Do You Solve Problems or Make Them?

The other day I was talking with my favorite builder, Sammy Straightshooter, about subcontractors.

“So, Sammy, who’re you using for drywall these days?”

“I’m using Rock Solid Drywall nowadays.”

“Really? I thought you were hooked at the hip with Schlibotnik Sheetrocking Services.  What happened to them?”

“Weeelllll…Schlibotnik is good, no doubt. In the five years I used them, I can’t recall any major problems with their workmanship. But, uh, how shall I say it…they’re…”

“Buttheads?” I interjected. Sammy is a very polite man. He can have difficulty saying what’s really on his mind if it isn’t positive. Me, I don’t suffer from such an affliction.

“No, not that,” he said. “It has more to do with their, uh, attitude.”

“Attitude, now there’s a broad topic. Specifically, what about their attitude? Are they bullies? I’ve worked with those types. Always try to tell you what to do and how, even though they’re the employee, not the employer.”

“I wouldn’t say they’re bullies. It’s more that they, well, they always seem to have problems.”

“You mean they’re always late? Or they show up without the right materials? Or their employees are inexperienced? Or they’re always running off to fetch a tool they forgot —those kinds of problems?”

“No, not exactly. They’re complainers.”

“Ohhh, complainers. Yeah, nothing worse. You’re saying they’re problem makers, not problem solvers?”

“Exxxxactly. Seems like every job had some sort of issue that caused them to complain and go around pointing fingers. Stuff like, ‘These studs have too many knots,’ or ‘Somebody forgot a piece of blocking in the second bedroom ceiling,’ or ‘This house has too many weird angles.’ The thing I like about Rock Solid is they don’t complain. Either they fix the problem themselves, or they figure out how to deal with it. In other words, they don’t make it my problem.”

“But, Sammy, what if it really is your problem? Say, for example, all the blocking was left out. You wouldn’t expect a bunch of drywallers to strap on worm-drives and framing hammers, would you?”

“No, of course not. In that case, I want it to be my problem. The difference between Rock Solid and Schlibotnik is Rock Solid would call not only to notify me of the issue, but before I could answer, they’d have two or three suggestions as to how to deal with it. Even if the best recourse was to come back another day, they wouldn’t call until they had that day blocked out on their schedule.

“On the other hand,” Sammy continued, “If I got the same call from Schlibotnik, he’d yell at me for forgetting the blocking, then ask what I was going to do to fix my problem. And by the way, my problem was costing him time and money. Blech! I just don’t need to deal with guys like that.”

“So let me get this straight,” I said. “Rock Solid and Schlibotnik do roughly equal quality work and their prices are roughly the same...”

“Actually,” Sammy interjected, “Rock Solid is a little higher priced.”

“Hmm, interesting. So, in a nutshell, you’re willing to pay more just to avoid dealing with complainers.”

“Yes, that’s right. But if you think about it, in the long run I’m actually a few dollars ahead because it takes less of my time maintaining Schlibotnick. Plus my jobs go smoother and faster which yields benefits up and down the entire subcontractor chain.”

“And,” I said, “you’re a lot happier camper. That has to be worth something too.”

Tim Garrison of ConstructionCalc.com, is a professional engineer, author, and software producer for the building industry. Check out his new book, Cracks, Sags, and Dimwits, available at www.lulu.com.

Send e-mail to buildersengineer@constructioncalc.com. Tim reads every one.

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