[thevillages2013]

Originally Posted by heyrey58

Hi all, newbie here..Village of Belle Aire..looking for reasonable lawn service for mowing, trimming, weeding. Got estimate from Massey, seems high and do we need grass cut weekly all year? Thanks in advance

So what is the estimate amount and when you mentioned weeding does that mean pulling weeds or just spraying and do you know if that is weeds in the flower/shrub areas or just the grass?

[Doris Marie]

We have prepaid full service for the year from MASSEY LAWNCARE. Their PREMIUM package for mowing, shrub trimming, edging, weeding, sraying for bugs,fertilizing, etc. They were good the first year spotty the second year, and this year downright horrible. We have gotten threats from the architectural review board saying we will be fined $50 per day until our front yard is brought back up to standards. Extreemly disappointed in MASSEY. Being SNOWBIRDS leaves us very vulnerable.
Looking for new company.

[SIRE1]

From what am hearing, the ability of being able to retain or hire workers is impacting most of the lawn and yard maintenance companies, just the same as it is for all of the other service companies. It seems like ALL companies are having a hell of a time of retaining employees, and an even harder time addressing absences due to Covid illnesses or quarantine requirements. I wouldn't be surprised if that is one of the reasons there has been a change in the performance of lawn care services lately. So finding a lawn service company that can handle both mowing and trimming may be really difficult. And you may want to be a little cautious about "firing" your current provider before you get a new one lined up. Just a word of caution and a suggestion for a little bit of understanding to be given to your current provider. It seems like they are facing the same situation as the restaurants and other companies around the country are experiencing. Who knows, if this keeps up we may have to start mowing our own lawn.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Originally Posted by SIRE1

From what am hearing, the ability of being able to retain or hire workers is impacting most of the lawn and yard maintenance companies, just the same as it is for all of the other service companies. It seems like ALL companies are having a hell of a time of retaining employees, and an even harder time addressing absences due to Covid illnesses or quarantine requirements. I wouldn't be surprised if that is one of the reasons there has been a change in the performance of lawn care services lately. So finding a lawn service company that can handle both mowing and trimming may be really difficult. And you may want to be a little cautious about "firing" your current provider before you get a new one lined up. Just a word of caution and a suggestion for a little bit of understanding to be given to your current provider. It seems like they are facing the same situation as the restaurants and other companies around the country are experiencing. Who knows, if this keeps up we may have to start mowing our own lawn.

This is all very true. Sadly. My perception is that MOST of the lawns in TV are so little that there is not a lot of money to be made taking care of one of them, so, the companies that thrive are the ones that optimize the process of lawns per manhour. Hence chrome plated v8 riding monsters to mow 100 sqft of the front yard in 12.5 seconds. (a little exaggerated). Combine the significant pressure to keep the man-hours per yard down and the constant churn of employees and the large number of "well off" owners that don't want to mow their yards, and you have a recipe for high prices and poor customer service.

We fired Massey because we have two large dogs that are allowed in our backyard (we have a CYV so they can't get out). We gave them instructions that they were NOT to go into the backyard unless they first rang our doorbell and let us know they were there, so we could ensure the dogs were in the house. 3 times they changed crews in the first year, and every time the new crew failed to get the instructions. 3 times our large dogs were let out of our yard to run free in the neighborhood - leaving us responsible. That was bad enough, but then the last new crew scalped our yard - down to the dirt. That was a year ago, and it still hasn't fully recovered. They did the same to several of our neighbor's yards. When we complained they sent a person out to inspect the damage. He said he was sorry, but the person driving the riding mower was unfamiliar with it and had set it too low. There was nothing they could do for us. Seriously? They got fired that day.

The next lawn care service was Fertigator, we gave them the same instructions. They also left the gate door open occasionally. The last time, I went out and said that I had left instructions that they were not to go into the backyard unless we were informed. The person I assumed was the crew leader YELLED at me, that they didn't have time. They rang the doorbell and we would never answer so they just went ahead and went into the backyard. So, they got fired that day. The instructions were not to try and if we didn't answer do it anyway, it was DO NOT go into the back yard unless we tell them to. PERIOD.

Now we have been waiting 3 weeks for the "new" lawn care service to start. They came by gave us a quote for what we wanted to be done. We accepted the quote and they told us they would start the next week. The next week came and went and they didn't show up. So we called, the person that answered said they had us down for only trimming bushes, which would happen next month. We told them we had the quote and it was mowing, weeding trimming, etc. full meal deal. They apologized for the confusion and said they would be out in the next week. The next week came and went and we called them again, they said they were swamped with COVID, etc. We suggested it would have been appropriate to call us and reschedule. They apologized and said they would be out before the end of the month. It is the 31st. They have not been here. If they are not here today, they will be fired too.

When we moved here, I purchased a good electric mower, edger, and trimmer, and leaf blowers. For the first couple of months, I did it all, it took almost 30 minutes every few weeks - not a big deal, but my wife talked me into letting someone else do it because I was facing major surgery. I agreed and sold my equipment. Today, I told my wife I was sick and tired of dealing with lawn care companies and I was going back to doing it myself as long as I am able.

There is a real opportunity for an enterprising person to create a company to do lawn care here. The idea I have is to have small franchises, of 2 or three people. Each franchise being basically independent and doing a small number of homes - like 4 or so per day, and doing total care. Charge a premium, but give premium customer care. There are a LOT of owners here that are unhappy with the big company solutions that don't work, and I would be willing to pay a premium. Heck, we paid Fertigator $1800 for a year ($150/mth) plus there were other payments for special-case work being done.

$150/mth for a small postage stamp Courtyard Villa? Seriously? I would pay that again, for a person that would actually reliably take care of my yard and landscaping.

[SIRE1]

One other thing we need to remember is that their are only so many people in the tri county area that provide these types of services and with The Villages continually growing, the demand for these services will stretch available manpower to the limit. Even though the population of Sumter county has grown considerably, that growth is primarily us Villagers. And we all want the same services. I suspect that the population of working age men and women in this same area hasn't grown in the same proportion as seniors, so the number of people to work in these service areas is getting stretched thin. Look at all the new homes built or going to be built south of 44 and consider how many additional workers it is going to require in order to provide services (including lawn & yard work). I sometimes wonder if the growth of The Villages will eventually exceed what the surrounding communities can provide for store, restaurants, and yes, lawn maintenance employees. Just a thought.