Have you guys ever kept a customer on for too long and realized it was time to part ways? I know I have!! Here's what WE do to let a customer go if and when the need arises! PS, if you never saw the customer goes nuclear story, check it out here: tinyurl.com/y7etcq8x
I have dropped a handful this year, the main reason is if they are 'high maintenance'. They want too much attention and text or call too often. I told one today that I won't do her yard because her dog has dug a lot of holes and she doesn't clean up after the dog.
GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! I had to set some expectations for an older lady and her lawn. She just wasn't watering enough and blaming me for 'killing' her lawn and telling me my blades must not be sharp. I sharpen weekly and a new set gets put on. I salvaged the client and we are on good terms now. Great info, Brian! Lawn Care Ninja
Quinton Hudson Weekly ? Pretty easy to spot grass that’s been cut with a dull blade. The cut tip usually browns a little. We sharpen blades every day and change twice a day but we are doing 28 yards a day (on avg)
@@terrycarlton6991 Where I live I don't need to do blades twice or even once a day. That's a bit overkill. I take my blades off at the end of the week and they still feel sharp. I know all about how grass tips start to die back with dull blades.
Nailed it Brian. This is my first year in business and I have already had my fair share of rude/belittling/price driven clients. Just need to respectfully end the business side of things and try to salvage the relationship for your company's namesake. Always appreciate your videos brother!
Two years in to my lawn care life I learned you need 50 customers to get 20 great ones and out of 50 and each year add 50 to hope you get 20 more great ones.
I had a customer who always wanted me to cut the lawn shorter. I had to have the same conversation every week about why I can't cut her lawn 1 inch tall. She never got it. I don't mow for her anymore. It wasn't worth dealing with her everytime. Brian do you ever have customers wanting you to cut their grass shorter? If so what do you tell them? Not sure if this is just a thing down south or everywhere.
The people who want you to cut their grass extra short even though they have something like St Augustine and don't use any irrigation and you can already see that all the st. Augustine thats exposed to the sun has died off and been replaced with weeds and you try to tell the customer why you want to cut it at a proper 3 to 4 in yeah f--- those people not quality lawn customer
Great stuff, Brian! Those were all tough lessons for me to learn over the first two to three years owning my business. Super awesome advice for new and old business owners alike!
Thank you for the video! I just started a lawn service this year and just yesterday I received a call from a potential customer asking for an estimate and from the moment my wife and I got to his house we picked up a negative vibe. He is an Alderman in the town but he was very condescending and constantly telling us "I have a brain!"and mentioning his experience as if he was trying to impress us.I have him a price and he rejected it and I was glad because to me I can use the income for my business but it's not worth the headache!
Very good tips. Had 3 clients, doing super cheap with some deals like my dog can come along on the job. All make comments and complained. Then made comments about not being able to afford more even though NO ONE would be doing it for what I am doing it for... Then constant comparisons for the "guy I had before" who obviously isn't doing it anymore for a reason.... Thumbs up. Appreciate the tips
Man what very on point i had A customer tell me I give you a $5 tip you don't pull the weeds in my garden Bed you dont do anything extra im like dude r u serious there is not one corner of this property thats not cut to perfection lol thats the tip, lol but i can pull your weeds or spray for blank price, "oh no thats ok" smh people be tripping and i already hit the weeds with the trimmer for nothing just make it look cleaner smh
I have no problem cutting customers if they don’t fit in with our values or become difficult... I’ve also been canceled a few times.. we win some and lose some. Great video! Thank you.
Our general rule these days is if you are complaining about doing the lawn either raise the price or drop it. Too many good lawns and or clients out there to spend time on a property that one or both parties are not content.
Just dealt with this the last couple of weeks. These two customers had weird request like only trim around my house once a month, cut with the deck all the way up, use a lighter mower (I’m using a stander). One customer would also cut like a 1/3 of her lawn that was too fragile for my “heavy mowers”. She also walked the yard with me after the first service and was pointing out my turn marks that were not there the next service. Then both constantly texting me before each service on what I needed to do and to not forget. I just simply told them we wouldn’t be a god fit and gave them good referrals. One of them gave me a one star review on google over it.
Great video Brian, in my 10 years I only canceled service 2 the first one was she said she picked up all the dog poop when I got there to mow the backyard would be full of poop I gave her a chance I picked it up for three weeks and gave her the dog waste fee each week and after the third mow/ week I said I am done! The second one was she was too demanding and calling me at night when she was drunk, what she wanted done the next day. I said bye to that one also!
I've had a few customers who complain about 1 friggin dandelion in a 1acre yard after we spray or one of my guys didn't blow off the driveway perfectly lol. I call them "pain in the ass customers" and cut them loose pretty quick. It's just not worth the aggravation.
Brian I am sure this type of video is not really one you wanted to make but you run a very honest channel and great content the lawns you show on your videos are Beautiful Ithink your Awesome as always
We had a time where we maintained 4 or 5 properties on the same street and over the years clients moved or financial situations changed until there was just the one house left we did. It didnt make sense given their proximity to the rest of our service area so we referred them and went on our way. In the case of a PITA customer, well, we have one competitor that is downright rude and starts *you know what* with all us other lawn companies so we just refer them to Him. They can go be miserable together.
