would i be wrong?

[cjm2783]

i installed 7 yds of mulch for this lady during the summer. she didnt want any fabric down at the time, so about a month later she wanted to put the fabric down, so she paid for the fabric and we did it for no charge.

no she called back today and says the the grass is growing through the fabic and in spots that it had moved around.

i'm going to tell her that i can come and rework the area, but i'm going to charge for the entire job. would i be wrong if i told her that?

any suggestions on how to keep the grass from growing in this bed, around the trees where the fabric is hard to place.
i just don't know what else to do.

thanks

cjm

[Outdoor Yardworks]

personally I would of charged her to put the fabric down since she did not want it done when the original job was being performed. I would tell her that you can come and look at it and then determine what is actually causing the grass to come through, is it that there is weed seeds that have germinated in the mulch above the weed barrier fabric or is there poor coverage of the fabric? I'd still charge her since the fabric is a deterent not a guarantee that it will stop all growth from comming through. If you did the job that was contracted to be done then any extra calls to come and weed or such should be extra. At least that is how i would do it and many of my customers dont complain with what i tell them they just email or call me and say take care of this and bill me .

[cjm2783]

it wasnt poor covered. i really think it's growing through the fabric. i will go look at it soon, but i'm for sure not doing it for free. i cant.
she wants to put plastic down now. i dont think that's a good idea because the mulch will slide off.
i think the best thing for me to do is just cut this one loose. i hate to lose accounts, but it's not a regular and they seem very hard to please.

i just dont know how the grass is growing through the fabric.

cjm..

[jrservices]

it wasnt poor covered. i really think it's growing through the fabric. i will go look at it soon, but i'm for sure not doing it for free. i cant.
she wants to put plastic down now. i dont think that's a good idea because the mulch will slide off.
i think the best thing for me to do is just cut this one loose. i hate to lose accounts, but it's not a regular and they seem very hard to please.

i just dont know how the grass is growing through the fabric.

cjm..

Probably growing in the mulch. Nail it with round-up.

[Scaper-S2k]

Yeh, there's no way we would have gone back and installed the fabric for free. Especially if she didn't want it to start off with.

Fabric is not very good for mulch beds. We only use it for beds that have gravel in them. Once the mulch breaks down, it's just like soil and will support weed growth regardless of fabric. Especially if the mulch has been ground up very fine to start off with.

Long story short, charge for the extra work.

[GeeVee]

Fabric stinks.

Just as Girly Car boy says, the fabric winds up being a perfect seed bed for weed seed in less than a year.

[cjm2783]

thanks for advice. i'm not doing it for free. that's makes me mad just thinking of it.

i will not suggest fabric anymore unless it's for pea gravel.

another question, what do you guys think of the quick 36? i only have 15 accounts and plan on getting 15 more. i cant overload myself. i work for UPS part time and go to school, but i stay very busy doing tree trimming, pressure washing, silt fence, in the winter time. i just need a mower that will be dependable and also that i can put a bagger with it.
my little honda got me started, but i be damn if i'll go through another summer with that. it was ok for my 1st yr.

thanks for the help.

cjm

[viper]

Have You Tried Snapshot Or Something Similar On The Mulched Area?

[Mr Beaker]

Fabric or fabric is the biggest waste of time and money.

The bigger lesson here is you try to do something for free, and be the nice guy, look where it gets you. To many people let people off the hook for messing up.

[BCLS]

Unless you know your client very well and they have been a good customer you don't do any work for free! Especially, if it was something that they didnt want in the first place and then to have to come back and redo it for nothing...noway!

Anyway, I think that next time think out your plan and what needs to be done and clearly communicate this to them, so that way there is no mix up and everything is clearly understood from the beginning. I assume thate since is your first season that with time and experience you will be better able to do this, as we all have learn to.

I understand exactly what you mentioned because it happened to me, but after I evaluated the situation it was my fault for not clearly communicating my intentions and that left me open for a customer to call me out on the work that was done, because they changed their mind. Needless to say I fixed the work as they wanted it and kept the customer which I have not had anymore problems with.

My first season I wrote up my own service agreements and several weeks later I reread it to see if I had overlooked something. To my surprise I found several areas where I could have potentially put myself in bad position had I used the agreement and something not done well or a customer change their plan.

So, is saying all this basically evaluate the work, estimate your time, materails and labor. Then present it to your customer and as if you were speaking to a 5th grader so that everyone is on the same page. Finally, put in writing and get them to sign it, so that way you have covered your end and there is no backlash on you.

I hope that you can correct this with your client and move forward to a better relationship. Good Luck!!

Eduardo
Bayou City LAwn Services