Rob, just found your videos. Been in horticulture for over 40 years but the past 5 years doing garden maintenance have been byfzrthe most stressful. No matter how hard you work all we seem to get are moans and complaints by people with unrealistic expectations. It is not uncommon for us to go into a garden that hasn't been touched for years and the customer think we can wave a magic wand and make it look like Buckingham Palace in one visit! I am now 61 and have just about had enough and seriously thinking about retiring. I am currently in the South East working for someone else. Great videos by the way.
I understand your point, however, managing the customers expectations is key to reducing complaints. Before getting into this, I come from a sales background and managing expectations is probably the key factor to having happy customers. Don’t give up on it yet, mate. Inform your customers on what it will look like before you and the customer agree to the job will help with the anxiety of meeting the customers expectations. Good luck with it mate 👍🏻
My garden maintenance jobs are significantly more work than just grass cutting. I earn less per hour and use more tools, have to work harder...etc. Most of them come out with a list when i arrive and its normally an unrealistic amount of stuff to do in the time allowed. I also find that the ones that want the most, are willing to pay the least.
These videos are great. Everything I'm feeling half way into my first season is affirmed by what you're saying. People are nightmarish! And yes these weeding/border jobs are a pain. Totally unpredictable how much ground you can cover at a time due to the type of weed or how loose the soil is. Easy to make some day ruining mistakes with pricing. But you've given me and many others a great headstart in knowing your place as a sole business owner and how to deal with awkward customers, so thanks 1000 times over. Can't tell you how many hard lessons you've saved me!
Im thinking along the same lines Rob. You can get through alot of work with machines, mowers, strimmers, hedge cutters etc but painfully slow on you hands and knees weeding. You can be there an hour and it looks like you haven't done anything.
I know it's not often covered. I have an approximate hourly rate. I believe in half day & a full day rate too. Minimum start point £25 p/h. Plus products. My business is solely Lawn Care so I don't have the complexity of full garden maintenance like you. I believe we all charge under what we should. Customers need to understand how expensive our equipment is to purchase & maintain & if a replacement is required this can take a big hit. Lots to consider when pricing. Great channel Rob. Keep it going ❤
It can wear us down mentally Rob running and racing from house to house. I only mow blow and go 1 day a week I like to do 1 to 2 big maintenance jobs a day same money less running time👊 Damien
Totally agree with you. I'm constantly getting asked to do extra jobs and it completely knocks my whole schedule out for the day. I've taken on a lot more grass cutting this season. Next season I'll take on more grass cutting and let go my maintenance customers.
Me and you both Craig. It’s took me a while to work it out. Sometimes we think that we are not proper gardeners unless we are on our hands and knees. All the best.
Hi Rob, very interesting video, thanks. The majority of my work is garden maintenance and I enjoy it more than mowing. I will however mow for those who want it. I consequently charge by the hour, so I don't get any of the 'can you just' when I've finished, if they want more it costs more! It also extends the season at the beginning and the end, with shrubs, leaf clearance etc. Thanks for saying it's hard work because I think it is too! Have a good day.
I know exactly what you're talking about "can you just...." No one can argue with mow, blow and go, or hedge cuttings because they are a single, clearly defined "task". Maintenance is so broad spectrum there is no definite start/stopping point and you have no choice but to issue time parameters as so many tasks are ongoing. Weeding is the best example of this. You find yourself treading water. Large properties are almost impossible to do at set prices for this reason- you'd never leave because the job would never finish!
Another top video Rob. Bringing the honest and real issues that we can all relate to. I began my journey just after yourself and often think there must be a parallel universe in Low Fell vs Retford! Whilst I do fixed prices for the MBG , I try not to do too much weeding and I’ve now started charge by the hour when I do, after completing the lawns in order to make the distinction between the two jobs. I recently worked out my operating costs, with the increase in pretty much everything we have to purchase and was surprised how much they had risen. This drove me start cutting out some of the maintenance customers that take the yellow stuff and re-educating the good ones that I enjoy working for. However, next year, I think I will be dropping more of them in favour of either MBG or other project work that is more lucrative than the maintenance…..unless of course, the general public can get their heads around the idea that self employed gardeners should work for £15phr or less! Enjoy the weekend👍🏻
I agree! I have almost no maintenance customers anymore as it’s always want want want! And for pennies. I think it’s the customers who can make the visits bareable even if the work is tedious! Great video Rob keep up the work!