I know the feeling Brian. I work for a family owned fertilizing business and we have a lady that called 3 or 4 times this spring demanding us to be there the first week of May to spray her yard. She acted like she was the only customer we have. We kept telling her she would have better luck with someone else but she never got the hint😅
Brian you did a great job when you were doing my properties but not the sames as what I can do. Spring, mowing 2 times a week usually hitting just before a rain so it will helps with the recovery, spending 3 times more time doing it, and being a little more in tune with its needs. I cant expect nor afford for you to spend 2 hours cutting my yard and customers should relize that or be willing to pay huge money to get it. Thanks for helping me out when I was sick, you saved me from myself and you even stopped to chat every once in a while to help pass the day. That 4 months you were more than just the guy mowing my lawn. P.S thanks for the nice comments today about my yard too, made me feel good coming from a pro.
I have raised my standards in my business with my customers. When you do that your whole changes. I hire customers very slowly and try to hint any red flags 🚩 Get rid of a customer isn’t talked about enough. They make stressed out.
I feel ya. Man I don’t have time to do extra work for non mowing customers anymore. We’re humping 10 hrs every day to just keep up with regulars. I’ll also drop a customer for non payment. I’ll carry them for 45 days but no longer.
Had a client today (new this year) want to let me go bc i couldnt trim her bushes this week. They arent overgrown. Told her i had a schedule and that i could get her next week. Cant put them ahead of the people that came before her. Cant please everyone. She is not my ideal customer is has these unrealistic time expectations. I explained everything nicely, waiting to hear back.
I just dropped 8 customers and $500 a week! It feels so good! This is my 6th year in business and I'm really trying to define my service area to a 10 mile radius. These 8 customers are all outside of this area and needed to go. I was thinking about just keeping them on and waiting until the end of the mowing season before dropping them but business is business and I felt it was time for a change. Yes some where very upset with the way I just dropped them and didn't give them one more cut or time to find a replacement. I offered referrals to other guys I know looking for work. Some took the referrals and others didn't. I told them all this is not personal it's just business. Some said well this doesn't look good on your business to just drop customers and I said hey it goes both ways. When l went into this business I wanted to have control of it and I do what I want when I want.
@@BriansLawnMaintenance well a lot of people have been brainwashed to love China more than themselves because we are in a psychological warfare Brian but you already knew this much love brother
So True my Lawn company charged us 35 per cut. for 1 years then wanted to raise to 45 Via Weekly, although I am a lawn nut and my grass is golf course, looking at first we missed him, then did some research and bought my very first ZT Ariens XD 52 and couldn't be Happier, for myself it was convivence. had surgery on my shoulder. but i Respect your video 100%
lol i once told a guy i would make more money sitting at home then working for him after i explained all the numbers to him he conceded the point i was making and we were able to have an actual discussion but i still would not work for him the best part was he called me up to fix everything the other guy did wrong charged him 2.5 times the original bid plus i made him buy all the material up front i would not float him on the job
Also, gated houses where the gates open when they need you and don't open to save money. Or for snow removal, aren't open, and then call you hours later when you are out of the area or are already home. Just got rid of my last gated house. I will never service one again. Thank God!
I have this handicap couple on my mowing schedule. They have cameras and are always home. The back gate is always locked, and he rolls out and waists my time with bs. Today I was there 20 min running equipment. He never came out so I left. He texted me all bent out of shape and said hes not going to pay for just the front. I told him it's not my responsibility to knock on people's doors, they know when I'm coming. There's always about 5-10 percent of people that I encounter that want to play games instead of conducting clean buisness. All I have to do is answer the phone. I am always frank and let them go, not my kind of clientele.
every year seems to present a different annoyance for me. 2022 is the year of the client trying to control their mow schedule... not even halfway into the season and I'm locking on to 3 cancelation targets.
I have a customer that wants me to get a head of the yard called me and complained but the week prior it rain the whole week I get there all his neighbors yards have not been cut because of the wet soil I try to let things dry out I don’t know ifI should drop him because his expectations seem a little high what is your take on that
What up Bri....its such a huge relief when you end terms with one of those less favorable customers. I'm at that point with my business (thank God, and both you and Keith K for getting me where I am today) where I can finally stop taking $#!T from customers and tell them its time to part ways, such a awesomefeeling!!!...I've took on one new customer (lovely person) this season where my bid was good but when I finally started mowing her back yard, I felt like I was mowing the moon ( thank God I dont have hemorhoides). I was like NO!!! but today when I went to service her property, I saw a for sale sign on her lawn and I was Like YES, I'm done with this one!!!
yeah i just mowed a storage facility about 10 min mowing, and almost an hour trimming with 2 people fuck that, they should have developed the place with maintainance in mind it was just build last year. no flat surface except 3 passes on top of a hill. when i did site work we had to make sure a mower could get onto it. certain slope percentage
HMC’s is what we call them - High Maintenance Customers. If I’m not making them happy with quality lawn care, they should find someone else who can make them happy. Had to let one go this week who simply expected unreasonable things from a lawn care service.
