[Pelican]

One of my mowing crew has been with me for 8 years, a good worker but he has to be supervised. For the third time this season I read him the riot act about bringing me the machine with a bent blade. We do the same accounts each week, and most of them for several years now. By this time he should know where obstacles are and either avoid them or remove them.

I pointed out to him that the blades were $10 a piece and the time required to stop and change a bent blade while on the route was very costly. Mowing in my area is extremely competitive and has a very low profit margin, if any at all. I have to watch every penny on the mowing side of things.

I never once suggested that he replace the blades, that's not legal and I didn't threaten his job, though I did make it clear I could get a guy off the street to come in and bend blades, that I expected him to be better after 8 years experience.

Today while buying a muffler for one of the machines (that's another story), this employee comes in and buys a set of blades for the machine he runs. He doesn't know I saw him and I'm feeling a bit guilty. How would you handle this?

[Stonehenge]

Guilty? Not at all. You should feel good. This means he took your conversation seriously and is making an earnest attempt to make things right, or at least make them right after he goofs up. That he bought those blades is a very positive sign, IMHO. Tells me he is interested in keeping the job.

[Mac]

I definately agree with Jeff. its a huge green flag. I know from experience that you or I may know our accounts by heart but I also had one employee in particular that couldnt remember the properties from week to week. Its just not important to them. He was a great worker and very meticulous but just had a hard time remembering every site. I just figure not everyone can be perfect, otherwise they'd be running thier business too.

[Pelican]

Thanks guys. I try my hardest to treat my guys fairly, I know I can't run without them. From what I understand, I pay them better than most of the landscapers around here, but I have high expectations too. I always thank them in the morning and the evening, but when things aren't right, they hear about it.

I just felt a little funny about this, it's great that he took what I said to heart, but at the same time I feel a little bad that he's laid out the money for the blades. He's got two kids to feed and that money could have gone in that direction. I'm not saying they will go hungry, just that it might hit him harder than it would me.

[Mac]

Steve, why not make his actions into an example for the others. Teach them that going a step beyond what is required can have unplanned positive results. If it were me, Id get him a gift card to dinner. Make certain the others see this but also let them know that going a step further doesnt usually mean replacing what they broke but is more about a culture of individual responsibility, etc.

[Stonehenge]

Yup - find a way to reward that behavior. Personal accountability is something that's not always in great supply.

[Lanelle]

This could also be a starting point for doing the 'little bit extra' for the customers. Sometimes it is as simple as the crew being courteous to a customer. Other times it is cheerfully pruning back an errant branch of a shrub that the client wants removed or sharing the name of a good plumber with them. Being positive and proactive usually has great paybacks. Doing something for the crews that is a surprise helps them to be positive out on the job.

[Pelican]

Great idea!

[Dale Wiley]

Your employee stepped up big time. He deserves some type of incentive a bit beyond the value of what he did.

On the flip side of it, you need to look at your operations pattern, procedures, etc to determine where your training or standard procedures allowed the mower to go out with bent blades.

happens once.. after that there is a breakdown in the system somewhere.

Not bagging on you.. justing point out the importance of systems.

[HRLand]

Hopefully laying out some of his own cash will teach him to watch what he's doing.

[Dale Wiley]

I have been in this business for over 28 years, and while I am not on the tools much anymore, I can just about guarantee you that some time this year while I am operating something, I will do something that causes me money, and something that I should have known better.

But happens and time spent worrying about it is time squandered.

[AZTLANLC]

I was an employee for may years before owning my company and one time we lost a hammer someplace that we couldn't remember at all, my boss got upset and told us that hammer costs $40 which at the time I felt it was ridiculously.
Then couple weeks after that he remind us about the hammer that it was expensive and how we lost it, at that time my co-worker and I decided to go to HD and get him new hammer it sure was about $40 with taxes gave it to our boss and then he just stood there didn't said a word.
Did we do the right thing? maybe but we felt that he was a greed bastard and for couple of weeks we worked feeling he didn't care about us only about his money and that reflected in our performance too no more thinking outside the box, no more running to get the shovel, no more working on sudays, etc. After some weeks we went back to normal again ad forget the issue
Well the reason I'm telling you this is because make sure you do something to compensate for what he did, specially if he's Mexican like me, maybe a best buy gift certificate for the amount he spend, or a simple pizza.
I would tell him that the reaon you got upset is cause you tought he didn't care about the company but that proved he does.

[Nebraska]

I thought about this one for a while since yesterday......

I would compensate him for the amount spent plus some. Let him know that you know. Doing that will have more impact on him personally than anything else you could ever do.

[Dire Wolf]

It definately shows he can understand your point. When stuff like that happens I remind the crew that if we waste money on stupid mistake replacements its that much less the company will have to put toward raises, company bbq, bonus etc. We still have our mistakes once in a while, but they seem to respond to this rationale.

[Raj Venugopal]

Put cash in a separate envelope along with his next paycheque for the amount of the blade. Don't say or write anything else. Let him know that you know, and that you're appreciative.

If he's got kids, he's taking that money out of their future. If he's a good employee, which after 8 yrs it sounds like it, treat him right.

You're certain it's not for his own mower?