Why Make A Change?
Overgrowth was built into our app from the beginning when we were only offering on-demand cuts to customers and had to protect providers from abuse or wasted time (money).
Over the course of 2017 and 2018 mowing seasons, we realized we’d lost more than two thousand recurring customers after an overgrowth charge. TWO THOUSAND!
We really hadn’t reanalyzed it since 2015, and seeing this outcome and what it could’ve meant for your bottom line we knew we had no choice but to find a better way. Recurring customers are the foundation upon which we (pros and LawnGuru) build our businesses and unlocks the capacity that allows us to offer on-demand cuts.
Goal: Less Requests, Higher Approval Rates, & Higher Customer Retention
So we made some changes. Our goal is to eliminate negative surprises for customers and for pros, translating to more recurring customers and submitting fewer all-but-guaranteed to be approved overgrowth requests.
What Changed?
For recurring customers who start the season with us, we won’t be approving overgrowth. It’s better to invest in the first cut if it’s a little longer and keep the customer on your board for seasons to come. This is what we did building our own mid 6-figure mowing company way back when and is still a best practice validated by our 2019 research.
Now, overgrowth scales at a new lower rate:
For on-demand or mid-season first cuts where the lawn’s 6”-12” in height the new rate will be +50% to pro take. This is where 94.7% of OG requests have happened. If the job normally pays $30, when approved it’ll pay $45.
For on-demand or mid-season first cuts where the lawn’s 12”-24” in height the new rate will be +100% to pro take. This is where 4.1% of OG requests have happened. If the job normally pays $30, when approved it’ll pay $60.
For on-demand or mid-season first cuts where the lawn’s 24” or taller in height the new rate will be up to you to decide. This is where 1.2% of OG requests have happened. If the job normally pays $30, when approved it’ll pay what you requested.
In these cases, there are a couple important factors to consider – card failures and customers refusing payment. We have your back and have updated our terms to make sure you’re paid. If you hit an insane plot like this, you can always just flag it as unserviceable too. No customer is going to be surprised the order they placed for a regular cut isn’t going to cut it (#zing) when they have a jungle.