Lawn Care Forum banner
41 - 60 of 91 Posts
TruGreen is owned by ServiceMaster which in turn is owned by privite investment group Clayton, Dublier & Rice out of New York City. To my knowledge John Deere Landscapes/Lesco Inc. doesn't have any business connections with CD&R/SVM/TG. Except that TG buys their turf tractor applicator equipment from JD. And most of their products form Lesco. Then again who in the this industry doesn't buy from JDL/Lesco?
I wish I could.

No presence here in AK.

They closed the doors of the place a few years back…because they gave it no support and let a moron run the shop
 
TG is to big to completely fail. I would say that losing 500,000 customers in the last 3 years is pretty epic but they will still attract customers because of there ridiculous underpricing. Now that they have been sold off, it will be years before they start to see this huge down slide they are in to even out.
As much as you would like to use this as a selling point, you should really focus on benefits of the service you provide. Throwing another competitor under the bus no matter who says a lot about you. I don't think that's a good business practice.

But it sure is nice to see them slide!!!!!:clapping:
you just threw them under the bus. that was not good business practice:rolleyes:
 
Throwing them under the bus on this site is one thing... throwing them under the bus to gain a customer because your service doesn't sell itself, different story.
I am not trying to gain anything but stating the facts that are already out there.
You are absolutely right. Customers don't want to hear you bash any of your competitors. It also makes you look like a creep as well. I just always point out that we are locally owned and operated. I also point out to them that although they may be cheaper.. You get what you pay for. :)

I will bash them on here all day though. They don't give 2 ****s about their customers. They lie and confuse older people and are encouraged to do so by upper management. Karma is a ***** and Tru green is getting theirs :) lol
 
You are absolutely right. Customers don't want to hear you bash any of your competitors. It also makes you look like a creep as well. I just always point out that we are locally owned and operated. I also point out to them that although they may be cheaper.. You get what you pay for. :)

I will bash them on here all day though. They don't give 2 ****s about their customers. They lie and confuse older people and are encouraged to do so by upper management. Karma is a ***** and Tru green is getting theirs :) lol
trust me, I hope trugreen is alive well and has twice the advertising budget as last year. Its by far my best marketing program yet. This year I have closed over 50 yards and counting lots were from TG
 
You are absolutely right. Customers don't want to hear you bash any of your competitors. It also makes you look like a creep as well. I just always point out that we are locally owned and operated. I also point out to them that although they may be cheaper.. You get what you pay for. :)

I will bash them on here all day though. They don't give 2 ****s about their customers. They lie and confuse older people and are encouraged to do so by upper management. Karma is a ***** and Tru green is getting theirs :) lol
I believe this statement to be spot on.

I picked one up the other day that they treated last year. A 70 yr old widow. They told her that her first app would be free but then mailed the first invoice. She had to argue with them on the phone about the salesman/tech telling her it would be free. On the second one they sent her a late notice 4 days after she had sent them a check for the second app.

Here's the kicker...
I am one of the more expensive services in my area. I quoted her a price of $46.50/app. After measuring the lawn, she invited me in and we went over my estimate form. It was then that she told me they were charging her $69/app. I was floored... That's just wrong on so many levels. Anyone who takes advantage of the elderly is a POS in my book..
 
I believe this statement to be spot on.

I picked one up the other day that they treated last year. A 70 yr old widow. They told her that her first app would be free but then mailed the first invoice. She had to argue with them on the phone about the salesman/tech telling her it would be free. On the second one they sent her a late notice 4 days after she had sent them a check for the second app.

Here's the kicker...
I am one of the more expensive services in my area. I quoted her a price of $46.50/app. After measuring the lawn, she invited me in and we went over my estimate form. It was then that she told me they were charging her $69/app. I was floored... That's just wrong on so many levels. Anyone who takes advantage of the elderly is a POS in my book..
In their defense, They prob. had someone measure the lawn that didn't even know he was alive. but yes i agree w u. pos
 
In their defense, They prob. had someone measure the lawn that didn't even know he was alive. but yes i agree w u. pos
Nope. It was the "tech". He measured and applied...
 
Prices are prices, trugreen is definitely cheap in most markets, some markets they're standard. But regardless, they seem to universally do terrible work. They aren't competition, they're the company people start with, then realize they're getting raked over the coals. It's not hard to pick these people up, they're usually actively looking to jump ship.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
trust me, I hope trugreen is alive well and has twice the advertising budget as last year. Its by far my best marketing program yet. This year I have closed over 50 yards and counting lots were from TG
You are right about that! All their expensive advertising sure does help us little guys! Tru Green is a marketing company, where as we are lawn care companies :)
 
I believe this statement to be spot on.

I picked one up the other day that they treated last year. A 70 yr old widow. They told her that her first app would be free but then mailed the first invoice. She had to argue with them on the phone about the salesman/tech telling her it would be free. On the second one they sent her a late notice 4 days after she had sent them a check for the second app.

Here's the kicker...
I am one of the more expensive services in my area. I quoted her a price of $46.50/app. After measuring the lawn, she invited me in and we went over my estimate form. It was then that she told me they were charging her $69/app. I was floored... That's just wrong on so many levels. Anyone who takes advantage of the elderly is a POS in my book..
I have so many horror stories about them from over the years.. It makes me sick, Ted..

I will not hire former TG workers either.. Once they are trained that way, it is hard to retrain them..
 