Great video again Rob No rights or wrongs its what works for you best Ive done 35 years and tryed all commercial then all domestic gardens then mow blow and go The last 15years i have a mixture of all three ways and have never been happier Good luck in what ever you decide
done the same journey Paul and I do like the mix of the three for sure but everyone is different and its what works for you...Been doing for so long I get bored easily with just mowing but thats just me..Rob certainly gets people thinking thats for sure and does a great job
funny i was talking with Pete yesterday he had a video up same thing. and i just have a job i have scrapped off now almost an acre of garden asked me to sort it back in may yes may first cut on lawn i done then they wanted boarders cleaning out not been touched in 12 months or more could have been a full time job for weeks but again they could only afford the £40 per visit that just about covers a section of the lawn i said, but we need it all doing we have family coming from over seas it has to be right i said the bill would be higher for more work cant afford to pay more more i cant afford to work for free, so again "scrap the crap" they have gone the gaps fill quick. we all seem to be getting it more and more loads of shaking up going on all the best
Completely agree Rob and i decided to get rid of 3 maintenance customers this year who were getting more demanding and flipping ruder. Feels great to not be going back😂
Been trading for 7 years Rob and from day 1, no garden work only lawns, what a relief that was, new clients are told the same. for me gardening is too personal for some people so i stay clear
Rob i have a mixture of mow gos but i have Big garden with maintenance some i spend five to six hours but i feel these costumers for me are brilliant cos they want a job done right . Been a fully qualified gardener i love the these gardens because i am doing what i learnt over my 21 years. Today that happened to me i cut a £30 lawn which take me 40 minutes. I was finishing up and the costumer ask if i could do the hedges. I told hi that i have more garden booked in tho if he wanted them done it would be more than the usually price. He was happy. 2.5 hours £90. Try that say tou will do it but at a higher rate. Usually i do all my grass cuts and tell the people that their hedges will get done a different day
Yup best way Rob👍🏻 I even get rid off customers who decide to get a dog or a trampoline and re-quote for customers who decide to have a garden makeover and it changes the layout 🙄
This is So True. Think we're all on the same page. People expect the whole garden landscaping for £40. I think, Just be blunt, if we lose the job it's a bonus "better customer waiting"
Yes Rob it happens all the time to me with garden maintenance and then you get the people that text or ring you in the morning saying can you come today and get my garden done even though you’re not due to go there as if I’m just sitting at home waiting for them to ring me because I only do their garden and when I say no I’m busy all day they can’t understand why you can’t do it
Great video again, i want to have a rant about some of my customers but i won't because you've said exactly what I've been through this week, when i first started i would normally do it but not now and when you ask for extra money to do it, the look on there faces, but i stand firm now and you know why because i can, and i seriously know how hard it is to get good reliable gardeners with reasonable prices, thats me 🙂
Got 1 too Rob. Keeps ringing me day or 2 days before i am due with my fortnightly visit the weeds are growing mad! Yes i know you have a big garden you need weekly visits oh no i'll leave that GRRRRRRRR
Hi Rob, I completely get where you’re coming from. I’ve come the other way from garden maintenance to mow blow and go. I recon the answer is charging a high price per hr price. Not ideal re profit but it cuts out the want something for nothing customers and easier to stick to a timing schedule.
