new guy?

[Warren Wallace]

I was wondering how long should it take for a new guy with no experiance to get it
and go out on his own?

 

[Dolly Llama]

my experience has been "it depends"

depends how good of an instructor you are and what kind of aptitude the instructee has

some guys will be capable of handling "average" situations after a couple/few days .
others might never "get it"

Assuming a good "teacher" ..If they can't "get it" as far as "average" cleaning scenarios in a couple weeks, they probably fall into the latter category


..L.T.A.

 

[Askal]

I had never cleaned a carpet i my life. Bought a brand new 2 piece (one vac and one pressure) Hild unit for 800 bucks. That was a LOT of money. The guy I bought it from took me out on one job for 2 hours. I used the wand for maybe 20 minutes. So, I would say at the minimum...20 minutes. The fact I have never ruined anything in the carpet biz was just amazing considering the lack of training.
Al

 

[lancehollister]

Differant time frames for differant people. If all you want is a cleaner then 2 weeks . I never teach all my hard earned skills anyway.

 

[Ron Lippold]

see above post 3 days

 

[royalkid]

at least 2-3 months...unless you want an uneducated hack rep'n your co. I think it takes about 1 year for a tech to be "good"...even after 2-3 months, there's gonna be things they haven't seen...but in a years time, most problems will occur and they'll learn a lot. Anyone letting a tech loose after 2-3 days is suffering from a severe case of hackatosis..

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Teaching someone how to clean carpets is easy, you can do it in a few weeks. Making sure they have good communication and customer service that is a bit trickier.

 

[KevinL]

I agree with Peter. You can teach pushing a wand pretty quickly but to be really good and avoid mistakes, it takes a while longer. My newest helper has been with me since June and I still wouldn't let him do a resi by himself. Actually if I didn't have so much invested in him I'd cut him loose. I don't think he is going to get it.

 

[Askal]

Kevin: You might be money ahead with a written training program. 5 months to determine if he's "got it" is a big loss in your time. We use a 10 day training program (Thanks Steve T.). Of course they don't know everything in 10 days but at least we know if they are going to "get it".
Al

 

[Greg Cole]

Depends on your operation and whether or not you have a written training manual. Without a manual and with just apprentice- 2-3 months. With a manual - 3-14 days.

 

[Ron Werner]

I was given 2 weeks with a guy then out on my own.

 

[Dolly Llama]

I was given 2 weeks with a guy then out on my own.

just long enough for you to vac one room eh?........






























:mrgreen: sorry, Ron..I could resist


..L.T.A.

 

[Ron Werner]

that was 3yrs before I started vacuuming

 

[KevinL]

In the past I haven't worried to much about keeping a guy around because we die here in the winter and they are going to find another job. But now I'm getting more serious about getting off the truck and were busier than ever so come next spring I'll find someone who does "get it" and train them properly. I appreciate the advice on using a training manual. I think I finally "get it" on why it's important to have it on paper.