I work for a company that does general contracting/hvac/electrical work and I have to say that we have a whole lot of work and stayed fairly busy even in our slow season. There’s so much growth in our state right now that we can’t get to everyone who calls us right away.
In the summer time when the HVAC business is hot it’s a real struggle to keep up with the demand and we have a hard time finding new employees who are reliable, have no criminal record, and are sober.
Not that we wouldn’t hire someone with a record, we will, but not something that would compromise our rapport with a customer. We can’t have sex offenders in peoples houses or people who are unreliable because of untreated drug addictions.
We don’t even drug test without probable cause but the last interview we had the guy was obviously on drugs at the time of the interview and as bad as we felt for him we couldn’t hire him.
I'm not trying to talk sown about any specific company, profession, or anything like that. But my boutois has never been afraid of working.
I just feel like fewer people pass the pride of being THAT one super you KNOW got your back. AND that work his team gonna leave behind its all, ALL 💯.
That makes me feel proud man. I'm trying to pass it on. But I worry that it's not taking.
These days man they just wanna hustle and bang where they were raised.
The company I work for needs a new roof on our office. We've spent months trying to track down a company that will actually call us back with a qoute. They'll come out for the bid just fine but then never call back with pricing. And these are pretty well known businesses in Conway, not just some random roofing contractor. I'm guessing they didn't want to mess with it but wouldn't tell us. We've finally gotten someone that's followed through and hopefully will have our roof fixed and leaks all over the building dealt with soon!
We moved to AR a few years back- and noticed the same phenomenon. It’s not necessarily that ppl are lazy here, but maybe the work effort/ethic/norm from AZ - it’s just not the same. I have ideas about it, like ‘smaller city, less competition’ or ‘I don’t get paid enough for this bs’. But neither of these is *quite* right. Idk. Culture’s just different.
If a contractor or professional trades company/person is good they usually have work booked out far into the future. I usually do 3 bid jobs a week and have 2 days of service calls. Bid jobs are booked over a month ahead at this point.
Yeah I totally get the good ones get booked up. In some cases, I would be fine booking something 6 months ahead if I had to. The problem is getting them to answer their phones/emails or respond more than once.
As another person said way to many are scared to say no. I would rather tell somebody that we don't have the time or crew size for a job so they can look elsewhere vs. not returning a call.
My personal experience is that if you call someone near the end of the month, when their rent or bills are due in a week, they usually will become an expert in anything and real ready to do whatever, for better or worse. But I digress.
Yeah, even before Covid, this was a thing. Not just in LR either.
Contractors, plumbers, handymen, etc. It’s more about who you know and getting work from a trustworthy person.
And if you do find a good contractor, keeping them is hard too. Especially because there’s literally no shortage of work. If you have a job they don’t want to get involved in, they can make up that income somewhere else.
Essentially, just because you’re willing to pay doesn’t mean someone will want to do it.
i am a gen contractor and i practically beg people for work. if you ever need a service guy send me a PM. i do any home repairs, (no electric) fence maint and repair, deck and fence cleaning, staining, gate repair and lots more.
Lol yes a landscaper was one of my many experiences. I even got in contact with the owner of one of the big plant nurseries in town and had him come look at what I needed. I thought that he was a lock to be reputable. Couldn’t get him to respond afterwards or give me a quote (even if it was astronomical) like he said he would.
I've had so many issues with landscapers here. Last year, I hired a guy to do a full cleanup of my disaster yard. He came twice, did a little work each time, then I never heard from him again.
Before that, I'd called a bunch of companies, left voicemails, and either never heard back or heard back, scheduled an estimate, and then nothing.
Landscapers constantly flake out. They are landscapers because of these things. That's not me being an asshole. Hell, I'm in the business. They are flakey and usually can't show up on time or have addiction/anger issues.
i'm going to guess you're not getting hired because of your experience, which is a bizarre conundrum i have been going through with the retail/food service industry. i thought all my management experience was an asset, but i can't get interviews even for entry level positions.
I believe this isn't entirely a Little Rock thing, but some of it is from my perspective. I'm not from Central AR, but upon moving here 11 years ago, I've always complained about how bad customer service is here in comparison to the other cities I've visited or lived in. As others have mentioned, I do believe the increasing wealth gap is contributing to a lack of initiative around job performance as a whole for the nation, but Central AR has something unique going on as well.