This is a similar thing in the garden machinery sales and service sector. Unfortunately we have to let customers down when they bring in machinery that we can no longer get the parts for or repair to their expected price. Also the customer's who treat the staff like dirt and complain on prices may end up being sidelined for the customers who are polite and understanding.
I had a customer who would be calling me every other day finally she called me while i was out with my girlfriend and i told her there will be a $20.00 charge for me to go look at what she wanted me to look at
I will only put up with customers messaging me a lot if they're a new customer after the first mowing session if the messaging continues outside of 24 hours there after they would be dropped normally the only people who message you a whole lot r angry old women
Great video some of our customers are rude and it was time to let them go. Just had a customer that we did for many years and her yard had many changes dogs new fences and a kids play area. Told her we had to increase price she accepted.was hoping it would go the other way 🤣
I mean usually parts are still available for equipment decades after the fact? Try your local dealer or the internet for sourcing them. If not, yeah I'm not sure what to suggest!
I had guy with large rocks/boulders throughout his large hill of a front yard. He didn't wanna give me whole job of the property just the shit that shit part. Told him my price, he's like that's price I'd pay for whole property but not just the front. Well week went by and he called having not finding anyone for his low-ball offer and took me up on my price. It was a terrible and dangerous combination of navigation with walk behind and tons of trimming. After few weeks decided it wasn't worth it after experiences of nearly losing control of the mower and blade scraps. Only thing to do was trim virtually whole large front yard for safety sakes but knew he was gonna hassle me over price as he did at first so I respectfully told him I'll do it another time giving him time to find someone else. He told me he would find out about having rocks removed and getting small retaining wall in to lessen the steepness of the yard. Offered me 10 more to continue on with promise in a month yard would be in better shape to cut normally. Month came and went, he never called anyone and gave me shit for asking about it. Told him this was my last cut until improvement was made just to be nice as I'd never work with him again after the bs. Even with my being cheaper than the rest, my being super respectful he cussed me, told me he'll tell everyone how bad of a contractor I am and so on. Had another guy who hired company that used illegals for few bucks cheaper. I just did pay as u go and get service as needed. Well most summers we get dry hot spell or 2 which I had the since to just go touch up with trimmer some spots, not mow and didn't charge for it. The illegals had contract for weekly and in order to justify the cost they would mow when not needed and super short as to show a mow occurred leaving most of the yard completely dead. He called me wanting me back and I told him hey it wasn't just you that tried nickel and diming me to ultimately go with cheaper illegals and with lost revenue I have moved on to do other things. Still had the equipment and could've made time to do more than couple lawns I kept but wasn't gonna be for someone who dropped me on a dime over few bucks with shit yard to do that was gonna take few years to come back if needed watering and treatments were done. Not only was guy likely not gonna do necessary stuff for yard but others driving by, neighbors, ect would equate my service as one to go with for shit results for what the illegals done to it. Preferred losing biz entirely my rep was gonna be tarnished because of others bs and be made more difficult if not impossible to grow to be worth doing full time. If I go back to it I'm definitely gonna have it much more dialed in having learned from experiences I've had in the past. One thing I might add to list of suggestions is no chain link properties. Usually their overgrown and ya spend to much time with face full mowing and trimming under the shit. If client and neighbors have 💯 then fine but soon as neighbors drop the ball I'm out for sure.
Hi my name is Michael Lipari I’m 14 and I have this one lady that pulled me over on the zero turn mower and started flipping out on me because I zipped passed her to me the funny part was I actually pulled over and idle down the machine and let them walk past i’ve had so many people I’m working just flip out on me and they’re not even my customers so Like one night working around 530 in the afternoon and the guy comes out with a cigarette and comes up to me and says no it’s a little later To be working i’m like I just finished at 5:30 but could you make a video explaining what would you do when you have random person come up to you and just flip out on you ?
I had a customers wife come out and stand there watching me mow with her arms crossed. Theres been a lot of crap leading up to this. I wanted to stop mowing right then and there. I stayed professional and finished the mow. Now I need to flush this turd. I need to get paid for some patch work and it's over. The joke is on him. I mow the lawn across the street and just picked up a lawn 2 doors down.
So I just mow part time as I’m a fireman. I have a been very successful. My problem is I only have so much time. How do I know when it’s time to cut the bottom? (Smaller, less profitable yards.) recently got a large venue to service and I no longer have enough time.
Easy dissolve the bottom and replace the top. Figure out what’s paying you more for the season and for your hourly rate and time. That should be a good way to gauge or rank clients in terms of revenue per year and profitability
Not a contractor, I have a lawn guy. I can't believe there are ass holes out there that try to tell you how to do the job... My lawn guy knows what I expect, and he told me the price. I'm to lazy and busy to keep my lawn HOA at standard. I leave them alone because the HOA leaves me alone. I told him if I get a letter from the HOA he will get a copy and go from there, adjusting the price if need be to keep it going. My lawn guy does a great job and I have zero complaints.
