The Huddle - Episode 20 - Bridging the Generational Gap
This week on The Huddle Paul, Daniel, Jose (Crystal’s brothers) and Crystal (baby sister) discuss bridging the generational gap in the industry; from how to get more young installers involved and how to get older installers to mentor them.
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The HUDDLE is where the flooring industry can get together and talk about everything! Lead by Paul Stuart from Go Carerra who is joined by Daniel and Jose Gonzalez from Preferred Flooring.
this week's huddle we come at you
every Tuesday to discuss how to maintain
forward progress in your flooring career
so this week with us is uh we got the
preferred flooring folks again Crystal's
joining us Daniel Jose and Ashland's
going to come on here and discuss
um
a scholarship that we are doing for uh
the Sim program with the scic8 so
Ashland take it away
okay well if you missed it last week um
Daniel and Paul were in Florida with CJ
in the FBI fcsca
um we have now created the forward
progress scholarship which will help
send an installer to be part of the
fcica certified installation manager
program
um with the option to also be a part of
the three-day System Program
um all you have to do go ahead and just
email Ashland and go Carrera that's
Ashlynn gokaro.com or you can message us
on any of our social medias right now
for more information on how to apply
foreign
I would say
um
that the Sim program is is going to be
Hammer rated now so you'll get Hammer
rating for going through the program uh
there's more and more installers that I
think as we've looked at it
um and talked to more guys there's more
than I realized that have went through
the program already and it's a
tremendous
um
it's a tremendous training uh teaching
you a lot of the stuff we go over on
whether it's running projects uh or or
trying to manage Crews or or get work
done a lot of the best practices are
right there in that same program uh
again that's ran by the seica and the
Ford progress uh scholarship
again just to Echo what Ashland just
said
email her Ashland gocarera.com that's
a-s-h-l-y-n-n
and then
um we can get you hooked up and entered
into the to the uh uh scholarship
and uh we will be announcing I'm not
sure which uh three days to Sam we're
going to promote quite yet but that'll
come about here
um Ashlyn can let you know that so
hopefully we get plenty of applicants
because I really would like to see who's
in interested in uh learning more of the
business side and the uh maybe not so
much Technical Training but more uh
mindset and and how to go about running
winning projects
oh that was loud my bad what's that
was loud hey you push the button over
here they mean interrupt gotcha so this
week our discussion is uh the
generational yeah Bridging the
generational Gap so as many people on
this call know
um and a lot of the flooring companies
can attest is the average age of the
installer is somewhere between that 53
to 58 depending on the region
there's been a lot of discussion about
and and Jose can talk about it too uh at
our fcica uh convention there was that
was like probably the most talked about
topic was the new generation and the old
generation and how to get those two to
come together and transfer of Knowledge
from the older guys to older men and
women that are in the trade into the
younger men and women that are joining
the trade now
um there was a lot of quick to uh say
well the younger Generations lazy and
doesn't want to work I think we heard
that a little bit uh I I don't know that
you know we pushed back yeah I know Jose
pushed back on that thought process and
that um I'm you know my my opinion is
the older guys need to really stand
stand up and Mentor the younger
generation like just take the burden on
yourself that it is our duty uh as you
know experienced installers to pass that
that knowledge on uh so when you're
dealing with a helper or something look
look at you less as just an employee
uh employer Arrangement and maybe look
at it as a mentor mentee Arrangement as
well
um but anyway I know that came up a lot
what's your thoughts of the of how that
was uh discussed during the convention
well because I think I think the the
thought process no matter where you're
at is always the same you know you
the younger generation is lazy uh the
older generation is aging out it's too
late for me to teach somebody
um you know and
it's not perspective if you're going to
believe that they're lazy then then
you're going to believe you're not going
to let it go but if you're if you're
saying that but not offering an
opportunity and not devoting some time
to
for someone who falls under that
category then you're not really
getting your hands dirty uh so to speak
you have to give someone an opportunity
to fail before you already labeled them
uh lazy or or a failure at what you're
trying to teach
um well I think you pointed out
something that's important that that
when I bring it up and that is
they're they operate differently yeah it
doesn't mean lazy they're they're trying
to find more efficient ways to do things
and that's not so far from what you know
like some of the tool manufacturers are
doing they're trying to make tools that
make it easier on your body we got to
sit through several demonstrations of
awesome tools that keep you off your
knees like
that's all beneficial right it's it's
it's not you brought that point up but I
wanted to remind you about that that you
you said you know they're different
they're they just up they they approach
things differently that doesn't mean
they're lazy though yeah they've already
they've already um
they grew up in a different time right
