messy trucks

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tonyou812

tonyou812

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Location
North New Jersey
The other day while i was leaving the supply house I walked passed a coulple of other contractors trucks and was shocked at what I saw in some of them.

One just had a big ole pile of stuff piled up to the ceiling, you couldnt even see the wind sheild from the back cause it was such a mess, two others

trucks didnt fair much better. If I had my name on those trucks I would be embarrased at not only the mess inside but the ratty condition of the

outside. I could imagine what some customers think when they are being charged thousands of dollars and this rolling pieces of crap pull up in their driveways.

I think this is an extremly inefficent way to work, and not only are you as the owner losing money because your guys spend time hunting for material but the homeowner is also being charged time for your guys playing "sea hunt" looking for crap.

My question is how do some of you combat a situation like this. Do you have mandatory cleaning time or do they do it on their time or what.
 
tonyou812 said:
My question is how do some of you combat a situation like this. Do you have mandatory cleaning time or do they do it on their time or what.
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Hire professionals. They don't work like that.
 
mdshunk said:
Hire professionals. They don't work like that.
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Yup, If they let the truck pile up they are usually messy with all the work they do, Hire professionals, and you will not have that problem.

Many of our commercial accounts, check their vendors by inspecting the trucks, when they arrive, if they are messy, then they throw them off the list. and don't use them.
 
That's also a hiring secret. Figure out a way to peek in the guy's personal truck or car, or send someone out to do that for you.
 
mess

mess

i had an old employer whose van was always a pile of everything from one end to the other, and stuff would fall out of the doors when you opened them. i used to cringe when he would tell me to go clean it out.
can some of you guys post some pics of inside your vehicles, i am very keen to see how everyone sets up their vehicles. i am working on mine, but will post some pics for suggestions.
 
mdshunk said:
That's also a hiring secret. Figure out a way to peek in the guy's personal truck or car, or send someone out to do that for you.
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That IS a good trick! However, I don't think that just hiring a "professional" will get you to have clean trucks. A standard needs to be set by the owner, explained to each employee, and consequences set for a failure to keep the vehical clean EVERY day. The consequences don't have to be severe, but most importantly they must be enforced consistantly and equally.

I require, as a condition to take a vehicle home, that the truck is washed at least weekly, and the interior kept clean at all times. If my guys have time between calls, they are welcome to clean the truck at those times, but I won't pay them to come in early or stay after the last call to perform the cleaning.
 
romexking said:
I require, as a condition to take a vehicle home, that the truck is washed at least weekly, and the interior kept clean at all times.
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That seems to be a popular provision. As "rent" for the ability to take the truck home, you clean and wash it on your own time, and fuel up on the way to work or on the way home. Seems reasonable, to me.
 
painting outside the lines

painting outside the lines

mdshunk said:
Hire professionals. They don't work like that.
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Pretty broad brush.
Two examples:
Very senior electrician. Well respected and well liked. Top notch work. Very neat work and left the site spic and span. Worked a lot in multi-million dollar homes with very picky people. Could get along with the most difficult customers. Was the go-to guy when you wanted it done right or couldn't figure out how in the world to get it done. Hard to find something he didn't know. Truck looked like Fred Sanford.

This was related to me. New building. Drove a pile through a huge trunk line affecting multiple states. The only two people the phone companies would allow in the hole over the next several days to make the patch were the two guys who had stuff cascading out of the back of the van when they opened the back door.

Just because your truck is messy does not mean you can't do a professional job.
 
tonyou812 said:
I could imagine what some customers think when they are being charged thousands of dollars and this rolling pieces of crap pull up in their driveways.
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In one case, I'll tell you: "I'm sure glad he was able to come because he is the only one we trust to get it done right. We have used many electricians over the years because we have hundreds of rental homes and properties. When we want work done on our personal home, he is the one we call."
 
Sure saying "Hire proffesionals" and the truck will be clean is simplifying the answer for the most part but like ALL stereotypes it is based on reality and fact. It does not always apply but it is a good genral rule to go by. From what I see in the field, not just applying to electricians, it is mostly true.
 
mdshunk said:
That's also a hiring secret. Figure out a way to peek in the guy's personal truck or car, or send someone out to do that for you.
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I hope I am an exception to this. My personal vehicle is a mess, but I always keep my work truck organized.
 
I guess it's official, I must be a hack.

I'm a messy person. You see, it doesn't matter to me. I don't mind messes (with my stuff). If you are paying me to do work, that's a different story. Your stuff will be looking good and work correctly and installed per code.

My stuff, I just don't care.

(except food messes, no food messes and keep the kitchen clean!)
 
mdshunk said:
That seems to be a popular provision. As "rent" for the ability to take the truck home, you clean and wash it on your own time, and fuel up on the way to work or on the way home. Seems reasonable, to me.
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I do take a truck home, so I will wash and clean it on my own time but I buy the cleaning products on my boss's account, and I fuel up on the way to the job, never coming home...
 
mivey said:
Pretty broad brush.
Just because your truck is messy does not mean you can't do a professional job.
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I Agree, I am shuffling from job to job on a minutes notice, since I am a maintenance electrician. My work is neat and professional. My truck is a mess. I can't take time to clean it on the job because as soon as you start cleaning an emergency will come up. I clean it when I am on call every 6th week, weather permitting, the only time I take it home.
 
I fuel mine up, clean it, and do the routine maintenance on it on the weekends(oil, wiper blades, fluids).

For me, living 25 miles from the shop, I have no problem doing these things on my time in return for not having to buy gas to get to the city everyday.

I try to keep it organized, but I am often working on two or three jobs at a time and by Friday there's just a big pile of material and ladders in the bed:grin:

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