In my opinion the position of just turns isn't a sustainable one for may companies. People need to be able to do all of the tasks that come along with the title of maintenance tech and that includes work orders. In my experience the guys that are only turn guys are generally problematic employees.
@bart not true it depends on the maturity of the tech also is the property manager making sure these turns is being done correctly i been there sometimes you have last minute turn and it can be overwhelming. If you are under staff of maintenance technicians
I think its everywhere. People just don't care anymore. I work in Industrial Maintenance in a factory. I have been in Maintenance over twenty years. Last year I moved up to a Technician in my present job. When I first came on the shift I went on every call I could. If somewhere went out without me, when they get back I always ask what was wrong? What did you find? I take the harder PM's. So I can learn it all. I have a coworker that wants to get back to the shop so he can be on his phone. As soon as he thinks its fixed he's gone. Hey stick around lets see if its going to run. There's no easy answer. Years ago if we had a Maintenance opening we had great people apply. Now we get people with less experience that may not stay. Nobody wants to work anymore.
You just have to make the expectations clear, if you want more money these are the things you have to do. Then keep notes on any of the sloppy jobs or reoccurring issues with the team member; a track record if you will. Some team members are shirking work and others truly believe they are doing a good job. Your expectations are their goals and set a time line to meet them.
I have tried that, but some of the guys get really friendly with the managers and regionals. The managers many times really like them cause they get the turns done and can't see who is really doing the hard complicated jobs. So far I have transferred those type of guys to other complexes because when I have pushed them to do more they just get slower and sloppy. And complain that nobody ever showed them. I run 428 town homes just me and 2 other techs. I really don't have time to baby sit or spent time teaching guys that don't really want to do the complicated stuff.
Hello All, First, the job duties and expectations of what you want out of the Tech needs to expressed during the interview process. Secondly, the Maintenance Supervisor should be cross-straining staff on both Turns & WOs, along with everything else that comes with the job. If someone does not want to learn whether they're a vet or new guy, then you should start looking for someone who is eager to learn and do what you want. The way I've always explained to my guys is, WOs are just Turns with less items to do on the list & have residents. Turns are just a bunch of WOs in one unit without residents. It's the same thing. The work is the work, people need to be able to adapt for a Maintenance team to be capable & high functioning.
I’m the guy that does turns and work orders but when I do come to work orders I don’t know how to do I take detail notes and give them to my supervisor and let them know that I want to come with them and be shown how to do it so I can do it on my own next time. If a coworker shows no signs of wanting to learn then get rid of them and bring in someone who wants to grow
The company I work for own a property with 98 units. One to five bedrooms. Just hit 25 years old and its all college rentals. On average around 45 units in 10 days after school ends. Leases are signed all the same day. As the maintenance supervisor I keep excellent books on who did what. Then at turn i give them the units they did the work orders in. Then the property manager and other office people inspect. Its a good way for them to see first hand the impact of half ass work. There is a standard that usually one turn season makes them or they take off. If they quit they still leave with a life lesson
i had a guy like that he wanted to just do turns cuz of course is nice been in a nice cold apartment in a hot summer and viceversa while eating snacks and listening music plus not dealing with an angry residents cuz as he said ''that ain't my job'' even when he was taking on-call he was just showing up to the apartments just to say sorry i can't fix it and the supervisor will fix it tomorrow i had to start writting him up for every time he did something like this until he was close to get fired then he change his attitud completely sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do
That's great!! I had a guy that every time he spoke to tenants he would create a bigger problem. He didn't know how to fix anything (or didn't care) and would tell tenants. That appliance is to old, or we will have to change the door frame because the door doesn't close. Ect ect. Of course by the time I would go deal with the problem the tenant would argue "the other guy already said it's not worth fixing and I need it replaced"
Am service supervisor i been deal from my beginning in a property for about 3 year never been with the complete team. Recently hire a guy that tell me he know about maintenance during the interview but in the field i can see he completely green i been giving him support and teach him explain everything that k know about plumbing , hvac, how to do turns , pool maintenance , appliances repairs … is been hard for me because he dont been good on nothing and been doing a lot go backs also in a day just 3 work orders easy ones … i have the whole work on me plus returning from my parental leaving with a lot work acumulated plus manager and office put pressure daily … people dont want work i cannot found any worker that dont lie on interviews
I do mostly the turns and the other tech does mostly the work orders. I help him if needed but he does his thing and I do mine. If he's on vacation or off I do the work orders and make sure they are all complete so when he come back he's has no issues. My thing is when there are not many work orders he doesn't come help me with the turns he stays in the shop. He waits till the end of the day to try to complete work orders and then tries to call me to help him when I been working all day. I don't mind helping when needed not just cause u want a second pair of hands that one guy can do to make it easier on himself. We split the property to clean and he doesn't do his half some days. He tells tenants he will be right back and doesn't come back. He deletes work orders when tenants have a pet and no one answers. He doesn't add comment on work order just says complete. The manager is blind to all this.
