I purchased a new home about 3 months ago in a very nice neighborhood. It's our so-called "dream home".

The day we closed on the house, we met the previous owners at the house for some wine and cheese. He wanted to discuss things like the sprinkler system, router control room, and the two separate air systems. Normal stuff.

When I arrived, a young man was mowing the yard. When he finished, he approached me by the front door, asked for the previous owner, and then handed me a bill. I wasn't familiar with this kid nor did I schedule the yard to be mowed so I referred him to the previous owner. I explained that I just closed on the house an hour earlier and prefer to mow and fertilize my own yard.

Immediately he says in a slightly mentally challenged voice, "I'll mow your yard for $28 each time."

I said, "That's a fair price, but I'm very particular about my lawn and I like to be in control of my mowing schedule, fertilizer, and seeding. I appreciate your offer but I think I'll pass. Perhaps next summer."

Then he caught me off guard and said, "If you commit to me right now I'll mow your yard for $22 per time. But only if you commit right now for the rest of the summer."

In a split second several thoughts crossed my mind, the first being I don't want anyone other than myself mowing my yard. The second thought was his offer is damn cheap! The third thought was is this kid autistic or mentally challenged? Should I even haggle with him?

I immediately replied, "I'll commit to you for the remainder of the mowing season if you drop that price down to $20 per time."

He said, "Deal," and then shook my hand. I told the neighbor and the previous owner how this kid just sold me with appropriately aggressive and somewhat surprising sales mojo. They laughed and said something like, "Yeah, he's a good kid. Hard worker. He's a little slow but he will always mow the yard on time and even before the rains. He watches the weather channel like a hawk. Good kid. Lives in the neighborhood and mows a majority of the yards.

I felt sort of bad for negotiating a very cheap price with this kid, but he participated in the negotiation and very eagerly accepted my offer.

Flash forward...

This kid has been a champion mower. Just like the neighbor and previous owner said, this kid never missed a week and even threw in a few courtesy cuttings before scheduled rains.

I called him earlier this week to thank him for mowing and to inform him that I was very pleased with the job he had done the past few months. I told him that over the winter I would think about whether to use him next season or mow my yard myself (to regain control).

He politely cut me off and said something like, "You really keep up your yard. You water it more than most people. I'm very happy to say that I mow your yard because it's one of the best yards in the neighborhood...and that makes me very proud. I'm proud to mow your yard. I'm planning to raise the costs next year for people who don't take care of their yards because their grass growth will slow down in the heat of the summer which means less mowings. But because you take care of your yard so well, I'll continue to mow it next summer for $20 per time."

I said, "Deal."

Actually, his kind words made my night! He put a smile on my face. He gives me hope about America's future.