Question for sMarty..

[Mikey P]

If you do lets say 20 jobs a week, how many times does the 175 come out to help?


What type of wand/extractor do you use and what flow is it jetted at?

 

[Art Kelley]

If you do lets say 20 jobs a week, how many times does the 175 come out to help?


What type of wand/extractor do you use and what flow is it jetted at?

I had to go out to the truck and look at the wand. Joe at Wanders sent me the 6 01 jets with extensions for my ti wand. Will I get in trouble if I admit there is a holed Green Glide on the wand?
As for the rotary, it can sit unused for days, then be used on 3 pig jobs in a row on another day. The actual time on the job that you would need to machine scrub is less than 2 minutes in a bad room, and it saves alot of repeated motions with the scrub wand.

 

[Mikey P]

Get in trouble with whom?

Me or NutjobJoe?



Have Greenie send you six 02 jets and a Kunkle valve for the WMagic.



You be the talk of Detroit in no time.

 

[Art Kelley]

Get in trouble with whom?

Me or NutjobJoe?



Have Greenie send you six 02 jets and a Kunkle valve for the WMagic.



You be the talk of Detroit in no time.

I don't want ChemDry's lawyers to tell me what I can't do. I got a kick of talking to Joe when I ordered the jet's, we had a 90 minute rambling conversation talking CC. He seems to be ADD like me.
I'll look into the 02 jets, they might speed up the work. I have my vacuum relief set at 16" on the WM though it doesn't go pass the 15" limit the manufacturer warns about when the hoses and tool are in use.

 

[hogjowl]

Art:
It isn't necessary to repeat everything Mikey says. We can follow the discussion just fine, and don't want to have to see his words more than once. OK?

Island Boy:

Sorry ... I didn't answer your question simply because I didn't really think it was a serious one. I assumed you asked it simplysdo you could tell me AGAIN how you managed to make millions in a town of 15,000 people. In a PS, of course.

Anyway ... my market is one with potential. I live in a town of around 40,000 people, but only 12 miles away from one with 160,000 people. Lots of retired military officers, and tons of state and federal government people. So ... it's an upper-middle class market.

However ... the folks I can hire are dumber than dirt.

 

[harryhides]

I think that Marty has hit on the nub of the question at the root of this dilemma that faces us all.

I'm afraid that despite Steve's best advice and the experiences of both Bryan's and Ken's experience the single biggest factor is the unemployment rate your market and the available pool of people looking for work. Over the last 30 yrs that I have been hiring in a very low unemployment market there has been one very firmly fixed and universal constant and that is the both intelligence and work ethic has been on a steady decline each and every year - idiots and bums with ridiculous notions of their own value to an employer abound.

Ken's market has high unemployment numbers and an established base and team of Techs as does Bryan and both have other sources of income - rug plants - that I'd expect would lower their overhead per truck considerably.
The most difficult move is to go from 1 tm to 2 tms and even the third only manages to improve profits marginally.

For all the good info at SFS and there is plenty, I doubt that Steve, Bill or Chuck have had to try to hire a Tech in the last 5 yrs - it reminds me a lot of the early rounds of American Idol - it's about a 100 to 1 shot !!
Solve this problem and you ( Steve or Marty or Mikey etc ) and you'll have a winner in my humble opinion.

 

[Steve Toburen]

Nope, Marty, it was a sincere question re: your market. And one that I will address just as soon as I come back from taking Sioux to the Seattle Aquarium. Raining here today or we would be on a nature walk somewhere. I love to watch her watch birds.

Steve

PS Tony, it wasn't any easier 20 years ago. Finding good employees has always been a crap shoot. And I agree it is the single biggest handicap to phenomenal growth, BUT some of our SFS members are overcoming those odds and doing well. Sounds like another subject for a different thread. This one is "how do we get Marty's phone to ring and he do the work without killing himself alone on the truck" thread. Well, maybe the two subjects ARE related after all ...

 

[harryhides]

Steve have you heard how Marty answers his phone ??

No wonder most folks hang up right away - he just needs to find a cheerful bubbly girl who can speak english to answer his phone.




Steve, I'd give my right arm for the kind of applicant we got 20 yrs ago even ten yrs ago.

 

[Dolly]

Interesting reading.

I had a few good tech's and had my share of the revolving door.

Like Marty.....having 5 trucks booked and one not show, who takes up
the slack.........the others and you. It is and was an ever ending jugging act. Now, I only have to juggle me.

Since I have a concern for impeccable work, it would bother
me immensely to deal with people who go out in the field and
represent me differently then I would expect.

Yes , you can find good people and it takes a long time to build
that trust in the people you hire and prepare for going out in the
field to represent your company.

Before my time was axed from the system I was in, I was finally
at the financial break point where I could afford the right people
to be in and afford to do the other things I had worked many years
to put into place.

I don't for see that I would ever have been content to be a person just
running the company.

I truly enjoy the work and field as well.


Like Marty, It seemed easier and less of a hassle to just be on my own.

You do have to be at the financial point where you can afford to hire and then ease your way in other areas of your business.

It is a choice........Marty would have to just make up his mind like myself to just change the way we settled to do our business.

Once you have done that.......there is no turning back........

That is the place where it is hard.......because you know you cannot turn back.........

You must move forward from that point on.

For me, I know I am not ready to make that choice yet. I like that
I only have me to manage and that seems to be comfortable.

Having a large company like ken Snow or Howard is not always what everyone wants or is happy with.

They and others like them are established now and up and running.

It was no magic wand that brought them to where they are now.

I figure it is best to be content and move another step when your ready and if you really want that kind of commitment.

You can prepare for retirement even if you are a one man or one man/helper operation.

You just have to plan and planning is just that. Planning.


I know that in time as things continue to grow, I won't be able to go
at it alone...........

 

[Dolly Llama]

welp, i ain't no expert like some on this thread.
and truth is, I'm a pretty poor bid'ness man
But I have 2 full time little genies and have had as many as 5 full time'ers.


so, for what it's worth, if you think you're going to find an employee(s) that duplicates an anal, obsessive, nit-picky owner op, you're in fantasy land.

If you do manage to hit the lotto and find a guy like that, chances are he'll figure out he can do it himself and turn into your competition.

I'd dare say that most of the owner/ops who "really do" command top dollar prices consistently, will find the going much tougher when it's not them personally in Mrs Phiff's home.


..L.T.A.