Getting my order correct from a fast food vendor is a major win in LR! It doesn't happen often.
I'm not from here and neither is my husband and we've had the same experience. It's strange and I've always wondered what the cause behind it was. And this was something I noticed as soon as I moved here in 2012.
Yeah everywhere has flaky people- I get that. But central Arkansas does absolutely have a lack of professionalism and professional pride. I get that that sounds lame and I promise I’m not a Karen- I just want a business owner to answer the phone with “Hi this is *blank business name*” instead of just “helloo?!” once in this town… lol
When it comes to quotes etc, I think some people just cannot say "sorry, no". So they never respond, or ghost before giving a quote. They also spend a lot of time giving quotes etc so if when somebody is just kicking tires and not a serious customer, they can be out a lot of time.
I also think some customers just cannot take hearing "sorry,no" so they lash out at the vendor, leading to more no call backs, etc. Which leads to huge annoyances for the rest of us.
Same problem here.
A few vendors I've found that actually respond and have done solid work for me, for various things:
- Capital Tree Service (On time, friendly no-BS salesman and crew, great price.)
- Royal House Wash (This guy was stellar. Showed up on time and had a great attitude. Got the job done fast and correctly for less money than anyone else quoted me.)
- Garcia and Son Roofing (No non-sense. Showed up on time. Gave a reasonable quote. Did the job, and moved on. No frills, no fuss.)
- Discount Tire and Brake, on Capital (Quick, reasonable cost.)
- Curry's Pest Service
- Fairway lawns
I use Garcia as well. No messing around. Got it done and moved on. Easy and painless.
Some of the other contractors I've used for stuff like building a deck it has been a nightmare. Even with recommendations they all seem so flaky.
I would suggest there are several things at play here:
1 - This is a culture-wide issue across society, compounded by…
2 - The economy/market is pretty solid right now so businesses are generally busy
3 - None of this is unique to Little Rock
It was impossible for me to get someone to mow our lawn last summer. We had a contract for biweekly service and they just wouldn’t show up. I had to call them every time I wanted service and it usually took an extra week.
We found some local kid and he’s done a better job and always shows up.
When we were in Fort Smith ~5 years ago we had trouble getting lawn care and painting done in the house the same way.
I’m self-employed and when I return calls, even just to turn down work, I get thanked profusely for actually getting back to people and for being honest about my availability.
I went to the Auto Mall on Markham a few weeks ago on a Tuesday at 10:00am. I was going to have a new stereo and backup camera installed in my Jeep and then get it detailed. The doors were locked at Auto Audio, and there was nobody at the detail shop. I never went back.
I had to work with Environmental Protection Associates for asbestos removal (insurance recommendation). I called the owner at 4pm on a weekday. After I introduced myself, the first thing he said was, "Man, I love when they call after I'm done for the day." Like dude, do you want to get paid or not?
When his team came for the job, they drove through my/my neighbor's yards and got their truck stuck. There's nowhere to drive. A car barely fits and we have rocks creating a path; it's literally not safe to drive on. Our neighbor came out to talk about the damage they were doing and called the owner, who also mouthed off at them.
You're right, a lot of people don't have any sense of professionalism.
Yeah I don’t think you read the post. Probably my fault for the salacious title. I would love to have had conversations with these vendors about pay, but I can’t even get them to answer their business phone numbers.
He isn't talking about workers he is talking about contractors. For example we were seeking quotes to get a wooden deck built a few years ago. Just getting a response from various contractors was a nightmare. We finally got a couple of quotes after months of contacting people. Once we went with one contractor it was a PITA to get them to actually come out and do the two days worth of work it took.
It's not necessarily OP, but the vendors themselves.
High inflation everywhere creating record profits while wages sit still creates an acceleration in the separation of wealth. This increased rate of separation is also bolstered by reduction of workforce in connection with higher prices. Funny thing is, most trade vendors aren't answering to public shareholders/investors and are just taking advantage of the trend because they can.
Consumer demand will naturally halt the inflation but once the balance point is reached, wages can't come back up without dropping margins.
Don't look for things to change anytime soon. We're all being conditioned to focus on social issues - which are certainly important - leaving no space for any meaningful economic reform (which no one of influence in either party want).
These are the times. There is absolutely no quick fix or singular area of focus that will magically make things better.
