Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Stoots on November 07, 2022, 07:37:34 am
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Everytime I dabble into this I get reminded why I always end up working back on my own.
About a month ago I decided I would like to get a part timer to help as getting a bit bored on my own
Anyway 2 weeks ago I took a lad on a trial day, seemed OK so agreed to give him a month trial. Then the 2nd day he messaged me saying he was sick so we re arranged for the following week. Next week and came and his car had broken down so he couldn't get here.
I binned him off and advertised again not a good start.
Spoke to a lad last week and arranged Friday of last week to do a trial day. Last minute he said he had forgot he had an appointment booked and could we do Monday (today). Wasnt too bothered about that as I don't like working Fridays anyway and was only doing it for him.
So last night I spoke to him checked everything was ok, all good to go.
He's supposed to be meeting me at 8am this morning and 5 mins ago I get the message "can we arrange for another day I've been in hospital all night".
Now of course this could true but I don't have the patience and it's really not a good sign.
Wonder how long before i give up on the idea again ;D
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Ah the memories come flooding back. I used to spend about 30-45 mins each night planning the next day……then you got the dreaded text/phone call in the morning “I’ll not be out today”. So all the planning was right out the window…aaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhhh!!
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Not so much the joys of employing - the joy of trying to find the right person to start
Darran
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Ah the memories come flooding back. I used to spend about 30-45 mins each night planning the next day……then you got the dreaded text/phone call in the morning “I’ll not be out today”. So all the planning was right out the window…aaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhhh!!
Yep, luckily I've learnt this lesson so didn't book in any extra work for today in case. That's paid off at least...
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You use the expression lad a lot if you employ lads you will have this sort of problem, you need reliable men most lads will have been out on the beer all weekend , I have no idea what you are offering pay wise but suspect this could also be a reason why theses ones are so unreliable, I have 5 full time staff and 4 others that I can call on to help out and I never get this situation, but they are paid well and are men not lads the modern day younger generally doesn’t understand the ethos of work .
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I'm looking forward to Nigel's input. He employs doesn't he. He said so.
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👍 best thing I’ve ever done I wish I’d had a break from it and continued over 10 years ago,I won’t ever go back solo the person I have is fantastic he’s not had 1 day off sick in 6-7 months I am going to have to tell him he needs to take a week off because I’m not carrying it over from next spring. As said texts saying I’m not coming in and constant excuses would get the Gordon Ramsay treatment from me,I just haven’t got the patience with idiots these days so so many caber chuckers out there.
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👍 best thing I’ve ever done I wish I’d had a break from it and continued over 10 years ago,I won’t ever go back solo the person I have is fantastic he’s not had 1 day off sick in 6-7 months I am going to have to tell him he needs to take a week off because I’m not carrying it over from next spring. As said texts saying I’m not coming in and constant excuses would get the Gordon Ramsay treatment from me,I just haven’t got the patience with idiots these days so so many caber chuckers out there.
How are you finding being Vat registered now Nigel? Going off your figures you were quite close to having to register being solo so you must be way over the threshold now.
Did you pass the Vat on to your domestic customers or absorb some of it yourself?
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👍 best thing I’ve ever done I wish I’d had a break from it and continued over 10 years ago,I won’t ever go back solo the person I have is fantastic he’s not had 1 day off sick in 6-7 months I am going to have to tell him he needs to take a week off because I’m not carrying it over from next spring. As said texts saying I’m not coming in and constant excuses would get the Gordon Ramsay treatment from me,I just haven’t got the patience with idiots these days so so many caber chuckers out there.
How are you finding being Vat registered now Nigel? Going off your figures you were quite close to having to register being solo so you must be way over the threshold now.
Did you pass the Vat on to your domestic customers or absorb some of it yourself?
I could of sworn he was on here only a few months ago saying how employing was a waste of time ;D
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👍 best thing I’ve ever done I wish I’d had a break from it and continued over 10 years ago,I won’t ever go back solo the person I have is fantastic he’s not had 1 day off sick in 6-7 months I am going to have to tell him he needs to take a week off because I’m not carrying it over from next spring. As said texts saying I’m not coming in and constant excuses would get the Gordon Ramsay treatment from me,I just haven’t got the patience with idiots these days so so many caber chuckers out there.
