I got SACKED after 1 year of doing her garden! 

You never lose a customer, you just gain a better one.

It’s funny the psychology of it all. I once worked for this very old couple. For six months I only ever saw the husband and he said the wife is in a bad way with a broken back and altogether not good. All the time I was gardening there it gave me a lot of satisfaction knowing that I was helping to make the garden beautiful to improve the well being of his wife. It pains me to say this but after six months of not seeing her she leaned out of the front door and she was the nastiest, vile most horrible person absolutely unappreciative extremely rude. You know I smiled and stayed as polite as possible and could not wait to finish. Went home and sent them a polite email coming up with an excuse to finish with them. It certainly opens your eyes to the fact that you have to be focussed on business more. But it’s like a kick in the gut especially when emotions are involved. We learn…

I've still got a £12 lawn for last 14 years, it's postage stamp in out in under 5 mins. They were my first customers and get on with them well. I do 5 in that area takes hour half with travelling earn £83.

As a gardener myself I always find it strange that our worth is by time but the likes of window cleaners, car washers etc it is by the job. If the work is completed early and in good fashion then I have fulfilled my duty to the customer.

I had the exact same thing happen to me last week, it was a bit of a nightmare garden to be honest. Parking was a real pain and access wasn't easy with all the steps. I charged her £20 for an hr but after parking etc was taken into account it just wasn't worth it. She is a real skinflint and think she probably went for someone cheaper but looking forward to the call back wanting me back at which point it will be £35 for the hr. Dont cut yourself short...you know how good you are and the price you are worth

Good for you speaking up. Something in the air as I've just had to speak up today to someone. The universe will bring you another

Losing and gaining customers is all part and parcel and like a lot of people have said whatever you lose you can pick more up on the way,some customers will drive you up the wall,i managed to get rid of the tight ones who wanted the job doing on a shoestring,it's a learning curve as you will already know!good luck mate👊

Reminds me of my many years in the business. You're expected to have a vehicle, equipment in good condition , a good level of horticultural skill and to take away and dispose of the waste (at vast expense) and they want to pay you les than a tenner an hour. I was in the garden maintenance business for many years and had some wonderful customers, but there are some exceptions!

Sorry to hear this.Absolutely Ridiculous,Keep going!!🤞

Small gardens will always pay a disproportionate premium vs the time/workload as you have to set a minimum visit charge to warrant going at all. Its so annoying though when customers attempt to make a comparison between your business and numptys working for peanuts. I have quite a big problem in one of my neighbourhoods competing with "old men" running side hustles cash in hand for half what I charge.

You're the Boss of your company, only you can sack yourself, being the staff too! People can only say they no longer want you for whatever reason. If the man doing it for £10 an hour is making decent money after paying his liability insurance, transport running costs, tax and insurance, mower, strimmer and blower running costs, dumping fees and a wage for himself on top of tool repairs or replacements he should be doing youtube videos to show us how it works for him. Keep up the good work, there's a lot too to be said for honesty, attention to detail, customer service and reliability!

I'm thinking about getting into gardening as self employed. And I'm finding your videos really informative, you seem very down to earth and just believable. I know you said pricing is subjective to a few things like location, which area are you working? Keep doing vids👍

Don’t worry mate better will come

Sometimes, it's just old age with older clients. They can go a bit funny. It's good you stay polite 👍

I now have a philosophy that I charge what I feel the job is worth.. Fri gone I pruned a medium to large apple tree, it took me just over 4 hours plus bagging all the wood up, say 4.5 hrs, I charged for the complete job £230 and they were happy.. because you know I still needed to come back the following day for the waste. But I prefer this style of working, I did the work of two guys, because I have expertise and I'm strong and have the tools, so I charged accordingly.

You're getting this more and more now from gardeners, I like watching me fellow gardeners on RU-vid, and we're all saying the same thing with regards job versus hours and having flexibility in the way you work, time's are a changing and it doesn't make business sense to charge by the hour, not if you've all the kit.. and being able to come and go is important, it's a headache trying to plan around a customer

Easy to loose the fact that she is not paying you £10 per hour or whatever. They are paying your company that, not you. All overheads come off and then you pay yourself. Sometimes I find it shocking how little I pay myself after all of the deductions especially in winter. Keep up the good work and content.

