Josh came to our home to grind the stump of a tree we had felled in our front yard. We found him through one of the neighborhood social media sites where he had received a glowing recommendation. Even before he arrived, we were impressed with his customer service skills. Josh promptly returned the message we left, quoted a price over the phone, and called on the morning of the job to let us know he might be a little late because of heavy traffic. When Josh arrived, he was cordial, polite, and displayed a self-deprecating sense of humor.
Knowing how important preventive maintenance is, I was impressed that the first thing Josh did when he took the stump grinder off the trailer was to check all the fluids and lubricate it. Once that was done, he put the head of the grinder in place and proceeded to make short work of the stump. After the equipment was back on the trailer and Josh had raked the disturbed earth back into place, he was kind enough to speak with me for a few minutes about his work.
What is your job title? Owner and operator
What do you like most about your work? I like knowing that I’m providing for my family. This is honest work.
What is the hardest part of your job that no one knows about? There are a couple of things. It’s really tough finding good people to do this work, folks you can depend on to show up, do a good job for the customer, and be careful with the equipment. The machines I use are expensive and I’m not making money if they’re not running, so I’m constantly maintaining them.
If you weren't doing this work, what kind of work would you be doing? I’d probably be an auto mechanic. Mechanic work is pretty much all I know.
If you could go back in time and talk to yourself at age 16, what would you tell yourself? Get serious earlier in life about being a businessman.
