When about a week passes and a customer still hasn't returned the weed cutter he said he would only need for four hours, you can assume something is wrong. Maybe you assume your equipment has been stolen. But that's not the worst assumption you can make.

Dan Gray, a 20-year veteran of the rental industry, was working as a rental store manager when a customer injured himself on a weed cutter - after attaching a saw blade to cut down saplings. The injury occurred when the customer turned the weed cutter off, set it down and stepped in front of the free-spinning blade, which sliced him from his little toe to his ankle. More than 165 stitches later, he learned a lesson in safety: putting a saw blade on a weed cutter isn't a good idea.

Whether they know it or not, customers sometimes rent the wrong equipment. When that happens, danger can follow. To prevent customers from making mistakes that can cause very serious injuries, you need to ask them why they are looking to rent equipment. Only then can you help them determine the best equipment for the job, says Gray, who today is the rental manager for Billy Goat Industries Inc., a U.S. distributor of lawn and garden equipment for renovation, mowing and debris management projects.

While safety is everyone's business, rental shops bear a large responsibility for making sure their lawn and grounds equipment is operated safely - and with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

"Safety is far more important than making a dollar at rental," says Gray, who started his career in the shop and worked as a general manager for various independents and nationals. "No one needs the extra expense of injuries, insurance, lost work time, or pain and suffering."