I had a lady leave me a Google review. (Thanks for the idea!) She called me out in the Google review and said the only thing that she would change was for me to trim her trees from touching her house (for free) She told everyone shes 76 and on Social Security and that I do a great job but it sure would be nice if I would trim up those trees for free. This is a $50 yard that gets done once a month
A large estate on the water owned by a local Doctor he called us because his daughter was getting married in the back yard. He wanted some some beds re-planted and the hedges/shrubs pruned, lawn mowed, beds line trimmed, all driveways, sidewalks, and basketball court stick edged... WE NEVER GOT PAID!
clients that live between neighbors with terrible yards with tall weeds mowed every 3 weeks, never racked leaves just left there till the wind moves it to my clients yards.
I can't stand people that stop me when im working to tell me that its hot outside or they want to tell me "I don't know how you do it"....YES I KNOW HOW HOT IT IS!!!!
@@mikeoconnell4399 I agree im just saying i cant stand it. it throws me off pace and even though it seems like a kind gesture it is very inconsiderate. I have reshaped my whole business to avoid this kind of nonsense. I have card on file payments and communicate very frequently with clients on the phone and through email. its just a pet peeve when its a 110 heat index i don't want to talk with anyone about how hot it is, I dont even want to think about it. I just want to get the job done and take a shower. in the beginning of my business i would stay out and talk with people and it added up to so much time that it wasn't uncommon that i had to get out an extra day and cut lawns that flowed past there scheduled day. on the flip its a very good time to build a good relationship with that client....any other day than the stupid hot day i will tolerate it with a smile.
The customers who come out and can just talk forevever. Very hard because you don’t want to just cut them off and come across as rude. You can end up spending more time talking than the time it actually takes to do their yard.
Yea I added this up once, I was loosing 5hrs a week to 5 to 10 min chats with old retired ppl that had nothing better to do.. got rid of them shortly after that or just stopped stopping to talk
I was amazed at how many of the headaches went away when i moved to all weekly and raised my prices. it was like night and day for use on the B.S. also i hate moving hoses as well and I just mow over them now, so far no damage because of my cut height but the way i see it i am there to mow not pick up there yard or there trash and they know what day i am going to be there its not a surprise. again awesome videos. i have been watching for years and you always have great content that is to the point and packs a punch. I haven't been able to get that same flow down yet.
I hate when customers leave those steel dog tie cables in the yard. You can't see them in the thick grass, and when you run over them and it gets wrapped up around your mower blades. Thats the worst IMO.
LOL! Love it, Jonathan! I have a dog doo customer as well. Had to have an awkward conversation with the lady. Worse yet, it was my first mowing client ever a couple of months ago. LOL! My excitement of mowing my first yard plummeted dramatically...
I agree with you there I had one customer that I had to go there 2 times on the same day and the 2 time they told me that they forgot about it so this year I'm looking to just have a portable credit card mishen that way they can just do it there. Is there anyone that do that please let me know.
@@matthewbrummett5011 Look up "Square" I used that for a while. You just have to pay a small processing fee, I think its like 2% or less. The device is free and you just plug it in to your phone and download the free app to run the card.
The customer that says "you missed a spot" when I'm not even close to being done. The person that walks by on the sidewalk from behind me while I'm blowing the sidewalk. The person that waits until you have the back pack blower on before wanting to talk. You know, the 1 most inconvenient piece of equipment to restart
The person that walks in front of you on the sidewalk while your edging it. The person on the sidewalk that walks towards your debri cloud from the blower. Sometimes i just keep blowing.
This list had my dying. Number 2 (no pun intended), had me so mad one time that I scraped my boots off on a customers front step. It had been a conversation that had transpired between us a few times and that was the straw that broke the camel's back!! Never had a problem after that. wasn't my proudest moment. I subbed to your channel, a lot of great topics & I want to get caught up on a bunch of you videos. Hoping all is well, Dirty Jersey out!!!
Customers who tell you their dog is friendly and doesn’t bite. Next thing you know your trying to keep them at bay with the weed eater or trying to run to make it over the fence.
Hate the creepy watchers, I'm doing the same thing I've done the last 56 times I cut your lawn Karen you dont have to inspect every step I take as I take it. Even get ppl that will stop u mid way thru and oh u just missed... yes karen cause I'm finished arnt I..
Love your videos, and this one is spot on. I have a dirt-bag customer like that, he owns three Great Danes and two smaller dogs. Add them all together and you got a 460-pound dog poop machine. He pays me late, if at all, complains all the time and I'd drop him in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the fact that his backyard is right outside my back door. Keep up the good work, I've watched all your videos and I learn something from most all of them.
You nailed it lol. I've dealt with every one of these issues. I eventually came up with a Client/Provider form, issued to new and existing accounts every Spring. It addresses these issues in a friendly but consequential manner. Nice video👍
I totally understand what you mean FTP! Due to the many issues you mentioned last season I started sending out bulk emails through Yardbook a day before to give my customers a heads up that I will be there the next day for their service and put on the email some of these items that are problems when I get there and all of a sudden it got better. I'm pretty much training my customers on what needs done before I arrive on site. I still get the occasional dog poop but not as much. It's not a perfect plan but just giving my customers a heads up they get their yard ready for me to mow. Great video on these issues!
What about when they park in front of the gate and you can't get the mower in to cut the grass!!!!! Then you need to call them to come out and move the car which takes 5-10 minutes then they start talking to you and then it's 20 minutes later and you finally get to start on there lawn... After you texted them the night before and told them you were coming the following day!!!!! These customers are nuts!!!!!!
Had those, best part is when it's the 10th cut and u can only cut it 3 dif ways and I'm already 3 strips into the direction they want that week but still have to come and tell me
Lol you really got me laughing regarding the neighbor running their sprinkler while it’s raining. I’ve seen that here in Texas near Austin. Especially commercial buildings. Such a waste of water.
That’s how sometimes the Boss/Supervisor always chews us out for missing a spot even after saying that the parked cars are preventing us from edging that same spot where they are parked at.
