Which is more professional?

[John Alzubi]

Which is more professional working alone or with a helper??

 

[Jim Martin]

Professional is how you handle yourself and how you do your job...it is not the amount of people that are doing it.....I have worked alone scene day one and it does not make me anymore professional then a company who works with a helper....

 

[Kevin. McCreary]

I have done both, while I don't think you look unprofessional solo, some people feel

sorry for a guy working alone and are afraid to ask for additional services or requesting

that the furniture be moved, when they really want it moved. Or they may feel bad

for you when you show up at 4pm with 5 or 6 rooms to clean. I think with 2 people

you can also justify cleaning faster in the customers mind. I run three people on a truck

sometimes. We dual wand and the third person rakes, blocks and rovers between us keeping

the wand moving at all times. Of course before I had the workload I did two in the morning

and two in the afternoon by myself, I find it beneficial to have one person spending a

fair amount of time with the customer educating and selling protector and so forth, while

the helper is setting up. Don't expect to spend much time with the customer if your working alone.

I always felt like I was leaving money on the table working alone and not spending the time maximizing

the job because I was slightly rushed to get to the next one and get home at a reasonable hour.

Unless your not that busy of course. Then I could see working alone with out loosing money.

 

[John Alzubi]

I totally agree with you. when I have a helper I can talk to the customers and up-sell and build a relationship with them. they will remember you and refer you to others.

 

[Jim Martin]

I totally agree with you. when I have a helper I can talk to the customers and up-sell and build a relationship with them. they will remember you and refer you to others.

True...but..a good o/o can achieve the same thing...............

 

[renegade_cowboy]

I have only had a couple of customers in the last few month ask me if I was working alone. I told them yes. I never thought it made me less professional. I think they might feel safer with 2 people and feel that quality might be higher cause the work is spread out with 2 people. I dont think its that way with all customers, just a small %.

Let them call SS, they will be back...

 

[Dolly Llama]

Which is more professional working alone or with a helper??

either one could be more OR less professional
depends on the operator(s)

if you'd ask which is "better", I'd suggest 2 man crews are better ...particularly in res


..L.T.A.

 

[TimP]

Many of my customers are impressed that I can do it all myself. I usually move furniture unless they say they don't want it moved. I tell them it's no problem to move it and I do it every day and I'm used to it.

Sure having a second person working can make a better job cause more can get done. But so far I get plenty of repeat customers, and very few complaints. And I do tell my customers I want to hear a complaint if you have one so I can keep you as a customer if I don't meet their expectations.

 

[The Great Oz]

One or two doesn't matter. I'm quite certain that having another guy with me will make me no more professional than I am alone. If a second guy made me less professional it would be due to my poor choice of hire or poor training, so my lack of professionalism would again be unchanged.

PS: I'd respectfully disagree that two men are "better" as there are plenty of variables in that statement as well.

 

[Dolly Llama]

PS: I'd respectfully disagree that two men are "better" as there are plenty of variables in that statement as well.

a side from the monetary "bean counter's" stand point, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts , Brian...edit...BrYon
"particularly" in res

also, i understand "variables" ...but "in general" how/why is a one man crew better than a 2 man crew?
(assuming a good lead man and competent side kick)


..L.T.A.

 

[Rex Tyus]

My point on this is simple. When your workload exceeds what you can comfortably accomplish solo on a CONSISTANT basis. It is then time to add a helper and generate nearly twice the cash flow.

I have had customers releived that it was just me, they felt more comfortable. I have also had customers say " you work ALL by your self?" Customer opinions will vary. Be professional and it will all work out.

Up until this year I was a two man crew. My oldest son moved away, so now I am solo again after 3 years. I do not have the volume to justify a second person at this time anyway.

 

[Chris A]

I do not have the volume to justify a second person at this time anyway.

That's where I'm at too, unfortunately. I couldn't keep a second guy busy consistently.

 

[Mike Draper]

[quote="John Alzubi":1pac5p8i]I totally agree with you. when I have a helper I can talk to the customers and up-sell and build a relationship with them. they will remember you and refer you to others.

True...but..a good o/o can achieve the same thing...............[/quote:1pac5p8i]


but....they will spend more time doing it 8)

 

[Jim Martin]

[quote="Jim Martin":11jwf917][quote="John Alzubi":11jwf917]I totally agree with you. when I have a helper I can talk to the customers and up-sell and build a relationship with them. they will remember you and refer you to others.

True...but..a good o/o can achieve the same thing...............[/quote:11jwf917]


but....they will spend more time doing it 8)[/quote:11jwf917]


maybe.....but if you are efficient and pay close attention to your quality.....time is not even a factor threw out your day....It should already be set in there....

Build on quality ..not quantity....

 

[The Great Oz]

also, i understand "variables" ...but "in general" how/why is a one man crew better than a 2 man crew?
(assuming a good lead man and competent side kick)

There will be times when two techs are better, times when one tech would be better, times when female techs would be better...

