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Roof Cleaning West Chester PA · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

employees

waxman18324 · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute Of America

Mike,

You're a smart guy and you know this already but our employees are our greatest assest. And like any assest it has to be managed for future growth. For over 25 years, while in facility management, I've managed staff that were at times less than motivated. On any given day I would rather have to harness an employee's energy than try to motivate one. As we manage these assests we must channel their enthusiasm towards a common goal.

It seems that you might have to have a sit down with this employee and advise him that although you appreciate his efforts for follow up and his forward thinking it is not neccessary to text you at night. In addition it should be mentioned that the methods you incorporate in your business are of sound reasoning with proven results. Of course this all sounds easier said than done.

It's never easy being successful like you are. If it was others would be doing it. Best of luck with this issue.

Hank

-- Edited by waxman18324 on Friday 12th of October 2012 08:00:18 AM

Eric SCHNAIBLE · Oct 12, 2012

I wish I had a guy like that.

Roof Cleaning West Chester PA · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

Eric SCHNAIBLE wrote:
I wish I had a guy like that.

lol, and I agree to some extent, but would you really want your employees telling you when and where to spend your money and how to manage your business on a daily basis?

as a growing company, i'm installing new systems, while trying to remain somewhat consistent, and one thing i don't like is late night texts while i'm trying to escape work for an hour, reitterating things that were discussed during the day or can wait til the next day.

and a typical scenerio is him telling me to use simple cherry in my roof mix. i lilke the suggestion, but when i tell him it won't work cause i already checked it out, he'll continue to question my reasoning literally into the night. the fact that i've tried it before and learned via this website not to use it isn't good enough. i'm not looking for a sheep, but i have a system in place: the inventory list has a section for ideas and it either gets a check or x ... if he see the x that should be it, case closed, i shouldn't have to explain myself over and over.

Roof Cleaning New Jersey · Oct 12, 2012

Ahhhh Im not alone. How many hits do you get from a help wanted on CL? Place an ad. Try to hire a guy and tell him that he gets a 3 day trial, just like everone else. So after the 3rd day you tell him thank you and that you'll get back to him after an evaluation. Let the rest of the guys sweat and wonder who this new guy is replacing. If you like him, keep him, tell him you can give matbe only 3 days/week to start. He may consider it better than nothing. Than the other cry babies can get their hours reduced since theyre not flexible anyway. I'd rather have 5 different guys work 3-4 days/week than rely on 2 guys 5 days/week. The biggest whiners usually need the job less. Its an investment to go thru many different guys to see which ones work. I used to think everyone sucked but there are a few who can pick up on this and get jobs done. I give 15% upsell PRIVELAGES. i have 1 guy who is awesome. He gets jobs done w/ minimal callbacks and upsells $1000-$1500 per week.

Kleen Roof and Exterior Cleaning · Oct 12, 2012

You have to ask yourself, are the headaches worth the employee ? Then ask yourself, are you treating the employees the way you would want to be treated if you were the employee. Would you like to be told on Tuesday that you had to work on Thursday. It is hard in our industry to schedule a full week this time of year, so it might be that you need to schedule a little different. One thing I see in your post that I have noticed with small business's that think they are helping their employees, but really just causes problems somewhere down the road. Giving cash advances. You are not a bank. You are someone who is giving a person a job, a way to make money. I know some owners who bail their workers out of jail, give cash advances because their workers run out of money in a couple of days. Are these really the type of people you want to represent your business ?
It may come down to how much you are paying. Are you paying enough to get decent help, or are you paying peanuts, expecting top notch people

Apex Roof Cleaning · Guest

Eric SCHNAIBLE wrote:
I wish I had a guy like that.

This was my thought at first, but I have a ground guy who is very similar. He is smart and will eventually establish himself as a businessman in another field. He thinks he knows exactly what to do. Most of the time I will entertain the thought, listen to what he has to say but after a certain point, I am thinking to myself, shut up and work.

Roof Cleaning New Jersey · Oct 12, 2012

I took a guy back that worked for a few months last year. He was supposed to work one Saturday and didnt show up that day, and never again. He called me 3 times this year to explain how he fukd up. After the 3rd call I figured Id give em another shot. He is currently the best guy I have. Upsells more that a G per week. I under estimated him at first, not cuz he's black, but that he had long jerry curled hair. He reminded me of the Wut-Wut-In-the-Butt guy.

-- Edited by Roof Cleaning New Jersey on Friday 12th of October 2012 05:11:47 PM

Guest

II hate employees especially when they cost me money. Both of my employees are my wife's family and I'm not allowed to yell at them. If I do I don't get any nookie. So I just yell at myself in the truck and then I go and talk to them nicey nice and explain that I am very upset and they usually get it.

Roof Cleaning New Jersey · Oct 12, 2012

Ive been an employee for over 15 years. I want to treat others the way I would liked to have been treated. When I do that, they shit on me. Doesnt mean I'll stop doing it cuz i refuse to treat newer guys badly because of azzholes in the past. Fear of being fired = fire under their ass. There's no reason to put the fear into all of them, just the know-it-all whiny ones that Mike started this thread about. People have gotten lazier. Been too used to 99 weeks of unemployment.

-- Edited by Roof Cleaning New Jersey on Friday 12th of October 2012 05:52:32 PM

Maverick Contracting · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

Mike, you broke the golden rule of business. Never work with family, you'll always get screwed having to put up with bullshite or being alienated when you do the right thing and calling "BULLSHITE" when they screw you and you cut them loose.

