TALES FROM THE LANDSCAPE SIDE

In the mid-summer of 2020, I reached out to our members to ask about their most memorable customers. I expected horror stories of the worst, most demanding, craziest and funniest customers. What I ended up receiving was truly amazing. Most of the stories you sent in to us were heartwarming and spoke of your favorite customers, those that took time to reach out and tell you what an impact you had on their lives, those that became like family and those that became lifelong friends. I also received some funny and wacky customer stories, but even those didn’t talk of the angry and discontented customers I had expected. I decided that instead of creating one story, I will include a few in each issue of The New Jersey Landscape Contractor. So, keep those stories coming to me, the good, the bad and the ugly. You can send your story to gwoolcott@njlca.org (along with pictures if applicable) and I will include them in this column in future issues. Thank you all for brightening our days with some of your tales from the landscape side!

~ Gail Woolcott, Executive Director

by Shelly Hewson, Hewson Landscape

This happened right after 9/11. I was working for PSE&G as their landscape maintenance contractor at a site in Sewaren.

They needed a delivery of ¾” clean stone to be delivered. So, calling the quarry, they tell me someone will be there between 7am and 12 noon. Very broad, and what choice to I have? It was a nightmare, as I had to be there to accept delivery and let the driver know where to dump the load.

So, multi-taking as I do, I head to the site at 7am and I bring work with me, since I don’t know how long this will take. As I’m sitting outside at a picnic table waiting for the delivery, I decided to do a site audit, to make sure the crew was hitting everything they were supposed to be doing.

I’m walking around the site, which is large and backs up to the Arthur Kill waterway and I’m on my phone, doing work.

The quarry delivery arrives at noon, delivers the load to where I direct and all seems good. The next day I am talking to my contact and he tells me of his conversation with his boss. His boss had asked him “Dimitri, who was that woman walk-

Dimitri says, “Oh that’s Shelly, our landscape contractor. We were getting a delivery and she needed to direct the quarry as to where it should go.”

The boss says,”Dimitri, are you crazy? We are on high alert, We had snipers on the roof and she was in the cross hairs!”

I of course tell Dimitri, that I always let you know when I’m on site, in addition to signing In at the office!!!!!!! Talk about having a meltdown.

I hope the snipers could read lips when I was on my cell phone, because there was concern at that time about women using their cell phone to detonate ships traveling along the Arthur Kill, possibly blowing up bridges.