Honesty is not always the best policy

[Floorist]

I was reminded of something today that happened a few years ago, that was kinda funny in a way.
My business partner and I were doing half a tract of 400 yd homes for a retailer, carpet only. 3 days to do one, as I remember it was $2.00 a yd. The other half were to be done by the store owner's B.I.L. and his helper. They were working by the hour and it was taking them 6 days to do one. After a couple weeks, the retailer asked me one day why we could do them so much faster than the other guys. I explained that we were getting paid for what we got done, so we could not afford to take a 2 hour lunch under a shade tree like the other crew. Never got another job from that store. I guess honesty isn't always the best policy. This was back when you could just go down the street to the next store and go to work, so it really didn't cost us anything, just always struck me as odd.

 

[Polestretch]

I am an hourly employee, but the shop requires me to get X amount of labor done in a day. The boss has some system to figure how long a job should take within an hour or so. Occasionally I beat the clock, and other times I'm late. His system is kinda flawed cause if I'm doing a 15x30 in 15' goods, it's the same amount of time as 12' material. Seams is something I have never rushed.To me it's the most critical part of my job, that's why I prefer 15' carpet!

 

[DarisMulkin]

When I was union our day was figured at 10 yds per hour. That is kind of how I figured it when i was contracting. Sometimes you won and sometimes you lost. Most of the time you won. But I have done over 300 yds alone in a day-direct glue down.

Daris

 

[Jon]

40 odd years ago when on wages someone high up thought the layers should have a bonus system of a tiny amount as compared to the hourly rate the layers got paid for each hour they saved on a job. Those were the days of a 40 hour week with overtime of time and a half and double time
It didn't take long for the layers to work out that the bonus system wasn't a good idea. they actually got paid more for trying to stretch the jobs out especially on the overtime ones than getting the tiny bonus hours.
That system lasted about 2 weeks before it got dropped
And they say layers are dumb

 

[havasu]

Some 35 years ago, I was working as a Union Shop Steward at the main warehouse for a large grocery store chain. At the time, we were required to select 130 cases of product per hour. Any less, you were placed on probation and if it continued, you were terminated. One day the management devised an incentive, where you were paid a few cents per case over the mandatory amount.

The workers became very money hungry and were not thinking of the ramifications, and began working through their lunch break and before and after punching the time clock, and the average piece count rose to well over 200 cases per hour.

Wouldn't you know that after a few months, management dropped the incentive but raised the minimum case selection amount to over 200 cases per hour. Within a year, most long term employees were terminated and/or burnt out and had to quit.

Morale of the story: Slow and steady makes for a long employment!

 

[Nick]

What product are we talking about ?

 

[havasu]

Any case found at a grocery store. It could be a case of soda, a 50 pound bag of dog food, a case of toilet paper, a case of baby food, or a case of wine. It didn't matter, but it had to be placed on a pallet and sent down an assembly line to be loaded on a truck.

 

[AndyK]

Some 35 years ago, I was working as a Union Shop Steward at the main warehouse for a large grocery store chain. At the time, we were required to select 130 cases of product per hour. Any less, you were placed on probation and if it continued, you were terminated. One day the management devised an incentive, where you were paid a few cents per case over the mandatory amount.

The workers became very money hungry and were not thinking of the ramifications, and began working through their lunch break and before and after punching the time clock, and the average piece count rose to well over 200 cases per hour.

Wouldn't you know that after a few months, management dropped the incentive but raised the minimum case selection amount to over 200 cases per hour. Within a year, most long term employees were terminated and/or burnt out and had to quit.

Morale of the story: Slow and steady makes for a long employment!

Se my thought is work as hard as I can all the time that way when I can't people understand I really can't.

It's a work ethic that's served me well. Never been fired for lack of work. Only for Reduction in force, which isn't really firing I suppose although it sure felt like it.

 

[havasu]

I also continued to give them 150-170 cases an hour, and just worked at a steady pace. Due to this, I was promoted several times and trained a lot of newbies. I always disliked those who would come in exactly on the mark. Too much calculating and too much of a chance of counting incorrectly and losing your job.

 

[Nick]

Any case found at a grocery store. It could be a case of soda, a 50 pound bag of dog food, a case of toilet paper, a case of baby food, or a case of wine. It didn't matter, but it had to be placed on a pallet and sent down an assembly line to be loaded on a truck.

Thanks , that clears it up for me .