Hey Brian..any suggestions for canceling a customer due to the property being very sketchy to mow. Steep hills,fence at the bottom and then cliff. Property gave me so much anxiety. Should I just be upfront and honest that it’s a liability issue?
Am I a Lawntrepreneur if everytime I hear a mower running in my neighborhood I want to go over and tell them they need to stop mowing and I need to mow it? Or maybe I just need to take your advice and tell myself I don't need to mow every single lawn there is! LOL...thanks for the advice. I'll hang up and listen to your response!😎
I have slowly been starting to drop people outside my route. I am looking to drop a few more that just do not make any sense for me to drive out of my way to do their yard.
Brian, how do I professionally cancel a customer due to then always paying late . I have a customer who I've been maintaining his lawn for 3 years , for the first couple years he was paying on time, now since October of 2019 he has Been very late in payments such as 2-4 months late on payments and I do weekly services to him . How can I cancel him without being to mean I would guess , thank you .
Tell him you now only accept credit cards with a charge card on file. And end of month you charge the card on file for the months previous bill. Or, even one better with guys like him, tell him you now require a monthly prepay. Just put your foot down, your company has a new policy. Keep it professional, but that's the way you guys now do things. If he doesn't like it, he can find someone else. If he doesn't want to respect your professional business, he isn't a good client for you. Hope that helps!
Enjoy your videos. I am currently using a Tiger cat for mowing. I've been looking at a v ride. I'm worried the stand on mower will be harder to use because on the sit down mower I can feather the deck over things. What do you think?
I’ve really been scratching my head on that. I’m not sure! What should we giveaway? Ideas? I’ve been so dang busy I haven’t even had time to think about it!
I disagree with the referral to another contractor. If I am dropping a customer I don't want to pass my problem off to someone I know so I avoid giving referrals. But if I decline a job that is to much for me I will refer or drop a friend's name but not if I am dropping a customer.
He was referring to when you drop a customer because you are changing your service model or your service area no longer matches up with their location.
I'm about to drop a few.. First one: They have been a good client the past 3 years. This month has been horrible. The first service this month they left toys and dog poop. Next week the dog was left in backyard and got out. The next week they left the sprinklers on. Once i get paid they're off the schedule. Next customer: Asked me to skip a week because he couldn't pick up the dog poop. Next week i get sprayed in face with dog poop with weed wacker.. Same customers that drinks beer and smokes cigs and watches me mow at 10:00 in the morning. Last customer: It's quite far from my route. They leave their dogs outside while i mow and i have to put them inside everytime.
I have an foreign old ladie always complaining but she got me 4 good accounts next door to her. She never shuts up tho i want to drop her but affraid all her neighbors will drop too
Have you guys ever kept a customer on for too long and realized it was time to part ways? I know I have!! Here's what WE do to let a customer go if and when the need arises!
PS, if you never saw the customer goes nuclear story, check it out here: tinyurl.com/y7etcq8x
I have dropped a handful this year, the main reason is if they are 'high maintenance'. They want too much attention and text or call too often. I told one today that I won't do her yard because her dog has dug a lot of holes and she doesn't clean up after the dog.
Smart man
GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! I had to set some expectations for an older lady and her lawn. She just wasn't watering enough and blaming me for 'killing' her lawn and telling me my blades must not be sharp. I sharpen weekly and a new set gets put on. I salvaged the client and we are on good terms now. Great info, Brian!
Lawn Care Ninja
Quinton Hudson Weekly ? Pretty easy to spot grass that’s been cut with a dull blade. The cut tip usually browns a little. We sharpen blades every day and change twice a day but we are doing 28 yards a day (on avg)
@@terrycarlton6991 Where I live I don't need to do blades twice or even once a day. That's a bit overkill. I take my blades off at the end of the week and they still feel sharp. I know all about how grass tips start to die back with dull blades.
@@terrycarlton6991 luv ya but you dont sharpen blades everyday
Nailed it Brian. This is my first year in business and I have already had my fair share of rude/belittling/price driven clients. Just need to respectfully end the business side of things and try to salvage the relationship for your company's namesake. Always appreciate your videos brother!
👊💯
Two years in to my lawn care life I learned you need 50 customers to get 20 great ones and out of 50 and each year add 50 to hope you get 20 more great ones.
One simple phrase always holds true. "Not all money is good money"
Thanks Brian, I needed that video this evening, it was music to my ears.
I had a customer who always wanted me to cut the lawn shorter. I had to have the same conversation every week about why I can't cut her lawn 1 inch tall. She never got it. I don't mow for her anymore. It wasn't worth dealing with her everytime. Brian do you ever have customers wanting you to cut their grass shorter? If so what do you tell them? Not sure if this is just a thing down south or everywhere.
