The short answer: yes, and here’s the honest truth most lawn care companies won’t tell you: when a company isn’t charging enough to make a reasonable profit, they have to make hard choices, and those choices directly affect the quality of service you receive. At Complete Lawn Care, our goal is a net 12% profit margin. That might sound high until you factor in labor costs, equipment investment, insurance, training, office staff, and everything else that goes into running a professional service company. When companies undercharge and can’t sustain a healthy profit, they start cutting corners: using subpar products, paying their team poorly, running equipment until it breaks, and eliminating office support. When morale is low, performance suffers. When there’s no office staff, your calls and emails go unanswered. All of this causes frustration for you. We’re not shy about wanting to make a profit, pay our team well, and build a company we’re proud of. That’s what allows us to deliver consistent, professional results.
Profitability Directly Affects Your Service Quality
Let’s start with something most lawn care companies won’t admit: if a company isn’t making enough profit to sustain their business, you’re going to feel it. Here’s what happens when a lawn care company operates on razor-thin margins:
They cut corners to stay afloat. Cheaper products, rushed service, skipped steps. The quality you’re paying for isn’t what you receive.
They can’t afford quality equipment. Old mowers with dull blades, unreliable trucks, and spray equipment that isn’t calibrated properly.
They pay their team poorly. High turnover, low morale, and inexperienced workers who don’t know your property.
They eliminate office staff. Your calls go to voicemail. Emails take days to answer. Scheduling becomes chaos.
They can’t invest in training. Technicians learn on the job, on your lawn, through trial and error.
They disappear when times get tough. Out of business mid-season, leaving you scrambling to find a replacement.
The bottom line: when a company isn’t profitable, you suffer the consequences, even if you “saved” $10 per application.
Why 12% Net Profit Isn’t Greedy. It’s Necessary.
Some people hear “12% profit” and think we’re making 12% off every dollar they pay. That’s not how it works. Here’s what actually goes into running a professional lawn care company:
Labor costs: wages, payroll taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, and health benefits for full-time team members.
Equipment: Commercial-grade mowers, trucks, sprayers, spreaders, edgers, and blowers. This isn’t homeowner equipment from a big-box store.
Equipment maintenance: weekly blade sharpening, oil changes, repairs, and eventual replacement. Commercial equipment takes a beating.
Fuel: Trucks and equipment burn through significant fuel every day.
Products: Premium fertilizers, herbicides, and pre-emergents. Professional-grade products that actually work cost more than consumer products.
Insurance: liability insurance, vehicle insurance, property insurance. Required and expensive.
Office staff: Real people answering phones, scheduling, tracking service notes, and handling billing questions.
Software systems: Professional service management software for scheduling, routing, customer communication, and record-keeping.
Training and certifications: Keeping technicians up-to-date on products, techniques, and licensing requirements.
Professional branding: Truck wraps, uniforms, website, and marketing. These signal legitimacy and accountability.
After paying for all of that, 12% is what’s left. That margin is what allows us to reinvest in better equipment, weather slow seasons, grow and improve the business, and provide financial stability for the owner and team. A 12% profit margin isn’t greed. It’s sustainability.
The Death Spiral: What Happens When Companies Undercharge
Here’s what we see happen with lawn care companies that undercharge to “win on price”:
Stage 1: They cut product quality. Can’t afford premium fertilizers and herbicides? Use the cheapest stuff available. Result: your lawn doesn’t respond as well, weeds break through, and you’re frustrated with the results.
Stage 2: They cut equipment maintenance. Can’t afford weekly blade sharpening or regular maintenance? Run everything until it breaks. Result: dull blades tear your grass instead of cutting cleanly, equipment breaks down mid-route, and service gets skipped.
Stage 3: They cut labor costs. Can’t afford competitive wages? Hire whoever will work for minimum wage. Result: high turnover, inexperienced crews, inconsistent quality. Nobody knows your property because it’s always someone new.
Stage 4: They eliminate office staff. Can’t afford full-time office support? The owner handles everything while also running crews. Result: your calls go to voicemail, emails take days to answer, scheduling is a mess, and communication breaks down completely.
Stage 5: They go out of business. Can’t sustain the business? Shut down mid-season or disappear without warning. Result: you’re scrambling to find a new company, starting over, and dealing with a lawn that’s been neglected.
This death spiral of underpricing happens constantly in the lawn care industry. We’ve seen it play out dozens of times in the Tulsa market.
Why Paying Your Team Well Matters for Your Lawn
Here’s something most homeowners don’t think about: the quality of your lawn care is directly tied to how well the company treats their team.
