messy trucks

Status
Not open for further replies.
childish behavior

childish behavior

Accusing people who are messy of being children and needing their mommies is a form of childishness in itself. It just makes you look odd to other people. You are not going to brow-beat and "shame" the rest of the world into being like you. If you are guilty of that, consider the following:

This is just an observation on how you look to some people. You can use it the next time you do a self-evaulation or ignore it, it makes no difference to me. If you want an on-line psych evaluation, the first visit is free: :grin:

People who resort to name-calling and belittling of others usually have some frustration that they can not get beyond by other means. It appears that you think everyone else should be as neat and orderly as you are and it irritates you that they are not. Well here is a reality check: it is not going to happen.

Messy people are adults, some with their own children. Resorting to childish tactics of name-calling and belittling is not going to change them because they just have a different set of priorities. They probably excel in other areas where you are lacking. They can be very meticulous in some areas and not in others. That is not necessarily good or bad, it is just the way it is.

Just my opinion, we welcome yours:)

[edit: and ditto growler's #79]
 
Last edited:
ITO said:
Seriously, anyone of my foremen can quit me today and be working for one of my competitors the same day, with a new truck.
Click to expand...


That would be easier than cleaning up the truck, just change jobs ( and get a new truck ).

At one time I would make jokes about why people in this area move so often ( 2 years renter, 5 years owner). You could see the outline of all the furniture on the carpet it had never been moved or cleaned.

I came up with the idea that it must be easier to move than to clean.
 
mivey said:
Accusing people who are messy of being children and needing their mommies is a form of childishness in itself. It just makes you look odd to other people. You are not going to brow-beat and "shame" the rest of the world into being like you. If you are guilty of that, consider the following:

This is just an observation on how you look to some people. You can use it the next time you do a self-evaulation or ignore it, it makes no difference to me. If you want an on-line psych evaluation, the first visit is free: :grin:

People who resort to name-calling and belittling of others usually have some frustration that they can not get beyond by other means. It appears that you think everyone else should be as neat and orderly as you are and it irritates you that they are not. Well here is a reality check: it is not going to happen.

Messy people are adults, some with their own children. Resorting to childish tactics of name-calling and belittling is not going to change them because they just have a different set of priorities. They probably excel in other areas where you are lacking. They can be very meticulous in some areas and not in others. That is not necessarily good or bad, it is just the way it is.

Just my opinion, we welcome yours:)

[edit: and ditto growler's #79]
Click to expand...
Come on dude get real...Maybe I just had misfortune of working with to many messy slobs and when I saw thoses trucks It gave me flash backs. I dont brow beat anyone. Im sorry if you got so offended. But I guess you really missed the main point. I could care less what you or anybody does. But you cant stand there and tell me that if your truck is piled up to the gills you are going to be able to work efficiently as someone who is organized

The real funny thing about this whole post is HOW offended some people get
at just the mention of messyness and how it affects your performance. I love the people that say "OH Im just as efficent as the next guy even though I cant find anything when I need it".....................come on man like I havent been through it myself. The last job I work at (for someone else) it almost seemed like it was mandatory to be a pig and constantly go "uh 3/4 inch nipple UHG i think I got one somewhere let me go look (for 20 minutes). That was the point that I was making. GROW UP MAN
 
There are just more important things going on in my world than making the men who work for me, that have earned trucks, keep them clean without either running them off or losing my mind in the process.

The amount of time an energy it would take to police the fleet and keep them clean is just not something that seemed like an intelligent use of my time, asking the men I hired at above top dollar for their skills at running jobs and laying out work to clean their trucks does not sound like a wise economic decision, and add to this I can’t even get them to change the oil on time, the best solution became a maintenance schedule that included cleaning performed by a warehouse boy. Problem solved and done so cheaply.

Getting a truck is a big deal, the gas alone is a substantial raise, but that is a reward for hard work on jobs making me money. There are many unwritten rules that go with who gets trucks, what happens when you take them away and yes if you take a truck away from somebody for not washing it, they will quit you and go work for somebody else. If you don’t believe me, take somebody’s truck away and see what happens.
 
tonyou812 said:
Im sorry if you got so offended.
Click to expand...
Not in the least:)

tonyou812 said:
But you cant stand there and tell me that if your truck is piled up to the gills you are going to be able to work efficiently as someone who is organized
Click to expand...
I can't argue with that.

tonyou812 said:
That was the point that I was making. GROW UP MAN
Click to expand...
What I said about people resorting to the "you're messy so you are a child" routine is true. That seems like an extreme reaction to me.

As for my post, I admit, I laid it on a little thick to see if I could get a rise out of anyone.:)
 
What I said about people resorting to the "you're messy so you are a child" routine is true. That seems like an extreme reaction to me.

As for my post, I admit, I laid it on a little thick to see if I could get a rise out of anyone.



If anyone laid it on a bit thick it might of been me. Its just that Im a new buisness owner and I have alot of pride in my truck and the way I present my company. But really...... you should have seen these two trucks I should have taken a picture ,you would have gotten a laugh.
 
tonyou812 said:
If anyone laid it on a bit thick it might of been me. Its just that Im a new buisness owner and I have alot of pride in my truck and the way I present my company. But really...... you should have seen these two trucks I should have taken a picture ,you would have gotten a laugh.
Click to expand...
I can imagine. I have seen some real pigstys.

