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The customer who is a lawn perfectionist.

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mikesturf

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have had a few people over the years who are just WAY into their lawns. If they are not the first ones to green up on the block if bothers them. They want the BEST lawn possible and they will call twice a year about something. I know many companies will up-sell these people. I just don't have the patience to deal with these kind of people. I just want to knock out as many lawns as possible per day and do a very above average job. I don't have the patience to spend huge amounts of time on lawns to make sure they are the absolute best on the block-NO MATTER THE PRICE I CHARGE.

Do you feel this way or is it just me?
 
#3 ·
I do not mind perfectionists who have the bank account to back it up. I also want them to be cognizant of long term weather patterns. Their lawn is not the only one that looks like crap because it has been raining for 3 months straight. You want perfect, you got it. Let me do what needs to be done when it can be done and do not question the invoice. I have a hard time with a lot of people because they are not perfectionists so they are looking for a bad job for cheap.
 
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#4 ·
greendoctor said:
I do not mind perfectionists who have the bank account to back it up. I also want them to be cognizant of long term weather patterns. Their lawn is not the only one that looks like crap because it has been raining for 3 months straight. You want perfect, you got it. Let me do what needs to be done when it can be done and do not question the invoice. I have a hard time with a lot of people because they are not perfectionists so they are looking for a bad job for cheap.
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I totally agree.

I've made a reputation, with this type of client. I take as long as necessary and take care of every detail. These clients don't care about price, they care about quality. I have one who has a book for every detail of his home. If you have a question about how something is to be done or who to call for a repair, open the book. He's an exceptional client.
 
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#6 ·
many folks just want their lawn chopped down every few weeks...they want to pay little or next to nothing--I see it more and more here...they have no interest in being outside as they maybe moved from larger cities/apartments/homes without lawns. They would be better off living in a high rise or condo where these things are taken care of, but the appeal to have 2000sq feet and a yard seems to draw them all in. the trend now is to NOT water the lawn at all so it wont grow, hence they wont have to spend money on maintaining it--rather than converting it to xeriscaping...going toward bare dirt.
 
#7 ·
RussellB said:
I like the wantabe perfectionist that only wants their lawn mowed every other week. lol sure that'll work.
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My favorite was people telling me they wanted us to maintain their lawn so it looks like my dad's lawn, (who spent hours each day working in it)-- I'd tell them it was achievable, "though I'm not sure you want to pay what is necessary to keep it that nice"
 
#8 ·
mikesturf said:
I have had a few people over the years who are just WAY into their lawns. If they are not the first ones to green up on the block if bothers them. They want the BEST lawn possible and they will call twice a year about something. I know many companies will up-sell these people. I just don't have the patience to deal with these kind of people. I just want to knock out as many lawns as possible per day and do a very above average job. I don't have the patience to spend huge amounts of time on lawns to make sure they are the absolute best on the block-NO MATTER THE PRICE I CHARGE.

Do you feel this way or is it just me?
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I know the feeling had this older lady same way every blade of grass had to look perfect I was basically coached by her across the whole yard while working 1 time was enough for me and she was very rude the whole time.
 
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#10 ·
I'm pretty upfront in the beginning.

Oh, you have Zoysia? Do you cut it below one inch with a reel mower? You'll have issues such as:

Oh, you have Bermuda? Do you cut it below one inch with a reel mower? You'll have issues such as:

Nobody reel mows yet they want golf course quality. I can take them to the golf course, show them the zoysia tee surrounds mowed with a rotary at 2-3 inches full of issues or the fairways mowed at less than .5 and zero issues. It's hard to make people understand how important mowing is in the grand scheme of things. It's the most important. More important that anything my business does, yet everyone has a 60 in. ztr mower and just tears into it whenever they can.
 
#11 ·
I love these types of people personally. In fact, they're who I cater to. These people are typically willing to pay a fair to premium price for services, pay on time, and they appreciate the quality of work that I perform. I'm a perfectionist and very detail oriented, so I typically work well with this minority of customer as I'm usually between $20-$30 higher or more per month than other guys. A lot of homeowners don't appreciate the little things like keeping the flower beds completely weed free, or doing a perfect job on the shrubs, blowing all of the grass out of the edge groves, keeping grass out of the flower beds etc etc... Most people want their grass cut for $90 a month so the home owners association stays off their ass; so when I meet detail obsessive people my eyes light up a little.
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#12 ·
Weekend cut easymoney said:
My favorite was people telling me they wanted us to maintain their lawn so it looks like my dad's lawn, (who spent hours each day working in it)-- I'd tell them it was achievable, "though I'm not sure you want to pay what is necessary to keep it that nice"
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Dad did not have the advantage of modern chemistry and equipment. What Dad had was time and some equipment I think needs to become more common. Want the Dad's lawn look, better start reel mowing. That's right. In another time, reel mowers were not specialized machines only used on golf courses. There were versions designed to mow at 11/2-21/2". Dad also did not have tree huggers telling him or the company he hired what may or may not be applied to the lawn.
 
