When requesting lawn maintenance service it is very important that the length of your lawn is accurately represented on your order form. LawnGuru considers grass that is 6+ inches in length to be overgrown.
Overgrown lawns are fairly common in the outdoor service industry. The most common cases for a lawn to become overgrown results from a newly acquired property, a vacant property, an irresponsible tenant or sometimes life just gets too busy and our lawn is the last thing we think about. All of these reasons are completely acceptable and we're here to help you!
When requesting service users are asked approximately how long their grass is. Be sure to select the option that best represents your lawn. By placing your order you are pre-authorizing all necessary overgrown charges in order to service your lawn correctly and bring it down to a manageable length. Rest assured, photo evidence will always be required to ensure all overgrown fees are accurately accounted for.
Overgrown Pricing Tiers:
6”-12” in height the new rate will be +50% of the cut cost. If the cut normally costs $30, when approved it’ll cost $45.
12”-24” in height the new rate will be +100% of the cut cost. If the cut normally costs $30, when approved it’ll cost $60.
24” or taller in height the cut will be flagged as unserviceable and canceled. From here we will get you a quote to tackle the unruly lawn so that you can request future cuts with no delays.
So why exactly do you charge more for overgrown lawns?
Great question! Take this example: If red wine is spilled on your carpet and cleaned up immediately, you'll likely be able to pull the stain out so it's no longer noticeable. However, if you let the spill sit, you'll likely have to steam clean your carpet in order to pull out the stain. Essentially, waiting longer requires more work to achieve the same end result.
The same is true with your lawn. Overgrown lawns that have become unruly will need to be cut multiple times in order to bring them down to a manageable length. Simply lowering the mower deck and cutting an overgrown lawn once will not deliver an even cut. This process does not leave lawns nicely manicured or customers pleased.
Servicing overgrown lawns causes a considerably increased wear & tear on machines as opposed to servicing lawns that have been regularly maintained. Best practice in cutting an overgrown lawn is to cut it once at a high deck setting, cut it a second time at a lower deck setting, and repeat that process depending on how long the grass has become in order to achieve a finely manicured lawn post service.
Servicing an overgrown lawn can take two or three times as long to cut compared to a lawn that has been maintained properly. When a crew dedicates additional time to a property, the cost of labor also rises. The same crew could have taken care of three properties in the time it takes to service an overgrown lawn; like with any service, pricing is modified to reflect that.
How can I avoid an overgrown charge?
That's easy! Just make sure you're getting your lawn cut regularly. You live at your home so you know your lawn better than anyone. The best practice is to order a weekly service so your lawn is well-kept all season long without having to think about it! Weekly customers who have been serviced by LawnGuru within the previous week and do not skip service appointments will never be charged an overgrowth fee. During the slower growth periods, customers usually switch to a bi-weekly or monthly schedule and are able to avoid excess growth at their property each service.
But I have a recurring service, why did I receive an overgrown fee?
Users have the ability to Skip service appointments an unlimited number of times and adjust their frequency during high and low growth times of the year. Abusing these features will cause your grass to grow wild resulting in a one-time extra charge.