Lol I have a lot to say about this kind of stuff so here goes. A pet peeve of mine are the ones that I call “the watchers” people who come out stand and stare oh and also the talkers who take up a lot of your time lol. Trampolines are another one with me as well. I relate to all of the ones you mentioned. It seems most folks like to consider us or at least me as that guy with the truck and trailer rather than respect me as a business. Some folks will try to take advantage as slow payers, non payers or extra duty with no pay because we are just that guy they know that comes and takes care of their yard from time to time. They tend to take things too personal. Not all but some I feel like I have to hold their hand tell them I’m coming before hand because I know if I don’t they’ll forget to leave a check out and so forth. This year before season I’m choosing to do something a little different. I’m choosing to type a service agreement to pay within a certain time frame or there will be a late fee added, I’m leaving them a schedule of dates I’m coming so that I’m not texting everyday to remind them. (That gets old) This will either make them take me more serious or run the other way. We work hard for our money and we always try to do the right thing it’s only fair that they respect us pay us on time and treat us like legitimate business. 🤷♂️
Try Arabic men, if I can hear that accent thru the phone I tell them I’m booked up. 25 years of mowing everyone of them has tried to get me to do things for half the estimated price.
Oh my gosh, #4! I eliminated a client like this when I was young and working for another business. I told her the yard was more fit to grow seaweed. She wasn't getting the message and the boss wouldn't dump her, so I pissed her off and she fired us. That's what bosses get when they refuse to address an issue.
One of the absolute worst: I had one that would be on the phone with her husband, stand on the front porch & watch me. Then, do the same as I went to the back. After I finished she'd go around the yard pointing out different spots saying, "this part look taller than the rest" & ask me to re-mow it. Was my 1st season & I stopped service after about the 3rd mow. (They were from India)
The extras , I call them the "real quick" people. They always say "can you do this real quick?" What they really mean is "can you do this for free?" It completely negates the value of your time.
These comments are the best, definitely hate the poo. I have a hard time saying no to elderly request, they get me ever time. I had a 90 year old man talk me into replacing the light bulb in his shower, when I got done he said great, that light hasn't worked since 1992 (this was last fall, lol). On the flip side I've got a customer at a lake home I take care of that is always offering to take me for a rip on the kneeboard behind his Mastercraft ski boat when I get done mowing, awesome way to cool off when its 90 and humid in the dead of summer... wish there were a few more like that one :).
Before i had card on file i HATED for customers to SEE and HEAR me outside and when i knock on the door they say "OKAY hold on while i go FIND you some money" LIKE REALLY?? IT SHOULD BE ALREADY IN YOUR HANDS AND READY FOR ME!!!
Good clients or bad clients I so use it as an educational experience either way and a lot of times cost a lot less than College😂 great video by the way
I agree we all of these.....I also hate when customers have huge driveways and concrete but,choose to park their cars, trucks,boats,trailers etc. in the grass and they wonder why the grass is dying or why weeds are invading the lawn in these spots 🤷♂️
Takes many years to weed out headaches. I always view it like any other relationship...it has to work for both of us. I'll be fair and do a good job....they don't make my job harder. Period
Boy I hear yeah..... I hope your having an awesome day today. Having to deal with it time after time gets to you. I feel your pain. I was curious about something. Do you mow when lawns are wet? If so, how long do you wait for lawns to dry?
Here in south florida in the summer, sometimes you have no choice. It rains sometimes almost every day. With that, I simply mow and the discharge is clumpy so then i use a powerful blower to spread the clumps around. It doesn't look it's best but here in south florida we sometimes have no choice. I've never had a customer complain about it.
People at apartment complexes that try to tell your workers to do extra free work on property they don't own. Apartment complexes that you get paid to pick up the trash once a week and before cutting that no sooner do you get it picked up, there is trash back on the ground or the tenants throw the trash down outside of an empty dumpster. Tenants that destroy the flower beds, shrubbery, and property fixtures after you just got it looking nice. Rental property owners that want everything super cheap, super clean and don't want to pay what it's worth or melt down because what they wanted done took a couple days and cost more than just a few hundred dollars. People that assume lawn care means you do major landscaping and call you wanting you to design and landscape their entire yard, tell what plants to use but haven't seen the property and want you to have it completed within a few weeks without approval of any plans or budget and the plants alone are over $4000. Having to chase people down to get paid in cash because they won't pay through the link in the invoice or with the card reader that you carry in the truck.
Stop selling your services on the cheap. If they dont want to pay what you are worth, other clients will. It's so dumb to be underpayed. And the trash thing. Clean the trash once and then work. If more trash is there leave it. If they complain you tell them you did a trash removal service. the trash you now see is new.
I have A LOT of customers who want to talk my ear off, like they can't wait for their mowing day! Many of my customers are seniors, and I do feel bad because they are nice people and I may be the only person they see all week, but it kills my schedule. Getting to the point, though, where I am going to have to send out a message to all my customers to say, if you want to talk to me about your yard, then please send me an email / text, or schedule an appointment. It never failed that they usually wait until I have all of my PPE on before they come out and flag me down.
Like u mentioned I hate when people ask if u can do an extra 5 min job for them. We lost a customer because after several times of doing little things for free we finally were gonna charge her for one and she got mad and dropped us
It's real bad when you're rolling up the hose they left out and find out ya just drug it through dog poop! One time I hit a hose hid in the grass and that big ole Grasshopper just rolled it up and snatched the faucet right off the brick wall in a split second! Had to go under the house and sweat new copper pipe on.
I have a customer that has 50-70 trees and bushes, walkways, fountains etc all over her property plus an entire fence. And none of them have been cut in, she just piles the mulch around them on top of the grass. Looks terrible. I really want to cut her from my schedule but she is a great customer. Never complains, always pays immediately with tip, spreads my name and gets me customers, and is really nice. But I hate her lawn with a passion! lol so much damn trimming. Great video, I agree on all of them.
I think dog poo is number just because it's such a common problem. However the one that gets me steamed is when they want you to fix the landscapers botched work for free. You then have to explain how mowing a lawn has nothing to do with the 3ft tall weeds in the beds. common problem here in southern California. Landscapers skip steps/materials or way under bid jobs. Is this the same all over?
