Subcontracting with TruGreen Landcare/Service Master

[Stephen M.]

Let me get to this from the start: some of you probably subcontract from them and have never had a problem...

I was taking care of a gas station/convience store property for about 10 years doing the mowing; 9 yrs with Time Oil based in Seattle and 1 year with PetroSun based also in the Seattle Area.

At the beginning of the year, TruGreen contacts me about doing subcontracting with them regarding this property and wants me to bid 3 others, 1 a few blocks from me, 1 an hour west of me, and 1 an hour southeast of me. The kicker is that its a generic, one size fits all bid that asks for weekly service and the dollar amount they are willing to pay is only $170 per month per property.

15 years ago, we did the same properties and I can say that it wasn't worth the effort for slave wages. Same story now. I bid the properties for what I wanted and got zero properties. No Big deal. That was in April and I heard nothing from TruGreen until June.

"Mr. S we don't need bids on anything except the Port Townsend property; are you still interested in bidding?"

The Port Townsend property has approx 1 acre of mowing and the grass is now 2-5' tall; the picnic area and the juniper beds are approx 10,000sf and very weedy; and dry, hot weather came early and decided to stay awhile.
The email was rather vague on what they were looking for.

Dealing with these clowns is not easy and its been like playing Poker. The short version:

1. I'm not doing anything for a lousy $170/month on a property that size. i can't cover my costs and I don't do slave labor.
2. Counter offer: charge your hourly rate on the mowing and the weeding.
3. Message is still vague so I ask for more details, and there is a little back and forth to get what exactly the customer is asking for. As I understood it, the customer needed to get the place cleaned up because they were facing fines from the City of Port Townsend for looking like a SheetWhole at the town's Gateway and they wanted maintenance done afterward. But can I do it on a monthly charge?

4. Heck, the clean up alone with tax included is over 4K and I figure in maintenance, so the total is over $8K for a 12 month period. I give my terms and I want $707 per month and an ironclad agreement in place that protects my interests. [I'm the sub and subs don't get that kind of consideration].

5.Counter Offer: the customer might be selling the property and they don't want to commit to a 12 month contract. Besides, you put more into the bid than what they want to pay for at this time. [What the Freak? I bid what they asked for!] What is the price on just clean up and what do we get for the price?

6. I shoot back a price just over 4K. By this time, we are in early August. It friggin hot and the Pacific NW has had record heat and a record dry summer. Ground is hard baked and not a cake walk.

7. Upshot: too much money. there is back and forth emails and the perameters of the job keep changing and they have selective hearing and reading comprehention on what I am describing. I email pics taken in April and mid August. It sounds like we finally agree on $3252 after we took out pre-M and mulch applications; mulching 4K sf. I start the paperwork process and it sounds like a done deal and a purchase order will be in hand in a week.

8. THE deal breaker: 2 days ago I get an email with a map form TruGreen that shows the customer property, only problem is, they are claiming that what they have taken care of for the last 15 years isn't theirs and only do the areas with the x x x xs and oh, btw, recheck your numbers. It looks like its just mowing that they want now. [I've wasted 3 months of my time and if it was just mowing, I could have done that months ago].

9. I sit down and read the contract and it SUCKS. I pull the plug since they are all dealing in bad faith. I don't need the work that bad to jump thru and swim in the septic tank. TruGreen is the prime contractor and that translates into "We need stupid contractors who are willing to work for slave wages".

I'm a general contractor myself and I know how this subcontracting game works.

[MASTERMOWER]

You really ought to learn the 3 strikes system........

The kicker is that its a generic, one size fits all bid that asks for weekly service and the dollar amount they are willing to pay is only $170 per month per property.

Strike 1. Obviously.

I bid the properties for what I wanted and got zero properties.

Strike 2, nothing ChemKill even did. If you didn't get the properties, why did you even entertain the idea of doing this work? You had to know you'd be working for less than you originally wanted since the contract was awarded to them (and it's ChemKill for crying out loud).

The Port Townsend property has approx 1 acre of mowing and the grass is now 2-5' tall; the picnic area and the juniper beds are approx 10,000sf and very weedy;

Strike 3. ChemKill is lousy....they allowed the property to unfold in disarray, let them idiots chop through all that sheot themselves. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

[Scott]

Chemlawn troops just amaze me at times.
I know it's your biz but why waste your time with this company. We all know they're the worst and subbing from them is equivalent to setting your company back 10years. Present your bid, if they don't like it,, tell them, that was my bid and that's that.

I was at a turf seminar over in Pensacola a year ago presented by Dr Unruh(guru on southern turfs) and a few others, and chemlawn had a small army of guys there. All of them were suits, no applicators. You should of heard the crap that spewd out of their mouths. During the breaks they would congregate around the host(s) and talk their crap on how wonderful they was and good a job their company does. My county agent said that they have to be polite (big money company, with deep pockets that have a slew of lobbyist) but they all know their practices and that they are the worst.

[Stephen M.]

Scott, I did tell em to go to Heck, that's why I pulled the plug.

The US Army Directorate of Contracting has some of the strictist requirements that I have worked with, but they are a cakewalk compared to the bull I had to deal with TruSheet. Even U.S. Maintenance was easier to deal with when I worked as a sub contractor for them.

My business partner and wife didn't like the bozos and thought that I shouldn't waste my time with them, but I figured that I would go as far with it as I could. Maybe I shoulda listened to her

Maybe I should have a 3 strike system, but everybody has a different drummer that they march to.

[Stephen M.]

Strike 1. Obviously.



Strike 2, nothing ChemKill even did. If you didn't get the properties, why did you even entertain the idea of doing this work? You had to know you'd be working for less than you originally wanted since the contract was awarded to them (and it's ChemKill for crying out loud).



Strike 3. ChemKill is lousy....they allowed the property to unfold in disarray, let them idiots chop through all that sheot themselves. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

I didn't equate TruGreen with ChemKill, honest! They don't operate much around here.

The reason I entertained the thought to bid was because I'm just a like to inflict pain on myself? :laughing::laughing:

Its called a slooooooow e- con-omy. You know, because it was sloooower than slooooow at the time, I told them that they were offering rediculous pricing and bid it for what it was worth to me and I knew it was less than 50/50, but ya never know what will stick to the wall when you threw sheet at the wall!!