# were do people learn this



## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

Last night i sent a text to the two guys that work for me at about 630 telling them we will be working tonight. I get a call from one of them telling me that the other one called him and told him to call me and tell me he wasnt coming in at that time it is to early for him but he could start at about 9 when his girl friend leaves for work. So I try to call him he wont answer the phone, doesnt show up, screwed me for the night. Then today at 10 this morning he calls me and tells me he is heading to the shop to get his pay from last week. I tell him payday is friday but since its the holiday it will be ready on thursday after 5. I then ask him what happened to him last night and he just changed the suject and he is now pi$$ed at me because he needs to pay his cell phone today or it gets shut off. I told him not my problem. When he called he didnt ask if he could get paid early he told me i was paying him early and if he would have come to work and then asked me for his pay early i would have done it. He fails to see that it is not my responsablity to make sure he has money to pay his bills. This is not the first to quit with no notice and then want their last pay right then, like im supossed to drop everything to take care of them.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Ahh, the joys of employees. This is a tough business for employers unless you have something else going on to give them plenty of hours. It's relatively low pay, sporadic/unpredictable hours. Crappy overnights and long shifts. Should probably have a third guy in the loop, and rotate them through. Then you have a spare guy.....


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! damn employees think it is their right to be paid whenever they say BOOO!!!, i have finally laid down the law with my employees, that it wont be happening any more. I have had the same problem with a guy, and he is one of my head guys, BUT if he shows up late one more time, or demands pay earlly one more time, i am seriously contemplating firing him!!!


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

Lay off and firings are paid immediately. Quitting is when you get your final check by mail.


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## vamootsman (Oct 5, 2008)

It's no different in any other business any more. They think that you are privileged to have them working for you, just because they show up, even if they are late, and only do enough to keep you from complaining. My 12 year old is a better worker than 90% of my employees, because he sees the time and effort that I put in to make a good life for him. He likes to get paid to work for me but I can't blame him for that, since I taught him! He pushed a Snow blower for 2 hours the other day. Gave him 40 bucks even though he would have done it for a 10 spot. Why not, I can't find an adult anymore that's reliable enough to show up and do a good job, and he saved me from having to do it after I had sat in the Truck for 6 hours straight.


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

Kubota 8540;930582 said:


> Lay off and firings are paid immediately. Quitting is when you get your final check by mail.


that what my wife just said, were she works if you quit your final check is mailed to you. she told me put it in the mail late thursday and he should have it on monday. funny he has no money to pay his cell phone but he sure had it when he was at the bar saterday night. maybe that money is no good for phone just beers.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

You guys are pretty easy going. When you come to work for me, its all simple. Its my way or I will see ya later. No democracy here. Terms are all laid out ahead of time.


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## Kubota 8540 (Sep 25, 2009)

clark lawn;930635 said:


> that what my wife just said, were she works if you quit your final check is mailed to you. she told me put it in the mail late thursday and he should have it on monday. funny he has no money to pay his cell phone but he sure had it when he was at the bar saterday night. maybe that money is no good for phone just beers.


I have had experience of these facts, not from the employer end.:laughing:


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

2COR517;930576 said:


> Ahh, the joys of employees. This is a tough business for employers unless you have something else going on to give them plenty of hours. It's relatively low pay, sporadic/unpredictable hours. Crappy overnights and long shifts. Should probably have a third guy in the loop, and rotate them through. Then you have a spare guy.....


instead of laying them off i just work them in the shop cleaning and repairing stuff unless it snows if no snow then they get 15-20 hours a week. with the excption of this week we are shut down except for snow til jan 4. so not like hes not making any money.


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

i tell them this up front. 

You do yoru part correctly, show up on time, do a good job. you get paid on time

you dont show up, you just cost me money, you get your last check when i get a chance to look into it. i just might decided to hold it until i can do an inventory on every tool i own and every pound of salt i got. take a guess how often that happens.

this job is not for everyone. if you dont like it you can say so, ill shake your hand and pay you with a thank you for your help. and a quick last check. But the key is finish the shift, dont not show up or not leave in the middle of it


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## hydro_37 (Sep 10, 2006)

When they fail to show or call I will mail a check....someday....lmao


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## WingPlow (Jun 18, 2007)

sounds to me like you could have done your part also by calling them instead of texting them

seems to me like a teenagers way of doing things


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## vamootsman (Oct 5, 2008)

WingPlow;932209 said:


> sounds to me like you could have done your part also by calling them instead of texting them
> 
> seems to me like a teenagers way of doing things


They got the message. If you read the original post, one called the other to get out of calling the "boss".


