Deja vu
I wish I was making this up but it’s true. In the fall of 2023 I was called to a strata site to help the crew pick up leaf avalanches. And that’s nothing special. It’s what we do in the fall and some sites require a push when maximum leaf drop occurs.
And there I was, plugging away and something didn’t feel right with my raking and pile pick up. So I turned down my techno beats and stopped to look down. Deja vu! In my hands I had a lousy rake which was missing more tines than it had intact. Unbelievable! I had the same exact problem with the same crew twelve months ago. I was sure it was the same exact rake from hell I had to use last year because nothing else was available on the truck.
Crybaby?
As a landscape professional I find it offensive to be in the position where I have to use substandard tools or machines. When I shared my outrage in a private Facebook group, someone called me a crybaby and offered to send me tissues. To which I replied that it wouldn’t be necessary because I dry my tears on my workers’ lay-off notices!
I’m kidding, of course, but not about my outrage. New tools are available for crews to pick up. There is no recession. If you need tools, you just ask and pick them up. I have no idea why I have to struggle in the field with a rake that no longer resembled a rake.
It’s like comedy: make five strokes when with a new rake it would take one. Why is my effort and labour wasted with an old rake that should have been recycled last year? The foreman’s incompetence is stunning. It makes you wonder what else is substandard on this crew.
Can you ask an artist to sketch you something with a dull, broken pencil? Of course not. So, I object to using lousy beat up rakes. And I think you should, too. Get the best possible tools and machines you can so you can put in world-class work. Period. No discussions.