How are you finding being Vat registered now Nigel? Going off your figures you were quite close to having to register being solo so you must be way over the threshold now.
Did you pass the Vat on to your domestic customers or absorb some of it yourself?
I don’t have to worry about all that at the moment m8 I have a rich wife I can take out what I want if I want to pay someone full time for a year or 2 I can do without any stress,someone should have told you when growing up if she’s ugly and fat she better be rich I’m lucky mines neither of the first 2 either 😉.
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👍 best thing I’ve ever done I wish I’d had a break from it and continued over 10 years ago,I won’t ever go back solo the person I have is fantastic he’s not had 1 day off sick in 6-7 months I am going to have to tell him he needs to take a week off because I’m not carrying it over from next spring. As said texts saying I’m not coming in and constant excuses would get the Gordon Ramsay treatment from me,I just haven’t got the patience with idiots these days so so many caber chuckers out there.
How are you finding being Vat registered now Nigel? Going off your figures you were quite close to having to register being solo so you must be way over the threshold now.
Did you pass the Vat on to your domestic customers or absorb some of it yourself?
I don’t have to worry about all that at the moment m8 I have a rich wife I can take out what I want if I want to pay someone full time for a year or 2 I can do without any stress,someone should have told you when growing up if she’s ugly and fat she better be rich I’m lucky mines neither of the first 2 either 😉.
;D
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👍 best thing I’ve ever done I wish I’d had a break from it and continued over 10 years ago,I won’t ever go back solo the person I have is fantastic he’s not had 1 day off sick in 6-7 months I am going to have to tell him he needs to take a week off because I’m not carrying it over from next spring. As said texts saying I’m not coming in and constant excuses would get the Gordon Ramsay treatment from me,I just haven’t got the patience with idiots these days so so many caber chuckers out there.
How are you finding being Vat registered now Nigel? Going off your figures you were quite close to having to register being solo so you must be way over the threshold now.
Did you pass the Vat on to your domestic customers or absorb some of it yourself?
I don’t have to worry about all that at the moment m8 I have a rich wife I can take out what I want if I want to pay someone full time for a year or 2 I can do without any stress,someone should have told you when growing up if she’s ugly and fat she better be rich I’m lucky mines neither of the first 2 either 😉.
I don’t understand Nigel. Don’t you have to pay VAT because you have a rich wife?
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👍 best thing I’ve ever done I wish I’d had a break from it and continued over 10 years ago,I won’t ever go back solo the person I have is fantastic he’s not had 1 day off sick in 6-7 months I am going to have to tell him he needs to take a week off because I’m not carrying it over from next spring. As said texts saying I’m not coming in and constant excuses would get the Gordon Ramsay treatment from me,I just haven’t got the patience with idiots these days so so many caber chuckers out there.
How are you finding being Vat registered now Nigel? Going off your figures you were quite close to having to register being solo so you must be way over the threshold now.
Did you pass the Vat on to your domestic customers or absorb some of it yourself?
I don’t have to worry about all that at the moment m8 I have a rich wife I can take out what I want if I want to pay someone full time for a year or 2 I can do without any stress,someone should have told you when growing up if she’s ugly and fat she better be rich I’m lucky mines neither of the first 2 either 😉.
I don’t understand Nigel. Don’t you have to pay VAT because you have a rich wife?
😂😂😂😂
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Actually no you don’t have to pay Vat when you have a rich wife no why would I need to go up and over Vat limits and worry about the stress that goes with it,when you love what you do every day you’ll never work a day in you’re life 👍.
Now is it a 4x4 or an R8 come on I need help in deciding what to do,the 3rd option is to get rid of the 14 year old van 😂
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Actually no you don’t have to pay Vat when you have a rich wife no why would I need to go up and over Vat limits and worry about the stress that goes with it,when you love what you do every day you’ll never work a day in you’re life 👍.
Now is it a 4x4 or an R8 come on I need help in deciding what to do,the 3rd option is to get rid of the 14 year old van 😂
No need to have an employee if you are under the vat limit , as it’s not cost effective, working part time you can do 65k plus on your own
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Not sure 65k plus part time is possible, defo not round my way, maybe London.