How far that company has come from its origins. Was it not Chemlawn that originated effective liquid applications for lawns?
 
I do not like it when people/companies attack another company (unless they were personally attacked by them, but this is not the case).

I am aware of several long needed changes that are underway regarding the new ownership/reorganization, and I am very happy for them. A few of you probably started with ChemLawn back in the 70's like I did. So you know there are still some original ChemLawn people that still work at TruGreen. Most of these guys are in upper management. Eric, Jerry, and several others are very thankful with how the new owners will once again operate as a high quality/successful lawn & tree care business. Implementing changes such as buying/leasing vehicles, marketing, purchasing other LCO's, and research & development.

So instead of jumping to conclusions and criticizing, I think it's best to know current facts. One dic on here is on my ignore list, but I can imagine what he's spewing >> most likely name calling....."monkeys", "kids", etc.

Our local TruGreen has been a top notch company. One of their managers is 62-years-old, and he's an original ChemLawn friend that I have known for decades. Not saying some TruGreen locations have not had problems, just saying ours has been very good for well over a decade.

my 2 cents
 
I do not like it when people/companies attack another company (unless they were personally attacked by them, but this is not the case).

I am aware of several long needed changes that are underway regarding the new ownership/reorganization, and I am very happy for them. A few of you probably started with ChemLawn back in the 70's like I did. So you know there are still some original ChemLawn people that still work at TruGreen. Most of these guys are in upper management. Eric, Jerry, and several others are very thankful with how the new owners will once again operate as a high quality/successful lawn & tree care business. Implementing changes such as buying/leasing vehicles, marketing, purchasing other LCO's, and research & development.

So instead of jumping to conclusions and criticizing, I think it's best to know current facts. One dic on here is on my ignore list, but I can imagine what he's spewing >> most likely name calling....."monkeys", "kids", etc.

Our local TruGreen has been a top notch company. One of their managers is 62-years-old, and he's an original ChemLawn friend that I have known for decades. Not saying some TruGreen locations have not had problems, just saying ours has been very good for well over a decade.

my 2 cents
I generally have no problem with them other than when they do apps on heat stressed lawns that I mow. That costs me money, there is no reason for an irrigated lawn to be fried to a crisp in August.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
Around here trugreen definitely isn't making a good impression with the company I work for (scotts lawn service). One of the other lawn techs was talking to a customer at the door and trugreen was spraying the lawn next door. Well after our tech got doing on the lawn (start in the back) the trugreen guy came approaching and was telling our customer what our tech was doing wrong and how he can do the app much cheaper. Theres been other run ins with trugreen but thats just one.
 
I generally have no problem with them other than when they do apps on heat stressed lawns that I mow. That costs me money, there is no reason for an irrigated lawn to be fried to a crisp in August.
Posted via Mobile Device
A double edged sword my friend. There is no reason to mowing a heat stressed lawn that is dormant and not irrigated, yet I see it all the time.
 
When TruGreen first came to my market in the 90's, they had a bad reputation too. Spraying lawns in the rain (due to weekly quotas), ghosting lawns, over charging, etc. Their (temporary) sales people had a quota of 40 estimates per day, so they seldom measured lawns. Salesmen also used the "bug in a bag" technique >> going door to door showing people insects that were not actually from their property. Those days allowed me to pick up many new customers. So I understand the posts.

My problem is our local TruGreen finally got some really good managers. So for the past few years, they became a very good. No easy pickings for me anymore. (just my dumb luck) lol

Regarding Scotts Lawn Care - we more recently tend to get more dissatisfied Scotts customers compared to TruGreen. Not exactly sure why. I recently pulled a Scotts Lawn Care brochure off my door -- it contained misleading statements. It also had a large colorful graph comparing "Scotts vs TruGreen". Wondering if there's a battle going on for market share? Why the negative & misleading statements? BTW, this was a National ad -- not local. Why doesn't TruGreen use negative ads aimed at Scotts? thoughts?
 
My problem is our local TruGreen finally got some really good managers. So for the past few years, they became a very good. No easy pickings for me anymore. (just my dumb luck) lol
:laugh: Be careful what you wish for.

I always take an opportunity to throw out a thank you to the Tru Green nation and former Chemlawn deal because they are the ones who convinced everyone they needed lawn care back in the early seventies. They started a trend and created a desire that makes it possible for all of us to be in business doing applications.

We also all benefit to some extent from the their marketing campaigns every year. It gets people thinking lawn care....

Our jobs to make them think about us.
 
I have so many horror stories about them from over the years.. It makes me sick, Ted..

I will not hire former TG workers either.. Once they are trained that way, it is hard to retrain them..
Big mistake.

I know half a dozen long term TG employees that would make great employees.

I'm sure theres more.

You may have had a bad experience but don't sell "all" those guys short.

Much experience in the tru green ranks. Just has to be tapped properly and managed....educated.
 
Good point Cadzilla. I have a former TruGreen employee that worked under a crappy TG manager many years ago. This employee drives 30 miles to work everyday, and he's always the first guy to show up for work. We are very fortunate to have this guy. He probably does the highest quality of work, and we get more customer compliments for him compared to all others.

My current problem is our local TruGreen is just as good as any other LCO in our market. I wish it wasn't true, but it is. lol Another nice thing is they are good friends of mine. But you know what ......it's GOOD to have friends. cool deal all the way around.
 
41 - 60 of 91 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top