What do others do when clients skip multiple weeks in a row? I have a situation where for years I was providing weekly services, and this year I’ve skip a certain property more times than I’ve serviced. How should I handle a discussion with the client? Should I be charging more the times I do show up?
One thing that helped us on the skip problem: stop pricing per cut and start pricing the season slot. We quote a season total (or a flat monthly) based on the number of scheduled visits, and the client pays that whether or not they wave us off a given week. Skips just get banked as extra visits later in the season, so we're never eating the route hole.
If you'd rather stay per-visit, two guardrails worth writing into the agreement: (1) skips require 48 hours notice or it's billed as a full visit, and (2) any cut after a skipped week is billed at 1.5x because you're double-cutting, bagging, and burning blade time. Say it as a cost fact, not a penalty — "grass past X inches takes two passes and about 40% more time, so that visit prices higher."
For the conversation itself, I'd frame it as re-quoting rather than confronting: "Looking at this season we serviced fewer visits than we scheduled, so the weekly rate doesn't fit anymore. I can move you to bi-weekly at [rate], or keep the weekly slot on a flat monthly." Gives them a real choice and gets you off the hook of chasing a mow schedule you don't control.
Yes, you should definitely be charging more—or setting a strict policy on skips.
When a lawn skips weeks, you’re dealing with double passes, heavy clippings, extra equipment strain, and extra time on site. You end up subsidizing their savings with your labor.
Here is how most guys handle this:
How to message them:
"Hey [Name], since we've skipped several services this season, the lawn requires double-passing and extra time to keep clean. To keep you on the route, we can either stick to a consistent weekly schedule at X, or transition you to a bi-weekly rate atY per cut to cover the additional labor. Let me know which works best for you!"
Bottom line: route density and predictable revenue are everything. Don't let a long-term client hold a spot on your route for free.
For me it would depend on why you had to skip service. If we had to skip because of aggressive dogs, or the customer leaving the gate locked even though we provide ample "On The Way" notices before arrival, I would still charge them the full amount because you spent the time driving to their property and the onus was on them to give you safe access. If it's things out of your control like weather or a flat tire for example, I'm more willing to provide a credit or discounted service because it wasn't the client's fault you couldn't service their yard.
