Not only can sticks and stones break your bones, but they can also damage windows, cars and other nearby objects when you’re operating lawn equipment. The longer landscape contractors are in the business, the more likely a string trimmer or mower will hurtle debris into the air and cause property damage.
That’s what one Lawn & Landscape Online Message Board participant says happened to him when a woman accused him of breaking her car window with his string trimmer when she was driving by. He says the driver was visibly upset and confrontational and that he planned not to pay the woman because of her “horrible attitude.” His comments stirred a lively discussion about how contractors should handle accusations of property damage from anyone, including customers.
| ASK AN EXPERT |
So what should a landscape contractor do when accused of causing property damage? In the event of something minor, such as a cracked windshield or a small dent from flying debris, it’s usually best to just absorb the cost, says Rick Bersnak, president, M.F.P. Insurance Agency, Lewis Center, Ohio. “My recommendation would be to pay them,” says Bersnak, whose firm represents more than 300 green industry companies nationwide. “Get the checkbook, and write out the check for $100 or $125. If you start fighting, whatever time and aggravation you spend is going to be a detriment.” More often than not, contractors will lose in the end with smaller claims because of the time and money involved in fighting them, Bersnak says. “If you fight them, it’s a lose, lose,” he explains. “Sometimes you have to go to small claims court, and then you have to take a day off of work. And in all likelihood, it probably did happen. A lot of guys wear headgear or ear protectors and don’t even realize it happened.” Besides, about 75 percent of the time, property-damage claims against contractors are legitimate, according to Bersnak. If the contractor is at fault, it’s usually best to not file an insurance claim unless the damage is major, Bersnak advises. Some smaller claims may be less than the deductible, which is typically between $250 and $500. In addition, too many minor claims can raise a contractor’s insurance rates or even result in nonrenewal of the policy, Bersnak says. “We advise people not to turn in anything under $200,” Bersnak says. “If an insurance company gets too many of those nickel and dime claims, they won’t renew their insurance. They expect mowing/maintenance guys to eat those small ones. If you have one or two of those a season, you should be eating them as a cost of doing business.” Multiple minor claims can increase a contractor’s insurance costs by 25 to 100 percent, according to Bersnak. “They should only be using an insurance claim for something that would really hurt them in the pocketbook,” Bersnak says. “We have bigger guys with five to six crews who won’t turn anything in under $1,000.” |
Some Message Board participants recommend that contractors carefully consider the circumstances before owning up to these incidents or refer the matter to their insurance company. But others, such as Gary Batho, agree that it’s best to pay for the damages and move on. “You broke it, you bought it,” says Batho, owner of B&B Landscaping & Irrigation, Clarkesville, Ga. “Pay the lady with a smile.”
BE COURTEOUS. Customers may not always be right, but you should still treat them that way, say many Message Board users. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes, writes Will Sharp, owner, Lawn Dawg Services, Matthews, N.C. “Write her a check and buy her dinner since bad news travels fast,” he suggests. For instance, if you found a fly in your coffee, you’d probably demand another at no charge, analogizes Chad Stern, owner, Mowing & More, Chevy Chase, Md.
“Let’s say that you were dealing with a shrewd employee and he said, ‘Well, it’s not as though we put the fly in there,’” Stern writes. ‘“The fly entered the drink only after we gave it to you. And even if the fly was in the cup before we gave it to you, you have the burden of proving so. Could you please step aside – other customers are in line.’ Would you ever do business there again?”
Also, landscape contractors risk tarnishing their images by arguing with customers about property damage that could have been caused by lawn equip ment. “You know the old saying, ‘Kill ‘em with kindness,’” writes Ronald Skover, owner, Green Lawn, North Street, Mich. “You really need to bend over backwards to some of these people. I do it all the time. Word of mouth travels fast about you and your company with bad news.”