50k is possible for sure…
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Actually no you don’t have to pay Vat when you have a rich wife no why would I need to go up and over Vat limits and worry about the stress that goes with it,when you love what you do every day you’ll never work a day in you’re life 👍.
Now is it a 4x4 or an R8 come on I need help in deciding what to do,the 3rd option is to get rid of the 14 year old van 😂
Someones trying to be “funny” now the bulls**t has caught up with them, again…
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Not sure 65k plus part time is possible, defo not round my way, maybe London.
50k is possible for sure…
Location will make a difference I know one guy in Surrey works part time hours and is doing 75k ,he does have some nice jobs
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Actually no you don’t have to pay Vat when you have a rich wife no why would I need to go up and over Vat limits and worry about the stress that goes with it,when you love what you do every day you’ll never work a day in you’re life 👍.
Now is it a 4x4 or an R8 come on I need help in deciding what to do,the 3rd option is to get rid of the 14 year old van 😂
You work full time, you claim to earn £400-£500+ daily when working alone, you now have had a worker with you for 7 months and you still have not passed the Vat threshold. Something isn’t adding up here Nigel…..
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There are facets of external cleaning that beat window cleaning income-wise hands down. It is possible and there’s far easier ways than brushing glass.
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Actually no you don’t have to pay Vat when you have a rich wife no why would I need to go up and over Vat limits and worry about the stress that goes with it,when you love what you do every day you’ll never work a day in you’re life 👍.
Now is it a 4x4 or an R8 come on I need help in deciding what to do,the 3rd option is to get rid of the 14 year old van 😂
You work full time, you claim to earn £400-£500+ daily when working alone, you now have had a worker with you for 7 months and you still have not passed the Vat threshold. Something isn’t adding up here Nigel…..
I know a fisherman he once told me that once you’ve got you’re bait right you’ll find all the fish start biting at once,he said they normally bite in 3s 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.
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Is that the same fisherman who used to say it’s the fishermen with small maggots who play the baiting game?
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No it was Chris Packham that told me a bird in the hand is worth more than 2 ugly ones in the bush lol.
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More like the windowcleaner who goes to bed with problem in hand and wakes up with solution on chest I think.
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I’d be more than happy with that by reaching my chest I can remember the days when it would fly over my shoulder like a shaken up can of coke 🤣.
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Actually no you don’t have to pay Vat when you have a rich wife no why would I need to go up and over Vat limits and worry about the stress that goes with it,when you love what you do every day you’ll never work a day in you’re life 👍.
Now is it a 4x4 or an R8 come on I need help in deciding what to do,the 3rd option is to get rid of the 14 year old van 😂
You work full time, you claim to earn £400-£500+ daily when working alone, you now have had a worker with you for 7 months and you still have not passed the Vat threshold. Something isn’t adding up here Nigel…..
I know a fisherman he once told me that once you’ve got you’re bait right you’ll find all the fish start biting at once,he said they normally bite in 3s 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.
So you have spun us a load of bull$hit and now your trying to get out of it with a childish post like that ;D
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No m8
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Log off Nigel, you’re an embarrassment.
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Up early for this one m8 lol.
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I must be one of the minority that like nigels posts. Absoloute crackpot ;D
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😘
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You use the expression lad a lot if you employ lads you will have this sort of problem, you need reliable men most lads will have been out on the beer all weekend , I have no idea what you are offering pay wise but suspect this could also be a reason why theses ones are so unreliable, I have 5 full time staff and 4 others that I can call on to help out and I never get this situation, but they are paid well and are men not lads the modern day younger generally doesn’t understand the ethos of work .
Do your guys do about 40 houses a day each?
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You use the expression lad a lot if you employ lads you will have this sort of problem, you need reliable men most lads will have been out on the beer all weekend , I have no idea what you are offering pay wise but suspect this could also be a reason why theses ones are so unreliable, I have 5 full time staff and 4 others that I can call on to help out and I never get this situation, but they are paid well and are men not lads the modern day younger generally doesn’t understand the ethos of work .
Do your guys do about 40 houses a day each?
If it’s estate houses one after the other then up to 48-55 but some are fronts only , some days it’s considerably less if big manor houses some days it’s commercial only .
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Blimey 8 Weekly no wonder I get told I’m full of bu**poop on here 40 houses lol,I can’t remember the last day we did over 10.
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Nearly seven houses an hour for eight hours with no lunch break. That’s going some.
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Everytime I dabble into this I get reminded why I always end up working back on my own.
About a month ago I decided I would like to get a part timer to help as getting a bit bored on my own
Anyway 2 weeks ago I took a lad on a trial day, seemed OK so agreed to give him a month trial. Then the 2nd day he messaged me saying he was sick so we re arranged for the following week. Next week and came and his car had broken down so he couldn't get here.
I binned him off and advertised again not a good start.
Spoke to a lad last week and arranged Friday of last week to do a trial day. Last minute he said he had forgot he had an appointment booked and could we do Monday (today). Wasnt too bothered about that as I don't like working Fridays anyway and was only doing it for him.
So last night I spoke to him checked everything was ok, all good to go.
He's supposed to be meeting me at 8am this morning and 5 mins ago I get the message "can we arrange for another day I've been in hospital all night".
Now of course this could true but I don't have the patience and it's really not a good sign.
Wonder how long before i give up on the idea again ;D
you probably need to go through at least 10 lads to find a decent one.....then when you ve trained him up and got him working how you want him to work he ll catch on how much money your making out of him (after a year or two if your lucky!)then he ll leave you in the lurch and you ll have to start all over again.
it really isnt worth the faff and the hassle in my experience...... ::)roll
but good luck anyway Adam.... :)
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You use the expression lad a lot if you employ lads you will have this sort of problem, you need reliable men most lads will have been out on the beer all weekend , I have no idea what you are offering pay wise but suspect this could also be a reason why theses ones are so unreliable, I have 5 full time staff and 4 others that I can call on to help out and I never get this situation, but they are paid well and are men not lads the modern day younger generally doesn’t understand the ethos of work .
Do your guys do about 40 houses a day each?
If it’s estate houses one after the other then up to 48-55 but some are fronts only , some days it’s considerably less if big manor houses some days it’s commercial only .
I'm just doing the numbers. We've just over 4,000 customers, 8 full time vans and with extras (gutters etc.). We are 8 weekly. I'm just impressed that you can get 5 full time staff to manage in effect 9000 customers if they were 8 weekly. I reckon I'd need 15 vans to cover our work if it was all 4 weekly. We do travel mind - around 30 miles in each direction, but still. Your guys must all be supermen. I'm sure you said you never get cancels either so they must be amazing staff. I'm jealous.
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Blimey 8 Weekly no wonder I get told I’m full of bu**poop on here 40 houses lol,I can’t remember the last day we did over 10.
We have a couple of housing estates ware we do several hundred houses and only move the vans half a mile all week boring work but very profitable, the guys love it as they get good bonuses on productivity
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Nearly seven houses an hour for eight hours with no lunch break. That’s going some.
As I said some are fronts only but I personally can do 6 3 bed semis per hour and that’s not rushing we have roads ware we do every single house , one guy goes one way with 125 meters of hose the other guy goes the other direction they meet in the middle. Then cross over the road and do the same . We do have lunch break but work 8 hours per day on the glass . The guys want to do this as it benefits them financially.
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You use the expression lad a lot if you employ lads you will have this sort of problem, you need reliable men most lads will have been out on the beer all weekend , I have no idea what you are offering pay wise but suspect this could also be a reason why theses ones are so unreliable, I have 5 full time staff and 4 others that I can call on to help out and I never get this situation, but they are paid well and are men not lads the modern day younger generally doesn’t understand the ethos of work .
Do your guys do about 40 houses a day each?
If it’s estate houses one after the other then up to 48-55 but some are fronts only , some days it’s considerably less if big manor houses some days it’s commercial only .