Some people just fixate on getting a hourly rate and us sticking too a hourly rate. She just values cheapness not value that you provide. Another slot opens up for you mate. Don’t worry onwards and upwards.

I've decided not to put my prices up this year. I've never made this decision in the past then had to go and increase them mid season. I think that unfair doing that. So it's a bit of a gamble this year. Setting a price that I'm going to commit to all season.

One door closes and another better one opens. It’s happened to me too.

i charge 15 per hr for everything just started watching your vids i think im too cheap but theres a lot of gardeners springing up to undercut you great vids pal .

Good on you! Always difficult to price, however, we need a minimum. £25 hour to base my pricing on. 3x fir scarifying and £10 for waste. Tricky mate, cos I understand that every lawn and garden is different 👍🏼👍🏼keep up the good work

This customer probably thinks they ca do it their selves or they can get it done cheaper. Stupid to lose a decent gardener for a few quid, reliability and standards are everything! Also you need just as many tools for a small job as a large one. Running machinery and vehicles', insurance etc....costs money! Good gardeners are like hens teeth, treat them with respect!

I think you are priced right. But it's very tricky to price especially when you start out. And you are right costs are skyrocketing. Best to price to get the best rate.

Everything you say here is totally reasonable. Don't be deterred though! Gardening can be very physically demanding work. If you overdo things when you're trying to build up your business you can really shoot yourself in the foot. If you can learn how to pace yourself, enjoyment of the job will have a chance to really improve. It'll also allow you time to develop your practical skills and plant knowledge. Customers will appreciate you for it, hopefully resulting in more reliable regulars who are happy to pay you. And you do right not charging hourly rates. That's a ridiculous system, given that "gardening" work can involve anything from close weeding on your hands and knees, to felling or pruning small to medium garden trees!

It's going to happen there's always some more cream around the corner .. when you first start you do everything and anything a couple of years later you start to pick and choose because you can afford .👍🍻

How is the van

Hi, ive been doing an elderly womans grass cutting using her strimmer and sit on lawnmower. Usually takes about 3 hours to do as its very large area. What kind of price should i be charging as im not using any of my own equipment? Thanks

I've come across this before an elderly man takes over the gardening for next to nothing because he's bored

I don’t do an hourly rate anymore. I just quote for the visit. In in the deep south but they still look for people who charge £10 an hour. Not for me. I have turned down work if they ask for an hourly rate.

Isn't it weird how some people value a skill more than others? The same person who moans about your hourly rate (even though it's actually a price for the job) will probably pay a hairdresser £20 or £30 for a quick trim and blowdry and walk away happy. Some things just aren't valued the same. She's probably better off with her hobby gardener who can do it for a tenner but one day his lawnmower will break and he'll realise that £10 isn't enough to sock a bit away each time towards a new one when it's needed.

You sound gutted. Being played by a customer is tough. Being replaced by a cowboy with no liability or insurance or overheads possible a tax dodger. Because that cheap 2 hours for £16 after fuel, repairs and tax is peanuts. Good for you. You got away from an awkward situation with a better one. Keep up the good work you sound passionate. You seem professional. Well done and business will continue to grow ❤

I've got a casual job that I charge £20 for an hour as it's in my village and I can tag it on to the end of my day. Problem is, it is such a tiny garden, trying to fill an hour is virtually impossible most of the time! I wish more of my jobs were a case of just turn up, do the job and leave when it is done. Most of mine are a set 3 hours as they are bigger gardens and that's how I decided to go for my first season. Just wish I could be doing less of that..! Coming to the start of this season, are you planning on a price rise? I've got a few that I 100% need to increase the price, even if I lose a few because of it

£8 and £10 per hour!! when someone says something like that to me I always say "well he's not paying tax" their a cowboy gardener and making it bad for the rest of us legitamait gardeners. Best off without her. I'm £21 per hour plus removal of waste. One off customers give them a price for the job, same with lawn cutting, quote for the job. Keep persevering and if you're any good you'll do well. There's plenty of work out there. Best wishes

Sounds like £20 was to ok high why couksnt you charge £10 to do the grass only and £20 when you do other stuff. £20 forna 5 minute cut is dear.

