In the landscaping business you need to cut deals to people who agree to use your services every 2 – 3 weeks. You have to line up properties in certain areas to avoid driving all over the place to keep costs down. You dependably show up to take care of your client as agreed. You find the person who agreed to getting the lower rate already have their property serviced by somebody else… really is a piss off. Just scamming to get a deal the first time. —Not impressed with peoples ethics.
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2014.
“You need to cut deals” is where you lose me. As a business, if you were providing a good rate for reasonable service the first time, you wouldn’t have to cut a deal. Customers want deals because they feel that the business is out to screw the customer for every last penny, which especially in the service industry is a big concern, because the average person seems to think overhead for a business is 1/3 the cost of retail, and in a lot of cases, service providers have a reputation of screwing customers. As someone who’s negotiated contracts with service providers for a business, if someone came to me with a good deal right from the get go, I was more likely to sign right away, and I respected those businesses for not dicking me around, despite me paying a little more for their services. I respect the business, and the businesses respects their customers. I got better customer service, and they got reliable income from a reliable customer. 9 times out of 10 I went local, as opposed to the guys with the big green trucks; who, by the way, provide much better pricing and service overall.
Instead of being so negative about it (and insulting your client base) maybe think that there’s a reason why this customer came to you in the first place, because I’m sure that they went to the big guys first, and what can you do to win them back. Finally, do written contracts, not verbal agreements… Unless you’re doing it on a cash basis without paperwork. In which case, that’s called tax evasion which does come on paper, and you need to consider this as a danger of running your business in this fashion.
This is called bid shopping and its pretty greasy. I know where you are coming from OB
when a friend and used to do this, years back, we had to sniff out our clients. a lot of work involved. then we decided hell, we’ll put an ad in the paper.and lo and behold, terranova landscapers was born.
when we started, there was maybe 2 or 3 people doing this, in the second year, there were about 10. and everyone trying to cut each others throats. after 5 years of this shit,david and i sold out to edmunds bros. and paid off what we owed.
wehad by that time terranova, green thumb nursery sods, bauld construction, g and d trucking, c and d salvage, and a few more satilite concerns going. money was good, we paid far more than most did, in 5 years, we were the top in halisucks, with 55 people working for us. but my partner got bored doing the same thing day in/out, as did i, so we sold out.
but i know where you are coming from, o.p., it’s a dog eat dog world. best of luck.
by the way, terranova means new earth.
I’m confused. Terra Nova began as a mom and pop outfit started back in the 70s. Was there a second Terra Nova around?
your right scooter. this terrnova was formed by a group of ex-toronto cops doing landscaping for penguins in the falklands.
You have just learned a verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it is written on. Get an attorney to draw up a general contract where you can fill in date, time, and cost and have your client sign it.
Damn penguin-leanin’ ex-cops taking our jobs *shakes fist*
terranova was never a mom and pop deal. fuck you and your penguins too.it was started in the later part of 1974.
Was this before or after you were a ‘cop’ (read: mall security) in Toronto and before you taught at Dalhousie law, and before you joined the military to fight in the Falklands, and before you started your successful Amway business or after?
Ok. I’m calling you on this one LS.
I’ll use a real name because the husband half is deceased. Mosher started the business circa ’76, you lying sack of shit.
So, if you started all these successful businesses you’ve built and sold, taught at dal law school, were a cop in Toronto, have your own successful security company, have a VERY lucrative Amway pyramid scheme goin’ on, and you are a ‘veteran’ (Falklands), why is it that you can’t afford false teeth, or laundry detergent to clean the cat piss smell off your clothes?
Too busy spending your vast wealth on your 4 pack a day habit?
Sadly, you’re not laughing. You’re sitting in your scummy apartment (which I can only imagine smells lovely) behind your computer coming up with more lies to spout off to try and make yourself NOT look like a lying sack of shit who mocks the physically disabled, sexually harasses women 1/2 and 2/3s your age and posts pictures of other people’s children on the internet (whilst disclosing that her family doesn’t have enough money to properly care for her and lying about getting her grandmother’s consent because she happens to live in your building – btw: grandparent consent doesn’t even exist unless they have physical custody, FYI).
And if you REALLY didn’t care, you wouldn’t be responding to the bait. It’s so easy to get you worked up. haha.
good bye kitty, nice to see you going. and take your little idiot friends with you. you won’t be missed, in all your piggish glory. and you must get over your obsession of me, it isn’t mentally healthy.
Scooter is correct. The only Terra Nova Landscaping Co ever registered in NS is the one Scooter stated. Incorporated on 20 Feb 76, amalgamated on 31 Mar 01. And before you ask, all companies, current or defunked is on the Joint Stocks database.
LOL who said I was going?
I wouldn’t let a shit stain like you affect me to the point of leaving an online message board.
Especially since it’s fun to get you all worked up. Everyone around here knows you’re full of shit and you are honestly embarrassing yourself when you post here. Call me a pig all you want: I still have all my teeth 😉
yes tim they were, but they were listed as incorperated as a limited. we were not, just terranova landscapng, notice that terranova is one word for my old business. there’s were 2 words i believe, and we never went thru joint stocks to register.
not when 2 guys start up with something like a couple shovels, picks, a wheel barrow, and an old 1962 gmc truck. so i guess you are part right.
Reminds me of the time I started Sub Way restaurants. Notice it’s two words. Just me and a buddy and some mustard and ham. We only had 1 sandwich artist at first, but she trained others. Then back around when we got some old timey wallpaper of the old NY subway systems, I sold it it lock stock and barrell to some American gentlemen. So as you can see, fart noise.