[typical landscaper]

So a few days ago some lady calls me up and wants a quote for a paver clean and restore. I say no problem, probably $1500-2000. Lady says ok that sounds reasonable see you Sunday.

I show up Sunday and nobody's there. I call her. "Oh i'm out of town for an 'emergency'".

Sure lady you totally didnt skip town cause it's the long weekend or something.

First time someone has done this to me.

So I do my measurements and I add a female dog tax. Just a few hundred dollars.

Oh and there's 4000 sq ft of pavers. You read that right. 4000. So I'm like it's going to be way more than $1500-2000 especially since I might have to individually scrape the weeds out of the bricks as I'm not confident the pressure washer can blast that stuff out.

She calls me while I'm driving, telling me to call her back.

I call her back and she spends ten minutes complaining about how much it is. I'm like lady, you have 4000 sq ft. 500 sq ft is a lot for most people. 4000 sq ft would cost $100,000 just to install. Maintaining it for $4000 is not that much in the grand scheme of things.

"oh im just a poor old retired lady i can't afford this"

I look up her house online.

Bought in 2010 for $500,000. Now worth between $1.5 and $2 million (closer to 2 tbh). Also, she's a retired gov't worker. Gov't workers here get pensions that take your best 3 or 4 years and pay out based on that, meaning at the absolute minimum she's raking in $80,000 sitting on her old wrinkly ass. So in the last ten years she's averaging $200,000 a year every single year in equity and income and she's moaning about being a poor old retired lady? Meanwhile more and more young people are becoming homeless or committing suicide from losing hope. Not to mention she called just to complain liek she can somehow negotiate me down. Unbelievably out of touch. These f*cking boomers. If you can't afford to maintain your million dollar property that you bought for a steal only ten years ago, DOWNSIZE. MOVE OVER.

 

[Cut n Strut]

So a few days ago some lady calls me up and wants a quote for a paver clean and restore. I say no problem, probably $1500-2000. Lady says ok that sounds reasonable see you Sunday.

I show up Sunday and nobody's there. I call her. "Oh i'm out of town for an 'emergency'".

Sure lady you totally didnt skip town cause it's the long weekend or something.

First time someone has done this to me.

So I do my measurements and I add a female dog tax. Just a few hundred dollars.

Oh and there's 4000 sq ft of pavers. You read that right. 4000. So I'm like it's going to be way more than $1500-2000 especially since I might have to individually scrape the weeds out of the bricks as I'm not confident the pressure washer can blast that stuff out.

She calls me while I'm driving, telling me to call her back.

I call her back and she spends ten minutes complaining about how much it is. I'm like lady, you have 4000 sq ft. 500 sq ft is a lot for most people. 4000 sq ft would cost $100,000 just to install. Maintaining it for $4000 is not that much in the grand scheme of things.

"oh im just a poor old retired lady i can't afford this"

I look up her house online.

Bought in 2010 for $500,000. Now worth between $1.5 and $2 million (closer to 2 tbh). Also, she's a retired gov't worker. Gov't workers here get pensions that take your best 3 or 4 years and pay out based on that, meaning at the absolute minimum she's raking in $80,000 sitting on her old wrinkly ass. So in the last ten years she's averaging $200,000 a year every single year in equity and income and she's moaning about being a poor old retired lady? Meanwhile more and more young people are becoming homeless or committing suicide from losing hope. Not to mention she called just to complain liek she can somehow negotiate me down. Unbelievably out of touch. These f*cking boomers. If you can't afford to maintain your million dollar property that you bought for a steal only ten years ago, DOWNSIZE. MOVE OVER.

This is funny to me because eventually we’ll be that retired individual looking for a deal. It’s business man, they don’t mean anything by it. Everyone is looking for a deal, it’s your job to sift through the muck and find the diamonds. I don’t know about you but “muck” hasn’t ever made me $ so I don’t spend any time fretting it. Spend less energy on the “muck” and more of your energy finding the diamonds.

 

[typical landscaper]

This is funny to me because eventually we’ll be that retired individual looking for a deal. It’s business man, they don’t mean anything by it. Everyone is looking for a deal, it’s your job to sift through the muck and find the diamonds. I don’t know about you but “muck” hasn’t ever made me $ so I don’t spend any time fretting it. Spend less energy on the “muck” and more of your energy finding the diamonds.

