I'm a carpenter by trade, been framing homes for 7 years. Saw a slump in the market coming last year and I bailed out before the storm. We were cutting crews, including mine, and I saw a company looking for a crew lead. They primarily install doors and windows, but they also threw me under the bus on other projects as well. This has been by far the most disorganized, inefficient, and unethical place I've ever worked.
Once, they sent me to build a deck with no plan whatsoever, no drawing, nothing. Just a contract that says “build a 13×19 deck”. They hired a guy about a week before to spearhead that project. He was there the first day, then he quit. Another guy was supposed to bring an auger the first day, no one got that message, yada yada, they ditch me with a pile of lumber and say good luck, but then complain when it took too long (I was supposed to have 4 guys, 4 days, I ended up with 2 guys and we did it in 5 days) and wasn't what they envisioned. Every third job at this place went ok. And just ok. Early on I shadowed the other lead installer on a window job that involved cutting holes for new windows on a first floor wall of a two story home, a load bearing wall. The guy cut the rough opening in the drywall and plywood. Perfect sized holes for the windows. I asked, how do you plan on getting at the framing to install headers and such, through the drywall or through the exterior sheathing..? This man scabbed 2×4's around the holes, slapped the windows in and buttoned up the siding and trim. That'll be $12,000, please. Highway robbery and illegal on multiple levels to boot.
So after 6 months of this insanity that's seen no improvement (I've been searching hard for another opportunity of equal pay), the owner shows up to the job site today around 2 p.m., I'm just finishing up my very late lunch, had to get the holes in the house filled before we could take a break. He storms up and asserts he needs to talk to me, I step up and he says I'm letting you go. I say, uh, why? He respeats why to me as if the question is baffling. Eyes starting to bug out, he says I cost him too much money and I don't communicate well enough. He spits a bs example, last Friday it took me 6 hours to install one window. Ok, the window I had to excavate was a 500 lb picture window 16 feet in the air on a balloon wall. I couldn't set up a pick due to the layout, had to do the thing off ladders with 2 workers and myself. It was a nightmare. It doesn't matter what I say at this point. At this moment my concern is, what's going on with my $3000 in tools that I have scattered all over this house we're in the middle of doing some serious surgery on? He's got it covered, a moment later the office twat pulls in with a cargo van to haul me and my shit away. Takes my truck keys. I now have to go and collect my tools literally out of the other employees hands, wrap up all my cords, saws, air compressor, a lot of tools, by myself. I'm now infuriated shaking mad. On top of all of this his other lead guy, the hackiest “carpenter” I've ever met is over there snickering. I can't help myself, I start pointing things out that the guys are doing wrong to the owner. Like right now, in real time, they're flashing windows incorrectly. I said what are you even going to do without me. These guys had no idea what to do on this job without me here. They can't even tape flash a window correctly. The homeowner starts to get interested. He later pulled me aside and asked about the flashing which I explained with my installation vs theirs, and he took my number for future projects. The owner is now livid. He says just get your shit and get out of here, starts stepping towards me like he's going to get physical, cussing, yelling, threatened to keep my final pay. Just making a complete ass of himself in front of the crowd. Beautifuly done.
I could go on and on and on about all the crap at this place in the few months I experienced. But they'll crash and burn within the next 18 months or I'll eat my boots. They've been in business for two years and this shitshow is what you have to show for it? Simply not sustainable.
So I guess it's back to framing houses, I restart that tomorrow. F to my back and knees, apparently. Sorry for the text wall y'all.