Consumer - Forum - Landscape Juice Network2024-03-28T11:36:26Zhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/feed/category/ConsumerTerms and conditionshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/terms-and-conditions-42022-11-13T00:24:54.000Z2022-11-13T00:24:54.000ZAngela Sharphttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/pruneandtidy<div><p>Hi all</p><p>Thinking about the business side of things, most times the kind of people I work for are very nice - understanding, polite, sympathetic, friendly, don't hold you to a specific price for doing something it's hard to quantify an end of (such as a general tidy on a garden that's not been seen to in a while). This is often because they were often gardeners themselves before they felt the need to ask for professional help. But there is always the odd one who isn't nice, isn't understanding or is just plain rude. There are even the odd times when the client you've arranged to see isn't in. This rarely happens to be fair, but recently it happened to me and the client did not explain why he hadn't been in, certainly didn't apologise and didn't offer to pay me for the time I then didn't earn anything because he hadn't been there. I have sent him a text since saying that if that happens again I will expect him to pay me the full fee because I can't just find someone else in that moment to go to instead with no notice whatsoever. I also had a regular client who I like forget I was coming once and it was awkward to ask her for the fee I should have earned. In the end I accepted a compromise of half fee, but it was out of order really. I should have just fannied about in her front garden and charged her full fee with more impunity.</p><p>So would a text be legally binding do you think? I guess unless you have a contract it would be hard to enforce any kind of payment as he hasn't even acknowledged my text, although if he did do that to me again and he didn't pay i'd probably say that I wouldn't work for him again unless he did. That's the least he should expect. I've always had this cold vibe off him. He never offers me tea (except once when they had another workman there he offered me one rather begrudgingly and condescendingly) and it's a weird set up too because he clearly lives with his parents, so it's their garden, but the father doesn't want to engage with me on any level unless he really has to. I think this is related to Covid paranoia. I suspect the mother is not well as she is always inside in the house. Clearly they love their garden and have made huge efforts with hard landscaping, a pond, and interesting plants back in a day a fair while ago, but this one job has really made me think that perhaps I should issue terms and conditions to everyone, including the nice ones.</p><p>I've even had one person say to me when I'd got half my equipment in already that my gardening time wasn't to start till I'd hauled all my equipment through her house to start a job in the garden (perils of working hourly) and once in the early days got caught out giving someone a quote which led them to expect me to return to finish a job essentially for free because it went beyond the hours I thought it would take. They didn't pay me till I returned. I now always view the time I pull up or ring the bell as my start time and I never quote, I make clear my price is always an estimate. </p><p>Assuming you don't necessarily have all contract work, do you at least have and would you recommend issuing terms and conditions to all clients even though some clearly don't need them because they're too nice? What are the main drivers for doing this in your view? And if you get a client to sign this is it a legally binding way to ensure you get paid?</p></div>website problemshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/website-problems2022-07-16T20:57:39.000Z2022-07-16T20:57:39.000ZDavid Bensonhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/DavidBenson<div><p>has the site been down as for the last 2 days i have not been able to get on as my internett securaty would not allow it saying it had been compromised and the securaty certificate was out of date </p></div>Agriframeshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/agriframes2021-03-10T16:17:43.000Z2021-03-10T16:17:43.000ZJennifer O'Rileyhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/JenniferORiley<div><p>Hi folks</p><p> </p><p>Does anyone have experience assembing Agriframes products? I'm suggesting one of their pergolas to a client. Some reviewers think they are a nightmare to assemble. </p></div>Income Protectionhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/income-protection-12021-01-16T11:23:14.000Z2021-01-16T11:23:14.000ZKarsten Tomkinshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/KarstenTomkins<div><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Hi Folks,</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">I've been away for a while through many things and happenings. Anyway, I have a question relating to Income Protection.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">For a few years I've had it with a company called The Exeter through a broker employed by Eunisure. I tried to claim early last year due to some arm injuries I had. Only then did I find out they base their payouts on your net income of the previous year. The broker did not tell me that (yes, I'm sure it's written in the policy, which I did not read, I took him at his word)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">So I'm paying £47 per month which "covers me for £1,500 per month", with a 4 week waiting period before payments start. However, there are two things that really do not make sense to me about this policy:</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">1) I pay £47 per month no matter what, but if my net income for the previous year is less than £1,500 per month, they pay me that lower figure. (Why, if that is the case, am I not paying pro rata per month so my premiums correspond to the payout?)