I’m in the exact same boat garden maintenance seems to be a lot harder to please customers I also think people are more prepared to pay for mowing and hedging but think weeding is to expensive. Great video 👍
Hi Rob. I think maybe part of your problem is the type of gardens your 'maintaining'. I have a few jobs I quite enjoy where I don't mow and just focus on weeding, pruning, dead heading, keeping hedges in check etc. I quite enjoy them! The key is they are all pretty well established gardens... I've either taken over from another professional gardener, or the client is a kern gardener who just wants some help, is getting older etc. This means there's few weed seeds and roots in the ground, the shrubs etc are big enough to dominate the weeds, the shrubs shapes are well established, which means everything generally happens easier. On newer gardens or ones that haven't been very well maintained the weeds just don't stop coming at you! It also helps that the clients expectations are managed as they know how long things take them or there previous gardener. I would say it all comes down to managing expectations. You tell them how many hours you need to properly maintain there garden. It is my first year self employed though so perhaps I'll end up falling out with all of them eventually....
Been in trade 40 years realised after year 1 that domestics are nothing but trouble with unrealistic expectations. Now 95 % commercial with earnings far exceeding anything you can earn from domestics. Have little or no contact with the customers from one year to the next, turn up do the work onto the next, no grief.
Hi Rob, this is really interesting and I can see how domestic maintenance would interfere with your structure and discipline. I am lacking in both!. I have only one pure mow-and-strim job, the odd bit of landscaping or garden resurrection project, but everyone else is maintenance. And yes, it's the end of June and I am royally knackered! When I started up last year I really did try to follow your advice and quote for the specific job. But everyone was asking about an hourly rate; I just couldn't get away from it. And so eventually I just embraced it. So far I haven't had anyone complain about phone-calls, breaks etc. I was warned it could happen, but it hasn't yet. If I do, I think I will think carefully about whether I keep a client like that. We aren't robots. Of course, it's early days in this business, and maybe I'll have to change tack at some point. But so far, this is working. I work a fortnightly circuit Mon-Thurs, trying to leave a project day open each fortnight for bigger jobs. Fridays are weekly clients. Customers fall into two rough categories: those who don't know much about gardening just want tidiness and it's routine. But the people who know about gardening have strong opinions about what needs doing and when. They understand how much time things can take, and they know their gardens. So although they're demanding, they tend to be practical and realistic. I soon realised that the best way to keep them (and me) happy and stress free is to be completely flexible. So I don't contract for what I'm going to do each visit, I just allocate them two hours. When I arrive I ask them what they think are the priorities - some things have grown hand over fist, others haven't, are there any garden events coming up, any special needs etc - and then do exactly what they want. From my point of view it's great because I don't know what I'll be getting up to; there's so much variety. (Yesterday I was thigh-deep in a pond weeding the edges!) Sometimes it means compromising on the things I think need doing, like the edging, but I manage expectations and make the limitations clear. When I leave we have a quick discussion about what needs to be done next time, so I know whether the ladder is needed etc. It seems to work, the clients like the interaction and you build up a relationship with them. So it's not for those who don't want to be socially invested, but I love it. And it does make for happy clients.
Maintenance can be a pain as its much more difficult to quote and they eant a perfect garden like the elderly neighbours that spens every day in their garden.
good idea ROB, i had big jobs loads of weeding trimming bushes etc.this day did a little job 2 hrs, did next door,2 hrs,2 accross road mow blow and go.then 1 with small hedges was home at 5 no hassle made more money.STICK TO COMMERCIAL,JUST FILL UP WITH EASY ONES MATE.
Completely agree Rob, most of our work is mow blow and go with hedge work here and there, been doing that for 20 plus years. When we’re giving an estimate to a potential customer and they ask what’s you’re hourly rate, I think here we go and I explain that with our professional mowers etc it’s not going to take as long as you with an Lidl mower. I’m based in Welling, not far out of London and it’s been pretty dry all month, hopefully we’ll get some rain fall or the mowing work will stop soon. Take care mate.
Keep refining your business and do what's right for you, I think when you give client a fixed price for ongoing maintenance, they see it as an all you can eat buffet, they're not hungry, but they'll eat till it hurts, just so they can get their moneys worth. I had a client who insisted on me trimming her conifer hedge, because "it hadn't been done for ages", I pointed out that it didn't need it so she said "can you just do it anyway?", NO and good bye.
