

[Vibe Ray]

I have a question....All of you guys are talking about all of these "Unprofessional Looking Flyers".....But what should a professional looking flyer look like.

Seriously, I ask for my own knowledge so my flyers do not look unprofessional. I have not yet created one except for some rough drafts, but would really like to get some flyers out there to drum up more business, but I'm confused as to what they should look like!

[DLS1]

Hey Promo Lawn Service. How about using a period at the end of a sentence. It sure is hard to make out what your saying with one long sentence. I just gave up reading your posts.

[SLS]

I pulled up to one of my accounts today and noticed what appeared to be a note taped to the mailbox.

It was a flyer from a fellow LCO.

It was handwritten, on a 3x5 index card, in pretty red felt-tip pen....attached with masking tape. "We Do It Right" it said......

Very nice.

I hope it don't rain before my customer removes it...red ink stains running down a white painted mailbox could be annoying.

Maybe the guy is a painter too?? :D