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## show-n-go (Feb 5, 2009)

The company that i sub for only texts us. That way they can say it once and get all of us. I like it that way.. they normally give me an hour notice as to when i should meet them at the shop.


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## kylecal91 (Dec 29, 2009)

I think this is the reason most people don't want to be the employer...


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## MahonLawnCare (Nov 18, 2007)

I would fire hire personally. If he no showed you on this storm then comes in an demands pay? You already haver cause for fire to prevent him from filing unemployment. The Dept. of Labor states he gets paid when he normally does, regardless of firing/quitting. I had a similar employee that would pull that sh%t when he got broke. He would want paid early, to complain non-stop about being broke, and generally drive me nuts. I finally let him go after two years this fall. He was the main foreman because he could really fly getting work done, but ultimately the lateness, attitude, and situations much like yours pushed me over the edge. Good luck


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## SullivanSeptic (Nov 30, 2008)

I have had these problems for years. The main problem is that there was never any good workers out there. There used to be so many jobs that pay so well that I couldn't get an employees unless I paid them double. Well now, my employees finally work for me. I have work, steady work all year, and a line of people at my door looking for a job because they know I pay well and pay every week. They always get paid. So, its kind of nice to be able to tell an employee, "bye bye", and then have a good replacement the next day. I would tell that guy who didn't come in that he is fired. Sorry but too many good hard workers without jobs that you can hire. You run a business that makes money, not a non for profit shop.


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## mud (Dec 15, 2005)

I still remember an old farmer I used to work for off and onn telling his grand kid one time, "this world has got along without Jesus for 2000 years, this farm will last with out you". He ended up canning the kid the next day when he was late again for milking. Got me more hours so I had no complaints lol.


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## kylecal91 (Dec 29, 2009)

That's a smart farmer.


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## gary snow (Oct 26, 2005)

*can i bragg?????????*

As a plower some 30 years ,i seen it all.!!! i had 3 men one night in the middle of the set,to tell me they wanted a raise or they quit.I FIRED THEM ALL ,on the spot,shut 2 trucks down and one loader ,GO HOME.leave equipment where it is,hahahahaha I had all the equipment up and running in 2 hours and i had to show my bud how to use the backhoe loader first ,as i had to drive truck.oh by the way MY DAD had just left fer fla.I WAS LEFT to look after the business.lol,i figured if the men had a beef take it up with the boss,cause the bosses son is just a caretaker!!!!!! NOW my son @22 years of age ,i pay him like a man !$20.00 per hour ,and he JUST AMAZE'S ME,at how good he is ,not hard on equipment ,AND GETS THE JOB DONE RIGHT ,the first time.I pay him like a man ,and a man is what i got.I finally realized i get paid the same if i work or not ,so now i pile as much on WAYNE as i can ,he loves it and comes back for more,THANK YOU for letting me bragg about my son.he,he,he,all them years ''stuck'' sitting beside dad [me] has paid off!!!!!!my son is better than me ,more than any man could pray for ,respect,Gary


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## Ramairfreak98ss (Aug 17, 2005)

yeah same crap here. mostly with the part timers only temp help etc.

one guy calls the day after the storm, wanting to know when he can get his check.. Tell him its only monday afternoon, and theyll get paid friday. He says xmas is friday and the other employees told him id probably pay thursday. So i said fine. Then it turns into he needs to pay something or someone and thursday banks close and he needs it thursday AM, as another one of the temp emoployees wants to pick his up around 9am thursday too, hadnt been to the bank in a week since the big azz storm, have no idea how much is left after thousands in fuel and salt bills.

One guy picks his up 9am, the other calls me 9 times between 10am and 2pm wanting his check. Finally call him back at 3pm after im back in the office and he has no ride from 30 minutes north of us so wants me to drop it off :/ Im thinking, this is the end of this guy.

