Co-Owner

[CHEESE2009]

So, I am now co-owner. My tasks include the labor, while "Lewis" is in charge of reminding clients by email of payments due. Also, responding to any incoming emails. Lewis takes the heat, while I get to be the nice guy who doesn't agree with Lewis's methods most of the time , however, whatever Lewis says needs to be done, must be done! ********** The unfortunate thing is, Lewis is just an email account. pictured above: me Example; Thank you for notifying us of the situation. From what I can see, your property has not shown up on any of our previous monthly printed schedules, excluding the month of May which is when we have received a payment total of $xx.xx. In order to show up on our monthly schedule, it is always best practice to pay ahead of the month(s) in which you require service as our system will not recognize you as a client otherwise. We accept many methods of payment, PayPal included; www.website.ca - I am unaware if there has been any agreement between yourself and Scott, I just know that it is forbidden for myself and others within this company to provide service that has not been paid for. I am truly sorry for the inconvenience, I assure you that we will be able to resolve this issue. Thank you for your patience. *Scott will be notified immediately once he has returned. For any other inquiries, please feel free to email me at lewis@breezelawnservice.ca Lewis Young Office Management

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Last edited by CHEESE2009; 09-20-2011 at 12:06 AM.

[bruces]

Lawn care business tips

I like the general idea ,but whats going to happen when a homeowner tries to actually talk to this chickensh1t lewis guy and he doesnt exhist ? it just seems like it could blow up in somebodies face one day .Why not hire an account manager person to handle billing ,payment and customer issues ? you might even find one named Lewis .

[Sprinkler Buddy]

Clever but unethical way to do business in my opinion.

[CHEESE2009]

Well I have a two friends with two separate businesses who do the same thing.

I figured that it would be interesting to try out, from those who have done it - apparently it makes it easier to tackle most situations. You don't have to be the nice guy all the time, you can finally be blunt and get the point across without being the main target. It's interesting.

I'm improvising, trying new things to see what would be beneficial to a lot of us. It's worth every cent so far... *cough* it's free.

You may not all have the same clients as myself, though for those who are just as unlucky, I will let you know how this goes.



Email responce;


Dear Mr. Young,

Thanks for your response. I always pay in advance, but the last time I was in a hurry to leave for an appointment and left without notifying Scott. I took for granted that he would come back to collect it, but unfortunately it didn't happen.

Anyhow we like Scott`s service very much and therefore we continued to delay having someone else to do our lawn. We hope to see him real soon.


Anything wrong with the results? Nah!

[Sprinkler Buddy]

You may not all have the same clients as myself, though for those who are just as unlucky, I will let you know how this goes.

I think we all have those clients. LOL Wish I could say I didn't.

[Ducke]

Originally Posted by Sprinkler Buddy

Clever but unethical way to do business in my opinion.

I don't know if its "unethical"
It no different then having a USA phone # and Mailing Address but having your Help line in India.
or
Buying all the parts of a product from China and assembling in the the USA and saying its "Proudly Made in the USA."

I think it a great way to free up his time and his phobia of the Phone.
How many guys have their Wife/Girlfriend on the pay roll as Office Manager because she type a letter know and then.

[element009]

I think it's cool. If you ever get in a real bind and people are trying to contact Lewis, just say you had to let him go due to his aggressive tactics.

[Sprinkler Buddy]

Originally Posted by Ducke

I don't know if its "unethical"
It no different then having a USA phone # and Mailing Address but having your Help line in India.
or
Buying all the parts of a product from China and assembling in the the USA and saying its "Proudly Made in the USA."

I think it a great way to free up his time and his phobia of the Phone.
How many guys have their Wife/Girlfriend on the pay roll as Office Manager because she type a letter know and then.

I think those examples are unethical as well but your right many do it anyways, still doesn't make it right in my book. More power to anyone that wants to, I wouldn't.

[CHEESE2009]

Originally Posted by Sprinkler Buddy

I think those examples are unethical as well but your right many do it anyways, still doesn't make it right in my book. More power to anyone that wants to, I wouldn't.

I can understand why you would think that, and sure I could agree with what you are saying to some extent.

It's a minor dilemma. It's like telling a white lie, only to make things better for everyone involved. If it's not harming anybody, and I have good intentions - it's worth a shot.

The person alongside me, regardless if fictional - they can break the bad news, and I can sleep well at night. This also allows me to correct "Lewis" if his idea had gone sour - I can always come in and make things right again without seeming crazy.


Anyway, Lewis says hi...


pictured above: the process of creating staff

[The Cleaning Doctor]

It can't be a lie if it is your other personality.