As a small company in a suburb of Atlanta, LAWNESCAPES, the name used for the commercial side of the business, and The Miracle Worker, the name used for residential clients, uses this lawn maintenance agreement more or less as a way to remind customers of the services they ordered and the frequency of those services.
"I used to not use contracts at all for my residential customers," explained Carl Fuller, chief operating officer of the College Park, Ga-based company. "But some of my clients would come down with selective amnesia. So, I created this form as a reminder to them of what services they asked for."
The form doesn't bind the client strictly to the services outlined in the agreement, Fuller added. "If I have a good client who asks for something in addition to what's in the agreement, I'll do it without batting an eye," he stressed. "That's good customer service."
| LAWNESCAPES/The Miracle Worker Ground Maintenance Agreement |
Name: LAWNESCAPES, hereafter referred to as contractor, will provide _______________________ hereafter referred to as Client, with the maintenance program outlined below: LANDSCAPE SERVICES MOWING & TRIMMING: Contractor will mow all turf areas as agreed upon. Trash to be picked up before mowing. String trimming will be performed when necessary. Walkways to be edged as necessary. Cost: ___________ TURF FERTILIZATION & WEED CONTROL: The following applications will be made: Cost: ___________ PEST CONTROL: Inspect shrubs & turf for insects and treat as necessary. Cost: $50 (if desired by clients) SHRUB TRIMMING: All shrubs & ground cover shall be trimmed as necessary (as determined by contractor) to maintain a neat appearance. Only shrubs that can be trimmed from the ground or with a 5' ladder, will be trimmed. Shrubs that require special equipment will incur additional fees for the client. Cost: ___________ (Determined by the cost of equipment and labor) LAWNESCAPES/MIRACLE WORKER More business forms can be found in the Business Tools section of Lawn & Landscape Online. To submit your form for inclusion in this section, e-mail Cheryl Green at cgreen@gie.net. |
Fuller, who has been in business for about four years and employs two people year round and three in the height of the season, related that he didn't want the form to come across to the customer as a pressure tactic. He just wanted his clients to have something to refer back to if they forgot when their lawn was supposed to be serviced.
Fuller stated that he used a template in Microsoft Word to create the form and that he modeled the wording after other agreement forms he's seen in Lawn & Landscape Online's business forms section. So far the form is meeting all of Fuller's needs, however, he might have to adjust it in the future as his business grows.
"Right now, I'm mainly servicing residential with a few smaller commercial accounts," he stressed. "As I grow and add bigger commercial properties to my client list, I might have to reword the form to include services offered to those clients."
With a 60 percent growth last year, Fuller is hopeful that his business will continue to grow, even in a sluggish economy.
"I expect to keep growing at an appropriate rate and that things will keep going well for us," he enthused. - Cheryl Green
The author is the Internet Editor for Lawn & Landscape Online.
