Pros
If you enjoy being out doors in all weather conditions, don't mind driving, like to work hard, don't like having a boss looking over your shoulder and do like meeting some nice customers, this is a great job. The pay is really good for a starting position, but you have to work hard for it. Fellow employees can be very helpful and often pitch in to help you complete your route if you fall behind. Management is helpful. They are also pretty honest letting you know that you are replaceable from the start, and I really appreciated that. If you are looking to change the world, this is not the job for you. If you can learn all the techniques and develop a good work rhythm you will do fine. Overtime is often available if you want it which really adds to the paycheck. As of 2015 you receive an additional 2.5% for 90% completion and another 2.5% for 95%+ so the potential to earn is there - at least if the lawns are sized accurately. You also get varied commission on sales that you make - usually from 10%-15%.
Cons
This is really hard work and quite a few people quit throughout the season. Sometimes the weather is pretty bad. Yards can often be measured incorrectly (undersized to make the sale) so when you pull up to a property, the lawn is much bigger than expected. Mixed results correcting this, but when you have to finish all of your stops and they are mostly bigger than scheduled you risk not getting all of your work done. Some Lawn Specialists rush the work to try to get it all done, and the results of a rushed job can be obvious at times. Not the best training for problems encountered while on customers lawns. In the past years there is an increase for Lawn Specialists to upsell products and services, sometimes beyond what the customer actually needs. As this was not really listed as a sales job, many Lawn Specialists do not expect to have to sell. Sometimes changes are made to products or procedures and not communicated to everyone. Not much room for advancement. My biggest gripe is the speed which some Lawn Specialists are doing the job. We are all trained the same way and that includes spray pattern and walking speed, so each individual property job should take roughly the same amount of time regardless of which specialist performs the work. Yet somehow people are getting the work done faster, which means they are not spending the proper amount of time on each property. If someone is consistently coming back to the shop at 2:00pm something is not right.