they have a lot of information at their
fingertips and when you
when you are teaching uh someone who
who's part of the younger generation
they don't just take what you said and
go back and just Ponder on that right
they take what you said go back and find
many other variations of your thought
process and then they YouTube it they
come back they come back to the table
with a hybrid version of what they feel
the direction of that should go and just
because
just because we went through uh from
point A to point B
walking through the snow with one socket
no shoes doesn't mean that they're going
to want to do that same process right
they're going to say hey
I was getting a vehicle let's go and and
try to expedite this let's let's try to
make it easier on everybody involved
um they're gonna help uh refine the
training process well there's been you
know people that have come through here
and then that's what they do they
research stuff and go on YouTube and
then they'll come back and be like hey
check this out and sometimes it's like I
never knew about that let's look into
this and you can't be closed-minded you
have to take that information and and
expand on it
yeah do you think do you do you know
another thing that came up was that
um
not that not just that the younger
generation was necessarily lazy
um but also that they seem to not uh
want to
it's not that they're lazy it's just
they're not as money driven do you
remember that when they kept saying that
it's not they're not as money driven so
they're would you see that as true and
Crystal you're in the room here thanks
for joining us today do you do you do
you guys
see that as true do you see that the
younger generation is not as Money
Motivated and more experienced as far as
like they want their work life to have
to be rewarding in some way and but not
totally consume their life
so I don't mean to interrupting your
thought process so so my my opinion on
you know a lot of the younger generation
grew up where their parents have devoted
a lot of time to their craft and to
their business or to work where there
was not a lot of uh not of not a lot of
family time per se right
so in order to break that cycle the
thought process has to change and when
the thought process changed the systems
change and that's what they're doing is
they're approaching it a little bit
different
yeah they want to go out and be
successful and have a good career a good
paying job but if they're going to find
balance of work and home life work and
family they're going to find balance
more than
more than the older generators the other
generation is I got to provide so work
is important so they can live a better
life well you know what you did a good
job they are they did live a better life
but now they understand that they missed
a lot of family time and they're trying
to close that Gap so I think a lot of it
like um
looking at
my nephews and stuff that are
you know they're you know in their
younger 20s and seeing how and my nieces
too like they jump from job to job and
you want to say that they're not Money
Motivated but if you look at the the
younger people they'll jump from one job
to another
for a quarter an hour
and it's like we were offering you not
not us but you know one company was
offering them so much but then they jump
over here just because that quarter an
hour but they're a lot of the that
that's just one one aspect of it but a
lot of the younger people that that I
talk to and I think they're looking more
for the benefits package you know what
is what they want that Health Care they
want to know that they're going to be
covered in retirement they're looking
out you know because they're they're
looking at their parents right now or
their grandparents and they're like
they're retiring with nothing like I
don't want to be that person that has to
work in order to make it through
retirement
well a cool metric outside flooring is
that
the US has the youngest investor
population in its history meaning our
population is investing earlier younger
than ever
uh which would you know kind of go to
your point Daniel that you know they
care about their future
um I don't know so a where's the rubber
meet the road how do we Bridge uh the
generational Gap what is the what what's
our best advice to give to the audience
on how to approach younger because I
think part of this is
you can't just throw your hands up say
they don't want to learn or they're lazy
or whatever like it's it's in our
approach the older folks
um you know
it's I think it's on our shoulders to
approach the younger generation in a way
that they understand
so that that's part of it what's your
guys's thoughts on that like how do we
actually Bridge it we got to start
listening to what the younger generation
is saying the the women in flooring at
convention at CFI convention actually
opened my eyes up to them probably them
too it's all when you know Jeff was just
sitting off to the side and
and at the end you know he came in and
said that everything that we were saying
is all based on assumption you I assume
this so that's where this thought
process is and they assume this so it's
it's open communication between everyone
and knowing that one you got to take the
younger generation's perspective into
account and two you got to realize that
you're not always right we say all the
time that you know just because I've
I've been doing this for 40 years well
you've been doing it wrong for 40 years
I don't necessarily mean that you know
everyone's thought process process has
been wrong but you have to evolve your
thought process in order to know that
you know things are changing let's start
changing with the times
