why the heck do you send 2 people to do a 1 man job?!

[Jarrod 22]

a lot of you guys have helpers or send 2 men to do jobs that 1 man can easily do. why do you do this? respond honestly and this will be a great thread for everyone to learn from.

[Jeff 232]

Jarrod. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, Havent you figured people dont like change.

I'm just glad I dont do wood, you have to know what you're doing and hell I dont know ****

I wish someone was here I have a good size dock that needs cleaning. Do you think 3500PSI is enough to clean it

You wood guys are touchy bunch LOL

Just having fun with you wood guys. I've learned that anything can be done

[Jarrod 22]

This even works for 1 guy, 2 crews, muptiple crews, and so on. Why not do things more efficiently? Just think of the time, effort & money you'll save.

Ken, I'm glad you were contacted. If you need me to grease the wheels again, just call me. It's always a pleasure doin' what I can for my friends. You have done so much for me and the industry.

Jeff, I know what you're saying. People are so set in their ways! Stiff, brittle things break much easier than flexible things.

BTW, 3500 psi is nowhere near enough to clean wood. You need at least 5,000,000 psi @ 1 gpm, 300 degree water and a turbo nozzle. How did you think I did this stuff so fast? Oops, I gave away my method.

[Jarrod 22]

One word...Production!

The same has been learned in industry with regards to assembly. One man does one part another does the next. One big difference is the work we do is not monotonous. The work doesn't seem to be so daunting with 2 or more people on the job and morale is better. Team work is another beneficial factor that contributes to the success of the job. Everyone looks out for the other guy and as they say more eyes are better. This can be a big plus on those hot summer days when one man on a job would literally die from the exposure. (speaking from personal experience)

The customer also feels more comfortable with 2+ people on the job because it actually feels like they are getting their moneys worth and the job gets done right before their eyes allowing them to appreciate the time and effort that went into the production which adds to the perceived value.

Rod!~

Percieved value is based on the final product, not how many people were involved. Besides, most people are not even home to watch "the show" anyways. I'm not a believer in window dressing.

If people are trained properly, they will not need constant supervision, or someone "looking out for them." They should be able to perform quality work or they shouldn't work for you.

The work won't be so "daunting" if it was performed as efficient as it can be - (method)

Morale - My guys can't wait until deck season. In fact, they even recruited 3 of their friends to work for me this year. Would they do that if it our methods made every task a "daunting" one?

Safety - In the very rare chance that you fall off of a ladder, the other guy isn't gonna catch you. Yeah, he can make a 911 call or whatever, but this is so rare. It doesn't happen enough to make it a good reason to have a 2 man crew. Heat - speaking very slowly - if it's hot, drink plenty of water, take it easy, and go home early or take the day off.

You say "One man does one part another does the next." How about, 1 man does 1 deck, another does another deck.

[bigchaz 157]

Jarrod have you ever actually tried two people? How do you determine its a one person job in the first place?

Btw having an "open mind" is a two way street

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

My responses in blue.

Percieved value is based on the final product, not how many people were involved. Besides, most people are not even home to watch "the show" anyways. I'm not a believer in window dressing.

This I cannot agree with especially when I hear it straight from the customers mouth more often than one would think. Yes, many times people aren't home but that is not always the case. My crews are to conduct themselves as if they are on stage at all times...keeps them in line.

If people are trained properly, they will not need constant supervision, or someone "looking out for them." They should be able to perform quality work or they shouldn't work for you.

Exactly, that is why I have 2 man crews who can operate without my supervision...but this is also supported by proper enforcement of policies and procedures to ensure compliance.

The work won't be so "daunting" if it was performed as efficient as it can be - (method)

Morale - My guys can't wait until deck season. In fact, they even recruited 3 of their friends to work for me this year. Would they do that if it our methods made every task a "daunting" one?

Come see me on code red days and we'll revisit this one.

