Employee pay

Maybe it's expectations that need adjusting. Sometimes shit just doesn't go well. Expecting an optimal run every day isn't realistic. If everyone generally shows up, and does a reasonable job, you're doing pretty well. It's hard finding people that can do baseline work, much less exceptional work, and waaay much less than exceptional work day after day.
 
Tell the guy he needs to adjust his disposition or not to let the door hit him in the ass on the way out. A bad attitude is a danger on the job site!!!!!!

See if there is something reasonable to do to help him to adjust his attitude.
 
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  • #28
If everyone generally shows up, and does a reasonable job, you're doing pretty well. It's hard finding people that can do baseline work, much less exceptional work, and waaay much less than exceptional work day after day.

:drink:
 
I hired friends mostly, and treated them like family (if single and we worked late it was the norm to bring them right inside for supper. Due to one of them being at supper a lot our second oldest daughter started pestering one groundsman as a joke, but then seriously until he finally agreed to ask out a family friend and 28 years later they are still married). I provided all PPE, taught them all I knew, and asked more of them every day, but never anything I wouldn't do myself. As the primary climber I always hit the ground ready to do anything that needed doing, till the last raking was on the truck.
All these years later one of them just said to my wife, "I am the person I am today because of the years I worked with your husband".
Some didn't work out, but that was the minority. Always paid overtime after 8, as it said I appreciated taking their time away from them for 'our' gain.
 
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  • #30
Good, convincing stuff, Pat.
 
I called another company today, owners of a 100' bucket-truck.

I heard employees are a problem over there, too.
Just lost their 6 year foreman to Frito-Lay.
Maybe a CDL job.
30 year old guys getting outworked by the 58 year old owner.
 
When I retired from full time nursing I went back to trees. For five years I worked with another fellow, retired from the Philadelphia Water Department.
He is 5' 5" tall, and was 60 years old back then in 2007, so he is 73 now. Back then we'd sub on some large jobs with another friend's tree co.

He would out-haul the 20-somethings ground crew, chipping 2x the rate they were moving, and have half the yard raked by the time they were getting their rakes off the truck. Had to teach him knots repeatedly, as he never retained that, but he could finesse lowering so I hardly ever felt a jolt.
That is, until after five years he started getting forgetful, didn't let one run and I caught it in the shoulder.

A week later I was disassembling a crispy dry red oak by jumping sections out, and he kept wandering under the tree.
He was quite sad when I had the talk with him and said we were done doing trees. It was just too risky for both of us.
 
This is the tree that Grandpa Joe kept walking under! (house is immediately out of frame to the left)
The homeowner is a porcelain artisan, and took this photo of me.
Check out his amazing work at: Peter Saenger's Porcelain Work
The teapot with nesting tea cups in Star Trek: Next Generation in Capt. Pickard's antechamber, where he meets with people, is by Pete Saenger.

1602814122888.png
 
FWIW, I had a new guy... 😳
Ass dragger but intelligent.
I paid him by the day.
after the third day I took him aside for a little talk
Told him, hey if we finish the job in an hour, you get a days pay.
if we finish in 12 hours, you get a days pay.
what’s it gonna be? And by the way, everyone else wants to finish as quickly as possible
They all have kids, errands to run, pick belly button lint, many other things to doso they all want to finish ASAP and have the job done successfully

he told me, “I just want to go to work, put in my 8 hours, then go home.

I told him he is not a good fit for us
 
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  • #40
So I went with the OT after 8 per day, we'll see how it goes.

Hey, just like with buying equipment, if you've got plenty of work, all else generally work out
 
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  • #42
:drink:

As noted earlier here, it probably isn't a big deal either way. If they get a 40hr week plus OT, the result is the same now as before OT>8. It will help on short weeks. Although the past 2 days we went home at 1pm so no advantage there either.
 
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  • #50
Good ol Ronnie :drink:
 
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