just because you've done this for 30
years doesn't mean it's right right now
it's it's about time to start changing
and we got you know John steyer right
here he says that the younger generation
is they work to Live While you know
their moms and dads live to work and I
see that a lot because you talk more
like that you know in some of these
groups they're like oh you only work 45
hours I remember my first part-time job
you know yeah we can go back to that and
it's like people say that that is how it
was like even when I came into the
trades it was like if you weren't
working 60 hours a week there was
something wrong with you and now it's
like
people want to put in their 40 hours and
they want to be able to walk away and be
like all right I put in my 40 hours let
me go and and do what I want to do and
people right now you know they got
Hobbies our guys that blows glass he
doesn't want to do this 60 hours a week
and then go blow glass it's like I want
to put in my time so that way I can go
do what I enjoy doing all right enjoy
it's almost like we've went back to when
yes you know back to when there was some
bounce I mean back in the 50s or so you
know you didn't work
70 80 hours back then
um and you didn't you didn't have two
family households either two family
income households either back then uh
not so much right for the most part the
van went out and earned a living and and
had some balance uh nowadays there's a
two income families which is awesome but
and almost required anymore to be honest
with you but the point is
now that you have that it's almost like
you realize that all we're doing is
working coming home and eating dinner
going to bed and repeating the process
tomorrow
and so families maybe are starting you
know younger generation realizing like
I I love that saying I've never heard
that but that is as accurate as I've
heard it spoke in so little words I did
I I do love to work in a lot of ways I
live to work and tires I'm right there
yeah
I I
um
my
experience with the younger generation
um in installing in particular has been
a little mixed
I don't see them as lazy at all what
I've experienced is
um it's like they have to earn their way
to learn meaning that the older
generation doesn't want to teach them
until they've proven themselves long
enough that they're gonna actually uh
absorb the information and put it to
good use it's almost like there's a test
uh and I've I've watched it with our own
Crews uh where you know one of our older
crew members you know won't teach a new
guy anything until he's kind of proven
himself that he's going to be there for
a bit that he's actually wants to learn
and apply that knowledge so it's like I
think the older generation in some ways
just don't want to waste their time
either and so
on that side and that's kind of what you
deal with that earlier right when I'm
saying that
um talking about my nephews and stuff
because I've talked to him I've talked
to you know my niece about it and it's
like you look at their work history and
through the court I mean their how does
our nephew's 21 lunch over right yeah 21
and then you know my niece is around the
same age
um
and it's like you look at it and it
through the work history from when they
turn 18 to 21 they can give you three
four pages of employers that they work
for and it's like as an employer you
look at that and you're like if I hire
this person what is
what is what are the chances that
they're going to stick around long
enough for me to get my return on
investment so I kind of see it from that
perspective too right well that's where
the younger generation has to give a
little bit you know we're defending them
but at the same time from an employer
standpoint and just like I said the old
dude standpoint or old you know older
installer standpoint
if you're if you're a job Hopper like
how do we get back to some some
long-term consistency because I do know
that the stats show that younger people
have more jobs I've had four jobs my
entire life I'm 46 years old uh you know
I know people who are 22 and have had 20
jobs or 10 jobs or whatever they've had
four jobs in the last month yeah thing
when I when I got into the flooring
industry and I was hired part of my
conversations were oh man I've worked
I've worked here here here here here and
I was 18 years old and
um uh the gentleman I worked for a ray
it was like this is years later he's
like dude when you started working with
me and you started telling me all these
places you work and we just like because
I started chewing temporary they decided
to ask me to stick around because like I
was so nervous that you were just gonna
leave I was like it wasn't
about me leaving I I left these places
because and now we're talking about it
makes sense I left them because it
didn't fit my life it didn't fit what I
was trying to do at the time or what was
important to me at the time right
because
I worked for money back then but when I
was you know before I was 18 but at the
same time is I still wanted to play
baseball and I still had school and I
still had other things
um and some employers were not willing
to bend so to speak to to accommodate
some of that but um
I I don't think the the long list of uh
ex-employ or exemplate ex employment
places will scare me away I think that
maybe they just have a little more
experience with people
um so I kind of look at it like you know
the glass half full with that right and
it's all on perspective right John says
that um
when he graduated high school you're
lucky to get a factory job at 40 hours a
week and now factories are wanting you
to work 60 plus hours with weekends you
know mandatory
yeah he's one of the younger ones he's
what 23. 24.