Despite all my *****ing, I've made a decision to drive to pretty much any quotes because pride doesn't pay and it only takes one 'surprise', like happened to me 3 weeks ago, to make it all worth while.

 

[Mowing monkey.]

I can’t stand that line or the fixed income line. If they legitimately needed help it would be one thing but when it’s as much of a first world problem as it gets there’s no sympathy from me.

 

[typical landscaper]

I can’t stand that line or the fixed income line. If they legitimately needed help it would be one thing but when it’s as much of a first world problem as it gets there’s no sympathy from me.

I guess I don't get those who buy giant properties and then don't want to pay to maintain them. That's what downsizing is for. I literally told her, if you had a giant lawn, you'd still have to maintain it.

Like, do you expect people to do it for you at cost or for free? What an entitled generation...

 

[TPendagast]

So a few days ago some lady calls me up and wants a quote for a paver clean and restore. I say no problem, probably $1500-2000. Lady says ok that sounds reasonable see you Sunday.

I show up Sunday and nobody's there. I call her. "Oh i'm out of town for an 'emergency'".

Sure lady you totally didnt skip town cause it's the long weekend or something.

First time someone has done this to me.

So I do my measurements and I add a female dog tax. Just a few hundred dollars.

Oh and there's 4000 sq ft of pavers. You read that right. 4000. So I'm like it's going to be way more than $1500-2000 especially since I might have to individually scrape the weeds out of the bricks as I'm not confident the pressure washer can blast that stuff out.

She calls me while I'm driving, telling me to call her back.

I call her back and she spends ten minutes complaining about how much it is. I'm like lady, you have 4000 sq ft. 500 sq ft is a lot for most people. 4000 sq ft would cost $100,000 just to install. Maintaining it for $4000 is not that much in the grand scheme of things.

"oh im just a poor old retired lady i can't afford this"

I look up her house online.

Bought in 2010 for $500,000. Now worth between $1.5 and $2 million (closer to 2 tbh). Also, she's a retired gov't worker. Gov't workers here get pensions that take your best 3 or 4 years and pay out based on that, meaning at the absolute minimum she's raking in $80,000 sitting on her old wrinkly ass. So in the last ten years she's averaging $200,000 a year every single year in equity and income and she's moaning about being a poor old retired lady? Meanwhile more and more young people are becoming homeless or committing suicide from losing hope. Not to mention she called just to complain liek she can somehow negotiate me down. Unbelievably out of touch. These f*cking boomers. If you can't afford to maintain your million dollar property that you bought for a steal only ten years ago, DOWNSIZE. MOVE OVER.

I don’t think her property value tripled in 10 years
Plus If she did buy it in 2010 it was during the Great Recession so she probably got it on a short sale

youre wanting $1 per sf to power wash the pavers?
what else? Applying a sealant?

sealant is maybe 300$ per 5 gallons , which will cover1500 sf
So you’ll need maybe $900 in product
If you’re there for 16 hours (two days) at $100
An hour
That’s $1600
A total of $2500 , so yea why are you charging $4000?

 

[Cut n Strut]

Despite all my *****ing, I've made a decision to drive to pretty much any quotes because pride doesn't pay and it only takes one 'surprise', like happened to me 3 weeks ago, to make it all worth while.

I guess I don't get those who buy giant properties and then don't want to pay to maintain them. That's what downsizing is for. I literally told her, if you had a giant lawn, you'd still have to maintain it.

Like, do you expect people to do it for you at cost or for free? What an entitled generation...

I dunno man, not sure that’s really entitlement. More like sticker shock. What she thought it would cost wasn’t anywhere close to the number she got quoted. Entitlement is when a customer asks you to trim the bushes while your there to mow with no intentions of paying you for the extra work.

 

[TPendagast]

I guess I don't get those who buy giant properties and then don't want to pay to maintain them. That's what downsizing is for. I literally told her, if you had a giant lawn, you'd still have to maintain it.

