Jelous Mantenance Man?

[anythinglawns]

Around June of every year the full time maintenance man at a local insurance company take 2-3 weeks off for his annual training in the National Guard. During that time I am contracted to come in and maintain the lawn in his absence. Now, the insurance company itself has about 5 acres, as well as a house they own in a local resort community 1/4 acre. The house is used to entertain shareholders. Anyway, last week I stopped by the insurance company to secure the deal for this season as well as to find out if there were any changes. I talked with the people writing the checks and everything is squared away. I am walking back out to my truck and the full time maintenance man stops me and asks if I will be mowing in his absence again this year. I told him that I would be and he had nothing to worry about, I would take care of it. That is when he laid into me. He told me that way I cut the grass last year looked terrible and that no one at the company liked the stripes. He said that I ruined his pattern, and nearly killed the grass by mowing back and forth and not by mowing like him. His pattern consist of driving all over the lawn with his rider and until all the grass is cut. He then went on to tell me that the share holders drive by and don't want to see those "lines" they want to see green. Now here is where I don't know what to do. As I said I had just come from the office where the president’s secretary told me that the president really liked the way I cut the grass last year. Also last year several of the high ranking employees told me that the yard looked better than it ever had and that they wished the maintenance man would cut the way I did. Anyway I get rave reviews from everyone but him. I feel I should mow the way the people writing the checks want me to mow, and if they like the stripes, then I will give them stripes. I think this guy is afraid I am after his job and that by making the lawn look nice I am jeopardizing his position. After talking with him I called back and talked to the pres. secretary again, she reiterated the fact that everyone likes the way I do it. I just do not know how to approach this. I know the guy was lying to me, and would not be surprised if he sabotages my reputation with the company in fear of losing his job. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
Thank you.

[Sammy]

Dont worry about it. :)

[SLS]

Tell the jerk what you told us:

"Hey, the President of the company LOVES the striped pattern...and that's good enough for me. So get over it."

...something short and sweet. :D

[MikeLT1Z28]

tell him you will also be handling his other tasks as well while he is on retreat. that should make him think for his entire time off!

[Soupy]

Just ignore him. He's not anyone of Importance. meaning he has no say over what the Company wants, he's just another Employee. Now If the Company asked you to meet with him for directions on what needs to be done while he is gone, then that would make him sort of a Supervisor to your work, and he could go back and say you ddin't listen to him. But overall Your work is going to do all the talking.

Tell the truth, Your after his Job :) he's no dummy. But the most he has to worry about is getting his Hours cut. They would still need him for other Maintenance Work.

Soupy

[southside]

If he doesn't sign the cheques then his opinion is worthless.
We have a saying here. You only talk to the horses head not the
horses arse.
You are a businessman,do not take **** from other peoples employees.

[Big G]

Southside:

Thats a good saying! I laughed. :D

But then I thought, doesn't it look weird to other people when they see you talking to horses, but I guess as long as the horse has money, who cares!

Big G

[awm]

if u really wanted to put him on the spot go back and ask the president if he would rather not have the professional stripe,
as his maintenance man seems a bit perturbed..

[Toroguy]

Originally posted by MikeLT1Z28
tell him you will also be handling his other tasks as well while he is on retreat. that should make him think for his entire time off!

I agree, mess with him! Ask him where the ladders and paint brushes are. And how to get a boilers license.

And don't mention the word "stripe" to him. Leave him in the stoneage dragging his knuckles across the cave floor. He started the disinformation, show him how the game is really played.

Keep us posted

[Russo]

or.....you could tell him that you like his mowing pattern better but just don't know how to do it, and that's why you will now be addressing him admirably as *Zamboni*.

What's up there, Zamboni?

[ProMo]

hahahaha thats funny:p

[ohiolawnguy]

LOL at "what's up Zamboni"

aww don't take it personal is what i say. He probably doesn't even have the equipment, or experience to maintain the place the way you do. You do your job, collect the checks, and be on your merry way.(if you wish to attempt to gain the account, so be it.)

who knows, maybe he was just ticked off about something entirely different, and you just happened to be the unfortunate fellow whom he vented towards. I think we have all been guilty of this at one time or another in our lives. whether the person deserved it or not.