Safety - In the very rare chance that you fall off of a ladder, the other guy isn't gonna catch you. Yeah, he can make a 911 call or whatever, but this is so rare. It doesn't happen enough to make it a good reason to have a 2 man crew.We do not have flat lands around here and most properties have landscaping designs to direct rain water away from the house and so the terrain is sloped/terraced. Ladder accidents can happen more often than you think and according to OSHA guidelines, it is actually a better way to handle ladder work beside tie offs. Heat - speaking very slowly - if it's hot, drink plenty of water, take it easy, and go home early or take the day off.

Or, schedule the hot work in the early day and the wash work during the afternoon. Work smart.

You say "One man does one part another does the next." How about, 1 man does 1 deck, another does another deck.

We have been down that road. Doesn't work. Too much work for one man especially during the seal phase. Team work is the answer. One person is not a team but a drone.

No devils advocacy here just plain business sense and production mindedness. Since you are not going to explain as you set forth the expectation in post #22 & 28 of this thread, I think the whole point is null.

Re-inventing the wheel? Maybe you have another way of looking at things from a financial perspective.

I cannot accept having 2 separate men doing 2 separate jobs in 2 separate vehicles with 2 separate machines and 2 separate sets of equipment when we are getting the same or better with less equipment and vehicles for expenditures in 2 man crews using the same vehicle, 1 set of equipment and performing more efficiently having 2 sets of eyes of the job for quality assurance and less fatigue or stress at the end of the day.

I don't see your point Jarrod...

We started out small doing things the way you have described thus far. We have some big and intricate structures and even worse some miserable landscaping to deal with not to mention the terrain and access issues which have been a problem for any one person to deal with on their own.

I can appreciate your questions but I have not gained any appreciation for what you will not support with evidence of fact or basis due to your mistrust of your competition. I can call you but even with an open mind, I am not sure you have the magic bullet.

Rod!~

[Jarrod 22]

Rod, please call me tomorrow. You have no idea how much hate flows through my veins for my hack competition. I simply will not post my methods here for them to see. They don't even deserve the crumbs that fall from my table. BTW for third time - this is not for deck staining! For that I do use 2 man crews.

Charlie - I did it for 2 years. And it lead me to change my method. Call me.

[John T 744]

Jarrod,

There are some great post here and a great thread by you. Ken Fenners post #42 here explains a ton on the thought process and Rods and Tony's are hitting the nail on the heads.

Your idea is great in a perfect world. What doesn't work IMHO is a few things. First thing..work environment. Your guys are always stuck going out alone so there work environment is going to suck because there heading straight into Job burnout..and then you'll lose them. The other thing is if they go sick then your truck just sits there not being used. With two guys you only need one set-up and if one guy goes sick this is when I would have the job tackled by the other guy as a one man crew.

I have a small business. I usually have 3 guys counting myself go out. Sometimes all three of us would do one job together. Other times two of them would go out together and I would be the lone warrior because I'm a robot when it comes to this type of work..But I rake in the big $$$$ so I can work like an animal.

A guy working by himself like your way will have a lousy work environment and you will lose him.

What I have in one of my setups is two and three of everything such as two deck sprayers,powerwashers etc. This is the one that two guys take out or sometimes the three of us take out.

Work environment is important. We take lunch breaks together and we strip/stain together.

I think unless in a perfect world, your system is a system that will have a higher failure rate and more trucks sitting around. This IMHO so don't take it as me saying your wrong. Maybe your system works great for you but for me my guys work environment with safety being important is more important to me then having one guy go out and work himself to near death and then quit...Unless that one guy is me because I get paid the big bucks.

[Jeff 232]

Everybody has their own way of doing things

We all can be KINGS and have one or two underlings

Hell I want to hire a guy just to help me get out of my car and pick up my pen when i drop it

[bigchaz 157]

Hell I want to hire a guy just to help me get out of my car and pick up my pen when i drop it

:rotfl::rotfl:haha now thats a great idea

[Don M. 14]

I have a vison of Jarrod eating boiling eggs, his eyes bugging out of his head, and his skin turning green and busting at the seams of his shirt.