I can see a guy getting in a hurry to get somewhere and throwing the spools of wire, etc. in the back. What I never could get was why throw food and trash in the back, and I mean ALL THE WAY TO THE CAB back:mad:. I used to not only organize the trucks, but the shop as well when work was slow or the boss had paper work to do (I was his sidekick).

I like neat and orderly, I just don't always take the time to do it. Some people just have different levels on their "mess meters". Some have no meter at all.
 
BryanMD said:
How many squeeze the toothpaste tube from the bottom? ;)
Click to expand...
Since you asked....I just pick up and squeeze until it is about 1/2 gone. Then, I occasionaly flatten the bottom part until it has about 1" of goody left. Then I switch to obsessive compulsive mode until I almost get the inside lining to protrude from the end with not enough left to brush the tooth fairy's tooth. I have a multiple "messy" "neat" personality:)

[edit: spell'un]
 
ITO said:
That sounds good for service techs, but how do you tell a first class foreman to wash his truck?
Click to expand...
My companys name is on the side of that truck and it is part of our professional image,I would hand them some quarters and tell them to stop by the car wash.

Seriously, anyone of my foremen can quit me today and be working for one of my competitors the same day, with a new truck.
Click to expand...
If one of my top guys bails over washing his truck then seriously I don't need him.
 
tonyou812 said:
I worked for a guy once that kept everything. Nothing went into the bin. So when he would give me my job tickets for the day and I needed a "special" item he would tell me go into the shop and find that "thing a ma gig" so off i went and went on my quest to find "waldo" and sometimes i found something close to it or very similar to it and very rarely I would find Waldo. Im sure that if someone did a cost analasis on all the times i went on that quest to find the right part and in some cases i had to disassemble something to get to it it would have been more cost affective to just order the damn part from the get go. and on the rare occassion after all the work involved in extracting the part in the end it didnt work right. And on the other side of things if I was the customer I dont know that I really would want an old piece of crap installed just cause the EC had it in his "junkyard"
Click to expand...
well if you worked with me i would have given you the part or told you where it was. i know what i have and all of it is easly gotten to.
as far as the breakers goes if i had a choice i would have changed the panel.but if you have a old piece of crap fpe panel with old piece of crap breakers why install a newer pice of crap.i told the owner that they were used and i could not warrenty them. it was ok with him.
 
dirtycar2.jpg
 
zdog said:
well if you worked with me i would have given you the part or told you where it was. i know what i have and all of it is easly gotten to.
as far as the breakers goes if i had a choice i would have changed the panel.but if you have a old piece of crap fpe panel with old piece of crap breakers why install a newer pice of crap.i told the owner that they were used and i could not warrenty them. it was ok with him.
Click to expand...
good point I guess. If they are not will to pay for new I see your point
 
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.
Click to expand...

This may be true for some people but not all. My personal truck that I drive to and from work is messy. The front is somewhat neat but the rear cab is a complete mess.

My work truck is the cleanest and most organized in the company. I hate a messy work truck....it drives me nuts. When it comes to work I'm extremely professional, neat and organized. You can walk from the front to the back no problem and the shelves are stacked with material nice and neat so that nothing is sliding around getting damaged. I keep a record of the things that get taken off so they can be replenished the next day. I don't know why but in my personal vehicle not so neat and organized.
 
How would you feel if your top foreman met a prospective client with mustard stains all over his shirt (with your name on it), smelly from not washing his clothes, and breath stinking from not brushing his teeth? There is probably not a good chance that this will become your newest customer. The same goes for your trucks. I'm not saying that you have to have a truck floor that you can eat off of, but there is not reason to have a junk pile, except for lack of respect for the property of others. Would you allow them to leave their lunch trash on the floor of your client's home or office?

At what point do you decide that a truck is too messy? You must have some minimum standards in order to be fair and consistent with all employees, and since "messy" is subjective, I suggest that there should no material or supplies left on the floor. That is an easy task to accomplish in most cases.

Although it quite the same for vans used in new commercial construction, in resi service, if the van is not kept organized, how can you control what is and is not on the truck. Always remember... the most expensive part is the part that is not on the truck.
 
It was 40 degrees here today and my truck got its spring cleaning. My desk is a bit messy and the busier I am the messier the truck gets. But not for long. I am anal about tools being put back in thier places. I don't have to look at my tool boxes to find a tool. I just reach. I hate not being able to find a part or a tool.There is nothing worse than to be looking for a part and finding the one you couldn't locate last week!!:)
 
walkerj said:
Actually it is secured, just can't tell from the pic, and it's empty.

What about all those trucks that carry that stuff around all over the country?:confused:

Small price to pay to stay warm
Click to expand...
Why the propane tank. I didn't see any snow on the ground in the picture.:grin:
 
People pick on me about my tool boxes, bags, pouches, etc.. I do not let others use my gear. When I need a tool, I can reach for it blindfolded,...and there it is. It's what I describe as very organized. Throw me all the slack you want, I know where my equipment is!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top