Yesterday went smooth until about mid-afternoon when something occurred that has never happened before during 12,000 sprinkler blowouts. This little incident cost me nearly an hour, in which I could have done three additional sprinkler blowouts with travel. If you are curious as to what happened yesterday, check out our Facebook post.
This is a perfect example why I do not schedule appointments for sprinkler blowouts. Although this instance was an extreme, all it takes is a few issues to throw off an entire day. Let's say I spend an extra five minutes at each property looking for valve boxes that are supposed to be brushed off and showing so I can find them. After 10 sprinkler blowouts I am already down 50 additional minutes that could be spent on other blowouts. And that is if I am able to find them. If not, I have to move on to the next blowout which means another one isn't completed.
Even with a set-back, I was able to complete my current Garden City list, and all the homes within the boundary I posted yesterday. I should have been able to do three or four more, but the "incident" messed that up.
Today I will be working in the Meridian 83646 again, in three different areas. Hopefully it isn't too confusing. Those who checked text notifications on their sign-up form have already received a notification.
The areas we are working in are:
- Ustick Road to Fairview and Locust Grove to Eagle Road
- Ustick Road to Cherry Lane and McDermott to Ten Mile Road
- Chinden to McMillan and Meridian Road to Eagle
Make sure you leave your gates accessible, valve boxes uncovered, and make any checks to "The Maintenance Shop." Again, credit card processing is still not available on site. Really hoping that is fixed soon.
A Quick Note On The Subject Of Cancellations
Do we like cancellations? No. It takes a lot of time to remove someone from our list because the sign-up goes to several different places that have to be manually removed. On the other hand, cancellations actually do us and our customers a favor, and here's why. When someone cancels, it allows me to get to a patiently waiting customer all the sooner, and it actually makes me more money. As you know, the price goes up to the base price of $40 on a sprinkler blowout plus $5 per additional zones to any new sign-ups November 10 and later. When cancellations occur, it allows me to get to those newest requests all the faster, and making me more money. Not understanding why some cancel in the first place.
The weather has been absolutely fantastic, so it has to go back to patience, or actually, the "lack there-of." Stick it out and see what happens…….