Our choice to use one residential tech wouldn't apply to guys that don't train techs very well, have high turnover, hire guys with little customer handling skill, need to hire extra muscle due to injury, or are geared toward high volume-low dollar psf work. There's nothing wrong with any of the above, but they're not good reasons to argue the merits of two techs being generally better - only better for those purposes.

Our studies showed that two men were more efficient than one, but nowhere near a 100% improvement. (If you think you're doing this, you're missing something or need to check your math) The only way to get a 100% increase in efficiency (assuming everyone knows what they're doing) is to give the second man his own truck. Equipment gets paid for pretty quick, and the more trucks you have the greater the routing efficiency; a huge decrease in zero-profit drive time is another point for single man crews. There's no question that it's more difficult to find the right guys to work alone and to give them the level of training needed to eliminate weak links that need to ride with a full-time supervisor, but it pays off with more profit and less headaches in the end. In general. 8)



PS: With our customers, the idea of two guys coming in and being able to whoosh through the job was alarming to them. The "crash through cleaning" is a common complaint we hear from people moving up from using brand SS cleaning, but this might not be generally true of all cleaning customers.

 

[Dolly Llama]

I could see where where a 17 truck outfit that charges large dollars may have a harder time keeping all 17 two men crew pr truck busy day in and out.

But an owner/op or a small operator that charges mid to high prices and is at capacity (or doesn't want to work 60-80 hours a week) "should" increase productivity by 50% with out "whooshing" through.
and if they're actually doing quality work with simple things like vaccing and mechanically agitating when needed, production gains will be more than 50%
and I won't mention the many pieces of furniture that are a potential disaster waiting to happen by one man manipulation

Never the less, i do appreciate your thoughts.
This subject has been debated pro and con many times by much smarter biz peeps than me.

what ever works, i guess

..l.T.A.

 

[The Great Oz]

Larry, I think you are accurate about productivity gain percentage without seeming to rush. We noticed complaints began at about 65%.

We don't have a problem with breaking furniture, or techs, but that's bedside the main point; the biggest boost to productivity is giving the second guy his own truck and making him a second first guy. You can still join up at the jobs you think need two men, then go in different directions.

 

[Kevin. McCreary]

The topic was "which is more professional" so the answer I get from reading this thread is that they both are.

There are lots of different models to follow, my biggest concern with one truck and one person like Jim Martin

is what happens when Jim gets injured and is out for two weeks. I just had my knee scoped. We lost very little

production with out me in the field. In the past that would of cost me a lot more than I pay two techs to do

the work. Also if you do this every day by yourself you tend to wreck your body after 20-25 years. So I guess

if you miss 4-6 weeks of work due to injury that seems pretty unprofessional to me. It would be almost tragic

if an owner operator with some financial obligations broke his ankle even if you had disability insurance.

 

[Jim Martin]

The topic was "which is more professional" so the answer I get from reading this thread is that they both are.

There are lots of different models to follow, my biggest concern with one truck and one person like Jim Martin

is what happens when Jim gets injured and is out for two weeks. I just had my knee scoped. We lost very little

production with out me in the field. In the past that would of cost me a lot more than I pay two techs to do

the work. Also if you do this every day by yourself you tend to wreck your body after 20-25 years. So I guess

if you miss 4-6 weeks of work due to injury that seems pretty unprofessional to me. It would be almost tragic

if an owner operator with some financial obligations broke his ankle even if you had disability insurance.

That is a very good question and a very big concern....almost everything I do I have to keep in my mind what would happen if.........

I was in the hospital for about a week a few years back and had a few other cleaning companies cover my jobs for me....and I have done the same with a few I know that have gotten hurt....In my mind it is no different then ...What if I break down and have to order parts to get it fixed...I don't think it takes from your professionalism in any way but it adds to it as long as you make sure your clients are covered and not left fending for themselves....A large percentage understands that shit happens and as long as you get them covered they have no problems....

 

[Ron Werner]

be the best professional you can be where you are at now.
AS an O/O with no helper, I can show a lot of professionalism by using all the tools, laptop and portable printer, sonic/laser measuring tool, lift buddy, sticky tabs, sliders, corner guards, drop sheets/moving blankets, yard sticks, etc etc not to mention having good reliable equipment parked out front.

I can come across as a better professional by myself than most owner/helper busns.

 

[Brian R]

Which is more professional working alone or with a helper??

Simple question that everyone else is adding their spin to.
"IS" is the key word so it's hard to answer without explanation.

Now if the question was "which LOOKS more professional? Working alone or with a helper?
That is a little easier to answer.

When a custy see's two guys getting off the truck or coming into the house, there is no doubt that it "looks" more professional than one guy.

Now we are talking equal looking techs...just two of them.
Two dirt bags or two clean cut makes all the difference in the world.

It shows stability as a company, investment into the company and it gives the impression that the company gives a crap about the customer so they are sending that extra guy to get the job done right.

Is this a true perception? No.

Once someone gets started then all bets are off as it is up to the Tech to promote professionalism.

Two hacks look way (and I mean way) worse than one Pro.




So the answer is NO it is NOT more professional....It just appears thay way.


And appearance sometimes is reallity to wacky customer.

Image is everything.

 

[Ron Werner]

good point