[Nebraska]

Received an interesting letter this morning from a lady we've provided lawn maintenance for for about 9 years. At the end of February we increased our rates this year by 2.5% Some of you ought to get a kick out of this.

Dear John:
I have decided not to use your Lawn service this coming year. I have appreciated your care of me and my lawn and the snow removal, but I feel like it is too expensive for me to continue with your service.

You have been most kind and considerate of me all these years, but I need to try something else. I will be using a young man who has been recommended to me by a good friend who is in need of employment.

Thank you for everything.

Sincerely,
Mrs. N

Here rate for mowing increased $.90------90 CENTS!

[TrickyDick]

Sounds like it was more a result of someone saying "you pay how much?!? I've got this nice kid who does mine for 10 bucks!" then your rate increase.

[jwholden]

Out of curiosity...

If you ranked all your customers from best to worst based on irate phone calls, timeliness of payment, nitpicking of details. Where would she fall on the list? top, bottom, middle?

[Nebraska]

She was in the middle towards the better end.

[jwholden]

When I raised mowing prices years ago I was surprised how quickly it differentiated the desirable customers from the undesireable. The price sensitive customers were the ones who hired me for a minimum of services or always had a problem with what I did. They were the first to jump ship.

Last year I raised rates for my Garden Maintenance Services and I noticed a similar pattern.

I have yet to raise my prices and regret it. The relief from not having to deal with PITA customers and the added revenue from the A-List always more than makes up for the lost business.

80 % of your profits comes from the top 20% of your customers. Make sure your top customers are happy!!!

[VoodooChile]

.90 cents a mow X 30 mows a year = $27

On the face of it, raising your rates for so little doesn't seem worth your clients having the perception that you are hitting them up for more money.

Of couse, $27 X 100 clients = $2700, a good little chunk of change.

And maybe there are hidden dividends, as jw suggests...

[GLAN]

I've known long time ago.........people will can your ass for a buck.

Stupid as it sounds..........it's just a fact of being in the service business.

We have to make a living........if not, then what are we doing?

[Nebraska]

Glan --- for even less than a buck! 90 cents!

I lost five customers with the price increase. This is the first time we did price increases in the spring rather than in the middle of the year. Same results though, all old ladies moving on. All one's I thought would never be the one's to "bail" though. I gave up a while ago trying to figure people out. Definitely not worth fretting over.

I thought it was humorous letter.

Definitely one to save and chuckle about.

[4seasons]

Makes me glad I don't mow anymore! I have people complain about my prices but its what I need to get,(even though it should be another $10 more an hour). I'll get it sooner or later. I've raised my prices in Landscaping labor for the last 3yrs,slowly getting it where we need it. Just trying not to price myself out of the market yet. Nebraska, good for you not worrying about it and seeing the humour in it all. I found that for every bad customer you lose a good one will come along. Have a good spring!

Bruce

[Lawn Lad]

When raising prices... how many people say something about it? Few I suspect. How many continue working with you? Most I suspect. Don't let the few or the minority make you afraid to raise your rates. If you're too busy to keep up with the demand, you're not charging enough. Keep raising rates until you see a drop in interest to the point that it balances out and you can keep up with demand. Your customers are coming to you because you provide excellent service. If you win them on price you're going to loose them on price - so don't worry about the ones you loose on a couple of dollars.