I bet he might very well have been a guest of the state for at least part of those missing 5 years. As most of us have experienced it's very common for workers in the construction fields to have problems with alcohol, drugs, cash management and authority.
I prefer to try new subs who have actually been on projects with the people who recommend them. I find that I get my better potential new subs referrals from my regular subs, fellow GCs or suppliers. These people tend to know who does a good job, shows up, gets along well with other subs & clients, passes inspections, has stable cash flow and charges fair prices.
IMO members of my local LL group who have been in business for a while give better leads than some who have only been doing this a short time. It seems to me that frequently the inexperience ones just don't realize that there is more to a job than just a low price. I also notice most of these inexperienced people tend to not understand what is required to make a job flow smoothly.
Of course there are always exceptions. One of the best laborers I ever had was a reformed alcoholic. On one of my larger projects he showed up first thing one morning looking for work. He was polite, clean & appeared to be healthy. After listening to his story, I told him if he showed up tomorrow wearing work clothes & work boots, I'd try him for the day loading dumpsters. Fifteen years later he relocated to NJ to help out a sister who had lost her husband. As I said he was an exception most "walk ons" didn't make it thru the day let alone a week.
--96.237.xx.xx
Contractor loses it (by GKARL [PA]) Mar 22, 2019 9:43 PM
Contractor loses it (by Steve [MA]) Mar 23, 2019 4:03 AM