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| A crew leader makes a list of items needed for the next morning. |
Carlton's Corner: Decorative Dangers, Part 2: On the Job
Surviving the Slowdown. Keeping your decorative concrete business profitable during periods of economic slowdown.
by Doug Carlton
so I took the call.
“Hey boss, it’s me. The ready-mix truck is here but there is a problem.”
My voice sank as I asked, “What’s the problem?”
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"Why do decorative contractors think that no one can do it as well as they can?"
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My foreman answered with disgust: “There is no color in this load. What do you want to do?”
With three words, I knew today’s profit was gone: “Send it back.”
There are so many situations in decorative work we have no control over that it’s not funny. In this case, I specifically remembered placing the order with concrete dispatch and including the color number and poundage. You know what I got when I called the dispatch that morning.
“That’s right, you wanted color in that load. I’m sure sorry about that, Doug. Send it back and we will add color to the load.”
Just what I needed — a hot load on a hotter day. No chance. Even though the concrete supplier apologized, I knew it was my fault. I got sloppy and didn’t confirm the mix design on a very important pour day. Another paid education with a lesson learned.
This column is all about stacking the deck in our favor. You have probably noticed there are few safety nets in this business, which validates the importance of doing everything possible to control the controllable. Ask any successful decorative contractor and I will bet there is at least one thing they all have in common: organization.
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