Good Employees

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Its hit or miss.

I had the best luck with military personal. The problem is there only available part time.

I tried carpenters, roofers, and some were good till they found other work, others thought the work was to hard and the pay was to little.

Every year I bring on about 5-6 new guys. The ones that last usually just listen and show up. Theyll miss spots and if Im, not on them **** doesnt get done. The ones that work hard, show initiative and do things the right way always job hop.

[dpld]

unfortunately the real good employees don't last because they usually have the brains and ambition to either start their own gig or move on to a better career choice.

if it makes any of you feel better, or at least the younger guys starting out, the problems have always been the same good help has always been hard to find because lets face it no one grows up wanting to be a landscaper especially, no one grows up wanting to be a employee of a landscaper.

the only difference is there are fewer people today that even have any work ethic.
the younger generation is screwed.

there are exceptions to the rule with all of the above but the business is not what it used to be and the economy has created a influx of excess landscapers.

i still have plenty years to work but i am always looking for other avenues to travel to make a living after being a landscaping/ tree care professional for 28 years.
i still like doing what i do but it is getting old especially with the excess baggage of employees.
the sad part is the only two things that piss me off is customers and employees and the day i can make a living without either one will be the day i finally figured it all out.

[CHEESE2009]

It's impossible, lol.


BUT

I have an idea.

You can make the position more 'interesting'. As the owner, you can come up with a title that would give them more ambition to hold onto it.

Instead of "grunt" "b*tch" or even "crew worker"... try

"Class A, Master Level Lawn Manager"

Holy hell, that sounds good doesn't it?

-

Ladies will ask, "what do you do?"

You'll say, "I'm a class A: MLLM"

Ladies will respond, "What's that?"

You'll say, "Master Level... Lawn Manager" as you sip on your martini.

[JeffK26]

I don't have any employees, but when I get to the point where I need to hire someone i'm doing what my lawn care mentor did when he hired me.

I mentioned it before, but he brought me and another guy in....On our first Monday he told us both "One of you will have a job at the end of the week, one of you won't." I busted my arse, the other guy texted, took his time getting out of the truck...he was just not into it.

IMO you get two things from this....the guy hires himself, and the guy you end up hiring already set his own bar and can only improve. He can't really slack off because you've seen how he can work.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

I mentioned it before, but he brought me and another guy in....On our first Monday he told us both "One of you will have a job at the end of the week, one of you won't." I busted my arse, the other guy texted, took his time getting out of the truck...he was just not into it.

I do something close to that in early spring. When we're doing large mulch jobs I bring in 3-5 guys for a few installs. This year I had 2 good guys but one moved 40 miles away to do construction work and the other went awol. They were both hard workers and detailed oriented. You cant teach that.

That put me into a position of looking for guys in the slow part of the season.

One of the big problems is winter is unpredictable. If I cant keep the guys busy they find work elsewhere. Then in spring I'm right where I left off.

I had a real hard working guy for 2 years but hes the type that think hes the boss. Everyone hated working with him. He was rude in front of the customers. Then we finally got into it with him telling me how to do his job.

[CHEESE2009]

Then we finally got into it with him telling me how to do his job.

Don't you just hate people like that? Arrogant s.o.b.

[PVMS]

I take parents background into account when I hire. Odds are if the parents are manual labour types, they have instilled good work ethics into their children.
I stay clear of Uni students and the like. Real men are a dying breed here in Australia. The current generation have had it way too easy, are demanding and all together useless. Iphones are now considered a body part, and they must check fb every two minutes to survive the day.

[stevef1201]

How in the world do you guys find people to work in this kind of business? How do you qualify them, how do you find people that want a paycheck, how do you find people who take pride in there work? Man I am so frustrated, most are on drugs, lazy, mess up my equipment, want more money for less work, family issues, drama, etc.