um
there was another one right here earlier
uh George
Jorge yeah he said um go up a little bit
but about people training that they're
they're afraid that they're going oh
right here and go on their own operator
yeah
and really that's that's really what you
want right because if someone is
comfortable enough to go on their own
that means that you did your job while
training them sometimes sometimes people
just think that it's going to be easy
money and then they go out there and
that's a whole another issue right right
um yeah there's a couple of different
ways that happens I mean I think you
should be proud if you get somebody and
you
um
train them well enough to go out and and
start their own gig I think that should
be a source of Pride
um yes and and not looked at as bad but
there's this
epidemic of of guys or girls and more in
the guys to be honest with you that that
that work for six months under somebody
and then think they are flooring and
seller
um you know
there's that that's a problem and
obviously uh we don't do this podcast to
just promote go career but that is one
of the things go career prevents is if
you've only got six months experience
and maybe a training or two you're just
not going to have that higher Hammer
rating and not qualify for that much
work because reality is different than
that there's a few unicorns out there
that can
you know picked this thing up in a year
or something but
there's there's there's so much to uh
being a flooring installer so many to to
really be effective that you know six
months or a year is a tall order
um but at the end of the day I I think
that
if we're able to from what even what uh
Jorge said
understand that what giving because I've
heard this argument you know they're
going to take my job or it's going to be
more competition or that well if you
train them correctly and you teach them
the business side too on how to give you
know price yourself
correctly in the market you're creating
good competition you're not creating bad
competition you're not creating you know
hacks and you don't creating a
partnership anyway it's not even
necessarily competition you could be
creating a partnership if that person is
is trustworthy and the workmanship is
great you're creating someone else who
can essentially help you with your
business as well
yeah
yeah I don't know there's not a silver
bullet to this question or this this um
this problem really but the discussion
and I don't know is there a
you know convention and the the the
shows is when this gets talked about a
lot in bigger group settings but
fcef CFI
NTC all the different organizations you
know I think they struggle with this
same problem I mean they talk about it
so is there it would be interesting to
really understand is there steps that
can be taken like
prescribe steps like
to to solve in the problem or is it just
like we have to take these ideals that
we're talking about and then do the best
we can and that's where it's been that's
where it stood but it'd be interesting
if we could say you know
new guy
just out of the gate realize they want
to have a life that's first off they
they're they're not you
they're they didn't live your life they
lived a different life
realize they want to have one
so then you train around that and be
okay with somebody working 40 hours and
maybe one of the things is dropping that
that uh negative uh viewpoint on 40
hours is somehow not a full week that's
a full week's work you know
still lost still
drive time everything else involved in
there too right I mean 40 Hour Work Week
local within a half hour drive you're
still devoting 10 to 12 hours to your
your work
yeah
I think that uh
a lot of the younger generation right
now is looking for a comfortable
workplace somewhere where they're
feelings are considered just as much as
you know them wanting to enjoy life like
if someone comes and they're in a
hostile work environment they're not
going to want to stay there uh the
younger generation is a lot more
sensitive I guess is that is that the
right word they're just not willing to
put up with what we did they can't they
they have the benefit of picking and
choosing their their jobs because our
parents worked so hard so if they go to
a job and they're being yelled at or
belittled or they're just you know
certain Vibes if you will that they
don't agree with then they're just
essentially like I don't have to put up
with this I can go work over here like
tomorrow and that's that's what I've
realized like leading some of these some
of the newer guys on our crew like I
really have to approach every individual
a little bit different you lead everyone
a little bit differently you know some
you could pick on a little bit more but
some you really have to
watch the your words and because you
don't want to offend people because
everyone's personality is different
everyone might you might be joking but
they might not know that you're joking
so just taking their feelings into
consideration and kind of
um leading based on their personality
getting to know people and that's kind
of what you know we touched on earlier
it's not
it's the I've always done this or this
is how I was brought brought in the
trade so this is how you're going to be
brought in the trade and that's what
we're trying to break right now right
and you know Eduardo said you know he
said the last guy that I worked for I
walked like I'm not gonna put up with
this you know and and that's that's the
gravity of the situation right now is
they do not have to put up with it and
what what is gonna happen is that you
know the more especially with technology
everyone is talking and it's like yeah
dude I didn't put up with that and I
just walked well that's what I'm gonna
do tomorrow well here we are with the
Clash of I of these ideals you know from
the two generations you know the the
older generation thinks that the younger
generation should be tougher scanned and
just
kind of deal with it the way that they
did
because I think I know I've had bad jobs
you know you guys have probably had some
crappy crappy jobs
um
we just dealt with it you know what I
mean and they they're not willing to
deal with that uh that conflict
the older generation feels like they
ought to just have thicker skin
and but there has to be some give
somewhere we're going to have this
problem and we're not going to even come
close to solving some of these issues
without those coming those two ideas
softening a little bit like
not being so sensitive but also being
more sensitive but both sides almost
seem like they have to move a little bit
I don't know how to make that happen
yeah I gotta find that dance right dance
right it's got a balance because if
you're not willing to look at their
point of view they're not going to be
willing to look at yours right so it's
it's that give and take and and you
gotta find that balance
um even like Tim asks right here he says
what is there to entice the younger
generation and then he follows that up
with you know you look at
what would make someone want to come to
this trade from being a plumber or an
electrician like what are we offering
that other people aren't and I think at
this point in time there really isn't
anything that the flooring industry is
offering that that you know other people
aren't we're actually probably far
behind what other people are offering
because you're looking at you know
electricians and even around here we
have
you know
electrical companies that have huge
workforces and it's like
you look at that and it's like people
want to go work there but then when you
look at the flooring industry it's
always I Want To Be My Own Boss I want
I want to
have my own work I don't want to work
for someone and it the stigma just
shouldn't be there because there's
companies out there that
that can put you in a better spot than
you know going out there on your own and
struggling for those couple years
um even if it's just a stepping stone
there's I know plenty of electricians
that have gone through some of these
companies and they do their own thing
now but it but it's going through them
and getting that necessary education in
order to get to that level what's that
education
so the electricians and the plumbers
that and and people who are the Steel
Erectors
um they're all subject to inspections
right they have to have an inspection
their workmanship has to be to a
specific level and standard for the job
to proceed to carry on
we don't get our stuff looked at unless
it fails
they appreciate yeah so so government
category government jobs uh we had this
discussion in our office last week or
the week before about
um
some of our government projects
you get each
um
sorry I had a chat come up uh you get
each step of the way
gets inspected so we are doing ceramic
tile and the prep got inspected prior to
the waterproofing and when the
waterproofing was done we had to call
the Corps of Engineers guy in to inspect
the waterproofing and then it was the
next step in the next step that would be
awesome if that happened it would
prevent a lot of failures but it just
isn't part of the trade I think that
your point to the electricians and the
the plumbers and things like that
from a trade perspective they they get
better press than we do for sure I mean
if you're scrolling through your feed
and you see something about you know
joining trade it's usually electrician
or plumber
you know electricians are like
um
they're not my favorite people on job
sites but the
um they certainly have the best press
you know what I mean uh
our industry being so independent and
installers wanting to become
subcontractors uh and and work on their
own and do their own work
that is a that's that's tough if you
work for a company and we we have hourly
Anne Subs uh and many of our subs were
hourly at some point
um
so I think that there's there's a prog a
progression that you could go through uh
to becoming Your Own Boss but there's
such a low barrier of Entry to to jump
into flooring that
guys do try to do it like
six months after they've started with
somebody and they don't don't have any
previous experience and so
I think there's a dance there as well
but I think if
in my opinion
if the older generation will embrace the
younger generation and I know we're
we're a one of a million podcasts out
there so whoever's listening
um embrace the younger generation and
understand that you're Pro you're
providing for them a long life of of
earning if you can truly teach them how
to do fluorine
Eduardo what the the Q a that jumped up
is uh you know you achieving dreams is
possible through the flooring industry
well it is I mean you can make a lot of
money especially as a sub but only if
you're properly trained I mean a few
failures and you're out of business if
you're not if you're not doing it right
you know right I mean so look at us just
last week we were in Georgia for the
nfic certification right and
um a lot of that carpet I've never
even laid hands on until we got there
and did I I went there for the
certification right but I I went there
with um
to learn about the product in case it
ever comes up not because that's what
I'm gonna go out looking for I just want
to know enough about something that if
it pops up
even if I'm not the one doing it I can
know something about it and I know
something is off right away
yeah
and it's it's that getting getting
educated like that
well what's the what's the
best way I I know that as we've talked
before in uh previous huddles
um
you know the ftef and in TCA all the
organizations are kind of working on in
the wfca
um working on attracting new
um younger installers it seems like
that's working a bit but
from an overall standpoint
um it'd be interesting to know
their
um
how many of those guys that they've ran
through their 10-week course got a job
and are staying what's the staying power
what's the
um you know how long is that acquisition
staying with the the trade
is the training working possibly but is
is are we resonating as an industry are
we resonating with the younger crowd
that that's that's a good question for
them I think it's still too early to
know right because it's this is just
popping off in the last couple years so
that data has to start filtering through
and that you know and it's not we don't
need to know just that we need to know
like who are they being placed with or
be they be in place with someone that's
going to pay them right
treat them right obviously treatment's a
big part of this
and uh you know just just in our
business it's been an evolution right
we've
and and I've said this before it's when
we started saying that
in when we stopped saying I can't afford
this and started saying we can't afford
not to do it is when you know that
progression started coming along and
it's
people need to start thinking like that
you know I can't afford to pay my taxes
well at some point you're going to get
hit and you're going to be like man I
can't afford not to right yeah I
shouldn't that was a mistake and you
know I can't afford to pay my employees
right well the
the classification of workers right now
that's going on everywhere and it's a
lot of it is due to you know Uber and
doordash and stuff but it's
that's legit man it's gonna come back to
bite us at some point and it's are you
gonna you know start researching and
getting on the right path now or are you
gonna wait until it's too late
um a lot of the
the younger people want to see that
that income coming legit because once
they get that 10.99 and they go to file
their tax and they're like wait I owe
money yeah what's this about I thought I
got refunds at the end of the year okay
besides besides the Young Generation who
are trying to avoid paying some kind of
outstanding debt that that they've
acquired uh I don't know too many that
are real interested in worrying about
their taxes at the turn of the year or
every quarter you know they
just the ones who are trying to avoid
you know getting garnishments and stuff
like that and you know I know some of it
is
they've just
trying to put on the back burner so they
catch up some of this they're trying to
avoid it period but
not very many young people are coming up
like hey is there a way for me to just
pay my taxes in you know about every
quarter one lump sum that's what I want
to do you know yeah you kind of
no one jumps into it because they want
to they jump into it because they feel
like that's a start it's the beginning
or out of necessity
yeah the tax thing is we beat on it all
the time because so doggone important if
you're going to be an independent
pay in quarterly talk to an accountant
pay in quarterly income taxes estimates
and then you might get a refund at the
end of the year you might not but at
least you're not going to have a huge
tax bill at the end of the year uh
managing the money from a business
standpoint
the the business piece of this uh for
Subs is
it's one of the most important parts
because you can have a great installer
that really gets himself uh you know in
a pickle that ends up you know there was
a time there when sub was about the
it was the
it's still the majority of the work but
I mean it seemed like you couldn't hire
an hourly if you wanted to uh and then
it turned and it was a lot of guys who
got behind on taxes and just needed to
get the IRS off their back so they get a
W-2 and then they they get garnished and
that's a better scenario than their
house getting taken and everything else
that could happen so they get a job they
get a W-2 The Government Can garnish
them and they're they're hap that's a
happier existence we've had several guys
come in because of that over over the
years but just don't get yourself in
that scenario pay your taxes on a
quarterly basis I know it sucks but at
the end of the day it's a much better
existence than getting some huge tax
bill at the end of the year and these
are things that the younger generation
may not even like I'm talking about just
getting them into the trade I would love
for him to go to work for a company for
a preferred or Steward Associates or
someone who hires by the hour for
several years before they go out and
start their own gig but and this kind of
ties back into you know one of the the
previous podcasts when we were talking
about
um our body being our most important
tool and how we have to take care of it
because
for the longest time I didn't have
health insurance and that made me not go
to the doctor at all
and it's like
just for you know simple stuff look at
take you know your shoulder right
his shoulder was is messed up and we
didn't have a health insurance so here
of course I'm not going to deal with the
doctor like uh it'll probably be better
next week
these younger kids you know
when they come into work somewhere and
they have that accessible and you tell
them yeah go to the doctor go to the
dentist you know take care of your body
that's not
what we were brought up like it's beat
yourself up as much as you can and if
you go see a doctor well
you're a little B that's that's all it
came down to and it's like no that's
that that's where you get these younger
people and they they look at things from
a different perspective and doing things
differently so that way they don't have
to work as hard because
honestly I tell the guys like
I'm 35 my hips and my knees are
basically done
well there's a dichotomy of it too right
you're like we're we're short
in dollars in our industry so guys are
working long hours and harder than
I mean I've got guys that
like have been ran pretty hard over the
summer
um you know it's it's tough because you
got the work that has to get done you
got the crews that can do it but it
requires a lot more time
um
we need to make flooring a living wage
at 40 hours I think is one of the
answers like make it a living wage at 40
hours
and when I say living I mean if we're
going to compete
in the end in the construction industry
we a living wage isn't
making it you know just getting by it's
it's being able to afford a lifestyle
and somehow that has to happen within 40
hours right and a lot of that has to do
with
um
going back to the business side of
things people think that oh I'm just
going to do this repair is going to take
me 15 minutes I'll just charge them 15
minutes worth of work but it's it's more
involved than that it's your fuel it's
the you know the the wear and tear on
the vehicle it's your body it's your
insurance like all this gets wrapped up
into that package of the 15 minutes and
what the repair that takes you
45 minutes to drive to 15 minutes to do
45 minutes to drive back and that's
that's not including loading up the
tools that you need in the morning
making sure you have everything it's all
this gets wrapped up into it so you know
you're looking all in at least four
hours and you have to hit a minimum day
