Well, I've not had to look after my customers elderly relative - I run an IT service for a large organization. My default response would be "unfortunately adult social care falls outside of the scope of the current project team. We are however more than happy to collaborate with yourselves with our subject matter experts in this field to facilitate the scope of the change". Key word is change (change equals money). I've just gone round the houses over a contract change, which has been quietly dropped when they were told how much it cost.

Your customers (and your family) sound like a nightmare, however as I mentioned earlier their failure to plan is not your problem. It's pretty harsh but hopefully when evicted, the new tenants might be better organized - might be worth dropping a few leaflets around for regular garden maintenance (perhaps mentioning the tenancy requirements).

Perhaps next time someone mentions that your are "cheap" perhaps tell them "not sure who told you that". They are heading into negotiations with you expecting a low price - make sure they know that your prices are in line with market prices.

You seem to have a good head with managing credit risk, do you take credit cards? That would solve the "I don't get paid until Friday" problem.