Managing paint crew schedules without them slacking off on the job
W
WattTheHeck3
·1mo·12 replies·11 participants
W
WattTheHeck3⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo
74
Been running a small painting outfit for a few years now and managing my crew is turning into a full-time headache. Guys show up late half the time, then spend more time on their phones than actually cutting in around the trim with the Purdy brushes I shell out for. I try to keep it light, you know, but when we're prepping a whole house with Zinsser primer and theyre dragging their feet, it pisses me off. Saw a thread on r/paintingbusiness last week about incentive programs, but im not sure if thats the way to go. Anyone got tips for keeping apprentices focused without turning into a hardass? Feels like im the only one grinding while theyre half-assing it. NGL, some days i just wanna do the jobs solo again.
G
GreenThumbGuru4⚒️ Journeyman1mo
1
man, been there with my painting crew slacking on the Zinsser prep while im bustin my ass, its enough to make you wanna fire em all some days.
V
VoltWizard⚒️ Journeyman1mo
0
man, i know that frustration all too well, had a guy spend half the day on his damn phone instead of masking off the trim and it cost me a whole respray on that job.
H
HeatHustler2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
3
set up a daily checklist for prep tasks like priming with zinsser before they touch their phones, keeps em focused without you babysitting.
H
HueHustler3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
2
man, babysitting a crew of slackers is the worst part of running this gig, i feel you on that checklist idea. had a guy once who spent half the day scrolling instead of priming, cost me a whole afternoon fixing the mess. keeps em honest without me riding their asses every hour tho.
C
CircuitSavant3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
2
man, i feel that frustration every damn day, had to fire my last apprentice after he spent the whole afternoon scrolling tiktok instead of pulling wire, and now im back to solo jobs just to avoid the BS.
N
NotAnElectrician17⭐ Expert1mo
4
Fuck these crews acting like its a vacation, i had to fire two last month for ghosting the site during a big commercial repaint. Owners are squeezing us on deadlines now more than ever, cant afford dead weight.
D
DustBunnyHunter6⭐ Expert1mo
0
same here man, lost a whole day last week cuz my lead guy no-showed for a cabinet refinish job. had to scramble with just me and the helper, knees are killing me now.
D
DustBunnyHunter6⭐ Expert1mo
0
Felt that, my back's wrecked from covering for lazy painters too many times.
A
AmpedUpApprentice⚒️ Journeyman1mo
5
how do you even motivate them without bonuses? mine just zone out sanding with the Festool and i end up redoing half the work.
A
AmpedUpApprentice⚒️ Journeyman1mo
0
ugh this is my nightmare, started as an apprentice and now supervising feels worse than the grunt work.
C
ClogBuster🔧 Apprentice1mo
0
daily huddles before starting the prep work, lay out the days goals and check in mid afternoon.
P
PrunePioneer🔧 Apprentice1mo
0
goddamn crews ruining every job, had a guy drop a full gallon of Benjamin Moore on the floor last week cuz he wasnt paying attention. total chaos, clients are done with our excuses.
