Hiring a good plumbing helper without screwing up invoicing
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FlushForce
·1mo·16 replies·17 participants
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FlushForce⚒️ JourneymanOP1mo
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Been in the plumbing game for 12 years, and finding a solid helper who can actually crimp PEX-B without leaking is like hunting unicorns. We're in Texas so the heat means we're always rushing jobs before the afternoon scorcher hits, but then invoicing gets all messed up if they forget to log hours on that water heater swap. Last guy I had started strong on drain snakes but couldn't track his time right, so I ended up short $800 on the bill for a full repipe. Now I'm using Joist for everything, but training them on it takes forever with all the copper vs PEX debates. Frustrated as hell with this constant turnover, anyone got tips on weeding out the flakes early?
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CastIronHater⭐ Expert1mo
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man, these flakes show up thinking they can just show and go, but then they cant even log their damn hours right and youre left eating the cost on a $1200 drain job. i tried that test run with a new guy last month, had him shadow on a simple toilet install, and he still forgot to punch out half the time, screwing my whole invoice. texas heat aint helping when everyones brain is melting by noon, but im damn tired of playing babysitter just to keep the books straight. switched to fieldedge hoping it would fix the training hassle, but nope, still chasing these idiots around. what kinda red flags are you looking for upfront to avoid this crap?
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WireWizard88⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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man, that turnover crap with helpers who cant track time right has cost me a couple grand over the years too, feels like youre always playin catch-up on the invoicing.
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PanelPusher⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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goddamn these flakes are everywhere, half-assing time logs and leaving you high and dry on the invoice like its their damn hobby. in texas heat, one forgotten hour on that repipe turns into $800 you gotta eat, and its all cuz they cant be bothered to track shit right. joist is great but training em feels like herding cats, especially when they argue PEX vs copper mid-job. screw the turnover, its killing us small guys while the big outfits laugh all the way to the bank.
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MoveMasterMike⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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dont hire anyone who cant show you a weeks worth of time-stamped job logs from their last gig, had a helper fudge hours once and it turned into a $1200 lien nightmare that almost sank my van payment.
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MoveMaster2⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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start with a quick 30-minute shadow session on joist right after hiring, walk em through logging hours on a dummy job before they touch a real PEX crimp. keeps the flakes from costing you another 800 bucks.
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KeyTwister⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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these flakes are ruining the whole damn trade, cant even find someone who'll log their hours without me babysitting every water heater job. texas heat just makes em bolt faster, leaving me to eat the $800 losses every time.
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SawdustSavant16⭐ Expert1mo
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goddamn turnover's killing us all, especially when those flakes screw the invoicing and leave you chasing $800 like the last guy did, texas heat just makes it a bigger clusterfuck.
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PipeLord4206⭐ Expert1mo
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goddamn helpers these days cant even log their hours without screwing the whole invoice, and its always on us to eat the loss while they flake out after one paycheck. texans got it bad with the heat rushin jobs but this turnover BS is killing small shops everywhere.
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ChillMaster8⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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hunting unicorns? more like chasing a guy who can tell a PEX crimp from a donut without eating it. just tell em the first job's on their own joist app or they get the snake duty for life.
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ShingleShark8⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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start with a paid trial day where they log every hour on joist right from the jump on a simple pex crimp job, weeds out the flakes before they cost you $800.
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VoltWizard⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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goddamn helpers are the WORST, always forgetting to clock in and leaving us high and dry on the invoice while they half-ass the PEX crimps like it's optional.
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TenYearVet9⭐ Expert1mo
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man, the turnover with these helpers is killing me too, especially when they botch the time logs and leave you chasing $500 jobs down here in the heat. switched to joist myself but half the time they're too busy arguing pex vs copper to punch in right. been there, feels like you're running the whole show solo.
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FixItFelix⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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screw the flakes, just hire day laborers off craigslist and pay em cash under the table, saves you the headache of training on joist or whatever app youre using. yeah, its shady as hell but in texas with all these heat-rushed jobs, who has time for w2 paperwork and benefits bs? last time i did it right, the guy ghosted me after two weeks and i ate $500 in lost time on a slab leak fix. dont waste your breath on interviews, throw em on a job site and see if they can handle a ridgid k-400 without screwing up the invoice. fight me if you think unions are the answer, they just jack up costs for everyone.
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HandyDandyDude⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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hiring helpers is like dating: they look great on paper but ghost you when it's time to log hours on that joist app. last one i had swore he could crimp pex like a pro, ended up with leaks that turned the job into a water park. now i make em shadow me for a week before trusting em with the snake, saves me from invoicing headaches.
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FloorKing99⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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Haha, sounds like my first hire who thought a Ridgid K-45 was a back massager. Train 'em on invoicing day one or watch your margins vanish like a clogged toilet.
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VentVenturer⚒️ Journeyman1mo
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Spot on. I make new guys shadow me on three jobs first, entering dummy invoices in Housecall Pro so they get it without costing real money. Saved me from a $500 billing screwup last month.
