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Any photo's?
did she pay total quoted.
When people say tidied, what you they think they mean and what they are imagining can be very very different
There is also the difference between what it could look like, when well looked after and what it will look like...
unrealistic expectations are all too common
I bet many of us have been in a situation similar to this Trevor.
Writing down the positives and negatives in an email or letter will help manage your client's expectations.
If your client is clear on what to expect i.e. leafless or sparse looking faces to the hedge, for example, then there really shouldn't be any come back.
I think we've all had customers like this Tom, has she refused to pay? So long as the customer has paid, draw a line under the whole thing, some people are never happy, simple as that. if you explained at the outset that the result would be bare looking and woody, its a done deal.She will have to get over it and keep it regularly trimmed in future.If she bad mouths you in your area, explain to whoever tells you such that the client had unrealistic expectations and you made the best job of it you could.
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Phil Voice said:
Gardens4u.co.uk said:
I've been tackling something like this over the last few weeks.
The householder moved abroad, and let the property. Over the years, the gardens became overgrwon to comedy levels.
Most of my work is for properties that are let, so the landlord might be totally unaware of the work needing doing. You photograph everything before and after, and you get agreement in writing that you are going to be butchering an over-grown hedge!
I'd include links to something like the RHS guides to the work you're going to do: let the client read up on it if they want to, but they've signed to say they've had the option to read the guidelines.
If all approval is in place, then you can be happy that they understand the problems with timing etc.
Before and after examples below. The landlord thought the pyracantha was trained perfectly, but agreed to take it down to 1 metre so new tenants can maintain it easily. A huge shock, but in the end they understood and are happy.
I truly sympathise with you Tom, and as the others have said, the longer you're in this business, the more chance you will come across customers like the one you had to deal with here.