do you take bi-weekly accounts?

[smallstripesnc]

Last season I didnt take any bi-weekly accounts and it worked out great for me. I did turn down a lot of accounts because they only wanted a bi-weekly service.

I explain that especially in the spring a lawn needss to be cut weekly due to the growth and that I would have to go over their lawn twice and even then it wont look good and it will stress the turf by cutting more than 1/3 the blade height.

Any of you only offer weekly service? How do you talk someone wanting bi-weekly service into weekly?
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[LandFakers]

I try and talk people out of doing bi-weekly services but its a losing battle. When you are growing a company, I would think not to give up any work, aslong as its worthwhile money wise. I explain to people that choosing bi-weekly means that this say $40 cut means that I cut it ONCE. I will not double cut because I priced the job at $40, and any extra time spent mowing is more they get charged, and they dont seem to like it. Remember to never work for free in this business. If it looks like garbage well I told them so and they can gladly change their service over to weekly.

[Snapper Jack]

99% of my accounts are bi-weekly and they are PITA but when you live in a super competitive region,you go with what brings the money in. Hopefully as my business grows,I'll be able to weed out those bi-weekly's that are non-productive.

[joel29m]

Originally Posted by Snapper Jack

99% of my accounts are bi-weekly and they are PITA but when you live in a super competitive region,you go with what brings the money in. Hopefully as my business grows,I'll be able to weed out those bi-weekly's that are non-productive.

agreed. All of my accounts are bi weekly except 3. When the peak of the year is here I just raise the deck up a inch and keepa moving. They cant tell me anything cause they already know how quick the grass grows and don't wanna pay for extra service. I didnt turn any lawns down unless it was a all day pita for a ztr.

[Monroe74]

I have no bi weekly accounts i tell them its every week or not a all. If they push its double just because i come less often doesnt mean the work is half as much.

[skorum03]

I had a few bi-weekly accounts last year which was my first year, and for some of them it was more like they would call when they needed mowing so once it a while it ended up being like 16 or 18 days before mowing would happen. That really sucked because I was brand new to the business, it was hard on my equipment, and I would have to mow everything twice because it would look like crap if I didn't. Basically what I have figured out is that if someone does want bi-weekly service this year, I will charge them 1.5 times what I would charge if they wanted weekly service at the least. Since going over a lawn a second time doesn't take as much time as the first cut, I think my system works as good as it can, since I have a hard time turning down work right now being a start up company.

Thoughts?

Spencer
www.yardbros.com

[Tunica]

You have to do what you have to do. Its ok for some to say I wont do bi-weekly, others must do them me included. Had I pushed a commercial account trying to reduce thier mind set of bi weekly to weekly someone else would be cutting. It was not about price in the end totally it was the customers demand so I priced it accordingly and it worked out.

[Darryl G]

Why would you even consider taking bi-weekly accounts if you're getting 30 calls a day that you don't even bother to call back, lol.

[skorum03]

30 calls a day is a lot. Sounds like time to expand.

www.yardbros.com

[rreyn1812]

I've had some bi-weekly, and if you can work them into your schedule, then why not. What I try to do is schedule one for one week and a second for another week, so it's like having a weekly. Not always possible to schedule a bi-weekly so it helps me, and then I pass.