As an adult with a disability who also happens to be a homeowner, I thrive on being as independent…read moreas humanly possible. That said, I've learned the hard way that certain tasks are beyond my ability and mowing my nearly 1/2 acre lawn happens to be one of them.
Trust me, I've tried. I've tried with a push mower. I'm already without feet and I had this weird feeling if I kept going that I'd eventually lose 1-2 more limbs.
I tried with an old school manual-type mower. I broke it in one humiliating and failed attempt at mowing my lawn.
I haven't tried it with a riding mower because, well, most require that you actually have feet to use the gas.
I've gotten by through the generosity of friends and church members, though as I get older so do they and in the last couple of years it has become increasingly hard to track down folks who want to come over on a regular basis and mow my lawn.
Last year, it got ugly. I think most of my friends were torn between "I'm tired of mowing Richard's lawn" and "I don't quite want to ask him to pay me to mow his lawn." So, the lawn got really, REALLY long before one dear neighbor complained (sarcasm noted) and my dear friends at the city served notice that perhaps I ought to mow it before it got taller than the house. Fortunately, in a critical pinch I had some friends come over and rescue me from the situation before it turned into an overly negative situation, but it finally made me look at how I'd been living from week-to-week in terms of lawn care for far too long.
So, I set out to find someone who was honest, fair, reasonably priced and conscientious.
Enter Larry Poe and HALL Services. The "HALL" stands for Handyman and Lawn Landscape Services. I used Thumbtack to put out for bids to mow my lawn and received several responses. The prices ranged from "so cheap that I don't trust the quality" to "beyond my reach." Poe was pretty much in the middle. I directly responded to three and found myself impressed with Poe's honesty, thoughtfulness, reasonable price and willingness to give a fairly clear schedule.
I've now used HALL and Larry Poe for the entire mowing season and I've been consistently happy. From what I can gather, it's a small operation and he primarily focuses on the Eastside of Central Indiana but will consider other areas in the right situation. From what I've seen, he is careful to not overly commit himself and won't take a job he can't fulfill to the utmost quality. I happen to live in practically a perfect area for him to serve.
HALL doesn't necessarily have all the razzle dazzle equipment of some companies, but what he offers in personalized service more than makes up for it. I received a timely quote, follow up on that quote, an agreed upon day with an awareness that it may flex from time to time, and a way to contact him with any concerns. He prefers to submit billing via e-mail, but will also invoice monthly. He does not ask for and actually will not do long-term contracts. He accepts payment by cash, checks and Paypal and from what I've seen typically bills within 24-48 hours of the last agreed upon service for the month. We agreed that my lawn would be mowed every other week. During one week, he missed due to some personal issues BUT he followed up with those impacted and explained everything and explained how he would be addressing it. Personally? I thought it was perfect and conscientious.
The quality has been stellar on a consistent basis. I've never questioned if he would arrive and I've never seen a finished job and thought "I wish he would have done this." In fact, there's been more than once I thought "He did more than I expected" in terms of trimming, etc.
I've only actually met him in person once this season and found him to be friendly and helpful. He also offers, as you might guess, handyman services ranging from fencing, decks, Christmas light installation and other services. From his website, it notes that he tends to avoid roofing type work. While I haven't used him for handyman type work so far, given how happy I've been with his care of my lawn I'm already considering other possible jobs.
If you really want to hire someone trustworthy, local, truly indie and who does quality work I'd definitely recommend Larry Poe and HALL Services.