Like, do you expect people to do it for you at cost or for free? What an entitled generation...

they do the same thing with cars
Buy a Porsche or a bmw and then moan about what it costs to maintain them
They want the high performance and tight tolerances but dint understand it comes at a premium.

just like the panther tank was better than the Sherman tank
But the Germans could not afford to maintain or fork them so they were broke down everywhere instead of fighting
And they got beaten by a country with sloppy tanks that were easy to fix and repair and cheap to fuel

go buy a ford
They’re still like that today

 

[JT's Outdoor Services]

I've found differences in my older customers, depending on age and area of origin. Most of the "snowbirds" that I deal with, generally speaking, don't even balk when I toss a number out. Conversely, the ones that have lived their whole life in the area tend to think my pricing is a bit high, even though I offer senior, military, and first responder discounts. prime example, my mother. she is 93 and a few years ago, she asked me if $10 per hour was too much to pay someone to cut her grass with a push mower. I laughed and said that for the size of her lot, she would be paying someone $50-$60 each cut for someone to come in and cut it with a riding mower. Her mouth dropped open, and asked "Really?". Mom came thru the Great Depression, so her ideas about money, differ. It's just an age thing, not necessarily someone trying to get over on you.

 

[Jashley73]

Bullet dodged... Imagine how she'd act once you had done the work, and she still had a grip on 'your' money...

 

[Tn Turf]

What's with this 'boomer' talk? I see more and more people use this reference. Someone thought your prices are high, and maybe they are, and you're going to make a post to insult their entire generation on the internet? Why not use that energy to sell your services to someone else?

Sometimes people need to call around and get different quotes to realize your prices are fair or, alternatively, outrageous...

 

[Toro44]

What does the clean and restore entail?

 

[C&A-SERVICES]

Just the way you are telling your story here, I wouldn't want you as a service provider. Just because someone's house was purchased for $500,000 doesn't mean they have money. They could have had a larger down payment that they saved up while working, or received an inheritance or possibly it was passed down from another family member, so to sit there and go that extra mile to search her property online etc. is pretty sad to be honest. Be a professional and move on if someone cannot afford your services. You could have also offered a payment plan if the cost was too much for her to afford. There's more than one way to skin a cat. I have had my fair share of cheap customers, but instead of investigating them online, I simply politely explain my services and what is involved in servicing their property. Sometimes, I send a detailed line item quote to let them know how much work is involved. More times than not, I get the job.

 

[C&A-SERVICES]

What does the clean and restore entail?

Google is your friend. Not sure the rules on posting links, but you will find what you are looking for if you Google it.

 

[flintknapper]

So a few days ago some lady calls me up and wants a quote for a paver clean and restore. I say no problem, probably $1500-2000. Lady says ok that sounds reasonable see you Sunday.

I show up Sunday and nobody's there. I call her. "Oh i'm out of town for an 'emergency'".

Sure lady you totally didnt skip town cause it's the long weekend or something.

First time someone has done this to me.

So I do my measurements and I add a female dog tax. Just a few hundred dollars.

Oh and there's 4000 sq ft of pavers. You read that right. 4000. So I'm like it's going to be way more than $1500-2000 especially since I might have to individually scrape the weeds out of the bricks as I'm not confident the pressure washer can blast that stuff out.

She calls me while I'm driving, telling me to call her back.

I call her back and she spends ten minutes complaining about how much it is. I'm like lady, you have 4000 sq ft. 500 sq ft is a lot for most people. 4000 sq ft would cost $100,000 just to install. Maintaining it for $4000 is not that much in the grand scheme of things.

"oh im just a poor old retired lady i can't afford this"

I look up her house online.

Bought in 2010 for $500,000. Now worth between $1.5 and $2 million (closer to 2 tbh). Also, she's a retired gov't worker. Gov't workers here get pensions that take your best 3 or 4 years and pay out based on that, meaning at the absolute minimum she's raking in $80,000 sitting on her old wrinkly ass. So in the last ten years she's averaging $200,000 a year every single year in equity and income and she's moaning about being a poor old retired lady? Meanwhile more and more young people are becoming homeless or committing suicide from losing hope. Not to mention she called just to complain liek she can somehow negotiate me down. Unbelievably out of touch. These f*cking boomers. If you can't afford to maintain your million dollar property that you bought for a steal only ten years ago, DOWNSIZE. MOVE OVER.