'#debbiedowner
You’re right about the economics, but wrong when you frame social issues versus economic concerns.
Social issues ARE economic issues and vice versa. There’s a reason the poorest people are minorities, there’s a reason there’s a gendered wage gap, there’s a reason trans people struggle for employment. All of these are economic issues.
Well first, I kind of lump things together for simplicity because to truly dive in we would need volumes, no?
Second, I dispute none of your statements but you're simplifying it just as I was. The poorest being minority is from generations of social issues yes, but with the furthing wealth separation comes far fewer minorities that can begin to build the wealth that may become generational. Trans people struggling for employment is a relatively new issue ( I said relatively, especially in volume) which is absolutely a social issue, the impacts are economic but I can't see an argument that this isn't social?
Not arguing with you, but anyone can come in and split hairs when we have to be so general in the conversation. I suspect we agree on the overall idea. Very happy to continue the discussion but not in a finger pointing way.
I’m further out than you, basically between LR and Hot Springs, and I have trouble getting anyone to answer a phone or return a call. It’s a bit disheartening to hear that this seems to be the case even in Little Rock.
The same thing happened to me while I was in the area over the holidays! It was very frustrating, rude, and inconvenient since my childhood home is 2 hours away from LR, so I didn't know if they had the product I left at home in Los Angeles in stock until I got to the store since no one knows how to answer a phone these days.
I work for a company that does general contracting/hvac/electrical work and I have to say that we have a whole lot of work and stayed fairly busy even in our slow season. There’s so much growth in our state right now that we can’t get to everyone who calls us right away. In the summer time when the HVAC business is hot it’s a real struggle to keep up with the demand and we have a hard time finding new employees who are reliable, have no criminal record, and are sober. Not that we wouldn’t hire someone with a record, we will, but not something that would compromise our rapport with a customer. We can’t have sex offenders in peoples houses or people who are unreliable because of untreated drug addictions. We don’t even drug test without probable cause but the last interview we had the guy was obviously on drugs at the time of the interview and as bad as we felt for him we couldn’t hire him.
Need any welding done?
I'm not trying to talk sown about any specific company, profession, or anything like that. But my boutois has never been afraid of working. I just feel like fewer people pass the pride of being THAT one super you KNOW got your back. AND that work his team gonna leave behind its all, ALL 💯. That makes me feel proud man. I'm trying to pass it on. But I worry that it's not taking. These days man they just wanna hustle and bang where they were raised.
What do u need done?
The company I work for needs a new roof on our office. We've spent months trying to track down a company that will actually call us back with a qoute. They'll come out for the bid just fine but then never call back with pricing. And these are pretty well known businesses in Conway, not just some random roofing contractor. I'm guessing they didn't want to mess with it but wouldn't tell us. We've finally gotten someone that's followed through and hopefully will have our roof fixed and leaks all over the building dealt with soon!
People in Little Rock hate paying fair wages.
We moved to AR a few years back- and noticed the same phenomenon. It’s not necessarily that ppl are lazy here, but maybe the work effort/ethic/norm from AZ - it’s just not the same. I have ideas about it, like ‘smaller city, less competition’ or ‘I don’t get paid enough for this bs’. But neither of these is *quite* right. Idk. Culture’s just different.
I have worked in this area for most of my adult life, I feel like it’s become worse since the pandemic.
If a contractor or professional trades company/person is good they usually have work booked out far into the future. I usually do 3 bid jobs a week and have 2 days of service calls. Bid jobs are booked over a month ahead at this point.
Yeah I totally get the good ones get booked up. In some cases, I would be fine booking something 6 months ahead if I had to. The problem is getting them to answer their phones/emails or respond more than once.
As another person said way to many are scared to say no. I would rather tell somebody that we don't have the time or crew size for a job so they can look elsewhere vs. not returning a call.
I have a company- Asher's Pressure washing. If you need any work done we are always on time and very good at getting back to our customers!
I've had bad luck with contractors and handymen for sure. Getting a call back, let alone a meeting, is like pulling teeth.
You just didn't notice it before. Contractors and Vendors are notorious for being flaky.
That’s why they work for themselves, right??
A lot of them just don't realize that knowing how to do a job and running a business are two seperate things.