Xmas day he calls my other phone and must have had 12 missed calls just from him and the couple numbers he called from. Not sure what he was calling about but i wasnt having this crap on xmas day. Im thinking no banks are open so he cant direct cash the check and there cant be a problem with it today. The next day i get a call from my main branch bank, guy is there trying to cash the check, i never wrote his last name on it because he never told me what it was. He filled in his last name with red ink, my check was in black or blue lol. Then he had NO ID whatsoever so they were real sketchy, but i told them he could cash it.

From now on out, unlike the rest of the year for landscaping, pay is held a week. You work this thursday, you wont get paid tomorrow, but next friday. I cant take the immediate payroll task the day of or after a storm


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## PlowGood (Dec 20, 2008)

gary snow;933188 said:


> NOW my son @22 years of age ,i pay him like a man !$20.00 per hour


At 22 years old, he is already a "man".

In your area, can someone buy a house and raise a family making $20 an hour?

Snow removal is not exactly full time in most areas (maybe in your area it is???). Usually pays more per hour than a full time job.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

PlowGood;933300 said:


> At 22 years old, he is already a "man".


If you think age determines adulthood, you are in for a few surprises......


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

had a sub worker, who worked one and a half days, we are talking about 9 hours, then phoned me over the next two days 30 some times, to get his money, (said he needed it for smokes) WTF, he was told we don't pay until the end of the week, well long story short, i paid him and told him not to phone me again for work, NEXT snowfall, the dumb sh!t phones me, "i have been waiting since 5am, when is someone picking me up to shovel!!!" when i tell him we don't wan't his services, he whines some more about how hard up he is for work, etc, WTF!!! the worst of it is he is such a poor worker none of my guys wanted to work with him anyways, some of these younger people think they are so damn entitled to do nothing and collect a pay check to do it, really pisses me off!!!


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

giving credit where it is due, there are some great working young people out there, (and any young people who belong to this site are good examples,,,,,,,,,,,,usually) but a lot of young people seem to think that a job/carrer is there right, without having to work hard for it


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## PlowGood (Dec 20, 2008)

2COR517;933318 said:


> If you think age determines adulthood, you are in for a few surprises......


Nope, no surprises. There are some 40 year olds who are big babies.

But, you did miss my point.


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

PlowGood;933300 said:


> At 22 years old, he is already a "man".
> 
> In your area, can someone buy a house and raise a family making $20 an hour?
> 
> Snow removal is not exactly full time in most areas (maybe in your area it is???). Usually pays more per hour than a full time job.


around here $20 an hour is good money


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

depends a lot on weither you have them working full time or just snow, if it is full time, then all those shop cleanings, and vehicle maintenance, then you pay for those hours too, BUT if you are going to only pay them for snow removal, you may have to pump up the money a bit, hard to raise a family on 10 hours, a couple times a month


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## kylecal91 (Dec 29, 2009)

I can certainly wait till I have the same problem you guys do! I'm 18 started this business in the spring, had 30 or so lawn care customers now have around 11-12 snow removal customers and people say they can't find work! I picked up 7 snow removal jobs from this last big snow we had and all I use is a 3 hp snow blower, shovels and some friends that work for me. If you do a good job and take what you can get you'd be amazed how busy you'd find yourself.


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## KJ Cramer (Aug 20, 2009)

*Can't resist telling this one.*

Not snow related but business related. A few years ago we were working and I had 2 new employees, in addition to the 2 I already had, Nothing was/is wrong with my two oldest employees, but these two new ones. They didn't know each other previously, I believe. The first one - He had worked with me for 2.5 weeks or so, showed up late at least 5 times by now and reprimanded every time and just like clock work he was supposed to be at work by 7am. Well he did a no call no show this time; I was pissed, called him twice through out the morning, no answer. He calls me just after lunch and says he had car trouble and couldn't come in, I asked why he didn't call, he told me he didn't want to hear me biotch (actually told me, the boss, that. weather he was right or wrong, you don't tell the boss that), I told him if he wanted to stay employed he'd better think about showing up to work on time, this was his last chance I told him (should have fired him long before now) he then asks me for a pay advance, I laughed my a$$ off, and told him never would I give someone as unreliable as him a pay advance. Ended up firring him less than a week later, he didn't even bother trying to collect unemployment, but came back the following summer to ask if we needed anyone, to which I responded "all fulled up here" laughing the entire time. The second guy I caught drinking and smoking a joint on the back side of a roof we were sheathing while on the clock at the same time, within a week or two of the last guy, fired him instantly, he couldn't understand why, he even tried to collect unemployment, guess again, denied.

