Re: Why I Quit Buying Tools for Techs

[Jim Davis <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 11:35:54 AM UTC-4, Bob La Londe wrote:
> Graham would throw a temper tantrum and call me an evil capitalist pig=20
> for this, but I quit buying tools for techs because they had no respect=
=20
> for the amount of hard work I had to do to buy them.
>=20
> Early on I bought Leatherman tools for all my guys.  Mostly just to be=20
> nice, but I also found they were really handy for a quick tweak rather=20
> than running back to the truck, but many of the guys tried to work with=
=20
> only that one tool all day long.  The classic was the day I found a guy=
=20
> putting in drive rings with one.  No.  Not the screw in rings.  The=20
> hammer in rings.  I was chatting with a job super and I heard, "tap,=20
> tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap,=20
> tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap,=20
> tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, ... pause ... tap,=20
> tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap,=20
> tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap,=20
> tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap."  After a bit of that=
=20
> I held up my hand to quiet the super and went to go look.  He had a=20
> hammer in the truck.  He was on the tenth ring out of about 40 along a=20
> wire path.
>=20
> One day a fellow (a decent tech actually) was using an actual hammer,=20
> and it was giving him fits.  I took the hammer to find that it was=20
> ground crooked on the face, and the head was twisted on the handle.  It=
=20
> was made that way.  I pulled a nice Estwing out of my toolbag and said,=
=20
> "Here I'll trade you."  When he took my hammer I gave his a chuck as far=
=20
> as I could throw it down the alley.  A few days later on another job I=20
> found him struggling to mount some nail on boxes.  He had gone down the=
=20
> alley and retrieved his piece of shit.  The Estwing was back in the=20
> service truck.  I had to tell him if I saw that hammer on my jobsite or=
=20
> in my service truck again he was fired.
>=20
> I had a few guys early on (first year or two) whom I trained from=20
> nothing.  They were always hanging out across the street working on cars=
=20
> and hanging out with a car guy who lived there.  I bought them tools and=
=20
> told them I would provide them what they needed, but if they lost or=20
> broke a tool it was their responsibility to replace it.  I bought good=20
> tools.  Estwing, Klein, Channel lock, Proto, etc.  One day I walked up=20
> on a guy struggling with a pair of pliers.  They turned out to be a pair=
=20
> of "lineman's" pliers.  I didn't recognize them at first because they=20
> were half the size of the Kleins I had bought, and they had green=20
> handles.  Then I looked in his tool pouch.  Nearly every tool was a=20
> cheap import that you might find in the hardware section of your local=20
> grocery store.    Not even as good as Harbor Freight tools.  (We didn't=
=20
> have a local Harbor Freight store back then.)  Its kid of amazing how=20
> the car guy across the street also happened to upgrade a lot of his=20
> tools to the same quality tools I was using about that time.
>=20
> The classic was the guy who left a whole tool box full of tools on a job=
=20
> site and was flabbergasted that I expected him to go back and get it.
>=20
> There were some honorable mentions.
>=20
> A salesman who took some folding tables out of my office so he could=20
> setup at the flea market to sell for me.  (I was paying the space fee)=20
> When I stopped by to check out how he was doing the tables and ground=20
> were full of misc household garbage he was selling.  I asked a couple of=
=20
> nearby vendors, and it turns out he had that space for months before he=
=20
> went to work for me and he always had a bunch of garage sale finds laid=
=20
> out for sale, but it was only recently that he had started using tables=
=20
> for his better stuff.  It took me months and threat of a lawsuit to get=
=20
> my tables back after I fired him.  He seemed genuinely upset that I=20
> expected to get my tables back because he needed them for the swap meet.
>=20
> Of course we have all had the guy who doesn't understand why we held=20
> back for replacement cost on equipment they signed for from their final=
=20
> paycheck.  Something they agreed to.  Of course some of that equipment=20
> suddenly isn't so lost when they find out they really have to pay for=20
> it.  One guy kept calling me over and over when I was in church, and was=
=20
> waiting at my door when I got home with a bunch of equipment he thought=
=20
> he was going to get to keep.  I thanked him for returning my property=20
> and informed him that he could stop by the office at noon on Monday for=
=20
> the balance of his final paycheck.  When he objected I told him he was=20
> trespassing and needed to leave. (I have more than a couple stories=20
> about that guy, and he was my very last direct employee)
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> I wish I still had all the tools those guys lost, stole, and destroyed.=
=20
> I could have a yard sale and retire all over again on the proceeds.=20
> Even at yard sale prices.

I never had that much of a problem with workers and tools. The rule was * I=
f you lose a tool your replace it with the sarme make or better tool.* If I=
 saw a cheap tool on the job, at the first chance I would take it and throw=
 it away. I'd try to take it so they didn't see me so they'd think they los=
t it again. When they'd ask if I'd seen their screw driver, I'd say OH that=
 cheap replacement you bought to replace the good one I gave you? No but wh=
en you replace this one buy the Kline like I gave you, or you may just lose=
 it again. As you can imagine I've never had that many people work for me o=
r stay with me that long.=20
The one thing about me and tools is that I get attached to them. One thing =
that really annoys me is, I'll use a tool that isn't part of my tool pouch =
 but is a tool I keep in the van and don't use very often. So I'll leave it=
 someplace and 2 months later I'll need that tool again, and it's not in th=
e van and I don't remember when and where I used it last. I get "OUTRAGED" =
at my self for being so f%&$ing stupid. For the next month or so I'll go ba=
ck over my list of jobs and service calls trying to remember where I used t=
hat tool. I've occasionally called a customer and asked them if they've fou=
nd the tool or if they would mind if I take a look around their house and I=
'll travel 30 / 40 miles back to a job. I have a small 3 foot step ladder t=
hat I carry in the van. Right now it's sitting at someones house in their g=
arage. I was working at their house (NO one was home) and the guy came home=
 and fell asleep on the couch while I was working. I was trying to be quiet=
 and I needed the ladder to get to the alarm panel that someone else had mo=
unted on the back wall of a closet and the customer had added shelves from =
ceiling to floor making the panel very hard to reach. When I finished up re=
placing the three keypads he'd torn off the wall in the middle of the night=
 because he didn't know he could press the reset button, - - - Every thing =
was working and the system tested to central station and I was trying to be=
 quite so I wouldn't wake him up - - - I just closed my tool box and quietl=
y left the house. The next day I went out to the van to get my ladder and D=
AMN !!!!! I left it at the open closet door and even forgot to close up the=
 panel. Well I texted the customer the next day, apologized for not closing=
 up the panel and that I left quietly as to not wake him and would he pleas=
e put my ladder in his garage until the next time I come to his house. I ma=
rked a big note on the front of his file to remind me and went out and boug=
ht another ladder.