The Race to the Bottom, How the Landscaping Industry Is Being Exploited (Now With a Reality Check About “Discounts”)
For years, the landscaping industry has been stuck in a weird economic Twilight Zone:
Customers want Beverly Hills lawns… but want to pay Dollar Tree prices.
Somewhere along the way, landscaping shifted from being a skilled profession to a competitive sport called:
“Who Can Work for the Least Money and Still Smile About It?”
Spoiler alert: nobody’s winning.
Landscaping Isn’t Cheap. Unless You Think Trucks, Fuel, & Human Spines Are Free
Landscaping isn’t:
“Just mowing”
“Just trimming”
“Just mulching”
If it were “just,” everyone would be doing it and chiropractors would be out of business.
Behind every fair quote is:
Skilled labor
Expensive equipment
Employees who enjoy luxuries like food and electricity
Fuel, insurance, repairs, overhead
Knowledge that took years to build
Yet some customers treat a normal price like we’ve tried to sell them beachfront property in Arizona.
The Bidding War That’s Turning the Industry Into a Circus Act
Thanks to endless price shopping and “What’s your best price?”, companies undercut each other until they’re basically working for exposure and prayer.
Results?
Good companies quit
Cheap companies cut corners
Quality dies
The workforce disappears
And customers wonder why the “cheap guy” ghosted them
We’re not auctioning off used lawn chairs, this is professional work.
The Discount Dilemma: What You’re Really Asking For
Here’s the part nobody wants to say out loud:
When you ask a landscaping company for a discount, you’re not really asking the owner to “take a little off.”
You’re asking for an employee, a real person, to be paid less.
Because the economics of a small service business aren’t magical.
Costs don’t evaporate.
Money doesn’t appear out of thin air.
And I promise you, the owner isn’t sitting on a gold throne made of mulch profits.
So when someone says:
“Can you do any better on the price?”
What that really translates to is:
“Can your crew work the same job for less money?”
“Can they absorb the loss so I don’t have to?”
“Can your employees take the hit?”
You’re not asking for a discount.
You’re asking someone else’s paycheck to shrink.
It all rolls downhill, and downhill usually ends with the workers.
The ones mowing in 95° heat.
The ones trimming shrubs while eating dust.
The ones who are the backbone of the industry.
No one ever asks for a discount from their dentist, mechanic, or realtor… because they know exactly who gets squeezed.
Service workers should get the same respect.
The “Cheap Labor” Myth. Or, Why We’re Not Mowing an Acre for $50
There’s this myth that landscaping is “cheap labor.”
Cute.
Completely false, but cute.
The truth:
Skilled labor isn’t cheap
Cheap labor isn’t skilled
And “cheap but high quality” only exists in fairy tales and Black Friday ads
You wouldn’t ask a surgeon for a Black Friday special.
Why ask a professional trades business?
The Cultural Shift We Actually Need
We don’t need sympathy.
We don’t need applause.
We don’t need a parade (though… that’d be kind of fun).
We need:
Fair pricing
Respect for skilled labor
Realistic expectations
And customers who understand that discounting service work isn’t harmless, it’s harm pushed downstream onto workers
Landscapers aren’t disposable labor.
They are skilled professionals doing hard, physical, technical work.
They deserve pay that reflects the value they bring.
