New Business for 2010

[Steve]

It took a couple years and a number of customers for me to realize that there is a niche for personal service. First off I want clients that I enjoy servicing. That makes going to work much more fun. I have weeded out the PITA clients. That is a very interesting point. A lot of new business owners will have no clue about this. What, to you, defines a pain in the *** customer? When does a customer go from being demanding to being a pita? What are the signs you look out for? Once they get that category, how do you get rid of them?

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[turfmaster]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by Steve That is a very interesting point. A lot of new business owners will have no clue about this. What, to you, defines a pain in the *** customer? When does a customer go from being demanding to being a pita? What are the signs you look out for? Once they get that category, how do you get rid of them? To me a PITA customer is someone who you just can't please no matter how hard you try or someone who expects more than what we agreed upon. For example: Early last spring we had this new client that wanted her lawn mowed at like 3 different heights depending on which side of the house you were on. She would call 3 times a week if she saw 1 dandelion on her lawn. I told her we would take care of the dandelion when we show up for weekly mowing . She demanded that we return within a day to remove it. 1 dandelion not a patch of them! Needless to say after 3 weeks of that crap I terminated her services. That type of client is not who I want to work for after all this is my business! A PITA client could be someone who doesn't pay on time as well. I don't use contracts for residential customers and for commercial customers I put a escape clause in the contract for me and the customer. That way if things don't work out they or we are not locked in for the entire season. Commercial clients like the escape clause because some of them have been burned by shoddy workmanship especially from the large landscape company's which will only sign a contract for the entire season.