I know some of you are talking about burnout for the guy that washes the house and strips the deck. I have QUICKLY read all the post and I dont think its been mentioned that Jarrod pays his guys on commisson. That might keep them motivated.

[squirtgun 122]

It isn't the commission that motivates them, I hear tell of a PWing dungeon they are all afraid of.I don't know anyone that wants to be beat with a piece of 4500psi double braid hose.Jarrod you are such a bully..........lol

[John T 744]

And I have been accused as a slave master and a slum lord..Well now it looks like there is a new slave master Jarrod in town..and I'm out of the slum lord business so somebody must have taken that title away from me here....

I think I lost all my titles...man do I feel GOOD!!!!!!!!!:lgsideway

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Jarrod,

I'll call you around mid-day.

Rod!~

[Jarrod 22]

Thanks Rod. I look foward to talking to you. I will be done washing trucks at 1 00 for sure. (I hope)

[PressurePros 248]

But it's only 7:40 Jarrod. One man should be able to setup, clean 100 trucks, stop for a late breakfast and be back by 9:30 ;-)

[Jarrod 22]

(Five)

[Jarrod 22]

(Four)

[Jarrod 22]

(Three)

[Jarrod 22]

(Two)

[bigchaz 157]

...one?

[James 624]

Once you start doing Big decks 2 to 3 k its hard to go back. Give me a nice cedar house about 6 to 8 k, prep 2 to3 days ,seal 2 days, clean up 1 day, 2 guy's and 1 day to admire work having drinks with customer. I take care of 20 decks 15 by 15 all in same hood second level with white trim and spindles. Pain in the my hIneass.

[itswillist 14]

I'm starting to line up my jobs that require helpers wed - fri and the one man jobs on Mon and Tues.. This way I have my helper(s) wed - fri. and they're not sucking me dry... but it's nice having extra hands, feet, eyes, and brains. I love telling my helper to get a wet rag and wipe down all the window seals and door frames, and pick up the hoses and such... that's worth 50$ to me right there ... I hate unloading and reloading by myself.. I have like 200' of hose to deal with...

"Where there are no oxen the stall stays clean, but there is much increase from the strength of an ox" - Solomon, (Book of Proverbs)

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Once you start doing Big decks 2 to 3 k its hard to go back. Give me a nice cedar house about 6 to 8 k, prep 2 to3 days ,seal 2 days, clean up 1 day, 2 guy's and 1 day to admire work having drinks with customer. I take care of 20 decks 15 by 15 all in same hood second level with white trim and spindles. Pain in the my hIneass.

Amen Brotha' Jim!

Beth

[Don M. 14]

Jarrod, you been sniffing your deck stripper or what man?

[Jarrod 22]

I've Reviewed A Lot Of The Posts In This Thread, And I Gotta Tell Ya, It Really Pisses Me Off. The Height Of Rudeness, Ego & Ignorance Is Huge!

I Mean, Here I Am, Trying To Help People Do Things More Efficiently, Make More Money & All I Get Is Flack.

NOT 1 Of You Even Bothered To Ask Me About My Method. Instead You Bashed My Idea And Said It Can't Be Done B4 You Knew Anything About It. Here's Why -

1 - Maybe Your Ego Won't Let You Ask Me What The Method Is.

2 - Maybe Since You Didn't Figure Out A Way To Do This On Your Own, It Just Can't Be Done (ego)

3 - It's Just Easier To Shoot An Idea Down Than To Try It (lazy)

4 - You Just Don't Get It (narrowminded)

5 - You're Not Experienced Enough To Understand It

6 - SINCE YOU DIDN'T THINK OF IT, IT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA (EGO)

7 - YOUR STUCK IN YOUR ARCHAIC WAYS

PICK ONE, OR PICK'EM ALL I DON'T CARE!

