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A lesson learned

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  1. #1
    Copper Head started this thread.
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    Red face A lesson learned

    I just learned a hard lesson , Back when I used to do construction I would make a detailed bill so all items would be known.
    Last week i had a clean out to do, the instructions were clean out the whole area but leave restaurant goods behind (any thing restaurant pots pans etc. ) So each day i cleaned out papers old clothes and other wacky stuff then i would load some metals .I made sure I would balance it out so for as much garbage removed I would also get metal I had it worked out just rite each day .
    There was plenty of metal that was not restaurant like wheels old heating duct work .There was a foreman on job who had a basic idea of what i should leave also ,He seemed to know a lot about scrap.
    Well I loaded a old looking muffler and tail pipe system, the foreman watched me take it load it and never once said save it . Then the owner calls me pissed why did take (scrap) the muffler and tail pipe system ,The owner said the foreman knew it was a keeper ,I said look the foreman saw me pick it up load it he never said stop. Some one pulled a fast one on me (to a point) as of now I have been pulled off the project .I cleaned many loads of non metal stuff as part of the deal.
    That foreman is most likely gonna finish it and get 600 lb short tv's with way less cleaning now . I did get enough to protect my self as i did find balusters (copper ) old copper pipes / AL. Still that foreman purposely let it happen I feel . So now he has some of the cake.with me the bad guy

    So for the future I realize a visual list of items that are to be scraped is needed and customer has to see and sign off items so mistakes aren't made

    Still i feel bad I hope i can make it up to the guy !
    Last edited by Copper Head; 01-14-2012 at 01:57 PM.


  2. #2
    Dunemaul's Avatar
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    When i did jobs like this i was always glad i had the space to store the stuff till the job was done that way when **** like this happens i would just return it and get on with the project. My old partner i did this with got greedy and started to take everything he could thinking the owner would forget some things. Leaving me to fix the mistake. After the 3rd time i told him to go sit in a field and rotate and cut ties.

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    wayne's Avatar
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    If it's a big place you could always take some digital pictures, print them out and then ask the owner to inital the items on the page that they want to remain.

    A picture is worth 1,000 words and all that.

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  5. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Copper Head View Post
    I just learned a hard lesson ,
    There was a foreman on job who had a basic idea of what i should leave also ,He seemed to know a lot about scrap.
    Mates of mine that work in the building industry, have said to me that now every foreman, has become a "master scrapper" (jokingly)
    And that plumbers and electricians, that only a few years ago were the messiest workers on a job
    (basically because their materials didn't mean anything to them and he would always have bags of coppers and cable)
    Had overnight become extremely clean on their jobs, and wouldnt leave any material laying about?

    Quote Originally Posted by Copper Head View Post
    So for the future I realize a visual list of items that are to be scraped is needed and customer has to see and sign off items so mistakes aren't made !
    Yep a picture is worth 1000 words and signed or initialed is excellent.
    "what cant speak - cant lie"

    Be Lucky
    Last edited by skipRAT; 01-14-2012 at 06:46 PM. Reason: spelling
    Be Lucky

  6. #5
    Copper Head started this thread.
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    I found out the truth from the foreman. It turns out the store owner felt he was able to sell the muffler system for $100 so he became mad at me .The guy forgot that i was cleaning for scrap $$ in a sense!!
    There was plenty of metal still there. ,well 5 days passed i decided to visit to the foreman,who tells me the muffler saga then tells me they can't even find any one to agree to do what you were willing to do.
    Low and behold the store owner calls up, says to me you can keep going (clean & make your scrap $$ ) This time i did it different, yesterday i went in and only pulled out scrap ,I still have a few TV"S but now it's just some trash . I'll clean up the trash each day but I feel good that i first paid my self
    Last edited by Copper Head; 01-20-2012 at 05:05 AM.

  7. #6
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    All Right CH !! You da man !!!

  8. #7
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    glad to hear it worked out. nothing like communication and a little honesty on the foremans part



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