Hey guys,
Working a number of small jobs lately (interior build outs, bathroom remodels, etc) and was wondering how you guys handle the scheduling?
I have been jumping from one to the next more or less each day. Most of these are too small to sub out all of it. Sure, its inefficient but it keeps all the homeonwers happy.
Do you concentrate on one job until its done (these are 4-5 week jobs) and then move to the next or do you jump back and forth like I have been doing?
I don’t like the jumping but it keeps the HO happy and I may have lost a few of these jobs if I wasn’t able to get them underway when I could. And I can’t afford to lose ANY jobs right now as it is TERRIBLE around here.
Mike
Replies
Not doing that kind of work now, but my sense has always been that homeowners lose patience with jobs that go on and on. No one on the job looks bad. Can be a negative for references. Getting in and out is a big plus. I would also think it wouldn't be very efficient for a one man shop to bounce all over.
That said, you are between a rock and a hard spot if you are in danger of losing some work. I had a sub that I needed tell me once, I'm putting all my efforts into "X" job and when it's your turn I'll be doing the same for you. I think that's a good way to look at it.
John
>>..... tell me once, I'm putting all my efforts into "X" job and when it's your turn I'll be doing the same for you. I think that's a good way to look at it.<<
I'm a one man band and that is exactly what I tell my customers - they know it is true since I am there every day until done.
In the rare event I cannot be there, I tell them ahead of time so they are not left guessing.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Don't know if these are fixed price jobs or t+m, but to me it always feels like a huge inefficiency to have to start and stop more than necessary on a job. It's got to end up costing somebody more to do it this way. I do think you end up running the risk of pi**iing off your customers if they think they are not getting all your attention.
We sell a lot of work based on the promise that one guy will be on the job start to finish, full time till it is done. Often the client is willing to wait for that feature as they often complain about jobs dragging out, no one showing up for 3 days in a row etc. So we don't jump around at all. But then again all we do is small jobs. We are rarely in a house 4 weeks. Usually 1-3. DanT
Jumped a couple of times due to customer's pleading and assurances that they "wouldn't mind"........
No more.
It's what you don't hear during and after that either makes you or breaks you. A beautiful job that takes way too long isn't as beautiful anymore.
Best of luck.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
It's what you don't hear during and after that either makes you or breaks you. A beautiful job that takes way too long isn't as beautiful anymore.
Gees Calvin, you sure are getting wise with your years. ;)
A truer statement on the topic could not be made.[email protected]
Even Bush could get it right if he was at it 35 yrs.
Mark that one on your calendar as it'll be the most conservative as you'll ever get outta me.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Hmmmmm, maybe on to something here........Calvinisms, a quote a day![email protected]
"even Bush could get it right if he was at it 35 years"
boy, are you an optomist
When scheduling was my job, I tried to avoid jumping around. Sometimes I had to, but the result was always bad, never good at all.
In a remodeling situation, clients are already doing a funny sort of cost/benefit calculation when they pay serious money to have someone wreak havoc inside their house. If you take off to do something else, the client pays additional intangible costs, which won't win you any points when it comes to referrals.
More time on site means more time for the client to nitpick. More time for them to wonder if they made the right choice by hiring you. More time to wonder if they should have gone for it in the first place. More time for their neighbors to ask how it's going, and isn't it done yet?
I've actually been heckled by a homeowner's neighbors when a custom counter arrived extremely late; I think we installed it a month later than expected. That is BAD for one's reputation.
Just my two cents.
Edit: Maybe 3/4 of our jobs were bathrooms, the rest being kitchens and even smaller jobs, like removing and replacing countertops. I was swamped and overwhelmed when we took on a real project that lasted months. It dragged on and on; I learned a lot, but only after I made a hash of managing that job.
Edited 1/27/2008 6:10 pm ET by Biff_Loman
IMO leaving one job midday and going to another is the worst possible approach. If there is more work to be done at job #1 then I stay there the rest of the day. If there is more there tomorrow I go back. In your situation it would take me 4-5 weeks to get to job #2.
Now, if I was doing small drywall patches and other quickies, I would make several stops per day. But... not as a GC doing multi-week jobs. We are currently close to done on a large job. We will start the next one about a week before the first one is done, by moving some gear over there and getting the excavator and concrete guys moving.
I do a lot of small jobs (anywhere from one day to two months). I tell the customer that once I get there I don't leave or go to another job until their job is done, but my start date might be a little later than I thought. I let them know where they are on the schedule. It is just too inefficient for me to jump from job to job, and it seems like no one is happy when you do it that way. Might I lose a job or two because I can't start in a timely manner? Probably, but I think that is more than made up for by being more efficient, having a happy HO, and getting better referals. No one likes having their house torn up and nobody working there. Just my experience......
