Please Lord, let me work with more country folks......

Delawhere Jack · March 15, 2013, 06:20:56 PM

I'll take work wherever I can get it, but I sure hope that most of it comes from country folks.

The difference in work ethic, and their ability to "get it" is amazing. When I work with country folks, it seems that you show them the process once, they get it, and they jump right in. Working with city or suburban clients, you've got to tell them over and over what to do next. If they've got their "Smart Phone" with them, forget about it!! They'll be wandering around staring at that thing every time they should be offloading a board, or getting the next log ready to load.

A recent client had two guys in their early twenties working for him. One was ok, the other one was about as useless as an udder on a bull. (Cleaned it up for the forum ;) ). The guy shows up today having not eaten dinner last night, or breakfast this morning. He proceeds to call his mom to order him a pizza to be delivered to the job............at 9:30am....... :-\ A short while later he's screaming profanities at the pizza guy on the phone because he cannot understand the name of the road to deliver to......

Ughhh!!!!! :(

woodweasel · March 15, 2013, 07:04:48 PM

I understand completely! I was conducting a Safety Meeting on my real job, when this
youngster gets a call on his phone.He proceeds to tell me to hold up a bit while he answers
his phone!! It took everything I had to not punch him in the throat >:( >:( >:( He no
longer works for me !! Daniel

WH_Conley · March 15, 2013, 07:16:59 PM

That is one reason I no longer work the trades. One of the last jobs I worked we had a laborer that was always on the phone. I will give him credit, he had a side business, he was trying to arrange jobs. I finally said to heck with it, I was not loading 10' sticks of drill steel by myself. The Foreman came up and asked why we were not drilling, "I told him, your buddy is not here, the company safety man says I should not load them by myself. The sticks weighed in excess of 200 lbs. The safety officer for the company finally banned cell phones off the job. I wasn't there so I don't know how that worked.

Chuck White · March 15, 2013, 08:03:13 PM

I know what you mean!

A couple of years ago I had a HS Graduate working for me (customers hired hand) on a job of about 5,000 bf of Hemlock.

Everytime I needed him to do something, he was on his cell phone, I got through that job and then told the customer that if he's going to be the helper on the next job, his cell phone WILL be locked in my pickup.

The customer said "I understand"!

justallan1 · March 15, 2013, 09:22:42 PM

Yup, I was at the local parts house and a young lady working there is on her cell phone yet again and made the mistake of telling me to hold on a minute while she talked with her girlfriend. I asked her if it was a work call and if not to get the heck off the phone and get to work, only not quite that nice. Her own boss smiled and gave the thumbs up.
Half of what got me was that her boss had never said something himself. I guess that's how your supposed to act in these small towns where you know everyone. Sorry, not me.
Allan

Tree Feller · March 15, 2013, 11:19:15 PM

I hate telephones and only talk on one when it is an abolute necessity. Did I say I hate telephones?

I do a lot of air traveling and just do not understand why passengers have to stay on their cell phone until the flight attendant makes them turn it off. Then, as soon as the plane's tires screech on the runway when landing, the cell phones are back out and the passengers are talking on them while the plane is taxiing to the terminal. What's the rush?

Did I say I hate telephones?

POSTON WIDEHEAD · March 15, 2013, 11:23:29 PM

Jack....I hope you were getting paid by the hour. ;D

Kingcha · March 15, 2013, 11:55:20 PM

I was talking to a gal about cell phones and said that if I ever got back into the restaurant business employees would be band from bringing there cell phones to work. She was just horrified, she looked at me like I was doing something criminal. Bosses need to have a backbone and just say enough is enough. I know that are Illegal but I think if I had a business I would have a few cell phone jammers laying around.

This one is a cheap one, but someday I will buy one just to see http://www.cellphoneshop.net/blocker.html

Cedarman · March 16, 2013, 07:34:47 AM

Cell phone jammers!!! Now that could be a growing business in businesses. Keep the land line though.
I had one fellow using a cell phone in the mill. I said," You can't be calling me because I am here". I told him to keep it in his pocket. Next day same thing. Told him to take the phone and put it in the break room for a week. That cured him. He wanted to keep his job.
I am seeing no abuse.

