What's the most generous thing you've done?

[CHEESE2009]

1. What's the most generous thing you've done for a customer? 2. Do you regret it? 3. What made you generous at that time? Earlier in the season, I mowed my last lawn of the day & decided to get one of my customers hedges done. It was a block away from where I was. The customer was an sweet old lady, she'd come out & say, "Scotty would you like me to get you a cold glass of Pepsi?" "Want a chocolate muffin?" etc.. when she'd leave for awhile I'd laugh thinking how awesome she is, though I never said yes to anything she'd offer, it's not in me. So I finish the job, it was small, kinda a relaxing break from mowing. The lady came out & was happy, Lady: I'll go in now & get you your money! Scott: If you get me a glass of water, the job is free of charge! Lady: I can't let you do that! Scott: Well I had a great day, & I love my job, this one freebie won't hurt! Lady: Alright, I'll go get you a glass of water! ************ Next month she wrote a check out for her monthly mowing PLUS the hedge job + tip... sneaky lady! hahah! Even if she didn't pay for it, I enjoy seeing her & helping her out. A few minutes out of my day didn't seem to bother me. If I went home I would have probably been sitting on my butt with nothing to do, eat & sleep. Being generous can be uplifting, as long as YOU choose to be, & are not forced. I don't mind doing favors for free as long as I'm appreciated. Example: Tomorrow my sister needs someone to help move her new couch inside her house. She's paying a guy $80.00 to meet up with me, to help ME move the couch with him... I'm not asking for a cent! Silly stuff... I believe there are two types of jobs you can do for someone, favors vs profit making. With the old lady, I was in a good mood. My mowings were all done for the day, I had some extra time & wasn't in a rush. In my heart I didn't feel like charging her, because the benefits of generosity at the time were stronger than the profit I would have made. Not to mention I only used my old arse battery hedge trimmer (this thing sucks) I didn't lose anything other than my time. There was this other time a year ago, I paid a worker for the hours he worked, plus a $20.00 bonus. Early this year he says I still owe him for a few hours.... What a joke... Generosity backfire!

[mark123]

Lawn care business tips

One thing I've learned is that people usually don't appreciate what they haven't paid for. There are exceptions and they make generosity worth it but for the most part I've found this to be true. Oh, and I'm going to keep my generosity to myself. I wouldn't want it to get out that I'm a nice person or something awful like that.

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Last edited by mark123; 07-25-2009 at 07:26 AM.

[Steve]

Maybe it just comes down to if you feel you are in a good mood and the other person you feel is deserving, you might do something extra nice you don't normally do?