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I quoting the other extreme a couple of weeks ago.
The house is let to students, and un-touched since at least last year. "We don't want anything fancy, just a tidy-up". They seemed surprised my quote for removing the cuttings alone was more than the "couple of hours at £10 per hour" they'd expected!
I've had a few student houses to sort out Paul. They've actually been good earners, but 2 came from the other one I did and they were all about a week away from their contract ending and hadn't cut the grass for the entirety of their contract.
Not had any pristine ones, but have cut a few lawns this year in rental properties, that haven't been touched for a year.
Rob
It takes all sorts and as long as you can afford to be fussy, then cherry-pick away. I've been in this for enough years to know there is no one size fits all type of customer. We maintain from blue chip ultra modern office to country house to run-of-the-mill industrial to pristine flats to quick-in-and-out flats to residential homes to prefect private garden to mow-blow-and go! I'll take Hyacinth!
Like Colin i have no problem with exacting clients, i think its clear as they know exactly what they want and so do you.
I got a new customer a couple of years ago who rang saying her garden was an absolutle mess and full of leaves. It was december and I know the gardens in that street and so assumed it would be a half day job.
I got there to quote and it was literally a few buckets worth of leaves scattered across the lawn.
I had the vacuum in the van and so sucked them up there and then. It took 5 mins and she was so delighted. She is the most appreciative customer i have and i mulch feed and treat her large rose beds and look after the plants as the 'grass man' knows nothing about plants...
I'd take 10 of her over landlords
I got lured into working with someone who wanted to micromanage everything but couldn't make a decision. Every week I would go to her garden and pull weeds, dig a border, and occasionally have the honour of planting something. Every week she would buy more plants for me to plant at the weekend, although I never got to because I had to conquer two acres of decade-abandoned garden/field. The number of plants awaiting planting got ridiculous. In the end it became soul destroying, and I'm very glad that circumstances meant that I couldn't go to her any more.
Sarah Russell said:
I had a customer who had little knowledge of plants if any but was adamant that the Cocksfoot grass growing in her pots were "Special Grass" and very expensive - She threatened to sue me when I removed them from their pots....
She was also addamant that her two Irish Yew's were "Special conifers worth alot of money and they die if you trim them" they were definatley not "a simple yew tree".
Needless to say I didnt continue working in that gareden, It was bizzare!