I have to agree with you all my previous business in Illinois was my long guy and I was in business over 10 years now I am in North Texas and my business is Noble Oaks Landscaping. I will definitely agree with dog poop that we all have to mow over and walk through it we all get christened at some point in time however excessive dog poop I have definitely told my customers when I saw them before the next cut that if it wasn't cleaned up I would charge them 10 to $15 more due to it and I never had the problem again. if there's lawn signs or voting signs or kids toys in the lawn it's just our responsibility to pick that stuff up if there is signs or chairs or tables minor stuff like kids toys or whatnot that's just our job however I will definitely mow in weed wack around and inflatable pool or sandbox or a trampoline and I'll do my best to get under it but I won't move that for them but I will pick up kids toys or a hose or weed whack around lawn signs and whatnot because that's just our job. we're lawn professionals and we should know how to work around different types of obstacles. Yes it's annoying however it's the point of going above and beyond and giving that great customer service that most other companies don't give that sets us apart from everybody else. When it comes to dog poop or other big things like that that is not what we are paid to do or deal with however if a customer comes out to talk to us yes it's annoying but then again it's going above and beyond and that is again what is going to separate us from all the other companies that don't want to deal with it and that's what led us keep our customers for the long haul.
I am in the property and casualty business in Florida and as an agent, I cannot STAND trampolines. The client never tells you that you got one, then a kid falls, breaks their arm, and sues. For a landscaper who touches that trampoline and moves it. You can run into several issues like care custody and control or your own liability issues. I always tell my clients, NEVER touch anything unless you have CC&C on your policy. If it breaks or something happens to it, you are responsible for the damages. BTW I feel bad for my landscapers during Christmas. My wife loves those blow up santas and Christmas characters. I as an agent thinks of them as tripping hazards and liability issues. I lose on that argument though not to have them. Mowing around them would be a pain to me.
I hate when you enforce a certain radious for your jobs. Then clients demand you break a few miles for them because there's money to be made... Well money to be made equates to a pitcher of lemonade... just isn't worth the gas, mileage, time etc to travel to these places for estimates. The only time I will ever break radious is if the person agrees to a minimum charged contract first.
I have one customer whose wife likes to go out and push mow around all of her flowers during the middle of the week and she does this on the lowest mower deck setting on her mower so she just scalps it so low the weeds love it and it looks terrible, she says it makes her flowers look bigger, but they pay And it's a profitable yard, so she could do whatever's you wants
People have no concept that they're paying for your work not just the price of their lawn. What I mean is if there lawn is a $30 lawn they think it's all inclusive. I've seen what would be $30 $35 lawns not be worth $50 to do due to the amount of obstacles in the yard. They also think that no matter how overgrown their lawn is the price remains the same. These same people should ask the oil change place to wash their cars, change their wipers, clean the interiors, rotate the tires, all for free. If you hire a lawn service make your lawn mowable. I've been asked to haul off brush, haul off trash, trim back shrubs, remove shrubs, change light bulbs, change air filters, patch roof, lay fertilizer, scalp the lawn, bag the lawn, pick up leaves (yes they want me to do a full leaf pickup at the same price), lay mulch, clean out flower beds, lower my deck to chew up the poop, clean gutters, etc. all at no additional cost.
Had a neighbor of a client ask if i can take a large log to the dump for him. He was probly 90 years old and i wanted to be nice. It was in front of my client anyways. I said yes for $5 😅. He came back with $2 and said that's all he could find. 😅
The customers that agree upon a service length say every 10 days and call after 7 wondering where your at??? Then when you double cut to look it’s best they still have issues with it.
The dog crap definitely #1 on my list and the toys. But also the late payers when you inform them upfront multiple times that You are a prepaid service.
Accidentally hit this pile of dog poop one time, with my trimmer. It flew up & stuck to my forehead & safety glasses. I was a nice small hand full. I had to grab it & pull it off. Had it happen before where there was so much dog crap in the tires that we couldn't get the mower to go up back in the trailer. Had to push it in.
I had a customer with beautiful zoysia grass growing nice and thick on there recycle water system was beautiful then they decided they wanted to keep up with the Joneses next door and install Saint Augustine I told the wife initially I wouldn't do it but didn't tell her exactly why because I didn't want to insult her intelligence and sure enough she did it and now the yard is continually flooded all I can do is string trimmer now and it's a huge backyard
@@FloridaTurfPros yeah it was beautiful zoysia grass I don't even think they were giving it Weed and Feed and it was still near-perfect they ruined it all but instead of canceling service I just walk around with the string trimmer and smile
If there's any Trash paper around I let them know that they need to clean their yard up or if they're going to have trash blown everywhere when I cut it
on my lawn care estimates I literally have small print at the bottom that says we don’t move anything not toys dog toys kid toys anything we mow and trim around it so like if you have a chair in the middle of your lawn I’m just gonna mow around it and your lines gonna look stupid and it’s gonna be your fault problem solved I don’t have that issue anymore
Told me to bleach the blades before mowing her lawn Knowing you are coming on say Wednesday and you have to wait for them to unlock the gate in addition to them start pulling weeds moving statues etc..... Sit down have a beer your working to hard Your athletic helper hurdle's a seven ft. tile fence .She comes home pissed at us because her " security " fence had been breached. Did you cut the cord ,did you cut the cord , did you cut the cord , did you cut the cord . Same lady, electrical wiring to her pond pump in the middle of the yard had stopped working due to corrosion. I could go on and ANYWAY!!!
Toys hoses and stuff in the yard doesn’t bother me a bit. It’s a simple ask the customer to help out or you’ll have to just cut around it. The only thing that really irks me is being watched like I do something wrong or the slow payers.
Have you ever thought about networking with a local pet waste removal company? I work with a few landscapers in my area and we refer clients to each other.
MANGOES! Mangoes are sooo bad here in the NQ, Auatralia haha they fall from the tree an rot then ya mow them an they stiiiink an cake up around your deck and ya boots. Duuuude, I feel this in my bones though! I have fired multiple customers for leaving kids toys around and dog landmines, nothin worse then mowing a lawn with ling grass an hidden land mines... snipping along an find one by surprise... enough to stuff up the most patient service persons day 🤣
I had the same thing. Only difference is that she wanted it cut like a weekly cut biweekly. She said do you see how low everyone else's yard is? I said YES MA'AM. I told her they also cut their grass at least 1x or 2x a week too. Said that she couldn't afford weekly service. I said that I understood and that you have to choose between a weekly lower cut or a higher biweekly cut. If I have to go over it more than once and it's not because of higher amounts of rain, then you'll be charged a double cut!🤷🏽♂️
The dog crap that is the worst is from the pet owners that feeds garbage food such as Pedigree. A lot more of it and it’s not solid. A dog fed with just meat would be much smaller and hard. (Managing pet retail for 8 years taught me more than I ever wanted to know about dog foods)
Listen I can deal with the dog crap but one thing I cannot stand is when I get there I have to move toys objects extension cords or lights I don't do that anymore I let my clients know have those things moved out the way so I don't cause damage to my blades or more
I actual think do to insurance purpose's you are not allowed to move a trampoline. There are a lot of people that get hurt on these and they could blame that something happened because it was moved.