I just don't understand where people get this from. I have been in business for 4 years now and have been through over 30 people and I only typically run a crew of around 3-4, whats wrong with people.


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## KJ Cramer (Aug 20, 2009)

The other thing is employee's don't understand that they are replaceable, aint no one but me that isn't replaceable at MY company, some I don't want too, but would if I had too. I hate it when we get going on something and get to a point where an undesirable aspect of the job comes along and a guy tells me that if I don't buy lunch or if I don't help he aint going to do it, maybe he'll just quit or find someonelse to work for. I always tell them the same thing - BYE! I don't need you, there isn't a thing that I can't do on my own, or with the help of one of the hundreds of people that are looking for a job.

They need to understand that we all have to do things we don't like thats life, man up and do it and move on.

Ok I'll get off my soap box now, this thread just got me all riled up.


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## kylecal91 (Dec 29, 2009)

KJ Cramer;934061 said:


> They need to understand that we all have to do things we don't like thats life, man up and do it and move on.
> :


You just hit the nail on the head.


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## Outd00r Maint.. (Nov 17, 2009)

20/hour to shovel, hell thats good..here its around 10/hour for shovelers


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## Wayne Volz (Mar 1, 2002)

*Awesome*

does us all good to brag a bit. All your hard work has paid off!


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## jomama45 (Dec 25, 2008)

KJ Cramer;934061 said:


> The other thing is employee's don't understand that they are replaceable, *aint no one but me that isn't replaceable at MY company*, some I don't want too, but would if I had too. I hate it when we get going on something and get to a point where an undesirable aspect of the job comes along and a guy tells me that if I don't buy lunch or if I don't help he aint going to do it, maybe he'll just quit or find someonelse to work for. I always tell them the same thing - BYE! I don't need you, there isn't a thing that I can't do on my own, or with the help of one of the hundreds of people that are looking for a job.
> 
> They need to understand that we all have to do things we don't like thats life, man up and do it and move on.
> 
> Ok I'll get off my soap box now, this thread just got me all riled up.


Great point! I've had to tell my employees that a few times thru the years. I really can't complain though, only had maybe 15 employees over 10+ years. Still have 4 of them, the newest of which has been with us 3.5 to 4 years.

I'm pretty selective when looking for a new employee though. I'd rather run understaffed for a little while than hire someone useless that will just bring company moral down. And cause me more headaches than he's worth.

The worst experiences I've had are with young (18-25) employees that don't have anything they HAVE to work for. Meaning: they have no house payment (usually still live at home, so no rent either), kids, wife, new vehicle, etc... There have also been young employees that have had been real aggressive with a great work ethic, but generally they seem to want to be a foreman in a few months as well as recieve major raises constantly. Eventually, these kids take off for something else when they catch the "grass is greaner on the other side" bug.


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

wait, you mean I have to work for a paycheck.

Story of the week.

Guy at church, 35 years old or so, PHD chemist, been out of work for 8 months or so, working as a domino's pizza delivery guy to help support his family (which I think is great, too many sit on their aZZ). 6 kids, wife.

My regular shovel guy is on vacation (I know, I know, but he's not an employee, what can i do?) for the next week so I need someone to cover in case it snows.

I call this PHD guy up (9am) and say you want to earn some cash? I explain the job and honestly the job isn't for everyone. You gotta be on call 24/7, you gotta work hard in the cold and maybe you gotta watch kids or something, I understand all that. But you know, support the family, couple hundred dollar check would be mighty useful i would think. But the reply I get is none of those.

"I'm depressed and I'm lying in bed"

WTF????????????????????/

Seriously WTF?


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

well today was payday, i guess when i told him after 5 that must have have ment 5 am. he started calling at 630 this morning, told him im out plowing I will call YOU when i am done, probably be around noon or so. he called at least 4 more times before noon, whining every time about how he is broke and needs the money ASAP. once again NOT MY PROBLEM.


