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Jon, we offer this as an add on to our regular maintenance, there is money to be made but it can be an inconvenience at busy times!
As to charging we charge treble the cost price of fertiliser etc which includes our time, E.G the fertiliser we use cost us for 25kg and treats 500 sq mts is around £25 so customer is charged £75, our spreading time is around 20 minutes. I hasten to add as we offer it as part of a maintenance package we are not making a special trip to apply. Scarification charges are a bit more open ended as it depends on the condition of the lawn and therefore how much material needs collecting which is the time consuming part along with waste removal costs, suppose on average we would charge around £150 for a 200sq mt lawn.
Our charges are possibly a bit low but it is not a core part of our business .
If you search the websites of the national franchises most have price indicators per sq mt but feedback from our clients say we do a better job as we are on the sites every week or 2 weeks so are able to adapt accordingly rather than the nationals who will rarely send the same operator and only at 2 to 3 month intervals. Hope that is of some help.
Peter,
That's really helpful and it would be in addition to the normal maintenance jobs I do (lawns/planting/hedges etc)
Sorry I don't have any idea on costs, but I think if you can dispose of the scarification waste that will give you an edge. I remember a while back one of my customers had a national firm to scarify but they don't dispose of arisings (which there can be a lot of). To my mind they've only done half a job.
Yes the nationals are unwilling to take the arisings away in our experience
Also great advice, many thanks.
I never just 'leave' waste, I'll try and find a solution
so when you drive away, there is no hassle for the client even if that is an extra charge.
I never know how anyone can make a living from lawn care given that it's a) seasonal and b) weather dependant. I used to promote it but do so less and less because I find scheduling it problematic.
Thanks Tim,
I guess for me it's more about enjoying doing the lawn care stuff, not so tough on the body as hedges etc but still doing this jobs through late autumn/winter.
It also works well getting this type of work quoted and done before the main regular season really kicks in.
I used it to get more ££ our of many clients before I retired. I charged the time at the normal rates. Chemicals (this was 3 years ago) - £7.50 per KG or mixed litre (very very profitable) - then £7.50 per tonne bag of waste, or part thereof. An autumn scarify and feed, a winter feed, a spring scarify and feed + and for some a summer feed. That plus a selective herbicide application. It was easy work - the only catch was finding a way of getting rid of the waste cheaply. I was lucky I had one massive garden and the client didnt mind me adding the waste to his bonfire pile.
I find it to be a pain in the arse as regards fitting it in but I am 95% regular weekly and fortnightly maintenance. I still offer it but when my aerator and scarifier fail I won't be replacing them and will stop doing it. We are all different though.......