I use to have a customer who I went to weekly. He was a customer of mine for 5 years, When i started working for them, they were open with me that once a year they have a party for their family and close friends in the summer. They use to let me know when in more than enough time as I knew they wanted extra time so I could get them fit in with my other work. He looked after me for doing it and we were both happy :)
For starters well presented video. Thank you. In my area and a town of 6500 to 7000 population with many new builds, the number of jobbing gardeners and fly-by nights must easily be in excess of 50+ so-called gardeners. Seems there is enough work to go around, however If you want a job done well you need to pay the fees. So they can mumble about £20 here and there, but regret it in the long run when they discover the weeds they thought that had been dug out have been strimmed over and covered with earth!
Rob. It took me my 1st season to realise that domestic maintenance is fraught with issues. It’s open to too much interpretation about what you can achieve and what the customer believes you can do. I as a rule I don’t do commercial work, quality domestic mowing is where it’s at in my world, with extras as and when. The 1st thing I tell any new mowing customer is that I do not do regular garden maintenance. I’m happy to compromise a little bit in the winter but I stick to a set formula that is Mowing, hedges and some treatment work in the growing season. Great post, sound advice for any newbies.
Your bang on right rob the words I hate to hear are .....can you just.......hear those words every week garden maintainance is a safety net but is it worth the hassle .....should start a forum list all the bad customers so the next gardener who takes on the customer on avoids the hassle off them
spot on as usual mate, I've got to the point where I'm really blunt with customers that push for more and more, if they get offended then we part company as I've got plenty waiting for my time. I enjoy the maintenence side of the job so I keep going with it, the clients I have now are grateful and understanding and I will hold on to them, I look after them and they look after me, as it should be. All of us service providers need to realise our worth, if someone doesn't appreciate it, move on.
Rob a lot of garden’s I do have lawn’s hedges and bushes, I can’t cut the grass and leave the hedges or bushes looking a mess, it’s not every visit they need trimming, so if trim them then I charge more for that visit, if that mean’s I have to work later on those days that is what I do. I have the best customer’s anyone could hope for, because like you I have got rid of the bad one’s. I don’t think I am right and you are wrong, I just do every garden like it’s my own, and that gives me a lot of satisfaction Love your channel and your point of view, from one Geordie too another keep going and good luck.
Totally agree with you rob. Hang in there. Keep up with the good content. You always cover what all us Gardener have to deal with on a daily basis. Keep up the good work fella 👍🏻
Totally agree Rob! I took on a fortnightly garden last month but it seemed she wanted a full tidy up for the maintenance price, Ijust ditched her after the first visit and never looked back!
It's my 2nd year doing gardens. I mostly do garden maintenance, weeding takes a lot of time and they soon grow back. It takes a tole on your body and customers don't seem to want to pay for it! Pushing a mower is easier! Try to get some more of that next year; and put the prices up! 😂
Given that I have been considering paying for a gardening service to come and sort out the riotous mess my garden has become whilst I have been downed by ill health, watching channels like this are invaluable in both giving me a price expectation but also a perspective of the businesses point of view. I think we all know that gardening is grafting, which is why we don't want to do it {:D} but somehow we forget that when it comes time to paying someone else to do it!
Hello Rob I completely agree with you. I also do hard landscaping and I’ve decided to stop a lot of my garden maintenance jobs due to customers always wanting more and getting upset when I can’t spend longer as I have other customers waiting. I’ve kept some of my Big gardens and do my hard landscaping Monday to Thursday and garden maintenance jobs on the Friday.
Hi Rob love and appreciate your vlogs .... this year we have had soo many enquiries from people who already have a gardener..and they just want us to do the harder border work... and when we ask why doesn't your 'gardener' do it ... they say they're too busy.. We refuse the work...we offer to do it ALL but not just the rubbish...(do we have a Bad Attitude..?)
