Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/620628
and Tyson Feller see finding more quality workers as the biggest chal- lenge facing their company. "It's hard," says Allen Feller of finding the right people. "I've hired and been disappointed plenty and you just have to realize when you're hiring that you can't always believe what they say. You have to see how they work with you and how it all meshes." Tyson Feller explains that the lack of skilled workers is especially painful since the company would like to grow a bit more. With the addition of a decorative rock crush- ing business, Feller Enterprises is in search of good managers in order to give Allen more time to oversee the whole operation. "I've been noticing in the last couple of years we've been having trouble finding good operators too," he adds. "Especially the younger guys, their work ethic isn't there. That puts the strain on me which if we're short on a foreman I've got to go out there." One piece of advice: rent As far as advice for other contrac- tors goes, Allen Feller said he can't recommend renting equipment enough. Beyond owning a few excavators and several pieces of compact equipment, Feller rents everything else as he needs it. "I have grown my business by renting so I didn't have those huge payments. I love paying my bills on time. I love the satisfaction that if someone works for me they're go- ing to get paid," he says. "We're conservative so we don't have a lot of everything. We just work hard with what we've got. My overhead has made it so that we can pay our guys and have enough to live on. We haven't wanted ev- erything. We've been willing to do without." He adds that contractors would do well to place extra emphasis on customer service. "I think the greatest advice is always aim to treat your customers better, because what else have you got when you're done? I look back at the people that have hired me and I thank God for them. They fed me and my family. They provided me with an opportunity to enjoy very exciting challenges," he says. EquipmentWorld.com | January 2016 61 A wheel loader works at one of Feller Enterprises' excavation sites in the Utah desert.