CHEESE2009
06-01-2010, 11:47 AM
I have plenty of customers this year.
I remember when I was smaller, I had a decent relationship with all of my customers & it has always been a fun time, I was so lucky as they were all so friendly & enjoyed my weekly visits.
Now that I am bigger, I don't have that same feeling from my new customers. I cant be personable with the new ones or get on their good side, the side where I can win them over with my personable approach.
All of my last years customers are the ones I really appreciate. It's like they are all friends & would choose me over anyone! I love them!
These new ones look at me as if I'm just like every other company.
I suppose my last years customers know me by Scott. The new customers just know Breeze & it's a completely different vibe I've been getting from them.
Anyway, this year I have gotten my share of complaints.
Because these customers give me a bad vibe, I'm not afraid to lose them.
My most recent customer.... As I went to give her an estimate, I wanted to run away. She gave me such a hard time.
When I met her, all she asked was... "How long have you been in business, how many lawns do you have around here, how many lawns do you have on this street"
I straight up told her, "You can try out my service & if you don't like it, find someone else. The amount of customers I have is none of your business"
The next day she calls me, same questions.. "I have to shop around to see if you offer the best deal, before I hire you"
I said, "Good, do that. If I don't, feel free to hire someone else":D
Anyway, I came back the next week to start.
My guy & me did a fantastic job. The only issue was they had a playground which was impossible to trim the interior of. I did the best I could, but my trimmer can only do so much. The only thing I could have done, was get on my hands & knees as rip out the grass by hand - not gonna happen.
Anyway, the job was fantastic. Any other client would have been happy, especially for the price we had offered.
Anyway, the vibe I got off this lady from meeting her comes into play. First off, she sounds more cheap them any customer I ever encountered. She is probably going to have me do all this work, find a reason to complain so she doesn't have to pay me. I can't wait to ask her for my money, I can just predict what will happen.
Anyway, so after I cut her lawn for the first time. She calls me the next day.
"The job looks messy, & you missed a spot in the playground"
I said, "Well if the job is messy I suppose we aren't the company for you. As for the playground, my trimmer doesn't bend around the way you have the playground set up, the job is as good as it's going to get"
she said, "the company I was with before was able to do it"
I said, "Well they must be great, why not just hire them again? They must offer a competitive price no?"
She didn't say anything for a good 3 long seconds, then she says. "Anyway, if you are able to come back & fix up that spot, that would be great"
I said, "It's not going to happen, I will be behind schedule due to the rain we will be getting this week.
She said, "Oh alright"
I said, "Goodbye!"
HA HA HA!!!!
Maybe if her first impression was more, "Nice to meet you, what does your service include, how much will you charge, when will you be showing up?"
but it was more like..
"Who are you? Oh, right. How long have you been in business? How many lawns do you have? Who do you do around here? Uh-huh... Trimming my hedges, is that in the package? Just lawn maintenance? Uh-huh.. Is it just you? Where is your business located? Is that the best price you can give me? Alright, I will call you later".
Talk to me like that, eh? Pshhh! When I got in the truck I told my guy, "were not going to take her" though I ended up taking her...:(
Anyway, my attitude towards people has changed significantly. I used to be out to give a good impression, but now I demand to see my customers do me good, before I do anything at all for them.
As soon as they give me a hard time out of the blue, for something stupid of course... That's where I say, "find someone else"
No more will I move peoples junk around on their yard, if it's in my way - I'm not moving it.
If you want to leave pool accessories & toys & an assortment of junk lying around, don't expect me to break my back for you.
I hate when customers do their own yard work & just leave debris lying around in piles.
MANY of my customers have raked leaves & just left piles on their yard, bag em! I'm not picking them up, especially without a pre-warning.
Even sticks & branches, they'll leave them in bundles right in my path. My job is to cut grass, not pick up after you. If I did all this extra crap for all of my clients, I'd be out of business is no time.
One client cut down a tree & an entire hedge & left it on his front property. The mess covered his entire front! I couldn't mow it.
He came out & said, "so what are you going to do with the branches?"
I said, "I'm going to wait for them to disappear, so that I can cut your lawn! I'm not taking that mess, call the city..."
Seriously. There are various companies specializing in this crap, why put the pressure on the lawn maintenance guy? That should be a topic of it's own!
