How Many Professionals

[pugaltitude]

Over here you dont need any license or insurance. Just go and cut grass.
Yes insurance helps if any accidents etc.

What i mean by qualifications is so that the customer can see you know what you are doing and not incompetent.

Lots of dealers over here that dont send their mechanics on courses for updates and various
qualifications. All mechanics should go on the Briggs 4 day school and have the chance of doing the MST Exam.
Why should a customer spend money there if they are not capable of doing a job?
If you have qualifications then your hourly rate might be worth more.

 

[Ric]

Over here you dont need any license or insurance. Just go and cut grass.
Yes insurance helps if any accidents etc.

What i mean by qualifications is so that the customer can see you know what you are doing and not incompetent.

Lots of dealers over here that dont send their mechanics on courses for updates and various
qualifications. All mechanics should go on the Briggs 4 day school and have the chance of doing the MST Exam.
Why should a customer spend money there if they are not capable of doing a job?
If you have qualifications then your hourly rate might be worth more.

You talk about qualifications, going to school and passing an MST Exam. The thing is Exams really don't mean anything because their are people that can walk in never studied mower engines never seen a mower engine in there life and pass that MST Exam with flying colors, so does that make them qualified NO it doesn't. To show your qualifications or to be successful in lawn-care you do that by doing the job the customer wants done. You gain customers by showing people the work you do, it's called word of mouth advertising. Now if you want to class that as being a Professional a in lawn-care or not, personally I don't know the answer to that or if it really matters or not.

 

[KubotaJohn]

Just kidding. I enjoy starting fights with old guys like Ric and keeping the young bucks who think they are "professionals" in line. Just have to remember Toro & Kubota should be at the top of all "professionals" list.

I do not own or run any landscaping business but I am a store manager for a predominately Kubota based store, but in our satellite stores we carry scag, dixie chopper, and gravely as well as husqvarna and stihl.

I love this forum because I use all of the reviews to help make mower decisions for my clients.

KUBOTA ALL THE WAY:thumbsup:

 

[pugaltitude]

You talk about qualifications, going to school and passing an MST Exam. The thing is Exams really don't mean anything because their are people that can walk in never studied mower engines never seen a mower engine in there life and pass that MST Exam with flying colors, so does that make them qualified NO it doesn't. To show your qualifications or to be successful in lawn-care you do that by doing the job the customer wants done. You gain customers by showing people the work you do, it's called word of mouth advertising. Now if you want to class that as being a Professional a in lawn-care or not, personally I don't know the answer to that or if it really matters or not.

But if you are not shown or advised how to do the job properly, how do you know you are doing a good job?
Yes if the customers happy with it then that matters more than anything but dosent mean the job is done properly.
I dont think their is any exam you could just walk in and pass without some sort of education. Even if it is multi choice.

 

[jekjr]

Many of you will get mad at me for posting this, just call it more spam. There is a definite difference between a professional and someone who does it for a living. My definition of a professional, is someone who has done the job in their current capacity, for a minimum of five years. At that point they have established themselves as an individual who understands what a professional is and can point out a wannabe. There are many wannabes on this forum and some have more than five years on the job. Just my opinion, which many on this forum will say ain't worth a darn, as I am just a grease monkey, who is not a professional mechanic.

I am not a professional. I just cut grass for a living. That is kind of like the word expert. Usually an expert is some idiot that is over 500 miles from home with a briefcase.

 

[wjjones]

I am not a professional. I just cut grass for a living. That is kind of like the word expert. Usually an expert is some idiot that is over 500 miles from home with a briefcase.

Yep, or a degree in lawncare college.

 

[Rivets]

If you're calling me an expert idiot I'll except that as coming from wannabes who haven't been around the block more than once. Yes, I went to college, tech school, and more manufacturers training and update schools than I can remember. I also carried a briefcase for 34+ years. If you can find anywhere on this forum where I call myself a professional or expert I'd like to see it. I will say that I see too many on this forum who are in the lawn care business, who think they also know how to repair all the different types of engines on their equipment. They give out info that is miss leading, wasteful and in some cases wrong. If you notice, I even have to ask for help from the mechanics who know more than I do. I never give advice on how to take care of a lawn, because I wouldn't know what I'm talking about, but I will call a spade a spade when needed. Just coming from a grease monkey who has forgotten more than these young professionals know. As I would tell my students when they finished the program, "Titles and Respect cannot be taken or applied for, they must be earned"

 

[midnite rider]

The question came up the other night about how many members or what percentage of members here were actually Lawncare Professionals and were doing it for a living? In reality I believe the percentage of true Lawncare Professionals that actually do the job for a living on the forum is probably very few in numbers. Just wondering what others thought?

OK, this is what i came up with. As far as post counts of 75 posts or more, there are 150 members that apply in that category of most contributions to the forum.
Out of those top 150 members here are the percentages:
77% ------ Homeowners
14% ------ Lawn Care or Landscape Professionals
9% ------ Equipment Dealers or Manufacturers

I would think the homeowner percentage may go up if the member total were carried further. Still the lawn care/landscape pro is surprisingly to me at 1.4 in 10 and dealer/manufacturer at 0.9 in 10 for this survey. :shocked:

 

[wjjones]

If you're calling me an expert idiot I'll except that as coming from wannabes who haven't been around the block more than once. Yes, I went to college, tech school, and more manufacturers training and update schools than I can remember. I also carried a briefcase for 34+ years. If you can find anywhere on this forum where I call myself a professional or expert I'd like to see it. I will say that I see too many on this forum who are in the lawn care business, who think they also know how to repair all the different types of engines on their equipment. They give out info that is miss leading, wasteful and in some cases wrong. If you notice, I even have to ask for help from the mechanics who know more than I do. I never give advice on how to take care of a lawn, because I wouldn't know what I'm talking about, but I will call a spade a spade when needed. Just coming from a grease monkey who has forgotten more than these young professionals know. As I would tell my students when they finished the program, "Titles and Respect cannot be taken or applied for, they must be earned"

You cant help being smart Rivets I find that all your info you post on here to be good.

 

[wjjones]

OK, this is what i came up with. As far as post counts of 75 posts or more, there are 150 members that apply in that category of most contributions to the forum.
Out of those top 150 members here are the percentages:
77% ------ Homeowners
14% ------ Lawn Care or Landscape Professionals
9% ------ Equipment Dealers or Manufacturers

I would think the homeowner percentage may go up if the member total were carried further. Still the lawn care/landscape pro is surprisingly to me at 1.4 in 10 and dealer/manufacturer at 0.9 in 10 for this survey. :shocked:

Yep but our common goal is lawn mowers so all the (whos a professional) stuff really doesnt matter. We all come here to seek, and provide info for each other. It would be nice to have a section for the guys, and girls that do full time lawncare for a living.