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For those with crews, do you get accused of...

3K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  LAWNS AND MOWER 
#1 ·
For the last three weeks or so I have gotten about 1 to 2 calls per week from clients accusing us of not mowing the lawn and charging them for it. These accusations simply did not happen until about three weeks ago.

Every one of these calls have one thing in common: They are all coming AT LEAST seven days after we mowed the lawn. All have been from bi-weekly customers up until this morning. All of the bi-weekly customers were calling and indicating that we hadn't mowed there lawn in several weeks but every time it was like 10 to 12 days after we had last mowed. The first two or three times it happened, I panicked. Oh my goodness! I've crew leaders running around scratching homes off the list that are not even being mowed. In a panic, I would drive all the way out to the customer's home to take a look. Of course the lawns look like they need mowing when it's been 10 to 12 days since the last cut and we are this close to the summer solstice. It is hard to tell anything 10 to 12 days after the last cut.

So the customers are looking at their lawns and they are thinking "The two week interval earlier this year never had my lawn looking like this. They must not have cut it last time."

This morning, I get a call from a weekly customer. She says we didn't mow her lawn last week. I pull up her account. She is on weekly service and she is on our fertilizer plan. She is also on Thursday service. It has been a full 7 days since her last cut and she is just now calling to accuse us of cheating her. So I spent a good 10 minutes on the phone with her, educating her about the summer solstice and how grass grows faster right now than it does at any other time of year. We came to an agreement that if we miss a cut she will need to report it the next day. Otherwise, by the time I show up to see the lawn, I can't tell anything.

What a headache. These people just look out at their lawns and assume we didn't mow last time because it's tall and ragged looking.

Funny how so many customers call to skip cuts every other week in April and September but they NEVER call in June to request an extra cut when the grass is growing 10X faster. Over the years, I have had dozens and dozens of customers request that we skip cuts in April because it just doesn't need it. I have never, ever, had a customer call to request an extra cut in June because its growing so fast..

Just wondering if other LCO's with crews notice this complaint when the grass is growing fast?

Later,
DFW Area Landscaper
 
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#2 ·
yep.

I have a bi-weekly who says that i need to lower my blades to 2 inches so that it doesnt grow back so fast. I'm like dude st. augustine grass in June - are you crazy? I think i will drop him if he persists. I dont want to have to replace his yard after its browned.

crazy cheapskates.


I have had 3 bi-weekly customers call me this week and req to go weekly. - they are smart
 
#3 ·
I have had this happen, but I don't have a crew. I think with a crew, your customer are hoping that they can get out of paying for it, hoping that you can't know for sure whether the lawn was mowed or not.

I think the reasons that they do it are:
#1.) Bi-weekly customers don't give a darn about their grass so they don't notice that it was cut and/or don't place a priority on remembering when it was cut.
#2.) Bi-weekly customers are flat out cheap and will try anything to get out of paying. They are playing the doubt card and hoping you fold.

I've started making it a point to make sure that they acknowledge that I was there. If they're home I make a point of quickly saying "hi", or if the see me, I wave. If they're not home I leave a stick-on note, "Property was serviced today, thank you for your business."
 
#4 ·
This is where that GPS truck tracking system pays for itself when you have crews. You can have the company that does the tracking send an email to the customer in question. Stating exactly when the crew got there, how long the crew was there and when they left. That shuts them up pretty quick.
Plus also comes in handy when someone claims something flew off your truck and hit their car. You can show them it wasn't you and where your trucks where at the time. Saved one guy I know $10,000 worth of damage claims. Some guy claimed a grasscatcher flew out and caused him to run off the road. He just showed the judge where all of his trucks where at the time. It wasn't him, it was somebody else with the same color trucks. :D
 
#7 ·
marko said:
Leave a postcard or make up some of the sticky notes saying we serviced the yard today on such and such date at such and such time. No refuting that.
I do the same thing. I leave a slip either with the owner if they are home, or on their door if they are not. The slip states the date, and what was done, I keep one copy myself, and the other goes to them. Each week, I staple that weeks work of slips together.

Any problems? I pull out that weeks slips and I know right away if I was there, and what was done.
 
#8 ·
I am just standing my ground with these idiots, insisting that it was mowed and explaining how the summer solstice affects the growth rates.

If they want to dispute whether the lawn was mowed the next time this happens, they need to call me the following day...two days max.

My customers know how good we are about showing up on the day we're supposed to. Out of 1612 mows this season, we were a day late on 8 of them. The other 1604 mows were all done on the day they were supposed to.

Later,
DFW Area Landscaper
 
#9 ·
DFW Area Landscaper said:
I am just standing my ground with these idiots, insisting that it was mowed and explaining how the summer solstice affects the growth rates.

