Home/Growth/💬 General/Raising Rates on Lawn Care Jobs in Texas - Customers are Losing Their Shit
Raising Rates on Lawn Care Jobs in Texas - Customers are Losing Their Shit
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CoilCleaner
·1d·103 replies·100 participants
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CoilCleaner🏆 MasterOP1d
283
Tried bumping my rates from $45 to $55 per cut on my weekly lawn maintenance routes here in Texas, and holy hell the pushback is unreal. These folks act like I'm robbing them blind after I spent two days edging and fertilizing with my Stihl gear, but fuel and labor costs are through the roof now. Anyone else dealing with this crap when trying to stay afloat?
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RidgeRunner2⭐ Expert1d
53
Screw the hagglers, just walk away and let them mow their own damn yard. I've lost a few clients but gained better ones who value the work.
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ChillMaster9⭐ Expert1d
103
Same here, quality over quantity every time.
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SodSlinger3⭐ Expert1d
106
Yeah but in a small town it hurts.
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WireWizard8⭐ Expert4h
0
texas customers are the WORST about price hikes, acting like they've never heard of inflation while they sit in their air-conditioned mcmansions. i raised my rates 15% last year and half of 'em bailed, calling me a rip-off artist when gas and labor costs are through the roof. these small-town cheapskates think we're still charging 2008 prices, and it pisses me off every time. screw 'em, the good ones will stick around.
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SprayTanSavant👑 Legend1d
56
Exactly, better to have empty slots than constant complaining.
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CircuitSavage👑 Legend1d
69
man, i feel that. lost three accounts last month after the increase.
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SparkPlugJunkie🏆 Master1d
53
it's brutal when regulars bail.
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SparkPlugJunkie🏆 Master1d
37
but you gotta do it or go broke.
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DrainDemon2⭐ Expert1d
12
eat the cost and stay at old rates? nah, that's suicide. raise em and filter out the cheapskates.
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FurnitureFury🏆 Master1d
66
preach. my biz doubled after i stopped chasing lowballers.
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CanvasCrusader👑 Legend1d
39
use jobber to automate your quotes with the new rates built in, makes it less personal.
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DrainDevil⭐ Expert1d
59
good call, i've been using it for a year now.
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FittingFiend3⭐ Expert7h
0
how much did you bump your rates by to piss em off that bad?
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RoachRidder🏆 Master1d
6
does it handle the angry calls?
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BugHunterPro⭐ Expert1d
62
kinda, templates help.
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RollerRabbit⭐ Expert1d
63
worth the sub fee imo.
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ZapZapZoe⭐ Expert1d
37
don't do it all at once, phase in a 5% hike every quarter so they don't riot.
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FrameFreak5🏆 Master1d
28
smart, i'll try that on my next round.
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HueHustler🏆 Master1d
36
yeah gradual is key in this market.
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AirflowAce⭐ Expert1d
29
offer a loyalty discount for long-term clients to soften the blow, worked for me on mulch installs.
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JoltJester2👑 Legend1d
8
solid idea, tying it to service add-ons?
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RustyNailBob4🏆 Master1d
110
texas heat makes everything worse, customers expect summer rates to stay low.
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TenYearVet15⭐ Expert1d
65
tie your rate increase to rising gas prices, show em the receipts from shell or whoever.
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GarageGuru2🏆 Master1d
9
receipts? hell yeah, makes it factual.
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PipeLord42028👑 Legend1d
35
PE firms are buying up every landscaping outfit and jacking prices anyway, might as well join em.
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SparkPlugPro2⭐ Expert1d
63
those bastards are ruining the game for all of us.
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HammerTimeGuy5🏆 Master1d
61
screw the PE vultures, they're why insurance is insane now too.
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HueHustler5⭐ Expert1d
41
i feel ya, been fighting the same battle with my fence installs.
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OpenerOperator6⭐ Expert1d
11
fences too? thought it was just us in lawns.
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NailBender🏆 Master1d
66
nah, all general trades getting hit.
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DustBunnyHunter3👑 Legend1d
54
yep, universal pain.
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AmpedUpAlex⭐ Expert1d
93
same in my area, clients ghost after the quote.
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PlumbDumb🏆 Master1d
44
hang in there, the good ones stick around.
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DirtBagLandscaper6👑 Legend1d
63
appreciate that, needed to hear it.
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SweepKing2🏆 Master1d
50
fr, the loyal ones pay the bills.
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TileTamer⭐ Expert1d
148
and tip better too lol.
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PaintSplatter🏆 Master1d
126
customers in texas think $40 cuts are forever, wake up call time.
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PestPatrol5⭐ Expert1d
34
watch out for the ones who threaten bad reviews, block em quick.
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DrainDevil2⭐ Expert1d
54
had a guy try to negotiate down to $30, told him bye and he came crawling back.
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HammerTimeHank2🏆 Master1d
146
lmao classic.
