Response time after putting out door hangers

[Woody]

Buddy:

All in all, sounds like a great learning experience for you. We've ALL had them!

Keep that entire "adventure" in your mind the next time you go out and look at a lot. It takes some time to get your pricing down, but after a few of those like you described, you'll start thinking "Man, I have GOT to charge more!" Plus, you'll start looking in the nicer ends of town.

One mistake that I see a lot of new guys make is this. They see a yard that needs mowed REAL bad, so they figure "now THERE is a customer". 90% of the time, those people just couldn't care less about their lawn. They usually make BAD customers, and are normally real cheap too.

You'll remember this place in a few months when it comes time to trim down on a customer here or there.

One other thing. You may consider a "dog crap" fee. And ALWAYS wash any off of your equipment in the yard where you picked it up. Don't take it away for free!

[jgc8fan]

Jeff, got through with my first mowing,

Did you look at the place before you quoted the price??? If not then you just learned something... We all do it at some point I guess.

If I was using a push I think I would have kept on driving past. If you already agreed to $35 with her beforehand then I'd make sure you maybe reappraise the value of the job for a repeat.

Don't feel too bad... I went to do a new one today for $35 that I knew was bad, but figured I could do it fairly quick with the ZTR... Wrong... I spent an extra half hour on the job because the leaves which didn't seem too thick were actually flattened down in soft sand. The ZTR tried to sink and get stuck in several spots. LOL The guy was nice enough to pay me $50 rather than $35... I got a regular account out of it, and now that I've mulched 80% of the leaves it will be no big deal on repeats. I just spent another half hour in the shower trying to get leaf dust out of places I didn't realize I had. Not to mention the ZTR was just cleaned Wed, and now looks even worse than before the cleaning.

If you've got grass there that bad that it's taking you 3 hours on a job then whenever you can you should get consider getting a ZTR... Even if it's one of the cheapies from Lowes/HD it will speed you up a great deal until you can get a commercial WB on down the line. Hell... Even a regular rider... I know I said not to, but I think I maybe didn't consider what size yards you have there... Here most are 8000 SF, and take about 15 - 25 minutes even with a 21". If you are coming up against large yards with tall grass then that Honda will kill you... I don't even use mine on anything higher than 5". If you do get a standard rider then try to get one that maybe will fit through the majority of the gates you got there.

BTW... Welcome to lawn service.

[Gene97]

Thanks Jeff and Woody, It was a learning experience for sure. I tryed not to hang one on a "beware of dog" home and didn't recall putting one on her's. I could have, or her next door neighbor gave it to her, all in all I know how to use the new equipment, and will look alittle more closely at the backyard for Cow sized turds, lol.
buddy

[jgc8fan]

You'll be surprised where those ads wind up... I've gotten calls 40-50 miles away from me from people who have my flyers, and have never put one more than 5 miles from my home... I've also gotten calls up to a year and a half after leaving a flyer.

Always plan on a new yard taking a little longer (not 3 hours longer though) than normal... It always takes a few times to get used to each yard. For that price you shouldn't plan to spend more than 45 minutes (or less) after getting the hang of it. Of course there are always surprises around every corner.

Also... Don't... Please don't... Try to bag or even mulch that tall grass with the Honda... Leave the bag in the truck, and set that sucker to discharge. Blow the clippings off afterwards... It's a lot easier, and quicker.
Also also... I don't know how you mow, but don't try to go round and round in the yard... The best way is to go around the first couple times to make a border (actually making a clear area to turn the mower), and then go back and forth or even diagonal. This makes the job much neater, helps mow the clippings in better (don't know why, but it does), and the mower won't bog down quite as bad.

[Gene97]

Good idea on the mowing pattern, I just kept going counter clockwise, and yes after a few runs, I did remove the bag and let it discharge out the back. I thought about writing the address on top of hanger, would slow me down but at least right down the # and not the whole address so people don't give them to their friends/relatives with larger lawns? As I said before, maybe it was my oversite, but as my late Father always told me "never under estimate what someone is capable of"
buddy

[MASTERMOWER]

I'm getting calls from the flyers I distributed a month ago for one time mowings.

Usually I dont even bother with such a service, but if I have time available I will. Mowed one yesterday evening.....complete hayfield which pissed me off. Customer's wife wanted to write me a check on the spot, I said I'll just send a bill. I don't want to be there when they realize the cost is significantly more than the promotional $18 weekly cut.

[Gene97]

gotta love it I should do the same tomorrow when collecting this fee, but she will be holding my hanger in her hand I am sure! I should hand her my shovel and tell her she needs it more than I do, or at least use it before calling me over the next week or two. Oh Woody, by the way, I did wash off the shovel and anything else that touched her animals mess with her garden hose I found(and had to move to mow, tangled up like Christmas lights). By this experience I guess alot of people just don't care about their lawns until their kids or pets get lost in it, rocks, toys, metal of all kinds, sonic wrappers, just a big trash can in the backyard. I really don't won't her back, and I offered on the hanger 2nd cut 1/2 off special, man that could backfire on me.

[jgc8fan]

Couldn't take my own advice...

Okay... So I got a free day in my schedule after reorganizing, and for the first time since my partner left I'm ready to get some new accounts... Figure 9 is a reasonable number for now. So I spent a few hours putting out some flyers.