Delawhere Jack · March 16, 2013, 08:21:30 AM

Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on March 15, 2013, 11:23:29 PM
Jack....I hope you were getting paid by the hour. ;D

Dang straight! I only work on bf basis with country folks, and then only if they're motivated and have lots of support equipment.

francismilker · March 16, 2013, 08:22:02 AM

I'm no fan of cellphones myself, although I use one a lot. It seems that kids as well adult up to the age of 85 have fallen off the wagon with their ability to communicate verbally instead of texting.

I had some younger boys from church doing some farm work a few months back and told them to arrive at 6am so we could get started. Their first reply was, "6 AM????"!!!!!!!!!!!! There next reply, while my wife was feeding them a homecooked farmhouse breakfast was when I confiscated their cellphones and told them they could have them back when the work was done was their jaws dropping to the floor like "ARE YOU SERIOUS?".

At lunch time, instead of eating a belly full of good ol' country food they spent the hour vigorously catching up on their texting instead of eating. When we left to go back to work, their phones were again confiscated. We were driving a half mile of T-posts that day and stringing out barbed wire on a fenceline I'd just had cleared. We got the job done but I can also brag a bit and say that my son who was 10 and weighing in at 75lbs outworked everyone of those 16 year old cityslickers!!!!

I paid them well and not a single one of them have ever agreed to come work a 10 hour day for me again! Good Ridance!

Kingcha · March 16, 2013, 08:42:41 AM

Quote from: francismilker on March 16, 2013, 08:22:02 AM
I paid them well and not a single one of them have ever agreed to come work a 10 hour day for me again! Good Ridance!

Why work that hard when the state will take care of you!!! My generation of parents have done a very poor job raising there kids in my opinion. When I still had my business I preferred hiring 13/14 year old verse 16/17 years old's. I found the younger ones much easier to train. By 16/17 they are often set and not in a good way.

Ron Wenrich · March 16, 2013, 09:05:42 AM

I get to ride with a couple of young sprouts. Both are in their 20s. On the ride back home, they are on their phones looking at texts and videos. Some of it is business related.

I told them, when I was their age; in order to text someone, we had to use a pen and paper. They laughed. Then, I said, we had to put it in an envelope, put on a stamp, and put it in the mailbox.

thecfarm · March 16, 2013, 09:14:07 AM

I use to work in a factory,maybe 30-40 people at that time. Some was real good to work with and some were more than terribly. Some would know your next step and help you,some had no idea where to step. :D Some would just pretend not to notice you needed help. :

Was alot of cell phones there to. Did not matter to me,I was not the boss. Kinda funny we would have a meeting and the higher ups would stand there and say no more cell phones on the foor and go on and on. Meeting would end and they would barely get out the door and the cell phone would be in thier hand and in use.

Kansas · March 16, 2013, 09:23:30 AM

Quote from: Kingcha on March 16, 2013, 08:42:41 AM
Quote from: francismilker on March 16, 2013, 08:22:02 AM
I paid them well and not a single one of them have ever agreed to come work a 10 hour day for me again! Good Ridance!
Why work that hard when the state will take care of you!!! My generation of parents have done a very poor job raising there kids in my opinion. When I still had my business I preferred hiring 13/14 year old verse 16/17 years old's. I found the younger ones much easier to train. By 16/17 they are often set and not in a good way.

I agree with you, but legally hiring under 18 years of age is just about impossible. I know it is in the sawmill business. Used to have quite a few young guys want to work there. I hated to tell them no. You don't have a lot of options if your under 18.

OlJarhead · March 16, 2013, 11:24:57 AM

That's why I love being at my cabin! Folks around there pitch in, help out, are productive, get it etc etc.

When I was getting an orchard started a neighbor came and helped. In return, when we had 15" of snow this winter I plowed his driveway for him.

Cities suck. I hate them.

Delawhere Jack · March 16, 2013, 04:16:49 PM

More to the story. When told that the lumber would need to be moved and restacked, the useless kid says "I'm not gonna move this stuff again for $9/hr", right in front of the other employee. Everywhere I've ever worked there was a rule, you DON'T discuss pay with other employees. Some places you'd get fired for doing it.

When we started the day, I said to them, "Hope you ate a good breakfast, you're gonna need it", the useless one says that he didn't eat dinner or breakfast because "I'm poor". He then proceeds to order a pizza. There was a time that I would have told him, "Moron!! You could have breakfast everyday for a week for what you'll spend on a pizza!!!!". But I didn't say anything. I guess I'm finally beginning to understand a piece of advice one of my older brothers imparted to me years ago.

"Don't give advice, because the wise don't need it and the fools won't heed it." :(