Firing customers

[phasthound]

Originally Posted by dallen

I had to get rid of an account because their teen age, centerfold daughter was killing me. She would constantly prance around the pool wearing next to nothing and get right up in my face whenever possible. She always wanted to help and bombarded me with questions and mindless drivel. Applying sun tan lotion was not in my job description. I finally caught her mother at home one day and told her she was going have to find someone else to do their work. She asked me to check out some decking boards so I walked around the house to the pool. She came out a few minutes later wearing a robe which she promptly dropped to the ground. Stark naked underneath - another centerfold. Straight out of The Graduate. I walked away. I now regret that. Kind of.

So, after you fired her did she give you a raise?

[twcw5804]

Originally Posted by dallen

I had to get rid of an account because their teen age, centerfold daughter was killing me. She would constantly prance around the pool wearing next to nothing and get right up in my face whenever possible. She always wanted to help and bombarded me with questions and mindless drivel. Applying sun tan lotion was not in my job description. I finally caught her mother at home one day and told her she was going have to find someone else to do their work. She asked me to check out some decking boards so I walked around the house to the pool. She came out a few minutes later wearing a robe which she promptly dropped to the ground. Stark naked underneath - another centerfold. Straight out of The Graduate. I walked away. I now regret that. Kind of.

That account maybe worth the over hour drive it would take for me to get there. If not maybe RCslawncare would want it!! j/k

[dallen]

Actually, she threw on a pair of shorts and blouse and met me as I was getting into the truck. She was apologizing profusely and going on and on about how her husband is leaving her and how her life is falling apart. She said she just needed someone to talk to and begged me to sit down with her in the kitchen. Against my better judgment, I agreed. She just needed to unload a bunch of crap. I just sat there and listened. She finally calmed down, looked at me with a deadly seriousness and said she has been naughty and needed a man to turn her over his knee and spank her bare bottom. So I did.

[ChiTownAmateur]

LOL!!!! Did Mr. Rork come out then afterwards and ask you if you wanted to stay on the island forever? Just kidding man that was a great story.

[Marcos]

We've found after the first couple of years in business it's simpler & A LOT less expensive for us to attempt to detect potential problem customers at the initial sales visit, rather than have a mutual suffering & agonizing relationship that ends in disaster 2 or 3 years down the road.
Now we're careful to prequalify them to make sure they're on board with us before we accept them as customers.
In other words, in our initial approach to the customer we present ourselves as looking for a certain levels of cooperation with the clients, in terms of proper mowing, irrigation, etc. Many of them of course are less than experts in these areas. So we'll try to get a commitment that they'll be willing to learn from us certain cultural practices that'll be mutually beneficial toward the end-goal.

Non bill-paying dead beats? Those are a lot harder to detect.
But so far, most of those losers, at least in this part of the country, apparently aren't so much interested in organics.

[ecoguy]

Originally Posted by Marcos

We've found after the first couple of years in business it's simpler & A LOT less expensive for us to attempt to detect potential problem customers at the initial sales visit, rather than have a mutual suffering & agonizing relationship that ends in disaster 2 or 3 years down the road.
Now we're careful to prequalify them to make sure they're on board with us before we accept them as customers.
In other words, in our initial approach to the customer we present ourselves as looking for a certain levels of cooperation with the clients, in terms of proper mowing, irrigation, etc. Many of them of course are less than experts in these areas. So we'll try to get a commitment that they'll be willing to learn from us certain cultural practices that'll be mutually beneficial toward the end-goal.

Non bill-paying dead beats? Those are a lot harder to detect.
But so far, most of those losers, at least in this part of the country, apparently aren't so much interested in organics.

Hi Marcos. Thanks for the advice. I think your strategy makes good sense. I am only in my 8th month of business so the pressure I face is not to accept any and all customers just to pay the bills. Without fail, every chemical loving customer ended up being frustrated, impatient - the kind you want to strangle- customers. I think it's better to just choose my customers and if I have to work a second job somewhere else while I'm building my business, so be it. At least in the end I'll have people who "get it."

[Baytownlawncare]

I let a customer go today that I learned a lesson from. If you quote a price and they try to ask you to go lower just state that is my price and I will not cut for lower. I underbid myself on a PITA yard. I mowed it for 3 months. It is a vacant home that the customer is trying to sell. She wanted to mow it just biweekely and was not interested in paying for weekly mowing. She wants it presentable to potental buyers but it is a jungle after 2 weeks. Well last time I am out, I cannot even mulch it due to the height. So I blow it out the side. She calls and complains about all the grass blowing everywhere, street , pool ect. She then states she wants it bagged next time. So I quote her a price for bagging in addition to the regular mow price. She thinks it should be included in the original price. I tell her I will have to charge extra or she can find a new lawn company. So she let me go or I let her go however you want to look at it. I was spending 2-3 hours on her property and only taking in $45. It was not fitting my business plan so it feels great now to be done with her.

[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by JDUtah

Fire them by making them quit. "Due to the attention that your lawn needs, your price will now be double what it was."

If they keep paying and it still isn't worth it do it again.. until they leave, or until you are satisfied with the compensation.

This sounds like a voice of reason to me. Make it worth your time and all the headaches that go with the property.

[knox gsl]

Raising price till they give up is the best way as far as I can tell. Its like having a bad worker, you give them more and more crap till they leave and then you didn't technically fire them.

[fastr1]

life sure is full of choices...i sure would like to have to make those. ;<)