First time in years, I had an email from someone complaining that we weren't on site for long enough to do a £40 lawn treatment. He expected us to cut it beforehand! And was upset to hear it wasn't part of the service! Sometimes you can't make it up
Spot on again Rob, absolutely the right thing to do mate 👍 I don't know anyone in the business who can honestly say that they can make as much money weeding as they can cutting grass! If they can then they're not charging enough for the grass work in my experience. Good luck mate and keep smiling 👍
Rob I let alot of lawns go this year, one woman she got new paving round her gaff expected me to lift lawnmower all way round the house with out leaving streaks from the wheels, she was looking out the window when my man was using the blower she said to me where are you blowing those clippings, I said where ever the wind takes it, told her I won't be back that's just one scenario I could go on all day, I laughed when you said you where gonna take a good look at yourself 😂 Rob I think it's good every so often if everyone stands at takes a good look at them selves 👍
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices hopefully be back soon with new content Rob I'm thinking of community based content Bob a job stuff for free for people in need let's see what happens 👍
You've got to do maintenance on an hourly rate in my opinion, you've also got to be clear that if they want anything special done that you need to be informed ahead of time because it's impossible to carry your entire business in your van all the time. It's a pain, if I had the option I'd do flat rate mow/blow/go all the time because while it might be boring it's rarely complicated.
With my previous business, which wasn’t lawn care, I found that with regular service work the contract needed to be very precise with what was included, in writing. Then when a customer asked for additional work to be completed, I could say, “I do have a full day today, so I’ll just stick with the contracted work, but let me have a quick look before I leave, then I can email a quote for the additional work. Then if you want to go ahead, I can come back next week to complete it.” Doing it this way, you put a line between regular contracted work & additional work, & there’s no doubt that an additional cost is involved. If they don’t want to go ahead, it’s up to them, & if there’s a problem in the future I could say that I did a quote, but you decided not to go ahead. I’m sure this can transfer to garden maintenance, so you are able to manage customers expectations, right from day one. Another great video by the way. I hate to see any service provider have a customer try to take advantage.
Garden maintenance is great, we love it. You have to price it right though, and allow enough time, or problems will start. Can't maintain a garden a section at a time, I learned that lesson long ago. Got to do the whole thing, to a standard, regularly. It's not for everyone, but we find it very satisfying.
I'm the complete opposite to you, i don't do grass cutting jobs for the simple reason of travel time between jobs, fuel between jobs, stress of keeping on top of them all if you have 3-4 days of rain at any one time, I'm straight up complete ( non-commercial ) maintenance only, full days only, i dont faf around going to talk to a customer or look at their garden unless they have first agreed to my full day rate, if i get an email ill send them my full day rate and all the jobs that are included in that rate and what's not so we are all on the same page before i go and visit, this firstly weeds out the tyre kickers and the penny pinchers and secondly gets me jobs at much nicer larger properties where I'm happy to always work ( and be left alone to do it ), none of my customers are ever on my case about when ill be there, its every 2 weeks, i don't text people the day before to say I'm coming either, i just turn up and do the work, send the invoice and they're always happy, i feel you spend too much time either traveling between jobs, wasting time going to 'discuss work' with potential clients that might not take you on, yes its all about customer care and attention, i get that, but for the most part the customers are just happy for the work to be done roughly when you said you would, they say if you win over 80% of the quotes you do you're not charging enough, with the customers i have and the gardens i look after there is work all year round and I'm fully booked all year and turning work away all the time........obviously im not saying you're doing it wrong ( so don't get me wrong ) but i feel you need to be brutal with people to weed out the time wasters and penny pinchers and the people who don't really appreciate the work you do and the overheads of being a professional gardener........if you don't value yourself ( or your time ) no one else will at the end of the day - spending all day in a garden also saves on fuel costs, travel time and all the crap you should really cut out, 1 hour here, 2 hours there and an hour and half here on the same day would drive me round the bend mate, this is my day rate, this is what i do, take it or leave it, if you are interested ill come and discuss further, end of chat - on a side note i certainly feel your pain with some customers but ive learnt not to do the odd job here and there unless im there all day then its never a problem ( and a day to me is 7 hours with up to 4 tonne bags of waste removed and disposed of ) - im based in Wiltshire.