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

tell him you well mail it if he doesn't lay off, he can [email protected] well get it at 5pm like everyone else


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## rick21793 (Feb 13, 2007)

Wow. You guys really put up with a lot. If my employees told me I had to buy them lunch or pay them by a certain time I would just can them. All that calling would drive me nuts on top of all the other calls I get. 

Many times when I have an employee come in late, I do what my dad used to do..Tell them to take the whole day off so they can rest and be on time the next day. Or maybe give them a couple days off. I know you guys will say , but I need them, but I learned from my Dad that if you just run it like that all the time you will not have that many problems. Somtimes you just have to bit the bullet and send them home.

My father, before he passed, did not take any crap from any of his employees . Everyone always new that he did not need them and they worked at his privliage. Hell , he evern sent me , his own son home many times. He was always harder on me because he said I had to set the example. I think he was too hard on people but it worked. One time he fired someone for parking there car in the wrong place.


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

i agree with your post, but not with your grammer/spelling


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

What about his grammar?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grammar


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

lmao, opps, open my big mouth, insert stinky foot,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i have a excuse, i worked 14hrs last night, not saying anything bad about him, i agree with his point, just reading his post, it is just filled with very obvious grammatical mistakes, for the record, i get sloppy typing sometimes, too


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## 02powerstroke (Nov 7, 2006)

LoneCowboy;935195 said:


> wait, you mean I have to work for a paycheck.
> 
> Story of the week.
> 
> ...


exactly whats wrong with this country!!!


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## ford550 (Nov 9, 2008)

I can't tell you how many stories I have heard for the last 20 years. When you think you heard it all, someone usually comes up with something better.......

This past storm, called everyone in, except I couldn't get a hold of this one guy (mind you, he was just hired last storm). Well, two days later he calls and says "where's my check from the last storm", I said "everyone gets paid on Fridays and payroll runs every 2 weeks, oh by the way, where were you this last storm and why didn't you answer the phone?" He replys, "Uh, I needed new boots (he showed up in timberlands the first time, feet were soaked and cold) and I can't get them until I get paid."

Are you kidding me, this is the kind of sh*t we have to deal with today. This is why we own the companies and they are happy sitting at home collecting.

Sorry, this subject just fires me up :angry:


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## kylecal91 (Dec 29, 2009)

It's nice to see that quite a few people in this country still have good work ethics. I get asked all the time how I started a business at 17 and now am 18 and still have no problems getting business or making money. My friends tell me all the time how lucky I am and you make so much money, I say hey you know what if you get out there be confident in what you wanna do, do a good job for a good price, be reliable and respectful, you won't have to be looking for work long it will come to you. All you have to do is go get it! (just thought I'd add to this great thread lol)


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

kylecal91;940226 said:


> It's nice to see that quite a few people in this country still have good work ethics. I get asked all the time how I started a business at 17 and now am 18 and still have no problems getting business or making money. My friends tell me all the time how lucky I am and you make so much money, I say hey you know what if you get out there be confident in what you wanna do, do a good job for a good price, be reliable and respectful, you won't have to be looking for work long it will come to you. All you have to do is go get it! (just thought I'd add to this great thread lol)


a shinning example of hope for the next generation, lol, how are things going by the way?


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## KAG (Jul 19, 2007)

The problem really is a lot of people, not just young people is that they honestly believe in Entitlement. I tell them I owe them nothing more than to be fair and pay on time. I am very up front with employees, there is no profit sharing, there is no negotiating, no paid lunches, no ride to or from work, you work and you get paid period. We are not buddies, pals, or friends, you work for me. Pay days are once a week, in emergencies I will work with you but absolutely no advances period. Too many emergencies and your gone. 

As soon as I perceive a problem with a guy I am already making plans to cut him loose before he can tear up or steal equipment. Usually only 1 out of about 20 turns out to be a good guy that I can trust and rely on but only to a point. The rest I try to cut loose quickly before they end up costing me too much money.


