P.i.t.a!!!!

[CHEESE2009]

Alright, so there was that one customer who lost a family member.

I gave him a good price on lawn maintenance, & FREE dethatching.

I did the dethatching awhile back, but it was not to his satisfactory.

He really wants me to use a machine, which when I rented, the machine wasn't functioning properly, waste of my money.

Anyway, I have done every customer with dethatching rakes & managed to fill up 4-5 bags per average lawn give or take.

It takes time, but it's less of a hassle for me, & renting fees have gone through the roof for this piece of equipment.

Anyway, this customer has been nagging & NAGGING me.

"I hired you & the company I had last year came and did all my neighbors. They wouldn't dethatch my lawn because I don't have a contract with them"


Here is what I wanted to say, "Well you P.O.S, forget about the PERFECT deal I made you considering you lost a family member, how about I charge you $270.00? I did your lawn the way WE do it, it was to my satisfactory & all of my other clients, you're the only one complaining! If you want to hire this company back to run a machine across your lawn, which they did a crappy job considering I just took a peek at all their clients lawns on your street, BE MY GUEST! I don't profit from you, so GO if you want to, or stop complaining! I have to rent a machine just for you? You are out of your damn mind & you can't tell the difference between quality or a sack of &*%$!"

Frig man, some people.

Lesson: Pity = Failure



This other company didn't even pick up the damn loose thatch, whatever.

I hate customers like this, especially when he's friends with ANOTHER one of my clients. Frig em' both I suppose, not worth the headache!

[TeamDynamic]

You can't make everyone happy. If he's nagging about something that your doing for free just wait til the season really starts. Nothing will be good enough and he will try to start seeing what else he can get for free. Some customers like to push around little companies because they know you need their business. Maybe you should cut your losses before the season really starts. But try to end it on good terms because every neighbor is a potential customer.

Also how many lawns are you dethatching? You can usually find a good power rake on craigslist for pretty cheap. Once you get used using them they do a better job than hand thatching and you will be able to cut down your production times. We usually go over a lawn with a power rake, rake the thatch on to a tarp with leaf rakes, and then throw the thatch in the back of the truck.

[kdexpd]

I hear ya Breeze! I took on a new customer a couple of weeks ago..actually one who had me blade her driveway this winter. So a long story short, she's disabled and a nice woman...so I thought I'd cut her a break. This year I'm bidding all the average lawns at $25. Hers, I bid at $20 and did an extra good job, which took me twice as long to do. Well, today I have her on my route and low and behold as soon a I pull up I notice the old crow's lawn had been mowed. Now that ticks me off! She signed up for the whole season and now this?! I remember her saying last time that her grandson, who is like in his 20's needed money, but it didn't click with me till today. I bet the old hag had her grandson do it instead, and I'll also bet she'll still want me to do it, but only if her grandson doesn't need a few bucks at the time. It burns me to no end because there were a lot of people driving by and watching me mow it last time, and now since he mowed it, it looks like turd! He shaved it down to the thatch and his mower deck was horribly uneven. I'm waiting for her to call me now and want to know when I'm gonna show up, as I noticed that he didn't bother to weedeat or do all the back yard. I'm just gonna tell her she lives on the other side of town and I'm full up of customers who actually want my services, and not a damn pitty party or a freebie hand out!! She's one of these "disabled" folks who are perfectly capable of working, but too damn lazy and full of excuses. People like that make me spit nails. Anyways, done venting!

[CHEESE2009]

So being a weird guy as I am, I complained & complained.. What does Scott do?

I bought a Yardworks aerator/dethatcher for $300.00

Now I have NEVER held a decent piece of equipment from yard works, so I wont get my hopes up.

I also spent another $50.00 some odd dollars and bought myself a new & bigger spreader... I just thought it looked more durable. Damn stores, make me buy stuff.... lol

[CHEESE2009]

assembling this piece of crap is a nightmare.

I started working on it once I finished my last post.

God damn gears are STUCK already.

Plastic tires, lmao.. what the hell is this crap.

$300.00 for junk most likely... Should have it up and running tomorrow.

