Why do some customers NEVER listen

[Lopes Lawn Care]

Yeah that's exactly what I'm talking about. "Excuse me, I've got a bean stalk growing out of my gutter. cleaning that out is included in my monthly lawn mow right?" "Weekly only, HOW MUCH?!!?!?!, OOOOhh boy I can't do that. Little Timmy use to do it for $3 and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Lets do that price for once a month including the bean stalks" So goes the crow.

[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

Maybe this forum is a bad idea. I'm thinking that we are all losing our minds. With our combined forces of anger, I wonder what it will lead us to. pictured above: the future.. our clients I love how we all hate people, it's great lol.

[Steve]

When I started this one job, I told them I donot do bedding areas, I just cut grass.

What is your view on why you don't offer these additional services? Could you be making more money in one spot if you did?

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Steve

What is your view on why you don't offer these additional services? Could you be making more money in one spot if you did?

I can't speak for anyone else, but generally people with weeds growing in flowerbeds are not the ones willing to pay for "additional services".

[LawnBoy0311]

For me thats a big upsell! I get quite a few calls a month to do some weeding. Its pretty profitable for me cause no one wants to do it. All it takes is time...none of that other crap that comes with mowing.

[dpld]

Originally Posted by LawnBoy0311

For me thats a big upsell! I get quite a few calls a month to do some weeding. Its pretty profitable for me cause no one wants to do it. All it takes is time...none of that other crap that comes with mowing.

exactly, there is no money in cutting grass and that is how you get ahead.
the lawn mowing is just a means to get in the door.

[CHEESE2009]

Originally Posted by dpld

exactly, there is no money in cutting grass and that is how you get ahead.
the lawn mowing is just a means to get in the door.

I completely agree with this.


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There is a time and place for up sells, and jumping into it is different for everyone.

I figure, if people start with just lawns until they can hire someone to manage them, that's the best time to jump into offering additional services. Combining all sorts of services can get pretty discouraging if you're the one stuck doing everything.

Establish a service, then get out of it to establish a new service, don't stick around and do it yourself or you'll hate the thought of getting new clients.

[Lopes Lawn Care]

Most of my customers are pretty nice and most of the time i don't mind talking to them for "a couple mins". It's the old ones that expect 1923 prices that bother me the most. Those are the customers that I put on the replace list. Sometimes you gotta becareful though cause old people know other old people that you work for and once they start caulking it's hard to stop them.

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Lopes Lawn Care

Most of my customers are pretty nice and most of the time i don't mind talking to them for "a couple mins". It's the old ones that expect 1923 prices that bother me the most. Those are the customers that I put on the replace list. Sometimes you gotta becareful though cause old people know other old people that you work for and once they start caulking it's hard to stop them.

I must be closing in on that age because when I see $8 for a hamburger on a menu at a family restaurant, I can't grasp how it could cost $8 for a friggin' hamburger.

What's even worse is when these old people (I mean "seniors") have had some kid do the lawn for $15 for years and then decide to call a real lawn service. The price difference is not something they can understand - at all.

[dpld]

Originally Posted by Hedgemaster

I must be closing in on that age because when I see $8 for a hamburger on a menu at a family restaurant, I can't grasp how it could cost $8 for a friggin' hamburger.

What's even worse is when these old people (I mean "seniors") have had some kid do the lawn for $15 for years and then decide to call a real lawn service. The price difference is not something they can understand - at all.

things cost what they do today because of overhead and the cost of doing business.
everyone is all fine and dandy paying little timmy to cut their lawn for cheap but when little timmy chops his foot off with the mower or causes serious damage to the property by a foreign object getting propelled in the air and smashing the 3,000 dollar window, they get a rude awakening when they see they have to incur the cost or get sued by little timmy because he can not pay the doctors bills and got hurt on their property.

i have been around long enough to where i have seen what was a 3,500 dollar mower when i started is now 10 k and gas was 1.25 a gal and today it is 3.70 a gal and insurance costs were minimal.
the biggest problem with that is today we get not much more then we were 20 years ago for our services but the cost of doing business has tripled.

back when i started all you needed was 30 to 40 lawns and you were set today you can have 150 lawns and you are struggling.