I was debating opening a poop scooping company. I know a woman clearing 100k picking up poop. That’s right I said $100,000/year. I’m thinking maybe tack on the scooping fee and make it worth the extra hassle at least.
Dog poo is bad but try this one.... Human feces, vomit and used condoms.... One of the properties we used to maintain on our busiest/tightest route is a cafe that feeds the homeless. We used to run across the above items all of the time. On the same route, I just left an hair salon that had a used condom in the parking lot. I just sent an email to the owner explaining that, since their cleaning service just left and the item was next to where the garbage cans are located, they should have placed the item in the garbage. We aren't going to do it...
I can't stand it when people ask for their lawn to be cut too low or too high. One guy we mow for wants his cut on the highest setting! When u walk thru the yard afterwards u knock the grass back up. Looks terrible
I hate when you're bidding a job you dont want to do and you quote soooooooo high no one would day yes. Then they say ok can you start now. I bid a backyard cleanup at 500.....just to mow and trim. It was 4 feet high. The lady told me someone else quote her 100. I told her to take that quote because mine is to much. She told me I sounded more confident and wants me to do it. I made money but it sucked
I had a customer that decided to.plant 8 trees in the back yard I had to go around and around all those trees with my zero turn thats call getting high for free
Customers who have fire pits and leave the unburned wood all around it and lawn furniture just left out in the grass , piles of weeds from them weeding flower beds grrrrrrrr.
Oh my goodness, I totally forgot about the clients who throw their flower bed weeds onto the grass! And yes, lawn furniture that is just set on the grass is a major PITA!
This is one of my terms and conditions, I use it when ppl bitch about not moving trampolines or when I dont trim around inflatable pools, or any time I feel the client is being a bit of a dick cause I didnt hitbsomethibg they think I should have "shall provide the Green Acres sub franchisee with all necessary information and access required in order to perform the Services" key word being access 🤣
I hate late payers. I don’t touch trampolines,play houses etc, I had a woman ask me to pick up her dog poop and I promptly said NOPE. And never ever run over a croquet ball. OMG. The stuff that we put up with. Oh also I don’t like marathon conversationalists.
Hahahaha.. These comments are GOLD! Tell me about your WORST CLIENT below!!!👇🏻🔥🔥
I had a lady leave me a Google review. (Thanks for the idea!) She called me out in the Google review and said the only thing that she would change was for me to trim her trees from touching her house (for free) She told everyone shes 76 and on Social Security and that I do a great job but it sure would be nice if I would trim up those trees for free. This is a $50 yard that gets done once a month
Greengo Lawnscapes in monroe ga.
Lol Now Those clients are the worst of them all! 😂👍🏾👍🏾
A large estate on the water owned by a local Doctor he called us because his daughter was getting married in the back yard. He wanted some some beds re-planted and the hedges/shrubs pruned, lawn mowed, beds line trimmed, all driveways, sidewalks, and basketball court stick edged... WE NEVER GOT PAID!
clients that live between neighbors with terrible yards with tall weeds mowed every 3 weeks, never racked leaves just left there till the wind moves it to my clients yards.
I can't stand people that stop me when im working to tell me that its hot outside or they want to tell me "I don't know how you do it"....YES I KNOW HOW HOT IT IS!!!!
Ikr!!🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️
It's only oklahoma heat
There just trying to relate with you and being friendly
@@mikeoconnell4399 I agree im just saying i cant stand it. it throws me off pace and even though it seems like a kind gesture it is very inconsiderate. I have reshaped my whole business to avoid this kind of nonsense. I have card on file payments and communicate very frequently with clients on the phone and through email. its just a pet peeve when its a 110 heat index i don't want to talk with anyone about how hot it is, I dont even want to think about it. I just want to get the job done and take a shower. in the beginning of my business i would stay out and talk with people and it added up to so much time that it wasn't uncommon that i had to get out an extra day and cut lawns that flowed past there scheduled day. on the flip its a very good time to build a good relationship with that client....any other day than the stupid hot day i will tolerate it with a smile.
hahahahaha
The customers who come out and can just talk forevever. Very hard because you don’t want to just cut them off and come across as rude. You can end up spending more time talking than the time it actually takes to do their yard.
I actually get rid of those clients.
Yea I added this up once, I was loosing 5hrs a week to 5 to 10 min chats with old retired ppl that had nothing better to do.. got rid of them shortly after that or just stopped stopping to talk
@@FloridaTurfPros cuz they want to feel like they are getting their moneysworth
@@FloridaTurfPros Just say. No hablo ingles.
We hate all those solar walkway lights that break if you even look at them too hard...SMH lol
Those are the worst. I dont even tell customers when they break.
Lol yeah! I broke one a few weeks ago literally just tickling it with the weed water lol.
I was amazed at how many of the headaches went away when i moved to all weekly and raised my prices. it was like night and day for use on the B.S. also i hate moving hoses as well and I just mow over them now, so far no damage because of my cut height but the way i see it i am there to mow not pick up there yard or there trash and they know what day i am going to be there its not a surprise. again awesome videos. i have been watching for years and you always have great content that is to the point and packs a punch. I haven't been able to get that same flow down yet.
I hate when customers leave those steel dog tie cables in the yard. You can't see them in the thick grass, and when you run over them and it gets wrapped up around your mower blades. Thats the worst IMO.
Keith Dougherty Oh My Goodness!!! Never ran into that now I have something else to be paranoid about 😱
That happened to me once. It was my last yard of the day in the cable was Green. I didn't have a chance.
I don't think there is anything that makes my butt pucker that bad as when you look down and see your right over the top of that.
It happen to me several time it very annoying
@@travis10ist Or they have it all wound up and moved and yet it's still difficult to weed eat around because it wraps up on the string trimmer head.
LOL! Love it, Jonathan! I have a dog doo customer as well. Had to have an awkward conversation with the lady. Worse yet, it was my first mowing client ever a couple of months ago. LOL! My excitement of mowing my first yard plummeted dramatically...
