A landscaper who usually charges $25 per cut, charged my elderly mother $80?

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A landscaper who usually charges $25 per cut, charged my elderly mother $80?

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He says its because she's not a regular client. I think it's an excessive rate, even if she's not a regular client. I think he is taking advantage of her because she his elderly. My mother was sheltered by my father and her mental state is declining. But, she insists that it's a good rate and won't look elsewhere. My mother is OCD about cleaning so what she thinks is a lot of leaves is actually a skimpy and very small amount of clean-up work to a normal person. This landscaper has barely any work to do and he is charging her way too much to do it.

Should I just let it go? It bothers me to see her taken advantage of this way.

Working Caregiver

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Caregiving - The belief that these guys are "illegal workers" because you feel they're overcharging your Mom is way off base. Do you think the teenagers that used to mow the lawns paid income taxes? The mortgage industry was fully staffed with "legal workers" and they ripped us all off.

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Six men for 15 minutes at $80 is only $13.33 per laborer. I note you said "lawns and grounds" so there is more than mowing going on there plus a truck and equipment. Be grateful you are not having to play for six plumbers.
If you try to save money by cutting once a month, you won't. It takes forever to mow and clean up so the price goes up.

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An important thing to me is that the person receives a living wage for their effort. Lawn work is seasonal, so the worker has to make enough in a few months to make up for the lesser amount of work in winter. They can't work when it rains. In the past 4 years in Alabama, it has rained A LOT. The person cutting the lawn has to load and transport the equipment, trim and do banks, mow, then use the blower before packing things back up. That is a lot of work and is often hot. It deserves a good wage and maybe a cold soda at the end. The landscaper has to feed a family and save for retirement, too.

I wish I were rich. I would pay the landscaper a lot. The work is hard and I am so grateful that there are others to do it.

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My lawn mowing guy charges $40 per cut, and that is weekly unless he feels the lawn doesn't need mowing [during a dry spell] he will not mow maybe 4 or 5 times during the season. At the end of fall when all the leaves are down, I pay him an extra $40 to blow all the leaves into the flower beds.

But I will see neighbors who use contractors with 4 guys mowing even if the lawn doesn't need it. Chances are they charge less per cut, but the bottom line is probably the same for the homeowner.

CaregivingNYC, it is better to mow every week when the lawn is growing then to wait 2 or 3 weeks.... then it becomes too thick and it takes the lawn mower person or crew much longer to mow as they need to keep going over the lawn numerous times.... then the cut strips will turn yellow.

Now my Dad uses the same lawn mowing person I do [I've had the same person for over 10 years now] but he has been charging my Dad $45 per cut and there is a reason for that.... Dad had a habit of calling the fellow and saying his lawn doesn't need mowing, and then the 2nd week it took the fellow longer to mow and clean up the cut strips.

And if a homeowner isn't a "regular client" it is not unusual to charge them much more, as the contractor probably needs to pay "over time" to his crew.

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I just checked and I overstated the lawn size here. It is only 0.15 acres. The bank just makes it seem huge when mowing. Having grass cut around here is expensive. It seems reasonable, though, when you consider the loading and transporting of equipment to get here. The gas used to be expensive, too. I know landscapers appreciate the lower prices of fuels at the moment.

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Thanks all. I guess you've put the price in perspective. The thing that bothers me is that those lawns used to be cut by teenagers with one solo push lawn mower--and then by one electric mower. The six workers is pure OVERKILL but that's the trend today.

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I know that here if you pay for the snow removal for the entire season and it snows an average amount you get an exceptionally good deal per-episode. If it hardly snows at all you wish you hadn't signed a contract. And if it snows more than usualy the landscaper does not have a great year!

If you can usually do it yourself and you hire someone just on a per-time basis you have to wait until all the regulars are serviced and pay way more than the usual average price if you had a contract.

If Mom is so meticulous about her yard, why not have a contract and lower rate?

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When caring for a client I was observing her mobile manicurist taking her to another room to be paid. I was concerned. I alerted the family to look into their mother's checkbook and what a shock we found. An $85 service was paid for by check in the amount of $300. The family instructed me to be on my toes the next week to see if the manicurist took my client into another room to be paid. I had asked the manicurist what her fee is and she said, "It varies." I was instructed to ask her this by the family. I asked her what the range is for a manicure and pedicure and she said "$85 and up." The client was again asked to pay $300.
The family went to the salon where the manicurist was employed and reported her to the salon owner. The manicurist was asked to return the overage and she was reported to her State Board. It is very common for elders and those who are vulnerable to have their innocence exploited. We have to be their advocates and always challenge injustice. If the landscaper is asked to give you a quote for service and you get that quote in writing, all parties will be better off. I do agree that $52 is a fair rate for landscaping. Just know ahead of time what you are going to be paying for. You can always ask that the work be customized, minimized etc.

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If your mom is OCD, she'll love having a weekly lawn service :)!

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An added note. I've always thought that $25 per week was too cheap. I think they should charge $65 per cut and come every two or three weeks. I have one neighbor who used two men who come by every three weeks to mow. Her lawn looks better than the neighbors who mow their lawns every week. That's OVERKILL and bad for your lawn unless your lawn is a golf course. But once again, it goes back to a poor business model that requires frequent visits in order to make a profit.

A landscaper who usually charges $25 per cut, charged my elderly mother $80?

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