I don't kiss arse!

[CHEESE2009]

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" 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!

__________________
Keeper of Peace
Security Officer Cheese2009
Gopher Security Central (G.S.C)
4th Floor, office 112

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Last edited by CHEESE2009; 06-01-2010 at 11:51 AM.

[MountainViewGreenskeeper]

Lawn care business tips

isnt that just an open door to charge more??? Tree branches sure thing extra 20$ idk how much u need.

__________________
Colton
Mountain View Greenskeeper proudly offering yard care in the East Valley of Arizona.

[jklawncare]

it could be mountain but people are so freaking arrogant

i know EXACTLY how you feel scott..i have a customer like this too..ill tell my story..


I was walking my mower to a job when she pulls me over and asks if i mow lawns for hire.

"why yes i do ma'm would you like a card?"

I want an estimate

"well today im a little backed up due to the storm weve had the past 3 days"

well i need an estimate now. im leaving and i wont be back for a week

"well then ill head on over there right now"

she give me address and meets me there
before i could take my hands off my mower she says:

how much

"well i need to look around the property and the back first"

of course you do (in a female doggish tone)

"well your property isnt that large and its fairly simple is there anywhere i missed? how about you show me the property lines so i dont miss a spot"

she shows me the sides and tells me

"and dont go out the back gate"

ill make sure not to do that ma'am

"i dont live here i live in the next town over so dont think you can get away with doing anything here and dont you tell anyone its vacant"

i actually have another vacant house and its the same deal with that man ill be sure to keep it to myself

"when can you start"

well i require all my customers to have an agreement signed or else you will need to pre pay

"well i cant sign anything so heres 30"

thank you ill be sure to get to it right now.

do you have information we can exchange and also can i send you an agreement so you wont need to pre pay

"no i cant do it i live over here.."

i can leave one here on the back so next time you drop by you can sign it and i can pick it up or you can call

:i wont have time for that"

ANYWAYS

i mow her lawn for the money given

i call her saying i need to be payed before i can continue with my service (a week in advance)

"ill just pay you after its done"

well i would allow that however we dont have an agreement on file for you. would you like to set up an appointment or can i mail one to you to sign?

"no not right now" (idk why its such a hassle for her to do)

well okay then just send a check or cash and ill continue your service just so you know i dont work weekends and your scheduled date is tuesday so i need it by then. if i can fit you in that week after you have payed me i will

so i get my check...saturday...
monday i get a call while i was at the beach
its my mom

she asks why there was a lady at our house yelling at my mom for her lawn not done.

i said id take care of it
my mom was so mad she grounded me for it..wich sucked

but i called my client back

i said is there any problems we need to discuss

she said "yeah i need to know why my lawn wasnt mowed i sent you money"

i did recieve your check however i got it on a saturday. i dont work weekends

"well its monday"

i understand that but i told you your scheduled date was tuesday so i will do it tomorrow

"well ill be stopping by to see if its done"

i get there..her plumber is leaving..shes not there..

i have a brief chat with plumber for about 3 minutes about a septic problem one of my other clients is having. he gave me a card and went on his way.

i mow her lawn and leave (this is 4-430)

i get a call at 8..its her

"did you mow my lawn"
yeah
"when"
today
"i didnt see it done"
well i was there as your plumber was leaving
"i was there earlier than that"
well..thats why it looked unmowed..because ti was..
"why didnt you get there sooner?"
because i have 15 other customers that have agreements signed that i need to take care of first. also i have shool until 3"

"well ill be stopping by and it better be done"

ok miss

calls back day later

my back isnt mowed

yes it is

not behind the garage

you told mt not to go behind the fence so i didnt

well it needs to be mowed

thats no problem ill do it next visit

oh and my grass is high against the house

well thats because my mower cant go that far over

well what are you going to do about it

well i can bump you up to the next package which involves trimming

thats fine

itll be 5 more per visit

no

well then it will be high

ITS THE SAME THING EVERY WEEK

ive had her for 3 weeks and shes called 5 times and yelled at my mom once

im going to send her a letter saying that if shes unhappy with the services i provide then im not the company for her and she should find another at the same price i charge(she wont) with the same attention to detail (she wont)


i just dont have the time or patience to listen to her disgruntled calls every week

i do my job well..i have NEVER had a complaint from anyone

ive gotten so many compliments

one lady has been through 3 companies before me

she says out of all those big companys you treat my yard right..i ask you not to blow debris in my garden and you dont..all the other companies do..i dont get it..your an amazing worker and i reffered you to 2 of my friends (i got both)

i just tired of putting up with her..its frustrating,aggrivating,annoying, and childish.

why cant people grow up..why dont they get..we are workers and not slaves..if we do more..we charge more..

i dont want to leave her on a bad note though.
i read someone on this forum said
it takes 15 happy customers to offest one disgruntled one

well i guess i do have 15 customers to offset one disgruntled one..so i guess i really shouldnt worry,,ahahha

i just dont want a bad reputation..exspecially as im trying to expand

[CHEESE2009]

That's one heck of a story! Damn!

One thing to note is, getting a bad reputation is overrated.

I worried about this, though not dumping a bad customer in fear of gaining a bad reputation is highly unlikely.

I have a bad apple who I could give up on now, she has gotten me 1 other customer, though he's worth losing too!

So it's not like her voice to her friends will do me any damage, all her cheap p.i.t.a friends can boycott me. I'd love that.

Scott: I hate this lady, I want to flip a coin to see if I should keep her or not.

Assistant: You don't want to get a bad rep.

Scott: If that's all I'll gain, it sounds almost worth it. She can't damage me anyway, her opinion means nothing & I'm sure all of her friends know how much of a cheap snob she is. I could smell her b.s from the next town over.

I can't wait for next year. I'm raising my price in hopes my bad apples will leave me alone. I don't care that I cant serve those who don't generate enough income for lawn maintenance, they are a headache & a half.

I can take crap from someone paying me big bucks - to take crap from someone paying me peanuts is where I lose my temper. I love how what they pay makes me feel.

Can you go over my lawn again & cut it shorter?

a) Not a problem (paying well)
b) No, that's as good as it gets - next time I'll cut it shorter. (hardly paying)