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Didnt take a client cuase i wont cut at 2"

21K views 138 replies 34 participants last post by  birddseedd 
#1 ·
Got a call today from soemone in my neighborhood. even gave him a great deal. but he is insistent that he wants it cut at 2 inches. well i'm not going to do it. I cut at 2.5 to 3. especially during droughts like last year. I had green grass when everyone elses grass was dying.

so he is not going to have me cut his grass. no big deal for me. i'm not going to screw up my other clients yards because he is used to california weather.
 
#3 ·
Yep, that's the old "cut it lower so it'll last longer" approach. People that want their grass scalped drive me insane. Just tell the guy you'll cut it at 2 inches for double your normal rate. Even on most of the warm season grasses we do, our normal cutting height is 2.5" minimum.
 
#5 ·
I talked with him again. basically said that since i am doing it cheaper than he is used to (20 vs 35, he is only a few streets over, i discount peopel in my neighborhood) that he can afford to have me do it every week. he still wants 2 inches because in California that's what they do. but he is willing to let me do it 1nce a week for a month.

i'm just worried about him watering it so much that itl grow too fast.

shrugs. well see
 
#8 ·
I have one guy, he wants it cut short. I cut at 2.25 sometimes 2. Heres the thing. He's not doing the "last longer" approach. I cut there ever 5-7 days. And once a month over the winter. Place looks great. Most other lawns are at 3-5inches
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#9 ·
I talked with him again. basically said that since i am doing it cheaper than he is used to (20 vs 35, he is only a few streets over, i discount peopel in my neighborhood) that he can afford to have me do it every week. he still wants 2 inches because in California that's what they do. but he is willing to let me do it 1nce a week for a month.

i'm just worried about him watering it so much that itl grow too fast.

shrugs. well see
So $80 for a month?
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#10 ·
Yep, that's the old "cut it lower so it'll last longer" approach. People that want their grass scalped drive me insane. Just tell the guy you'll cut it at 2 inches for double your normal rate. Even on most of the warm season grasses we do, our normal cutting height is 2.5" minimum.
I had one ask if we could cut it lower so we didn't have to cut off as much next time.:dizzy:

One of the hardest things when working with the public is not telling people they are idiots.
 
#11 ·
So $80 for a month?
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yea. but its small. wont take me long assuming i can get my 48 back there. is a bit of trimming. and no travel. could walk my mower there if i really wanted to.
 
#14 ·
i cut all lawns at 2" here on southern grasses. there are a few people that mow at 2.5" or 3" and their yards turn brown at the same time the yards i mow do. when it's hot and dry here everything turns brown no matter what you do. you are supposed to cut warm season grasses short anyways. i often find it humorous that some guys here follow rules for northern cool season grasses on southern warm season grasses. i think they are just misinformed. their yards always look shaggy and ugly too.

i actually picked up a customer last year because the previous LCO would cut it at 3" and not go shorter even though the owner asked him too. the owner is thrilled with having me as her LCO now since i mow it at 2".

it can work both ways. :laugh:
 
#16 ·
You can't play croquet in long grass... I'll cut as low as they want as long as it doesn't gouge and affect the blades... when it turns brown I stop OR mow so high it doesn't do anything anyway...

When I was in Cali. I didn't see any grass... maybe it was Bermuda or something... All I remember is being envious of the perpetual flowers they could produce with just a little effort... :)
 
#18 ·
I mow at 3" or 3 1/2". I had a customer who was a very slow payer by the way, tell me to mow closer cause he wanted the weeds cut. Lol. Anyway I told him I lowered to his request which actually I didnt even touch the height. Him and his wife talked about how much better it looked. lol I still cut it the same height I had been cutting. Sometimes they just want to be boss.
 
#22 ·
if it turns brown tell them cutting it short is the reason for it doing so. let them know beforehand you can cut it short but the lawn will most likely turn brown during the heat of the season. suggest cutting it a bit taller but if they still want it short then cut it short.
 
#23 ·
down here in west texas, the height tends to change with the seasons. call me crazy, but the height of cut is dependent on whether we are talking about Bermuda or St Augustine. I have to flip flop the cutting height to fit the time of year and type of grass. I never cut St Augustine lower than 2.5 and prefer 3.5. Bermuda can be cut much shorter than that however. As the weather gets hotter and depending on the amount of rain, the height may go up on Bermuda, or stay on the lower side. Hope that makes sense. I don't have much problem switching heights because my 2 primary mowers are a Honda HRC and the Exmark 30.

Are yall just hesitant to change heights because its hard to do on the Walk behinds? Not trying to call anybody out, but if the customer is paying the bill, and you have advised them on what is best, its still ultimately their decision to determine what height they want they grass mowed in my opinion.
 
#24 ·
We had a customer last year that complained when we cut his grass taller, the clippings just laid on top of it. So let me get this straight, if we cut it shorter with more clippings they're gonna magically have somewhere to go? Some people's reasoning is baffling. I do most of our cuts at 2.5 so there's less room for error and I don't spend so much time changing the deck height and having to remember who is at what height.
 
#25 ·
I had one ask if we could cut it lower so we didn't have to cut off as much next time.:dizzy:

One of the hardest things when working with the public is not telling people they are idiots.
Very true on the public
The lawn I cut under 2'' each week I cut 1/3 growth its a Fescue lawn Thick as he11 when you walk on it feels like carpet.
It grows as fast as a lawn I cut at 3''
 
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