07/27/2026
It’s official: I am permanently closing the doors on JT’s Tractor & Lawncare.
I’ll be turning 50 next weekend, and it’s time for a reality check. I don’t need the little bit of extra cash this business brings in, and I am officially done giving up my evenings and weekends to do a job that most people just don't want to do for themselves. Because I always try to over-deliver on my work, I have allowed myself to overheat in these brutal temperatures more than once. I'm not doing it anymore.
To give some perspective on why I'm walking away, let's talk about the reality of manual labor and the lawn care industry.
People constantly ask for discounts. It is incredibly disrespectful to my time and my labor to ask for a cut-rate price on the kind of backbreaking work that you simply don't want to do yourself.
Here is what you don't see when you ask a working man to take a pay cut:
Fuel: $5-$6/gallon for non-ethanol gas, plus the high cost of 2-cycle engine oil.
Transportation: $5/gallon diesel for my truck just to pull the equipment trailer to your house.
Equipment: Commercial mowers cost between $8,000 and $12,000. Commercial trimmers and edgers are several hundred dollars each.
Maintenance: Trimmer string, $40-$50 replacement blades, $150 deck belts, oil and air filters, $50-$100 mower tires, and $100 trailer tires. Not to mention the hours of maintenance time I put in off-the-clock.
Liability Insurance: Required to protect you in the event a window, A/C unit, or water meter gets damaged.
Then there is the absolute lack of consideration for the work itself.
I have dealt with customers who refuse a set weekly or bi-weekly schedule. They stretch it out to save a buck, then finally call and expect me to drop everything in the world to come running. When I get there, the grass is so tall I have to cut it twice, and edging takes twice as long. It takes more time, more gas, and more wear-and-tear on my equipment, but they don't want to pay extra because they think they "saved money" by holding me off.
Add to that the people who refuse to pick up their garden hoses, extension cords, kids' toys, or sticks. You expect me to prep your yard before I can even start the job I was hired for. You don't get all that extra work for free.
And let's talk about getting paid. I can't count how many times I have shown up, done the job I was hired for, and then the customer asks if they can pay me next week because they are broke. I am not out here drenched in sweat and covered in dust and dirt to finance your yard work for free.
We’ve all heard the phrase, "The customer is always right." I’m here to tell you that sometimes, the customer is terrible.
Sometimes the customer thinks that just because they are paying for a service, I am their personal little slave and I should be thanking my lucky stars for their payment, even when I’ve had to kill myself doing all the extra s**t they should have done before I even arrived.
I am looking forward to having my nights back, no more coming home after a full shift on the regular job just to service equipment in the dark. I'll have my weekends back to fire up one of my bikes and spend my time exactly how I choose. Life is far too short to be out here killing myself in the heat for some people who look at those of us willing to do the hard, physical work like we are peasants and should be happy collecting a few shillings from the king's court.
People love to say that COVID ruined customer service. No. Entitled customers who expect the world, but don't want to pay for it are why so many people give bad service.
Manual labor service jobs exist primarily because they are the kinds of jobs most people could do for themselves, but simply aren't willing to.
To the good customers I've had over the years: thank you for your business and your respect.
To the rest: good luck out there finding someone to give you the quality I offered at the same price.
I'm taking my nights and weekends back.
Deuces!
