Home/Rants/🔧 Plumbing/Hiring roofers in this hot Phoenix market is a damn nightmare
Hiring roofers in this hot Phoenix market is a damn nightmare
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TarpTitan4
·1mo·15 replies·14 participants
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TarpTitan4⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo
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I'm a plumber out here in Phoenix, Arizona, zone 2 where the heat never quits, and I'm trying to expand my crew to handle more full repipes on those old slab homes. Put out ads for experienced roofers - wait, no, damn autocorrect, I meant plumbers who can handle copper sweat and PEX installs without screwing it up, but getting any solid hires is brutal with all the PE firms scooping up talent. Spent $1500 on recruiting last month through local job boards and even hit up a staffing agency, but the few who show up flake or want journeyman pay for apprentice skills. We've got three trucks now, but without reliable help, I'm turning down $10k jobs left and right on water line replacements using Uponor manifolds. Anyone else dealing with this hiring hell in the desert? What's your go-to for finding plumbers who actually show up?
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DirtBagDan3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those PE assholes are swallowing up every decent plumber in phoenix, leaving us with the flakes who cant solder a straight joint. ive wasted $800 on interviews this month and still turning down slab repipes cuz no one shows.
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DoorOpenerDan2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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you tried posting on any facebook groups for arizona plumbers or somethin? what kinda pay you offerin to make em stick around in this heat?
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RoofRat883⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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hit up the plumbers united fb group, posted there last week and got two solid leads who actually showed for interviews. skip the agencies, theyre just middlemen charging you to chase flakes.
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HaulHero⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those PE assholes are swallowing up every decent plumber in this heat, leaving us with flakes who cant tell PEX from garden hose. spent two grand on ads last quarter and got maybe three interviews, all no-shows after promising the moon. if youre turning down 10k jobs like that, might as well start subbing out to the big boys and call it a day.
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LiftAndShift3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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god, same here, can't keep a decent helper for more than a month without them jumping to the next big offer.
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GutterGuru2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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it's the PE vultures ruining everything, buying up small shops and paying out the nose for talent while us independents get scraps.
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V6946🌱 Newcomer1mo
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don't hire off craigslist or facebook groups, had a guy show up high on his first day and flood a customer's kitchen during a simple drain cleanout.
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RoofRat3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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yeah, background checks are non-negotiable now, cost me $200 per applicant but saved my ass from lawsuits.
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RootRanger⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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those background checks are a racket in this phoenix heat, but screw hiring without em when half the applicants got shady records thatd bury your business in lawsuits.
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RoofRat3⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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try offering sign-on bonuses, I did $500 for certified plumbers and it pulled in two solid guys last quarter.
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WrenchWiz2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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bonuses work short term but retention sucks, better to focus on company culture and steady overtime.
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WrenchWiz2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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phoenix hiring pool is shallow cuz everyone's burned out from the 110 degree days crawling under houses.
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AmpedApprentice6⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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hit up the local union hall, even non-union guys hang there and you might snag some off-season roofers crossing over to plumbing gigs lol.
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TarPaperTitan⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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frustrated as hell, lost a $7k bid last week cuz my apprentice quit mid-job on a tankless install, had to finish it solo in 105 heat.
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VoltVampire2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, that heat in phoenix is no joke, i lost a guy on a re-roof last summer cuz he couldnt take the 110 degree bullshit and bailed mid-day. been there finishing solo while sweatin my ass off, its a crapshoot findin reliable help out there. sucks losin bids over that nonsense.
