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Posted by DerbyDad03 on April 8, 2008, 12:41 pm
>
>
>
>
>
> > MiamiCuse wrote:
>
> > >>nmbexc...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> > >>>I have hired a team of electrician (3 of them) to do some re-wiring o=
f
> > >>>the house I am working on. =A0 They are 50% completion and I have bee=
n
> > >>>furnishing all the materials.
>
> > >>>Something that bothers me.
>
> > >>>I hooked up a fridge and told them to help themselves, I asked them
> > >>>what they like and everyone seems to like Arizona ice tea or
> > >>>Gatorade. =A0So I stock the fridge full with those drinks.
>
> > >>>Problem, at the end of the day I go around and between the three of
> > >>>them it is not unusual that I found 15 or more drink bottles. =A0They=
> > >>>drink a lot? =A0Noooooo... most of those are 80% full. =A0So they wor=
ked
> > >>>in the kitchen, went and got a drink, took three sips, leave it
> > >>>sitting on a half framed wall, 30 minutes later he moves up into the
> > >>>attic to pull some wire, goes to the fridge and pull out a new cold
> > >>>drink, carries it into the attic, took three sips and sat it down in
> > >>>the attic...so at the end of the day they went through half a dozen
> > >>>16oz drinks but only drank a little out of each.
>
> > >>>Same thing with materials. =A0I got them a box of EMT couplings, 50 o=
f
> > >>>them, three days later they needed more, ok another 50, then another
> > >>>50, I started to wonder, that is 150 EMT couplings, they have not lai=
d
> > >>>that much pipes. =A0I walked around and round up everything and yes I=
> > >>>have 3 boxes of couplings, almost 90% full in each of them, so they
> > >>>forgot where they left something and ordered new. =A0Same thing with
> > >>>wire nuts, connectors, MC connectors, reducing washers, switch plates=
,
> > >>>outlets etc...just seemed to be misplaced.
>
> > >>>Now I am not worried too much about these materials, compared to the
> > >>>labor it's insignificant, but is that an indication that they may be
> > >>>sloppy and absent minded in the wiring as well?
>
> > >>Welcome to the wonderful world of general contracting. =A0If you suppl=
y the
> > >>materials, what incentive do they have to conserve anything? =A0Now a =
really
> > >>good human being and electrician may do it because it is the right thi=
ng
> > >>to do, but those guys are not around much anymore, so you have to deal=
> > >>with what you get.
>
> > >>Here is how I do it: =A0I supply drinks, but I get a 10 gal. cooler an=
d fill
> > >>it with water and the gatorade mix of their choice. =A0I give them eno=
ugh of
> > >>those packets to last however long they are going to be working, or a
> > >>weeks supply, whichever is less.
>
> > >>Materials; =A0I give them the materials and I tell them that this is e=
nough
> > >>to complete the job (plus some) and I tell them that if they run out, =
they
> > >>need to show me where all of them went. =A0I make sure that they under=
stand
> > >>that there will be no more coming unless they can demonstrate that the=
y
> > >>used more than I estimated. Sometimes they do and I don't give them a =
hard
> > >>time, but I do check to make sure that they haven't walked off the job=
.
>
> > >>Ask them to be a bit more organized because it is a money and safety
> > >>issue.
>
> > >>--
> > >>Robert Allison
> > >>Rimshot, Inc.
> > >>Georgetown, TX
>
> > > But they are professionals! =A0Don't they want to be treated as one?
>
> > > I don't get it.
>
> > Professionals today are not what professionals were when I was
> > younger. =A0In the old days, missing 3 days of work over a month
> > would get you fired. =A0Showing up late more than three times a
> > month would get you fired. =A0Using company time to make phone
> > calls would get you fired. =A0Spending too much time in the
> > bathroom would get you fired. =A0Wasting materials would get you
> > fired. =A0Not knowing how to do your job would get you fired.
>
> > Nowadays, if you fire someone, you had better be ready to defend
> > yourself in court, unless you have a document trail showing every
> > thing that he did to cause him to be fired and every infraction
> > had better be signed by the employee.
>
> Not only that, but if you count the number of personal phone calls he
> makes, you had better count the number of phone calls every other
> employee makes, too. Otherwise your ass is in a sling for singling him
> out.
>
>
>
> > In addition, it is very hard to come by anyone to work, much less
> > quality workers. =A0I no longer employ ANY workers (except for the
> > occasional day laborer) and do everything by subcontractors.
> > When I did have employees, there would not be a week that went by
> > that someone didn't come on the jobsite and offer them work at
> > another company, for more money!
>
> The trades are suffering, because kids don't perceive any glamor and
> prestige in them. And then by the time an apprentice becomes a useful
> journeyman, he sets up shop for himself. My mechanic, plumber, and
> electrician are all guys that work by themselves. They've all tried the
> employee route, but it takes at least six guys to make that business
> model viable, and it's a PITA in many ways.
>
> I don't know if this is still the case, but when I spent a month in
> Germany as a high school exchange student in the early 70's, high school
> was for the academically gifted students who almost always went on to
> college and a "professional" career. The other kids were sent to trade
> schools after junior high, so that by the time they were 18 they had a
> reasonable level of skill as a tradesman of one sort or another. Makes
> more sense to me than what we do here in the U.S.
>
>
>
>
>
> > So, I guess that treating them like I do, IS treating them like
> > the professionals of today. =A0When you get a real professional on
> > the job, you will quickly be aware of it, and treat them
> > accordingly. =A0It doesn't take long to recognize the difference.- Hide =
quoted text -
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> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
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> - Show quoted text -
re: Makes more sense to me than what we do here in the U.S.
You mean giving a high school diploma to a kid who can barely read at
the fifth grade level so you (1) "don't hurt his feelings" and (2)
keep the school's graduation numbers up?
You mean banning dodgeball because the jocks beat on the nerds?
You mean cancelling music and art because officials think test scores
will go up if the kids take more "academic courses"?
You mean not keeping score at sporting events because "it's not about
who wins or loses"?
What could *possibly* go wrong in a system like that?
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