</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">2) My "net income" from their point of view is what I am left with after ALL business expenses. So it is after my monthly van tax, monthly RAC payments, in fact after all my van expenses. And after my monthly contractual advertising payments, and all other payments that cannot be paused. When I asked The Exeter about this, they told me if I am not working I should cancel all these payments. Really?!</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Are all Income Protection plans like this? Can any of you recommend a policy that makes sense? I really don't want a policy as nonsensical as this (it almost seems illegal to me), but if they are all like this I'll have to be careful about the decision I make as it might be better than absolutely nothing.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Many thank yous.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Karsten.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;">Gardenwise Watford.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><a href="https://www.gardenwisewatford.co.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.gardenwisewatford.co.uk/</a></span></p></div>Barkhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/bark-12020-11-24T21:16:28.000Z2020-11-24T21:16:28.000ZBen Goodinghttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/BenGooding<div><p>Evening all,</p><p> </p><p>just wondering if anybody has had any success using the bark app? Does it generate leads of any substance? I'm always wary of these things but you never know,</p><p> </p><p>thanks in advance,</p><p> </p><p>Ben </p></div>Parking wars.https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/parking-wars2019-02-17T16:58:26.000Z2019-02-17T16:58:26.000ZAndrew Betteridgehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/AndrewBetteridge<div><p>A guy I have met whilst working around town has been having trouble with the neighbour of one of his customers:</p><p> </p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/17437688.gardeners-relief-after-court-win-in-parking-row-with-worcester-pensioner">https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/17437688.gardeners-relief-after-court-win-in-parking-row-with-worcester-pensioner</a></p></div>Eliet Maestro Shredder ?https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/eliet-maestro-shredder2019-01-21T17:13:00.000Z2019-01-21T17:13:00.000ZAdamhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/Adam199<div><p>Hi all, I'm looking for a littile advice; I'm trying to weigh up the pros and cons of investing in a shredder for managing garden waste.</p><p>At the moment I bag up (builders bags) quite a bit of garden waste, hedge cuttings from garden clearences, winter tidys etc. etc. which is disposed of at the local council tip; the cost for this is passed on to my customers. It's a bit time consuming filling the bags, often cutting down the waste first, before we fill them.</p><p>Would somthing like an Eliet Maestro Shredder make life any easier, would shredding the waste before bagging it save any time? I'm looking at the Maestro as this will fit in the van, and affords better access to gardens.</p><p>I know some gardeners sell the mulch or dispose of it in the customers garden, realistically I cant see this happening that often, so I'll still be charging the customer and visiting the tip. </p><p> As background, I'm a one man one van band with an employee who works for me 2 days a week.</p><p>Many Thanks</p></div>What decking paint please?https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/what-decking-paint-please2018-10-07T07:30:50.000Z2018-10-07T07:30:50.000ZGreen Girl Garden Carehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/HelenGreenGirl<div><p>Please can you recommend me the best decking paint that won't peel off a year later? It's for my own decking at home. I have tried various brands from b and q the most expensive they sell and they have all been rubbish. I cleaned the decking and it was bone dry before application. Thanks.</p></div>Slow/bad payershttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/slow-bad-payers2018-04-22T20:45:42.000Z2018-04-22T20:45:42.000ZTrevor Stephenshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/TrevorStephens<div><p>Hi all,</p><p>I have a varied mix of customers, some regular maintenance all year, some one off jobs and some bigger projects. </p><p>I provide a clear quote for each customer, work exactly to that spec, keep the customer updated etc.</p><p>On completion (or end of month for maintenance customers) I send out QuickBooks invoices with bank transfer details and a 7 day payment period.</p><p>Some customers pay on time, however it really annoys me having to constantly chase late payers who have usually simply forgotten.</p><p>Do any of you offer early payment incentives or have another effective way to get them to pay!