A question that I get asked a lot from techs all over the world is, “How do I earn an above average income in this business?” My answer is simple. “Become an above average person.” It amazes me how many people out there today want to do above average jobs,…
Okay, I’m not going to sugar coat this when I say that the maintenance side of the apartment industry is sucking. I keep seeing the grim posts online about positions not being filled for 6 to 9 months. I’m actually witnessing it in my hometown. And, it seems like when…
9) The Boozer Sometimes as adults we come to work with a hangover. Once every year or two is life. However, “the boozer” takes it to another level. Clocking in all glassy eyed while looking like a Nick Nolte mugshot every week will get you blacklisted from the apartment industry…
Okay, there’s actually no such thing as YouTube University. That’s just what I like to call YouTube. A university because of the endless knowledge it provides for just about anything you can think of. All for free! I have mined tons of gold out of YouTube and I took those…
If you’ve hung around my blog or YouTube channel, you know that I’m passionate about apartment maintenance and finance. I know how hard we work and it breaks my heart seeing people who come to the end of their journey with nothing to show for all that hard work. The…
“Why can’t I find good help?” The complaint I see online and hear over and over. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but there are a lot of great technicians out there. I know this for a fact because I talk with them in person and online every week.…
A quick cheat sheet! Something I’ve always wanted while on a work order in the heat of battle. Instead of having to search all over the internet for helpful charts and information, I will consolidate everything here that will give technicians quick access to what they need. You can click…
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…
Showing appreciation towards your maintenance staff is an important practice that often gets ignored by a lot of companies. I’ve been a maintenance technician for 15 years and have seen the differences between a company that shows appreciation toward their maintenance team and a company that treats their maintenance technicians…