My selling point to clients is that I am there from start to finish. They understand and like that. I usally tell them up front what my lead time is to get there project started.
Since all my work is ref. they are willing to wait. But you have got yourself in a hard spot with your clients now, and they know times are terrible so they can apply alittle pressure.
We can all say what we would and do do. But when it gets rough you tend to change with times to survive.
Best of luck.
Nailer
What Dan T. said.............to a "T".
[email protected]
We do one job at a time. Throw all our resources at it till it is finished and move on.
Thanks guys. The one part that makes it difficult to stay on job #1 and #2 and not go to #3 and #4 is the first folks keep adding stuff that is making it take longer and stretch into the date when I was going to start the others.
Ahhh, what can you do? Trying to keep EVERYONE happy!
Mike
Mike,
In your attempt to keep them all happy you risk possibly alienating everyone.
Many of us are hit with the "could ya's" while on a job. Sure, if you do them they'll stretch the job, but you're there. I'm not talking large projects tacked on, but short time items. Do the short ones, schedule the larger for another time.
Staging for even short term projects amounts to a sizable chunk of time. Set up/clean up and getting to the job could amount to 2-3 hours. Saves time in the long run if you complete the small add ons now.
To lighten the blow to the others in line, soften your schedule a bit, that is don't give a firm start time until you get closer. Most of my customers understand the size of the operation they're dealing with and the probability of those small add ons and the occasional emergency that needs taken care of. They too might be making the same demands.
If you think well enough in advance, don't mind stretching your hours a bit, work an occasional saturday you can do much to grow your company while keeping your current customers happy. You want your re-ferree's to say how you really take care of your customers. Beats the heck out of "I know this guy"...........
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 1/27/2008 9:45 pm ET by calvin
I'm a one man band, too. But I prefer to stay on one job until it's complete.
First, I'm much more efficient if I don't have to change thought processes in the middle of the day.
Second, I hate driving around, and wasting time doing so during the day.
Third, I find I can complete a job much faster if I'm there full time. And then get to the next customer faster.
Plus, by finishing a job, I can get paid. Always something to look forward to. LOL
That's not to say I don't go to multiple jobs some days. But if I do, its for punch list type items, or handyman type jobs. I try to save them up, and do a bunch of them over a couple of days.
Lots of sound advice here already. I'll just add that, although you may think that you're holding onto some jobs by hopping around, that you would otherwise lose, you're more likely to lose future jobs by making excuses for your many absenses.
Not to mention how inefficient and crazy it is to try to keep so many irons in the fire at once.
Don't promise what you can't deliver and avoid being too optimistic about when you can get there.
If you lose some work because the people were impatient, don't worry. It's a good sign that they don't have a clue about how tradespeople work. That's also a clue about how much respect they have for what we do.
Impatient people will often get poor work done quickly and cheaply. That will lead them to reconsider their approach and do much better planning the next time.
Let them learn their lesson the hard way...then find you through solid referrals because you're the kind of contractor who delivers on his promises.
I only skip around if I have multiple small jobs of the same ilk--like mudding and taping sheetrock to finish, or a couple small tile jobs.
Otherwise, I think it's better to plow thru.
Another thing would be 'home' jobs. If you have a shop or otherwise place to work after hours or on weekends you can prepare or complete jobs at home without disrupting your scheduled work.
I build concrete countertops at home and then go install later while I'm working on reg. scheduled work.
Pat
Admire the integrity of you all. When wearing my landscape designer/gardener cap, I often have to jump around between jobs because I know the conditions under which I'm working - where I can most productive, etc.Now, as a HO (guess when it's in caps, it has no negative connotations!?) I get a bit impatient when things drag on too long or when work at my place seems to be an afterthought. Nothing bugs me more than waiting for no-shows. Still, I cut lots of slack about letting me know reasons as no phone service at site and I'm just now breaking into cell phone territory - almost useless w/o good reception, anyway. So I guess it comes down to faith and trust. I have faith in my guys and tho times are tough in many areas, & they need work, it's also true I cannot afford to lose good, competent, efficient workers. Or tick them off (main man can have a temper) so I keep mum, keep the faith, believe he'll get to me when he can. He knows this about me & thus far, don't think he's taken advantage. I've been ripped off plenty before & tend to get anxious when doubts set in, so I do lots of talking to myself, as well.Hopefully most clients realize what a pain it is to truck all your materials around and that you can't be prepared for last minute requests. (I know about these, could you while you're here pleas). In case you haven't heard it lately, we are all very grateful for all your hard work and conscientiousness. most sincerely