I'm just doing the numbers. We've just over 4,000 customers, 8 full time vans and with extras (gutters etc.). We are 8 weekly. I'm just impressed that you can get 5 full time staff to manage in effect 9000 customers if they were 8 weekly. I reckon I'd need 15 vans to cover our work if it was all 4 weekly. We do travel mind - around 30 miles in each direction, but still. Your guys must all be supermen. I'm sure you said you never get cancels either so they must be amazing staff. I'm jealous.
We do commercial work up to 300 miles from home , that’s only a few days every 6-8 weeks ,but 99% of our domestic is within 2 miles of my home , so it’s literally a 5 muinit drive , all my guys are very motivated and hard workers I have had some right time wasters over the years but we are a small team that get on well , they know if they crack on they will get a decent bonus at the end of the month , I do pay a much higher rate than most would don’t want to say on hear how much but they couldn’t earn what they do doing anything else , there are 6 workers on the tools as I go out every day as well , we do a lot of 3 bed semis which we can knock out very quickly, they are also very close together so no travel time . We vary rarely get cancellations unless there is a genuine reason , I have a very strict regime won’t take messers either as customers or staff 😂😂. I am in the process of selling off a load of work at the moment as we have to much
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That’s impossible and it can’t be done don’t you know hose only comes in 100 meter lengths lol🤣,you’re a liar.
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That’s impossible and it can’t be done don’t you know hose only comes in 100 meter lengths lol🤣,you’re a liar.
You haven’t got a clue Nigel you dont know our set up we have 100 meters of microbore and 30 meters of pole hose on each reel have a look at the pictures 😂😂😂 and just for the record you can buy (http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1667929380_D6C97821-1655-4433-9DEC-02A1D7CD0335.jpeg)microbore in 150 meter lengths, or at least you used to be able to , as I have had it years ago think it was daqua that sold it like that .
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And hear is (http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1667929600_04DA65E9-27FB-4353-8323-CA84E5BC11A6.jpeg)(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1667929600_382BA624-50A9-40DF-9DE5-78B5C7B458EF.jpeg)(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1667929599_35FDDCF0-0189-41AA-ABB3-A54132122EF7.jpeg)a couple more vans with the same set up 😂😂😂😂😂
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M8 I thought you knew my sense of humour of course you can have more hose Jesus 🤣🤣💤
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Rumbled again Nigel ::)roll
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Ooh allo again bungle lol yeah do you know I’ve never done or thought about joining a bit of hose together 🤣🤣
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Let’s get ready to rumble let’s get ready to rummmble lol.
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Everytime I dabble into this I get reminded why I always end up working back on my own.
About a month ago I decided I would like to get a part timer to help as getting a bit bored on my own
Anyway 2 weeks ago I took a lad on a trial day, seemed OK so agreed to give him a month trial. Then the 2nd day he messaged me saying he was sick so we re arranged for the following week. Next week and came and his car had broken down so he couldn't get here.
I binned him off and advertised again not a good start.
Spoke to a lad last week and arranged Friday of last week to do a trial day. Last minute he said he had forgot he had an appointment booked and could we do Monday (today). Wasnt too bothered about that as I don't like working Fridays anyway and was only doing it for him.
So last night I spoke to him checked everything was ok, all good to go.
He's supposed to be meeting me at 8am this morning and 5 mins ago I get the message "can we arrange for another day I've been in hospital all night".
Now of course this could true but I don't have the patience and it's really not a good sign.
Wonder how long before i give up on the idea again ;D
i wonder how you are recruiting them to start off with?
i advertise, then phone screen the ones i'm interested in, then interview face to face, then offer a work trial, check references, then offer a job at the end of all that..
i'll usually have 2 or 3 to choose from after the full interviews, and they have to be pretty committed to get to that stage.
lots will never respond to the phone call right at the start, and some will be no show for the interview or work trial.
until i've offered them a job i'm still advertising too.
it sounds like your selection process might be too short so you're getting people who aren't really that keen
PS and they're paid at the end of the month too, so that rules out people who aren't that bothered
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I think you are right Richard - I get the impression that the op gets the first lad he sees down the pub - shoves a pole in his hand and expects a fully dedicated worker ;D
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Richard is bang on the money here.
