Will I save money hiring a mowing service or doing it myself?

• It's a good question and it depends on a lot of factors. If you have a small yard that can easily be done with a push mower in less than an hour, then probably not. The savings come if you are looking at yards that utilize a riding tractor type mower or a zero turn. A common mower brand you see is the Cub Cadet starting around $2,000 for a tractor and $3,000 for a zero turn. Yes, you can get a good handful of years out of a new mower, but don't forget, you'll also need a trimmer ($100+ for a reliable one), fuel, oil, and most importantly, your TIME. And this is if you don't run into any other maintenance items or accidental incidents. For customers in our local area with a one hour weekly FULL SERVICE, you're looking at around $1,250 ($1670 for non-local, not including mileage) for the season. And the best part? That extra hour you can now spend with your family, kicking your feet up, or doing something fun! 

Why should I choose Generous Family Mowing Service over others?

• We don't hide behind our prices or our contract. We are up front with everything from the beginning, including why our rate is what it is. We offer QUALITY, and take our time to ensure the job is done with quality and professionalism in mind, we do not rush to get to the next job. We plan on keeping our rates low by remaining debt free and keeping overhead low. We also lock you into  a rate once we know how long it will take to service your yard, this way you are able to better prepare for the future. We always have an owner on site, so if you have questions, we are there. We give back to our communities in various ways, see our Community Involvement page for more. We do everything ourselves, when possible, so that we know what goes into our business. We support other local businesses. If there is something we don't do, we try to keep a list of someone who may be able to help, or will help you in finding someone. 

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Why will you only mow grass at certain heights?

• We have made a pledge to raise the blade with the Lake Champlain Lawn to Lake campaign. We mow at or above a height of 3". We also do our best to only remove up to 1/3 of the blade each time. Grasses in our area have been shown to greatly benefit from these methods as well as provide additional benefits. By mowing at this height, it promotes a naturally healthy lawn with a strong root system. A naturally healthy lawn will be able to better fend off disease, resist environmental damages from drought and flooding, and provide runoff control to reduce the effects of erosion. This in turn can SAVE you money. During the dry season of 2025, we slowed down our mowing schedule across most of our properties, many weekly customers went two or three weeks between mows, of course, if they were in agreeance! Because of this, many of our properties were still mostly growing without any addition help. Sure, it hurt our profit margin, BUT our customer we happy, their lawns were better off, and we ended up with something money can't buy: trust and some family time! Learn more at Lawn to Lake.

How much can you do in an hour? 

• This is hard to answer because every property is different. MOST of the time, we are able to fully service an acre within an hour. Several factors do influence the time though. If the property is mostly open requiring little string trimming, we can cover more area. If there are lots of obstacles, higher amounts of string trimming, or areas we have to slow down for (hills, bump area, etc.), this areas decreases. The acre figure is just to give a very ROUGH idea, your best bet is to contact us for a free, accurate estimate!  

Why do you only offer extra services to your mowing contract clients? 

• Our customers come first. They have supported us all season, and deserve to be treated to our extra services first. There is a lot of overlap in seasons, so we are still mowing while also providing these services. Our customers already know us and how we operate, plus we know their properties. With this, project discussions are usually only a few minutes that we can complete while still juggling our mowing schedule. Taking on a new customer project often requires a site visit with an estimate (we offer free estimates), which takes time from our schedule. These visits and estimates often take a few hours, which we have to take away from our valued, long term clients. We may occasionally accept extra projects if we have time in our busy schedule, so still feel free to contact us to be placed on a waitlist!

Do you offer drop-in, one time, or on-demand mowing?

• Typically, no. We have built our business for long-term relations with our clients. It takes time to learn a new person and property. This type of work can also be difficult to schedule. If we have availability in our schedule, we have taken some short-term contracts, such as a month long. It doesn't hurt to ask, but our foundation is based on creating solid, long-term relations. 

Why are you so open about your prices and contract while others keep it private? Aren't you afraid of the competition undercutting you?

• We live in an age of convenience. We believe in being open and upfront with our customers. YOUR time is precious. You shouldn't have to call to find out at least basic pricing. Understandably, the time it takes to mow a yard can vary, as can the cost, and we do encourage customers to contact us for a free, accurate estimate. But by sharing our rates, you can at least have an idea of what you may be paying. We are open about our contract because we believe in communication. Why should we hide behind it? We built our business differently. Let the competition undercut us, we can prove ourselves in our reliability, our long term commitment, our honesty and openness, our performance. Remember, a lot of times you get what you pay for. Businesses charging less may be unreliable (we've picked up loyal customers because of this!), not leave behind a nice presentation, may rush to get to the next job, or may close their business part way through the season because the can't  afford to continue. We know our price. We are here to stay. Now, you can absolutely find someone cheaper that does an amazing job, we aren't saying they aren't out there. It is just something that we hear a lot of locally and across the country.

How do you determine your pricing?

• Our pricing comes from a complex mix of factors. The largest is equipment. Reliable commercial equipment costs more than your department store residential equipment. Commercial equipment is designed for the rigors of constant starts and stops, higher operating temperatures, enhanced cut quality, and more. This all drives the price tag up. Without reliable equipment, our business would not thrive. So this is a large factor. While all of our equipment is paid for, we will eventually have to replace it. We still have to maintain it (oil changes, hydraulic fluid changes, blades, tires, carburetors, and other maintenance has to be factored in). Next is transportation. Remember, we need a vehicle to get to your property. Trucks are not cheap, on the lot and to maintain. Also our time traveling from site to site has to be incorporated in to the price. Now we need to add in fuel. Without fuel, our equipment will not operate. We run non-ethanol fuel to increase our equipment life span, efficiency, and performance. Non-ethanol fuel is typically $1 more than what MOST people put in their vehicles. And not every gas station has non-ethanol, limiting when we fill up. As an insured business, we have to factor this cost into our operations. Advertising is also a factor. And of course, our time. We set our rates so we can ensure longevity, but also do our best to keep them FAIR and affordable. We always keep in mind, "Is our rate something WE would pay for our yard?" 

What's next for Generous Family Mowing Service?

• Starting small, we have big aspirations to bring better equipment, practices and more to our line up. We figured we would share a little insight to what we want to bring to the table. Have a suggestion? Let us know! Watch us grow through the years! Also we are a debt free business!!
  • Truck set up for off site debris removal
  • Battery powered trimmers and blowers​, maybe even a zero turn mower down the road! 
  • Removal of natural debris / compost for gardens- We are looking into potentially making a compost area on our property for natural debris from our customers. 
  • Better plant and pest identification 
  • Learning more on keeping lawns healthy​​

​Do you offer snow removal services?

• At this time, we do not offer snow removal. It is definitely something we have discussed for the future. Several factors influenced this decision, but it is a long term project we will likely venture toward as we grow.