Cemeteries, customer retention and more

Q. Although we have been providing mowing services for commercial properties for many years, we have never worked in a cemetery before. We have the opportunity to bid on four locations ranging from 35 to 70 acres per area. All the cemeteries are old with many monuments, markers, etc. Does anyone have experience with this that could provide some guidance with production rates? 

They are currently being maintained in house. The current procedure is to mow between the rows of grave markers keeping a one foot distance away from all monuments and markers. Line trimming finishes up the missed areas and around the markers themselves and finish with blowing off any grass or debris from the stones/markers. The mowing is fairly straightforward; however, the line trimming is a huge variable. We estimate there are as many as 1,000 markers per acre in the older areas of each site. There are very few areas with less than 500 markers per acre. Only 22 cuts per season which is about six less than we normally provide.

• Are 75-100 markers-per-hour line trimming reasonable or possible working carefully around the gravestones and flowers?
• Any idea of a combined mow/trim/blow rate per acre? Would it be five, six, seven hours per acre combined?
• Any advice on crew size or configurations?
  
  

A. In working on cemetery properties, you must be mindful of the extra production time required to string trim and small mow a lot of area. As landscapers, we get used to using larger, more efficient equipment and although there are some areas in a cemetery where this works, most of the work is tedious and time consuming.

When bidding on this type of project, figure one half acre per man-hour to know how long your crew will take to complete the mowing each week.

It is also necessary to figure in some minor repair or replacement work as humans make mistakes. Doing maintenance at gravesites is somewhat risky.

Imagine what you would think if, for example, a dear relative’s headstone got chipped by someone hitting it with a zero-turn rider and you will get the picture.

That being said, there is some upside to this type of work. You would be pleasantly surprised to know how much extra money you can make by doing annual flower planting, cleanup and mulching and trimming the one or two bushes around each headstone.

Rich Arlington, consultant, Rich Arlington & Associates

Q. What kind of customer retention should I be getting?

A. Retention rates vary depending on the life cycle of your business. In the early stages, when the owner is very technically involved in the applications and has daily contact with the customer, retention is very high at 85-90 percent.

As the business grows and matures, and the owner begins to transition from the field to the office and starts relying on field technicians, renewals drop to 75-80 percent.
 

Q. What add-ons are easy to add?

A. The three main add-on services would be grub control, aeration and PH control. These are all value-added services that traditionally fall outside the scope of basic lawn service.
 

Q. Should I use a payroll service?

A. A few factors should be considered when deciding on a payroll service. First, determine if you have the necessary accounting skills. If a mistake is made or a poor pay structure is being used, it could be costly. Another consideration would be the time needed to apply payroll to each pay period. If you are in the field, it is tough to stay on top of everything.

The last consideration is the complexity of your pay structure. If you have different pay structures or levels based on service or seniority, it may be easier to bring this service in-house than to work outside.

Jon Cundiff, president, Weed Man - Kansas City

Have a question for the experts? Send it to llexperts@gie.net.