I have two great employees. They show up every day ON TIME, work just hard as I do. Never complain. Really great. By the way they are my left and right arm. Never had any luck with anyother 'helpers'

[xandrew245x]

Man, tell me about it. It is hard for me to understand that at 54 years old I can work harder than 20 and 30 year olds. And it is not just because I own the business, I have always been that way with the places I have worked. My dad was a hard worker so I guess I am doing the same as he.

I agree with this. I am 20, and i'm not lazy, nor am I attached at the hip to my cellphone checking facebook statuses all day, when I do lawncare, I work, and I work hard, but my dad is 54 years old, and my god he could work circles around me, I just don't understand it.

[WorkForMySelf]

I agree with this. I am 20, and i'm not lazy, nor am I attached at the hip to my cellphone checking facebook statuses all day, when I do lawncare, I work, and I work hard, but my dad is 54 years old, and my god he could work circles around me, I just don't understand it.

Im the same.. 24 and prefer to leave my phone in the truck. I have a mexican guy thats 61 and works harder than me.. barely drinks water and doesnt want a lunch break. I think its the junk food we have grown up eating or something. My great grandad had a grip that intimidated when he was in his literal death bed.. <**- zero exaggeration

[xandrew245x]

I carry my phone just in case I get an important phone call, and I like to listen to music while running my mower.

My dad grew up working like he does, so maybe by the time i'm his age i'll be able to work as fast as him ;P

[dpld]

I agree with this. I am 20, and i'm not lazy, nor am I attached at the hip to my cellphone checking facebook statuses all day, when I do lawncare, I work, and I work hard, but my dad is 54 years old, and my god he could work circles around me, I just don't understand it.

i tell any new employee to leave his phone off and in the truck or it might get broken.
then the new guy i hired replied back " it's ok i am pretty good at protecting my phone"

i said " ok, i thought i would just warn you so it don't get ruined "

10 minutes later his phone was ringing and he stopped working and turned the machine off and started having a conversation.
so i approached him and smacked to phone out of his hand and it went about twenty feet in the air before hitting the ground.

he said, " WTF, why did you do that? "

i said, " i told you to keep your phone in the truck or it might get broken and you did'nt and it did."

all my guys were laughing because they knew better and this young lad found out the hard way that useing a cell phone while working for me is the last thing you want to do if you want to keep a job.

so he was out a phone and a job.

i have zero tolerence for this diva mentallity we have today with all these kids and their phones and computers who act as if it is a constitutional right to be able to chat on the phone all day while someone is paying you to work.

even though i smoke about a half a pack a day and most times even less i have a no smoking policy.
another new guy i hired said " how can you have a no smoking policy and be a smoker? "

i replied, " there are several reasons, 1. it is my business, 2. i sign the checks, 3. and i am not paying you to smoke on my time, 4. no one ever died because they did not get a cigarette, 5. i don't want people walking around my customers properties with a cigarette hanging out of their mouths, 6. i don't want anyone lighting up in my trucks and either making a mess with the ash tray, burning a hole in the seat or being seen throwing a cigarette out the window while driving down the road with my name on the truck. "

i don't smoke in my own vehicles and i never smoked in my own home and in fact i wish i never smoked at all and i can pretty much do without them other then that after a meal smoke or maybe one or two while sitting back enjoying a frosty beverage.

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

so i approached him and smacked to phone out of his hand and it went about twenty feet in the air before hitting the ground.

I think I have a new position open for phone smacker.

[xandrew245x]

Yeah, I don't understand what the whole craze is about texting, talking on the phone and of course facebook. I have a facebook page, and I have i don't know maybe 30 friends if that, I don't ever use it, its pointless. I carry my phone because I don't want to miss inportant calls, but when I work I don't just get it out and start playing with it, and It really pisses me off when I see kids doing that when they are doing a job and especially driving!

[wat5150]

Sometimes when Im on my mower I use my phone to watch p0rn and get all distracted and my lines get crooked!!!!