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## uriahroot (Dec 9, 2009)

buckwheat_la;933334 said:


> giving credit where it is due, there are some great working young people out there, (and any young people who belong to this site are good examples,,,,,,,,,,,,usually) but a lot of young people seem to think that a job/carrer is there right, without having to work hard for it


thank you cheers


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## kylecal91 (Dec 29, 2009)

buckwheat_la;940237 said:


> a shinning example of hope for the next generation, lol, how are things going by the way?


Things are going well. Still having a hard time figuring out if I wanna buy a plow or not, I'll have to start looking into stuff more seriously I guess. We'll see what happens. How bout you?


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

really debating the plow question myself, considering the snowdogg md75, it isn't commercially rated, but it seems to be a tough plow, and i just am looking for a backup for if, a skidateer breaks down. might be a good option for you too


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## kylecal91 (Dec 29, 2009)

Great! I'll look into that...


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## cseutah (Nov 24, 2009)

i have learned over the years pay a higher wage because its a call out at any time day or night. but dont give them all of it at once, if i pay a driver $18.00 an hour they get $14.00 of it on pay days every other friday the last $4.00 is paid at the end of the season based on your attendance and performance, people tend to be a bit more motivated when they have a savings plan. just figure what you can pay and base it on pay rate and incentives. My sidewalk guys get between $10 and $14 per hr and my trucks get between $16 and $25 hr and equipment operators get between $25 and $40 per hr but none of them get it all unless they bust their butts all winter and show up on time for every call out.


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## STRONGARM (Jan 10, 2005)

This is a great topic! I have had some of the worst luck over the past year with hiring QUALITY guy's. Every time I think I've found a good guy he turns out to be about 10% as good as he thinks he is. People have no problem lying to you at an interview about experience training ect... I had one guy tell me he went to the same college I did, so I ask him what years and he tells me. Well it so happens i was there then and in our program we only had about 60 students and everyone new everyone. The look on his face was priceless when I told him that, I think he sh*& his pants. 

I also am learning more and more to be less accepting to all of there "problems" . You want to have a positive environment to work in but you can't let them run the show, let's all remember it's our name and MONEY on the line!!

Cheers!


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## F150dash (Dec 4, 2006)

STRONGARM;944952 said:


> I also am learning more and more to be less accepting to all of there "problems" . You want to have a positive environment to work in but you can't let them run the show, let's all remember it's our name and MONEY on the line!!


There "problems" are not ours, they don't need to bring it to work with them. I had one employee with me for almost a year and in the last month he had more problems then some guys do in 10 yrs. Finally he came to me and said "I need this morning off and tommrow afternoon off to get ready to go back to school" I said you might as well finish now! I will finish shingling the roof myself. He just didn't want to shingle would be my guess. But what is the deal he has 2 kids you would think that you would want the money to support them, and for around here I pay above normal rate. I hired another guy and he couldn't get enough hours and would do anything I asked him at the same pay.
Worst of it makes me look bad when these guys whine and don't work hard. All I ask for is to show up on time, and put your 8 plus hrs in. The pay is always there on time and when it is the middle of summer I make sure they have enough water each day. 
I had another guy hired as a labour who told my foreman that he would prefer to be laid off after working a little over a month so that he could get welfare and grow weed....gotta love ppl.....
I wish I could find another guy like my foreman, this guy is a machine. He worked 6 days a week for me in the summer and then in the evenings and sunday doing side jobs.


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## timberseal (Jul 24, 2008)

No call - no show - no job........ it's that simple. I make that very clear up front and only in emergency situtions will I reason. Payday is ALWAYS on Friday except in the case of a holiday that puts it on Thursday. 

I used to be pretty lax on alot of those things until guys started feeling as though they could walk all over me - that ruined it for everyone. There are too many people out of work looking for a job to put up with that immature bullsh!t.


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## deicepro (Mar 24, 2009)

This is a great thread, a real stress reliever
This business is a hobby for me, there is no guaranteed income
I tell all my guys ( all subs, no employes ) the same thing, "This is not a normal job, there is no guarantee of anything" I pay my shoveling subs $25/hour cash, drivers $30/hour. Theres just one catch " You get paid once a month", This usually weeds out the lazy, broke, loser guys.


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## Matt400 (Dec 23, 2009)

KAG;940463 said:


> The problem really is a lot of people, not just young people is that they honestly believe in Entitlement.


