Neglected Pond in Taylors, SC

When I answered the phone, I didn’t realize the mess the potential client had on her hands. “Mr. Buck, you’ve been working with a friend and they said you could point me in the right direction. Do you mow detention ponds?” I told her that we spend most of our time mowing detention ponds as we have over 350 ponds to mow each year. Then she unfolded a too common story about how her neighborhood did not even realize the pond was their responsibility. Regardless, they were looking down the barrel of a potential $30,000 fine if they didn’t do something about it quickly.

My son and I went out and looked at the pond. After about twenty minutes with an HOA member, we got back in the truck. My son said, “You don’t want this job.” I asked him to clarify his Sherlock conclusion.

He noticed that the first part of the conversation I would say, “We will…” However, as the time together went along, Jackson mentioned that I changed my wording to, “Whoever you hire needs to…”

Jackson was right. I didn’t want that job. Be that as it may, we won the bid and came to do the work. But not alone. I called a competitor and asked if he wanted to collaborate on a project. He was quick to respond, and together we got the job done safely and quickly. It pays off for everyone—me, my competition, and the client—when he view our competitors as cohorts in the industry.

Check out the video below to see how it went.