The people who want you to cut their grass extra short even though they have something like St Augustine and don't use any irrigation and you can already see that all the st. Augustine thats exposed to the sun has died off and been replaced with weeds and you try to tell the customer why you want to cut it at a proper 3 to 4 in yeah f--- those people not quality lawn customer
Yes in Oklahoma customers do that!! Ugh I hate it
Great stuff, Brian! Those were all tough lessons for me to learn over the first two to three years owning my business. Super awesome advice for new and old business owners alike!
Not a contractor, but I find this content super interesting.
Thank you for the video! I just started a lawn service this year and just yesterday I received a call from a potential customer asking for an estimate and from the moment my wife and I got to his house we picked up a negative vibe. He is an Alderman in the town but he was very condescending and constantly telling us "I have a brain!"and mentioning his experience as if he was trying to impress us.I have him a price and he rejected it and I was glad because to me I can use the income for my business but it's not worth the headache!
So glad that you made this video! This season has been crazy. So true on customers expectations. Great Video!
Very good tips. Had 3 clients, doing super cheap with some deals like my dog can come along on the job. All make comments and complained. Then made comments about not being able to afford more even though NO ONE would be doing it for what I am doing it for... Then constant comparisons for the "guy I had before" who obviously isn't doing it anymore for a reason.... Thumbs up. Appreciate the tips
Man what very on point i had A customer tell me I give you a $5 tip you don't pull the weeds in my garden Bed you dont do anything extra im like dude r u serious there is not one corner of this property thats not cut to perfection lol thats the tip, lol but i can pull your weeds or spray for blank price, "oh no thats ok" smh people be tripping and i already hit the weeds with the trimmer for nothing just make it look cleaner smh
I have no problem cutting customers if they don’t fit in with our values or become difficult... I’ve also been canceled a few times.. we win some and lose some.
Great video! Thank you.
Exactly!!
It's my second full year in business and I hate losing customers. How do you have the confidence to drop them?
Our general rule these days is if you are complaining about doing the lawn either raise the price or drop it. Too many good lawns and or clients out there to spend time on a property that one or both parties are not content.
I totally agree!
Just dealt with this the last couple of weeks. These two customers had weird request like only trim around my house once a month, cut with the deck all the way up, use a lighter mower (I’m using a stander). One customer would also cut like a 1/3 of her lawn that was too fragile for my “heavy mowers”. She also walked the yard with me after the first service and was pointing out my turn marks that were not there the next service. Then both constantly texting me before each service on what I needed to do and to not forget. I just simply told them we wouldn’t be a god fit and gave them good referrals. One of them gave me a one star review on google over it.
Great video Brian, in my 10 years I only canceled service 2 the first one was she said she picked up all the dog poop when I got there to mow the backyard would be full of poop I gave her a chance I picked it up for three weeks and gave her the dog waste fee each week and after the third mow/ week I said I am done! The second one was she was too demanding and calling me at night when she was drunk, what she wanted done the next day. I said bye to that one also!
Easy way to fire a customer raise price by50%👍🏽
The crazy thing is I am having the difficult time trying to cancel someone. This video helped so much thanks.
I've had a few customers who complain about 1 friggin dandelion in a 1acre yard after we spray or one of my guys didn't blow off the driveway perfectly lol. I call them "pain in the ass customers" and cut them loose pretty quick. It's just not worth the aggravation.
😎💯🙈
Thanks for the words of encouragement Brian!
Very well said, Brian! Great information.
Brian I am sure this type of video is not really one you wanted to make but you run a very honest channel and great content the lawns you show on your videos are Beautiful Ithink your Awesome as always
Glad you enjoyed it
We had a time where we maintained 4 or 5 properties on the same street and over the years clients moved or financial situations changed until there was just the one house left we did. It didnt make sense given their proximity to the rest of our service area so we referred them and went on our way. In the case of a PITA customer, well, we have one competitor that is downright rude and starts *you know what* with all us other lawn companies so we just refer them to Him. They can go be miserable together.
I know the feeling Brian. I work for a family owned fertilizing business and we have a lady that called 3 or 4 times this spring demanding us to be there the first week of May to spray her yard. She acted like she was the only customer we have. We kept telling her she would have better luck with someone else but she never got the hint😅
lmao
Brian you did a great job when you were doing my properties but not the sames as what I can do. Spring, mowing 2 times a week usually hitting just before a rain so it will helps with the recovery, spending 3 times more time doing it, and being a little more in tune with its needs. I cant expect nor afford for you to spend 2 hours cutting my yard and customers should relize that or be willing to pay huge money to get it. Thanks for helping me out when I was sick, you saved me from myself and you even stopped to chat every once in a while to help pass the day. That 4 months you were more than just the guy mowing my lawn. P.S thanks for the nice comments today about my yard too, made me feel good coming from a pro.
😎👊
I have raised my standards in my business with my customers. When you do that your whole changes. I hire customers very slowly and try to hint any red flags 🚩 Get rid of a customer isn’t talked about enough. They make stressed out.
Thanks brother for the helpful information.
I feel ya. Man I don’t have time to do extra work for non mowing customers anymore. We’re humping 10 hrs every day to just keep up with regulars. I’ll also drop a customer for non payment. I’ll carry them for 45 days but no longer.
