Its that dreaded time of year again, when leaves are falling and the huge amount of heavy wet debirs that has to be taken away.
I collect my garden debris in tonne bags, (small bags I found more bending and frustrating and time consuming), but often in autumn its very wet and double as heavy, so far this month I've pulled both shoulder muscles, my neck and back muscles, now I'm off work with a maybe torn/pulled bad shoulder/neck muscle.
Often i think its when im loading and unloading the van and stacking heavy amounts of bags in the van.
How does everyone else cope on there own with all the debirs this time of year?
yesterday I looked next door and there was 3 gardeners with 3 small vans also struggling with the huge amounts of leaves as there vans were not big enough,(also saw them using a counil bin), maybe an option for me to ask my clients?? but another bill for them as wouldnt cope with all their garden debris. Maybe i worked a bit too hard and filled the bags a bit too much! as had eyes on me!
I really wondered how driving 3 vans and 3 lots of diesel and dumping fees could make any profit at all? this was just a normal residential job.
I have learnt to ONLY half fill my bags and explain to the customers who penny pinch about a half filled bag the circumstances why.
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I always use the clients garden wheelie bin..... people might say its "unprofessional" but its amazing how much they hold when you tread it down. I keep a couple of plastic bins in the van and fill those if there's too many leaves.... I then plan so the next garden I visit usually has room in their bin to dispose of the surplus.....I get on really well with all my customers and they don't mind at all. Fortunately, in Harrow where a lot of my work is, the bins are still emptied weekly.
We always have 2 men on 'the garden round' and even then a big bag of wet leaves is an effort.
One of our regular customers is large international company who are VERY, VERY hot on the H & S side of things. At first I thought it was all a bit of a waste of time and that all you needed was a common sense attitude. HOWEVER when we are on our own or in a hurry, we take risks as you have done Ian. By working with such a firm over the years, we have bought in to the ethos and 'touching wood' have not had too many work related injuries for years.
You have as much responsibility to yourself as you do your employees.
Hi Ian,
Acacia hire out Billy Goat Lawn Vacuums which would prevent you from bending down all the time as it collects the leaves in a zipper-less bag as well as shredding them, reducing the volume. You could see if customers want to use it for mulch.
We also have the Kubota Sweeper Collector, its very big and needs a tractor, but has a hopper so means no bending and lifting - probably a bit big and heavy though.
If you want to hire one, just give us a call - 01273 494939.
Hope you're not in too much pain!
- Acacia Groundcare
01273 494939 - - www.acaciarental.com - - hire@acaciarental.com
Also i think my stihl backpack blower is partly to blame, it keeps cutting out, aprox 6/7 times in 1 job.. so that means constantly on and off the shoulder! And they are not light. its just been in for a fuel pipe that was split, got it back and still it cuts out for no reason....... starts up fine when u fire it up again... At other times its runs fine for an hour without cutting out but soon starts again at another job.. please let me know what u think i might be. my poor rhomboid muscle wants to know too. AGONY , but feeling bit better now after painkillers will be back to work tomm taking it very easy.
Old style br420's are the way forward - we have two and they have never let us down!
I use 80/100l woven poly sacks with a homemade spring/wire to hold them open; similar to these;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WOVEN-POLYPROPYLENE-RUBBLE-SACKS-BAGS-PAC...
They are cheap and can just be tied off easily if needed, I pile them up until I have enough to justify taking to tip / composting at allotments.
When full of wet debris they never weigh more than about 30-40 kg so a nice weight to carry.
also keeps the rubish in place during transit.
Would never go back to any other way as this is so much less strain and neater for storage if needed.
Thks, do you guys have a minimum charge, i felt a bit of a school boy. Basically i was not paying attention to time and left about 20 mins early , (more worried about my back and shoulder using the blower and massive amount of leaves),the client was not in but obviously clocked that i had left a bit early. I did not want to argue so only walked away with 1 hour and half of money, other clients also saying to me there's nothing to do and i have almost talk them around to working and others try cut my work short.. Its cold and wet and i am not one to just drag the jobs out, i work very fast prob too fast and do myself short! (As i had a lad help me in the summer ,im used to a quick pace and half the time per visit). Ive just bought a newish van (big expense) and for the 1 hour and half the money i got paid would not even buy a couple of spark plugs.... really got my down, also 2 jobs got cancelled due to the rain by other clients. I think i need to re think my pricing strategy?? i mean i have to use my van and diesel to get there in the first place...
Contract pricing mate! More flexibility and puts an end to the 'but you've only been here an hour' sort of thing. The customer ends up with a better deal as we will often 'nip in to Mrs Smith' if we have a bit of spare time. It also evens out their outlay throughout the year. All win!
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