Hello! Jason Brooks here. I hope this edition of our newsletter finds you well and that you are enjoying summer here in central Indiana.
As we all know, rising costs have become a part of our reality over the past year. At Brooklawn, we rely heavily on fuel and fertilizers to produce our lawn and tree care services. I wanted to take a minute to explain to you some pricing changes that will occur at Brooklawn Services beginning on July 1st. But first, I want to share some data with you, so you have some background on why we need to take this action.
- Materials Cost: Our cost of materials (fertilizer and weed control) is up 70% over our costs for the same time as last year (January-June 15th). Yes, you read that correctly, 70%!!! The cost of fertilizer is closely tied to fuel cost and since fuel costs are up, fertilizer cost is up too. A bag of fertilizer that we could purchase last year for $11 is now nearly $20.
- Fuel Cost: The national average for fuel last May was $2.98/gal. Last week it was $4.98/gal. That is a 67% increase in fuel costs for us to operate our vans and machines as we make our way around central Indiana.
Source: US Energy Information Administration website - Labor Cost: And finally, our labor costs continue to rise substantially each year.
Although we have done our absolute best to resist passing on these costs, we have reached a point where the cost has become too high to shoulder. We had hoped this problem would go away, but it has not and in fact it seems to be getting worse. With this in mind, we will be implementing a 20% price increase on all services beginning July 1st. There isn’t anything fun about passing along a price increase, but it is necessary for us to continue to provide quality, customized lawn and tree applications for your property. If you have already pre-paid for your services this year, you are locked in on those services, but you will likely see an increase next year unless fuel and fertilizer prices decrease drastically between now and then.
If you have any questions about the data I shared, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. The best way to contact me is via email at: jason@brooklawnservices.com or you may contact our office at (888) 794-9555.
Thank you for your business and thank you for your understanding!
– Jason Brooks | President/Founder, Brooklawn Services