Winter mowing....

[jgc8fan]

Just wondering... Anyone in the south (excluding you guys in SoFL that are blessed with year round mowing) rip their customers off in winter???

We noticed an LCO last winter that we know has a weekly mowing route in an area we pass through daily. We saw that he was still cutting weekly LONG after the grass stopped growing. We were extremely curious so one day we sat and watched him... Not only was the grass not growing at the time, but this yo yo had the deck set so high on his WB that we could clearly see his feet through the deck as he "mowed". No leaves in this area, so I can't give him that excuse. The guy was just rolling the mower over these yards weekly.

Not that I blame him... If I could get away with it then I would too. LOL

[GrassMaster]

I never Ripped anybody off but...

After my 3rd year all but 2 or 3 old accounts were year rounders & that was working 5 to 6 men full time or lets say they got their 40 hours every week year round.

We were set up on 7, 10 & 14 day accounts & yes we were on schedule year round.

When we walked off a property even in Feb. there was not 1 pine cone on the lawn or beds (That we could see), no sticks that could be seen or one piece of pine bark a 1/2 inch square left around any pine tree, no weeds in the beds or whatever. If enough straw my crew would rake & put in the Beds or it was mowed & bagged.

I banked & made more money between Thanksgiving & Easter than any other time of the Year. I never lost over 2 year rounders in a year for almost 4 years straight.

We put news paper at door, rolled all water hoses, lined up all the Damn Kids toys in back yard, yes we've lined up 4 to 6 electric Barbee Cars & Jeeps plenty of times, cut the dog pens every time, if they were out of water we gave them water, yes we've watered horses too, even fed the horses hay when needed and I had a crew of three set for hours to cut just 1 lawn waiting on the rain to slow down.

Yes, we did what it took to get the job done & made more money doing it 20 years ago than guys get now!

Some People eat .99 cent burgers at Krystal, some eat $6.95 Burgers at Appleby's & some will go to the Cheese Factory & eat the $12.95 burgers...

All our burgers served & the burgers our customers demanded were on the high side. It's all about Making Money!

We gave a set monthly price to mow, hedge, edge, trim, weed & blow off all concrete surfaces year round on a 7, 10, 14 day schedule & all other work was done on a jobber basis. We tried to set up most on a 10 day schedule if possible.

I asked on the phone before my initial visit if they knew one of my customers & if they didn't I reassured them that I was higher than anybody around. When I had enough customers to pay the bills for 2 crews, I raised my fees & then I charged as much as the market could bare & then some!

This work was done in Albany, (South) Georgia in the Mid to Late 80's, I was the most expensive lawn service in the area! I never worried about winter work or money after my 3rd year.

[Blake]

I've got alot of year rounders & I do something simular to what G/M was talking about,I don't feed horses,I don't even like horses, but you'll be surprised how much better a place looks when you finish. Winter is also a good time to get the customer to pay you to make your job easier. Like filling in holes, removing an old trampoline or cutting low limbs.

I do have one account that I don't even look at from nov. to feb. unless they call. I get a check every month on the 1st. But the rest of the year I make sure I take care of whatever they ask for & ALWAYS on time.

[jgc8fan]

I do some that I mow weekly because of leaves, and do most every 2 weeks. Some just want the yard edged and pavement blown off. But this guy was mowing for no reason whatsoever... The lawns had no leaves on them, and his blades never touched grass. He was simply leaving a nice wheel track pattern around the yard (the side he hadn't gone over actually looked better because of the tracks he was leaving). Like I said though... If his customers are willing to pay then more power to him... If I find some that want this I'll be right out there with him. LOL