Export thread

Ok I have a lady that lives on SSI and right now she pays 40 bucks to cut her yard every 2 weeks. But here's the catch. We have had so much rain that in 2 weeks her lawn is so tall it takes forever to cut it. And I don't like leaving dead wet clumps laying around so I cut it around 4 times just to make it look good. Then after I'm done I have so much grass caked under and all over my mower I have to take it to the cleaners before I go to the next yard. I'm a good person and care about my clients but deep down I feel its better to just let her find a kid u needs the money. Oh and her septic tank is busted and her yard stays soaked too. Please give me some advice on how to handle this situation. Thanks

cooksqualitylawncare said:

Ok I have a lady that lives on SSI and right now she pays 40 bucks to cut her yard every 2 weeks. But here's the catch. We have had so much rain that in 2 weeks her lawn is so tall it takes forever to cut it. And I don't like leaving dead wet clumps laying around so I cut it around 4 times just to make it look good. Then after I'm done I have so much grass caked under and all over my mower I have to take it to the cleaners before I go to the next yard. I'm a good person and care about my clients but deep down I feel its better to just let her find a kid u needs the money. Oh and her septic tank is busted and her yard stays soaked too. Please give me some advice on how to handle this situation. Thanks

Click to expand...

I make it a point to not even consider a two week cut on 'anyone' during the wet, rainy, growing season unless the yard is a small city lot. You said most of the reasons why. you just have to pull the boot straps up and tell them to find someone who is better able to handle their situation,or you can find a cutter that can cut the yard and tell the owner that this person can better handle it. i have let clients go for a variety of reasons . dealing with the retail public is NOT easy for some business people to do. if you are cutting that yard 4 times to make it look good,you are missing TIME that could BE USED to cut other yards and making money.but you're still on the same yard for the 40 bucks.

I guess that's my weakness when it comes to this lil lady. I'm all about making all my yards look great but no matter what I can't with this one. It's to the point where I hate to cut this yard. I understand time is money. And actually I feel I loose money when it comes to this yard. I've decided to cut ties and move on. Just trying to figure out the best way to go about it without hurting her feelings. I've talked to a few lawn cares around here and all of them said that they just wouldn't go back. I can't just not show up, you know. I don't want to be in that category of being a "no show"

I really appreciate your business/work ethic.

Why not tell her what you told us? It's a loss for you to do that job. If she doesn't get it, at least you told her - and you don't have to go back then, IMHO.

If she as well can't appreciate straightfoward honesty - then no matter what you say, she'll get her feelings hurt, I'm afraid.

I appreciate the work ethic too, but might look at it differently because I had an elderly mother with lawn care service, she would have been devistated if her lawn service quit. I also have an 85 year old neighbor who has little to no extra money.
If it is possible, I would probably just cut it every week and tell her it is only until the rain slows down and you won't charge more. Does she have a son or daughter you can talk to ? They might be willing to pay a little extra without telling her.

I guess I'm just too soft hearted about elderly on fixed income. I'm not doing it as a business, but good will goes a long way !

Later in the season, the grass will likely only need to be cut once a month......Talk to her and arrange a plan where she pays by the season....keep track and maybe she can make a couple of extra payments once the season is over.....She can still make biweekly or monthly payments.....then all will even out

The OP already said that he wants to get out of this nightmarish - sounding job. He just wants to be tasteful. Soft honesty is my vote. This guy apparently wants to run a business - not a church charity.

I am impressed he cares at all. Most businesspeople would've just dumped this lady. I say explaining the dilema to her will ease the getting out of it. After all, he says he has grown to hate this lawn. So, I believe it best to get out, rather than let soft spots ruin his equipment and profits. IMHO, he's gone above and beyond most by even posting this question to strangers - shows he actually cares.

If you are running a business, then run one. If you want to impress the churchfolk with your selfless deeds, then just keep doing it and shut up about it. I believe our OP is doing the former, admirably.

BKBrown said:

I appreciate the work ethic too, but might look at it differently because I had an elderly mother with lawn care service, she would have been devistated if her lawn service quit. I also have an 85 year old neighbor who has little to no extra money.
If it is possible, I would probably just cut it every week and tell her it is only until the rain slows down and you won't charge more. Does she have a son or daughter you can talk to ? They might be willing to pay a little extra without telling her.

I guess I'm just too soft hearted about elderly on fixed income. I'm not doing it as a business, but good will goes a long way !

Click to expand...

I see your point, BK. However, the OP did not say this woman was a relative. We ALL have mothers. That doesn't change the plight this guy posted about. (if it were his mother, I'd say 'man up and cut the damned thing and be glad she's still around')

A leaking septic is terrible to deal with, even in the dry months (if we'll have any of those this year). Combine that with having to do it every two weeks, and I would want out, too.

