Gator Weed Sprayer - This Damage is Avoidable

Gator Weed Sprayer brought in for service.  We immediately noticed a number of problems with the Gator Sprayer.

You can see one of the problems in this photo. Spray technician was driving carelessly and continually hitting curbs with the tires.

The tires on this john deere gator sprayer aren't going to last long if they are treated like this.

I don't view this as a training issue.  This is an attitude issue.  The technician doesn't give a damn about the equipment.  In future posts I will show some of the other issues with this sprayer.

If the tech doesn't care about the tires, he doesn't care about the rest of the equipment.   I don't think it is much of a stretch to say that he doesn't care much about doing a good job either.

Some suggestions:

- Supervisors, managers, owners must periodically inspect equipment to identify issues like this.

- When you find issues like this, use them to train all your technicians.

- If this were my weed control spray company the tech would get exactly 1 more chance to change his ways.  He probably won't and I would probably have to fire him.

- If technicians are responsible for the damage they cause to company equipment, damage WILL decrease significantly.  This saves the company money, downtime, missed appointments, etc.  Ways to hold technicians responsible:  MAKE THEM PAY!  Once the tech buys one tire, he will never again hit the curb.

- Important note. If you want to make techs pay for damage, talk to your HR expert about ensuring your company policies are properly set up to make this happen.

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