Kid that mowed my lawn last year, lost access to mower

I did get a call back a few minutes ago from the one I mentioned that seemed to fumble around then hang up. He apologized explaining that it was his brother, who isn't the shiniest lure in the tackle box, answered and dropped the call. He's coming this afternoon to give an estimate. I'm desperate enough to pay up to $50.
 

Don't mow the lawn too often and let your garden thrive. A pure lawn is dead. I have so many snow bells, daisies, prim-rose, forget-me-not, violets, dandelions, red poppies, thistles and other flowers in my garden and with them a life full of various bees and other insects. I only mow every two months. The square footage is similar to yours.
 
My wife is 79 & fit enough to mow a lawn that size & even bigger if she had to. Zero doubt in my mind she would have an electric riding mower, an electric self propelled walk behind & an electric trimmer. She is smart enough to figure out how to pay for & get any maintenance needed on that kind of equipment.

But thinking ahead we sold the home & property that had 3 acres of lawn to mow. No lawn to mow now since desert landscape is popular here & Arizona river stone doesn't need mowing.
 
Do you have friends that use a lawn service? Ask them and ask people you talk to in church and other places. Someone in your area must know of a lawn service. When I was looking, I took photos of every lawn company truck in the neighborhood so I had a few to call. The guy that does my hill works for someone else in my neighborhood. And I negotiated the price down a little too, along with how often I want him to mow. It worked out well.
 
birdy said:
Do you have friends that use a lawn service? Ask them and ask people you talk to in church and other places. Someone in your area must know of a lawn service. When I was looking, I took photos of every lawn company truck in the neighborhood so I had a few to call. The guy that does my hill works for someone else in my neighborhood. And I negotiated the price down a little too, along with how often I want him to mow. It worked out well.
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I've tried may of those methods. Most people don't respond. It's lucky I saved that guy's business card.
 
debodun said:
There aren't that many {professional lawn care services} around here and the few I contacted don't return phone call or emails, say they're "booked for the season" or are having other issues.
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Same here. We finally found one but she's been having a terrible time getting anyone to work for her. And I've heard it's the same with all kinds of service companies around here: nobody wants to do that kind of work anymore; they all want desk (or indoor) jobs.
 
When we had our house we put in very high quality Astro turf. After 10 years and 4 dogs it looked so good that the buyers thought it was new.

After the divorce I bought a condo because I didn’t want to deal with even a low maintenance house. I’m guessing you probably don’t have condos in your rural area. A shortage of workers appears to be a problem everywhere. I hope this guy works out.
 
I grew up on a five acre lot and my brother kept it mowed all summer, plus a couple of neighbor's yards about the same size, all done with walk behind mowers. I was sent out to "spell" him a few times a day and mowed for about a half hour each time.

We have a one third acre lot now, like our neighbors, and we chuckle at them with their power mowers plus shed to keep it in, for such small lots.

I did our lot myself until I broke my leg. After that, with hub's and son's health problems, we decided to use the lawn service that does our next-door man's yard.

The only problem is they refuse to do our large, fenced in a back yard because the gate isn't wide enough for their riding mower to go through and no amount of money in the would would make them get off those tractors and walk behind a push mower.
 
I had also put out inquiries on Angi, Porch and Thumbtack. No responses. If that kid had called me earlier in the season (he said he would at the end of April), I probably could have made other arrangements, but I had to call him, then got an excuse. He didn't seem in a hurry to obtain another mower.
 
debodun said:
Lawn guy is here. We walked around the property and he said he'd do it for $45, which is a bargain here. Now I can relax, at least about the lawn.
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My advice: If it's a warm day when he comes to do it, you might want to bring him a bottle of cold water. And instead of paying him $45, round it up to $50. Thank him and compliment him on something (showing up on time, doing a great job, whatever) and don't complain or point out shortcomings.

If you want him to come back and mow again, be a customer he enjoys working for.
 
StarSong said:
My advice: If it's a warm day when he comes to do it, you might want to bring him a bottle of cold water. And instead of paying him $45, round it up to $50. Thank him and compliment him on something (showing up on time, doing a great job, whatever) and don't complain or point out shortcomings.

If you want him to come back and mow again, be a customer he enjoys working for.
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I agree with you completely Starsong. Theres a reason why nobody wants to work for her and it may have to do with her attitude.
Instead of having a fault finding attitude, have an appreciative attitude. Nobody wants to work with someone who is difficult.
If he’s offered to do the lawn for $45, give him $50. It will make this kid feel worthy. When this kid leaves the house, he should feel proud of himself for showing up and cutting her lawn. He offered a really good price. Help the kid feel good about himself. Sincere compliments go a long way. Make the kid look forward to working for you. He wouldn’t purposely run over your apple tree. Show him that you appreciate his workmanship
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I agree with you completely Starsong. Theres a reason why nobody wants to work for her and it may have to do with her attitude.
Instead of having a fault finding attitude, have an appreciative attitude. Nobody wants to work with someone who is difficult.
If he’s offered to do the lawn for $45, give him $50. It will make this kid feel worthy. When this kid leaves the house, he should feel proud of himself for showing up and cutting her lawn. He offered a really good price. Help the kid feel good about himself. Sincere compliments go a long way. Make the kid look forward to working for you. He wouldn’t purposely run over your apple tree. Show him that you appreciate his workmanship
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I don't have the sense that this landscaper is a kid, but people of all ages warm to appreciation.
 
StarSong said:
I don't have the sense that this landscaper is a kid, but people of all ages warm to appreciation.
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I was under the impression that it was a kid. Either way, everyone likes to be treated fairly and fault finding isn’t fair.

You’re right. Deb found a business card of his; so probably not a kid.
 
My doorbell rang last evening about 5:30pm. A young man was standing there and asked if I needed my lawn mowed. Come to find out, he was my next door neighbor (not the one I asked earlier in the week who lives across the street). I knew he had a landscaping business and I had contacted him last year, but the reply was that he didn't do mowing. I pointed this out to him and he said, "Well, I'm doing it now." I asked how much he would charge. "$45" was the reply which is exactly what the guy that did it on Thursday charges.

Now my point is he lives next door. I had my lawn mowed on Thursday, so it looks mowed. He's next door and probably saw it being mowed. Why is he ringing my doorbell at 5:30 pm?

It's feast or famine. First nobody wanted the job, now I have two people asking for the work. Anyway I took his business card in case the first guy quits.
 

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