Also, i dont answer my phone or discuss any gardening work on the phone - email only for the initial contact and then ill come for a visit, i guess its got to the point where im so chocka block with work i simply cant take anyone else on and im not cheap either! Know your worth! ;)
Thank you for sharing your experience and business model. It’s something to think about. I will be definitely be implementing some of your systems and processes. 👍🏻
You’re not wrong Rob. Think we all share your pain mate. You mentioned a guy who did a really good tutorial on hedge cutting, said it was worth a watch. New to RU-vid and couldn’t find the link. What’s the correct spelling please Many thanks. Johnny from Donny.
Always remember Rob the customer needs you ,more than you need them. If a job is not worth it financially and you don't want it ,drop it asap even mid season it will do your head in. Working in a garden on your knees is really no good at our age. Loads of easy work out there ,good for your body and bank balance.
Stick with the in and out quick jobs Rob. Both parties know what's involved and far less hassle. People try and take advantage cos they get matey with you. It's all about streamlining your business model to make maximum income for as least hassle as possible. Once established like yourself, you'll always get work whatever you choose to take on.
We pretty much do commercial work now, It was nice to pop round to some of our customers, some were really nice people interesting lives and made a nice cuppa tea, then you’d have the ones that ruined the whole experience, It’s always the ones with money?! horrible people 😡 want want want!! Better money in the commercial side and more appreciation shown I feel. Again another fantastic video 👍
I have a couple of really good small commercial contracts. It’s something that I would like to increase. Not large jobs but small commercial ones. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience.
I never do maintenance with grass cutting . These days I rarely do weeding . I do nearly all of my grass cuts every 3 weeks ( one week's worth ) & the rest of the time I'm doing hedges , some tree work & occasionally some power washing
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices a blue Bosch ghp 5-65 x It's quite good , I might buy a petrol one one day... I need to spend some time researching what's best without spending a fortune
I've been doing this since 2010, from garden maintenance to hard landscaping. I don't do weeding only grass hedges and commercial estate agents work. All hedges etc are priced I never work on any sort of hourly rate. I look after a private Road I've invested in equipment to make it easier and quicker. It used to take me 3-4hours now can do in an hour same price, but I'm earning over £100 for that hour rather than upto 4 hours. Don't matter how long it takes me to do a job i invest in good equipment and my experience to get it done quicker.
To be honest, the hardest part of people's day is people. I am currently considering starting an exterior cleaning and mowing company. I'm spending time trying to work out what I'll be willing to do and what I want to avoid. I have come to the conclusion that I would use something like you quote and state that I would work on garden ie front one visit and the other the next. So there is a understand and state that if more jobs are required it must be prearranged.
One question I've had for a while and wanted to ask. What are your feelings on Aspen 4 vs. super unleaded fuel for fueling your mowers for the year. I'm guessing for the volume of mowing you do aspen is more expensive for the year. Love to hear you thoughts
😂😂😂 it's almost like a parallel universe... I'm just sticking to the simple mow blow and go ... yes last year August was a write off but the season went right till the end of November so to be honest I never really felt the hit in money terms just had a lazy August... mow blow and go yes please 🙏
I feel ya pain rob same in Stockport I'm trying to change slightly as well was making more of a move to just lawn care once or twice a week cutting verti cut and the like anyway I'm waffling I like ya channel keep up the good work and keep the mower singin
Hi Rob. I think one of the hardest aspects of being a service provider is managing customer expectations. Unfortunately, I believe that some people do not respect one man band business owners, they seem to have the attitude that we are doing it as a sideline, or in semi retirement. It might be a good thing to have a terms of business agreement, where you ask the customer to sign that they have read and agreed to your terms and conditions regarding scheduling of work, cancellation and payment. Anyways, keep the faith Rob Peace and love brother.
