How do you prove you were there??

[bjm95]

I had the same thing last summer. I put GPS tracking on my trucks. Employees know, so they dont stray, customers know when I ask them if they would like to see the gps report so they can see that we were there and for how long?

[LawnScapers of Dayton]

what does that cost.....and can the report be easily doctored??

[nobagger]

Originally Posted by LawnScapers of Dayton

He was new this year and from the getgo was leaning toward PITA......After I did the second clean up on Oct 16 he emailed and stated he was going to handle the lawn for the rest of the season. I OKed that and moved on. He signed a written agreement this summer that clearly stated the terms of service as of Oct 1. All customers are made aware that leaf clean ups will be faster and lighter early in the fall and slower and heavier later in the fall. It is a process. The charges remain level throughout until all the leaves are down. Usually 4-5 visits. He is not from this area and didnt get it from the beginning. He did not believe that i was there on Oct 2. So basically he was accusing me of charging him for service not provided....just because he could not recall it being done. I do not need that crap.....and have signed a number of new clients recently......dont need him either.....goodbye...

Gotch ya! We're trying every year to get our customer's on a 12 month full service plan and they all prepay for service, no payment or late payments = no service. We've weeded all the non paying or sketchy customers out (except for late paying property maint. companies) but been there. Good luck

[cuttin-to-the-Max]

This is why we do one maybe 2 cleanups the bill them out right on the spot.

Yeah you'll always get those few customers that say you werent there... those are the ones that you drop ASAP.

Dont even get me started on when we plow.... Those customers we MAKE SURE we "Clear infront on their garage well.." Im talkin' you drop the plow a minimum of 4 times infront of their door. JUST to make sure your "Clear down to the pavement."

[cpllawncare]

Just had a customer call about two hours ago, freakin 9 o clock at night to ask me why I hadn't serviced his yard, it's bermuda, so it's basically just a quick buffing out at this point, I'll return his call in the morning, if he insist I haven't serviced his yard, he will get the boot.

[bjm95]

Originally Posted by LawnScapers of Dayton

what does that cost.....and can the report be easily doctored??

The unit cost 400 and then 32.95 a month to track. I do it through Insight GPS. It has paid for itself many times over. Plus it really helps with job costing and time tracking. A lot of reports to help manage costs. The original report cant be editied but if you export to an excel doc you could.

[Patriot Services]

Originally Posted by bjm95

The unit cost 400 and then 32.95 a month to track. I do it through Insight GPS. It has paid for itself many times over. Plus it really helps with job costing and time tracking. A lot of reports to help manage costs. The original report cant be editied but if you export to an excel doc you could.

TG has GPS in their units too and it doesn't seem to stop their techs from ghosting properties if they know nobody is looking.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Weekend cut easymoney]

Originally Posted by cpllawncare

Just had a customer call about two hours ago, freakin 9 o clock at night to ask me why I hadn't serviced his yard, it's bermuda, so it's basically just a quick buffing out at this point, I'll return his call in the morning, if he insist I haven't serviced his yard, he will get the boot.

tell them to go out and look at the edging...they might not be able to tell so much from the lawn mostly due to little growth this time of year, but your edges should be pretty tight and a lot less leaves than the neighbors yards--

then you ask them if it looks nice....or if it 'needs it'-

[Patriot Services]

Iva had a few over the years try this game. They will always maintain they are right. They will say all you did was edge or you just stopped to hang the tag, you can make that gps read whatever you want. I promise if you cave once they will try it again.
Posted via Mobile Device

[caleb]

We were running into that problem a lot, not only with leaves, but with mowing as well. Some customers are out of town a lot, and some just want to get out of paying, so you really need a to be able to say emphatically that yes, you were there.

One thing we started doing was putting out door hangers at every job with boxes checked for the work we did that day.

The main thing I have found that helps is keeping pristine records so that when a customer says we weren't there, all we have to do is show them, not only the dates that we serviced their lawn, but the exact times. If you don't have the time to keep those kind of records, then private message me and I can give you some more tips that will really help you in this area!

In the end, if that doesn't help, then you probably need to drop that customer.