Parking in the yard. I just mow around the car and keep it moving!
Hairston Property Management, LLC I love it
@@BobbyBowker I do. Especially if I've addressed it with the client!
all of the above but #1 NOT PAYING THE BILL ON TIME
I agree with you there I had one customer that I had to go there 2 times on the same day and the 2 time they told me that they forgot about it so this year I'm looking to just have a portable credit card mishen that way they can just do it there. Is there anyone that do that please let me know.
@@matthewbrummett5011 Look up "Square" I used that for a while. You just have to pay a small processing fee, I think its like 2% or less. The device is free and you just plug it in to your phone and download the free app to run the card.
The customer that says "you missed a spot" when I'm not even close to being done.
The person that walks by on the sidewalk from behind me while I'm blowing the sidewalk.
The person that waits until you have the back pack blower on before wanting to talk. You know, the 1 most inconvenient piece of equipment to restart
MrJconneriam not any more, if get the sthill BR 800 C
The person that walks in front of you on the sidewalk while your edging it. The person on the sidewalk that walks towards your debri cloud from the blower. Sometimes i just keep blowing.
This list had my dying. Number 2 (no pun intended), had me so mad one time that I scraped my boots off on a customers front step. It had been a conversation that had transpired between us a few times and that was the straw that broke the camel's back!! Never had a problem after that. wasn't my proudest moment. I subbed to your channel, a lot of great topics & I want to get caught up on a bunch of you videos. Hoping all is well, Dirty Jersey out!!!
Ohhh i forgot one!! "VOTING SEASON" with all the signs in every customers yard!!
Hahaha, so true.
Yep, and graduation signs. I don’t care that your kid is graduating. Move the sign!
Go by on a non mowing day and haul those signs away
Customers who tell you their dog is friendly and doesn’t bite. Next thing you know your trying to keep them at bay with the weed eater or trying to run to make it over the fence.
Joel Perez Yeah, miraculously everybody’s dog is “nice”. Right before they start salivating, snarling, and chasing you like an injured rabbit.
I hate when the customers are just starting at us or when they try telling us how to do our job.
Hate the creepy watchers, I'm doing the same thing I've done the last 56 times I cut your lawn Karen you dont have to inspect every step I take as I take it. Even get ppl that will stop u mid way thru and oh u just missed... yes karen cause I'm finished arnt I..
@@alastairduncan1944 I would intentionally raise their prices
The ones that leave there Christmas decorations up for 6 months
I have a guy that left his up year round.
They never take the Christmas lights off the pigmey dates
When I go to trim them I often cut Christmas lights.
Great Video... You left out Solar Lights... When they are everywhere... and hard to edge... Thanks for all your info...
M Younce Oh my goodness!!! Yes!!! Lining the driveway or sidewalk with solar lights is awful
@@FloridaTurfPros This was a good one. absolutely true
Love your videos, and this one is spot on. I have a dirt-bag customer like that, he owns three Great Danes and two smaller dogs. Add them all together and you got a 460-pound dog poop machine. He pays me late, if at all, complains all the time and I'd drop him in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the fact that his backyard is right outside my back door.
Keep up the good work, I've watched all your videos and I learn something from most all of them.
You nailed it lol. I've dealt with every one of these issues. I eventually came up with a Client/Provider form, issued to new and existing accounts every Spring. It addresses these issues in a friendly but consequential manner. Nice video👍
Do you have a shareable template?
I totally understand what you mean FTP! Due to the many issues you mentioned last season I started sending out bulk emails through Yardbook a day before to give my customers a heads up that I will be there the next day for their service and put on the email some of these items that are problems when I get there and all of a sudden it got better. I'm pretty much training my customers on what needs done before I arrive on site. I still get the occasional dog poop but not as much. It's not a perfect plan but just giving my customers a heads up they get their yard ready for me to mow. Great video on these issues!
Turning Over A New Leaf Lawncare,LLC. I like the idea of a reminder, it would probably help the clients that you have the biggest problem with.
What about when they park in front of the gate and you can't get the mower in to cut the grass!!!!! Then you need to call them to come out and move the car which takes 5-10 minutes then they start talking to you and then it's 20 minutes later and you finally get to start on there lawn... After you texted them the night before and told them you were coming the following day!!!!! These customers are nuts!!!!!!
We had a lady that waited for us every week and came out and told us the direction she wanted us to mow that week.
Ya, I'm pretty sure I had that same client lol
ive had one of those before to , asian lady
Had those, best part is when it's the 10th cut and u can only cut it 3 dif ways and I'm already 3 strips into the direction they want that week but still have to come and tell me
Lol you really got me laughing regarding the neighbor running their sprinkler while it’s raining. I’ve seen that here in Texas near Austin. Especially commercial buildings. Such a waste of water.
Happens all the time here. It's ridiculous.
Just subbed
Great topic, dog poo is bad but a customer that doesn't pay with dog poo is worse...Lol.
I really wanted to give this video 2 thumbs up great video
Park their vehicles on the edge of the driveway, cant edge it.
Then complain half the driveway isnt edged.. 🤣
@@alastairduncan1944 yes they do,,
That’s how sometimes the Boss/Supervisor always chews us out for missing a spot even after saying that the parked cars are preventing us from edging that same spot where they are parked at.
Lol I have a lot to say about this kind of stuff so here goes. A pet peeve of mine are the ones that I call “the watchers” people who come out stand and stare oh and also the talkers who take up a lot of your time lol. Trampolines are another one with me as well. I relate to all of the ones you mentioned. It seems most folks like to consider us or at least me as that guy with the truck and trailer rather than respect me as a business. Some folks will try to take advantage as slow payers, non payers or extra duty with no pay because we are just that guy they know that comes and takes care of their yard from time to time. They tend to take things too personal. Not all but some I feel like I have to hold their hand tell them I’m coming before hand because I know if I don’t they’ll forget to leave a check out and so forth. This year before season I’m choosing to do something a little different. I’m choosing to type a service agreement to pay within a certain time frame or there will be a late fee added, I’m leaving them a schedule of dates I’m coming so that I’m not texting everyday to remind them. (That gets old) This will either make them take me more serious or run the other way. We work hard for our money and we always try to do the right thing it’s only fair that they respect us pay us on time and treat us like legitimate business. 🤷♂️
Couldn’t agree more with everyone of these points!