I remember when I was smaller, I had a decent relationship with all of my customers & it has always been a fun time, I was so lucky as they were all so friendly & enjoyed my weekly visits.
Now that I am bigger, I don't have that same feeling from my new customers. I cant be personable with the new ones or get on their good side, the side where I can win them over with my personable approach.
All of my last years customers are the ones I really appreciate. It's like they are all friends & would choose me over anyone! I love them!
These new ones look at me as if I'm just like every other company.
I suppose my last years customers know me by Scott. The new customers just know Breeze & it's a completely different vibe I've been getting from them.
Anyway, this year I have gotten my share of complaints.
Because these customers give me a bad vibe, I'm not afraid to lose them.
My most recent customer.... As I went to give her an estimate, I wanted to run away. She gave me such a hard time.
When I met her, all she asked was... "How long have you been in business, how many lawns do you have around here, how many lawns do you have on this street"
I straight up told her, "You can try out my service & if you don't like it, find someone else. The amount of customers I have is none of your business"
The next day she calls me, same questions.. "I have to shop around to see if you offer the best deal, before I hire you"
I said, "Good, do that. If I don't, feel free to hire someone else":D
Anyway, I came back the next week to start.
My guy & me did a fantastic job. The only issue was they had a playground which was impossible to trim the interior of. I did the best I could, but my trimmer can only do so much. The only thing I could have done, was get on my hands & knees as rip out the grass by hand - not gonna happen.
Anyway, the job was fantastic. Any other client would have been happy, especially for the price we had offered.
Anyway, the vibe I got off this lady from meeting her comes into play. First off, she sounds more cheap them any customer I ever encountered. She is probably going to have me do all this work, find a reason to complain so she doesn't have to pay me. I can't wait to ask her for my money, I can just predict what will happen.
Anyway, so after I cut her lawn for the first time. She calls me the next day.
"The job looks messy, & you missed a spot in the playground"
I said, "Well if the job is messy I suppose we aren't the company for you. As for the playground, my trimmer doesn't bend around the way you have the playground set up, the job is as good as it's going to get"
she said, "the company I was with before was able to do it"
I said, "Well they must be great, why not just hire them again? They must offer a competitive price no?"
She didn't say anything for a good 3 long seconds, then she says. "Anyway, if you are able to come back & fix up that spot, that would be great"
I said, "It's not going to happen, I will be behind schedule due to the rain we will be getting this week.
She said, "Oh alright"
I said, "Goodbye!"
HA HA HA!!!!
Maybe if her first impression was more, "Nice to meet you, what does your service include, how much will you charge, when will you be showing up?"
but it was more like..
"Who are you? Oh, right. How long have you been in business? How many lawns do you have? Who do you do around here? Uh-huh... Trimming my hedges, is that in the package? Just lawn maintenance? Uh-huh.. Is it just you? Where is your business located? Is that the best price you can give me? Alright, I will call you later".
Talk to me like that, eh? Pshhh! When I got in the truck I told my guy, "were not going to take her" though I ended up taking her...:(
Anyway, my attitude towards people has changed significantly. I used to be out to give a good impression, but now I demand to see my customers do me good, before I do anything at all for them.
As soon as they give me a hard time out of the blue, for something stupid of course... That's where I say, "find someone else"
No more will I move peoples junk around on their yard, if it's in my way - I'm not moving it.
If you want to leave pool accessories & toys & an assortment of junk lying around, don't expect me to break my back for you.
I hate when customers do their own yard work & just leave debris lying around in piles.
MANY of my customers have raked leaves & just left piles on their yard, bag em! I'm not picking them up, especially without a pre-warning.
Even sticks & branches, they'll leave them in bundles right in my path. My job is to cut grass, not pick up after you. If I did all this extra crap for all of my clients, I'd be out of business is no time.
One client cut down a tree & an entire hedge & left it on his front property. The mess covered his entire front! I couldn't mow it.
He came out & said, "so what are you going to do with the branches?"
I said, "I'm going to wait for them to disappear, so that I can cut your lawn! I'm not taking that mess, call the city..."
Seriously. There are various companies specializing in this crap, why put the pressure on the lawn maintenance guy? That should be a topic of it's own!