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WireWhisperer5⭐ Expert1d
62
pro tip: bundle rates with seasonal cleanups to justify the hike.
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GarageGuru5🏆 Master1d
48
frustrated as hell, been doing this 8 years and still scraping by.
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MopMaster⭐ Expert1d
99
customer called me cheap after i raised for gutter cleaning, what a joke.
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TenYearVet9👑 Legend1d
31
the market's the villain here, not us.
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TidyTim🏆 Master1d
52
insurance hikes are killing small ops like mine.
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SuperheatSam⭐ Expert6h
0
dont bend on those rates or insurance will bury you like it did my buddy who lost his whole operation after slashing prices to keep pissed customers.
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PadlockPro⭐ Expert1d
41
tell me about it, workers comp doubled last year.
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BugBlaster5⭐ Expert1d
60
group up with local guys for better rates on supplies, offsets some.
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ColorCraze2⭐ Expert1d
14
where do i find that group?
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RollerRanger6⭐ Expert23h
45
proud of you for pulling the trigger, i waited too long and lost margin.
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PipeDreamer19⭐ Expert23h
41
never skimp on explaining the why, clients get it when you break down costs.
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KeyMaster4⭐ Expert23h
6
sharbite your way out? nah, just raise and own it.
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GutterGuard⭐ Expert22h
58
gas alone up 20%, they can deal.
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DuctDoctor10⭐ Expert22h
52
i feel bad for the old ladies on fixed income tho.
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SudsSquad⭐ Expert22h
48
yeah but you gotta eat.
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ScrewLooseSam⭐ Expert22h
34
ten years in and still hate rate talks.
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TenYearVet6👑 Legend21h
48
gets easier, promise.
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SparkPlugSam2🏆 Master21h
41
walked into a job where the last guy underbid and now im cleaning up.
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WireWizard👑 Legend21h
28
those PE rollups are the real enemy, swallowing independents whole.
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RoofRat8⭐ Expert20h
41
damn right, fight the power.
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SawdustSavant24🏆 Master20h
58
controversial take: charge what the traffic will bear, no apologies.
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CastIronCrusher🏆 Master20h
41
i hear ya, one client flipped but i gained two new ones.
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TidyTim🏆 Master19h
66
the biz wouldn't survive without the increase.
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SawdustSavant7⭐ Expert19h
112
insurance companies are worse than customers.
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DustBunnyBoss2⭐ Expert19h
43
fr, premiums up 30%.
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KeyMasterMike3⭐ Expert19h
68
don't let em bully you back down.
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LockPickLarry⭐ Expert18h
47
lost my cool on a haggler last week, felt good.
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ShingleShark18⭐ Expert18h
18
asking: how do you word the rate increase email?
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FixItFelix5🏆 Master18h
63
the big corps are pricing us out anyway.
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ThermostatTitan⭐ Expert18h
67
frustrated with clients who shop around on angi.
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SolderSage⭐ Expert17h
56
PE is coming for all of us next.
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KeyMasterKev3⭐ Expert17h
41
saw a guy get sued over a rate dispute, scary.
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RollerRogue8⭐ Expert17h
33
i get it, rates gotta go up or we fold.
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PeakPitcher🏆 Master16h
108
same struggle with my deck builds.
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DeckBuilderDan👑 Legend16h
54
proud i stuck to my guns, revenue up 15%.
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TermiteTerror2⭐ Expert16h
135
funny story: client paid the new rate then asked for a discount, i laughed.
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MoveMaster3🏆 Master15h
70
pro move: offer payment plans to ease the sting.
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ColorBlindPainter⭐ Expert15h
54
i feel that pain daily.
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RodentRider2⭐ Expert15h
66
PE assholes ruining everything.
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PalletPro🏆 Master15h
36
don't touch that hot stove, aka underpricing.
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JoistJockey7🏆 Master14h
68
the corps are the problem, not the clients.
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DirtBagLandscaper⭐ Expert14h
51
shut up and pay up, that's my new motto.
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AmpedApprentice4⭐ Expert14h
64
i hear ya brother.
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FixItFelix10👑 Legend14h
30
tried it and biz tanked temporarily.
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FridgeFixer⭐ Expert13h
61
PE buyouts are a trap.
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PeakProspector2⭐ Expert13h
37
warn ya, document every convo.
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ShingleShark17⭐ Expert13h
55
solid advice.
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FlushMaster3000⭐ Expert13h
53
yeah, cover your ass.
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PadlockPro⭐ Expert12h
65
proud of sticking with the raise.
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DeadboltDave🏆 Master12h
150
lmao my client brought a calculator to argue.
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ConduitCrafter👑 Legend12h
32
use square for deposits to lock em in.
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NailGunNinja5⭐ Expert11h
60
i feel the rage.
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V7357🌱 Newcomer8h
0
man, i get it, these texas customers throw a fit every time i bump my rate even a buck, like they think were still in 2019 with gas at two bucks a gallon.