You covered the basics in the lawn care industry. You a legend FTP 🌞
GREAT GREAT GREAT video Bro. Made me smile.
Sorry for being politically incorrect but I've had bad experiences with Asian customers... extremely cheap!
Try Arabic men, if I can hear that accent thru the phone I tell them I’m booked up. 25 years of mowing everyone of them has tried to get me to do things for half the estimated price.
Great video my friend. Dealing with dog poop is number 1 for me especially when you step in it lol take care and God Bless
Oh my gosh, #4! I eliminated a client like this when I was young and working for another business. I told her the yard was more fit to grow seaweed. She wasn't getting the message and the boss wouldn't dump her, so I pissed her off and she fired us. That's what bosses get when they refuse to address an issue.
I love you could barely contain the laugh with your lists. But I get it.
One of the absolute worst: I had one that would be on the phone with her husband, stand on the front porch & watch me. Then, do the same as I went to the back. After I finished she'd go around the yard pointing out different spots saying, "this part look taller than the rest" & ask me to re-mow it. Was my 1st season & I stopped service after about the 3rd mow. (They were from India)
Im a barber and had an Indian guy try to stay on FaceTime with his wife so she could guide me through the haircut 😒
The extras , I call them the "real quick" people. They always say "can you do this real quick?" What they really mean is "can you do this for free?" It completely negates the value of your time.
OMG... those are the WORST... usually old people too... sorry, not sorry 😆
These comments are the best, definitely hate the poo. I have a hard time saying no to elderly request, they get me ever time. I had a 90 year old man talk me into replacing the light bulb in his shower, when I got done he said great, that light hasn't worked since 1992 (this was last fall, lol). On the flip side I've got a customer at a lake home I take care of that is always offering to take me for a rip on the kneeboard behind his Mastercraft ski boat when I get done mowing, awesome way to cool off when its 90 and humid in the dead of summer... wish there were a few more like that one :).
Before i had card on file i HATED for customers to SEE and HEAR me outside and when i knock on the door they say "OKAY hold on while i go FIND you some money" LIKE REALLY?? IT SHOULD BE ALREADY IN YOUR HANDS AND READY FOR ME!!!
Absolutely hilarious! Mowing toys🤣💯! Picking up toys and hoses 💯!
Good clients or bad clients I so use it as an educational experience either way and a lot of times cost a lot less than College😂 great video by the way
I agree we all of these.....I also hate when customers have huge driveways and concrete but,choose to park their cars, trucks,boats,trailers etc. in the grass and they wonder why the grass is dying or why weeds are invading the lawn in these spots 🤷♂️
Takes many years to weed out headaches.
I always view it like any other relationship...it has to work for both of us. I'll be fair and do a good job....they don't make my job harder. Period
Also news papers looks like confetti explosion when I ran over with the 48 inch deck, Jonathan you should definitely try this
Boy I hear yeah..... I hope your having an awesome day today. Having to deal with it time after time gets to you. I feel your pain. I was curious about something. Do you mow when lawns are wet? If so, how long do you wait for lawns to dry?
Here in south florida in the summer, sometimes you have no choice. It rains sometimes almost every day. With that, I simply mow and the discharge is clumpy so then i use a powerful blower to spread the clumps around. It doesn't look it's best but here in south florida we sometimes have no choice. I've never had a customer complain about it.
People at apartment complexes that try to tell your workers to do extra free work on property they don't own.
Apartment complexes that you get paid to pick up the trash once a week and before cutting that no sooner do you get it picked up, there is trash back on the ground or the tenants throw the trash down outside of an empty dumpster.
Tenants that destroy the flower beds, shrubbery, and property fixtures after you just got it looking nice.
Rental property owners that want everything super cheap, super clean and don't want to pay what it's worth or melt down because what they wanted done took a couple days and cost more than just a few hundred dollars.
People that assume lawn care means you do major landscaping and call you wanting you to design and landscape their entire yard, tell what plants to use but haven't seen the property and want you to have it completed within a few weeks without approval of any plans or budget and the plants alone are over $4000.
Having to chase people down to get paid in cash because they won't pay through the link in the invoice or with the card reader that you carry in the truck.
Stop selling your services on the cheap. If they dont want to pay what you are worth, other clients will. It's so dumb to be underpayed. And the trash thing. Clean the trash once and then work. If more trash is there leave it. If they complain you tell them you did a trash removal service. the trash you now see is new.
Great videos man!
Thanks for watching!
I have A LOT of customers who want to talk my ear off, like they can't wait for their mowing day! Many of my customers are seniors, and I do feel bad because they are nice people and I may be the only person they see all week, but it kills my schedule. Getting to the point, though, where I am going to have to send out a message to all my customers to say, if you want to talk to me about your yard, then please send me an email / text, or schedule an appointment. It never failed that they usually wait until I have all of my PPE on before they come out and flag me down.
Like u mentioned I hate when people ask if u can do an extra 5 min job for them. We lost a customer because after several times of doing little things for free we finally were gonna charge her for one and she got mad and dropped us
You hit the nail on the head with your list! 🤦🏾♂️😂👍🏾
It's real bad when you're rolling up the hose they left out and find out ya just drug it through dog poop! One time I hit a hose hid in the grass and that big ole Grasshopper just rolled it up and snatched the faucet right off the brick wall in a split second! Had to go under the house and sweat new copper pipe on.
Halloween decorations when you're doing fall cleanups. RIP to the RIP plastic headstone now in my leaf pile
Yes, those are the worst!
I have a customer that has 50-70 trees and bushes, walkways, fountains etc all over her property plus an entire fence. And none of them have been cut in, she just piles the mulch around them on top of the grass. Looks terrible. I really want to cut her from my schedule but she is a great customer. Never complains, always pays immediately with tip, spreads my name and gets me customers, and is really nice. But I hate her lawn with a passion! lol so much damn trimming. Great video, I agree on all of them.
I think dog poo is number just because it's such a common problem. However the one that gets me steamed is when they want you to fix the landscapers botched work for free. You then have to explain how mowing a lawn has nothing to do with the 3ft tall weeds in the beds. common problem here in southern California. Landscapers skip steps/materials or way under bid jobs.
Is this the same all over?
Yep mulch the toys up for sure that's the one Joy of not having a mulch kit shoot the toys anywhere but in my way the clients just don't get it lol
A guy once flagged me down to do his yard. Easily 3 foot tall I go to walk around the property piles and piles of dog crap. It was awful.
