Raising rates on commercial lawn contracts and getting pushback from office parks

Man, I've been doing weekly mows and edging for these office parks in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for years now, but with fuel costs up and my crew needing raises, I gotta bump my rates from $350 per acre to $425 starting next season. The property managers are already bitching about budgets, saying it'll hurt their bottom line after the last drought jacked up water bills. I tried explaining that my Stihl trimmers and John Deere mowers aren't cheap to maintain, but they just want the same service for the same price. Anyone else dealing with this crap? Feels like I'm the only one trying to keep up with inflation out here. Saw a similar rant on r/landscaping last week, but no real solutions.

those property managers are the worst, always squeezing every penny while their lawns look like shit anyway.

itemized your quote to show the fuel and labor breakdown, that usually shuts them up.

hit 6 figures this year by dropping the cheap ones and focusing on premium commercial. worth it.

offer a multi-year contract at the new rate with a small discount to lock them in.

tried raising on my HOA contracts and half bailed, now im busier chasing new ones. headache.

fuel alone is killing me, up 30% since last year on my truck runs.

hired a new guy last month to handle the pushback calls, saves my sanity lol.

dont forget to add a fuel surcharge clause in your contracts next time.

commercial clients in my area pay up no problem, guess location matters.

proud of sticking to my guns, quoted $500/acre on a new park and they signed without a peep.

show them competitor rates or walk away, plenty of fish.

ive been using Jobber to track all my rate changes and it helps justify to clients.

PE firms buying up management companies are making it worse, they just cut costs across the board.

layer in value like seasonal cleanups or pest control upsells when raising rates.

winters hit different up here but my commercial snow removal side hustle covers the lawn losses.

someone in Lawn Care Professionals FB group suggested bundling with tree trimming, doubled my retention.

watched Mike Andes video on pricing strategies, changed everything for the better.

clients ghosting after rate hikes? send a polite reminder of your value with before/after pics.

finally raised to $400/acre and my margins are back in the green, no regrets.

yeah same here, the ones that stayed are the good ones anyway.

start small, raise 10% first then more later, less shock.