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Than expect the quality you receive in return to be squeezed, as you just found out.
We have always received excellent quality in the past for even less ($20.00). It's easy for you to make smart aleck comments, but wait until you are a senior on a fixed income.
Based upon your comment, then the millennial generation must have a poor work ethic, because someone in my generation would do excellent quality work for the agreed-upon price. Moderator cut: unnecessary
I don't know how big our lawn is...not very big, but $25 is the going rate in our town for the average house in the city. I'd say $25 for 20 minutes of work is pretty good.
How do you not know how big your property is?
You were wrong to try and knock down the price they offered.
Moderator cut: unnecessary
Maybe that is why we see less teens doing this type of work. As one poster said you expected the same level of service that you get from professionals from these kids.
You were annoyed they asked if you had a lawnmower they could use so they both work at the same time.
Do you expect teens to drive around in a pickup truck pulling a trailer with lawn equipment?
I'm surprised you didn't ask if they were insured...LOL.
The man who usually does our lawn mowing became very ill and told us he can't do it anymore, so we were looking for someone new. Because we live way up North, our lawn just needed to be mowed for the first time this year.
Two teenagers came to the front door (about age 15) and asked if we wanted our lawn mowed. I was thrilled, because teens don't usually do lawn mowing anymore like they used to...at least around here. I asked what they would charge. The response was $15 if you just want the front done...$30 if you want the back, too. I held back my chuckle, because I never heard of doing half a lawn before. I told them that $25 is the going rate in our town for the whole lawn. Our lawn is not very big. They said "whatever."
Then one of the teens turned to me and said, "Do you have a lawn mower? We only have one, and we can work twice as fast with two?" Usually people supply their own equipment. I told him that our power mower isn't working right now, but that we have a push mower he could use. He said, "No."
Ten minutes later they were at the door and asked if I had something they could drink. I told them that I could give them a couple bottles of water. They said, "Is that all you got?" I just said, "Yes," and gave them the water. Ten minutes later they were done with the entire lawn. Usually it would take our last guy an hour to do the lawn. They did a terrible job (crooked lines all over the place, missed areas, and no weed wacking), but I figured, at least it is mowed for now...we'll get someone else for the next time.
I've never heard of asking to use someone else's equipment, then asking for a beverage to drink, and offering to do half a lawn. I hate to start a thread criticizing the millenial generation, but is this the millenial generation behavior that everyone is talking about...or just these particular kids? I was happy to see a couple enterprising teenagers, but the whole experience was almost funny.
Thats actually pretty atypical for most of the early teens I run across. They're usually content to just sit around and play XBox, rather than get out and pound the streets drumming up some money. I applaud these kids for doing so, and I'm sure they'll refine their process as time goes by. Personally, i would have provided some constructive feedback to help them going forward - let's hope they've got someone in their life that can do this.
How old are you? I'm looking to make some rash generalizations about your age group based on a very small sample size which is what you are trying to do here.
Exactly.
Also, the time taken to compose the original post could have been better spent offering some useful business advice to the teens, which would be far more productive and far more in-line with the "boot-strapping" and "small business" mantras we see repeated on this forum daily.
Quite frankly, I'm happy to see them out working. And they did have their own equipment - they just asked to borrow a 2nd lawnmower to finish faster, which makes sense. Clearly, they need to plan things out a bit better (do a better job mowing, bring their own water, etc.) but at least they ARE WORKING vs. playing video games.
And watch - we'll get a thread any time now on this forum bashing young people for refusing to "take a job mowing lawns." No matter what they do, it is always "young people's fault" that everything is the way it is... even though the generation doing the complaining is also the one that has been in power straight through the wrecking of this economy...
I had a teenager do my lot for several months and the first time around he did a really crappy job but I went outside with him to show him again what needed to be done and worked alongside him for a while to show him the tricky spots and how to maneuver around them. For the next several months before he went off to college he did a really good job ... and he brought his own water with him!
To the OP I would say this, it sounds like you came across a couple of 15yo who are just entering the workforce and don't really have a clue what they're doing. What did you expect? At least they are putting in some kind of effort.
is this the millenial generation behavior that everyone is talking about...or just these particular kids? I was happy to see a couple enterprising teenagers, but the whole experience was almost funny.
Let's see. A sample size of two would demonstrate the behavior of exactly two teenagers to you, would it not? And BTW, it isn't uncommon at all for yard guys to quote for the front. Every yard guy I've ever had quotes for just the front and the front and the back. Since the front is the only part the HOA sees, many people get it done more often And $30 is the going rate for even small yards nowadays. I have a small sandy yard, and I'm happy to pay $30. Asking for a drink doesn't seem out of line to me either. If it's very hot outside, and in Texas it always is, I always OFFER my yard man a drink when he's finished. That's common courtesy, in my view.
My granddaughter is 14 and I can tell you now that she (although I love her dearly) has no work ethic because she was raised by a mother who has no work ethic. Simplified.....her mother has lived off the state's dime the majority of her life and my granddaughter has seen that you can get money and food for free without lifting a finger. I realized this when she was five years old and in the pay window at McDonald's. I was paying for our food using my bank debit card and my granddaughter says to me, "Nana, you can't pay for McDonald's with a food stamp card!" It was at that point I knew this child was walking in her mother's footsteps.
I doubt that $5.00 more would have encouraged these kids to do a better job. All the adults that advertise in the paper and spend an hour on your lawn list $25 for an average size city lot.
Then you better hire one of those adults because I doubt those kids will be back.
We have always received excellent quality in the past for even less ($20.00). It's easy for you to make smart aleck comments, but wait until you are a senior on a fixed income.
Based upon your comment, then the millennial generation must have a poor work ethic, because someone in my generation would do excellent quality work for the agreed-upon price. You must be a millennial.
I see your point and offer a different perspective.
This winter in Baltimore, the snowstorms were brutal. I found out that a neighbor's 13 year old grandson was shoveling snow for others before one of the storms. Right before leaving for work one night, I asked a friend (Barbara) up the block to have him shovel my sidewalks and I would pay him when I returned.
The next morning, I drove home and found that he did a fantastic job. Went to his house and gave him $20.00 and thanked him. He looked stunned and said, "Miss. Barbara gave me a dollar." I thought he was joking. He was telling the truth....I spoke to her later that day. She actually said that he didn't deserve more than a buck or two since he shovels for 5-6 neighbors each storm. I just shook my head.
Different generations......
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I just said, "Yes," and gave them the water. Ten minutes later they were done with the entire lawn. Usually it would take our last guy an hour to do the lawn. They did a terrible job (crooked lines all over the place, missed areas, and no weed wacking), but I figured, at least it is mowed for now...we'll get someone else for the next time.
And $30 is the going rate for even small yards nowadays. I have a small sandy yard, and I'm happy to pay $30. Asking for a drink doesn't seem out of line to me either. If it's very hot outside, and in Texas it always is, I always OFFER my yard man a drink when he's finished. That's common courtesy, in my view.