Hi rob all of my jobs are mow,blow go jobs and I have a separate price for grass cutting and for the weeding. I have a minimum charge for weeding that I have hired a guy for 2 days a week to go around all my customers that want the weeding done. What ever the the customer is paying I the my guy a 3/4 and leaves a little on top for myself and also allows me to get more grass cutting done in a day and if they ask for other work to get done it gets done in the winter or if they can’t wait then I raise the price by 50% to make it worth while.
I think its in the air rob. I have been thinking exactly that this past week, next season im doing exactly that, I love my commercial jobs and i'll cherry pick my mowing and hedge work id happily never pull another weed up in my life XD. its not worth busting your balls every visit for the same old "can you just", "have you got time to just" no, see ya im off to me next job now and you're on the axe list. Sounds harsh but its a job at the end of the day and if we cant pick who we spend our on guilt free then what's the point. All the best mate, Cameron Chesterfield
Also it really cheeses me off when people ask you take take other rubbish away for them as if we’re rubbish disposal people…I used to do it but now politely say sorry I pay to tip my green waste only, anything that isn’t green waste I’ll get charged extra for…at that point they either offer to pay me or say it’s ok they’ll do it…👍🏻
Best way we've found Rob is purely to concentrate on the cut and go jobs initially, bread and butter, and most people don't have issues paying monthly for this, even over the winter. Most of our customers likely wouldn't want to pay more, even for garden maintenance, and to be honest, the vast majority of other vegetation would likely be OK cut back and tidied up twice a year. For those jobs we'd quote each time, and depending on how much has grown it could be slightly more or less each time. If you do bite size costs to customers, they're likely more favourable with it, even if it pretty much works out the same in two chunks as opposed to 12 monthly payments. Unless you have Mr & Mrs Posh with the garden to match, most customers are happy with a good ole tidy up twice a year. On another note, we seem to have more and more people this year with increasing amounts of crap in their gardens, like furniture, kids stuff, etc, all likely due to the past few weeks good weather we've had, would love to hear your views in a vid and others on what is acceptable to move and what is not. Even the lightest or smallest of items are beginning to add up in regards to time spent in gardens!!.
Hooray 😂Rob you have nailed it completely. I fell into the same trap 30 plus years ago and made the adjustment. Target the right customer especially commercial and customers that fit into your terms . In Australia we have have dry times and the mow blow concept can bite you , also not to maintain a good income the customer base is extremely high in numbers not to mention equipment running costs . To target the right customers it does take time but it’s worth it , commercial is gold but very competitive where we are especially for the ride in work . I am not sure on your pricing compared to Australia but 40 quid for a couple of hours seems low but again I dont know your area profile . Good operators work on at least $150 per hour which keeps the whining customers at bay !!
Thanks for sharing your wisdom Geoff. Next season I will drop all domestic maintenance and concentrate of commercial work and domestic lawn mowing. It’s took me a while to figure this out. All the best to you.
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices well done we find the right commercial client is very lucrative but go in with eyes wide open and target the good ones including who pay quickly . All our commercial clients are 7 days many pay upon receipt of invoice
Any customer wanting extra work for zero cost needs replacing, only my own view but know the old saying give an inch and they will take a mile, well spend an extra hour working for free this visit and they will then expect you to do the same or more every visit. Would the same customer ask you to take more money for the same work every visit. You are right to replace any one that does not appreciate a reliable honest trades man that does a good job at a very fair price.
Great video again. Must admit,..I always preferred lawn mowing ONLY...digging and weeding is very hard work especially if the soil is compacted. This time of year, being so dry, you really need a pnuematic drill to break it up. Once you've got a fork in your hand, you're never earning much money....that's my feeling from past experience. Mowing today, 9am to 2pm,...pulled in £150,...and all in the one town.....I'm happy at that, Rob.
Right Rob. Those little "add ons" pile up and make you below minimum wage quickly. I do a separate invoice and Bill accordingly. Generally $50 per hour. Love you vids.