I'm struggling with this right now. Its very frustrating to continue working when payments are behind.
Had a client today (new this year) want to let me go bc i couldnt trim her bushes this week. They arent overgrown. Told her i had a schedule and that i could get her next week. Cant put them ahead of the people that came before her. Cant please everyone. She is not my ideal customer is has these unrealistic time expectations. I explained everything nicely, waiting to hear back.
Thanks for the advice
I just dropped 8 customers and $500 a week! It feels so good! This is my 6th year in business and I'm really trying to define my service area to a 10 mile radius. These 8 customers are all outside of this area and needed to go. I was thinking about just keeping them on and waiting until the end of the mowing season before dropping them but business is business and I felt it was time for a change. Yes some where very upset with the way I just dropped them and didn't give them one more cut or time to find a replacement. I offered referrals to other guys I know looking for work. Some took the referrals and others didn't. I told them all this is not personal it's just business. Some said well this doesn't look good on your business to just drop customers and I said hey it goes both ways. When l went into this business I wanted to have control of it and I do what I want when I want.
:)Bro thats 4k glad you have more than 8 lawns give them my # :) we would pick those 8 customers up very gladly
You must cancel a customer if they support the reelection of the Michigan governor lol..
Lol, I find it hard to believe that anyone supports that doofus. She's horrible.
@@BriansLawnMaintenance well a lot of people have been brainwashed to love China more than themselves because we are in a psychological warfare Brian but you already knew this much love brother
So True my Lawn company charged us 35 per cut. for 1 years then wanted to raise to 45 Via Weekly, although I am a lawn nut and my grass is golf course, looking at first we missed him, then did some research and bought my very first ZT Ariens XD 52 and couldn't be Happier, for myself it was convivence. had surgery on my shoulder. but i Respect your video 100%
Great insight, Brian! Thanks.
lol i once told a guy i would make more money sitting at home then working for him after i explained all the numbers to him he conceded the point i was making and we were able to have an actual discussion but i still would not work for him
the best part was he called me up to fix everything the other guy did wrong charged him 2.5 times the original bid plus i made him buy all the material up front i would not float him on the job
Thank you so much for this video
Also, gated houses where the gates open when they need you and don't open to save money. Or for snow removal, aren't open, and then call you hours later when you are out of the area or are already home. Just got rid of my last gated house. I will never service one again. Thank God!
I have this handicap couple on my mowing schedule. They have cameras and are always home. The back gate is always locked, and he rolls out and waists my time with bs. Today I was there 20 min running equipment. He never came out so I left. He texted me all bent out of shape and said hes not going to pay for just the front. I told him it's not my responsibility to knock on people's doors, they know when I'm coming. There's always about 5-10 percent of people that I encounter that want to play games instead of conducting clean buisness. All I have to do is answer the phone. I am always frank and let them go, not my kind of clientele.
Keep up the great videos it's never easy Letting Go a customer but it's sometimes necessary I had to do that this year unfortunately
every year seems to present a different annoyance for me. 2022 is the year of the client trying to control their mow schedule... not even halfway into the season and I'm locking on to 3 cancelation targets.
I have a customer that wants me to get a head of the yard called me and complained but the week prior it rain the whole week I get there all his neighbors yards have not been cut because of the wet soil I try to let things dry out I don’t know ifI should drop him because his expectations seem a little high what is your take on that
What up Bri....its such a huge relief when you end terms with one of those less favorable customers. I'm at that point with my business (thank God, and both you and Keith K for getting me where I am today) where I can finally stop taking $#!T from customers and tell them its time to part ways, such a awesomefeeling!!!...I've took on one new customer (lovely person) this season where my bid was good but when I finally started mowing her back yard, I felt like I was mowing the moon ( thank God I dont have hemorhoides). I was like NO!!! but today when I went to service her property, I saw a for sale sign on her lawn and I was Like YES, I'm done with this one!!!
Nailed it again bro!
Awesome video! Thanks man
Spot on there. I do exactly the same now but it took me a long time to learn that.
yeah i just mowed a storage facility about 10 min mowing, and almost an hour trimming with 2 people fuck that, they should have developed the place with maintainance in mind it was just build last year. no flat surface except 3 passes on top of a hill. when i did site work we had to make sure a mower could get onto it. certain slope percentage
HMC’s is what we call them - High Maintenance Customers. If I’m not making them happy with quality lawn care, they should find someone else who can make them happy. Had to let one go this week who simply expected unreasonable things from a lawn care service.
This is a similar thing in the garden machinery sales and service sector. Unfortunately we have to let customers down when they bring in machinery that we can no longer get the parts for or repair to their expected price. Also the customer's who treat the staff like dirt and complain on prices may end up being sidelined for the customers who are polite and understanding.