 

[Incognito]

40 odd years ago when on wages someone high up thought the layers should have a bonus system of a tiny amount as compared to the hourly rate the layers got paid for each hour they saved on a job. Those were the days of a 40 hour week with overtime of time and a half and double time
It didn't take long for the layers to work out that the bonus system wasn't a good idea. they actually got paid more for trying to stretch the jobs out especially on the overtime ones than getting the tiny bonus hours.
That system lasted about 2 weeks before it got dropped
And they say layers are dumb

****************************************
After the Northridge earthquake

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Northridge_earthquake

our shop was contracted to complete 1000 student dorm/apartments--- unitary back Bigelow carpet direct glue down with Broadlock---that summer before school opened. Every apartment was almost exactly 100 s/y. My boss wouldn't take on the project without a "deal" from the union. So there was a "Special Project Agreement" that amounts to piece work. A journeyman would get 10 hours pay for completing 2 units. If he completed more than two per day he was compensated $200 per unit extra. So that's $2 a yard.

Prep was done by another contractor and all the material was cut and delivered to the rooms where it belonged, 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor. My first day I did two units in 7.5 hours. They told us we couldn't leave early regardless if we had our two units complete. I think I left anyways. What are they going to do? The next day I was done in 5.5 hours. Bye-bye! Every unit was exactly the same. It was the middle of summer in Southern California so it was well into the 90 degree range every day by noon and some days it was 105-110 degrees. I just wanted to bust out my two units and go home but they were ragging on me. So because they wouldn't allow that I teamed up with another guy and we started doing 6 units a day together. It was easier to do 6 units with two guys than doing 2 by yourself. We never took more then 9 hours.

The boss' son did 4 units in 8 hours, so I'm told. Now he's the boss.

How'd you like to work for that dude?

 

[Incognito]

Some 35 years ago, I was working as a Union Shop Steward at the main warehouse for a large grocery store chain. At the time, we were required to select 130 cases of product per hour. Any less, you were placed on probation and if it continued, you were terminated. One day the management devised an incentive, where you were paid a few cents per case over the mandatory amount.

The workers became very money hungry and were not thinking of the ramifications, and began working through their lunch break and before and after punching the time clock, and the average piece count rose to well over 200 cases per hour.

Wouldn't you know that after a few months, management dropped the incentive but raised the minimum case selection amount to over 200 cases per hour. Within a year, most long term employees were terminated and/or burnt out and had to quit.

Morale of the story: Slow and steady makes for a long employment!

******************************
I've spent time in just about every kind of business anyone can imagine. You all know what I'm talking about. My point is that we spend enough time with EVERYONE else to know who's out there busting their butts and who has a really easy life. The guys who stock the shelves at grocery stores are some of the hardest workers I've come across.

The laziest, most pathetic SOBs I've encountered in my entire life were the engineers at the RTD (Regional Transportation District) downtown Los Angeles. There was an entire floor of a downtown office building full of DEADWEIGHT. Not JUST the engineers but everyone associated with then seemed to have absolutely nothing to do. They literally did nothing at all for weeks on end. Worse part of it was it was one of the toughest rip-outs ever and if I recall correctly we didn't own a Turbo Stripper yet. So those lazy %$#@#@$ stood around and watched us peel that crap up with our fingernails and I wanted to choke them to death.

I was an angry young man at that time. Thank God I grew out of that. (G)

 

[AndyK]

I also continued to give them 150-170 cases an hour, and just worked at a steady pace. Due to this, I was promoted several times and trained a lot of newbies. I always disliked those who would come in exactly on the mark. Too much calculating and too much of a chance of counting incorrectly and losing your job.

I detest the work only as hard as you have to work ethic.

I don't care how much work gets done, if you're capable of more I find it insulting.

If you're not capable of it I make considerations.

 

[highup]

I detest the work only as hard as you have to work ethic.

I don't care how much work gets done, if you're capable of more I find it insulting.

If you're not capable of it I make considerations.

I think havasu is saying he is a very productive worker and doing a good job.
If max capacity is attempted every day you work, it's a bad choice health wise. There is absolutely no reason except obsession to treat every day as an attempt to win the Boston Marathon. If he's working hard and being productive to the company, what more is there to ask of an employee?
......keep adding one more box per day till he hits the 300 mark and collapses?
At some point, added productivity requires the employer to purchase tools to increase efficiency in order to get more boxes per day possible.

 

[AndyK]

I think havasu is saying he is a very productive worker and doing a good job.
If max capacity is attempted every day you work, it's a bad choice health wise. There is absolutely no reason except obsession to treat every day as an attempt to win the Boston Marathon. If he's working hard and being productive to the company, what more is there to ask of an employee?
......keep adding one more box per day till he hits the 300 mark and collapses?
At some point, added productivity requires the employer to purchase tools to increase efficiency in order to get more boxes per day possible.

I was complimenting not detracting. I think we're on the same page on that. Poor wording perhaps?

Work is my Boston Marathon. I love it. I also love my Family. It's the two things I can always do more of, but that is where I set my limit.

Work doesn't bleed into family time, that's there time to have, not mine to giveaway.