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Never, under any circumstances. I won't lend machines for anything, let alone when I had staff asking "it's for me Gran's garden", when what they mean is "I've got some private work on the side", or "I have a mate who would like to use your chainsaw on his nail-filled floorboards".
I'd offer to do a deal to go with them and cut their Gran's hedge out of hours, if they'll buy you a drink. I wonder how often that would be "inconvenient", but if it's genuine then you'll have a member of staff who appreciates your help.
I don't have any employee's, but do a similar deal for close friends that ask me if they can borrow my tools to do a job.
I will come and work for free in return... The time I spend on the job, they give back to me as 'free' labour. Everybody wins.
Usually they offer to pay me instead :)
No! Used to be a little more generous, but had my fingers burnt - and eventually you will too. Lent out a breaker, who lent it to someone else, who moved and never saw it again. And of course the small detail of someone else putting in a long reach spark plug into a Hayterette!
Sadly not all staff ask to borrow your tools:(
Had one member of staff try to secret away a chainsaw for a weekend.
On returning to the yard one Friday evening (vans and staff arrived back at different times depending on job and location) one member of staff was just about to get into his car. I noticed one of our chainsaws on the ground next to his bag. I asked why he had it and his reply was something like 'I have logs to cut this weekend'.
I had to admire his balls but I made him put it back and he left the company shortly afterwards.
Lent my chainsaw out once, after carefuly explaining not to cut nails, soil or stones and the guy I lent it to used it to try and chop tree roots. Still refuse to speak to him until he buys me a new Bar and Chain.... Im all for helping out at my allotment, but lending out tools is 100% a no no.. IF people dont own the tool, they will not care for it,
We're a pretty close knit bunch at our place so i do lend tools and more usually vans out to long standing employees. I try to imagine what i would want and think if it were me in their shoes, why should they go above and beyond the call of duty for me if i never help them out when they need it ?
I moan and groan and pretend i'm p***ed off about letting them take tools but i would rather they do a foreigner in their own time than sneak it in during work time without me knowing.
Completely agree with you there briggsandscrapem......as you say though,keep it to the more longstanding employees. It helps create a good relationship with the staff which is worth a lot. Worth making it clear though that if they lose/break anything, they have to sort it out!!
briggsandscrapem said:
i lend tools to close friends - one i know if he breaks it or even thinks he has, will tell me and make sure it's sorted - even to the point of buying a new one if it's a non fixer (a bit over the top, but he has a huge conscience) the other says he will (and he means it), but is not so reliable - and he's the one that does break things - i mean, you have to go some to seize the bearings on a hitachi sds! then there's the chainsaw that had to go into the shop, a bent 5' crowbar, broken fibreglass shafted tools, the bent pair of loppers.... there is more, but i get depressed thinking about it.
personally, i feel that if someone hasn't paid for equipment him/herself, then it's not so much that they don't care at all, but that they have no appreciation of the value of the tool and the size of the favour/privilege of their being allowed to use it outside of work.
Lend tools to staff ? yes; to 'friends' ? - no.
My guys do use works gear for their own private/family use. However, if they intend to take payment, then I will not authorise. They know it's their tools/machines that they will have to use the following week and so damage/repairs comes out of their wages. I'm always around to check the gear back into the Unit ;-)
We have a policy of not letting anyone borrow anything at all.Years ago we have had experience of staff borrowing tools for their own use and then doing paid work for our customers at the weekends without our knowledge.
That is like stealing work from the hand that feeds them.