I agree with you on that..we see that in our area too.

I read an interesting method to motivate and hold accountability through pay buy Neige as he wrote:


> On the most part we work on a contract basis. They get X amount per week whether it snows or not. The weeks it does snow they still get that same X amount. For that they have to be available 24-7 seven days a week. If they miss they loose that weeks pay + $35.00 hr for hrs not worked that week. You only get to miss once, 2 times your gone.


as I understand it this gives the employee a paycheck they can count on for the season with a stiff penalty for _meeting up with the girlfriend_ when they should be plowing.
Of course this would require having funds on hand before contracts are paid with savings or line of credit but in addition I would think it would also require you to have contracts paid for the season and not by push or hourly otherwise how would you calculate your employment needs.


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

i think tomarrow im goimg to have to have a talk with and maybe fire one of my guys. over the winter pay is on the first and the fifteenth, due to the fact that there may not be many hours on them. payed him on the fifteenth for 45 hours, he texts me at 930 this saturday night 8 days later needs his pay for the 12 hours he has coming right then. i call him back and tell him first payday isnt until the first, second im out for the night and not making a special trip to meet you somewere. he getts all pi$$y with me about how he's out of money and him and his g/f want to go out but they are both broke, and how he comes in at any hour of the night to go plow (he is acually a shovler as he has no license).


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

i havent decided yet if im going to keep him or not. the wife says i should do whatever to make him happycause hes been here for a few years and can do alot and all the customers know him. im about fed up with him lately. But if i do decide to keep him i was going to give him till April 1 to have his license or hes done. do you guys think thats fair? he lost it for not paying child support. all thats payed up now he just has to pay the reinstatement fee.


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## coldcoffee (Jul 17, 2008)

Hmmm...reminds me why I fired all my sidewalk guys years ago, and just don't take accounts w/ walks anymore. I remember those calls and "their problems" all too well.

I'd say (since he agreed to those terms), A prepayment in the real world is delivered w/ a discount, the same as interest is paid on past due. I don't mind helping them out once in a while in a bind, but patterns have a way of being created when your too nice. I could never imagine asking for a prepay, just so I could go out for the night...then it's still somehow your fault that there is no money to get the license, pay the phone, or show up for work because the gas tank is empty...and the cycle continues...:crying:


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## hitachiman 200 (Jan 17, 2010)

Ok.... this fellow bites the hand that feeds him cause his girlfriend wants to go clubbing? She must be pretty hot or does he have a capital "L" on his forehead? I think you already know the answer to the problem..... send him packing.


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## xtreem3d (Nov 26, 2005)

ford550;939202 said:


> I can't tell you how many stories I have heard for the last 20 years. When you think you heard it all, someone usually comes up with something better.......
> 
> This past storm, called everyone in, except I couldn't get a hold of this one guy (mind you, he was just hired last storm). Well, two days later he calls and says "where's my check from the last storm", I said "everyone gets paid on Fridays and payroll runs every 2 weeks, oh by the way, where were you this last storm and why didn't you answer the phone?" He replys, "Uh, I needed new boots (he showed up in timberlands the first time, feet were soaked and cold) and I can't get them until I get paid."
> 
> ...


i get those crazy excuses too..after hearing so many .i now reply "sorry to hear that but don't make your problem my problem"


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## hitachiman 200 (Jan 17, 2010)

xtreem3d;973451 said:


> i get those crazy excuses too..after hearing so many .i now reply "sorry to hear that but don't make your problem my problem"


Reminds me of my first time on a shovel. Wet boots ...no problem.... carry extra socks and lots of bread bags. Everyone has more than one pair of socks and if you don't eat bread?.... well what do you eat if you can't afford a new pair of boots?


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## KJ Cramer (Aug 20, 2009)

xtreem3d;973451 said:


> i get those crazy excuses too..after hearing so many .i now reply "sorry to hear that but don't make your problem my problem"


I have been telling people for years "Don't make your problem my problem," or "Why is your problem my problem." Suppliers, employees, sometimes customers, inspectors. All my guys think that is my favorite saying and mock me for it, but they all get the point. Funny to hear someone else uses that.


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