Tag: grounds maintenance

How-to Run a “GREEN” Grave Care Business

Small businesses are rewarded by providing their services in an environmentally friendly manner. Grave care is no exception.

Small businesses are rewarded by providing their services in an environmentally friendly manner.  Grave care is no exception.

If you have read our Grave Care Business materials you know important we feel it is to operate your business as environmentally friendly as possible.  By saying this, we are not eco-fanatics.  However, we believe an eco-friendly business will be looked on favorably by your comunity, loved by your customers, and cost less money to operate.

The Grave Care Business program outlines many different services to offer your customers.  Today, we are giving you a brief overview of ways to make the landscape maintenance side of your business environmentally sound.

1)  Lawn Mower

If you Grave Care business normally does single plots, you will find it beneficial to use a push-style reel mower.  Reel mowers do not use gasoline thereby eliminating ozone destroying pollution.  Since they do not have engines they they practically producs no sound.  For larger areas and entire cemetery clean-ups feel free to use a powered mower but for single plots a reel mower is a great choice to cut the grass.

2)  Weedeater or String Trimmer

There aren’t many effective non-powered options to trim weeds.  Since 2-cycle engines are some of the most polluting lawn care equipment engines, if you are in the market for a weedeater, seriously consider purchasing a battery operated or a propane powered weedeater.  We have personally tested several models of battery and propane powered models.  The Lehr propane powered line trimmer is our favorite.  Though it is noisy like many weedeaters, it produces very low emissions and it runs for two hours on a 1 lb. bottle of propane.  As always, use caution with string trimmers around tombstones and grave markers.  The string can damage these stones.

3)  Plan your routes

Plan your routes so trips to the same cemetery coincide with each other.  Travel time is a huge waste of your resources.  Plan your jobs so all jobs in the same cemetery are performed on the same day.  One trip is much less wasteful than three or four trips.

These are just a few tips on how you can “green” your Grave Care business.  For our entire Grave Care Business package, visit our home page at:  GraveCareBusiness.com

Overgrown cemetery plot.

How do I charge for overgrown and neglected cemetery plots…

How much money to charge for an overgrown cemetery plot a customer wants you to clean up.

Today’s blog post is a questions from a recent customer who purchased the Grave Care Business package.

“Hello.  I am focusing on grounds maintenance in my new Grave Care Business.   A recent new customer wanted me to care for her husband’s grave site.  She knows I charge $25 to maintain a double plot but when I got there the grass was knee high.  It hadn’t been cut in over a year.  How much money do I charge for overgrown and neglected cemetery plots and what’s the best method of cutting high grass so it looks good?”

Overgrown cemetery plots normally require at least 1 1/2 times your typical charge. Sometimes, you should charge double depending how much additional work is involved.

When grass is very high you will need to make at least two passes with your lawn mower.  Set your blades as high as they will go for your first pass. Use a straight-line mowing pattern (left-right or front-back). When you are finished with the first pass, rake excess clumped grass and remove it from the cemetery plot.

Now, lower your blades to the correct height for that type grass and make a second pass. For the second pass, choose a different mowing pattern. If you did left-right on your first pass, mow front-back for your second pass.

It is important to rake excess grass away.  Unkempt gass will never look good after your first service. Once grass gets leggy, stems close to the ground become thick and discolored. Let your customer know it will take at least two services before it begins to look like a lawn again.

After your initial servicing of an unmanicured grave site, resume your standard charge as long as the customer agrees to regular servicing.

Don’t forget, the Grave Care Business program includes a large pricing guidebook that tells you how much to charge for certain services.

Visit our home page for more information.