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div>Invoicing / Late payershttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/invoicing-late-payers2018-04-13T07:38:28.000Z2018-04-13T07:38:28.000ZSarahhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/Sarah690<div><p>Hi everyone,</p><p><br/>This is my first post on Landscape Juice. I hope i'm posting in the right place, I didnt see an introduce yourself section. </p><p><br/>I set up my own small gardening company (soft landscaping/maintenance, domestic customers) last spring and it’s been going really well. I’m lucky, I love my job. However I’m getting increasingly cheesed off by customers that don’t pay and need chasing.</p><p><br/>I’m just looking for some perspective on what is normal and whether I am overreacting... I tend to get itchy after 4 or 5 days, especially if it’s over £100 and I have had to fork out my own money for tipping fees. <br/>What sort of timescales are reasonable / normal? I don’t specify on my invoices when payment is due by which I appreciate needs to change, should I start saying within 7 days? I just took it for granted that people would pay within a few days, like I do if I use trades people. Clearly I have been naive. </p><p>I'm also considering one of those izettle card readers for one off jobs (my regulars are good at paying me straight away), thoughts? </p><p>Thanks in advance</p><p>Sarah </p><p> </p><p> </p></div>Starting outhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/starting-out-32018-01-11T15:11:53.000Z2018-01-11T15:11:53.000ZDan Younghttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/DanYoung<div>Hello everyone.So I'm a long time free member on here and recently a pro member. I have decided it's time to get back to being outdoors. Currently I have my own ltd servicing, repairing steam turbines in the power industry. I have sort of fell into that and it's rubbish. It pays really well but it's not for me in the long term.My back ground is greenkeeping and golf course construction. Which is where I was employed until redundancy at the end of the recession in 2010. So now I'm coming back. I have all the usual quals associated with greenkeeping, golf course construction.So now do I target my local area of north Somerset for garden maintenance or move into landscaping and update my qualifications to fit that as well.Any advice on the above would be brilliant.</div>Just got trolled by a potential customer!https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/just-got-trolled-by-a-potential-customer2017-07-21T15:09:47.000Z2017-07-21T15:09:47.000ZGreen Girl Garden Carehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/HelenGreenGirl<div>At the start of the week I got a voicemail from a lady asking for help with her garden. She left her number and email address and I was planning on emailing back to say sorry we're fully booked. (since one employee is leaving in August I'm going to be fully booked for the rest of year)Before I got round to it I got another indignant voicemail saying 'I've rung 3 or 4 times now and I'm going to leave a second message but I can't keep ringing you back in the daytime because you never answer. Can you ring me back by 7 or email me' Her tone did set alarm bells ringing that she might not have been the easiest customer to work for had I had any time but I do try to return all enquiries but at busy times it's not immediately.I'm not actively advertising at the moment but my van is sign written and Google search will bring up my website which doesn't have my phone number on.So I emailed back: Hi X, Thanks for your enquiry but I'm afraid I don't have any availability at the moment. Thanks, Helen.Then was gobsmacked to receive this reply today:How sad you turned me down so quickly as I only needed work done a couple of times a year meaning you've lost around £1,000.Never mind I've found some other professional company delighted to take me on.Thank you for your e mail though had to work out who Helen was!!!Thank youI replied on my phone so my usual company sign off didn't come up but my name is clearly stated on my voicemail. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to have lost £1000 if I'm fully booked but I recon I've dodged a bullet there anyway!I feel quite stressed out by having to get back to people to turn them down all the time and particularly when it's phone messages rather than email as at least with email I can send back replies in the evening in front of the TV. I recon I reply to 90% or more but occasionally something will slip through the net.Oh well it's Friday and i'm not going to think about customers for 2 whole days now!</div>Seeking 10 people to learn together with Piet Oudolf, Dr Noel Kingsbury and othershttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/seeking-10-people-to-learn-together-with-piet-oudolf-dr-noel-king2017-07-13T15:50:04.000Z2017-07-13T15:50:04.000ZElspeth Briscoehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/ElspethBriscoe<div><p>Hello everyone,</p><p>It's been several years since I've been on here. And <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.learningwithexperts.com/gardening" target="_blank">MyGardenSchool</a> has now grown quite a lot. We're trialling an initiative where we'd like to find 10 people who would be happy to learn together in one class - and really feel like they would benefit from being taught by some of the best experts in the world (Piet Oudolf, Michael Marriott from David Austin, Dr Noel Kingsbury, Annie Guilfoyle, Dr Toby Musgrave and others). I would like to offer a select group of Landscape Juice Members this opportunity to trial a course of their choice with us at www.learningwithexperts.com/gardening (you can take your pick from there). But you must meet the following criteria:</p><ul><li>Be a practising (or