Contractors Challenge Equipment Makers, Dealers: Equipment Roundtable

ON SELECTING MOWER TYPES:

“Several contractors switched to riders only to find that their crews didn’t know how to operate them effectively. They had to go back to the basic training to get away from the walk-behind patterns that were in workers’ minds and develop riding patterns and habits that allow productivity to be real.” — Christian

“There’s another side to that issue of a place for the riding mower. There are a good many areas where they do not belong. Our approach is quality first and foremost, and sometimes we can’t use a large mower and deliver the finished product we want.” — Guthrie

“One issue with the ZTR mowers is that customers perceive speed is a bad thing. We have to educate the customer.” — Ferrari

“A new hydrostatic mower correctly operated looks dangerous to the uneducated eye...you have to let the customers watch you operate the equipment.” — Christian

“Our customers are amazed at the performance of our riders. We put the largest machine possible on open turf. It reduces the workforce and the fatigue level.” — Kuykendall

HEADED FOR SUPER DEALERS?

“I’m not sure the whole dealer concept can work, because most of us here have our own mechanics and the dealer doesn’t have much to gain working for us. Those contractors who don’t yet have their own shops still use dealers.” — Wilson

“Contractors can outgrow dealers in three years in this business. Once they are buying mowers in the $25,000 to $27,000 range consistently, they have to look at leasing, and the only way the leasing deal can work is from the super-dealer’s point of view. I don’t see any super-dealers emerging. I see dealers emerging as generalists selling things we can buy at Home Depot.” — Christian

“There are dealers who want to do business with you. They’re dedicated and an example of someone who cares because they put customer service first and foremost.” — Elkins

“They’re the ones who offer credit discount programs, who sell parts and chemicals. They’re the ones to look at and model after customer service.” — Kuykendall

“Some dealers are trying to understand us. They came to us with respect for us as a company. They say ‘You know what you’re doing. What else can we sell you?’” — Wilson

ON LEASING:

“We go to the golf course shows and see what manufacturers have available to that market. They need to make products available to us.” — Guthrie

“There’s an unfortunate belief system that casts a shadow on our industry — it’s a menial task belief system — that our work is assumed to be menial work. We know that’s not true and that our crews have to be skilled and fast to do the work well, but the outside world doesn’t seem to know.” — Christian

“Some companies have leasing programs for golf, and we’ve talked with them about leasing to landscape. They think the industry has bad credit risks. That mentality pervades the manufacturing side.” — Wilson

“That’s a problem on the local level. A given market may have a few professional landscapers and 100 fly-by-nighters, and that’s who lenders and dealers run into and that’s who buys the bulk of their equipment.” — Guthrie

ON THE VALUE OF TRAINING:

“We have in-house training with practical demonstrations and we use manufacturers’ video tapes. We won’t send crews out on a job without them knowing how to use the equipment.” — Guthrie

“We use our training program in our marketing, in proposals or presentations. It’s a major part of our marketing.” — Elkins

“Employees have to know safety features, fueling techniques, pre-start inspections, how to break down every piece of small equipment, and more. They have to master it before they can move on.” — Guthrie

“Crews should also know how to do minor adjustments and repairs in the field. They’re simple, but if you can’t make them, it’s costly.” — Braswell

“Most manufacturers are willing to give us training materials, but many contractors don’t ask them for it. We want to tailor it to meet our own operating standards.” — Wilson

“We have an irrigation distributor who provides irrigation training for 12 weeks, one day a week in the early morning. He was willing to be at our place at 5:45 a.m. to get our business.” — Braswell

“We’re not going to shut down our operation to get training — it’s not practical. We want to be able to take time out at our place and not use up a whole lot of our production time.” — Wilson

To be continued next month. The author is Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.