Ode To the Employee

[clcare2]

I sat down whith him yesterday morning to do a one week review. I like to find out how things are going with a new employee and let them know of any concerns that I may have . I tend to run them pretty hard and alot of people don't realize what they are getting into when they start.

I let him know about the cell phone and there was know issue there but when I told him that the pace that he worked was a little slow and he needed to push harder to keep up. He told me that he would be unable to work any faster or harder due to the amopunt of money that I was paying him.

This guy was hired in to be with me at all times. I spend a lot of time in the field and I needed someone who could float around from landscsping to mowing and back. I started him at 8$ and hour and he was told that as soon as he could mow straight and I didn't have to babysit him on the landscaping side he ould be bumped up to 10$. Where else is he going to get a 25% raise in the first 6 weeks?

I couldn't freaking believe it.

[jrservices]

He told me that he would be unable to work any faster or harder due to the amopunt of money that I was paying him.

Wrong answer. You don't get more $$$ unless you prove you are worth more $$$$$.

[GrassMaster]

Sounds like he don't need to work for you?

He told me that he would be unable to work any faster or harder due to the amopunt of money that I was paying him.
I couldn't freaking believe it.

I would have said well Bubba it doesn't look like you need a job here, do ya & it sure as hell sounds like you don't really want to advance with your poor work ethics. BTW what are you basing what you're worth an hour on?

To be honest with you he would be pulling weeds, operating shovels, hole diggers, trimming bushes, clean up after trimming bushes, plus any other crappy job I could find until he quits. He surely would not be riding anything or walking behind anything of mine.

He practically told you he wasn't a good employee & with a attitude like that he would never be a team player for your league. When he said that, he became a liability for your company bringing with him plenty of poor work ethics. All he will do is make matters worse. Other employees will be watching him as he stirs the pot to make things worse.

Cell Phones?
Unless he has a family member that's very sick that depends on him for help, he doesn't need a cell phone. Unless you're working telemarketers & or real estate agents on your crews?

Just figure what you can gross on him per minute, figure it at gross profit per minute & then time his phone calls, then see what you lose per minute per week. You can't just figure man hours you also got to figure what materials he uses & the mark up on them also.

Please remember when that minute is gone, you don't get it back, all you can do is think of it as huge loss. So much of our work is time sensitive, man hours is how we figure jobs & our money. That minute is gone forever. No rebates or going back into time with a time machine?

How often does a employee speed up after a cell phone call? Most calls are BS, they generate "He said she said BS" that cost you... your bottom line, your money. Most calls are upset them or there is arguing involved.

Yes my employee has a cell phone, he doesn't get a phone call a day & I've never seen him on it more than a few minutes when he has work to do.

I have no use for people that do not want to be team players & the work place is no place for cell phones. Next thing you know they'll want to be bringing their little ones to work so they can save money on child care.

Time is so precious...
My mechanic is worth about a $1.25 to $1.50 a minute when he has work to do. How often do you think I will let people talk to him between now & November?

I have at least 3 to 5 calls a day where they want to talk to the mechanic & at least 5 people a day wanting to go in the shop and talk to him for only a few minutes. In the past I've seen the few minutes turn into 30 minutes.

I now tell them that it's a $10 stop fee & $1.50 a minute to talk to him. Nobody as of yet has offered to pay it, yes they get upset sometimes. This mechanic does not get a commission & is actually happier since I stopped people from talking to him. He makes far less mistakes too.

Please remember that in most cases the customer or rapper looking for free info on how to repair equipment, that I'll never make a dime on doesn't care if I starve to death or bankrupt as long as the get what they want.

I should hold customer service & employee work place seminars... :laughing: