D. Peter Maus wrote:
On 7/17/17 16:43 , Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Foxs Mercantile wrote:
On 5/28/2017 4:07 PM, Neon John wrote:
Sounds like extraordinarily bad project management to me.
Surely you don't order each part individually, do you?

I used to do side jobs in construction.
The plumber that worked with us ALWAYS had to make several
trips to Home Depot for more fittings, and other things.

Finally, Jack, our foreman, asked him, "Are you going out
of business? How come you don't have any inventory on your
truck?"

Hello, Jeff.

I used to run into so called electricians like that, at the
wholesaler's warehouse. I bought by the spool, bundle, bag or box for
my commercial sound work. One guy wanted eight feet of Romex, one
handybox, and outlet and a cover. He was complaining that they walked
away from him, to wait on me. My order was around %400, his was about
$3.50.






There is nothing that says to the client: "I'm not ready for this level
of work," like running out of supplies in the middle of a job. On the
other hand, there is nothing that says 'I came to play in the big
leagues.' like letting the client see a depth of supplies.

For my commercial sound work, I buy wire in 1000' spools, connectors in
100 piece lots, and screws, nuts and washers by the bucket load. I
standardize on specific hardware types to application, and I buy
connectors and other hardware with an eye to standardized pieces, so
that once installed, everything is not only neat and organized, but all
the connectors are uniform, the wiring is uniform, and the
installation/routing/management hardware is uniform.

As in most things, people shop with their eyes first, and looking like
you're prepared is often more important than BEING prepared when
servicing the needs of a client. Because a client that sees you're
prepared will often recognize that you need little supervision, and will
stay out of your way. And, an orderly, uniform finished installation
will engender more confidence in your work, and the reliablity of the
finished project.

Similarly, when I do live sound, everything is in the truck. Cables,
amps, speakers, DI's, of course, but also the right type of cable, with
the right terminations for the application. A almost never use an
adapter. So, that when I set up, there is never a question that not only
myself, but the band/talent/corporate presenters are prepared.

That appearance of preparedness is essential for the appearance of
professionalism.

It also doesn't help that you have everything on-hand, for a job, so
you can get the job done faster, smoother and without stops or delays.

Clients dig that.

A lot of my work was when no wholesaler was open, so you carried it,
or stretched a job out over several days. As far as rentals, I did carry
a lot of adapters, since we would have to connect to existing wiring, or
give a feed to a radio station. We also carried tools and spare parts to
make equipment repairs, on site if needed.

My customers were school boards, local governments and factories who
rarely saw what I carried. All they saw was that I could get a job done
on time, and at a fair price.

Work at schools often meant evening hours, or getting there at six
AM when their intercom was down.

Factories was almost always noisy and sometimes dangerous work
around running machinery.

Churches were always looking for the cheapest jobs they could find,
so some got no bids because of the cobbled together messes left by
whatever was there before you.

Amusement parks were often scheduled for after they closed for the
night. Like installing new dual 12VDC electrical and sound systems in a
pair of paddle boats J.I.T. for an after Prom party.


--
Never **** off an Engineer!

They don't get mad.

They don't get even.

They go for over unity! ;-)