Hardest part to assemble was the debris catcher... damn that hurt my fingers.

Also another thing to note, when it comes to assembly instructions... Forget it, I quit... I hate that crap.

[justin_time]

So being a weird guy as I am, I complained & complained.. What does Scott do?

I bought a Yardworks aerator/dethatcher for $300.00

Now I have NEVER held a decent piece of equipment from yard works, so I wont get my hopes up.

I also spent another $50.00 some odd dollars and bought myself a new & bigger spreader... I just thought it looked more durable. Damn stores, make me buy stuff.... lol

Just reading the review, if this is the correct product.

Only but bad reviews on your mower/aerator/thatcher

http://reviews.canadiantire.ca/9045/...4P/reviews.htm

[Rexdale Grass]

why dont you guy look at the yard boss from stihl its an amazing tool kind of a do all.

[CHEESE2009]

Yeah it breaks my heart.

Though people don't complain about the dethatching or aerating features... Everyone hates the other 2 features, which are completely useless.

Either way, I can tell everyone before I even test it out, that this is a waste of money.

It's as if it's a kids toy, it's all junk material.

The frame is completely useless. It's basically a power broom with a lawn mower frame to make it look friendly & nice.

I wish I could rip it apart & put it on a pole or something... lol

ANYWAY, I was just bored & this is a test. Dethatching rake vs this crap... whatever is more efficient gets my vote.

I wish my Stihl KM90 had a dethatcher option... :'(

[CHEESE2009]

why dont you guy look at the yard boss from stihl its an amazing tool kind of a do all.

I have been looking into it, though I'm almost finished my cleanups & just wanna tough it out & maybe invest on my current equipment maintenance.

My blades all need to be changed.. I need new bags/spark plugs for the mowers...

I also can't wait to mess around with the trailer, it's pretty bare right now.

Any ideas, suggestions would be helpful!

[Steve]

He really wants me to use a machine, which when I rented, the machine wasn't functioning properly, waste of my money.

Were you able to get a refund from this or did they offer to get you another one that worked properly?

[justin_time]

I wish my Stihl KM90 had a dethatcher option... :'(

Me too. Would love to see that happen lol

[picframer]

After every job we do, before any crew leaves we ensure the customer is happy with what was done, if they are not home they will get a call from myself, an email or one of the team leaders will contact them. When did you find out he was not happy?

Sell him on spraying, the Organic dethacher product we use add's multiples of benefits over removing dead grass.

As for the crappy tire unit, it's one of those get what you pay for.

[Steve]

After every job we do, before any crew leaves we ensure the customer is happy with what was done, if they are not home they will get a call from myself, an email or one of the team leaders will contact them. When did you find out he was not happy?

In a situation where you are performing a service like de-thatching, it's one of those services where the grass isn't going to look that good when you are finished.

What's the best way to handle that when you know it's going to look strange for a while when you are done and not actually look immediately better?

[kdexpd]

What's the best way to handle that when you know it's going to look strange for a while when you are done and not actually look immediately better?

I always make it a point to explain the process and what to expect now, and later to every customer before I perform the work. The more educated the customer is, the less explaining you'll have to do later. In this case I would be sure to let them know exactly what "thatching" is and how it affects the lawn. Then I would explain that during the process, I would be revealing bare spots, and that they would be very noticeable for a few weeks after I finish.. Then I would try and sell an overseeding job and explain that with the proper watering, they should see results in 2-3 weeks. The best thing to tell a customer is it's only temporary, but it's in the best interests of their lawn, and that the end results will be well worth the minor inconvenience.

[picframer]

In a situation where you are performing a service like de-thatching, it's one of those services where the grass isn't going to look that good when you are finished.

What's the best way to handle that when you know it's going to look strange for a while when you are done and not actually look immediately better?

I do not and will not use a commercial de-thatching as there are other and better options. We use a tow sweeper which removes the majority of the dead grass, then we spray with an Organic de-thacher, end results is it looks 10 times better, I make three times the profit plus I pick up a spraying job and it looks excellent.