Preparing for a Lawn Service Visit

You've decided to free up some extra time in your busy week by hiring a lawn care service. Your first service visit is coming up and you're wondering what you might need to do to prepare your property for service. Here's a quick rundown on some things you should do to get your yard ready for your lawn service. Proper preparation will result in a smoother service experience for you and less frustration for your lawn crew. These are some general guidelines that you can use regardless of who your service provider is.

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Establish clear expectations up front

Before you ever hire a lawn service, be sure that you clarify the expectations you have for your service. Different companies offer different things within their standard scope of work. For example, some companies only include mowing, weedeating, and blowing in the standard service price. Be sure that you select a lawn care service which offers all the services you want.

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Clear Your Yard

You should remove items such as toys, hoses, lawn furniture, etc from your yard before each service visit as best as you can. If your lawn care provider removes trash and lawn debris (i.e. limbs, etc.) as part of their regular service, you don't have to worry about those particular objects. This goes back to knowing what is included in your provider's services.

Some lawn care providers have a policy of "over or around" meaning that they will not move or remove anything in your yard. If it is trash, they mow over it. If it is something like a hose or furniture, they mow around it. Other companies will charge extra for trash and debris removal.

Our company includes trash and debris collection and removal with our standard lawn care service, unless specifically asked not to by the client. Our crews will also move objects in the yard to cut the grass. However, you should keep in mind that even if your provider is willing to move obstacles, your yard is budgeted for a specific amount of time which you're paying for. If you are unable to move object from your yard, that is okay, just let your provider know this when getting a quote. That extra time needs to be considered in calculating man-hours for your job. If you don't specify this, don't be surprised if your provider increases your service price when it comes time to renew your service.

When in Doubt, Call the Office

This mainly applies if your service provider is a company rather than a one-man operation. If you are needing something extra outside of the normal scope of work or have questions about your service/bill/schedule/etc, call your provider's office and speak to the lawn maintenance operations manager. The crew that services your property likely don't have access to this information. Contacting the office will avoid any confusion or miscommunication.