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Let the excuses begin!!!!!!!!

20K views 120 replies 59 participants last post by  thelettuceman 
#1 ·
I love to hear all the excuses as to why they can't work. Last year I thought I heard some beauties and this year is off to a good start.......So we had our annual plow meeting where everyone comes to our shop just to let everyone know whats expected etc. So today I call all my sidewalk guys to set up a time to show them the route and one kid (hardly a kid, in his 20's) calls back to say his mom won't let him use her car to carry a single stage snow blower. I said ok what about just a shovel, he said no, nothing with snow on it....OMG just man up and tell me you don't want to work. 1 out of 50 people anymore are just plain soft
 
#102 ·
It seems there is a lack of work ethic in people under the age of 32-34 years old. I had this talk with a friend just a few days ago. It's rare to find a gung-ho person between the age of 16-32 who likes to work hard and enjoy seeing something get done with his hands. I am 44, and been plowing since i was 15, and still enjoy it. I have a "partner in plowing" and we hired a young guy to help us this year....he is VERY reliable, always on time or early and does a great job. I hope i can entice him to stay for next year.
 
#103 · (Edited)
I am a 37 year old bricklayer in a successful family business. We started plowing last year on our own, (My buddy that I plowed/shoveled for 10 years, went out of business) and I never have a problem, nor do our employees (both well under 32), shoveling for less than 15/hr for other companies that need help after we are done with our route. It is all about how your raised and the work ethic your mom and dad whipped:yow!: into you with the apparatus they choose.
 
#104 ·
White Gardens;1358958 said:
Exactly. You have to make this oh-so glamorous job as good as possible to make people motivated to want to work in nasty conditions.

I pay 20/hr. for help. This is because you have to be on-call all season long, work and sleep at odd hours, including holidays and any other occasion.

Never would I let someone use there own vehicle to do work for me out of the shear liability issues that can come from that.

...
I hire guys as subs not employes
So they drive there own truck I rent my ATV + trailer to them They have there own Insurance
I pay for salt and gas
 
#105 ·
beanz27;1589060 said:
Thats how I hire people for baling hay. Though it seems I can't find anyone even willing to do that anymore. Hell I used to be able to pay my high school friends 10 an hour to do that, now I can't even pay someone 15 an hour to do it anymore.
LOL I use pick hay/straw bales I would get 10cents per bale made good money when pick up 2000 bales per day

Now cant find nobody will pick it up that way They want 10 per hour only pick up 700 per day

Kids dont want work hard Myself I rather pick up by he bale more you pick up more you make
 
#106 ·
Im 18, starting my own Lawn Care business, over the last three sumer I have worked for my school (1 month grant from state), a Ferry doing Landscaping (I've gotten a raise or bonus each year for hard work and reliability), a restaurant (after working for the ferry), and now do snow removal for a company I met on here shoveling.
I will agree with everyone about my generation being lazy, my 17 year old brother has NEVER had a job, and complains when my mother tells him to get one. Also, many kids I went to school with are to lazy or unreliable to get jobs. Im happy to be a kid who enjoys working, and enjoys being employed in a economy that is this bad. I attend school full time, work for a company, and on the weekends am going to be starting my company. Hardwork pays off, Just happy my father always taught me and my youngest brother (15 and already has a job) what hard work is and how it will keep you employed!
 
#107 ·
Antlerart06;1589494 said:
LOL I use pick hay/straw bales I would get 10cents per bale made good money when pick up 2000 bales per day

Now cant find nobody will pick it up that way They want 10 per hour only pick up 700 per day

Kids dont want work hard Myself I rather pick up by he bale more you pick up more you make
that money would work out to be almost the same.....

2000/10 = $200

8hrs x $10 = $80

$200/$80 = 2.5

700 x 2.5 = 1750 bales for $200

not that far off in the production.....
 
#108 ·
scottydosnntkno;1589523 said:
that money would work out to be almost the same.....

2000/10 = $200

8hrs x $10 = $80

$200/$80 = 2.5

700 x 2.5 = 1750 bales for $200

not that far off in the production.....
Math is meaningless. You can use math to prove anything that's even remotely true. :jester:

...though I suppose if the hay bales are time sensitive, you might have to hire more $10/hr boys to do it all at once.
 
#109 ·
We have a little different market & philosphy. We are semi-rural mountain Colorado. Average 120" (until last year and now..) I have 3 commercial jobs that need shoveling. total 3.5-4 hrs. I talked to some friends and asked about their sons. I told them I would pay $25/hr but only 2 hrs per storm work unless we got over 4-5". That keeps me at a 38% margin. They are glad for the work. They are subs and I provide the dry melt. They provide shovels and transportation. I have had 4 young men work thru our company well into college or career.(not to mention my own kids) Appreciation and coaching seem to go a long way. Knowing their dads doesn't hurt. :nod: Not possible with large companies, but works great for smaller companies.
 
#110 ·
I was in a union for 5 years never again. Went on strike for 9 mouths for what unlimited sick days. Company offered a 3 dollar pay raise. Nope didn't take it. The union wanted the sick days. Company offered 3.25 nope. Nothing company said 2 more sick days and a 2.50 reduced hourly. So instead of 20.15 an hour well this kid told them where to shove it then the company closed down 1 year later. That union did nothing for me. I'm happy working full time at a none union shop and plow snow when there is snow to plow.
 
