Waiting sucks. Wheather its in a grocery line, a ride at an amusement park or on the phone waiting for your turn to speak to a human being, having to wait when you have something important to do or say is frustrating. One of the most annoying things for a tradesperson is waiting for other trades to complete their part of the work so you can do yours.
I am right now waiting for drywallers on 2 projects. 2 Projects that I had planned to start this week, but here it is friday and they aren’t ready. Arrrrgh. Scheduling can be challenging in new construction. Here’s a few tips from my experience.
1. Communication - This can be really hard for tradespeople who are really good at their craft but not so good with people. It’s YOUR business though, and your family is counting on you to succeed so you have to be a good communicator at all times. Call the contractor, call the other trades, go to the job site if you can, do what it takes to be informed and not caught off guard. It’s YOUR business. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a tradesperson say (ok I’ve said it too) “I didn’t know it wouldn’t be ready, so and so didn’t tell me” Its MY job to find out when MY project will be ready. We can’t ASSUME anything. Example: Normally a house takes the drywallers 3 days to tape and sand and they started Wednesday. I could ASSUME they’d be done on friday, or make the call. So I called up Arnold Winter (Winter and Sons Drywall) and asked him about this unit. He said they had other jobs on the go so he wouldn’t be done until next week. So now I’m waiting but at least I know.
2.Relationships - Its really important to maintain good relationships with the other trades. I was able to call Arnold because I have a good relationship with him. I send him business, I compliment his work and am friendly to all his employees. Painters and Drywallers don’t always get along but I MAKE IT MY BUSINESS to have a good relationship with all of them. I never know when I’ll need a favour so I am constantly doing everything I can to help them succeed. You do this often enough and it becomes more a part of your DNA and less of a selfish act. A few weeks ago one of the carpenters actually found some paint and primed some baseboard for me because he knew it’d be a pain to paint it from raw against the new floor. Why? Because I have a good relationship with Conrad, I’ve helped him before too.
3. Flexibility - I can’t stress the importance of being flexible in business. Especially in the trades. You don’t want to be seen as the complaining jerk who’s always whining about this or that. You want to be seen as a professional who can adapt to challenges easily and will do what it takes to get the job done. Now this might be perceived as being weak, or allowing people to walk all over you. I get that. I have found however that if you can get over yourself and just GET IT DONE those in charge notice.
Communication, Relationships, Flexibility
Have a great day
Scott