There was on neighborhood that looked like a good candidate while driving through, so I start looking for a place to park... Now this is a fairly urban area and lots of people park on street... I find a spot right at a corner where it intersected with a bigger street, parked, got out, and proceeded to walk. The lady who lives at the house I parked in front of was outside... She smiled and said "hi"... I smiled back and said "hi" back, and continued on down the road. I get all the way around this block and back to my truck... The lady is still outside, along with her (not too bad mid 20s) daughters. One of the daughters smiled said "hi" I again returned the same... Got in my truck, started to pull out when I hear a car horn blaring behind me. I look in the rearview and see this woman in her VW squeal out of her driveway, and pull up behind me... I thought nothing of it, and continued about 4 miles away to another area I mentally marked earlier to hit. I park, and that's when I see this woman has followed me, and is sitting in her car behind my truck... Okay... Suspicious, but I'm just gonna ignore her and maybe she'll go away. Start putting up flyers, and the next thing I know she's driving beside me... I look over, and she's got a disposable camera pointed at me screaming "I've got your license number and I'll have your picture!!!" Me not knowing quite how to respond smiled for the camera (Guess I have a little camera hog in me). Then she asks why I parked outside her house... I told her "I was passing out flyers... The street is public property, I never stepped foot in her yard, wasn't blocking anything, etc... I told her if she didn't want people to park there get signs posted." She speeds off, and this is where I fail to follow my own advice... The idea that she just took my picture finally got through my skull, and I raised my middle finger in salute, and yelled "Take a picture of this!!!" After that I proceeded to give her the Italian crotch salute as she drove off. I now felt really stupid, and realized there "were" people outside their houses when this episode happened, and I didn't think I came off as very professional.

So... At this point I walk to the end of the street, and switch to the other side to start working my way back to the truck... I can now see my truck and this woman IS PARKED BEHIND IT!!! At this point I pulled out my phone, and started flipping through the contacts to find the Police... As I'm walking toward my truck she pulls forward and stops beside me... This is the point that I told her if she goes near my truck again that the police would be called... I turned my phone so that she could see the word "Police" highlighted on my contact list and my finger on the call button. Then she asks... "What kind of business are you handing out flyers for???" I told her lawn care, and she tells me to give her a flyer... Ummm... No way... (Although I'm sure she probably would has pulled one from a house by now). She guns the engine, get's to the end of the street, turns, and pulls beside me AGAIN!!! She yells "What in lawn service do you need recording equipment for!!!" and speeds off.... I losing my cool again yell "Leave me alone you psycho!!!" Now by this time everyone is pulling their kids in the houses... Everyone walking is getting on the opposite side of the street from me, etc... I head for my truck trying to figure out what she meant by "recording equipment." I call my friend on the phone when I'm at my truck because I've got to tell someone about this... While I'm talking she drives past again!!! I'm hoping she thought I was talking to the police... She WAS harassing me after all. Didn't see her again after that. Got in the truck, and now I know what she meant by "recording equipment" the stupid bi+@h saw my 2 pairs of ear protectors in the truck. LOL I was kinda hoping she would drive by again because I had my digi cam in the truck, and was ready to pop a pic of her to repay the one she snapped of me... I guarantee it would have been posted here, and anyplace else I could post it to so the world can see stupidity in action. Hell... I'd have entered it in the challenge... A sign of spring alright.

Got to be the craziest event in my book so far... A complete nutter that one. I hope she does call the cops, and I'd love it if they would contact me... I'd like to say a few things about her actions... F-ing stalker.

[Woody]

One of Dr. Bizzarro's friends no doubt! Now she thinks she has a picture of a NSA agent doing some domestic spying, and will probably post it on some kooky internet site. I would go back to that street and look for her or her car. No kidding. Get a picture of HER, and tell her "if you let ANY of this leak out to ANYONE, EVER, you will disappear. Now, go about your business as normal."

No, I'm not kidding either. Otherwise you are going to have a lot of mentally unbalanced people thinking you are the enemy.

[jgc8fan]

One of Dr. Bizzarro's friends no doubt! Now she thinks she has a picture of a NSA agent doing some domestic spying, and will probably post it on some kooky internet site. I would go back to that street and look for her or her car. No kidding. Get a picture of HER, and tell her "if you let ANY of this leak out to ANYONE, EVER, you will disappear. Now, go about your business as normal."

No, I'm not kidding either. Otherwise you are going to have a lot of mentally unbalanced people thinking you are the enemy.

I don't need to find her... I know exactly where she lives... I was thinking of waiting several months till she forgets this episode, and lob a couple Roundup bombs into her yard at about 1AM. Wouldn't do it anytime soon as she'd know it was me. I'm waiting for an email or a phone call... I know she had to have gone back to find a flyer. I'd like to see her tell the cops I left it on her door... I put the address of each flyer above the quote (trying that out for the first time), in case anyone tried to give it to the friend with 6' high weeds.

I just realized something else too... I was looking in the back window of my Explorer, and realized there's a trash bag (roughly big enough to conceal a body), a tarp, two gas cans, and a pair of gloves... Might have been funny if she saw that stuff and called the police... I'd love them to search, and realize that the horrible discovery turned out to be a bag of magnolia leaves picked up at one of my accounts last week that I forgot about. LOL Wish I'd had a shovel in there too.

[Gene97]

How did she look Jeff? A babe? Man, that sounded like something that I would come across. I'll keep my Camera charged for such an event if it happens to me (and probably will) and I would listen to Woody and let her know you are "getting a little un-easy" and tell her "you REALLY don't won't to see me again Lady, please take my word on that!! My next visit we won't be talking! She will $h*t her drawers, be good for her But on the other hand if she is a young babe, things can always be worked out in a more "suitable" manner, but if she was, I'm sure you would have already taken care of that.