There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling as though you’re being duped in some way when hiring a service because you don’t fully understand its inner workings. In every business there are “insider secrets” and it’s no different in lawn care.
The fact is, there are lawn care secrets that you ought to know if you truly want to make the best decision for your lawn. While there are plenty of companies who would rather you didn’t know these secrets (and who might take advantage of the fact that you don’t know how the industry works), we truly hate to see that happen. That’s because it ultimately does our industry a disservice by making bad practices seem the “norm.”
It’s why we’re rounding up a list of the lawn care business secrets we believe you ought to know.
One thing that we run into a lot is that homeowners like the idea of a “name they know.” A big, national company can be appealing for this reason alone. But those in the industry know that bigger isn’t always better when it comes to lawn care.
Oftentimes, with a huge national company, homeowners just know the name because they’ve invested millions of dollars into marketing and getting their name out there.
A better way to shop for lawn care is to spend time on a company’s website and really get to know who they are. If it’s a national company, you want to know what the local branch is like, not the company’s national reputation.
Online reviews are incredibly valuable in this regard as well. Instead of just taking the company’s word for it, you can see what others have to say.
While there are plenty of lawn care companies who would love for you to shop on name alone, as an educated lawn care consumer, we commend you for taking the time to explore your options and look beyond the marketing noise.
Among the lawn care secrets out there, we often find that many homeowners assume that all lawn care products are created equally. Whatever one lawn care company is using must be the same as another.
But the truth is, some materials are more expensive and therefore work better than others. Whether it’s for weed control, pests, or fertilization, there are a wide variety of product options and not all companies are investing equally.
The sad truth is that some lawn care companies would prefer you didn’t know this. They want to capitalize on the misconception that all lawn care products are the same as they’re investing in cheap products that will get you subpar results. In fact, investing in higher quality materials is one of the reasons why the lawn care cost can also vary from company to company.
Another area where not all lawn care companies are created equally is in training and experience. This is a lawn care secret as we find that many homeowners assume that all technicians have been trained the same way. But the fact is, some companies care more about training than others. This should matter to homeowners because it can impact the quality of the work that they’re receiving on their property.
At Master Lawn, we ensure that all of our technicians are licensed applicators. But a lawn care business secret that you should know is that some companies have just one individual that is licensed and then registers other technicians under them. This is a pretty common practice in lawn care since experience costs more. Lawn care companies get away with charging less by hiring less-experienced people and failing to invest in training them.
Lawn care secrets #2 and #3 converge with the fact that if you’ve hired a company that uses subpar products and/or doesn’t have well-trained people, your lawn may not be getting what it really needs to thrive.
This can happen when you have a lawn care technician who rushes through the job and doesn’t apply enough product. Or, it can happen if your lawn care company is not investing in a wide variety of products so that they have the right product for your exact need. Lawns are not all the same and even you and your neighbor could have completely different needs. Certain weeds require specialized controls and if your lawn care company is not investing in them, your lawn care results are going to fall short.
It’s not necessarily a lawn care secret that the lawn care industry has a fairly high turnover rate of employees. But in addition to needing to be wary of companies who have a revolving door of employees (and therefore might offer you subpar service), you must also be wary of the small, fly-by-night lawn care companies out there.
Unfortunately, we have heard from clients who have had past encounters with a lawn care company like this. This is a common problem in our industry. These are the kind of one-man-and-a-truck type of businesses that don’t really have the resources they need to perform great lawn care. Even if they have a few crew members working for them, they aren’t investing in what your lawn needs to look and perform its best. Like we’ve talked about in our other lawn care secrets, products and training really do matter.
Some of the red flags that you’ve encountered a fly-by-night company that isn’t going to be around long (because of poor service or even worse, because they’re a scam), is if they ask for cash upfront, work with a verbal only agreement, or they have a rock bottom price that’s cheaper than any others. As with anything in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
We understand that it can be challenging and sometimes overwhelming to try and be a wise and educated consumer. We are frustrated by those companies who would rather keep you in the dark or even play a role in furthering misconceptions. That hurts the industry as a whole. 
At Master Lawn, we do not keep lawn care secrets. We value honesty and transparency in everything that we do. It’s the whole reason why we write articles like this. We appreciate the opportunity to play a role in guiding you toward being a better-educated consumer. In the end, we truly believe it makes our industry better.
Are you looking for a lawn care company in Memphis, TN, or Northern MS that won’t keep you in the dark? Talk to a lawn care expert, choose from 3 program options, and become the master of your lawn.