aspiring) gardener, landscaper or designer (ideally not formally qualified)</li><li>Not have experienced MyGardenSchool before</li><li>Willing to share your experience socially and take photographs of your work</li></ul><p>What you will get: This is an experiment, so we're keen to follow your progress of how you learn and interact as a group, and understand how you interact with your tutors. </p><p>You really will get feedback from Dr Noel Kingsbury personally (or the other tutors you choose to study with). If more than 10 people want to do this, we will split you into groups. However we won't make this happen unless there is interest from at least 10 of you (as it's the group dynamic we want to study). We will need you to pay something towards the course, but once we reach 10+ volunteers we are happy to reduce the price to 50% of our normal rate (eg for Annie Guilfoyle's urban design course, this is a reduction of several hundred pounds). </p><p>Dr Noel Kingsbury and Piet Oudolf are right behind this study (as are the others), and are also producing a new course about the Highline next year. </p><p>I thought I would post on here to gauge interest. <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.learningwithexperts.com/gardening/courses" target="_blank">Here is where you can choose your course selection</a> (we are assuming that Piet and Noel, and the higher priced courses will be chosen, as you get £100s off, but that may not be the case. Please let me know (and happy to discuss on here) if this is of interest. Or you can email me privately on elspeth@learningwithexperts.com - but I will let people know on here when we reach a group of 10.</p><p>Finally once you've all studied together, we like the idea of introducing you in person. We are currently looking to do a small show garden at Chelsea Flower Show next year, and would like to involve some of this group in it. </p><p>Please post here if you'd like to take part and if we do get 10 of you interested we will start the experiment (I will write back to you with the codes to access classes)<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UztlhSgxv-Y?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>. </p><p></p><p></p></div>Starting my own businesshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/starting-my-own-business2017-05-19T02:40:17.000Z2017-05-19T02:40:17.000ZKingsley Powershttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/KingsleyPowers<div>Hi my name is Kingsley.I am 21 years old I was working in drainage/civil engineering/ flagging ground works, till around a year ago. My manager at this drainage firm had. Decided to set a landscape gardening business (he had no experience of this). I followed as he offered me a place so me and him. Built the business up and worked really hard. He was my fiance's father and was 56 and very overweight so he could only do so much, I have recently broken up with my fiance for good. Why I come to you today is I have found my talent, my Passion. I want my own landscaping business I want to pick your brains of everything I need and need to know.</div>Afraid to install Water Features or Clients tend to disapprove of them??https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/afraid-to-install-water-features-or-clients-tend-to-disapprove-of2017-04-26T15:21:34.000Z2017-04-26T15:21:34.000ZAndy @ Water Gardenhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/AndyWaterGarden<div><p>Hi Everyone,</p><p>Just wanted to get a bit of feedback from the Landscapers and Garden Designers on here.</p><p>When planning a garden do most of you try and incorporate a water feature to your ideas/designs or are you simply put off by a lack of previous experience?</p><p>When incorporating a water feature without it being requested do most clients decide against them or do they love the idea and take them on?</p><p></p><p>Just wanting to get a bit more of an idea of how it happens from a landscaper/designers point of view, as being a supplier I simply come across people who already are interested and have some idea of what they want.</p><p></p><p>Appreciate your feedback in advance!</p><p></p><p>Regards </p><p>Jack Wooller</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.water-garden.co.uk" target="_blank">Water Garden Ltd</a></p></div>Charging for getting materials...?https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/charging-for-getting-materials2017-04-21T17:12:59.000Z2017-04-21T17:12:59.000ZSeána Clougher-Hopperhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/SeanaClougherHopper<div>Hi all.I hope I find you all enjoying the spring...I am on the horns ov a dilemma....I usually spend most of my Sundays driving around Sussex buying plants, compost, fence panels and trellis and anything else I need for my weeks work...I obviously charge customers for the materials but what about my work in the Sunday... I drive around for at least 4 hours and usually have to fuel up the van to do so...Should I charge for this time and fuel?Im thinking of just waiting for the weekly workday and go off then to get everything?Then the customer pays for my time "on the day"Is this a good idea?What do you do?Thank you in advance for any replies.They are much appreciatedXx</div>Help me close the Bank of Dadhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/help-me-close-the-bank-of-dad2017-03-31T20:11:15.000Z2017-03-31T20:11:15.000ZAdam Woodshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/honestservices<div><p>My daughter Ellie, is writing her dissertation on "Consumer awareness in relation to online privacy, and the use of cookies". <br/> Would you please spare a few moments to fill in the survey to help her get a good data set for the dissertation.