Today an employee chopped up 12lb caster wheel & didn't know it...

[Albemarle Lawn]

Today a large steel and rubber caster wheel fell off a ZTR when employee crashed it into fence.

Then, get this...

He chops it, destroying a spindle and leaving a blade in the grass.

He continues on mowing another 1100 feet of fence until he realizes there are only 2 blades on the machine.

The obvious horrible sounds that machine must have made as it ingested a 12lb caster wheel.

Competely oblivious, he never even noticed a wheel missing.

two words: DRUG TEST!!!!!!!!


kb


__________________

[Richard Martin]

And people say to me "Why don't you get a helper?". Yeah, right.

[awm]

i wouldnt have believed it ,but i found out i was a pure genius ,when i started trying to find help.once when running a parking lot sweeping service . had a guy get up on the lot mediun and sweep it with the truck.. h-ll it didnt make to much exstra noise and he didnt want to have to blow it into the lot. course it did cost him a job and me about 2800 dollars.i know how to pickum.:)

[ProMo]

a guy mowing across the street from my job ran over a wheel a few weeks ago ive never heard such a loud noise

[Doc Pete]

While I was weedwhacking the church yesterday my helper was mowing. Very quickly, I noticed the grass was bending over badly on the right side of the tractor and not being cut. I stopped the helper, put my hand under the deck and sure enough the right side blade was missing. He said, "Now I know why it didn't seem to cut well and left streaks"................


People that have trouble with the mechanics of a "wheelbarrow" should take up sewing:D
Pete

[ProMo]

owner of co i worked for a long time ago put blades on upside down the took it to a shop when it didnt cut good lmao

[MOW ED]

The two words arent DRUG TEST,

they are

YOUR FIRED!

[Brickman]

Several years ago my uncle had a KID working for him. He takes the baby to the back yard and shows him a stump sticking out of the ground. Tells him DO NOT HIT THIS. The kid first round with a Snapper runs right over the stump, bends the crank on the engine, and the mower never ran right since. Get this, I was there that day and saw the mess, the guy had to PUSH down on the handles and LIFT the front of the mower to go over the stump. It was that high, and he still hit it.

It is ONE word.

STUPID.

[Jason_S]

Funny to see that being posted...... I had a caster fork crack on me today.... not by any negligence... not my fault, but I was looking at the other side of the deck when it happened and I took a small chip out of the solid rubber tire. I knew something wasn't right so the blades were disengaged and the deck was in the air immediately. So all it was was a caster fork that needed replacement.

I am not a newbie to mowing by the way.... I am on my fourth year Landscaping and I also am a crew cheif

I still cannot understand how your employee could keep going with that caster wheel gettting kicked around under the deck for so long..... he must be on drugs! I myself would be irate if one of my guys did that!!!!!!!

[bart may]

believe it or not I've had the same thing happen twice on my walkbehinds. Fortunatly it didn't ruin the spindle but the blades sure did a number on the wheel and metal castor. Totally chopped into the rim. It happened both times while the employee was trying to get the mower under a spruce tree. It somehow flipped off the keeper pin that holds to castor on the frame. I know what your feeling buddy. Employees can't live with them, can't kill them!!!

[Albemarle Lawn]

A backup spring pin + primary pin had to be crashed out well before wheel was ingested.

Mower also was at 3" so it needed at least a 6" dip to let this wheel fall out...

AND...it was at the leading edge of the mower...precisely where he should have been watching....

How do I retrain someone as to be able to MAKE THE DECISION as to what is important to watch at what time....

It would seem like watching posts is the thing to do when mowing 4 miles of fence. The guy who was mowing at the time usually has a straight ahead dead-pan stare.

KB

[Albemarle Lawn]

Your uncle's story....

Well, I have had 2 seperate ADULTS I have HIRED for real money do the same thing.

First incident, 2 years ago.

I give employee brand new 72" Gravely and I leave to give an estimate. Before I left I walked the guy to the right side of the customer's house and said "See that stump--don't hit it"...
I return to find virtually no work done, and the guy is just sitting there in the shade. He destroyed a spindle and Tungsten blade, right on that stump. Bill: Spindle $155, Blade $45, Labor $110, total $310 plus 0 revenues, customer fired me.

Incident #2

Two weeks ago. Same guy that trashed the caster pictured above. Walk him around a yard...

"See that big white plastic sewer clean-out sticking up 8"
Walked him right up to it and stopped. Pointed down to it. "See that?" I said "Don't get the ZTR anywhere near it, I will trim around it"

I left to go buy fertilizer.

I return and it is smashed. He says, I was weed-eating and accidentally kicked it.

My BS receptor went on full alarm. I looked more closely, the entire pipe was shattered 3' deep. The earth was disturbed 2' around the pipe.

I told dude, you have 30 seconds to tell me what really happened or you can go home now, you're fired...

He said "I ran it over with the mower..."


LISTEN GUYS.... People don't come this stupid. People this stupid are created. GET A DRUG TEST IF YOU SUSPECT...it's your livelihood on the line

[Jason_S]

HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!

Now that is abuse! I would put that guy on the trimmer from now on..... if he is competent enough to even do that!

Like I said, when it happened to me on monday, I was watching the other side of the deck (leading edge) and I was still able to get away with No real damage other than a worn out caster fork that cracked!!!!!

This guy shouldn't be on the mower

Thanks for putting the pic up.... that is truely amazing!