“They were a mere 15 minutes from site when the lights when on behind them…”
Some time ago this new “concrete contractor” ordered some rental forms.
Since he wanted to do all his transactions in cash and seemed a little foggy about what he needed, I had my questions.
But we gathered the order and delivered it. We sent the invoice with the driver and Mr. Contractor paid him in cash, including the HST.
So far so good.
It was a small order and a tight space so we delivered with a flatbed. The forms needed to be bombed off the truck and into the hole.
Mr. Contractor stood to the side watching while a couple hired guys and my driver unloaded.
Hmm…that was a bit strange. Typically a young contractor is a little more motivated to show his adroitness than this.
But who knows maybe this was one of those rare guys that was loaded with acumen but never attained to any brawn. This could be.
A few days later the forms were picked again and moved to another site. Same scenario, Mr. Contractor didn’t lift a finger while some help struggled with the forms.
But the job was completed, the second bill paid and the forms moved to a new site.
This time they needed more forms and fillers and Mr. Contractor came to the yard to pick them up. This was a great, I wanted to meet him.
He jumped out of his pickup wearing flip flops. As I loaded the stuff I asked him some questions.
“What did you do prior to starting this concrete forming thing?”
“I had a job running a large concrete pump,” he replied.
“Oh, what made you stop that and do this?” I asked.
“I just felt it was time to create my own dynasty,” he said.
A dynasty, I thought to myself. Hmm, a dynasty. That’s a different twist to starting a concrete company. That might explain the flip flops and the indifference to actually working, but you know, like whatever.
“You know,” I said cautiously, I have noticed what works pretty good to get a concrete business off the ground is to get into the hole and actually do some work. Get down and work alongside the fellows.”
I forget his reply, but we finished loading and Mr. Dynasty left, corners, fillers, flip flops and all.
A week passed. I called about whether the forms were ready for pickup. They weren’t. A week later again. No answer. No return to texts. More calls and texts and email. Nothing.
Finally we simply took it upon ourselves to retrieve our equipment from the site.
The job was in disarray, some forms were off the wall and some were firmly caked on from several days since the pour.
The homeowner was seething upset, and arguably had reason to be. His job was not only incomplete, it was completely deserted. Additionally he viewed us as complicit in the fiasco, and had no intentions of allowing us to remove our forms from the site. He was just short of violent, and called the police to his assistance.
Thankfully their arrival assisted us, and they calmed his frenetic intensity while we peacefully stripped and loaded the remaining forms and left the scene.
And Mr. Dynasty? I never heard or saw from him again.
The Covid-19 economy produced a rash of free lancers entering the industry. Individuals who saw this business as being too easy and money floating around in the form of concrete. Last time I checked concrete doesn’t float and money isn’t scooped out of the wind.
Frankly, I don’t know much about building a dynasty.
But from my experience, a concrete business takes actual work, even work boots. It takes honesty, good relationships, a perpetual willingness to learn, and a desire to deliver excellent work. It takes responsibility, accountability and character. It takes law-abiding accounting practices and even some government paperwork.
Our industry has many veterans. But every veteran was first an amateur. To enter the concrete world can be daunting, the struggle intense, but if played by the rules, the rewards are great.
Concrete is not just a transactional exercise, it’s a way of life. A badge of honor.
Don’t bring shame to it, don’t be like Mr. Dynasty.
And last of all take a look at the stainless steel hand sprayers below, remember to forward this email to a concrete friend, and we will talk to you next month.