<br/><a href="https://brightonbusiness.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1EKxfXCxtj3u8QJ" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://brightonbusiness.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/…</a></p><p>Thank you</p><p>Adam</p></div>Can anyone recommend a summer house?https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/can-anyone-recommend-a-summer-house2017-02-22T19:30:02.000Z2017-02-22T19:30:02.000ZPeterhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/Peter633<div><p>Hi, this is for myself and girlfriend's garden, I've got a few customers with them but they seem top end of market in terms of price. We are looking for something in the middle price range, 7x7 size. There are some shed/summer house places around here but always seem overpriced for the quality you get. I wouldn't touch Wicks, or any of the DIY stores or am I being a bit harsh? Google brings up lots of websites you can order from but not sure which are decent and which are rubbish.</p><p>Would appreciate any recommendations, and we don't mind assembling it ourselves.</p><p></p><p>Cheers.</p></div>How much does a 5L petrol can really hold?https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/how-much-does-a-5l-petrol-can-really-hold2017-02-22T17:50:03.000Z2017-02-22T17:50:03.000ZDarren Waltershttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/DarrenWalters<div><p>And before you jump in with 5 litres... are you sure?</p><p></p><p>The reason I ask is that I filled up two petrol cans last week and somehow managed to get 6L in each one. I'm pretty sure this is probably down to the calibration of the petrol pump but I thought I'd double check before complaining to the petrol station.</p><p>If they do hold more than 5L then I've been doing my fuel mix wrong for the last seven years! Hmmm....</p><p></p><p>Darren</p></div>ServiceM8 software?https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/servicem8-software2017-01-02T17:21:44.000Z2017-01-02T17:21:44.000ZChrishttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/Chris702<div>I'm a Jobber user however the renewal for just me as a sole trader is £48/mth, whereas ServiceM8 (based on 15jobs p/wk) comes in at £18/mth. That's quite a difference. I was wondering if anyone's had any practical experience of ServiceM8 and if so, I'd love to hear your findings and thoughts?</div>My grass hasn't grown so it doesn't need cutting this week !!!https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/my-grass-hasn-t-grown-so-it-doesn-t-need-cutting-this-week2016-08-15T20:04:55.000Z2016-08-15T20:04:55.000ZGORDONhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/GORDON<div>How do you deal with that one?As soon as I see or hear that I know our relationship is finished . It's never going to work, try and explain its your living and they take umbrage. Forget it, if they didn't see its, Imo, not the right thing to do at the time then you are not going to get them to have a light bulb moment with the explanation you may feel is fair and reasonable.I do not have a written contract it's just based on an honourable arrangement that apart from holidays mine or theirs I will turn up and cut the grass as per the prescribed time period during the growing season. In 10 years of cutting 12 to 15 lawns a day it's only happened twice.Personally I would not dream of doing it. For instance, I would not say to the window cleaner " the windows are not very dirty, don't clean them today"On the 2 occasions it happened I found that I was never very enamoured with the customer anyway so it as no big deal to wave by by !!!Loads more fish in the sea where I live, perhaps I am lucky.</div>Activity monitoringhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/activity-monitoring2016-08-09T20:10:46.000Z2016-08-09T20:10:46.000ZJames McKayhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/JamesMcKay<div><p>Just curious to know if anyone has used a fitness monitoring device such as fitbit to look at things like calories burned, steps taken etc. whilst working, and whether there was a device people would recommend? I fancy a new toy to play with!</p><p></p></div>Petrol brush cutterhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/petrol-brush-cutter2016-07-26T00:20:40.000Z2016-07-26T00:20:40.000ZDavidhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/David333<div>Hi guys,I'm in the market for a new petrol brush cutter capable of taking whatever overgrown we that we tend to throw at it, so it needs to pack a punch.I'm normally as Husky or Kawak fan But I've also seen that Makita sell a four stroke range, any suggestions?It's time to call on the experience of you long term users out there.Cheers,David</div>High Street, no parking, no stopping, loading etchttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/high-street-no-parking-no-stopping-loading-etc2016-06-08T20:39:08.000Z2016-06-08T20:39:08.000ZDaniela McGhiehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/DanielaMcGhie<div><p>How do you guys cope when you are asked to clear a back garden and there is no off road drive to par? The property sits on the high street (yellow like) and looking at Google Streetview the road is severely restricted the whole week. No loading/unloading, stopping etc. There is also very limited parking for only two hours, if one can find a parking spot in the side roads, which are quite a bit away. There are no car parks etc near there. There are some bays further up for residents only and parking vouchers holders. She cannot get a voucher as she is too far from that area.