Cleaning garden before gardener visits

[Suntree32]

My DH has just started a gardening business, which includes cutting grass. He's been to three houses in the last couple of weeks where he's not been able to cut all the grass due to dog poo all over the place. The clients have all known he was coming, but appear to not have made any effort to clean up the garden before he goes. Today he's had a complaint that he didn't cut all the grass (he'd cut 2/3 of the grass before he realised the bottom 1/3 of the garden was very messy). He sent a very polite message after his visit to explain why he hadn't done it all.

Is he BU to not clean up this mess/cut this grass? He doesn't want to offer a cleaning service.

Disgusting. This is what his terms and conditions are for, he needs to spell out what he expects in order to do the work.

I think he has a couple of options

1. ask when quoting if ppl have pets

if the do offer 2 options - one a price including poo removal. 2 a price without poo removal. But that poos will be mowed around. Then people can make an informed choice.

But it is really terrible that people are like this unfortunately.

While I would of course clean up prior to work in my garden, some people wrongly assume it is the job of the "hired help".

If not included formally in his terms, when he views a job and sees there are dogs, he should always mention it. He shouldn't hesitate to drop them if they don't respect his reasonable requirements.

(I know he doesn't offer a cleaning service, but that is something he could charge a decent premium for.)

Not in a million years would I leave my dogs mess out in my garden for someone else to clean or work around. Tbh we are hyper villigant cleaning it up anyway for basic hygiene reasons never mind young kids at play.

That's so disrespectful to your husband

There is no circumstances that dog mess should be left in the garden when you know someone is coming to cut the grass!
I had a very embarrassing moment last week, when my dog didn’t ‘go’ on her daily walk and went in the garden. I hadn’t noticed and a guy cutting next doors trees back, knocked to collect clippings. Even then I nipped out before he came around the back and I was glad I did!
It’s disgusting to expect others to even be around it! Never mind expecting someone to pick it up!

What absolutely filthy people.
It is not uncommon with some dog owners.

Disgusting that someone would expect the gardener to clean up after their dog.

It's grim, but he does need to explicitly say that all dog mess needs to be cleared before he can cut the grass. Then there is zero come back.

make sure T&C are tight. Highlight it on booking.

find out if they have pets before hand. If they don’t then it could be fox poo or a random cat.

I would really hammer it home that dog poo service is not provided. And garden needs to be checked

I’m self employed in a service industry and my T&C are rock solid as I learned the hard way.

what did they say when he said there was poo? It sucks but maybe take a pic to prove it in future.

He should start sending courtesy texts before his appointments, along the lines of: “Just to confirm your next appointment is Xth March, please be advised that mess, including dog waste, should be removed prior to my visit or those sections of lawn will not be able to be mown.”

It shouldn’t need to be said, but reminds the home owner what needs to happen prior to his arrival.

Ugh, that's disgusting. I'm a gardener and it's a subject that comes up a lot. Some people do find they have to put it in their T&Cs that if there is dog poo in a garden, they won't be able to do the job and it will count as a cancellation without notice (ie., the fee is payable).

The utter lack of respect for trades people drives me bonkers!
But maybe because that was my dad so I am used to treating people with respect
I had the fabulous gardener here last tuesday to do trees, he grafted all day from literally 9-5 pm
I helped him all day with waste and constantly fed and watered him
I am so incredibly grateful that he goes up a ladders with a chainsaw and that I am at the bottom of the ladder!

Who are the 3% who think that’s ok?!

It wouldn’t occur to me to clean up for the gardener, tbh. I don’t have pets but occasionally neighbouring cats do poop in the garden. I’d appreciate having it spelled out tbh, because it wouldn’t cross my mind to look it over, now that the dc don’t play out there.

Thanks everyone. Good to know we're not BU. We've got a dog and the idea of not making sure the garden is cleaned before the oil etc is delivered has never crossed my mind. I also get that sometimes an odd one could be missed.
Sounds like better ts and cs on the quotes is the way to go.

He needs to send around a message ‘I’m coming to cut your grass tomorrow, please ensure I have access and any furniture, play items and animal excrement is removed from the areas that require cutting’
Any left, he skirts around and then they’ve indicated this by showing they don’t want it cutting,

I make sure I have cleaned up before my gardener comes. I also say that although I have thoroughly checked, if I have missed any, can they please let me know and I will clean it up.

My dog doesn't often go in the garden, but I would never not check!

Some people really don’t understand what a lawnmower is, how it works, or how rubbish, stones and dog mess need to be cleared from the grass before the grass can be cut. Ignorance rather than intentionally taking the piss.

The problem husband will have is, if he starts being too picky some Eastern European will happily cut the grass for cheaper and get rid of any stones or dog poo.

Once a price is quoted, they are unlikely to pay any more. And if husband refuses, then they’ll just get one of these less sensitive eastern European chaps to do it.

It’s disgusting, but unless he can afford to turn down work, he might need to grow a pair and take poo bags with him.