Hard to get good help these days.

fastfredracing · 12-07-2008, 03:19 PM

An older gentelman that delivers parts for the local parts store asked me if I had any work for him. He had lost his job, and was nearly in foreclosure on his home. He seemed like a pretty good guy, I have known him for about 6 months now.
My partner and I are in the final stages of renovating a rental house, and could use some help, so I hired him on for some painting, cleaning, caulking etc..... that kind of stuff, nothing hard or complex., The guy is 54, and my partner and I are both 38. The guy is kind of green to this kind of work ,. so he is asking me how to do things. I am very patient when it comes to showing somebody how to do something when they dont know how,. but this guy spends all day second guessing how we are doing things,, and I keep finding myself engaged in 15 minute dissertations with him as he explains how he thinks we should do it, Gawsh damn!!! I didnt want to seem like a punk, but for christ sake , I tried to give him some simple tasks . We weren't ordering him around or anything like that, but he just seemed to cop an attitude. I ended up just telling him, "look this is how we get it done, if you cant do it , then this is not going to work out. I felt good about throwing this guy some extra cash, but now I am not so sure.
We were paying him pretty fair as well, probably 5 bucks an hour more than he makes delivering parts. Oh well, live and learn. This is exactly the reason I shrunk my other buisness down to a one man operation.

Rot 911 · 12-07-2008, 04:16 PM

There's probably a reason he no longer has the job at the auto parts store.

dd74 · 12-07-2008, 04:19 PM

Now isn't a good time to be difficult on the job, IMO.

turbo6bar · 12-07-2008, 04:21 PM

In my limited experience, good help costs good money.

I found it's easier to keep the ship small. Trim the ship out well, and you can make a good living.

good luck with your investing endeavours. jurgen

Zeke · 12-07-2008, 05:28 PM

I had a guy like this just recently. He told me he was a finish carpenter and needed 25/hr. He had a pretty good portfolio. And, he could do some good work, but he missed a few things. We worked on for about 3-4 weeks. As time went by, I corrected his methods and gave constructive criticism. I guess I became a bit of an annoyance, but it's my money. Anyway, he started coming to me for the tiniest little things, I suppose so I wouldn't correct him. He did do a lot good, but it was becoming rather tedious going thru each and every step.

I can't say whether he quit or I didn't have enough days for him, but he elected to move on. Yes, things are getting done faster now that I do them myself.

fastfredracing · 12-07-2008, 05:57 PM

That is what I hate about situations like this Milt. In the time it took me to justify my methods, I could have done the job myself. I find it hard to work with these kinds of people. They always want to reinvent the wheel. I am no master carpenter by any means,. but I have now rehabbed 4 rental properties in the last 2 years, and I think I know what it takes to get the job done.

BGCarrera32 · 12-07-2008, 06:14 PM

It took me getting into my late 20's before I finally just shut up, did the work as instructed, and really got on with job, learning that others that have gone before me had been through it and were going about it smarter than I thought I was.

All I ask is if you ever hire a younger guy, be patient. 54 tho...I can see your frustration.

Hugh R · 12-07-2008, 07:06 PM

"Older gentleman 54". That's me. People of "our age" should be pretty talented in doing odd jobs. Soldering, hanging a door in an existing frame, caulking, stuff like that. I'm not too sure my 19 y/o son and his friends have a clue.

livi · 12-07-2008, 11:39 PM

Almost as hard as getting a good wife these days. Both cost dearly and need to be slapped to get anything done.

I am joking. Of course.

onewhippedpuppy · 12-08-2008, 04:58 AM

Considering your boss signs the paychecks, it's normally good to do things the way THEY want. I normally will offer one helpful suggestion, and if it's shot down I will STFU and do things their way. In my construction days I wasted a lot of time doing things "their way", but it all pays the same.

billyboy · 12-08-2008, 05:29 AM

This is why I work by myself now. I have had dozens of of employees over the years.Some were very good and went on to do their own thing. Most had issues. That is why there is a door to the bridge (my office). One of my favorite issues is where they beg you for a job and the next week they are wondering if they can have a few days off!

In my business, you tend to get either extreme. You get some highly motivated self-starters who eventually have their own show or you get the lowest common denominator of society who has failed at every other job and now they are pounding the docks looking for a job to take them away from their problems.