Top Screw-Ups by Workers to be On-Alert for

[mdvaden]

Curious, what are the highest priority Lawn Mowing screw-ups that could be done by workers, for which you keep an eye out for like a Texan on a Porkchop?

Stuff that is hard to reverse, expense, health related, or just a big pain in the butt to deal with.

One I recall, was the discharging of clippings of recently iron-fertilized lawn toward wet concrete.

Reminds me of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Whatever goes on the lawn, needs to stay on the lawn.

[Dr.NewEarth]

Some-one let a self propelled 21 inch drive mower go a few feet into a garden and cut off a sprinkler riser.

I can't babysit and check every square inch of a job site every time we are there. A few people cut that yard over the preceeding weeks, but I have an idea who did it.

At any rate, we don't maintain the gardens at this res. and I didn't expect to be looking way into the shrubbery to see if the sprinkler head had been run over

Or employees try to cut over a metal manhole and the mower isn't high enough and they bend the blade or bust the key. That p...es me off. It puts a mower out of commission.

If employees would tell us when they screwed up, we could fix the problem before the client gets angry or my blood pressure boils over.

[KINGMADE]

Leaving a gate open. A customer will leave you quicker than anything if you let their animals out.

[LawnGuy35]

Forgetting to adjust the cutting height. A few years ago I had a customer who wanted his lawn kept short (2 inches). The customer I mowed for after his lawn wanted it longer (3 inches minimum).

I forgot to raise the deck before starting the second lawn and ended up scalping about 10 feet before realizing what had happened.

Luckily he and his wife were on vacation for two weeks, so it grew back without them noticing.

Since then, I always make it a point to double check.

[Lefet]

Well it wasn't an "employee", but me. One morning, rushing to sharpen the blades before cutting, I put one on upside down. Needless to say it took a few passes to figure it wasn't something wrong with the lawn.

[cpllawncare]

Originally Posted by KINGMADE

Leaving a gate open. A customer will leave you quicker than anything if you let their animals out.

Ouch! happened to me a couple of weeks ago, I thought the dog was inside the house, little did I know they had a doggie door, out he came LOL I was lucky he came right to me when I called him.

[johnsonslawnmanagement]

I hate when they are Turning mower on driveways and sidewalks leaving black marks, edging a curb then spraying with roundup so they won't have to edge again, not checking oil or lubricants and ruin a engine or pump, running over manhole covers, metal water meter boxes, or electrical boxes and ruining blades, spindles, and shear pins. Also hate just plain stupidity of some guys: Can't center and edger blade on the shaft, can't figure out how to respool trimmer line," after being taught how for a month, can't turn a mower without making ruts or "donuts" even after being taught the "3 step turn", and my favorite " it's 7:05, I'm only 5 minutes late." hate tardiness.", ha. Also, any guy I ever fired thought he was a NASCAR driver on a Z and they would eventually crash something even after being warned. Fired at least 2 guys for each of the above mentioned.
Posted via Mobile Device

[johnsonslawnmanagement]

Top screw up by employee: hit an attached carport post with a mower and knocked the down onto a Mercedes SUV. I fired him when I got on the scene and the homeowner ended up suing him and not me.

Top screw up by me: pruned into a 2 ton air unit. Hit a part inside that couldn't be repaired. Had to buy them a new one
Posted via Mobile Device

[all ferris]

The thing that drives me nuts is when I (the boss) is still working and the employees are standing around waiting for me to finish. It's like if I don't tell them to do something they can't figure out there is more work to be done...WTF.

Another is chewing up vinyl siding with a weed eater or forgetting to drop the deck b4 mowing.

My best is I hit a water spigot that was real low to the ground and hidden by weeds. The water line busted and his finished basement flooded. Thank goodness for insurance.

[93Chevy]

I hate when we're at the same property (big HOA or commercial) how many times and they still don't remember our system from week to week.

I hate when they ask me what they should do next. I mean, I'm glad they're taking initiative to ask, but can't they figure it out? If that section is trimmed, one guy keep trimming the next section and the other guy blow off the first section. Or whatever the system is. It's not that hard. Use your head.