CABL Forum - Re: What would you do???

Brother, I have been down this road before and right or wrong I will tell you how I handled it, both as a sub and as a general.

First, the guy working on the job is the one to start with not the PM. Maybe he's a worker or maybe he's the owner of that company that's just getting started and needs someone like you to tell him why and where he's wrong? I learned a lot from my competitors and respected them for telling me when I was wrong, which led to more work for us both. "A competitor will help you, an enemy will watch you fail." You should be competitors, not enemies. Regardless, he can be beneficial in which direction to take the matter.

Ask him why he's there, who told him to be there, when they told him, and how much of your job, his job covers? This will provide you with the ammunition (if needed) for the next step. You don't want to go to the general and start a fire that could have been avoided. Maybe there is another PM that issued the same job. Maybe the due date changed and the PM thought another contractor was needed to finish the project on time (but should have informed you of this). Maybe the other contractor is new and can't correctly read the prints (it happens). Or, worse case the PM thought you were taking to long to get started and wanted to prove a point. You stated you still had 24 hours left for locates, but was the job issued a week ago? I'm not picking on you, just telling you what I have learned from my mistakes.

Once you have the correct answers from the worker on site then what to do next is easy. If the PM is wrong (and definitely not you), you light a fire and pour gas to it until the problem is resolved. Not tomorrow, TODAY. Don't just talk to the PM, request to immediately meet with him and his boss. Explain the situation and the frustration it has caused, along with the expenses you've incurred including the down time from no production, because someone else was doing your job!

If your a good contractor that has a reputation of doing a good job (as it sounds like you are), they will apologize and stop the other contractor, thus allowing you to finish the project. They may also offer you another project and promise to "keep your plate full" to help compensate for their mistake.
This is where the tricky part comes in. If they stop the other contractor and allow you to finish the project. Make sure it's clear what you are going to be responsible for and what the other contractor is responsible for, don't assume. Cover whose going to do cleanup/restoration, pull cable, makes connections, set peds, ect. Ask them and know for sure before you start. If it's a composite job, the other contractor may have already taken all the goody ($$$) out of the job and left the hardest, most cost and time consuming part for you. If you already know he has, reject finishing the job and ask for another after explaining your concern to the general.

Nervous? You should be. This is where the truth comes out about what the general or PM think of you and your work.

If it goes the opposite of what I've explained here, tell them to take a long walk off a short bridge, cancle your locates and move on to the next general. Consider it a lesson learned and figure out how to become the contractor they need, instead of being just another contractor. Best of luck to you and hope this helps.

INSTALLATION

CONSTRUCTION / TECH

OFFICE / OTHER

Re: What would you do???