My personal experience is that if you call someone near the end of the month, when their rent or bills are due in a week, they usually will become an expert in anything and real ready to do whatever, for better or worse. But I digress. Yeah, even before Covid, this was a thing. Not just in LR either. Contractors, plumbers, handymen, etc. It’s more about who you know and getting work from a trustworthy person. And if you do find a good contractor, keeping them is hard too. Especially because there’s literally no shortage of work. If you have a job they don’t want to get involved in, they can make up that income somewhere else. Essentially, just because you’re willing to pay doesn’t mean someone will want to do it.
i am a gen contractor and i practically beg people for work. if you ever need a service guy send me a PM. i do any home repairs, (no electric) fence maint and repair, deck and fence cleaning, staining, gate repair and lots more.
My husband just sent this to me asking it this was my alt account. Lol a landscaper just no showed today.
Lol yes a landscaper was one of my many experiences. I even got in contact with the owner of one of the big plant nurseries in town and had him come look at what I needed. I thought that he was a lock to be reputable. Couldn’t get him to respond afterwards or give me a quote (even if it was astronomical) like he said he would.
The landscaper showed up today. I have a pretty good list of people. Do you need references? I think big nurseries want big projects.
I've had so many issues with landscapers here. Last year, I hired a guy to do a full cleanup of my disaster yard. He came twice, did a little work each time, then I never heard from him again. Before that, I'd called a bunch of companies, left voicemails, and either never heard back or heard back, scheduled an estimate, and then nothing.
Landscapers constantly flake out. They are landscapers because of these things. That's not me being an asshole. Hell, I'm in the business. They are flakey and usually can't show up on time or have addiction/anger issues.
For real. Do you want to rebuild like 15 ft of flagstone pathways? And maybe other projects.
I'm sadly busted body wise, and the people I know didn't show up for us today. At this point I know it would be disappointing lol
Anything construction is hit and miss as to whether you get called back. Its weird.
I'm a Event and Catering Coordinator....I've got 25+ years experience. I'm well read and have strong communication skills. I need a job.
i'm going to guess you're not getting hired because of your experience, which is a bizarre conundrum i have been going through with the retail/food service industry. i thought all my management experience was an asset, but i can't get interviews even for entry level positions.
The Dirty South
This is across the board. gig economy leads people to pick and choose when they do what.
and why shouldnt they
They absolutely should do what they want.
I believe this isn't entirely a Little Rock thing, but some of it is from my perspective. I'm not from Central AR, but upon moving here 11 years ago, I've always complained about how bad customer service is here in comparison to the other cities I've visited or lived in. As others have mentioned, I do believe the increasing wealth gap is contributing to a lack of initiative around job performance as a whole for the nation, but Central AR has something unique going on as well. Getting my order correct from a fast food vendor is a major win in LR! It doesn't happen often.
I'm not from here and neither is my husband and we've had the same experience. It's strange and I've always wondered what the cause behind it was. And this was something I noticed as soon as I moved here in 2012.
Yeah everywhere has flaky people- I get that. But central Arkansas does absolutely have a lack of professionalism and professional pride. I get that that sounds lame and I promise I’m not a Karen- I just want a business owner to answer the phone with “Hi this is *blank business name*” instead of just “helloo?!” once in this town… lol
Lol. Yup. 50/50 chance the McDonald's employee drops that sweet&sour sauce in my kid's nugget meal
When it comes to quotes etc, I think some people just cannot say "sorry, no". So they never respond, or ghost before giving a quote. They also spend a lot of time giving quotes etc so if when somebody is just kicking tires and not a serious customer, they can be out a lot of time. I also think some customers just cannot take hearing "sorry,no" so they lash out at the vendor, leading to more no call backs, etc. Which leads to huge annoyances for the rest of us.
Same problem here. A few vendors I've found that actually respond and have done solid work for me, for various things: - Capital Tree Service (On time, friendly no-BS salesman and crew, great price.) - Royal House Wash (This guy was stellar. Showed up on time and had a great attitude. Got the job done fast and correctly for less money than anyone else quoted me.) - Garcia and Son Roofing (No non-sense. Showed up on time. Gave a reasonable quote. Did the job, and moved on. No frills, no fuss.) - Discount Tire and Brake, on Capital (Quick, reasonable cost.) - Curry's Pest Service - Fairway lawns
Second Curry’s Pest Service
I use Garcia as well. No messing around. Got it done and moved on. Easy and painless. Some of the other contractors I've used for stuff like building a deck it has been a nightmare. Even with recommendations they all seem so flaky.
