Dealing with burnout can be a real beyotch. My last bout with it was during the summer of 2010. I suddenly found myself doing things I’d never done before during my 7 years as a maintenance technician. I was scowling at residents as they walked by and rolling my eyes…
I’ve been on both sides of this issue. I’ve dealt with shops that had the bare minimum to work with and shops that had more than enough to work with. Needless to say, working in a skeleton shop annoys the piss out of me. Early in my maintenance career I…
The hider. It may surprise some people how rampant and common this problem is. If you’ve worked in the apartment industry long enough then you know who I’m talking about. It’s the person that you only see when they’re clocking in and clocking out. Or, they’re standing over you blabbing…
The debate that has been going on for decades. And will continue to rage between management and maintenance techs for years to come. Should the company pay for a maintenance tech’s tools? Yes they should! Now, before you feel like putting my head in a vice let me explain. Does…
August. Even though I haven’t worked in student housing for 6 years, just looking at that month on a calendar still spikes my anxiety. The 16 hour work days, Monday through Sunday, for 3 weeks. The 100 U-Hauls jockeying for position. Parents hollering at the office staff claiming that their…
Ah yes. The lowly maintenance man that doesn’t know anything. Usually a shady, filthy looking, lazy, Jerry-rigging hack that fixes very little in between his naps. Am I right? Nope. Actually dead wrong! I’m not sure when this happened, but there seems to be a stigma tied to the maintenance…
Maintenance techs who know their way around air conditioners are always in high demand in the apartment industry. You’ll pretty much have a job for the rest of your life with HVAC knowledge and skills. I enjoy HVAC work and continue learning it every day. Like my pal Steve Lav…
What if I told you that you could make an extra $1,000 a year at your day job by tweaking a routine by 15 minutes. Would you Robert Downey Jr. me? It’s true! This is not a scam I promise. But, it’ll only work if you get time and a half…
MAINTENANCE MANIA! Dirty maintenance nation would like to give a big HELL YEA to Felix Velazquez for winning Maintenance Mania! Felix has 12 years of maintenance experience. 5 years of maintenance in Florida. He’s from Puerto Rico but now resides in Groveland, Florida. When asked, “What was the hardest part in…
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat.” Well, it applies to saving money too! There’s all kinds of strategies for piling cash. I want to share with you my 3 favorite. All math will be done without taxes in mind…