I hit a turd so big I thought it was going bog down my mower 😬
I have to agree with you all my previous business in Illinois was my long guy and I was in business over 10 years now I am in North Texas and my business is Noble Oaks Landscaping. I will definitely agree with dog poop that we all have to mow over and walk through it we all get christened at some point in time however excessive dog poop I have definitely told my customers when I saw them before the next cut that if it wasn't cleaned up I would charge them 10 to $15 more due to it and I never had the problem again. if there's lawn signs or voting signs or kids toys in the lawn it's just our responsibility to pick that stuff up if there is signs or chairs or tables minor stuff like kids toys or whatnot that's just our job however I will definitely mow in weed wack around and inflatable pool or sandbox or a trampoline and I'll do my best to get under it but I won't move that for them but I will pick up kids toys or a hose or weed whack around lawn signs and whatnot because that's just our job. we're lawn professionals and we should know how to work around different types of obstacles. Yes it's annoying however it's the point of going above and beyond and giving that great customer service that most other companies don't give that sets us apart from everybody else. When it comes to dog poop or other big things like that that is not what we are paid to do or deal with however if a customer comes out to talk to us yes it's annoying but then again it's going above and beyond and that is again what is going to separate us from all the other companies that don't want to deal with it and that's what led us keep our customers for the long haul.
I am in the property and casualty business in Florida and as an agent, I cannot STAND trampolines. The client never tells you that you got one, then a kid falls, breaks their arm, and sues. For a landscaper who touches that trampoline and moves it. You can run into several issues like care custody and control or your own liability issues. I always tell my clients, NEVER touch anything unless you have CC&C on your policy. If it breaks or something happens to it, you are responsible for the damages.
BTW I feel bad for my landscapers during Christmas. My wife loves those blow up santas and Christmas characters. I as an agent thinks of them as tripping hazards and liability issues. I lose on that argument though not to have them. Mowing around them would be a pain to me.
'Flower bed' is basically just 'bare earth'. Its only a flower bed if it actually has blooming flowers in it*
I hate when you enforce a certain radious for your jobs. Then clients demand you break a few miles for them because there's money to be made...
Well money to be made equates to a pitcher of lemonade... just isn't worth the gas, mileage, time etc to travel to these places for estimates.
The only time I will ever break radious is if the person agrees to a minimum charged contract first.
I have one customer whose wife likes to go out and push mow around all of her flowers during the middle of the week and she does this on the lowest mower deck setting on her mower so she just scalps it so low the weeds love it and it looks terrible, she says it makes her flowers look bigger, but they pay And it's a profitable yard, so she could do whatever's you wants
People have no concept that they're paying for your work not just the price of their lawn. What I mean is if there lawn is a $30 lawn they think it's all inclusive. I've seen what would be $30 $35 lawns not be worth $50 to do due to the amount of obstacles in the yard. They also think that no matter how overgrown their lawn is the price remains the same. These same people should ask the oil change place to wash their cars, change their wipers, clean the interiors, rotate the tires, all for free. If you hire a lawn service make your lawn mowable. I've been asked to haul off brush, haul off trash, trim back shrubs, remove shrubs, change light bulbs, change air filters, patch roof, lay fertilizer, scalp the lawn, bag the lawn, pick up leaves (yes they want me to do a full leaf pickup at the same price), lay mulch, clean out flower beds, lower my deck to chew up the poop, clean gutters, etc. all at no additional cost.
Ed Gravely I’ll have you know you almost caused me to crash in my truck because I was laughing so hard. Oh man I’ve been there too!
Dog poop is the worst by far. They tell us they've cleaned it up when they clearly haven't
tim duncan I just cut around it, thay usually get the message
great danes.....mountains...im charging extra $10 for cleaning it up before i mow.....i wont move inflatable pools, i just mow around them.....
Had a neighbor of a client ask if i can take a large log to the dump for him. He was probly 90 years old and i wanted to be nice. It was in front of my client anyways. I said yes for $5 😅. He came back with $2 and said that's all he could find. 😅
The worst part is when your helping family out (brother) and they have all 3 !
The customers that agree upon a service length say every 10 days and call after 7 wondering where your at??? Then when you double cut to look it’s best they still have issues with it.
The dog crap definitely #1 on my list and the toys. But also the late payers when you inform them upfront multiple times that You are a prepaid service.
Combination of hose, toys, dog poo, and trash. The absolute worst. Then they act like they forgot or didn't have time to clean up.
Accidentally hit this pile of dog poop one time, with my trimmer. It flew up & stuck to my forehead & safety glasses. I was a nice small hand full. I had to grab it & pull it off.
Had it happen before where there was so much dog crap in the tires that we couldn't get the mower to go up back in the trailer. Had to push it in.
I had a customer with beautiful zoysia grass growing nice and thick on there recycle water system was beautiful then they decided they wanted to keep up with the Joneses next door and install Saint Augustine I told the wife initially I wouldn't do it but didn't tell her exactly why because I didn't want to insult her intelligence and sure enough she did it and now the yard is continually flooded all I can do is string trimmer now and it's a huge backyard
I prefer zoysia over st. augustine hands down. St. augustine is too prone to water diseases and fungus at least in my area.
@@FloridaTurfPros yeah it was beautiful zoysia grass I don't even think they were giving it Weed and Feed and it was still near-perfect they ruined it all but instead of canceling service I just walk around with the string trimmer and smile
Full disclosure I would have liked to cancel them perhaps but I also have the house next door so I'm just going to let the dice roll
Legally, you can not move a client's trampoline without being responsible for injury. DON'T move a trampoline
LAWNS FOR LESS This is a good point.
A guy added trampoline in his yard. I immediately explained to him and increased the price. Another obstacle.
I will have to remember this. Thanks.
That's the worst!
Thanks Jonathan!
Hey A Great Video Man 😁
im ashamed to admit it but ive taken poo to the face before.
Same here!
Yep. Weedeated a hidden pile right to my face. No bueno.
Yep i think we all hit that lowest point in our lives Lol.
Bro, I have had dog crap splatter all over my face and glasses. If the home owner was there I am sure I would have went to jail that day.
