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What is your solution for off and on rain

6K views 44 replies 25 participants last post by  outdoorlivingempire 
#1 ·
Off and on showers today. Just when I think I can go a big black cloud looms overhead, rains for a little while and then moves off. It's keeping everything wet all day. These are the confusing learning curve days for me, because I'm just not sure of what to do. I'll bet if I load everything, it's going to cut lose with a downpour and I will get 1/2 property mowed. Switched gears and did a small clean up this am but I want to mow! What do you do in this situation?
 
#4 ·
Your definitive answer makes me feel better.
Nothing good will come of it. You'll be frustrated. You'll get sick. You'll tear up a yard. You'll get stuck. Here in Ohio we may at most have one 3 day stretch a mowing season where we can't work because of rain. No big deal. Party time as far as I'm concerned. My back needs that break anyways.

Have a 3-4 day a week schedule. Keep a day or 2 open for make-up work. Boom. Easy peasy.
 
#5 ·
Nothing good will come of it. You'll be frustrated. You'll get sick. You'll tear up a yard. You'll get stuck. Here in Ohio we may at most have one 3 day stretch a mowing season where we can't work because of rain. No big deal. Party time as far as I'm concerned. My back needs that break anyways.

Have a 3-4 day a week schedule. Keep a day or 2 open for make-up work. Boom. Easy peasy.
Couldn't agree more! At one point in time I had a raincoat for days like today, not anymore... I mowed some this morning ane one this afternoon. Now that it's raining I'll go home and do some billing or visit forums or something. I love being solo again!
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#16 ·
Because I work from home I usually pick days like these to do maintenance and work on broken equipment (especially off/on rain days), also run errands around town, get groceries, order supplies, work on the schedule, give estimates... Basically do "business owner" things, without getting too carried away.

Takes some planning to get to where I'm doing what I want, when I want...
Helps to make lists of what needs done, or have equipment lined up much like in the shop, maybe even tag them.
Even then much like yourself the weather isn't always cooperating with my plans either.

And still sometimes, especially when it's just pouring rain all day?
Zzzzz....
 
#19 ·
i keep working until the rain is too heavy, or ground is saturated. There are yards that drain well, and i'll hit those. I hate doing the afternoon shift, and sitting around in the morning, waiting for the the sun to do it's job; I just can't get going. I don't make up yards in order and bump my regulars. If i have make up yards, i'll keep my regularly scheduled yards for the day, and work in the make up yards. From my experience, regular customers don't understand why they should get bumped if it's sunny, but the customers that got rained out will understand. Top of the list are top payers that have well drained yards. I do get anxious when it rains excessively, because someone will be mad, and they might even fire me. That's why i stick to my top payers in a crisis.
 
#20 ·
i keep working until the rain is too heavy, or ground is saturated. There are yards that drain well, and i'll hit those. I hate doing the afternoon shift, and sitting around in the morning, waiting for the the sun to do it's job; I just can't get going. I don't make up yards in order and bump my regulars. If i have make up yards, i'll keep my regularly scheduled yards for the day, and work in the make up yards. From my experience, regular customers don't understand why they should get bumped if it's sunny, but the customers that got rained out will understand. Top of the list are top payers that have well drained yards. I do get anxious when it rains excessively, because someone will be mad, and they might even fire me. That's why i stick to my top payers in a crisis.
I agree with all of this. It's rained so much lately, that I'll keep going until I just cant anymore.

Two weeks ago it rained for like 7 days in a row. I lost a customer who couldn't wait on me. I gained 4 others during that time as well. I don't mind a rainy day or two, but three or more wet days in a row is a disaster.:dizzy:
 
#22 ·
In order to "never mow in the rain" you must have a really small number of really, really high-paying jobs to get away with not working half the time. (it rains a lot here)

If I don't work, I don't get paid. I need to get paid, so I need to mow.
When it rains, I skip the nicer lawns and cut the crappy ones that don't look any better or worse either way. If all my lawns were nice though I don't know what I would do. I also don't have to worry about a ZTR rutting because I don't own one, so there's that too.

Heck, I have grass that's soaking wet from DEW all the way up until 1pm sometimes. Should just sit in the truck and wait for it to dry?

The rain question, like all questions asked here, is yet another thing that has no one right answer because we all don't mow the same lawns with the same equipment in the same town.
 
#23 · (Edited)
there's always saturday and sunday to work if needed....and extra hrs of each day too.

i've worked till dark at least 5 days the past 2 weeks in order to catch up. i've had to work 1-2 saturdays too like half a day. nothing major. that's normal this time of year. once may or june gets here everything will smooth out. it will just be hot then. :laugh:

just this week it rained all of tues night until the early am of wedesday. i didn't start mowing til about 1pm or so on wednesday and worked until dark and got everything finished for the day.

i think the problem is when guys have 10-12hrs of work to do each day. if that is the case you are gonna have trouble catching up from rain. you may never catch up unless you mow in the rain.

me personally i can work 6hrs on a full day and make $250-$300. that is all i ever want to do. that is plenty of money for me. no need to cram in 10hr days trying to get rich??? all you do is wear yourself out in the long run.
 
#25 ·
It's kinda neat how all my premium stuff is well drained. Nice neighborhood = good drainage, at least for my accounts.
I pointed drainage issues out on a few bids. Customer could not understand squishy lawn after a month of no rain means you pay more. Blame the new build developer, not me.

To each his own. It is outlined in my contracts my rain policy. 24 hours after a rainfall your lawn will be done. If you get bumped, the schedule moves x days forward. If that means I'm running sat sun to get even so be it.
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#26 ·
I skip the nicer lawns and cut the crappy ones that don't look any better or worse either way. If all my lawns were nice though I don't know what I would do.
That was an idea that went through my head. The problem with it was my Thurs lawns are all on the same street. Explain that one to all of them, I'm doing so and so's but not yours because you fertilize. Would have taken me all day to explain-wasted time.
 
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