Everyone's full on, they have been since late Spring and still the work crops up, all alongside your regular weekly commitments in looking after clients' gardens. Have you got the time to go on holiday right now?
For some folk - us included - summer school holidays mean it's the only time of year to go away, with the attendant high costs and the massive impact on your full-on gardening routine. We haven't holidayed for a while now and it was time to take a break. How would the business cope?
Having got back very late last Friday and with six working days now under my belt now I know it's internal planning and external communications that are key to making it happen :->
Specifically....
Moving my diary forward by one or two days for regular garden maintenance (RGM) clients from three weeks prior to going away, in some cases. One day shorter than a 7 day average visit for 2 or 3 times a year makes no difference to the quality of the garden.......if it's planned for.
Completing one-off quotes with the understanding that this business is busy and can deliver/beat expectations in September/October/beyond.
Planning my diary for our return from holiday so that a) clients are happy, and b) so am I! With regard to client happiness: I specifically planned to cut two lawns last Saturday since I knew clients were due back one day later than us; my other spare time was spent at my most profitable client - deliver first where expected. With regard to (b) my happiness, I've been able to rearrange my diary from when I get back off holiday into a routine that helps me - childcare, placing jobs geographically together, time regime, etc, etc....... One week off the sand and sea and it feels pretty good.
Finally......client communication. You can make the best plans in your head but without sign up from another party it isn't worth the effort. IMO you should always work for people who understand you - if not you're always going to feel 'difficult' and find the work hard. So perhaps the explaining to clients bit that I'm not going to be here at one of the most important times of the year was slightly easier at this end than it can be sometimes. But because they understand this business and know me because I actively work with them...it wasn't an issue.
So....would YOU plan on a holiday right now?
Cheers, Eugene
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Got to say I find this odd. Why are the summer school holidays the only time you can go away? When I was at school, we had the autumn and winter half terms, and the Christmas holidays.
I think the kids would really benefit from learning that the family have to fit in around the breadwinner's work commitments, and that they can go somewhere hot in the middle of winter because they're lucky he/she is in a job that allows it!
You have to accept that seasonal work is, well, seasonal? Work every hour when it's summer, and get a proper break in the winter, rather than scratching around for miserable jobs in the rain. Get kids to see what the real world involves, they'll thank you later.
IMO, trying to convince those valuable clients that you need to "reschedule" them in summer, but you expect them to pay you the monthly standing order in winter, just doesn't make any business sense.
Fact is guys, it hasn't been an issue. Maybe I explained without clarity?
We both needed a holiday, as all people do......but really, we needed a holiday.
I dealt with client expectations without compromise - I wouldn't have misunderstanding clients in the first place :->
What I posed was a question for all practioners - would you do it - go on holiday and if you did. because you had to, how would you professionally deliver on your contracts?
Cheers, Eugene
[Edit: once our children were occupied when on holiday, and my lovely wife and I actually had a chance to speak without interruption, we decided 'holidays across Christmas' was the way forward. LOL...just as we always had our holidays before two children came along :->) ]
Sorry, but whatever you say I'm going to stand firm here. Gardeners can't expect to take holidays in summer unless they have staff to cover them, regardless of their "needs".
I just can't justify charging clients 12 month contract fees, then disappearing when it's sunny. Or, charging an hourly rate then not working during the best part of the year!
Professionally, I take time off in winter, perhaps two months, but don't miss visits in summer. Unless you have cover, I think it's wrong to take time off when the weather's perfect, but expect clients to pay when you're off sick, or unable to work due to rain or snow. I'd be sitting worrying about work, so couldn't enjoy the hoiday anyway....
I agree with Paul, Most clients want (and understandably so) their gardens spick and span throughout the summer to enjoy all the hard work they have paid for throughout the year. So in answer to the question, no I wouldn't go on holiday unless I had sufficient and reliable cover for my clients. I prefer to get some winter sun if a holidays possible anyway ;)
This time of year, things are slowing down and to have a week away with the family.... after all, they need to be considered too, seems reasonable to me. If you've got kids, the summer school break can be very long without a holiday in there. After many months of slogging it away,a weeks break can give us renewed enthusiasm and energy from which our customers will benefit. Will leaving gardens etc an extra week really make that much difference?..... the world is not going to collapse and if it is being done regularly, the extra week should really not be a serious problem... it should still look neat and well maintained. I always let my customers know my plans well in advance and they never mind in the slightest.... after all, they can go off for a summer break and their visits need to be altered.
In my opinion, if you've got a customer that objects to this, you can bet they're not the easiest to work for and I'd quickly get shot of them...... there's plenty more "nice" customers about that are a pleasure to work for.
I'm fortunate in that it works fine with all my customers..... I'd have thought that if you're a 3 man band, you might be able to tick along with 2 of you for a week unless you really do need 3 men working flat out all the time...... sounds exhausting lol!!
I tend to think though that if you've a young family, as I'm sure a lot of forum members are, you really should make the most of enjoying the kids with holidays in the summer..... time goes so fast and you never get this chance again. At the end of the day, I'm sure the majority of families would rather have a short break in the summer with the "breadwinner" rather than a few extra quid in the bank. ?
Brian www.mibservices.co.uk said:
Money doesn't make memories, Family does. I take a holiday in the summer. I schedule the work in so that its stuff I know my guys can do without any dramas, with understanding customers, but as we holiday in the uk im normally available on the end of the phone anyway. it means I have to work hard before and when I get back, but my family make enough sacrifices so why should they miss out and I make enough sacrifices for customers so why should I miss out on my family. its easy to keep thinking ill take a holiday later, but it will just keep getting pushed back.
I think everyone here understands the importance of taking a break to recharge the batteries and spend some quality time with their families, but taking a break at peak season doesn't always work. Some people rely predominantly on grass cuts or other summer seasonal work which would mean losing 5/6/7 days of money whereas taking a break in the autumn or winter would be financially easier. Half term holidays and christmas time is much better suited to our industry when people are not as busy. I'm getting married in 3 weeks and all my clients were surprised that i was delaying my honeymoon until November, a time when I can take a couple of weeks out and not have the gardens suffer.
from my point of view it probably is a little easier doing landscaping work as opposed to maintenance, but you still shouldn't lose sight of why we do this thing called work
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