[General Grounds]

:blob3: been doing this for 10 years now and ive never been so happy to see the end of the year coming. im not sure whats been worse the really bad weather and never ending high turf or the impossible customers, by far the worst this year. not compaining about our quality at all just the wiening " oh whats taking so long did'nt rain today, you could have come today", im sure you guys in the northeast know what im talkin about. tony

 

[dvmcmrhp52]

YYupppppp!

 

[rodfather]

hear ya loud and clear tony from a fellow NJ guy...I can't wait till the season is over...unforuntetly, leaf seaon is just aroud the corner

 

[JML]

I hear you Tony I have thought about giving it all up several times this year... And then I just get my insurance renewal this year a lovely 21% higher.. I love it, and we had no claims.... Where do you guys service, trying to think if i ever saw you around...

 

[DoubleCutter]

Yeah my ins went up 20 percent my second year..Ive been running mowers for 15 years for my dads business Im on my own for 2 years(bought him out)...this year was the worst by far. Ever since the first snow storm last year(Nov 27) I havent stopped yet. Leaves are not going to make me happy, and If it snows this year like they are predicting, Ill be in a straight jacket by January. We should all get together when leaves are a thing of the past and tie one on bad...I need a beer
Bill

 

[HOMER]

I'll have to agree with ya on that.

All year long it's been double triple and sometimes just forever trying to get the grass cut down to height. Folks think that just because it rained a little then they should have been cut.........to some degree that's true. When you take it home because of the rain and get settled in it's real hard for me to go back out and chance getting rained on again. I'd just as soon stay home and try it again the next day.....and for several weeks down here in Bama the next day was a repeat of the previous day, rainnnnnnnnn. Ya, I'm ready for the leaves and ready to put the trimmers up. Money stays the same either way, ain't gonna lose any...........I got projects I want to get workin' on!

 

[grshppr]

Can't wait for the end of the season. This was our driest year in over 100 years. There is a watering ban in place, our lakes are in the lowest levels in over 100 years. August was down 50 % in revenues due to lawns not growing. Its busy now again with trimming, and cleanups, but I'd just like to forget about this year. Hopefully there is a ton of snow this year, or next year will be even worse.

 

[dvmcmrhp52]

Sorry to hear that grshppr,
we had the same kind of weather last year.
Hopefully it will get better next year for you.

 

[mmacsek]

Ditto on the above comments. Most customers where pretty understanding but the whiners were relentless. I'll buy the first round!! Matt

 

[mike9497]

yup i can't wait.been doing this for 5 years now.im tired of the customers.most of them have been great this year but there are 2 that im going to drop for next year.they just drive me to nuts.when i first started out i loved this line of work.now i can't even get myself out of bed in the morning.but im sure next year will be better....

 

[Ed Ryder]

I'm also very frustrated. I have so many thick, super fast growing lawns. Geez! It's driving me nuts! And I totally cannot keep up with it all.

Just a few more weeks and they will slow down. No leaves for me. I hate leaves.

 

[mtdman]

I just need the time off! It's been a great year for making money, crappy year for weather. Too much rain, not enough time. Ugh.

 

[General Grounds]

:blob3: JML, we are in Manalapan/Marlboro and how about you???

well though im not glad to see were all in the same boat i am glad to see im not alone.

i could SOOOOOOO go for tyin one on in mid december

 

[work_it]

I, on the other hand, hate to see it end. We had nearly perfect weather this year for me to restart my business. The only thing that wears me out is the 2 PITA's I picked up. One just asked me if I was going to charge her extra for leaves. My reply...............Yes, that isn't part of the mowing season, and leaf removal is charged by the hour. She then asked what I charge/hour, and I didn't hesitate to tell her $100. The complaints started rolling in. Ended up telling her, "That's my rate, and it won't change". Don't you guys just love the cheap PITA's? NOT!

 

[Envy Lawn Service]

Whew....two rough years in a row....opposite but rough. Last year it was drought conditions, heat, eating dust all year, leathery leaves in the fall and dealing with all the client problems associated with extreme dry weather. This year completely opposite. Today was the first day I ate dust, rain-rain-rain-and rain some more, not enough hours in the day/week/month, plus dealing with the recovery from last year's drought.

I'm not really looking forward to the end of the season, but I can sure use the winter rest. I am one that just hates this time of year. I know some of you will think this is silly, but I get down in the dumps this time of year because the warm season grasses are transitioning into dormancy. Not dark green, not totally just green and not totally brown. Where it really gets to me is where it is mixed in with my nice tall fescue lawns.

It's a drag for me when I'm not able to look at my lawns when I'm finished and think to myself, wow that looks amazing.


It's easy to tell where I am in the piramid of "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs."

.....humm it might make an interesting thread to share info about that on lawnsite.

 

[Willis]

I kicked the mowers up a notch this year so that they would'nt burn out in the heat of the season. I ended up loosing control of them and clumps, clumps, clumps. lost a few accounts over that, very frustrating, customers did'nt understand that I meant well.
Now that I have control over them and will never raise them up again, I could use a couple, few more months to make up for the loss. You all have been grate, even in disagreement. Good luck next year. :angel:

 

[David Haggerty]

It's been one of my best years yet. I'd love to keep it up and mow thru Oct.
My son and I had a big day yesterday. 13 lawns, over 29 acres but some were 3 to 4 K sq. ft. lots and they ALL had trimming.
My aching back woke me up at 3:00 AM, but when the Tylenol kicks in I'm going back to bed. Because we have 3 lawns (12 acres) to mow tomorrow.

But the reason I'm in a good mood is that all the while I'v been up it's been raining!

OK any of my customers who might be reading this posting:
Effective 4:00 AM Saturday, You're back on a 7 day schedule!



Dave