The Green Industry's Resource Center

pseudosun · #1 09-18-2012, 07:12 PM

I feel like i was set up. This neighbor of my regular customer flagged me down while mowing, and said his friend "lady" needed someone good,reliable and regular, so i gave him my card. Well, she called, and i set it up. She had some story about her other yardman not being able to make it after hurricane isaac, and it was high. I pull up and the yard had not been edged in a year. What yardman doesn't edge? I went to the back, and saw that she tried to cut two strips in the back about a week ago, and gave up. Her story isn't making much sense. Well, i got my straight shovel and only did half the edging; it didn't take that long. She came home from work, and after handing me a check tried to avoid the discussion about regular service. She tried to scurry inside saying "thank you". My customer's neighbor said this woman needed regular service. When i brought it up, she said while frowning "oh, you want to like do it on a schedule or something?" I could hardly contain myself. In a nice way, i told her that this is how i made a living. So, she got a one time clean up, but i'm not going to be able to help her, because she wants to call me when she needs me. In summary, it didn't end well, because i thought i was getting a regular close to home. Now, when i go cut at my regular customer's yard, this man (who gave me the referral) next door has some explaining to do. I continue to be astonished by these people who work and don't understand that i want to be on a schedule. Would they like to wait for the phone to ring so that they could get work? I don't know if this woman lied to him, or he lied to me, but i will NOT be on call. He may be upset that i'll have to drop her like a hot potato. o well. I should know better. I've seen these horrible yards that never get better, and it's for a reason. They will not comply with regular service, and the yardman says see ya.

Greg78 · #2 09-18-2012, 07:17 PM

Shouldn't the conversation about regular service happen upfront with the potential customer not the person who referred you? I don't do 1 time deals anymore they either sign up for our normal service package or they find someone else.

pseudosun · #3 09-18-2012, 07:22 PM

When i think back about my conversation with the lady, she was very vague, like "o great, yes". I was just duped, that's all. She was so smooth, that i think she's done this crap before. She acts interested, but has no intention of being regular. My bad. I try to help, but atleast i only did half the edging. She'll have to find another sucker. They got me. Very slick.

Greg78 · #4 09-18-2012, 07:30 PM

Yeah I gotcha, all my customers pay a month in advance so if that happened to me at least I would have serviced the property for one month.

32vld · #5 09-18-2012, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pseudosun

When i think back about my conversation with the lady, she was very vague, like "o great, yes". I was just duped, that's all. She was so smooth, that i think she's done this crap before. She acts interested, but has no intention of being regular. My bad. I try to help, but atleast i only did half the edging. She'll have to find another sucker. They got me. Very slick.

I was called to do a one time mow. The property was so over grown I told her $105 for the first time, $35 week after. She never got back to me.

I had two neighbors of reg customers wanted one time mows due to them going away from home. Well maintained lawns no extra work, charged regular price as if they were weekly. And I had the time to do them. Found money.

One lady was wishy washy about committing just like your lady was. Was a $46 mow. Was not over grown. Did the job, got paid, never called back to have me continue.

I think that the best way to handle a customer is to prequalify that customer that only wants a one time mow but won't admit it is to say I have no problem doing a one time service and charging just my regular price.

There can be many honest reasons for wanting a one time mow.
People can hurt themselves at work, lawn mower died, go away for vacation, getting ready for a big party and don't have the time this week. Sickness, family emergency. So I will be glad to help you out.

If you can't be honest and not straight out tell me that you want a one time mow or weekly service then I will end this conversation now.

If your lawn is over grown I have to charge extra due to the extra work needed. If you are not agreeable to this then there is no need to come and give you an estimate.

We get afraid of scaring a customer off when we should not.

siclmn · #6 09-18-2012, 10:50 PM

I always ask a new customer "will this be on a regular basis or am I just mowing this for one time only" and that determines the price.

MOturkey · #7 09-19-2012, 12:04 AM

I don't do one time jobs at all anymore. If someone calls, I just ask if they are requesting a bid for regular service, or just temporary service. Most will be honest, and the others will hem and haw a bit, telling me all I need to know. There is nothing wrong with doing one-timers, I just don't want to mess with them. As in your situation, I've found about 90% of them are just wanting someone to clean up the problems caused by their neglect, and I don't need money that badly.

Cloud9Landscapes · #8 09-19-2012, 12:42 AM

Sounds like the life of a gardener to me. Misunderstandings such as these happen, and yes they suck, but you don't nurture the relationship of a crappy client who is going to cost you more money in the long run. Focus on what you do and what you have, and advertise.

And do you seriously still edge with a shovel! Do yourself the favor and invest in a walk behind sidewalk edger. It will make quick work of ANY edge.

Make your ends meet off the money that you get from doing basic maintenance on your route. And while on your route, find little extras that you can charge customers for. This is where your spending money comes from.

grandview (2006) · #9 09-19-2012, 04:52 AM

You make money on the job,who cares then.Tell your other customer thank you for the referral but say it didn't turn out to be anything. Because if yiu get pissed at him he might not give your name out again and you'll be losing money.

Kris.453 · #10 09-19-2012, 05:05 AM

Yeah this is all some good advice. Whenever I suspect that a customer isn't going to set up a account with me I will ask them and make sure that I charge a price a little over just to figure in some expenses. I think the best thing to do with jobs like this is to bid them above your regular service fee and then try to do it as best and quick as you can.

Whenever I come across myself in the situation where a customer says "Oh, hold on let me get you a check." or "Here is a check." Usually I tell them that I bill at the end of the month. I feel like this makes the customer feel like it is an ongoing service. Most of my customers don't care if I do it on a certain day, just that its done on time and well.