And not only does the company risk damaging its reputation, but the industry as a whole can suffer when contractors don’t take responsibility for such accidents, notes Bill Smallwood, owner, W.J. Smallwood Landscaping, Salem, N.H. Poor customer-relations skills could be why customers are willing to pay other skilled workers, such as plumbers and electricians, more money than landscape contractors, Smallwood writes. “Did you break the window? Maybe not, but quite likely so,” he explains. “You want out of the problem, prove there were no pebbles to be thrown. To win a civil court case, all that is needed is proof beyond a reasonable doubt – not a unanimous decision. Pay for the window and move on. Why spend hundreds paying for a cheap piece of glass? Don’t you have more important things to be doing?”
By taking responsibility and acting fast, contractors can keep such incidents from snowballing into something worse, says Patrick Johnson, owner, Reflective Gardens, Knoxville, Tenn. “I’d call it a bad one and take care of it now before it blows up into something bigger,” he recommends. “You’ll just think about it at night until it’s resolved. Don’t lose sleep over it. It was an accident and they will happen. Luckily, it didn’t cause a bigger accident.”
Smallwood relates the following experience: “Today, one of my employees was edging a bed with the power edger, as we have done the same way for the past five years, and he cut a cable TV wire that was 2 inches below grade. Being a professional, I went directly to the homeowner’s office, explained to him what happened, offered to call the cable company to have any repairs taken care of and reassured him that we would cover any expense. Is it my fault the wire was improperly buried? Absolutely not. But it wasn’t my client’s fault either, and we were the ones operating the slicing instrument, therefore, we pay. I find it troubling that so many ‘professionals’ want to find the easy way out all of the time and not take responsibility for their actions. To condone that behavior is to lower yourself to that level.”
Sometimes it might be worth conceding fault even if you know the customer is wrong to save a major account, writes Clint Christman, owner, Baja Landscape Co., Sacramento, Calif. Christman explains that he always writes a check if he knows his employees were at fault or if he has little doubt they were responsible. When Christman has serious doubts, he stalls for a moment by telling the customer there is an “internal investigation” or mentions that he’s in the process of filing an insurance claim or a police report.
“That usually discourages bogus claim-makers,” he writes. “However, I have to admit that I’ve paid off on bogus claims by employees of ‘important’ clients just to save an account. But when I did it, I let the client know that I knew the claim was bogus and that I was only doing it to save the account. The client would then put the word out to the employees that they would not support any claims by their own employees without absolute proof. It’s all about PR.”
DON’T BE A PUSHOVER. Other Message Board participants say if contractors know they’re innocent, the burden of proof should be on the accusing party, especially if the incident didn’t involve a customer. “I could go either way on this,” says Jamie Bush, president, Jamie’s Lawn Service, Plano, Texas. “Who’s to say her window wasn’t broken already, and she is trying to scam him? Are you supposed to just write a check to everybody who claims you broke something? Is there no burden of proof? What about these guys who drive gravel trucks with signs posted, ‘not responsible for broken windshields?’ How does that work? I think all requests and accusations should be made in a courteous way. If someone is downright rude from the onset, they lower their chances of getting what they want.”
Dale Wiley, owner of Landscape Specialty Services in Forest Grove, Ore., says he knows from experience that people can make dishonest claims about damage caused to their property. “There are people who go around and do this,” he writes. “If you roll over for every one that comes along and says you did this, you will be an easy mark.”
In the event that contractors are to blame, sometimes it’s best to let their insurance companies take over, according to some Message Board members. “She has to prove that you did it, and she may not want to go through that expense,” writes Rick Brauneis, owner, Vision Designs, Orlando, Fla. “But if in fact you did break it, just let your insurance handle it – that is the reason we carry it. Or just cut her a check yourself.”
Michael Laport, president of Commercial Scapes in Bristow, Va., concurred with Brauneis, saying the contractor who broke the window should give his insurance company the facts, and “let them sort it out.”
Explore the September 2005 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find you next story to read.
