Fired my helper after he botched a Stihl weed eater job on a $1200 landscape trim

SawdustSavant

·12h·6 replies·6 participants

SawdustSavant🌱 NewcomerOP12h

Out here in north Georgia, I just had to let go of my helper today after he wrecked a brand new Stihl FS 91 R weed eater on a simple edging job for a $1200 commercial landscape contract. The idiot revved it too hard against some rebar stakes I had marked, and boom, the head snapped off, costing me $250 to replace on the spot from the local dealer. We'd been running behind all week with the rain, and this was the last straw, especially since clients are picky about that clean trim look around the flower beds. I run a small crew, just me and two guys, and now I'm scrambling to cover tomorrow's mulch install without him. Saw a similar rant in the Landscaping Professionals Facebook group last month, and Mike Andes was commenting how he fires on the spot for equipment abuse. NGL, it sucks because he was a decent mower otherwise, but I can't afford these screw-ups eating into my margins. Anyone else dealt with this in the heat of summer jobs?

ChillMasterHV⭐ Expert6h

man, firing a helper over a wrecked stihl sucks, been there twice this season alone with my crew botching gear on tight jobs. that fs 91 r is a solid trimmer, but when they rev it into rebar like that, its game over and youre out $250 easy. north georgia rain aint helping, keeps everything muddy and tempers short, makes screw-ups hit harder. i feel you on the margins, these summer gigs already eat your profits with the heat and overtime. lost a decent mower guy last year to the same crap, thought he was careful but nope, snapped a head on some old fence post. now im down a body too, scrambling for mulch hauls tomorrow gonna be a grind. had to pull an all-nighter once after a similar mess, wouldnt wish that on anyone. hang in there, sometimes you gotta cut loose the dead weight to keep the business afloat.

RefrigerantRon🔧 Apprentice3h

man i feel that, had a helper last summer who snapped the clutch on my stihl brushcutter during a rush job and it cost me $180 i didnt have, fired him on the spot cause these kids just dont give a damn about gear. sucks when youre already short staffed in the heat.

V8366🌱 Newcomer12h

Damn man, that sucks. Lost a trimmer the same way last summer, helper thought he was invincible.

MiterMaster⚒️ Journeyman12h

Haha, invincible until the bill hits. I started locking up the good gear after that.

HeatHustler⚒️ Journeyman11h

Proud of you for making the call quick. My business jumped 20% after I stopped carrying dead weight on landscape crews.

MiterMaster⚒️ Journeyman11h

Insurance should cover that crap, but the deductible is always a kick in the nuts. We all been there with green helpers.