HI Rob, Its the same in Birmingham.....I understand where you are coming from I'm so pissed off with my customers this week I was about to "mag to grid" them all, I find its people who used to potter around In the garden all day expet you to for £20, I've told my maintenance customers that any additional services or equipment i don't usually carry need two weeks notice so I can allocate extra time.
@@maxwellsgrasscuttingservices Hi Rob since watching your video, I've been considering timing myself with different maintenance tasks, for example weeding a border and working out a cost per m², then giving a fixed price for a garden and break that into blocks of visits, so there is no unreal expectations
It's a tough one, for some reason in this country we begrudge paying people a good amount money. What the customer doesn't see are the hours you put in while not working on their properties doing accounts, maintenance of gear and even driving to customers it all cost money and takes time and its time you need to be paid for. I'm afraid its the british mentality.
Rob the amount of people I used to get say to me “can you just trim that hedge why your here” when I first started out…and like a muppet I did it a few times, then I thought hang in a minute, that’s a £8-£130 job and I’m doing it as part of a £25 grass cut…I soon stopped that. I also learnt that a trim is different to a reduction as well, I used to have about 20 maintenance gardens…all gone apart from 2 I kept as they’re lovely people and appreciate what I do…the rest all went and now I just stick to MBG’s, shrub, hedge and tree trimming as needed for extra cost…we don’t need the hassle mate.
Spot on Rob, I hate garden maintenance, it’s so dull. When I do a day of maintenance and my partner asks “what have you been doing today?” I reply “scratching around!” I have got rid of nearly all my maintenance jobs. Have you thought about landscaping?
hi mate i know how you feel i have the same trouble when the they can you just and they dont want to pay any more. all the best from phillip spratling in Lancaster
Just be careful with the commercial work, one or two is fine, but when money gets tight the first thing that they cut will be you. I picked up a lot of good equipment from the commercial boys going out of business in the last recession because of that. It was a lesson learnt from others misfortune. Also I do not play their accountants game of 30 or 60 days to pay an invoice. It is my business, I've done the work they pay me on my terms not theirs. I've structured my maintenance contracts so they are basic mows and blows with `extras' . That way I blend in the extras when the grass slows down. ( That was before the `warming' of course and now yes there are more clashes between shrub pruning/weeding and high grass growth ) But I've been doing the gardens for so long I've adjusted those gardens time and price, so overall I have a few less customers but more money than several years back ..... But still no more time! As for special `barbecue weekends' mine are told to give me a minimum of a weeks notice or they stand little chance. The odd working late day doesn't really effect me and it keeps that customer sweet and they pay for that extra visit plus extras ( and the grass will only have a weeks growth at most ...secret mulch and its good easy money ). Pet hate, as we are sharing Lol, are these cheap solar fairy lights and the customer insist on putting the panel, because it has a stake, in the lawn rather than clipping it to the fence off the ground. Despite best efforts the strimmer loves lunging at them. In the past the wire would just wind around the head and would just require untangling it and no damage. These days the wire is of such poor quality the line cuts right through it!! I have to give them a wide berth and pull the grass out by hand, or stop strimming and move the thing, bloody pain in the arse.
I've had to let a customer go today mate, wanting too much for the time and price we agreed, only so much you can each visit, phone rang and replaced her straight away👌✅️
Hi Rob. My bro and I don’t do 2 hours here and there etc. Wednesday to Friday is just mowing (10-14 properties each day). Then Monday and Tuesday is other work such as hedges, weeding, etc which we spent the day doing one of those things. But when we’re on our mowing days we often get asked to do other things but simply don’t have the time in the day. The van is setup that day with specific tools for one specific job that day so we couldn’t do anything else even if we wanted to. I personally don’t think there’s enough money (what people are willing to pay) in “2 hours here and there stints”. In my experience people seem to be less fussed about paying more for hedges and large grass cuts. Even though weeding is tiring work people don’t want to pay much even if u break your back doing it. Enjoy the channel👍