If there is a son/daughter, let them have the pity and soft spots, and cut her lawn, while they are at it. I side this time with the poor guy who has to deal with a 'fixed income' that can't really afford to 'fix' much of anything.

I understand all of that, in my case, I was 8 + hours away and there was no lawn care equipment left at her house. This may be a similar situation for any of her children (if she has any) -- I don't know ! I told the guy doing my mother's lawn that if there were any problems with her lawn or payment that I would cover the extra without him charging her (just let me know) !

I agree the septic situation should be taken care of. YUCK ! :thumbdown: That should be up to the health department to deal with (report it ?).

I agree that this is all up to the person running the business and caring enough to try not to hurt feelings is great.

I guess I would discuss the whole situation with her and see what could be done -- not my business in this case -- so not my decision to make !

cooksqualitylawncare said:

Ok I have a lady that lives on SSI and right now she pays 40 bucks to cut her yard every 2 weeks. But here's the catch. We have had so much rain that in 2 weeks her lawn is so tall it takes forever to cut it. And I don't like leaving dead wet clumps laying around so I cut it around 4 times just to make it look good. Then after I'm done I have so much grass caked under and all over my mower I have to take it to the cleaners before I go to the next yard. I'm a good person and care about my clients but deep down I feel its better to just let her find a kid u needs the money. Oh and her septic tank is busted and her yard stays soaked too. Please give me some advice on how to handle this situation. Thanks

Click to expand...

Reputation in the lawn care business is everything so I guess the question is what type of business do you run and what type of reputation do you want to portray? You contracted to do this Lady's lawn and you should have taken all these factors into consideration before and when you took the job.

If things have changed on the premises and she has added trees or flower beds etc. then you may have a case to raise your price, but just because it has rained and the lawn is a little harder to cut or it may take a little longer is not justification to walk away from a job.

You say I'm a good person and care about my clients if so do the lady's lawn the way you said you would and the next time you give someone a quote or estimate on lawn service consider all the factors, not just how much money am I going to make.:thumbsup:

Well here's the thing, everything was fine the first couple time. The septic too. So then all of a sudden we had all this rain. Most we have had in ky in 15 years. But anyways this is how I found out she had a busted septic tank. Now its is horrible. More than half the yard smells, is completely soaked with black water, and everything else. Most of the yard is like walking on a waterbed. This yard had turned into a nightmare. I have told her plenty of times something needed to be done. And she just blames the neighbours. I run a very respectable lawn service business and want to keep it that way. I go out of my way all the time for my clients and ask nothing in return. So for u to tell me to man up and stick to my agreement and take things in consideration, well how do u prepare for all of this, you know.

If you're in business, constantly reviewing your current jobs is always a must. It is not a contract, unless it is in writing. If you mowed her lawn as you said you would, and recieved payment, then that is it. If you agreed this week to do it again two weeks from now, fine, then do it. If you don't like how the job has progressed, or there is more to it than you originally thought there was, you have the right to adjust the price, or in the OP's case, walk away from the job altogether. Obviously there was more to this job than the OP had anticipated.

Wagging your finger at him like a pompous jerk and saying "you shoulda known better" is BS. Everyone has gotten in a little too deep in these situations here and there - DAD. I think the OP is under no obligation whatsoever to keep slogging through sewage and marshlands, if that is not what he originally agreed to do.

Cut him some freakin slack.

cooksqualitylawncare said:

Well here's the thing, everything was fine the first couple time. The septic too. So then all of a sudden we had all this rain. Most we have had in ky in 15 years. But anyways this is how I found out she had a busted septic tank. Now its is horrible. More than half the yard smells, is completely soaked with black water, and everything else. Most of the yard is like walking on a waterbed. This yard had turned into a nightmare. I have told her plenty of times something needed to be done. And she just blames the neighbours. I run a very respectable lawn service business and want to keep it that way. I go out of my way all the time for my clients and ask nothing in return. So for u to tell me to man up and stick to my agreement and take things in consideration, well how do u prepare for all of this, you know.

Click to expand...

There it is - my point, Ric.

I feel for you, dude - as should be obvious........

She isn't a family member or friend or anything. She tells me that her son is coming over to fix the tank each time I bring this up to her. But Everytime I come back nothing has been done. Not even sure she has a son. It's one thing to clean all the grass out from under the deck which I do all the time, but its another thing when it has all her septic fluids mixed into it as well. Very very gross. I know what needs to be done and just want to do it the right way. Guys I really appreciate all of the great advice and hope I can help you guys one day in return. Thanks

I'd tell her:

"Then, when he's done fixing the septic, he can mow your lawn, too" :laughing:

But, that's just me. :biggrin:

Good luck to you!

