OK, maybe its time to swap helpful hints. Heres a few:<p>1) Get the customers' neighbors account! The less time you spend loading and unloading and traveling to jobs the better. I think that ideally you should have no less than three accounts per stop. At a bare minimum, two. Offer discounts if the neighborhood signs up with you. You will more than make it up in travel time and fuel savings.<p>2)Gas up/service the equipment at the end of the day rather than the beginning. Your energys are bettewr spent mowing than standing at a gas pump or grease gun. Gas up the machines on your way back to the shop. <p>3) Wider cut. A 52 will cut 10 per cent more than a 48, and still fit in the same areas. Dont schlep along behind a 21 inch if a 36 will fit thru the gate. 36s are cheap used, and are usually for sale cuz someones tired of mowing airfields all day with it.<p>4) Do the big lawns in the morning. (Walk-behind users especially) Its easier to whip thru a small lawn at 4:30 after a 90 degree day than a two-acre spread. Get the monsters out of the way first thing so you can get a few more breaks later on without actually napping on the job.<p>Any others???<p>Bill
Buy enough gas at one time to last several days. I see alot of lawn companies at the pumps daily. Big waste of time. I have several 6 gallon tanks. I buy once per week. It saves time and money wasted on snacks, soda, etc.<br>I have seen a couple trucks set up with a 50 gallon tank in the bed or mounted on the trailer.<br>Don't take accounts off your route. The extra income could be swallowed up by travel time.<br>Get a pesticide license!<br>Expect alot out of your help. Train them to be very productive. Reward them for great results. Give them the tools to do the job quickly with the least amount of frustration.<br>Set goals.<br>Have a plan... how your numbers.
- Avoid the rush hours, mow while the masses are enroute.<p>- Same with lunch hour rushes at fast food and convenience stores. Bring enough to eat and drink during your shift. If you do stop at Wendys, do it at 11 or 1:30, that'll save 20 min in line.<p>- If nobody is looking, and it is safe, take that left turn on red
Great stuff guys!<br>I always map my route so that I'm in one part of town each day, so I'm not spending hours on the road, & try to make it a loop so you end up near your starting point.<br>This also goes for snowplowing routes.<br>Also, I try not to take any jobs that are outside my 'loop',unless they will be well worth the effort.<br>Buy canisters of powdered gatorade mix instead of plastic 16-20 oz. bottles. The powder equates to $1 a GALLON, instead of 1.19 for a 20 oz. throwaway bottle.<br>Since my smallest mower is a 4 ft. walk behind, I try to only take bigger lawns as new customers. Money is made when on the grass mowing it, not in loading/unloading every 15 min. & 20 min. on the road to each stop. But that is MY preference; some perefer small lawns; I'll take small ones if there's 3 or more on the same street or real close by.<br>Think of it this way: whatever will cut your down time & get you on the lawns quicker, & keep you cutting grass for more % of the day, DO IT. <p>----------<br>Smitty ô¿ô<br>
I LIVE 45 MILES AWAY FROM MY DEALER SO I BUY AN EXTRA RIM &TIRE ASSEMBLY FOR EACH MOWER AND KEEP THEM ON MY TRAILER.I CAN CHANGE THE BAD TIRE AND BE BACK MOWING IN ABOUT 6 MINUTES.ALSO TRY TO KEEP LITTLE "PROBLEM"PARTS ON HAND.<p>----------<br>DON<br>LIANNES' MOWING
I have posted a few of my ideas on my website. The OCDC spring, the spring assisted gate lift, homemade cab idea, and maintenance tips. I always carry a complete set of belts with me, a tire pluging kit and an air tank, extra spark plugs for each motor and a complete set of tools. Just anything I can think of to save a trip to the dealer. I also always have each oil type I use, a grease gun and some penetrating oil with.<p>----------<br><a href="http://www.townserver.com/elm/">Eric@ELM</a><br>
Eric,<br>We just picked up another chopper this past week. I really like the idea of being able to close the discharge shoot. Your idea for the OCDC Spring modification is a great one and well will be doing something similar too.<br>Andy---> www.admservices.com<br>
Andy,<br>Glad you like the idea. It actually works too. The first ones didn't have any spring on it, so I came up with the idea to put one on it and it worked great. Shortly after, DC started putting them on, but up by the lever, which doesn't work as good as where I put it.<p>----------<br><a href="http://www.townserver.com/elm/">Eric@ELM</a><br>