Great video bro thanks
I had a customer who would be calling me every other day finally she called me while i was out with my girlfriend and i told her there will be a $20.00 charge for me to go look at what she wanted me to look at
I will only put up with customers messaging me a lot if they're a new customer after the first mowing session if the messaging continues outside of 24 hours there after they would be dropped normally the only people who message you a whole lot r angry old women
F that man that customer could have interrupted you gettin your swerve on with your gf, that’s crossing the line.
Great video some of our customers are rude and it was time to let them go. Just had a customer that we did for many years and her yard had many changes dogs new fences and a kids play area. Told her we had to increase price she accepted.was hoping it would go the other way 🤣
LOL been there too. Sometimes we throw out crazy prices and for whatever reason they still stay signed up. More profit for us :)
Best advice I've ever heard of. What do I do when parts are becoming unavailable for my walk behinds. Just buy new?
I mean usually parts are still available for equipment decades after the fact? Try your local dealer or the internet for sourcing them. If not, yeah I'm not sure what to suggest!
What mower ?
Man I'm running a 2005-ish turf tracer hp and it's still pretty easy to find parts... how old is your mower? Or maybe and off brand?
Snapper walk behinds think 90s. All dealers including Jack's small engine parts are discontinued and no longer available.
You're absolutely correct on this 👌
Hey Brian love the jacket in the beginning that you have on
The hoodie is from M22 store in up north (lower peninsula still) Michigan!
I had guy with large rocks/boulders throughout his large hill of a front yard. He didn't wanna give me whole job of the property just the shit that shit part. Told him my price, he's like that's price I'd pay for whole property but not just the front. Well week went by and he called having not finding anyone for his low-ball offer and took me up on my price. It was a terrible and dangerous combination of navigation with walk behind and tons of trimming. After few weeks decided it wasn't worth it after experiences of nearly losing control of the mower and blade scraps. Only thing to do was trim virtually whole large front yard for safety sakes but knew he was gonna hassle me over price as he did at first so I respectfully told him I'll do it another time giving him time to find someone else. He told me he would find out about having rocks removed and getting small retaining wall in to lessen the steepness of the yard. Offered me 10 more to continue on with promise in a month yard would be in better shape to cut normally. Month came and went, he never called anyone and gave me shit for asking about it. Told him this was my last cut until improvement was made just to be nice as I'd never work with him again after the bs. Even with my being cheaper than the rest, my being super respectful he cussed me, told me he'll tell everyone how bad of a contractor I am and so on.
Had another guy who hired company that used illegals for few bucks cheaper. I just did pay as u go and get service as needed. Well most summers we get dry hot spell or 2 which I had the since to just go touch up with trimmer some spots, not mow and didn't charge for it. The illegals had contract for weekly and in order to justify the cost they would mow when not needed and super short as to show a mow occurred leaving most of the yard completely dead. He called me wanting me back and I told him hey it wasn't just you that tried nickel and diming me to ultimately go with cheaper illegals and with lost revenue I have moved on to do other things. Still had the equipment and could've made time to do more than couple lawns I kept but wasn't gonna be for someone who dropped me on a dime over few bucks with shit yard to do that was gonna take few years to come back if needed watering and treatments were done. Not only was guy likely not gonna do necessary stuff for yard but others driving by, neighbors, ect would equate my service as one to go with for shit results for what the illegals done to it. Preferred losing biz entirely my rep was gonna be tarnished because of others bs and be made more difficult if not impossible to grow to be worth doing full time.
If I go back to it I'm definitely gonna have it much more dialed in having learned from experiences I've had in the past.
One thing I might add to list of suggestions is no chain link properties. Usually their overgrown and ya spend to much time with face full mowing and trimming under the shit. If client and neighbors have 💯 then fine but soon as neighbors drop the ball I'm out for sure.
Great video thanks!
I have like 2 out of 100 that need to go. They try and tell me what time to cut their lawn lol! I get tired of People man
Thanks buddy 👍
Thanks Brian!!!
Your videos are getting good lately
Thanks pal, we're trying to make fun content and keep it fresh
good advice my friend. It took me years to learn this LOL
Great video
Hi my name is Michael Lipari I’m 14 and I have this one lady that pulled me over on the zero turn mower and started flipping out on me because I zipped passed her to me the funny part was I actually pulled over and idle down the machine and let them walk past i’ve had so many people I’m working just flip out on me and they’re not even my customers so Like one night working around 530 in the afternoon and the guy comes out with a cigarette and comes up to me and says no it’s a little later To be working i’m like I just finished at 5:30 but could you make a video explaining what would you do when you have random person come up to you and just flip out on you ?
I had a customers wife come out and stand there watching me mow with her arms crossed. Theres been a lot of crap leading up to this. I wanted to stop mowing right then and there. I stayed professional and finished the mow. Now I need to flush this turd. I need to get paid for some patch work and it's over. The joke is on him. I mow the lawn across the street and just picked up a lawn 2 doors down.
Sounds like the lady wants you to come on to her. That’s a touchy situation.
So I just mow part time as I’m a fireman. I have a been very successful. My problem is I only have so much time. How do I know when it’s time to cut the bottom? (Smaller, less profitable yards.) recently got a large venue to service and I no longer have enough time.