charge because at that four hours
is it really four hours if you don't
have anything to do after that because
you scheduled it yeah that's just lost
time at that point
so
um in order to have the younger people
come in and
be sustainable you have to know how to
run things like that because if you're
going to hire someone to go do that and
it's like yeah it only took you 15
minutes but
younger people yeah I know that I'm not
gonna go do this for 15 minutes right
you have to be able to to make sure that
that they're covered for that day as
well
yeah and the the
I mean you can do the best you can as a
shop but you know our industry also has
a vast uh amount of installers that work
you know directly with Builders and such
and
you know good business practices is a
whole nother
podcast and we've had a couple we'll
keep having them because to me it's it's
you know I think to all of us it's
important that they understand the
business side of this if you're going to
be a sub but bringing in and Bridging
the generational gap between installers
to me
uh really equates from this conversation
experience is important to the
the younger generation
take into account the way that you come
across as an older person to that
younger generation because their
feelings
like it or hate it that I think
sensitive is the right word crystal it's
like a bit more sensitive a bit more in
touch with their feelings and a bit more
in touch with the fact that like if
their experience sucks at work they
don't want to spend eight hours doing it
or ten hours for that matter so the
experience of working has to be somewhat
you know pleasurable or else we're not
going to attract them and fluorine's a
tough business uh you know it can be
tough on your body but there's also some
really cool stuff uh you know staying in
tune and I know I preach about the
conventions and the shows but you get to
go see some I got to see tools I've
never seen I've been doing this my whole
life and I got to see tools I've never
seen because they're constantly coming
out with new stuff that will save your
body uh Jose and I've seen a few of them
that they will save your body they will
save you time they will save the time on
the floor so that's getting involved
that requires some effort on
um
that requires some effort on the uh new
installers shoulders to you know take
that step too though
it'll make their work look a lot better
too and put them on a whole nother
platform as well which brings more value
to them long term yeah even if you're by
the hour if you're if you're versed on
the like if one of my guys came up to me
and said hey I've seen this awesome tool
that I was watching this this video
online with wolf and they showed this
tool can we get it that would be
encouraging to me
yeah
you know awesome tools because of people
coming in like that like hey you gotta
check this out
let me check it out yeah
[Music]
first place I've ever seen it was at a
Convention as a matter of fact I had it
before it hit the market and
you know we were we were doing our own
custom uh transitions nosings reducers
uh for with Ali and sitting there
peeling my hand and this guy says look
at this peel the whole plank full print
everything in like two minutes and I was
like
what yeah
well I I think I got mentioned on here
uh before and it may have been you
Daniel talked about crab stretcher that
was like a
you know a carpet crab stretcher was
that was
mind-blowingly uh awesome to me when I
first seen it
and we just on two sides of a scene
kicking it together and putting stay
Nails in trying to you know get bow and
skew out and stuff well I'm not
mind-blowing the crab structure was and
I don't know I just I don't know if
he'll remember but what was the name of
the job the first job we did using the
craft store shirt
the only reason we bought it you don't
remember Bible's for Mexico
I'll remember is on the Lake Shore and
we bought the crab stretcher for it
because we had some very long seams and
I was not looking forward to me banging
that to get a little half inch pattern
so I'll never forget the job I'll never
forget where
I was just like I was happy we bought a
new tool hey yeah well there
there there's the other thing is
with the new tools
um I I know the tool manufacturers do a
pretty good job of like getting their
stuff out there but I think a lot of
that uh could reside with the the
younger generation as well is the fact
that not all this stuff is the way we
used to do it I mean my Kicker was 10
times better than the guy I learned from
who actually had an old kicker with a
cotton butt you know I mean it was
wrapped in leather and it was a cotton
butt and uh you know mine was a Cadillac
compared to that so I mean the tools are
getting better for us our bodies don't
have to take the damage if you're
interested in the flooring trade Reach
Out
to to me Paul at go Carrera Daniel and
uh Jose even Crystal I bet has a uh uh
preferred flooring Michigan what's your
guys's uh email it's Daniel
where am I you can do pfmi dot team
remember I I said we shortened it up he
was like that's preferred flooring Mi is
too long so my pinkies don't work
so I mean reach out
um we can get you connected to some
awesome training
truth is is that the industry is getting
better it is a good industry the one
thing that I think we do have is a good
Community people that want to solve some
of the problems we're just trying to
figure everything out
um it's kind of I've said it before I
think we're the biggest smallest Big
Industry there is you know it's like you
have access to a lot of people in this
industry that you know you go to a
convention you can literally sit there
and talk to the CEO of a multi-billion
dollar manufacturer so you know
kind of getting involved is important or
at least
go get a job with a company that's
involved if you're just an installer
that and you're looking for an hourly
gig or something go with account at
least get with a company that's involved
in this stuff you be encouraged if you
see your your president or your your
your install manager or something going
to these conventions because that's
where we learn about the new tools about
the new processes awesome new ways of
doing things I learned something at
fciaca this last week that I'm we're
