Most home owners recognize dandelions and crabgrass as the weeds they are and they know they don't like them in their lawns. Customers expect a professional lawn care company to take care of these weeds for the entire season without being reminded to do so.

Dandelions are easy to treat and spot treat as new ones develop. Crabgrass is usually taken care of with a good pre-emergent. However, sometimes crabgrass escapes that protective barrier, maybe because of heavy traffic, extreme weather conditions or the pre-emergent was just not applied in time. Whatever the reason, when the customer notices the crabgrass, they will probably think something like "hey, what am I paying these guys for anyway?" You've got an unhappy lawn customer who is likely to cancel and may or may not call you to complain. Crabgrass control is one of the basic things a lawn customer expects. If you can't control crabgrass, you're going to lose that lawn care customer forever.

The key to lawn care customer retention is quality results, and more lawn care customers cancel over crabgrass and weed control (or the lack thereof) than anything else. Be proactive and in control of crabgrass. Train your techs to keep a sharp eye out for crabgrass and other weeds, especially around walks and drives. Spot treat crabgrass with Acclaim Extra or other post emergent especially during the 2nd and 3rd visits. Don't charge extra for this basic quality level service, but add the small additional price across the board to all apps.