Roof Cleaning New Jersey · Oct 12, 2012

Hank my friend, I have to disagree with you. Our biggest asset is our motivation. It cannot be replaced. Employees can.

Guest

Maverick.
I hear you about the golden rule and maybe I was exaggerating just a tad but overall they have been great this year. No callouts all year and they are good with the customers. The biggest thing is that I know they will not steal from me.

Roof Cleaning Cleveland (216) 323-0552 · Oct 13, 2012

After I finished my big paint job I got rid of everyone except one. No complaints, he's great more attention to detail than I have. Life is good.

garyw · Oct 13, 2012

You guys think you got it so bad. ..What you pay a person has little to do with how they perform. When I left the phone company in 1994,I had 23 people working in my crew. 17 had college degrees, and even though their base pay was almost $60K, with a lot of overtime that could put them over $100K, the majority whinned about everything. They all had about $60K---@75K of tools on their trucks and frequently lost a bunch of them. It was a constant battle. Me against 23.

Most employees just want to be recognized for a good job they do. A lot of bitching serves no purpose, and neither does the fear of being fired. That fear in itself will keep some from performing at their best fearing they will screw up. Try putting yourself in their place every now and then and see if you think it is the right way.

Oct 13, 2012

This is an excellent thread. I thought I was the only one with employee issues. Im seeing many of the same problems that I've had in this thread. Let's keep this one going.

RCIA Founder

Employees often turn into, or create competitors, example " Did you know that my boss Ed Thompson gets this stuff in 55 gallon drums he mixes with water and some soap and sprays it on a roof and gets BIG Money for it! Well, I saw the labels, know what it is, and where to get it from. I know where Ed Thompson gets all his chit from too. Heck, I know all ABOUT ED Thompson, I have worked for him, LOL"

Remembers Guys, the LESS Employees know about whats in the tank, the better! And, the less they know about the inner workings of your business, even better yet!

Roof Cleaning New Jersey · Oct 13, 2012

Ive been summonsed to a Board of Labor hearing cuz of a scumbag salesman whom I fired for subbing out deck repairs, which is a service that we dont even provide. He was preying on my customers while directly stealing from the company. I had to pay $650 to a real carpenter cuz the scumbags carpenter did crappy work and created a potential hazard. He dreampt up the number of $2000 that he alledges I owe him. The scumbag was so money struck by what went on during my busy months that he took every opportunity to profit for his own personal gain. He looked at me like I was some lucky little kid. So he called an old employee of mine that I fired cuz he sucked and went into business cleaning roofs and pwshing. I honestly dont even consider him competition, but I do consider him one of the biggest piece of chits I ever met in my life. I hope the mf climbs a ladder and one of his stints shoot through his brain. Yup, its that serious. Thats I how I feel. I really didnt see it coming either.

Roof Cleaning West Chester PA · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

@ Ed that's a good idea about the 3 day trial and next season I'll try it out.

@ Dave I very rarely pull the Tuesday/Thursday thing, and I don't hold them to it. I'm just saying that when I offer them additional hours during the week, and they decline, don't complain to me that you need to make more money. These guys are 28 with no wife, no kids and no 2nd job. Not only do I run my company, but I started another business that I work on from 10PM-2AM. I don't expect that, but they're complaining to the wrong guy.

As far as the golden rule, what I always appreciated from my boss is transparency and consistency, which is what I strive to deliver. Any boss that I've ever had, I would just want to know the rules, what is expected of me, and be left alone to do my job. I'd like to think that I fit that description.

I'm pretty sure that at least for me, pay isn't the issue. My lead guy gets $15 and the helper gets $12 which I believe is average in my neck of the woods.

You're dead on accurate about the advance. I set myself up on that one and believe me it won't happen again.

As a matter of fact, that guy got fired this morning. I texted him 5 minutes after his shift started, he said he overslept. Then he said he didn't have gas money, then it was that he was fighting with his girlfriend followed by he can't work cause he's in a bad mood. Now when I know I'm gonna fire a guy, I don't raise my voice, don't get angry, nothing. They're an ex employee at that point and are treated just like I'd treat any other random person. I told him that I can't exactly call my customers and tell them they won't be getting their roofs done today cause my employee is fighting with his girlfriend. Despite my calm demeanor, I induced a profanity laden response and saw a side i haven't seen in the 3 weeks he's been with us. It didn't take a brain surgeon to conclude that he must've been up all night and was on drugs ... next.

@ Hank ... "I would rather have to harness an employee's energy than try to motivate one." excellent point and I do recognize it's not the worst problem in the world to have. In my old life while climbing the corporate ladder, a lot of the jobs I applied to required managerial experience. I always thought that was a joke, same thing with baseball managers, just a title that anybody can do. Needless to say that philosophy couldn't be further from the truth. Just like sales, it's an art form that requires practice and skill in order to master.

@ Gary you're right about recognition. I seldom pat a guy on the back for doing his job, but like Ed I have a referral and up-sell incentive program for my guys that's pretty generous. If they go above and beyond, I'll give them a few extra bucks at the end of the day.

sweetwaterfish · Guest

Well thanks for pissing in my Cheerios guys! I would never try to actually enforce a no compete agreement but I do think it's a little bit of a bluff to add to your arsenal. Besides it would be a lot more fun to enforce a no compete agreement with roofing nails in his tires!

-- Edited by sweetwaterfish on Saturday 13th of October 2012 08:58:38 AM

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