</p><p>Its an existing past customer and its her business property where the back garden has gone crazy. There is also no side access, which means everything has to be carried through the property. She is a really nice lady but I cannot see how I can work there with all these restrictions?</p><p>How do you guys manage when you come across something like this? I cannot see how I can do the job. She knows I don't do garden clearances, but she is getting desperate, as the job is too small for the big boys or they are not interested, or can't be bothered due to the parking etc.</p><p>People wonder why our High Streets are dying out, if one cannot park anywhere then its not rocket science. I checked on streetview and nearly every business in that stretch of road has gone and changed. I remember driving past just the other day that quite a few shops are closed, and even the take away and a restaurant has given up.</p></div>Friday evening thoughtshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/friday-evening-thoughts2016-06-03T20:34:12.000Z2016-06-03T20:34:12.000Zdarragh connollyhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/darraghconnolly<div>Hi all,Just going thru some thoughts here. Do people think it's ok to have a maintenance price for jobs & a clear out cost (once off jungle busters jobs) for other jobs. The clear outs are defo harder on tools & the heart rate is higher for sure throughout the day.Any thoughts?PS at present my prices are the same for both maintenance & clear outsCheers,Darragh</div>Humane Cat deterrent ideas neededhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/humane-cat-deterrent-ideas-needed2016-05-29T21:03:36.000Z2016-05-29T21:03:36.000ZDaniela McGhiehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/DanielaMcGhie<div><p>Customer has bunnies near his house on his patio. A semi feral cat is giving us issues as it is getting to the cages and is pawing at the wire. This is stressing out the bunnies.</p><p>I have some ideas, but would like to hear if any of you have done fail proof things regarding deterring a cat in a humane way.</p><p>I am sure the cat is not owned by anyone as its quite thin and the fur is somewhat matted. Or its just an old moggy. Its really friendly, if I were not allergic to cats I would have rescued it. It would be easy to catch and send to a local cat rescue. But what if the cat is owned by someone in the neighborhood and we remove it? That would make someone very sad and upset.</p></div>When do u say no?https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/when-do-u-say-no2016-05-09T09:45:22.000Z2016-05-09T09:45:22.000Zdarragh connollyhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/darraghconnolly<div>Hi all,Just wondering what others do?I've a load of work on & off to Disney (don't ask) on the 23rd for a week so can't take bookings in till after that. Just wondering if others just say no to work coming in or just be straight up & say it'll be a month or so, which will probably put people off.Any ideas?Darragh</div>Commercial contractshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/commercial-contracts-22016-04-30T16:31:02.000Z2016-04-30T16:31:02.000ZNathan millwardhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/Nathanmillward<div>Hi guys.All of my work at the moment is domestic gardens. And I'm thinking about taken the step into the commercial world. Any advice? The commercial side is a whole different world to me. What is the best way to get commercial contracts? Got friends who go to business breakfasts and that how they get them. Just wanted some ideas and advice please guys?Thanks</div>Damaged fence panelhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/damaged-fence-panel2016-04-11T09:16:04.000Z2016-04-11T09:16:04.000ZTom Beevorhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/TomBeevor<div>Morning all,I've had a small incident this morning whilst reversing out of a clients drive, where I've hit the opposite properties fence. It is a ship lap style panel with concrete posts. The panel was pushed out of the posts but the only damage was a scuff and one split but not broken out upright. I stopped straight away and informed the owner. I reinserted the panel as it still fitted the posts. His reaction wasn't brilliant but was at least polite. I offered to replace the panel but he refused, I also offered my card and said if there's anything further I might be able to do to put it right to contact me, but refused the card too?! So at that point, as it was secure, we left it. Did I do the right thing? Should I take pictures of the damage?Sorry about the long paragraph, am doing this from mobile and doesn't seem to support paragraphs.Thanks in advance.</div>Stihl Kombihttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/stihl-kombi2016-04-02T17:51:07.000Z2016-04-02T17:51:07.000ZTom Beevorhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/TomBeevor<div>Evening all,I'm thinking of investing in a Stihl Kombi system this week, but have one question before I go dealer visiting for those of you who have one.Simply, is it possible to have more than one extension pole in the machine at one point to gain additional length/height?I know there becomes issues with balance, flex etc, but if it is possible, I will go to the dealer and ask them to set me one up to have a feel to see if it is manageable. The extended length will only be used for a very few jobs, but is needed, particularly for wide hedges.Many thanks,Tom</div>