This summer, numerous states across the country have experienced early heatwaves and above average temperatures.
This has made the already particularly weather-dependent lawn care season even more difficult, says Eric Lehmann, vice president of business development at Rich Green Lawns, based in Howell, New Jersey.
“The biggest problem we are facing is the extreme heat and stuff that we typically face later in the season,” he explains. “We just got off a 10-day heatwave where every day was 90+ degrees. That’s weather we typically see in August — not the end of June.”
Lehmann adds that working around the challenges caused by the extreme heat have been the biggest obstacles so far this season.
“The troubles that come with that are some properties deteriorate when it gets too hot and some materials can’t be applied if it’s too hot,” he says.
Still, Rich Green Lawns has been doing what it can to continue steering the ship toward success despite the hurdles.
“We come in earlier those days when it’s going to be up over 90 degrees,” he says. “We try to just ask for forgiveness from our customers and for patience. As soon as weather conditions allow, we’ll be there. We always want to do an effective, safe application, so there is only so much you can do.
“We’ve been coming in on Saturdays, too,” Lehmann adds. “That’s another thing we don’t typically do this time of year, but we’re trying to get as many people done as possible.”
Start times have gotten earlier all so crews won’t be out in the heat of the day risking their health and safety.
“We’re pulling our technicians earlier when it gets that hot for their safety and ours,” Lehmann says.
Overall, Lehmann says the business hasn’t taken a big hit — and customers have been sympathetic to any changes that have needed to be made.
“My biggest takeaway with customers has always been that as long as you communicate with them and let them know what’s happening, they’re very forgiving,” he says. “It’s when you don’t show up or don’t tell them you’re not coming that they get frustrated. We try to keep as open a line of communication as possible.”
Lehmann suggests in times like these that lawn care companies be as proactive as possible with communication — and even give customers actionable advice about things they can do on their end to beat the heat.
“We send out newsletters, blogs, emails, social media posts and stuff along those lines with different techniques they can do to help things when it’s this hot,” he says. “So, lawn cutting techniques where you cut it higher, and information on different and proper watering schedules. You want longer waterings. Some people want to do it three times a day for 10 minutes each, but it’s much more beneficial to do it every other day for 30 to 40 minutes. We try our best to educate them.”