I believe even I would just tell her that you won't mow again until the Septic problem is fixed and she can call you to return when it has been taken care of.

That is just too big a mess and health risk for anyone to deal with ! :thumbdown:

twall said:

If you're in business, constantly reviewing your current jobs is always a must. It is not a contract, unless it is in writing. If you mowed her lawn as you said you would, and received payment, then that is it. If you agreed this week to do it again two weeks from now, fine, then do it. If you don't like how the job has progressed, or there is more to it than you originally thought there was, you have the right to adjust the price, or in the OP's case, walk away from the job altogether. Obviously there was more to this job than the OP had anticipated.

Wagging your finger at him like a pompous jerk and saying "you should of known better" is BS. Everyone has gotten in a little too deep in these situations here and there - DAD. I think the OP is under no obligation whatsoever to keep slogging through sewage and marshlands, if that is not what he originally agreed to do.

Cut him some freakin slack.

Click to expand...

If you're in business, constantly reviewing your current jobs is a must and what's this crap about a contract? Nobody said anything about a written contract, I said he contracted to do this Lady's lawn and you should have taken all the factors into consideration before he took the job, which he did written or verbal.

Twall as far as I know you're not in the business and you don't know what people you do work for are capable of, lets say he takes your advice and just walks away what's to prevent this lady from coming back on him and claiming he destroyed the septic system in some way amongst other things.

I'm not Wagging my finger at the guy and yes "he should of known better". The guy had an out when he discovered the busted septic system and he failed to take it when he should of. If I'm his customer or that lady I know who's going to fix my septic system and believe me this kinda stuff happens everyday -DAD

Hey there - WELCOME to LMF! :smile:

I moved your thread to the Commercial & Residential Lawn Mowing Forum. You'll get a better response there. :thumbsup:

Ric said:

.....Twall as far as I know.......

Click to expand...

You could've stopped right there, because you don't know ANYTHING about me, and you never WILL. You just assume because you read a profile and some posts, that you can make a stereotype outa me. Just STOP.

I, quite frankly, don't give a damn what that does to my reputation.

twall said:

I, quite frankly, don't give a damn what that does to my reputation.

Click to expand...

The thing is that the lawn care business is built on reputation and customer relations and something you had ---- well better care about if you are in business and something you clearly have no knowledge of if you don't give a ---- about your own reputation, which you already stated and with that attitude I doubt that you would care about some other person feelings or reputation.

It might be to this individuals benefit to offer to help with the situation instead of walking away like you're suggesting, word of mouth travels fast both good and bad and bad could cost his business in the future.

You say I don't know anything about you and you would be correct and believe me I know all I want to know about you.

Let me add some to this. I have been mowing commercially for many years and I have some basic policys that I have developed. My own lawn about 1 1/2 acres is the easiest lawn that I mow. I leave the clippings on the lawn and I mow sometimes three times a week, but this doesn't work with customers lawns. All of my machines have collection systems and I use them about 90% of the time. I raised my hourly rate to cover the added costs of the collection systems. I will only mow customers lawns that I can dispose of the clippings on their property or nearby with prior arrangements/agreements. At 67 and still doing this with most of my competition being half my age or younger I have come to the point of taking better care of myself. I will terminate with a customer that has a septic problem. I use the best hearing protection that I can find, goggles and a two strap dust mask with the exhalation valve on the front so my glasses/goggles don't fog up. Dust, dirt, mold, pollen, furtilizer, and other crap blow all around you while mowing particularly with collection systems. More frequent oil changes and air filter changes come along with the use of collection systems. This all adds to ones operational expenses. I tow a cargo trailer with lots of equipment in it and I am prepared to do more than most at a job. The basics that I do are mow with collection, trim, and blow sidewalks and driveway clean. I expect to get paid in a timely manner.
We all have got into chartity jobs some where along the trail, but my mower dealer, nor the local gas station accept nothing but US Dollars in payment for their products and services.
Bob Mac in CT:biggrin:

Has this person referred new clients? Is she truly in a position where during the wet season she can't afford weekly service? Sometimes, we develope an affinity for a customer even though they are not profitable and we keep servicing them. Our Higher Power will watch over us and keep us from failing for our generosity. For myself, I maintain the grounds of our local animal shelter pro bono just because it helps with providing for the animals and makes me feel better about myself. Sometimes, we gotta do something for someone to remind ourselves that we are human, also.