We are all Expendable in my eyes . There is always another job that comes up ...

You know why they say mate, you don’t lose a customer, you just gain another. Out of context mate but what software do you use to edit your videos?

£20 for 2hrs…😂…let him do it…that won’t last…the amount of people who’ve said to me “my old gardener only charged £10-£12”…I always say where is he now then, I wait for the classic reply “he didn’t come back anymore”…to which I say that’s because he wasn’t making any money….they never mention it again after that.

10 pounds an hour? How can anybody charge that low and survive

Some people want there job done for nothing. A couple pound an hour and a balloon. When I worked for the council (starred in 1977) I used to cut the grass for this religious lady then the going rate was £5/hour she tried to bridge me down to £4.50

If that bloke works for £10 an hour get him to come and work for you and you can sit in your van and watch him while you charge £20 making £10 fir watching him work😃

the 8 pound an hour scam just ask the customer so where are they now?

Hmm £10 an hour isn't even minimum wage.

Got no time for people that want the cheapest price regardless so she did you a favour tbh. Onwards and upwards.

Sounded like an awkward job & not worth the hassle.

Do you have an Instagram page bro ?

This video is uncanny in so many ways to a recent client that let me go after a years service. Sorry, this is a bit of a rant…. She was elderly and she has got a gardener to replace me who is also elderly and charges half what I do. The last job I did for her was a 50ft x 8x 8ft hedge which I had done before. I quoted her the same price as last time which was £50. It took me just over an hour. However, this time she called me (after doing the work) and said she didn’t need me to do the hedge because she found a gardener who would have done it for £20. It was her old gardener who was too ill to work previously. 😂 She then asked why I had charged her so much when I was there for just over 1 hour. I replied “because that’s the quote you paid and agreed for the first cut, when you told me to cut the second time there was no objection to the previous quote?” Anyway, the call ended and I decided to send her a polite email detailing what running cost I incurred operating a business. She replied back saying she understood. I just think most people who don’t ever own a business realise. Here’s the email to her Hi ****, Hope you are doing well? Our last conversation, you seemed puzzled to the cost of the hedge work despite this is what I quoted the last time I cut your hedge. I don’t do hedge, tree or grass cutting on a hourly rate, only garden maintenance in my local area. I based the quote for the job on which inventory I will need to use, my costs and size of hedge. For your hedge I needed 2 x hedge trimmers, long reach, leaf blower, ladders and PPE. This would have been classed as a Medium hedge with ladders. Normally, a small hedge without ladders I will charge around £30, Medium hedge without ladders £40, large hedge with ladders £60. Other, factors which will increase the price is extra equipment needed, such as ladders, long reach cutters. Other factors which will alter the quote maybe distance, access and the duration of the job. When using my machinery and quoting for a job, I have to factor in a number of costs, such as. Fuel Cost of equipment (in this case nearly £1800 worth, ladders alone cost £500) My time to maintain and clean the equipment Costs of any repairs Storage Unit PPE Clothing Insurances - Public liability, Vehicle, personal accident, equipment Taxes - National Insurance, income tax, road tax Pension Advertising Phone These are just a few of my direct costs. Plus being self employed I don’t get paid holidays or sick pay. Anyway, I thought I would share my thoughts on why I charge the rates I did and hopefully there’s no ill feeling. If there is, please let me know and I’m always happy to discuss and come to an arrangement. It’s very rare that a client cancels a service, in fact you are the 2nd since I have started. The other cancellation was due to moving house. However, I asked for feedback, positive or negative as this helps me improve my service. Would you be willing to share your feedback? If not please don’t worry. It’s been a pleasure working for you and I wish you all the best. If you ever need anything in the future, even if it’s a helping hand with anything, let me know.