Sounds like you have a bad co worker. I think he will always hold you back in this trade. Sounds like management won't care because they are probably friends. Sometimes it's better to move on.
My opinion is ownership needs to stop being cheap on budget and have certain vendors to do work that is much needed. And the maintenance tech can focus on work order this thing about for 100 units is 1 maintenance guy is outdated
Companies need to hire more staff, for example my building is 292 units and we are only two service techs. One calls out sick and everything is a mess.
Worked a 1980s somewhat poorly built / maintained complex with just shy of 900 units, myself being one of the 3 service / on call techs. complex eventually merged with another horribly maintained 50/50 non section 8 and section 8 housing 900 unit'ish property and was promised 6 service techs between the two properties. I left for a better work / life balance once the promised 6 technicians dropped like flies (quit) down to just me and one other guy. The new hires never held out longer than a few months at most and I got fed up waiting for backup. Knew quite a bit before getting into the job, learned a bit while there, met some interesting people & dealt with alot of drama. Moved on to home service repairs & new build construction and am learning even more. Working a solid 40 hours a week M-F and get every weekend off to enjoy now. Still have the O crap scare when someone's phone rings with the old service phone ringtone.. dont think thats gonna ever go away.
My building is 282 units and I can say, it’s all in the team. It’s only two techs and we hold it down. As of now it’s 0 work orders in the system . We still face challenges but we work together and communicate well. If she misses a day she knows I can hold it down and vice versa. We’ve even argued a couple of times because we saw things differently but we both had the same goal at the end of the day. It’s all in the team . People just be lazy and that’s the problem in the apartment maintenance field
@user-fe2kh8mo1u I am in a similar situation, 267 units with 3 guys. The other 2 guys like doing turns and occasionally they help with work orders and vice-versa. At least every other week one of them takes a day off and I jump in and help with turns and do work orders. It has been working fine. We all do grounds and trash equally.
Facts! For some reason I became the guy that takes care of all appliances, tankless water heaters, and HVAC. my other co workers just do turns and when I’m back from my days off I have a bunch of appliances to work on but the supervisor lets it happen. Any advice on that?
I was in the same boat once, it's honestly probably very difficult for the super to change that cause the other guys probably do it on purpose or don't know how to do that stuff and you're the reliable tech for all the complicated work. I just left that situation for a company that paid me more. They did try to pay more than what the next company wanted to pay but I still left. Good luck!!
@@MaintenanceManNarratives Thanks! I’ve been looking around for another job but I live at the apartment complex where I work and I’m paying $1000 less than what the market is at at the moment in Southern California so that’s what’s holding me back at the moment.
In my opinion the position of just turns isn't a sustainable one for may companies. People need to be able to do all of the tasks that come along with the title of maintenance tech and that includes work orders. In my experience the guys that are only turn guys are generally problematic employees.
You hit the nail in the head!! I had never thought about that. But know that you said it and I look back I realize you are absolutely correct!
