my instructor told us that.......

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JONATHAN20

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Location
CLINTON, CT
My instructor told us that as apprentices we better know how to bend pipe for the guy standing on the ladder or were gonna be making alot of coffee runs......i thought that was hilarious....any of you contractors agree?
 
iwire

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
I would not put it those exact words but the gist of it is true.

On a construction site if you have the least trade skills you will be the coffee runner.

So if you don't like the idea of trying to get coffee for everyone every day, quickly apply yourself to learning the tasks being done on that job, might be pipe bending, or pulling cable etc.

But in the end I always use the least productive person to make the coffee run.
 
F

fc

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Some of the coffee runners here don't do so bad when he's getting coffee for a big crew. The rule here is he keeps all the change. Sometimes he makes an extra $25 or so + he gets his coffee for free. Not to bad for 1/2hr work if you call getting coffee work.
 
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LawnGuyLandSparky

Senior Member
In NYC, getting coffee for a large crew is work. Between the guys that want diet Kiwi-strawberry Snapple ONLY, I gotta have Tropicana Grovestand style only, and the Foreman smokes Benson & Hedges deluxe ultra lights 100's menthol box, the apprentices earn their money. But they're rotated weekly so the apprentice with the least number of years or the least skilled doesn't remain that way.
 
T

tomP

Member
Location
W83?24'33" N42?16'19"
Boy, your apprentices get treated nice. Coffee runs??
Back, way back, when I was an apprentice one of my first conduit jobs the journeyman was on a three section scaffold.
I bent the conduit and tossed it up to him, he tried it and if it didn't fit it would come back down a lot faster than it went up,
usually really close to me.
Didn't take too long to learn.
You could say I'm a fast learner when its raining conduit.
 
iwire

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
ryan_618 said:
I can't imagine getting somebody other than my wife a cup of coffee.
Click to expand...

LOL...I here you and I agree with lawnsparky...it is work.

Any of our jobs with big crews have a coffee runner (or two).

When you get to the job you sign in and write down what you want for break and leave the money there.

The runners go either to the coffee truck or to a coffee shop if no truck.

I can not even imagine the PITA it is to order 30 different sandwiches, coffees, teas, milks etc.

But that is how we do it, the coffee runner is of course on the clock and gets his break with the rest of the guys.....all the while the guys complain he forgot straws or that somebody is allergic to mayonnaise or some such nonsense.:rolleyes:

It usually makes the slackers try hard to get of coffee duty.:D
 
celtic

celtic

Senior Member
Location
NJ
iwire said:
It usually makes the slackers try hard to get of coffee duty.:D
Click to expand...
That's when the fun really starts ;)

The slacker will do just about anything NOT to have to be the coffee girl/boy and get 50 orders right ( and she/he better not forget to at least offer the change back).

In their zeal to please, they WILL go in search of:
ID-Ten-t's
Seal tight couplings (both set screw and compression)
Buckets of steam/amps
Skyhooks and henweighs
Wire stretchers and U-bulb benders
3/16" snakes
...and the fun just continues.

:D
 
wshoard

wshoard

Member
Location
Tallahassee, FL
celtic said:
That's when the fun really starts ;)

The slacker will do just about anything NOT to have to be the coffee girl/boy and get 50 orders right ( and she/he better not forget to at least offer the change back).

In their zeal to please, they WILL go in search of:
ID-Ten-t's
Seal tight couplings (both set screw and compression)
Buckets of steam/amps
Skyhooks and henweighs
Wire stretchers and U-bulb benders
3/16" snakes
...and the fun just continues.

:D
Click to expand...

Henweighs, man that takes me back, so what does a henweigh now days?? :D
 
benmin

benmin

Senior Member
Location
Maine
Occupation
Master Electrician
celtic said:
That's when the fun really starts ;)

The slacker will do just about anything NOT to have to be the coffee girl/boy and get 50 orders right ( and she/he better not forget to at least offer the change back).

In their zeal to please, they WILL go in search of:
ID-Ten-t's
Seal tight couplings (both set screw and compression)
Buckets of steam/amps
Skyhooks and henweighs
Wire stretchers and U-bulb benders
3/16" snakes
...and the fun just continues.

:D
Click to expand...

The left handed screwdriver, anti gravity sensor and extra wet water work good for the go getter
 
e57

e57

Senior Member
Location
San Francisco, CA
I leave the house with a full pot in a thermos and a cup to drive with! I'm pouring 16oz cup #2 as I arrive at work.

Other than that, first task on a large job is to line up "La Cooka-rocha" for my dog food/egg roll/burrito fix.

(FYI "La Cooka-rocha" has some really funny lyrics BTW)
 
480sparky

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
wshoard said:
Henweighs, man that takes me back, so what does a henweigh now days?? :D
Click to expand...

Not as much as a smoke bender, or a sky hook.

But more than a hammerfor, a dozen grid squares or a quart of breaker fluid.

Just fill out your I-D-ten-T form in triplicate.
 
Inspectorcliff

Inspectorcliff

Senior Member
Location
Colorado
Well my daddy said..

Well my daddy said..

Go out by the barn and get me a sky hook, and I said what? and he said you know its laying right by the current bush. As, I left with my mind wondering, I could hear him laughin, Heck he's probably still laughin bless him. Now, Do they still make current bushes??;)
 
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