YOU ALL KNOW WHO I AM. I DIDN'T START THIS THREAD TO BLOW MY HORN OR BRAG. IF I WAS THAT TYPE OF PERSON, I WOULD HAVE CHARGED $500.00 PERSON TO SPEAK AT THE STL ROUND TABLE. I ACTUALLY PAID TO ATTEND, PAID FOR ALL OF MY TRAVEL EXPENSES, SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS WRITING MY NOTES AND DID IT ALL NOT FOR FREE, BUT AT MY EXPENSE.

IT'S ONE THING TO RESPECTFULLY CHALLENGE AN IDEA, BUT IT'S ANOTHER THING TO SPIT ON IT AND THE PERSON SHARING IT!

HEY CHARLIE, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS? LET ME GUESS, A YEAR OR LESS RIGHT? YOU ARE A DISRESPECTFUL LITTLE PIECE OF DIRT! YOU BETTER WATCH WHO YOU ARE MOUTHING OFF TO! I DON'T HAVE THE STOMACH FOR MOUTHY LITTLE TWITS LIKE YOU. WHAT ARE YOU 19 YEARS OLD? YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING . YOU'LL PROBABLY BE OUT OF BUSINESS IN A YEAR WITH THAT ATTITUDE. DO YOU EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME OR MY COMPANY? IF YOU DID, YOU WOULD HAVE WANTED TO LEARN FROM ME. I WILL NEVER HELP YOU NOW! YOU DON'T DESERVE ANY HELP FROM ME. THERE'S AN OLD SAYING, "DON'T CAST YOUR PEARLS BEFORE SWINE" I THINK THAT APPLIES HERE CHARLIE.

GO BACK AND READ YOUR POSTS. LIKE THE ONE WHERE YOU SWITCHED MY WORDS AROUND. YOU person! WHAT ABOUT THE ONE WHERE YOU ASKED ME IF I HAD EVER TRIED USING 2 MAN CREWS? HAVE YOU EVEN TRIED ANYTHING YET? HOW MANY HOURS ARE ON THAT TOY PW'ER THAT DADDY BOUGHT YOU AT K-MART? HOW MANY DECKS HAVE YOU DONE? HOW MANY HOUSES HAVE YOU WASHED? HAW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU HAVE? DO YOU HAVE AN OFFICE, OR DOES YOUR MOMMY ANSWER THE PHONE FOR YOU WHEN PEOPLE CALL? DOES MOMMY PACK YOUR LUNCHY FOR YOU EVERY DAY?

YOU WANNA KNOW WHO I AM? I'LL TELL YOU!

I HAVE 6 EMPLOYEES, 1 SECRETARY, A LARGE OFFICE AND 4 TRUCKS.

THIS WILL BE MY 6TH YEAR IN BUSINESS. MY COMPANY IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE LARGER ONES ON THESE BOARDS. AS OF TODAY, MY COMPANY HAS GROSSED JUST OVER $22,000.00 FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH ALONE.

AND I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED MY DECK SEASON YET.

THIS YEAR, I WILL DO AT LEAST 200 DECKS, 75 HOUSE WASHES, & 50-60 BRICK PAVERS JOBS. AND THAT'S JUST MY RESIDENTIAL WORK.

OBVIOUSLY, I'VE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN RESPECTFUL CHARLIE! I COULD'VE KNOCKED 5 YEARS OFF OF YOU LEARNING CURVE. I EVEN TOLD YOU TO CALL ME SO I COULD EXPLAIN EVERYTHING TO YOU, BUT YOU DIDN'T. YOU'D RATHER PILE ON WITH SOME OF THESE OTHER GUYS. WHAT A SHAME. BTW, I TAKE BACK MY OFFER TO TALK TO YOU, SO DON'T CALL.