Selection process makes a huge difference. We do the same. We might get 20-50 Applicants for a job, whittle this down to say 5-10 applicants for a phone call, followed by booking face to face interview. Interview has leading questions that helps us to make a judgement on their character which most of the time works too be honest. From that stage we then pick a top 3 list who we would choose, then give one of them a trial for a week, and review.
Top tip - Any CVs you get where they have a different job each year or can't hold down a job for more than 3 years is a very bad sign. In most cases we pick candidates who stick with a job for more than 5 years unless they have a good reason why they had to leave the job.
The CV Alone gives you enough data to make an informed decision about whether or not they are even compatible for the job on offer.
Its a shame that we have to be so analytical and judgemental, but if you want an employee to actually last and not keep wasting your own time and money and effort, you need to invest more into the selection process.
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Richard is bang on the money here.
Selection process makes a huge difference. We do the same. We might get 20-50 Applicants for a job, whittle this down to say 5-10 applicants for a phone call, followed by booking face to face interview. Interview has leading questions that helps us to make a judgement on their character which most of the time works too be honest. From that stage we then pick a top 3 list who we would choose, then give one of them a trial for a week, and review.
Top tip - Any CVs you get where they have a different job each year or can't hold down a job for more than 3 years is a very bad sign. In most cases we pick candidates who stick with a job for more than 5 years unless they have a good reason why they had to leave the job.
The CV Alone gives you enough data to make an informed decision about whether or not they are even compatible for the job on offer.
Its a shame that we have to be so analytical and judgemental, but if you want an employee to actually last and not keep wasting your own time and money and effort, you need to invest more into the selection process.
This is Key - flakey work history is a BIG indicator that they won't stick it or be reliable - added to this we ask for a covering letter - a few lines about themselves and why they are looking for a job - if they don't include this with the CV they are dumped before going any further
Darran
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Employing this year has been hell. So many time wasters.
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You need someone that does a top job as well as all the other factors mentioned forget everything if they are useless at the job some people just can’t or haven’t got the dexterity with the pole,yeah I’ve done the job mate I really know what I’m doing say clean that then only to be made to lol.
If you think someone should be able to go out and do the job to a payable standard on their own with a few weeks months be prepared to lose work,it takes time,I’ve got someone that’s been at for 3 years pole only not traditional I’ve had to buy a 5,10” cheese grater to take his edges off.
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Everytime I dabble into this I get reminded why I always end up working back on my own.
About a month ago I decided I would like to get a part timer to help as getting a bit bored on my own
Anyway 2 weeks ago I took a lad on a trial day, seemed OK so agreed to give him a month trial. Then the 2nd day he messaged me saying he was sick so we re arranged for the following week. Next week and came and his car had broken down so he couldn't get here.
I binned him off and advertised again not a good start.
Spoke to a lad last week and arranged Friday of last week to do a trial day. Last minute he said he had forgot he had an appointment booked and could we do Monday (today). Wasnt too bothered about that as I don't like working Fridays anyway and was only doing it for him.
So last night I spoke to him checked everything was ok, all good to go.
He's supposed to be meeting me at 8am this morning and 5 mins ago I get the message "can we arrange for another day I've been in hospital all night".
Now of course this could true but I don't have the patience and it's really not a good sign.
Wonder how long before i give up on the idea again ;D
You employ because you are bored working on your own?
Is that a good enough reason for employing?
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Everytime I dabble into this I get reminded why I always end up working back on my own.
About a month ago I decided I would like to get a part timer to help as getting a bit bored on my own
Anyway 2 weeks ago I took a lad on a trial day, seemed OK so agreed to give him a month trial. Then the 2nd day he messaged me saying he was sick so we re arranged for the following week. Next week and came and his car had broken down so he couldn't get here.
I binned him off and advertised again not a good start.
Spoke to a lad last week and arranged Friday of last week to do a trial day. Last minute he said he had forgot he had an appointment booked and could we do Monday (today). Wasnt too bothered about that as I don't like working Fridays anyway and was only doing it for him.
So last night I spoke to him checked everything was ok, all good to go.
He's supposed to be meeting me at 8am this morning and 5 mins ago I get the message "can we arrange for another day I've been in hospital all night".
Now of course this could true but I don't have the patience and it's really not a good sign.