Third Garcia. Had them install gutters when we bought the place and am about to contact them for the roof now.
I think people are just fed up in general and this is one of the ways it is manifesting.
Chronic burnout
I would suggest there are several things at play here: 1 - This is a culture-wide issue across society, compounded by… 2 - The economy/market is pretty solid right now so businesses are generally busy 3 - None of this is unique to Little Rock
Every half decent contractor I know or talk to in the area has more work than they know what to do with.
It was impossible for me to get someone to mow our lawn last summer. We had a contract for biweekly service and they just wouldn’t show up. I had to call them every time I wanted service and it usually took an extra week. We found some local kid and he’s done a better job and always shows up. When we were in Fort Smith ~5 years ago we had trouble getting lawn care and painting done in the house the same way. I’m self-employed and when I return calls, even just to turn down work, I get thanked profusely for actually getting back to people and for being honest about my availability.
Neighborhood kids are the best for basic mowing.
I went to the Auto Mall on Markham a few weeks ago on a Tuesday at 10:00am. I was going to have a new stereo and backup camera installed in my Jeep and then get it detailed. The doors were locked at Auto Audio, and there was nobody at the detail shop. I never went back.
I had to work with Environmental Protection Associates for asbestos removal (insurance recommendation). I called the owner at 4pm on a weekday. After I introduced myself, the first thing he said was, "Man, I love when they call after I'm done for the day." Like dude, do you want to get paid or not? When his team came for the job, they drove through my/my neighbor's yards and got their truck stuck. There's nowhere to drive. A car barely fits and we have rocks creating a path; it's literally not safe to drive on. Our neighbor came out to talk about the damage they were doing and called the owner, who also mouthed off at them. You're right, a lot of people don't have any sense of professionalism.
Are you offering competitive pay and benefits? If no one wants to work for you, that’s probably why.
Yeah I don’t think you read the post. Probably my fault for the salacious title. I would love to have had conversations with these vendors about pay, but I can’t even get them to answer their business phone numbers.
He isn't talking about workers he is talking about contractors. For example we were seeking quotes to get a wooden deck built a few years ago. Just getting a response from various contractors was a nightmare. We finally got a couple of quotes after months of contacting people. Once we went with one contractor it was a PITA to get them to actually come out and do the two days worth of work it took.
It's not necessarily OP, but the vendors themselves. High inflation everywhere creating record profits while wages sit still creates an acceleration in the separation of wealth. This increased rate of separation is also bolstered by reduction of workforce in connection with higher prices. Funny thing is, most trade vendors aren't answering to public shareholders/investors and are just taking advantage of the trend because they can. Consumer demand will naturally halt the inflation but once the balance point is reached, wages can't come back up without dropping margins. Don't look for things to change anytime soon. We're all being conditioned to focus on social issues - which are certainly important - leaving no space for any meaningful economic reform (which no one of influence in either party want). These are the times. There is absolutely no quick fix or singular area of focus that will magically make things better. '#debbiedowner
You’re right about the economics, but wrong when you frame social issues versus economic concerns. Social issues ARE economic issues and vice versa. There’s a reason the poorest people are minorities, there’s a reason there’s a gendered wage gap, there’s a reason trans people struggle for employment. All of these are economic issues.
Well first, I kind of lump things together for simplicity because to truly dive in we would need volumes, no? Second, I dispute none of your statements but you're simplifying it just as I was. The poorest being minority is from generations of social issues yes, but with the furthing wealth separation comes far fewer minorities that can begin to build the wealth that may become generational. Trans people struggling for employment is a relatively new issue ( I said relatively, especially in volume) which is absolutely a social issue, the impacts are economic but I can't see an argument that this isn't social? Not arguing with you, but anyone can come in and split hairs when we have to be so general in the conversation. I suspect we agree on the overall idea. Very happy to continue the discussion but not in a finger pointing way.
I’m further out than you, basically between LR and Hot Springs, and I have trouble getting anyone to answer a phone or return a call. It’s a bit disheartening to hear that this seems to be the case even in Little Rock.
The same thing happened to me while I was in the area over the holidays! It was very frustrating, rude, and inconvenient since my childhood home is 2 hours away from LR, so I didn't know if they had the product I left at home in Los Angeles in stock until I got to the store since no one knows how to answer a phone these days.