When lawn care companies pay poorly, turnover is constant. You never see the same person twice. Morale is low, and nobody cares about quality. Experience is minimal because they hire whoever will take the job. Pride in work is nonexistent because it’s just a paycheck, not a career. When morale is low, performance suffers. Always.
At Complete Lawn Care, we pay our team competitively because low turnover means consistency. The same experienced technicians learn your property and its specific needs. High morale means pride in work. Our team cares about results, not just finishing fast. Good pay attracts good people, so we can be selective and hire experienced professionals. Career stability means training investments pay off because people stick around to use what they’ve learned.
Our average technician has 5+ years of experience, and that doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by treating lawn care as a profession, not just a temporary job.
Why Office Staff Matters More Than You Think
Another area where underfunded companies cut corners is office support.
When there’s no office staff, the owner is answering calls while driving between properties or not answering at all. Emails sit unread for days. Scheduling changes create chaos. Billing questions go unanswered. Communication breaks down completely. This causes massive frustration and stress for you.
At Complete Lawn Care, we have full-time office staff because your calls deserve to be answered by real people, not voicemail. Your emails deserve responses quickly, not days later. Scheduling should be smooth and organized, not chaotic. Questions should be handled efficiently so you’re not left hanging. That level of support costs money, but it’s worth it.
Why Professional Branding Matters: No Surprises About Who’s on Your Property
At Complete Lawn Care, we invest in professional branding: professionally wrapped trucks clearly marked with our logo and contact info, uniforms for all crew members, and well-maintained equipment.
Why does this matter? Because there are no surprises about who’s on your property. You know it’s Complete Lawn Care the moment the truck pulls up. You can see our branding. Our crew is in uniform. Everything looks professional and legitimate.
Compare that to companies running unmarked trucks with crews in random t-shirts. Are they even from the company you hired? Who knows?
Professional branding isn’t vanity. It’s accountability and trust. Truck wraps and uniforms cost money, but that investment signals we’re a legitimate, stable company that’s here for the long haul, not someone who might disappear next season.
The Real Cost of “Cheap” Lawn Care
Here’s what often happens when you choose the cheapest. option:
Year 1: You “save” $100-150 on lawn care. Service is inconsistent. Communication is poor. Your lawn looks mediocre. You’re frustrated but figure you’ll give it another season.
Year 2: You switch to a quality company. They have to rebuild your lawn’s health. You’re essentially starting over and paying for it. You wish you’d just hired the right company from the start.
Total cost: Your Year 1 “savings” plus the cost of recovery plus all the frustration equals far more than if you’d paid fair pricing from the beginning. Cheap isn’t cheap when it doesn’t work.
We’re Not Shy About Wanting to Make a Profit
For more than 25 years, Complete Lawn Care has been a trusted lawn care provider in the Tulsa area. We’re proud to run a profitable business, not because we’re greedy, but because profitability allows us to deliver the quality you deserve.
That’s why we invest heavily in leadership training, research and development, and product testing, ensuring our team stays current on the latest turf products, application methods, and correction strategies. We’ve also implemented one of the few agronomy-supported programs in Tulsa, working directly with an industry expert who helps guide our application timing, product selection, and ongoing improvements based on proven agronomic science.
Profitability isn’t the enemy of good service. It’s the foundation. When we charge enough to run a healthy, sustainable business, you benefit through better products, better people, better communication, and better results. Our programs are continually refined based on real-world results and agronomic science.
Experience tells us what to do. Science tells us when and why. Your lawn deserves the best.
The Bottom Line
Profit isn’t a dirty word. It’s what allows companies to invest in quality products, equipment, people, and service.
Unprofitable companies cut corners. And you feel the impact in poor results, bad communication, and service disruptions.
Fair pricing creates a win-win. We run a healthy business, our team is well-compensated, and you get consistent, high-quality service.
The cheapest option often costs more in the long run. Recovery, frustration, and starting over add up to more than fair pricing from day one.
Ready for Lawn Care from a Company That Invests in Quality?
At Complete Lawn Care, we charge fair pricing because we invest in premium products that work, experienced and well-paid professionals, commercial equipment kept in top condition, full-time office support for communication, ongoing training and agronomy expertise, and long-term stability and accountability.
We’ve been serving Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Owasso, and surrounding communities for over 25 years, not by being the cheapest, but by being the best value. Our 7-step program delivers results you can see, backed by a company that will be here next year and beyond.
Phone: (918) 605-4646
Email: [email protected]
Online: completelawncaretulsa.com/get-a-quote
Proudly serving Owasso, Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Bixby, Sand Springs, Collinsville, Coweta, Sapulpa, Skiatook, and surrounding Oklahoma communities since 2000.