Is he storing the battery in a temperature controlled environment? Storage in a shed or garage without temperature control will kill the lifespan of batteries quickly. I have had one of my ego batteries for over 8 years now and I would guess it's still at 70 to 80% capacity. You may tell him to look into the warranty on it if it's losing capacity that fast.How big is your yard? Trees that will need leaves mulched? How tall is your grass when you mow? Neighbor purchased an ego that I mow his yard with. Started out where I could mow it and have 2 bars left. Now a year later, I can’t even use the self propelled option, I have to push it and the red light is flashing when I finish. Last fall I could only get 2/3rds of his yard done as I mulched his leaves. I’ll be lucky to get half done this year. Give me my new Toro electric start 8.25 hp gas mower any day!! Way more torque too especially on tall grass and mulching leaves. Can’t imagine the battery power it takes to clean a wet heavy snow with an electric snow blower.