@bart not true it depends on the maturity of the tech also is the property manager making sure these turns is being done correctly i been there sometimes you have last minute turn and it can be overwhelming. If you are under staff of maintenance technicians
I think its everywhere. People just don't care anymore. I work in Industrial Maintenance in a factory. I have been in Maintenance over twenty years. Last year I moved up to a Technician in my present job. When I first came on the shift I went on every call I could. If somewhere went out without me, when they get back I always ask what was wrong? What did you find? I take the harder PM's. So I can learn it all. I have a coworker that wants to get back to the shop so he can be on his phone. As soon as he thinks its fixed he's gone. Hey stick around lets see if its going to run. There's no easy answer. Years ago if we had a Maintenance opening we had great people apply. Now we get people with less experience that may not stay. Nobody wants to work anymore.
You just have to make the expectations clear, if you want more money these are the things you have to do. Then keep notes on any of the sloppy jobs or reoccurring issues with the team member; a track record if you will. Some team members are shirking work and others truly believe they are doing a good job. Your expectations are their goals and set a time line to meet them.
I have tried that, but some of the guys get really friendly with the managers and regionals. The managers many times really like them cause they get the turns done and can't see who is really doing the hard complicated jobs. So far I have transferred those type of guys to other complexes because when I have pushed them to do more they just get slower and sloppy. And complain that nobody ever showed them. I run 428 town homes just me and 2 other techs. I really don't have time to baby sit or spent time teaching guys that don't really want to do the complicated stuff.
Hello All,
First, the job duties and expectations of what you want out of the Tech needs to expressed during the interview process.
Secondly, the Maintenance Supervisor should be cross-straining staff on both Turns & WOs, along with everything else that comes with the job. If someone does not want to learn whether they're a vet or new guy, then you should start looking for someone who is eager to learn and do what you want.
The way I've always explained to my guys is, WOs are just Turns with less items to do on the list & have residents. Turns are just a bunch of WOs in one unit without residents. It's the same thing. The work is the work, people need to be able to adapt for a Maintenance team to be capable & high functioning.
I’m the guy that does turns and work orders but when I do come to work orders I don’t know how to do I take detail notes and give them to my supervisor and let them know that I want to come with them and be shown how to do it so I can do it on my own next time. If a coworker shows no signs of wanting to learn then get rid of them and bring in someone who wants to grow
The company I work for own a property with 98 units. One to five bedrooms. Just hit 25 years old and its all college rentals. On average around 45 units in 10 days after school ends. Leases are signed all the same day. As the maintenance supervisor I keep excellent books on who did what. Then at turn i give them the units they did the work orders in. Then the property manager and other office people inspect. Its a good way for them to see first hand the impact of half ass work. There is a standard that usually one turn season makes them or they take off. If they quit they still leave with a life lesson
That's great!! That definitely keeps them responsible for their work!
i had a guy like that he wanted to just do turns cuz of course is nice been in a nice cold apartment in a hot summer and viceversa while eating snacks and listening music plus not dealing with an angry residents cuz as he said ''that ain't my job'' even when he was taking on-call he was just showing up to the apartments just to say sorry i can't fix it and the supervisor will fix it tomorrow i had to start writting him up for every time he did something like this until he was close to get fired then he change his attitud completely sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do
That's great!! I had a guy that every time he spoke to tenants he would create a bigger problem. He didn't know how to fix anything (or didn't care) and would tell tenants. That appliance is to old, or we will have to change the door frame because the door doesn't close. Ect ect. Of course by the time I would go deal with the problem the tenant would argue "the other guy already said it's not worth fixing and I need it replaced"
Am service supervisor i been deal from my beginning in a property for about 3 year never been with the complete team. Recently hire a guy that tell me he know about maintenance during the interview but in the field i can see he completely green i been giving him support and teach him explain everything that k know about plumbing , hvac, how to do turns , pool maintenance , appliances repairs … is been hard for me because he dont been good on nothing and been doing a lot go backs also in a day just 3 work orders easy ones … i have the whole work on me plus returning from my parental leaving with a lot work acumulated plus manager and office put pressure daily … people dont want work i cannot found any worker that dont lie on interviews
References!
I do mostly the turns and the other tech does mostly the work orders. I help him if needed but he does his thing and I do mine. If he's on vacation or off I do the work orders and make sure they are all complete so when he come back he's has no issues. My thing is when there are not many work orders he doesn't come help me with the turns he stays in the shop. He waits till the end of the day to try to complete work orders and then tries to call me to help him when I been working all day. I don't mind helping when needed not just cause u want a second pair of hands that one guy can do to make it easier on himself. We split the property to clean and he doesn't do his half some days. He tells tenants he will be right back and doesn't come back. He deletes work orders when tenants have a pet and no one answers. He doesn't add comment on work order just says complete. The manager is blind to all this.
