Same old problems

For Adam Coupe, owner of Coupe’s Cuts Lawn Service in Carmel, N.Y., COVID-19 has just exasperated the same problem he’s been facing for years – labor.

“We’ve got three crews out there all the time,” Coupe says. “We’d love to have four, but that’s not in the cards with the labor pool out there – especially this year.”

Even before the coronavirus crisis, Coupe says he struggled to fill openings.

“That’s our biggest challenge. And it’s just not our area, it’s everywhere,” he says. “We could run a business two to three times the size of what we got here if we just had the labor. We’ve had to turn down a lot of work.”

Now, he says he’s feeling the pinch even more.

“We’ve had ads out and we’ve been looking for laborers all year and have gotten little to no response,” Coupe says.

 He adds that the responses the company does receive are from people who aren’t actually interested in the position, and that the additional unemployment funding seemed more appealing to some.

“There’s people out there throwing their resume and anything and everything so they can show unemployment that they’ve been looking for a job,” Coupe says.

MAKING THE MOST OF IT. Since he doesn’t have the manpower to expand his business much further, Coupe says his priority has been on being as efficient as possible.

“It’s all about route density,” he says. “We won’t take a lawn on unless it’s on the same street of a lawn we already do…we can’t be driving somewhere else to be doing one more lawn at this point. My trucks only make about three or four big moves in a day. Every time the truck stops, it does at least five or six lawns.”

Coupe notes the company’s strength is in maintenance and he’ll continue to stick to it.

“Maintenance has got to be 90% of it,” Coupe says of his overall revenue. “We’re mainly a maintenance outfit. We do 150 residential properties a week. And then probably another 30 commercial properties. Sometimes you look at mowing as the loss leader, but for us it’s the steady work that keeps our customers happy and builds the rapport and trust.”

Coupe says that being a small operation has also helped him gain his clients’ trust.

“My name is on the side of the truck and my name is on my back. People relate and seem to gravitate toward someone who puts their name on the side of the truck,” he says. 

HAVING THE RIGHT THINGS ON HAND. To handle all the work, Coupe says he’s come up with the ideal combination of equipment.

“We’ve got eight or 10 mowers,” he says. “We found that what works best for us and our properties is one 6-inch ride-on, zero-turn and a 52-inch walk-behind. That’s typically what goes with every crew. We’ve got three-man crews out, so this way there’s no waste. We aren’t dragging around machines we don’t need.”

Coupe says his longtime employees helped him come to this decision and he’s learned to trust their judgement. Even after testing out any new equipment he’ll look to them to see if it’s worth investing in.

“My guys have been with me a long time,” he says. “We’re comfortable with what we got, and we know what works.”

And Coupe and his crews keep their equipment running smoothly by adhering to a strict maintenance schedule. By focusing on preventative maintenance, Coupe says he can’t remember the last time his equipment had a breakdown.

“Every Monday morning, from 8 to 9 a.m., we’re able to get every machine up in the air,” he says. “We change and sharpen blades, grease everything, we power wash and everybody has their duty. Everything gets done once a week…so this way there’s no excuses.”