Intro
Learn the best practices and strategies for maintaining a healthy Pro account. This guide offers key tips to optimize your performance and scores, and overcome challenges. Familiarize yourself with these insights to ensure success on our platform.
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Best Practices
This section provides recommended practices for executing the process based on industry standards and internal expertise, ensuring optimal results and efficiency.
Pro Onboarding
- The Pro App can be downloaded here:
- You may create an account on the web and download the app or download the app and then create an account.
- If you've already created an account online, you can already sign in after you download the app.
Payouts
- You will receive your first payment within one to two weeks after your first job, then the following weekly payments by Friday of every week.
- This will include payments for jobs completed in the previous week from Monday to Sunday.
- Please note that bank holidays may cause payment delays.
- Do not use Venmo, PayPal, or Savings accounts for your payout since these types of accounts are not accepted.
- You may use a bank checking account, Green Dot/GoBank, Net Spend/Metabank, or Chime/Bancorp.
- If you feel that the payout for a job is too low for the size of the property we recommend performing the service, particularly if it is the first service and then you can drop the property. If you drop it before the service is performed it will negatively impact your tier rating.
- Visit the website to view individual payouts for each property.
Jobs
- You can get more jobs if you move to a higher tier. You can achieve this by consistently receiving positive customer reviews and completing jobs on the scheduled day.
- Always check your notifications on the app, email, or text to see the available jobs in your area. These are not automatically assigned, so you would need to either accept or decline the jobs.
- Only accept jobs that make sense for you and that you will be able to complete. See if the location and scheduled date fit in with your current routes.
- Use the Recommend Services feature on the app to suggest services to your existing Customers for additional work and payout.
- Changing crews for a particular job cannot be done on the app. However, you can do it via the website.
Completing Jobs
- Jobs need to be completed on the day that they are scheduled, but not at a specific time. They may be completed any time between sun up and sundown, but they must be marked Complete or Rescheduled by 9:00 PM Monday - Saturday & 7:00 pm on Sunday. Completing jobs late will affect your Tier Score.
- Jobs scheduled for completion should be marked as Complete or Rescheduled by 9:00 PM Monday - Saturday & 7:00 pm on Sunday. These jobs can be completed anytime between sunrise and sundown on the scheduled day.
- Completing jobs after the scheduled day will negatively affect your Tier Score.
- Take advantage of the extra time provided for jobs scheduled on weekends. If the service is set for Sunday, you have an additional day, and for Saturday services, two extra days are provided.
- Mark one window as complete, and the system will handle the rest automatically.
- Payment is processed once, with Customers charged the standard service amount.
- Ensure that the job is finished within the entire indicated window (by the last day shown).
- Pictures are required for first-time jobs, additional services, return requests, or long grass submissions. We recommend saving the photos to your phone.
- For same-day services, make sure to add photos to the Lawn Mowing service first before the non-mowing service(s) to avoid errors.
- You can send the Customer a message through the app:
- When you are on your way as a heads up
- If you want to mow early
- There may be obstructions if you show up on an unscheduled day, so communicating with the Customer is recommended.
- The Customer's approval is also needed if you want to mow early.
- In case you need to reschedule a First Service for any reason other than Customer Request, Inclement Weather, or Lawn Too Wet, there is a chance of losing the Customer.
Problems in the Field
- You can report any issues using the app to document them, so you can either continue the service or move on to the next property without having to wait for a response.
- If you get to the property and it does not need to be serviced, make sure to use Skip on the app.
- If the grass is between 6 to 12 inches, you must report it through the app to receive additional payout. This can be done from the Customer's Job Details screen, by selecting Other, and then Long Grass.
- Do this before marking the job as complete.
- If the Pro app doesn't respond or displays an error message, try to restart your phone, check your Wi-Fi or data connection, update the app, and if all else fails, uninstall and reinstall the app.