Wonder how long before i give up on the idea again ;D
You employ because you are bored working on your own?
Is that a good enough reason for employing?
No it isn’t
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Everytime I dabble into this I get reminded why I always end up working back on my own.
About a month ago I decided I would like to get a part timer to help as getting a bit bored on my own
Anyway 2 weeks ago I took a lad on a trial day, seemed OK so agreed to give him a month trial. Then the 2nd day he messaged me saying he was sick so we re arranged for the following week. Next week and came and his car had broken down so he couldn't get here.
I binned him off and advertised again not a good start.
Spoke to a lad last week and arranged Friday of last week to do a trial day. Last minute he said he had forgot he had an appointment booked and could we do Monday (today). Wasnt too bothered about that as I don't like working Fridays anyway and was only doing it for him.
So last night I spoke to him checked everything was ok, all good to go.
He's supposed to be meeting me at 8am this morning and 5 mins ago I get the message "can we arrange for another day I've been in hospital all night".
Now of course this could true but I don't have the patience and it's really not a good sign.
Wonder how long before i give up on the idea again ;D
You employ because you are bored working on your own?
Is that a good enough reason for employing?
No it isn’t
Bold statement.
If someone is bored working alone and finds having company good for their enjoyment of the job and mental health then to them it's a good enough reason.
If its a good enough reason for you or anyone else is completely irrelevant.
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No - its not a good enough reason to employ - the reasons why are long and varied - but the short answer is employing some one so you have a bit of company will result - as you have found out getting poor workers - and worse poor management
Darran
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No - its not a good enough reason to employ - the reasons why are long and varied - but the short answer is employing some one so you have a bit of company will result - as you have found out getting poor workers - and worse poor management
Darran
And to much time drinking tea in the van and not working 😂😂😂😂
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Sounds more like he needs a therapist rather than an employee...
???
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Sounds more like he needs a therapist rather than an employee...
???
😂😂
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Sounds more like he needs a therapist rather than an employee...
???
Whilst you are one of the most helpful posters on here, I do think that’s a bit below the belt Darran. I think Stoots has been open and honest on here on a few occasions about depression……..It’s not a laughing matter, nor something to be mocked.
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Everytime I dabble into this I get reminded why I always end up working back on my own.
About a month ago I decided I would like to get a part timer to help as getting a bit bored on my own
Anyway 2 weeks ago I took a lad on a trial day, seemed OK so agreed to give him a month trial. Then the 2nd day he messaged me saying he was sick so we re arranged for the following week. Next week and came and his car had broken down so he couldn't get here.
I binned him off and advertised again not a good start.
Spoke to a lad last week and arranged Friday of last week to do a trial day. Last minute he said he had forgot he had an appointment booked and could we do Monday (today). Wasnt too bothered about that as I don't like working Fridays anyway and was only doing it for him.
So last night I spoke to him checked everything was ok, all good to go.
He's supposed to be meeting me at 8am this morning and 5 mins ago I get the message "can we arrange for another day I've been in hospital all night".
Now of course this could true but I don't have the patience and it's really not a good sign.
Wonder how long before i give up on the idea again ;D
You employ because you are bored working on your own?
Is that a good enough reason for employing?
No it isn’t
Bold statement.
If someone is bored working alone and finds having company good for their enjoyment of the job and mental health then to them it's a good enough reason.
If its a good enough reason for you or anyone else is completely irrelevant.
Fair enough but it looks like you're going to suffer some mental challenges to get there.
Good luck with it.
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Sounds more like he needs a therapist rather than an employee...
???
Whilst you are one of the most helpful posters on here, I do think that’s a bit below the belt Darran. I think Stoots has been open and honest on here on a few occasions about depression……..It’s not a laughing matter, nor something to be mocked.
Not mocking - serious statement if your having issues I don’t believe having the extra stress of dealing with an employee is going to be beneficial
Darran
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I think finding a good employee who is also a mate is going to be very difficult.
What don't you like about working alone, Stoots? Is it having too much to think? I enjoy the solitude but when I've had a bad start to the day (usually when my son plays up) it can mean I dwell on that. I'd sooner deal with it myself though but I know that people can be a distraction and stop us from thinking too much.
