Typical behavior of lawncare company? (North Beach: appointed, townhome, landscaping)

[accorda]

Through a service that matches people with services they need, I was referred to a small lawncare company. The owner texted me, and sight unseen, offered me a price to mow my backyard (which, I admitted, was several feet tall and overgrown). I only needed my lawn cut one time since I can typically find a neighbor to take care of it - this was just a huge mess.The owner said he would cut my lawn at a $10 discount if I agreed to have his service more than once, so I agreed to 3 times over the course of 7 weeks. He promised to show up the next morning at 10 am. By 11 am, he did not call, nor cancel and I pretty much up chalked it up to "back to the drawing board."

Later on that day, around 4 pm while I was out, I got a text message from the owner stating since I wasn't home, he let himself in my gate and cut the lawn and will send me a bill. I replied that I was dissapointed because I waited for him at an appointed time and he never showed nor called to cancel. He did not reply.

At this point, I would like to just pay him for his one time service and not continue with the agreed upon 2 additonal cuttings. I don't want him to show up whenever he feels like it and cuts my lawn whether its not needed and have to pay him for it.

Am I overreacting or is this typical service when it comes to lawncare?

[North Beach Person]

You're probably overreacting. With the weather the last week or two cutting later in the day was probably better. Most people I know with lawn services aren't home when the company comes over.

[MidValleyDad]

The big question - How was the job he did? Were you happy with the job he did? And honestly Several feet tall grass? :-O If I was your neighbor I would have been complaining before now! Even a foot of grass is too much. If he did a good job on that much grass for the price you agreed on He seems to be a reliable businessman who will stand by his word.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by accorda

Am I overreacting or is this typical service...

It's far too typical.

Even when allowing for the well intentioned there are a lot of small owner operated service companies who over schedule or worse just say whatever comes to mind when talking to a customer and when called on it seem genuinely surprised that anyone would object to their practices or worse even acknowledge that they have done anything that justifies being annoyed over.

[accorda]

Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

The big question - How was the job he did? Were you happy with the job he did? And honestly Several feet tall grass? :-O If I was your neighbor I would have been complaining before now! Even a foot of grass is too much. If he did a good job on that much grass for the price you agreed on He seems to be a reliable businessman who will stand by his word.

Ya, shame on me, because the grass was downright embarrassing and I DON'T want to be "that" neighbor. It's cold all winter, I don't think about the lawn and suddenly its warm, I peek out the back window and its like "Honey, I shrunk the Kids".... no excuses, though. That's why I hired somebody to take care of it. He did a decent job. Its a townhome, so its a fairly small space, but nonetheless, I don't have any complaints about the quality of work. I guess I was more peeved about the disregard for my time; five hours late to me means bad customer service. But like MrRational said, his intentions were probably good. Just wasn't sure if my expectations regarding punctuality way too high with this type of service.

[reiflame]

It has been my experience that guys who work in trades (construction, lawncare, etc) are not the best communicators. I would let this slide. Obviously he doesn't need you to be home to cut your lawn, so next time just let him know that you might not be around so that he should just let himself in.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by accorda

Just wasn't sure if my expectations regarding punctuality way too high with this type of service.

I say they are not.

There is a reason why the cable co says between "8 and 12'" or "10 and 3" or "12 and 5"
If he said 10AM then the onus is on him to call. Period.

[Moth]

Originally Posted by MrRational

It's far too typical.

Even when allowing for the well intentioned there are a lot of small owner operated service companies who over schedule or worse just say whatever comes to mind when talking to a customer and when called on it seem genuinely surprised that anyone would object to their practices or worse even acknowledge that they have done anything that justifies being annoyed over.

Yep.

This happened to me this week. Fairly simple landscaping job. Easy money for a service. The first stopped returning my calls. The second said yes and proceeded to fart around for two weeks before balking.

The slogan in my house is, "You cannot give people money."

[badchad]

I understand OP's point of view. For many lines of work, you simply have to be on time. Period.

Other types of services though, there is an expectation of flexibility. Personally, I think lawn care is something where flexibility is the norm, as its partially dependent the weather.

I'd talk with the guy, explain your concerns, and let him know your expectations. Maybe he can narrow his service down to a 2-3 hour window.

[Wilkester2010]

I suspect North Beach Person is right about the weather. I had a co-worker who runs a lawn cutting business on the side and, I know from talking with him that the weather has a huge impact on when he'll cut people's lawns. At times, he's requested to leave work early so, he could get out and cut lawns while the weather was still good i.e. rain was predicted. With as much rain as we've been getting, that may have been a factor.