- The damage fee does not cover any damages to the Pros. This is for the protection of the Customer in case anything goes wrong. This only covers major damages, you will be responsible for minor damages to the Customer's property.
- If you need assistance, you can:
- Visit the Lawn Care Help Center
- Contact Support using the app or call 1-855-800-4872
- Business hours are:
- Monday - Friday, 7 am - 8 pm CST
- Saturday & Sunday, 7 am - 6 pm CST
- Business hours are:
Background Check
- Background checks are for the account owner, not the Crew.
- If you have accounts with both Lawn Love and LawnStarter, be sure to complete a background check for each account.
- You will be notified in the app how much time you have left to complete your background check.
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Prepare the following required information:
- Full name (including middle name)
- Date of birth
- Social Security number (SSN)
- Current zip code
- Phone number
- Email address
- Most background checks take between 3 and 5 days.
- Chekr conducts a nationwide background check.
- You will be notified of the background check status through a screen in the app.
- Select "Complete Now" in the app notification to fill out the background check on the Chekr site.
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Refer to the Background Check Status and definitions:
- Passed (no action needed from you)
- Action Needed (additional information is needed from you)
- Failed (reason will be disclosed to you)
- If you have multiple accounts with different emails, you must fill out a background check for each email, even if you change your email address later.
- You have five days to dispute incorrect or outdated information in the report before final action is taken.
- Anything listed in "What is the background check looking for?" can result in an inability to continue working for LawnStarter and/or Lawn Love.
- If you have any confidential inquiries, you may visit Chekr.
Pro Tiers, Metrics, and Rewards
Tiers
- Your tier level is a reflection of your yearly performance on our platform. Three factors influence your tier placement:
- average ratings
- percent of jobs completed
- percent cancellations.
- Your tier level reflects your yearly performance. It's determined by the lowest metric among three factors: average ratings, percent jobs completed, and percent cancellations.
- If you're just starting and don't have a lot of reviews yet, we'll look at extra reviews instead of average ratings.
- You can monitor your tier on the Pro app in the Performance section when you go to Settings.
- Engaged Pros get tier updates every quarter, and new Pros see them weekly. Metrics, on the other hand, get a nightly refresh.
- Mark your calendars for quarter-end days: March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.
- When it comes to metrics, we average all your mowing services for the year and each quarter. So, starting mid-quarter won't mess with your stats. Forget the typical calendar year – your performance is all about the current quarter and the three before it. Keep it rolling!
| Tier Classification | |
| Tiers | Description |
| Engaged Tier Class |
Pros who have signed up more than 3 months ago and completed at least 20 mowing jobs in the last 12 months. |
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Platinum |
Our best tier |
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Gold |
Our 2nd best tier |
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Silver |
Our 3rd best tier |
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Bronze |
Our bottom tier |
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New Tier Class |
Pros who have either signed up in the last 3 months, or 12 months and completed fewer than 20 mowing jobs. |
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Blue |
The best New Pros They are 3x more likely to become a top-engaged Pro (Platinum or Gold). |
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Intro |
New Pros with not enough metrics. When a Pro completes onboarding, they should immediately be added to this tier until the next weekly calculation. |
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Red |
New Pros who have metrics that would put them into the bottom 50% of all Pros. |
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Disengaged Pros |
Pros who have signed up more than 12 months ago and completed less than 20 mowing jobs in the last 12 months. |
Metrics
| How are tier metrics determined? | ||
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Average Reviews (For Engaged pros which includes Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze) |
Simple average of reviews that the pro has received.
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For example, a pro has 4 reviews which are 4, 5, 3, 5. 4 + 5 + 3 + 5 = 17 17 divided by 4 = 4.25 This Pro's Average Review is 4.25 |
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Review surplus (For New tiers which are Blue, Intro and Red) |
To arrive at this number you will:
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For example, if a New Pro has 3 reviews and they are a 5, 5, and 4.