If they want to dispute whether the lawn was mowed the next time this happens, they need to call me the following day...two days max.

My customers know how good we are about showing up on the day we're supposed to. Out of 1612 mows this season, we were a day late on 8 of them. The other 1604 mows were all done on the day they were supposed to.

Later,
DFW Area Landscaper
DFW-
Do your guys leave slips on the properties after they are serviced?
I agree, that you might want to sent a notice out to these or all customers stating that any disputes must be made within 2 days of scheduled date of service.

I agree with you, there is nearly no way to tell if a lawn was mowed 12 days after it was supposed to be. Hold your ground. It is usually the "bi-weekly" ones that are trying to skate on the bill, as others have said, they really done care about their lawn, much less paying for it.
 
#10 ·
I honestly don't think anyone is trying to cheat me. I think they are just looking at the lawn, they see how out of control it looks and then they jump to the conclusion that the lawn company didn't mow it last time.

Here lately, we have had some real problems with the bi-weekly lawns looking horrible when we cut them. We've had highs in the upper 80's and lower 90's, a nice rain about once a week and we are within 30 days of the solstice. Needless to say, some of these lawns, even without fertilizer, are growing like mad.

I have prepared a little note for my crew leaders to leave on the door when they really need to spend extra time to make a bi-weekly lawn good. Honestly, with some of these bi-weekly accounts, in order to make them look good, a three man crew would have to be there for 40 minutes to gross $25. We aren't going to do it.

Here is the note we attach to the door when we have to leave a bi-weekly account looking bad:

Today, ______________, we cut your lawn. We have done the best job we are able to do with the price you are paying. We are not happy with the way the lawn looks and we are capable of making it look better. Please realize, the lawns that we service on a weekly basis always look nice after we mow them. However we are only mowing your lawn every other week, and because we are so close to the summer solstice, the grass is growing very fast right now. There is so much growth that one pass with our mowers does not produce a clean cut. As we get further away from the summer solstice, this problem will be less severe. If you are interested in having your lawn look its best, please call the office to arrange an hourly visit.

We simply cannot spend the amount of time on these bi-weekly lawns that we need to and have them look as good as they can for twenty five bucks. Some of them are ok EOW, but some aren't. Just varies. Can't explain why.

Later,
DFW Area Landscaper
 
#11 ·
These customers prove to be PITAs almost every time...explain to your customers that when you hack the grass down the root systems halt growth until the blades of grass grow back to a recommended length...I explain this to customers and they almost always go with the weekly...no more than 1/3 of the grass tip should be cut off at a time...In fact, I just acquired an account from a what some of you LCOs term "scrub" lawn service because of shoddy work like hacking the grass down and not edging properly...basically what 95 percent of lawn care business do...
 
#12 ·
IMHO that letter makes it sound like ya'll are just whining because the customer is too cheap to pay for regular service. As a customer I would drop you after recieving it, but maybe thats just me.

If you can't do the job right and to your satisfaction, why thake on the bi-weeklys?
 
#13 ·
DFW Area Landscaper said:
I honestly don't think anyone is trying to cheat me. I think they are just looking at the lawn, they see how out of control it looks and then they jump to the conclusion that the lawn company didn't mow it last time.

Here lately, we have had some real problems with the bi-weekly lawns looking horrible when we cut them. We've had highs in the upper 80's and lower 90's, a nice rain about once a week and we are within 30 days of the solstice. Needless to say, some of these lawns, even without fertilizer, are growing like mad.

I have prepared a little note for my crew leaders to leave on the door when they really need to spend extra time to make a bi-weekly lawn good. Honestly, with some of these bi-weekly accounts, in order to make them look good, a three man crew would have to be there for 40 minutes to gross $25. We aren't going to do it.

Here is the note we attach to the door when we have to leave a bi-weekly account looking bad:

Today, ______________, we cut your lawn. We have done the best job we are able to do with the price you are paying. We are not happy with the way the lawn looks and we are capable of making it look better. Please realize, the lawns that we service on a weekly basis always look nice after we mow them. However we are only mowing your lawn every other week, and because we are so close to the summer solstice, the grass is growing very fast right now. There is so much growth that one pass with our mowers does not produce a clean cut. As we get further away from the summer solstice, this problem will be less severe. If you are interested in having your lawn look its best, please call the office to arrange an hourly visit.

We simply cannot spend the amount of time on these bi-weekly lawns that we need to and have them look as good as they can for twenty five bucks. Some of them are ok EOW, but some aren't. Just varies. Can't explain why.

Later,
DFW Area Landscaper
DFW-that letter is not going to do much good. The line "...we have done the best job with the price you are paying" is not a good one. You DO NOT want them to get the impression that they are only paying enough for a crappy job, because that will turn them off.

