Ater the storm

[gotta_mow]

Thursday night we had some severe storms here in central Ohio. At present I do all my lawns on Friday morning and as I arrived at the first house I found that apparently durring the night the storm had knocked down some large branches. The homeowner had cleaned up the large stuff but when I arrived I still spent about a half hour picking up sticks and branches. So my question is do you pick this stuff up as a customer service figuring that it is a rare occurance? Or do you charge for it because you can? Ben

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Ben Belhorn
Gotta Mow Lawn Maintenance

Lawn care business tips

I've never run into anything like that, but I occasionally have to move toys and stuff off lawns. I think in the event of the storm, if they are regular customers, I would do it for free, just to be nice. There could definitely be money made advertising post-storm debris removal for other people though.

[Steve]

That is a very good question.

Here is a thought I had, what if you put in a line item for cleaning up all the fallen branches and charged per hour, then put in a note saying it was optional for them to pay. That way you aren't forcing them but they will know you spent the time there you did to improve their lawn.

They may appreciate it and pay you because you made it optional. Maybe even add a hand written note about it on the invoice to explain?

What's your thought on that?

[gotta_mow]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Team Gopher @ June 15 2008,4:10)]That is a very good question.

Here is a thought I had, what if you put in a line item for cleaning up all the fallen branches and charged per hour, then put in a note saying it was optional for them to pay. That way you aren't forcing them but they will know you spent the time there you did to improve their lawn.

They may appreciate it and pay you because you made it optional. Maybe even add a hand written note about it on the invoice to explain?

What's your thought on that?

I like the idea of it, however... In my case my customers (ALL 3 OF THEM) pay by check in the mailbox when I stop bye. So my invoice/receipt is already printed before I stop bye. This is something to keep in mind for the future.

Ben

[Steve]

Could you put in a special invoice that only covers the time spent cleaning up? Then the customer would have it for the next time they pay you?