Easy dissolve the bottom and replace the top. Figure out what’s paying you more for the season and for your hourly rate and time. That should be a good way to gauge or rank clients in terms of revenue per year and profitability
Thats why Brian is top notch
Not a contractor, I have a lawn guy. I can't believe there are ass holes out there that try to tell you how to do the job...
My lawn guy knows what I expect, and he told me the price. I'm to lazy and busy to keep my lawn HOA at standard.
I leave them alone because the HOA leaves me alone. I told him if I get a letter from the HOA he will get a copy and go from there, adjusting the price if need be to keep it going.
My lawn guy does a great job and I have zero complaints.
👍👊
Hey Brian..any suggestions for canceling a customer due to the property being very sketchy to mow. Steep hills,fence at the bottom and then cliff. Property gave me so much anxiety. Should I just be upfront and honest that it’s a liability issue?
Yep, that’s what I’d do. Don’t do it if you’re not comfortable with it!
@@BriansLawnMaintenance thanks man. Thats what ended up doing. Honesty is always the best. What’s she gonna say? Lol
Am I a Lawntrepreneur if everytime I hear a mower running in my neighborhood I want to go over and tell them they need to stop mowing and I need to mow it? Or maybe I just need to take your advice and tell myself I don't need to mow every single lawn there is! LOL...thanks for the advice. I'll hang up and listen to your response!😎
Lol
I have slowly been starting to drop people outside my route. I am looking to drop a few more that just do not make any sense for me to drive out of my way to do their yard.
I have dropped a few customers, usually because they want me to scalp their lawn, I do not scalp!
Brian, how do I professionally cancel a customer due to then always paying late . I have a customer who I've been maintaining his lawn for 3 years , for the first couple years he was paying on time, now since October of 2019 he has Been very late in payments such as 2-4 months late on payments and I do weekly services to him . How can I cancel him without being to mean I would guess , thank you .
Tell him you now only accept credit cards with a charge card on file. And end of month you charge the card on file for the months previous bill. Or, even one better with guys like him, tell him you now require a monthly prepay. Just put your foot down, your company has a new policy. Keep it professional, but that's the way you guys now do things. If he doesn't like it, he can find someone else. If he doesn't want to respect your professional business, he isn't a good client for you. Hope that helps!
Enjoy your videos. I am currently using a Tiger cat for mowing. I've been looking at a v ride. I'm worried the stand on mower will be harder to use because on the sit down mower I can feather the deck over things. What do you think?
yeah we also have like condos where people what a landscaper there every day.
absolutly right
Hey Brian you gonna do a big giveaway when you hit 100K??
I’ve really been scratching my head on that. I’m not sure! What should we giveaway? Ideas? I’ve been so dang busy I haven’t even had time to think about it!
I disagree with the referral to another contractor. If I am dropping a customer I don't want to pass my problem off to someone I know so I avoid giving referrals. But if I decline a job that is to much for me I will refer or drop a friend's name but not if I am dropping a customer.
He was referring to when you drop a customer because you are changing your service model or your service area no longer matches up with their location.
What he said ^ but ya sorry for the confusion.
Nice video
4:32 should be #1 😂😂
I'm about to drop a few..
First one: They have been a good client the past 3 years. This month has been horrible. The first service this month they left toys and dog poop. Next week the dog was left in backyard and got out. The next week they left the sprinklers on. Once i get paid they're off the schedule.
Next customer: Asked me to skip a week because he couldn't pick up the dog poop.
Next week i get sprayed in face with dog poop with weed wacker..
Same customers that drinks beer and smokes cigs and watches me mow at 10:00 in the morning.
Last customer: It's quite far from my route. They leave their dogs outside while i mow and i have to put them inside everytime.
Hit the Nail on the Head with all Scenarios mate 🙌
Great Info 👍
You're Telling it...how it is...as usual 😀
👊
Deciding my customer base is the best part of a lawn business, after striping of course.😁
Brian do you ever pass the customer along to someone else?
All the time
Excellent video!
I make my customers pay a retainer. Just in case the credit card doesn’t go through I will apply the retainer. Do you know anybody that does that?
I don’t but I’ve heard some folks that do that yep
Tanks you👊🏻
Hi brian
I have an foreign old ladie always complaining but she got me 4 good accounts next door to her. She never shuts up tho i want to drop her but affraid all her neighbors will drop too
World where did all the videos go
We’ve been swamped, plus my last vlogs audio didn’t work so we had to scrap the video :(
raise it to 200 hundred a week if its so hard, big hill tons of trimming whatever. overcharge so much that youll do it just for the money
How to cancel a customer?
"Just shoot your customer"
6:25
Ill give that one a try.
Geek to freak also about a client who had a temper tantrum with him.
Ppl try to give me their prices for doing work for them. I make the price. Not them.
Customers lie. After I mow the lawn they'll tell me they don't have the money and wait til pay day.
Thanks, I’m ready to fire my customers jk🤣
Hi
I have a customer I want to cancel but I want to keep his neighbor!
M22!!! 👍
True dat