I'd submit you've made a lot of 'assumptions' here and certainly could not know the entirety of this person's financial affairs or obligations. But IF your assessment is correct then perhaps you'd make a better investigator than a lawn care pro.

But if your business model is to disparage, disrespect and mock your potential customers (let alone insult an entire generation) then maybe you should examine that line of thinking.

Just a little advice from a retired 'boomer'.

 

[flintknapper]

Just the way you are telling your story here, I wouldn't want you as a service provider. Just because someone's house was purchased for $500,000 doesn't mean they have money. They could have had a larger down payment that they saved up while working, or received an inheritance or possibly it was passed down from another family member, so to sit there and go that extra mile to search her property online etc. is pretty sad to be honest. Be a professional and move on if someone cannot afford your services. You could have also offered a payment plan if the cost was too much for her to afford. There's more than one way to skin a cat. I have had my fair share of cheap customers, but instead of investigating them online, I simply politely explain my services and what is involved in servicing their property. Sometimes, I send a detailed line item quote to let them know how much work is involved. More times than not, I get the job.

Thank You for your professionalism. This is how a business should be conducted.

 

[Mitty87]

they do the same thing with cars
Buy a Porsche or a bmw and then moan about what it costs to maintain them
They want the high performance and tight tolerances but dint understand it comes at a premium.

just like the panther tank was better than the Sherman tank
But the Germans could not afford to maintain or fork them so they were broke down everywhere instead of fighting
And they got beaten by a country with sloppy tanks that were easy to fix and repair and cheap to fuel

go buy a ford
They’re still like that today

If it is my area, BC, its like the house tripled since 2010. We didn't have the same crash as the USA but all real estate has basically doubled since 2016 in BC so from 2010 a 200% gain is likely.

I have one of these $2m waterfront properties with retired couple, 1 acre lot basically fully landscaped with nice gardens and retaining walls.

They do complain about price a lot, but they have to pay. I'm not going to be the one to say "well you spent 50k on this patio and retaining wall last year, that could have been 7 years of your garden maintenance"

Occasionally I just tell people that landscaping isn't supposed to be cheap, I only recommend it to people with a lot of disposable income

 

[RSG]

I've found differences in my older customers, depending on age and area of origin. Most of the "snowbirds" that I deal with, generally speaking, don't even balk when I toss a number out. Conversely, the ones that have lived their whole life in the area tend to think my pricing is a bit high, even though I offer senior, military, and first responder discounts. prime example, my mother. she is 93 and a few years ago, she asked me if $10 per hour was too much to pay someone to cut her grass with a push mower. I laughed and said that for the size of her lot, she would be paying someone $50-$60 each cut for someone to come in and cut it with a riding mower. Her mouth dropped open, and asked "Really?". Mom came thru the Great Depression, so her ideas about money, differ. It's just an age thing, not necessarily someone trying to get over on you.

That's been my experience, too. The older folks that have lived in this town when it was just a gas station seem to really struggle with home values increasing and everything going up even 10 years ago before inflation.

 

[Jashley73]

Y'all be gentle with the Boomers - They have glass feelings too. (Not just millennials.)

Prove me wrong...

🔥🔥🔥

😁🍿😁

 

[typical landscaper]

I don’t think her property value tripled in 10 years
Plus If she did buy it in 2010 it was during the Great Recession so she probably got it on a short sale

youre wanting $1 per sf to power wash the pavers?
what else? Applying a sealant?

sealant is maybe 300$ per 5 gallons , which will cover1500 sf
So you’ll need maybe $900 in product
If you’re there for 16 hours (two days) at $100
An hour
That’s $1600
A total of $2500 , so yea why are you charging $4000?

You know you can look up property prices online right? It literally says it was sold for 500,000 in 2010. Lol. Some people will argue about anything...

The weeds were this moss like thing that was embedded in the joints. I used my finger to see how soft/hard they were and my determination was power wash was NOT going to do it. It says so in my post...meaning I'd have to be down on my knees scraping manually all the joints for 4000 sq ft. before washing and resanding. Just the sand was going to be around $800.