I hit a wet poo with the weed eater/line trimmer once and got poo in my mouth!
great video and at the point
DUDE, having green and brown extension cords across grass to Christmas ornaments, that and then being in the yard 2 weeks after the new year
If there's any Trash paper around I let them know that they need to clean their yard up or if they're going to have trash blown everywhere when I cut it
Customers I have chase for my money at the end of the week. Same offenders over and over again
on my lawn care estimates I literally have small print at the bottom that says we don’t move anything not toys dog toys kid toys anything we mow and trim around it so like if you have a chair in the middle of your lawn I’m just gonna mow around it and your lines gonna look stupid and it’s gonna be your fault problem solved I don’t have that issue anymore
Told me to bleach the blades before mowing her lawn
Knowing you are coming on say Wednesday and you have to wait for them to unlock the gate in addition to them start pulling weeds moving statues etc.....
Sit down have a beer your working to hard
Your athletic helper hurdle's a seven ft. tile fence .She comes home pissed at us because her " security " fence had been breached.
Did you cut the cord ,did you cut the cord , did you cut the cord , did you cut the cord . Same lady, electrical wiring to her pond pump in the middle of the yard had stopped working due to corrosion.
I could go on and ANYWAY!!!
Last year after Christmas, customer installed like 10 pieces of playground equipment (turned backyard into a Disney world). Fired them. 🤨
Toys hoses and stuff in the yard doesn’t bother me a bit. It’s a simple ask the customer to help out or you’ll have to just cut around it. The only thing that really irks me is being watched like I do something wrong or the slow payers.
I wish you had a clearer camera when you did these videos! Drives me crazy lol!
Dog cable or chain hidden in tall grass! Bad, bad, bad!
Dave Allen Yeah somebody else mentioned that, and now I’m paranoid this is going to happen.
Have you ever thought about networking with a local pet waste removal company? I work with a few landscapers in my area and we refer clients to each other.
I had a client tell me it was my job to rap his hose I said if that's the case I would have been a fire man
MANGOES! Mangoes are sooo bad here in the NQ, Auatralia haha they fall from the tree an rot then ya mow them an they stiiiink an cake up around your deck and ya boots. Duuuude, I feel this in my bones though! I have fired multiple customers for leaving kids toys around and dog landmines, nothin worse then mowing a lawn with ling grass an hidden land mines... snipping along an find one by surprise... enough to stuff up the most patient service persons day 🤣
I had a customer that asked if I could cut it lower every week no matter how low I cut it. I thought she was joking at one point.
I had the same thing. Only difference is that she wanted it cut like a weekly cut biweekly. She said do you see how low everyone else's yard is? I said YES MA'AM. I told her they also cut their grass at least 1x or 2x a week too. Said that she couldn't afford weekly service. I said that I understood and that you have to choose between a weekly lower cut or a higher biweekly cut. If I have to go over it more than once and it's not because of higher amounts of rain, then you'll be charged a double cut!🤷🏽♂️
Yep this is frustrating alright....Feel the tension
I had a few of these biweekly people. They fertilize and irrigate. Want me to cut low. I said this is the lowest I can go 3.5in
The dog crap that is the worst is from the pet owners that feeds garbage food such as Pedigree. A lot more of it and it’s not solid. A dog fed with just meat would be much smaller and hard. (Managing pet retail for 8 years taught me more than I ever wanted to know about dog foods)
ABC LawnWorks Oh my goodness!
Listen I can deal with the dog crap but one thing I cannot stand is when I get there I have to move toys objects extension cords or lights I don't do that anymore I let my clients know have those things moved out the way so I don't cause damage to my blades or more
I actual think do to insurance purpose's you are not allowed to move a trampoline. There are a lot of people that get hurt on these and they could blame that something happened because it was moved.
I hate have to chase people down for money. Because they say they don’t trust the internet to put credit card on file.
I was debating opening a poop scooping company. I know a woman clearing 100k picking up poop. That’s right I said $100,000/year. I’m thinking maybe tack on the scooping fee and make it worth the extra hassle at least.
LVcichlids 100k to pick up poop? Sign me up!
Dog poo is bad but try this one.... Human feces, vomit and used condoms.... One of the properties we used to maintain on our busiest/tightest route is a cafe that feeds the homeless. We used to run across the above items all of the time. On the same route, I just left an hair salon that had a used condom in the parking lot. I just sent an email to the owner explaining that, since their cleaning service just left and the item was next to where the garbage cans are located, they should have placed the item in the garbage. We aren't going to do it...
frank connerney Oh my goodness!!! That’s next level nasty
@@FloridaTurfPros yup. That's why we dropped it. The head chef told me some horror stories about what happens inside the dining hall...
I can't stand it when people ask for their lawn to be cut too low or too high. One guy we mow for wants his cut on the highest setting! When u walk thru the yard afterwards u knock the grass back up. Looks terrible
I hate when you're bidding a job you dont want to do and you quote soooooooo high no one would day yes. Then they say ok can you start now. I bid a backyard cleanup at 500.....just to mow and trim. It was 4 feet high. The lady told me someone else quote her 100. I told her to take that quote because mine is to much. She told me I sounded more confident and wants me to do it. I made money but it sucked
Hahaha, I have done this so many times! When you bid it so high you think "There's NO WAY they're going to approve this." 😱
I had a customer that decided to.plant 8 trees in the back yard I had to go around and around all those trees with my zero turn thats call getting high for free
Or drunk
Alberto Gonzalez I’ve raised $5 for that
Customers who have fire pits and leave the unburned wood all around it and lawn furniture just left out in the grass , piles of weeds from them weeding flower beds grrrrrrrr.
Oh my goodness, I totally forgot about the clients who throw their flower bed weeds onto the grass! And yes, lawn furniture that is just set on the grass is a major PITA!
Yes, I forgot about the flower bed weeds too. They do zero harm but yet it's still so annoying so I just go around the pile to prove a point
This is one of my terms and conditions, I use it when ppl bitch about not moving trampolines or when I dont trim around inflatable pools, or any time I feel the client is being a bit of a dick cause I didnt hitbsomethibg they think I should have "shall provide the Green Acres sub franchisee with all necessary information and access required in order to perform the Services" key word being access 🤣
I hate late payers. I don’t touch trampolines,play houses etc, I had a woman ask me to pick up her dog poop and I promptly said NOPE. And never ever run over a croquet ball. OMG. The stuff that we put up with. Oh also I don’t like marathon conversationalists.