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#13 ·
kbrashears said:
I'm pretty upfront in the beginning.

Oh, you have Zoysia? Do you cut it below one inch with a reel mower? You'll have issues such as:

Oh, you have Bermuda? Do you cut it below one inch with a reel mower? You'll have issues such as:

Nobody reel mows yet they want golf course quality. I can take them to the golf course, show them the zoysia tee surrounds mowed with a rotary at 2-3 inches full of issues or the fairways mowed at less than .5 and zero issues. It's hard to make people understand how important mowing is in the grand scheme of things. It's the most important. More important that anything my business does, yet everyone has a 60 in. ztr mower and just tears into it whenever they can.
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Exactly. In bermuda or zoysia country, I do not expect to see rotary mowers. I expect Triplex reels for the big areas and walk behind reels for the small lots. In Hawaii, chances are better than average that the small areas get mowed with a reel. Where it falls short are the big areas.
 
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#14 ·
kbrashears said:
I can take them to the golf course, show them the zoysia tee surrounds mowed with a rotary at 2-3 inches full of issues or the fairways mowed at less than .5 and zero issues. It's hard to make people understand how important mowing is in the grand scheme of things. It's the most important. More important that anything my business does, yet everyone has a 60 in. ztr mower and just tears into it whenever they can.
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Is that realistic?

Do lawns get the same treatment as tee surrounds (300 + people walking over the same small area 7d/wk + maint equip traffic 7d/wk + sloping, etc)?

Do lawns get the same treatment as fairways (spread out traffic (~96% of fwy area not touched by golfers) + sand topdressing + irrigation + aeration + full sun + no trees + daily mowing)?

Do you maintain their lawns like fairways (2-3 aeration/yr + sand topdressing + biweekly fertilization w/ foliar fertilizers (no LCO granulars and LCO liquids here) + biweekly fungicide applications + removal of all sources of shade (buildings included)?

If youÂ’re going to tell the customer he has to do something b/c the golf course does it, you should also do the things the golf course does. Sounds like you donÂ’t have the confidence or the ability to produce a good surface yourself, so you put it all back on the customer.

I posted a picture on some thread a year or two ago when everyone was on their reel mower craze. It was from a golf course and everyone raved over it – just marveled over it. They used it as an example of what can be done with reels and a ½” HOC. You can imagine everyone’s surprise when I told them that it was bermudagrass cut with a rotary at 4”
 
#15 ·
I'm a numbers guy. Day in and day out I want to treat numbers. Provide a great service that is superior to 90% of the yards out there. The other 10% who drive around treating 30yards per round can have the perfectionists who are "maybe" willing to spend an extra $10/treatment. Do the math, numbers win every time.
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#16 ·
I am a numbers person too. I have two hands. Running around needing to do a lot of yards per month at a low price or fewer willing to pay the money for exceptional service. Which works better, remembering that I have two hands and no more?
 
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Discussion starter · #17 ·
Raymond S. said:
I'm a numbers guy. Day in and day out I want to treat numbers. Provide a great service that is superior to 90% of the yards out there. The other 10% who drive around treating 30yards per round can have the perfectionists who are "maybe" willing to spend an extra $10/treatment. Do the math, numbers win every time.
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This my thinking-thanks for clearing it up for me in my mind. I would have to charge a perfectionist 4 times the amount I would charge a normal customer for all the time and supplies needed AND my concern would be is it GOOD ENOUGH for their standards. Would they still complain? I just don't want to deal with them.
 
#19 ·
Something else being overlooked is operating expenses. While I'm tending to a handful of properties, I'm steadily making money, throughout the day. Meanwhile, the mow-and-blows are burning fuel and windshield time, chasing $30 yards, with their multi-thousand dollar mowers, running their equipment and themselves wide open. My only complainers are my two, $30 customers (I don't refer to them as clients). It's so nice to show up to a nice place, with nice grass, and nice people.
 
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