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| Percent Jobs Completed |
This is the number of mowing jobs completed and divided by total number of mowing jobs scheduled. This includes skips and reschedules. |
For example:
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| Percent Cancellations |
This is mowing jobs canceled divided by total number of mowing jobs.
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Consider Unavoidable Changes.
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Our metrics account for normal reschedules and cancellations, providing room for unavoidable disruptions.
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Leverage Quarterly Averages.
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Since averages are calculated quarterly, Pros have multiple chances to showcase their performance and maintain their tier level.
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Prioritize Timely Job Completion.
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Pros are encouraged to consistently complete jobs on time. This sets a solid foundation, making it easier to handle unavoidable issues when they arise.
- Frequent reschedules and incomplete jobs may lead to the account being Paused, impacting the Percent Jobs Completed metric regardless of the Pro's current tier.
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Be Mindful of the 2-Day Window.
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Any actions, such as skipping, rescheduling, or dropping properties, that extend beyond the Customer's 2-day window impact the Pro's score. However, rest assured, that these factors were considered when establishing our metric standards.
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Trip Fees
- Activate GPS for Trip Fees.
- Ensure your GPS is on and successfully pinged before expecting a Trip Fee for obstructions.
- If the Customer provides advance notice for skipping, rescheduling, or canceling the service, or if you arrive early without approval, Trip Fee eligibility may be affected.
- Different Pro tiers have varying Trip Fee allocations per property per quarter. Check the chart below to know how many Trip Fees your tier is eligible for. Keep track to maintain eligibility throughout the quarter.
- If you are entitled to a Trip Fee and the service is skipped, our system will automatically issue it. Be aware that the system won't automatically issue a Trip Fee if the service is rescheduled, or if you suggested a pause or cancellation.
| Tier | Trip Fee Eligibility per Property per Quarter |
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Platinum |
unlimited |
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Gold |
3 |
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Silver |
1 |
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Bronze |
0 |
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Blue |
1 |
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Intro |
0 |
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Red |
0 |
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Disengaged |
0 |
Auto-placement
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Auto-Placement, or Automatic Job Placement allows LawnStarter and Lawn Love to efficiently schedule jobs, pairing Customers with top-ranked and reliable crews. These auto-placed jobs will be strategically located within 3 miles of your existing schedule.
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To stay in Auto-Placement, ensure you don't drop more than 10% or exceed 2 dropped auto-placed jobs (whichever is lower). Falling below the Gold tier will also result in removal from Auto-Placement.
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Pros in the Gold or Platinum tier, with a track record of claiming over 20 jobs on the platform, are eligible for Auto-Placement. Keep your tier and job completion record in mind to make the most of this convenient feature.
Tip Matching
- Tip matching is a unique perk reserved for Platinum Pros. This means that LawnStarter will match all tips given by customers during the quarter.
- While enjoying tip matching, there is a cap: the total matched tips cannot exceed 25% of the Pro's earnings for that quarter. This ensures fairness and balance.
- Platinum Pros receive their matched tips at the end of each quarter
Capacity
- Platinum Pros have a capacity of 20 jobs per day.
- Gold has a capacity of 15.
- All others have a capacity of 10 jobs per day.
- These capacity limits apply solely to recurring jobs marked for odd/even weekdays. One-time service day changes do not affect the capacity calculations.
- These limits are consistent regardless of how many crews a Pro has
Scheduling
Rescheduling
- A One-Time Service Day Change (OTSDC) is when a Customer requests a service outside their regular schedule. You can accept or decline this request.
- If accepted, the next scheduled service shifts to the requested date, with the regular schedule resuming afterward.
- Declining an OTSDC won't assign the original service to another Pro. If declined, there's a risk of Customer cancellation, affecting your tier score.
- Failing to respond within 24 hours auto-cancels the OTSDC request.
- The OTSDC offer appears in the Jobs Available screen, resembling a regular mow on your calendar, specified as Fix for Lawn Mowing in the Pro app.