going to be implementing we're we're
going to integrate even further than we
are now at the flooring company so
um you know there's always something to
learn
um I think if we all keep our our
learning hats on and
um
you know kind of address what the uh
younger generation is looking for I just
got a chat says entry level uh should
come with health insurance well at a
company you know at my flooring company
you have your health insurance paid for
so a lot of companies will you know you
you have the access but if you're going
to be a sub now you have to start out
looking at group policies and stuff like
that and I know the ntca
um and some of the other organizations
have group rates for health insurance so
as a sub if you want to look into that
uh reach out we can we can get you
connected but there are group kind of
health insurance for a sub if you want
but at the end of the day if you want
your health insurance provided you're
going to have to go to work by the hour
for a company and that's okay
yeah and you know that if you are a
company like you know we are
know that the benefits that you can
offer do go a long way with uh the new
hires at
that are coming in
um and it's not just health insurance or
the retirement you have to look at
packages like through the the chamber we
get 20 off of one of the local colleges
and we get discounts at
um certain you know office supply stores
and other things that can can benefit
the employees that are coming in it's
not just what you're you're offering
it's I mean it kind of is what you're
offering right but it's the entire
package deal it's not just
this is what we're offering because
health insurance and stuff like that
it's expand on everything that from
every organization that you're involved
in because all that can entice one
person to come on board
yeah you got to get pretty comprehensive
with it for sure
um I don't know that we solved any
problems it's always a good discussion
to try to understand and get get a you
know conversation going about
um this topic in particular because I
think that
you well it's it's clear from every
report you get from the industry that
we're aging out and not replacing fast
enough so this conversation has to
continue
um and you know leaders in this this
industry have to kind of open arms and
and and lock hands with the others and
and try to help solve the problem so
continue to do it I know you guys will
and I I hope that uh we can make an
impact here right and that whole um from
the CFI convention the women in flooring
Roundtable that they did when the
younger ladies that were in there did
speak out about how they felt about
everything is actually on our YouTube if
you wanted to go over there and watch
that entire thing it's
it's nice to see how there's you know
the older generation and then at the
very end the younger generation kind of
spoke up and and pretty much let us know
exactly if you let us know how she felt
and it was yeah
okay yeah and the they that particular
meeting really echoed a lot of what we
talked about the experience uh you know
having a work experience that's Pleasant
you know the fact that
um you know
the sexism in construction in general uh
and how they've made it through that
some of the uh
more experienced installers in that room
spoke about that and I I'm sure it's
still around but I I think that we're
getting better as a society on those I
on those matters and uh you know
hopefully you know anybody who wants to
be in flooring is welcome in my opinion
and we'd love to have all of you so uh
if you're interested in flooring there
are a lot of programs out there that you
can get tied into you can always shoot
an email to support gocarera.com if you
have questions about that how to get
involved uh when conventions are or when
shows are we can share any of that
information with you and we also have a
you know a page dedicated to training
and where they're at and everything like
that on our website at gocarera.com uh
you can reach out to Daniel Jose and
them over preferred flooring I guarantee
you they can get you hooked into some
awesome trainings if you're if you're
looking to get involved in this industry
so and uh so with that guys uh we've
reached our time limit and uh I want to
appreciate
I want to tell you I appreciate the the
input I know it's like you know a lot of
these you want to get to some resolution
we can't get to resolution on this
matter we can just have discussions and
hope that people here people make this
is something that the conversation is
going to have to keep on going on
because it's going to be constantly
evolving anyways because as soon as as
soon as we get that
this generation that we're dealing with
right now as soon as we're like all
right we understand them that's when the
next one's coming in yeah yeah
so you got to be pliable
got to all right guys so much Crystal
what's up don't forget about the the
scholarship
yes uh just to mention that again thank
you Daniel as uh The Sims scholarship
with the fcica again email support to go
Carrera or Ashland go Carrera
um and uh enter to uh win that
scholarship again it's an awesome
training and I think you'll hear a lot
of the stuff that we've talked about uh
echoed in that training but with you
know deeper knowledge and deeper
training into it so
um anybody
when we figure out which one we're gonna
kind of push for this maybe we got to
make it so me and you were there so that
way they're not there by themselves yeah
that'd be awesome
yeah Stockton's the next one I just
don't know if they are going to be able
to have room at that one so I believe
we're gonna have to go with the one
after that and I don't know that that's
been set yet so that's why we're not
quite sure
um of which one were I believe it's the
next one after Stockton but I just don't
have the dates and the time and the the
location but yeah that would be that's a
great idea let's go to that one and
whoever wins can hang out with Daniel
and I and and maybe Crystal will be
there if we can't be there you know yeah
so that way someone will be there right
yeah that'd be awesome
thanks a lot I appreciate you and uh we
will be uh seeing you guys next week and
uh have a pleasant week everyone thanks
you too see ya thanks bye
thank you