My neighbors finally built their dream house on their 42 acres last year (they bought the place about 10 years ago and lived in the double-wide left by the previous owner). The subs kept throwing their trash on the ground because the GC wouldn't provide a dumpster, and it would blow all over their property. The wife got some trash cans and put them in numerous locations, and then, through an English-to-Spanish interpretor, asked them nicely to use them. She said none ever threw a single piece of trash in them. She would go pick up after them every day, which was easy since they lived on site. We couldn't believe how absolutely non-caring they were about the wishes of the people ultimately paying their wages. Just more evidence that this country is a disgrace these days.
A filthy job really is usually a signal that it is out of control- I have had guys tell me that the best workers were the messiest because they focused on the work- But the person that told me that was also the messiest worker and they did crappy work. Our relationship lasted about two weeks.
But to be on point people don’t know how to “do” work as a whole so often-People want a paycheck but they have no idea how to treat a job at all-
And by that statement I mean a lot of things-
How to show up and be dressed appropriately- had a guy show up in sandals- uh,no.
How to be presentable and personally clean
To be on time
To be prepared to work
How to treat the company property
How to treat the customers property
This is all just basic stuff before you have to know beyond the technical aspects of the work-
Plus my rules -
We don’t park anywhere but where we were supposed to park
We don’t walk on the grass in many situations
We don’t use their bathroom
We don’t need aspirin , we don’t need water. we don’t need food
We don’t use the fridge
We eat offsite or outside
We don’t walk up to the job with a soft drink in our hand - we’re not doing a social visit
I want guys to get out of the truck putting on a toolbelt
Use the work pathway the customer wants you to use
Protect it so that you have no idea what is underneath the floor protection- We don’t use paper- we use hardboard that we get from the mobile home industry- I have worked for several people at our local building inspection department in their personal homes and once I had a guy drop a tile on paper in one and it damaged the wood floor underneath- I was like dude that is like bumping into a cop car....
We don’t open cabinets or doors were not supposed to
Nobody ever smokes in the clients home and keep it at the street
We never enter without consent - I once walked in on a lady with her shirt off and we both screamed like women
We lock up if they require it
We let the customer know we’re gone so they can relax and kick off their heels so to speak
If we have to stop or leave for a reason during the day we let them know what we’re up to
We are very careful about turning off the water and power so there’s no convenience no one is ever left without either overnight
A really good rule of thumb is just don’t do anything that aggravates the customer, especially before you can get started good.