- It's essential to respond promptly to Service Day Change requests. If there's no response within 48 hours, the Service Day Change request will be automatically approved.
- If a Service Day Change is approved within 48 hours of the scheduled service, the change take effect the following week.
- Back-to-back or multi-reschedule is when a single service has been rescheduled several times in a row. If the reason for the multi-reschedule is not a Customer request, lawn too wet, or inclement weather, we may attempt to find another Pro to take care of the service.
- Rescheduling the first service will result in losing the Customer.
- The exception to this rule is when the rescheduling is due to bad weather, including a wet lawn or required work.
- If you need to service a property earlier than scheduled, you can use the Inbox feature in the app to contact your customers. Just keep in mind that if you want to reschedule a job for an earlier date, you must first get written approval from the customer through the app's Inbox.
- Verbal agreements won't be accepted to prevent potential issues or disputes. Once you have the Customer's written approval for an early job completion, contact Support to assist with the rescheduling.
- Customers will receive a notification if their lawn mowing service is set to be rescheduled.
- Customers can Skip and submit schedule change requests on the app for recurring non-mowing services, while one-time services can be rescheduled.
- If the Customer needs to schedule a service that you have manually quoted to be recurring, submit individual quotes as Recommended Services before each visit.
Arrival Time Inquiry
- Customers may inquire about your arrival for various reasons like pet arrangements or meeting you. Access Inquiries & Disputes and choose Respond on the app to address the Customer's queries.
- Be cautious when selecting a reschedule option, as it can impact your score. Choose wisely to maintain your performance metrics.
- While an exact time isn't mandatory, selecting a time frame is courteous. This provides customers with a general idea, enhancing their experience.
- Use the Inbox feature on the app to communicate with the Customer, offering any necessary explanations or addressing questions related to your arrival time. Effective communication ensures a smooth service experience.
Ensuring Consistency
This section outlines measures to maintain a consistent approach throughout the process, ensuring adherence to established standards through strategies, guidelines, and checkpoints.
Pro Onboarding
| Field | Description |
| What it Means | Ensure seamless payouts by using an accepted payment account, consistently complete jobs on time to unlock more opportunities, leverage the Pro app for efficient operations, and promptly follow background check procedures for eligibility and a smooth onboarding process. |
| Example of Good Practice | Making sure that jobs claimed are completed on time. |
| Example of Bad Practice | Not keeping track of your schedules or Calendar. |
| Why Does it Matter? | Adhering to these guidelines is crucial for your success on the platform. |
Pro Tiers, Metrics, and Rewards
| Field | Description |
| What it Means |
Prioritize completing jobs on time and avoid cancellations to improve and maintain your performance metrics. Keep GPS active to be eligible for trip fees. For Auto-Placement, keep your drop rates low and maintain Gold tier status. Platinum Pros can take advantage of tip matching, with a 25% cap on tips received quarterly. And be sure to adhere to the daily capacity limits for your tier: Platinum (20), Gold (15), and other tiers (10).
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| Example of Good Practice | Performing the service as scheduled and keeping the GPS active while at the property. |
| Example of Bad Practice | Dropping multiple properties and multiple reschedules. |
| Why Does it Matter? | It is crucial to follow these guidelines consistently to achieve favorable tier placement and open more opportunities for compensation. |
Scheduling
| Field | Description |
| What it Means | Handle reschedule requests by promptly responding. Avoid back-to-back reschedules, and be cautious, as rescheduling the first service may lead to customer loss. Obtain written approval through the app's Inbox for early job completion, and communicate clearly to address Customer inquiries about arrival times. |
| Example of Good Practice | Timely response to OTSDC requests, obtaining written approval for early job completion, and effective communication with customers regarding arrival times. |
| Example of Bad Practice | Not responding to Customer requests and inquiries and rescheduling without written customer approval |
| Why Does it Matter? | Consistently following these scheduling guidelines is essential for maintaining a positive Customer experience which leads to more job opportunities. |
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