[The Lawn Choupique]

I think you have been given a lot of good advice above in this thread.
If you want to lose the account that is. It occured to me that if came down to getting rid of the full time maintenance man who has been a loyal employee of the company for how many years? Or the guy who cuts the grass a few weeks a year, just who do you think is going to be told to hit the bricks? Best to figure out a way to get along.

[anythinglawns]

That is what I am looking for here. I just want a way to resolve this. I tried talking to him that day but got nowhere. I would love to have the account all season long but as long as they have a maintenance man full time I will be doing it only 3 weeks per season. I make more in the day I am there to cut the grass than he does the entire week working for them. I don't see any changes soon. I just don't know why this came so suddenly I have been doing this for 5 years with no problems. I think like someone else mentioned there may be something else going on. I think if I did mow it like I was driving a Zamboni it would make no difference. I just feel uncomfortable in the situation. I will do what the company wants and not an employee. I will say the Zamboni thing is very funny I may use that elsewhere.

[Runner]

If it ever comes up again, just let him know that you cut that way not so much for the stripes, but because it is the most proficient way to cut grass. I think when we paint, we stroke back and forth, and when we mop, we do the same. Anyway, come to think of it, he really IS right. Mowing back and forth like that could nearly kill the grass. Man, I think we better take what this guy says seriously, and call Wrigley Field, Mile High Stadium, Yankee Stadium, ALL the golf courses across the nation, and all the rest of the professional and college athletic facilities management divisions and let them know that a breakthrough discovery was just recognized. WE'RE DOING IT ALL WRONG! Oh, by the way, he PROBably wouldn't like the way you mop a floor, either!:p

[Brickman]

Along with being a horses "ARSE", this guy has a total home owner mentality. Need I say more??



Maye I will say one more thing, this guy is CLUELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[little green guy]

Who cares what this guys says, i doubt anybody realy cares as much as we think they do anyway about how it's cut or the strips or all that stuff. As long as you do a good job and the guy signing the checks as no problems don't worry about it, this year make the nicest strips you ever made.

[James234]

Stripes look cheap. Tire marks look worse. Bottom line here is that many folks in this industry have "decided" that these flaws are attractive because their ZTR's can't mow correctly. Consumers end up "buying into" sloppy work. A real lawn should be green and without nasty stripes or wheel marks.

[awm]

i disagree james. im old school also ,but a ztr can put out smooth as well as stripes. i do it every day .its just how u mow with it . took me a while to learn how to make a lawn show no sighns of a mower being on it . just smooth carpet, look. also took me a while to learn how to lay dn a fairly good stripe..just different methods of mowing.what ever the customer prefers.:)

[David Haggerty]

Originally posted by The Lawn Choupique
I think you have been given a lot of good advice above in this thread.
If you want to lose the account that is. It occured to me that if came down to getting rid of the full time maintenance man who has been a loyal employee of the company for how many years? Or the guy who cuts the grass a few weeks a year, just who do you think is going to be told to hit the bricks? Best to figure out a way to get along.

Really well said!

Try not to get involved in the internal politics of a company you contract too. You can only loose. You're never going to please everyone in there.

Sure this guy's upset. He's faced with the very real possibility of loosing his job to you. At least he confronted you face to face.

I've contracted with three factories who went from doing the lawn "in-house" to outsourcing lawn care. It's never pleasant for
all the people involved.

Dave

[anythinglawns]

I am not trying to argue that my "stripes" or any ohther way to mow are superior. I do think having the lawn look like a bunch of bumper cars cut it looks bad any time. If the company "buys into" the back and forth pattern. That is great. If they want a carpet look. So be it. I am only giving them what they want. The maintenace guy would not like it regardless.

[TGCummings]

This is a simple one, Jase. Do the lawns the best you can, the best way you know how. Do it your way and let the chips fall where they may.

Losing "a few weeks a year" job isn't going to make or break you, but compromising your personal integrity can. You know what to do. ;)

[davesgs75]

Jason

I think Thomas is right just do what you have to do, and not worry about the maintenance guy. If you have been doing this for 5 years you must be doing something right. I once did a factory while thier guy was gone for 4 weeks. When he got back his comment was it was salvagebile. I did the place just as requested. As long as the man paying you is happy, be happy all the way to the bank.