One Monday, a tech doesn't show, the route runs long, and at the third stop another company's lawn care truck is parked two doors down. Episode 5 of Full Hopper, the PermaGreen podcast for people who make lawns their living, opens with that Monday. Before it fixes anything, it asks what a good season would look like for your business. Then it looks at what one operator on a ride-on spreader sprayer changes on the route.
Season 1, Episode 5 · Runtime: 3:39
In this episode
- 00:00 One Monday: a tech didn't show, and the route runs long
- 00:45 Three questions: your route time, the trucks on your streets, and who is on your crew next month
- 00:58 NALP's figures: turnover in operations roles, 23% across respondents and 35% at larger companies
- 01:25 What does a good season mean to you?
- 01:47 One operator in place of two or three applicators (PermaGreen's own figure)
- 01:59 An acre in about 15 minutes, up to an acre per fill, and the optional 2-Minute Auto-Fill System, sold separately
- 02:21 Through a 36-inch gate into the backyard
- 02:40 About 440 lb empty, what it applies, and the label is the law
- 03:05 Getting one: factory-direct, new or Factory Certified Pre-Owned
- 03:24 Takeaway: decide what a good season means to you, then fix what stands in its way
Three questions about your route
The episode asks three questions.
- Time. How long does your route actually take?
- Your streets. How many other lawn care trucks are on your streets now?
- Labor. Who is on your crew next month?
The labor question brings in the one outside number. NALP, the National Association of Landscape Professionals, summarized its Compensation & Benefits Report, based on data from 169 organizations: turnover in operations roles was 23% across all respondents, and 35% at larger companies. Those figures describe the organizations NALP surveyed, not any one crew, so the episode asks about yours. We reported NALP's figures in Lawn Care Crew Burnout: Turnover, Fatigue and the PermaGreen Triumph.
When a tech leaves mid-season, the route knowledge leaves with them, and the owner runs the route short-handed while training the next hire.
What does a good season mean to you?
Before you fix anything, decide what a good season means to you. Maybe it's a second truck and a new zip code. Maybe it's customers who renew without being asked. Maybe it's a crew that wants to come back.
When more trucks share your streets, what keeps your customers is a service they want to keep.
What one machine changes on the route
The episode then matches the PermaGreen Triumph, a ride-on spreader sprayer, to each of the three problems.
- Labor. One operator rides the route, spreading and spraying from one machine. PermaGreen's own figure: labor needs go from two or three applicators down to one.
- Time. The Triumph can spread and spray an acre in about 15 minutes. The hopper and the 12-gallon spray tank each treat up to an acre per fill. With the optional 2-Minute Auto-Fill System, sold separately, the tank fills in about two minutes.
- Your streets. At 35.5 inches wide, the Triumph fits through a 36-inch gate, into backyards and tight spaces that larger equipment can't reach.
Why it works this way
The Triumph weighs about 440 lb empty and is 35.5 inches wide. It handles fertilizer, weed control, insect control, disease prevention and ice melt. Whatever goes in the hopper or the tank, the label is the law, and your state sets the license. Requirements vary by state and province.
Getting one
PermaGreen sells factory-direct: no dealer, and no dealer markup. There are two ways in: a new Triumph, or a Factory Certified Pre-Owned machine.
PermaGreen's own reasoning is a possibility to check against your own route, not a promise: if one operator can do the work that took two or three applicators, that is how the machine can pay its way.
The takeaway
Decide what a good season means to you, then fix what stands in its way.
PermaGreen's figures are its own, not a study. Your own routes decide what they mean for you. See the machine for yourself at permagreen.com.
Sources
- National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP), summary of its 2024 Compensation & Benefits Report, based on 2023 data from 169 organizations, as reported in Lawn Care Crew Burnout: Turnover, Fatigue and the PermaGreen Triumph.
- Switch to PermaGreen: two or three applicators down to one, an acre in about 15 minutes, 35.5 inches wide, 36-inch gates.
- Triumph specifications: the 12-gallon tank, up to an acre per fill for the hopper and for the tank, an acre in about 15 minutes, and what the Triumph applies.
- PermaGreen FAQ: about 440 pounds empty; factory-direct, with no dealer markup.
- PermaGreen configurator: the 2-Minute Auto-Fill System, listed as an add-on.
- 2023 Triumph Operator's Manual, p. 39: width, empty weight and the spray tank.