Sounds like you have a bad co worker. I think he will always hold you back in this trade. Sounds like management won't care because they are probably friends. Sometimes it's better to move on.
My opinion is ownership needs to stop being cheap on budget and have certain vendors to do work that is much needed.
And the maintenance tech can focus on work order this thing about for 100 units is 1 maintenance guy is outdated
I think you're right!! Some complexes are 50yrs old and they want 1 maintenance guy to keep it looking nice and everything working properly.
Not many people take ownership of their work tasks.
Yea, they try to do the least and easiest
Yeah and thats the issue i see now in the industry
Yep!! And it's almost impossible to change these guys. They don't want to get into the complicated and purposely do a mess when pushed.
Companies need to hire more staff, for example my building is 292 units and we are only two service techs. One calls out sick and everything is a mess.
You're right!! They are cutting staff to thin. They are getting too greedy!
@@MaintenanceManNarratives Definitely, all about money. Plus they hardly want to give overtime.
Worked a 1980s somewhat poorly built / maintained complex with just shy of 900 units, myself being one of the 3 service / on call techs. complex eventually merged with another horribly maintained 50/50 non section 8 and section 8 housing 900 unit'ish property and was promised 6 service techs between the two properties. I left for a better work / life balance once the promised 6 technicians dropped like flies (quit) down to just me and one other guy. The new hires never held out longer than a few months at most and I got fed up waiting for backup. Knew quite a bit before getting into the job, learned a bit while there, met some interesting people & dealt with alot of drama. Moved on to home service repairs & new build construction and am learning even more. Working a solid 40 hours a week M-F and get every weekend off to enjoy now. Still have the O crap scare when someone's phone rings with the old service phone ringtone.. dont think thats gonna ever go away.
My building is 282 units and I can say, it’s all in the team. It’s only two techs and we hold it down. As of now it’s 0 work orders in the system . We still face challenges but we work together and communicate well. If she misses a day she knows I can hold it down and vice versa. We’ve even argued a couple of times because we saw things differently but we both had the same goal at the end of the day. It’s all in the team . People just be lazy and that’s the problem in the apartment maintenance field
@user-fe2kh8mo1u I am in a similar situation, 267 units with 3 guys. The other 2 guys like doing turns and occasionally they help with work orders and vice-versa. At least every other week one of them takes a day off and I jump in and help with turns and do work orders. It has been working fine. We all do grounds and trash equally.
Facts! For some reason I became the guy that takes care of all appliances, tankless water heaters, and HVAC. my other co workers just do turns and when I’m back from my days off I have a bunch of appliances to work on but the supervisor lets it happen. Any advice on that?
I was in the same boat once, it's honestly probably very difficult for the super to change that cause the other guys probably do it on purpose or don't know how to do that stuff and you're the reliable tech for all the complicated work. I just left that situation for a company that paid me more. They did try to pay more than what the next company wanted to pay but I still left.
Good luck!!
@@MaintenanceManNarratives Thanks! I’ve been looking around for another job but I live at the apartment complex where I work and I’m paying $1000 less than what the market is at at the moment in Southern California so that’s what’s holding me back at the moment.
I understand, it's going to be tough. But the day you leave they will certainly be hurting and you'll be perfectly fine anywhere!!
I think you have job security.
💯 real talk 👏🏼
Thanks!! I know you've probably delt with this issue, too!!
@@MaintenanceManNarratives Yes, that one guy always doing the easy work orders, and leaving the difficult ones for me 🤣
Seems like they are everywhere!!
Sorry for the possibly dumb question but what the heck are turns. I am a commercial HVAC tech and have never heard of this.
This a mostly an apartment maintenance channel and turns are apartments that we paint and do the maintenance work on.
I’m glad you asked because I was wondering the same thing 😅
I just do HVACR so I was like what the heck is a turn
I had to google it. I found out that I do turns and work orders.