#111 ·
Brian Young;1360007 said:
Sad isn't it. Maybe I should start offering weed as a bonus,lol
Bonus? Heck, just give them a few joints and they'd be happy with just that as pay! LOL

SiLlY;1360014 said:
LMFAO... I bet you would get applicants by the thousands!
As long as he's giving them good hydroponic stuff, they'd probably be to work on time or even early with a strong work ethic knowing they'll be getting toasted. LOL
 
#112 ·
theholycow;1589541 said:
Math is meaningless. You can use math to prove anything that's even remotely true. :jester:

...though I suppose if the hay bales are time sensitive, you might have to hire more $10/hr boys to do it all at once.
Can't really time bales though. We've done 4k bales in 2 hours some days, other days we go as slow as 1k a day. Depends on the help you got. I pay by the bale for some guys, others want an actual for sure amount, especially after this hay year, got half the amount of bales we normally got.
 
#113 ·
Brian Young;1357380 said:
I love to hear all the excuses as to why they can't work. Last year I thought I heard some beauties and this year is off to a good start.......So we had our annual plow meeting where everyone comes to our shop just to let everyone know whats expected etc. So today I call all my sidewalk guys to set up a time to show them the route and one kid (hardly a kid, in his 20's) calls back to say his mom won't let him use her car to carry a single stage snow blower. I said ok what about just a shovel, he said no, nothing with snow on it....OMG just man up and tell me you don't want to work. 1 out of 50 people anymore are just plain soft
our sidewalk guys must be brothers
 
#114 ·
I had a sizeable complex, 6 guys 4 hours of shoveling. One day we 10". After we have been out 8 hours I call the crew on that Job to see how it was going and they were at the movie theater. They didn't bother to call me or anything, just up and left and decided to go the movies. Good call guys. I quit hiring kids who live at home. I must of been raised differently, when I turned 16 my parents charged $300 a month to live at home. When I moved out they wrote me a check for all the money I had given to them, it was a huge help when I needed a down payment on a house.
 
#115 ·
Generally speaking the labor pool sucks, it seems 1 maybe 2 out of 10 end up being worth hanging on. When you account for the time/expense to train it's almost a loosing battle.
Summer of 2011 I fired a kid for raising hell on my Zero Turn Mower, he was tearing up the turf and popping wheelies. When I asked him what his major malfunction was he said "Dad I didn't want to work today, I really wanted to go fishing instead" . Yep it was my own kid he was 13 y/o getting paid $12.00 an hour to ride a mower. Fast forward to now he wants to work when ever he can, he takes care of a couple neighbors driveways with the ATV and then goes out with me to ride shot gun and shovel.
In my case I didn't want to be the father a worthless parasite feeding off of handouts and he needed to know nobody is entitled to anything, you have to earn your way in life.
 
#116 ·
BUFF;1596699 said:
Generally speaking the labor pool sucks, it seems 1 maybe 2 out of 10 end up being worth hanging on. When you account for the time/expense to train it's almost a loosing battle.
Summer of 2011 I fired a kid for raising hell on my Zero Turn Mower, he was tearing up the turf and popping wheelies. When I asked him what his major malfunction was he said "Dad I didn't want to work today, I really wanted to go fishing instead" . Yep it was my own kid he was 13 y/o getting paid $12.00 an hour to ride a mower. Fast forward to now he wants to work when ever he can, he takes care of a couple neighbors driveways with the ATV and then goes out with me to ride shot gun and shovel.
In my case I didn't want to be the father a worthless parasite feeding off of handouts and he needed to know nobody is entitled to anything, you have to earn your way in life.
Thumbs Up ..."BRAVO" .....Thumbs Up.... Very well Put ! ...Thumbs Up
 
#117 ·
BUFF;1596699 said:
Generally speaking the labor pool sucks, it seems 1 maybe 2 out of 10 end up being worth hanging on. When you account for the time/expense to train it's almost a loosing battle.
1 out of 10 is an extremely optimistic estimate, unless you're talking about 1 out of 10 that you'd actually hire.
 
#118 ·
theholycow;1596750 said:
1 out of 10 is an extremely optimistic estimate, unless you're talking about 1 out of 10 that you'd actually hire.
It takes 10 to get 1-2 that are worth hiring/keeping as a sub.
Through networking and word of mouth has been the best way for me to find help.
I only have subs too.
 
#119 ·
I put an ad on craigslist for a LOCAL shoveler in my area.....within walking distance to a certain Southern New England college for the job is right next door....get two calls:

#1. "Hi, I am calling about the ad on CL for the snow shoveler.
"do you live in the area close to......."
"Well, no I am in Northern Virginia but I could get a ride"

#2. "Hi, I am calling about the ad on CL"
"do you live in the area close to......."
"No but, I could bring my Bobcat and save alot of time..."



Unreal..................no more CL.
 
#120 ·
The two most common ones I've heard are " I can't get DOWN off my hill" and "My gilfriend/boyfriend is sick". On my day off if the timing is right I work for one of my friends as a shoveler/ cleanup guy. $7.50 hr. from the minute he picks me up until he drops me off, and he keeps my stomach full, not an east task. He says I'm the best worker he's ever seen.
 
#121 ·
BUFF;1596699 said:
Generally speaking the labor pool sucks, it seems 1 maybe 2 out of 10 end up being worth hanging on. When you account for the time/expense to train it's almost a loosing battle.
Summer of 2011 I fired a kid for raising hell on my Zero Turn Mower, he was tearing up the turf and popping wheelies. When I asked him what his major malfunction was he said "Dad I didn't want to work today, I really wanted to go fishing instead" . Yep it was my own kid he was 13 y/o getting paid $12.00 an hour to ride a mower. Fast forward to now he wants to work when ever he can, he takes care of a couple neighbors driveways with the ATV and then goes out with me to ride shot gun and shovel.
In my case I didn't want to be the father a worthless parasite feeding off of handouts and he needed to know nobody is entitled to anything, you have to earn your way in life.
I use the front of my truck for snow plowing and the back for junk removal. I've had my daughter work with me on several junk removal jobs. She is a good worker. But if she wasn't .... I would have done it your way !!!!!!!!
 
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