The state of “the trades” in this generation, and probably the previous one as well, is abysmal.\u00a0 There’s still room for more decline, to be sure, but that’s a small consolation.\u00a0 Little education (albeit much indoctrination) takes place in grades K-12, so we’ve developed this idea that everybody should go to college.\u00a0 That system of mass re-education and its resultant lifetime of student loan debt scoops up most of the young people and convinces them that they should be able to sit at a computer and make $50k.\u00a0 Who fixes the plumbing?<\/p>\n
Generally, the leftovers.<\/p>\n
It is not my intention to denigrate any capable individual; I am one and I’ve met others.\u00a0 But bright and capable students these days seldom dream of leaving high school and working with their hands, learning a trade, and building a business from it.\u00a0 One of my bosses, who had been hiring plumbers for years, told me quite sincerely (with acknowledged hyperbole) “all plumbers are either drunks, dopeheads, or lazy.”\u00a0 Students who are otherwise will ordinarily avoid the trades.<\/p>\n
Over time, this sorting process has produced a plumbing industry where plumbers mistreat customers (to put it mildly).\u00a0 Small wonder, then, if plumbing companies<\/em> mistreat plumbers<\/em>.<\/p>\n Every so often I look around and see what the plumbing companies are up to so that I can warn my customers.\u00a0 I got to looking at ads on Craigslist.\u00a0 Many companies are seeking plumbers to hire.\u00a0\u00a0 Like lonesome singles in the “Personals” ads, they really try to sound adorable:<\/p>\n See what can be yours: I began comparing this luscious beauty with what I already have at home (being a sole proprietor) and I saw that all I lack is “paid training.”\u00a0 (When I read the manufacturer’s websites on new products, I have to do it on my own time.)\u00a0 I also happen to know that this company charges $1,500 for a job that I charge $700 for.<\/p>\n This one made me smile:<\/p>\n [XYZ Company]\u00a0has grown to the point where we are adding 2 premier service plumbers! And we offer premier benefits like health insurance, vacation pay, sick pay, holiday pay, retirement plan and year round work!<\/p>\n [XYZ Company] also offers GUARANTEED weekends off! Now who does that?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n They’ve “grown to the point” that they’re hiring?\u00a0 Suuure they have.\u00a0 One of their former employees told me a few weeks ago “Nobody<\/em> can work for that guy.”\u00a0 GUARANTEED weekends off?\u00a0 My friend told me, “Yeah, once a month!<\/strong>”<\/p>\n I can’t fix these companies.\u00a0 Like cockroaches, no matter how many you kill, there’ll be more.\u00a0 All I can do is say “Go toward the light.”\u00a0 As a sole proprietor I have decentralized<\/em> plumbing service with the use of computers and a mobile phone.\u00a0 Memphis could use a hundred more: individual guys building and living off their own reputations, teaming up with friends when a job requires it, providing personalized service to grateful and loyal customers.\u00a0 Maybe the idea will catch on some day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The state of “the trades” in this generation, and probably the previous one as well, is abysmal.\u00a0 There’s still room for more decline, to be sure, but that’s a small consolation.\u00a0 Little education (albeit much indoctrination) takes place in grades K-12, so we’ve developed this idea that everybody should go to college.\u00a0 That system of … Continue reading “The Market for Plumbers”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p45dxY-4R","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":302,"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions\/302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.barleyservices.biz\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTop Pay & Bonus Plans
\nPaid Vacations
\nFlexible Schedules
\nDrug free work environment
\nSteady work throughout the year
\nPaid training on-site and off site
\nBest equipped\/designed trucks in the country
\nFull Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription, & life Insurance<\/p><\/blockquote>\n