The trouble is, people can be a bad distraction, too ;D.
Good luck, mate ;).
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Many many many years ago, I split my business into 3 rounds as I had so much work, to cut a long story short I had 1 chap doing a 3rd of the round but he was never happy and was getting very greedy and needy always asking for more money etc, I ended up letting him go and he bought that third of the business from me and is still doing it today.
My son was also working for me as I provided him with a van and equipment, but he was useless and struggled to get all the work completed, I ended up making him come with me and we put the 2 thirds together to make it a manageable round for the 2 of us.
He ended up leaving me a couple of years later to take on a different job.
Finally I had another shiner whom I subbed out some of my commercial jobs, I ended up with complaints as he was not doing them to my standard. so I ended up letting him go and doing the work myself.
Approximately 4 years or so ago I sold off half the business and now my wife sometimes comes with me if I have a lot on
(more for company really)
All the above experiences put me off employing anyone again as it was too stressful , now days i get my days work done by 1pm and have no stress.
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I think finding a good employee who is also a mate is going to be very difficult.
What don't you like about working alone, Stoots? Is it having too much to think? I enjoy the solitude but when I've had a bad start to the day (usually when my son plays up) it can mean I dwell on that. I'd sooner deal with it myself though but I know that people can be a distraction and stop us from thinking too much.
The trouble is, people can be a bad distraction, too ;D.
Good luck, mate ;).
I suppose theres a few reasons to employ, number one would be to simple make more money, secondly i find the day is a little easier i get the employee to do all the back windows whish usually involves all the stretching and reaching over connys leaving me to the fronts. Of course the third reason as you describe is to distract myself from dwelling on my own thoughts which lets face it in this job can be all the entertainment we have during the day.
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Stoots, have you considered audio books, radio, podcasts etc?
Maybe a chat with your customers?
Ring your family and friends throughout the day, if you're struggling?
You're not going to chat with an employee when he's round the back of the house and he might be too knackered to talk when he's been cleaning over them connys ;D.
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Having someone working with you won’t make you’re problems go away if it did that everyone would employ,if you get the wrong person it can make you’re life harder.
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Having someone working with you won’t make you’re problems go away if it did that everyone would employ,if you get the wrong person it can make you’re life harder.
Yes I know what you mean I've employed a few before and a lot of times ended up more stressed than ever. On the flip side I've had a couple in particular that I got on well with and enjoyed working with so I know it can be done also.
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If you get the right person-people it’s easy though.
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Being too busy is great short term but not long term. For those that struggle with wellbeing and mental health it's not a good idea to think employing is the answer.
Better to keep refining your round to suit your own personal needs. Work to live, not live to work. Keep a healthy work, life balance as it has a way of catching us all up doing too much of anything, all in moderation.
For those that can't face some work days, plan the night before by texting customers to let them know that you will be around the following day as giving in to mental health problems start by avoiding people.
We are our own worst nightmares by shutting the world out and becoming reclusive if we allow ourselves to be drawn in by depression and anxiety. Mental health can be an issue for lone workers. Helps to take a break from life sometimes and take a reality check.
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I love working on my own a lot more than I ever did with someone working with me.the trick for me is....
1.short work days(no more than 5-6 hours per day)
2.samsung ear buds(for radio/music/podcasts/audio books,etc)
3.getting rid of PITA jobs
4.good equipment(electric reel,hot water,light poles,etc).
5.Decent workwear
This job is a breeze for me compared to the drudgery it used to be back in my trad days (with lots of collecting and ladder climbing!).
I spent 17 years trad and coming up to my 13th year WFP... ;D
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Tomorrow you won’t be able to do any of your work and it may be like this for the next year or so,what do you do about that situation ?
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Tomorrow you won’t be able to do any of your work and it may be like this for the next year or so,what do you do about that situation ?
What's the point in worrying about something that might never happen?that's how people end up with anxiety problems(projecting into an imaginary
doom and gloom future)....
I'll deal with it if it happens but it hasn't for the last 29 years... :)
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I’ve had a lot of worries in my life. Most of which haven’t happened.
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If that’s the case you’ve been lucky so far then that means the odds are increasing year on year.