You might want to say: "With the increasing amount of rain and warm temperaures in the last few weeks, your lawn has grown at a quicker rate than normal. In the interest of your lawns best appearance, I would strongly suggest weekly service for the next "X" number of weeks. If you would like to continue bi-weekly service, there will be a temporary price increase of "x" dollars to compensate for the extra time required to make your lawn look its best. Thank you...blah, blah, blah.

I think this will go over well. I dont really know, maybe you are trying to lose these EOW lawns, I know I am.
 
#14 ·
DFW,
I have experienced the same thing, last and this week. ALL have been bi-weekly customers.

Our policy is if you don't think it was cut, you have to call with in 48 hours. No call, no re-cut.

It is working fine, haven't lost a customer yet for refusing refund or re-cut. If I did loose them, I probably did not want them to begin with.
 
#15 ·
A lot of these "raised like veal" pasty never-go-outside when it's over 80 types have zero idea of what's going on in their lawns. They drive right into their garages and never notice if it's been cut well or not. Then, 3 days later, it's a little ragged already, and they start thinking you're not cutting it or are cutting it poorly. America is full of these girly men. Get used to it.

I do several bi-weekly mows. But only the type lawns that can be done profitably and where expectations are in line with the reality (weed patches mostly).

In the few cases I was talked into mowing bi-weekly on nicer Bermuda lawns (usually they claim they barely fertilize it, etc , etc) I cover myself by charging about 20-25% more for the job and making it clear up front that cut quality complaints aren't even going to be listened to. I basically charge enough to cover any worst-case situations, and I usually am way ahead in terms of $$$ vs. time on-site when conditions are drier or cooler. Some lawns like that I actually have to double-cut in spots sometimes (with heavy rains), but they are so small that the extra time on site is covered by the higher rate I charge.

So, I would, instead of always making just one pass and leaving them a note saying why the job doesn't look that great, price it up accordingly so if you sometimes have to double-cut you're covered. Anyone who has a lawn that costs $120/mo to cut weekly but who wants it cut twice for $60 is a cheapskate you don't need as a customer. Instead, charge $80 and still give them the caveat that they're not going to win "lawn of the month" cutting it every other week. If they don't want to pay extra to get cut less often, you don't need them. They won't last long as a customer anyway, since they're not reasonable.

On large lawns double-cutting becomes a bigger problem, since the mowing time is a bigger percentage of the time-on-site. I don't do any large lots that aren't thin weed patches less than weekly. I can always suck it up and mow for 10 more minutes if a small lawn gets out of hand, but I would hate to cut an acre of grass twice becaues it rained a lot and he decided to call Chem Lawn.

So basically, you can fight them trying to get them on weekly mowing schedules, or give them what they want and charge enough to make it a more profitable lawn. Once you're not seeking new customers, if ever, you can replace them on your schedule with weekly accounts if you want.
 
#16 ·
hey, i got an idea, take a before and after picture each visit. or better yet, get one guy to hold a camcorder and record the entire thing. or, you could just do what i do, ignore thier phonecall, and demand payment on the bill. i WILL NOT try to prove myself to a nutjob that is so crazy, that they can't tell if someone serviced thier property. how can you not notice if someone cut your grass? i have a grapevine, 20 feet long with thousands of grapes on it, but if one grape is missing, i notice it as soon as i get home. and i drink 20 beers a day!!
 
#17 ·
DFW,

DOn't you use a program that prints route sheets and has a place to mark time in & out. I supply all crew chiefs w/ them and they must complete them, if a lawn is skipped, they must give a valid reason. Clients expect us weekly unless they give us prior notification.
 
#18 ·
dfw, I have been somewhat watching your posts/story and for the most part you seem to be doing good so, I can't understand why you would take an every other week job. I realize your probably stuck with them for the year at this point but are you going to eliminate these next year? I realize you have a a no fert. agreement with them and I don't know how conditions are in texas but up here, fert. or not, seven days is max around here.(exept for this week, lack of help, three days moderate rain, etc, etc.) Even some of my non fert weeklys are double mows til late july usually.
 
#19 ·
I'd guess about 1/4 of my clients are bi-weekly mowing. Refusing their money doesn't make much sense to me. It's only a problem in June, though if we get a cool and rainy July, it could be the same. The last two days we have finally gotten back to normal for this time of year...highs in the upper 90's and pushing 100. This dehydrates the leaf blades and makes the mowing a lot easier. It also slows the growth rate.

So for one month a year, the bi-weekly's end up looking like schit after we cut them and in many years it is so hot in June that they will look good then too. I'd rather have bi-weekly revenues than nothing and on average, the bi-weekly's are not a problem for 15 out of 17 mows each year.

Later,
DFW Area Landscaper
 
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