Sal Amato operates a residential landscaping business in an affluent suburb of St$.$ Louis. In an effort to provide quality service, he has concentrated solely on the design and installation of upscale landscaping plans $($e$.$g$.,$ trees, shrubs, fountains, and lighting$).$ With his clients continually requesting additional services, Sal recently expanded into lawn maintenance, including fertilization.

The following data relate to his first year's experience with $50$ fertilization clients:

Each client required nine applications throughout the year and was billed $$41\mathrm{.}00$ per application.

Three applications involved Type I fertilizer, which contains a special ingredient for weed control. The remaining six applications involved Type II fertilizer.

Sal purchased $6,900$ pounds of Type I fertilizer at $$0\mathrm{.}56$ per pound and $11,900$ pounds of Type II fertilizer at $$0\mathrm{.}46$ per pound. Actual usage amounted to $5,150$ pounds of Type I and $8,750$ pounds of Type II$.$

A new, part$-$time employee was hired to spread the fertilizer. Sal had to pay premium wages of $$13\mathrm{.}40$ per hour because of a very tight labor market; the employee logged a total of $203$ hours at client residences.

Based on previous knowledge of the operation, articles in trade journals, and conversations with other landscapers, Sal established the following standards:

Fertilizer purchase price per pound: Type I, $$0\mathrm{.}69$; Type II$,$ $$0\mathrm{.}47$

Fertilizer usage: $59$ pounds per application

Typical hourly wage rate of landscape personnel: $$9\mathrm{.}80$

Labor time per application: $40$ minutes

The operation did not go as smoothly as planned, with customer complaints actually much higher than expected.

Required:

Compute Sal's direct$-$material variances of each type of fertilizer.

Compute the direct$-$labor variances.

$3-$a$.$ Compute the actual cost of the client applications. $($Note: Exclude any fertilizer in inventory, as remaining fertilizer can be used next year.$)$

$3-$b$.$ Calculate the profit or loss of Sal's new lawn fertilization service.

On the basis of the variances that you computed in parts $(1)$ and $(2)$ was the new service a success from an overall cost$-$control perspective?

Should the fertilizer service be continued next year?