Service Agreement

[robgee05]

Originally Posted by CHEESE2009 I'm happy many of you like it, please feel free to take it, modify it - & do whatever you want with it! Some of you might feel as if it's a little harsh & scary, well that's what it's there for - to scare people into doing the correct thing when it comes to my business & what I do/don't feel like doing. I don't want to spend my valuable time chasing customers, but maybe some of you don't mind doing that - use it to your advantage, but remember that there is only so much slack you can give customers. Even if customers are worried about the service agreement, I don't believe most of my customers will think less of me for who I am, or the impression I give them personally. IN FACT, many of my customers have told me, "You should make contracts, there are so many bad people out there" customers that insist I make a contract for MY benefit, are real keepers. Many of my customers respect the heck outta me & the ones that worry about a piece of paper with simple guidelines really aren't worth my time. What I hate most, are stories about why customers can't make their payment. Several customers have an excuse for missing a payment, giving slack to any customer is the beginning of a BAD HABIT. When you give customers more time to pay, it just means you have to wait longer for YOUR hard earned cash. Their financial problems will turn into YOUR financial problems, avoid it at all costs. "If you can't pay on time, then what good are you to me?" My business needs to maintain a system, when one customer (expensive or not) causes a slight bit of turbulence, he/she has got to go. I don't plan on being exactly the same as competitors, I want to be an entirely different version of lawn service. Pizza guys can go to deliver a pizza & get ripped off when no one answers the door - this is something I can't let happen in my business. Customers can say I'm strict, but when they pay - the work gets done, always. Even then, I can't stress enough that it is my business, YOUR business - don't take a guess at how you should run it, know how you want to run it. Someone can call you over the phone to go and mow there lawn, sure you'll tell them the price & arrange to pick up money, get the lawn done - but then you still have that chance of being burned. Sure it can be rare, but not taking that chance has made my business succeed. I might lose a potential customer because they think I'm being "fishy", though I save myself a load of stress - chasing them & worrying if they're going to pay me, ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER CUSTOMERS. So in a way, I just saved myself from headaches & the inevitable (when I end up firing them a few months later). ANYWAY, lol... I'm with you cheese. If you want to HIRE a service you obviously don't have the time or experience to do it yourself. If your willing to hire professionals, you should be willing to pay. If not get yourself a Murray or whatever and do it half Azzed yourself. As long as you do it right, you should fully expect to get payed!!!

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Pay up front, for minimum one month - don't waste my time. I'm not desperate enough to offer single time/ on call mows, I want everything scheduled & more profitable. Ideally everyone would like to be paid for a month upfront. I am glad you are shooting for this, it's a sign of growth and that you have reached a new plateau. Not being desperate for bad customers I think will help you enjoy your business more.

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[MAKLawnCutter]

Scott...

I am totally on the same track. I have gotten smacked with "one time cuts" over the past month, i have run my self ragged, reached 68 lawns in a weeks time, tapped myself out for this holiday weekend.

I have enough contracted customers now, i should aim for the ONE MONTH MINIMUM.

Im in!

Matt

what would be a good percentage to give my employees if i didn't pay them by the hour?need help on this one bad?