Oh crap not AGAIN!!!!!!

[Meadowbrook]

Ok, once again I am faced with the dilemma. Whether or not to eventually hire hispanic workers. Shouldn't be a big deal but yet again it has come to my attention. My neighbor and I gripe at each other about this on a monthly (?) basis. Well not really gripe, more like discuss. But at any rate, I always said that I WILL NOT have a worker on any of my jobs that cannot speak fluant English, which eliminates 90% +/- of the H2B workers in the country. He (neighbor) keeps saying that they are the only way to grow the business. In my opinion, they are the only way to cut corners. Granted there are plenty of white workers out there who are lazy slobs who only care about how much they make, but there are also ones who care about the jobs as much as I do. You just have to find them. Plus the work that I've got right now and in the near future is all one-on-one oriented. Such as letters, doorhangers, flyers, and calling. The hangers and flyers aren't really face to face, but I've had people come up and ask me questions numerous times and if a non-English speaking person is passing the stuff out they aren't going to have any idea what the potential customer said. Is the only way for me to go and hire Caucasian's for my personalized stuff and Mexicans for my grunt work? Seems kinda wrong, because nobody really is gonna care about the equip. that their running, but if you tell a white guy that if him or his crew breaks something they're not getting paid extra and they have to play mechanic on top of being laborers. Please let me know what you think, ultimately it is my decision and no one else's and if my neighbor can't understand, he can pound sand, but should I finally compromise my interests? Or should I stick to my original intentions and probably not make it big? One other thing I must throw in, all the companies around me are using Mexicans, and their work shows it, BUT, their still getting work, doesn't anybody give a damn about quality anymore?!? Sorry, but that irks me, builders are very cheap, and the landscape co's that have been around for 50+ years are getting their work obviously not because they do good jobs, far from it. I had talked to my LESCO rep a couple months ago and he said that contractors come in and will buy a 50-50 perrenial/annual ryegrass mix for say $50, but then buy 10 more bags of annual to dilute the original bag down, just to save on costs and pay a Mexican $3 an hour to go out with a rake and shovel and bust his ass all day long so that SOMEBODY saves money. When is this crap gonna stop? If ever? OK, I'm pissed now....can't ya'll tell? I'm gonna stop hopefully somebody out there has some sort of an idea as to what I'm saying. Well, gonna go look at the calendar girls to calm my nerves......awaiting any response. Thanks

Chris

[sheshovel]

gee Chris hire some Mexicans and teach them
English .

[kc2006]

Around here people are starting to wize up and want quality. I think the past 4-5 years has been the big hit of unlegit companies around here so people are starting to want more...and are actually willing to pay for it. With that said, mexicans don't fly around here on a one on one basis. People in general are getting annoyed about talking to an arab or someone of another nationality that can barely speak english when they call places. So to put a mexican on their property and try to speak to them wouldn't be a big hit here. Heck I got a call the other day and couldn't understand the guy then when he butchered my name up I freaked out and demanded to talk to someone that could speak english.

My experience, you get what you pay for. Rod from the site here pays his workers good money, and he probably has very good workers. Guys around here pay us honkies $6 an hour to bust butt and then expect a college grad to be doing the work.

Americans are lazy by trait. You pay them good and they'll be good, especially in a hurting economy.

[Ol'time Lawncare]

Please don't give them work! please find some helpers around the corner from you.You will find helpers , you just have to look harder!!!

[Jdmtnbikr]

Ahhh yes, bash on the "mexicans" to make up for short-comings in your own businesses. Good strategy. :confused:

[mikefromny]

mexicans !!! i see your from cali the capital of mexico hehe , hard workers, can pay cheap and thats it , how about your learn spanish! or get a foreman that knows spanish fluently . mexicans are great assets

[YardPro]

it's spelled fluent.....lol so you want them to speak your language when you can't spell it???? LOL joking......my spelling is terrible too..


i can understand your problem.... I speak spanish very well (many years of private shcool where the teach it from kindergarden up) and for years would not hire hispanics.. onoy americans.. but two years ago i gave up.... i now have many hispanics... your analogy of the company using them for $3/hr is stretching it a bit....

we pay them the same as we pay american kids...

just hired a white american guy.. 28 years old...
tells me he was a foreman for a big company in florida who competes with brickman etc....said his job responsibilities were doing all the estimates. overseeing install work, etc.....

had him at a yard we are cleaning up and resodding where a new septic tank was installed...
gave him the measuring wheel and asked him to measure it off so i could get the sod ordered.. the area is almost a plain rectangle.. very easy to measure ...

he didn't know what to do... didn't even know what to measure, didn't know how to multiply LXW, nothing........
get white kids like this all the time.. full of bs and wanting tons of money.....

most hispanics i get now are honest hard working guys..and i know what to expect from them...

[Jdmtnbikr]

mexicans !!! i see your from cali the capital of mexico hehe , hard workers, can pay cheap and thats it , how about your learn spanish! or get a foreman that knows spanish fluently . mexicans are great assets


Agreed. Totally different worlds I guess. If KC came to Cali talking about "mexicans" "arabs" and "honkeys" I am sure his business would thrive :) No wonder Bush won.

[CLARK LAWN]

Agreed. Totally different worlds I guess. If KC came to Cali talking about "mexicans" "arabs" and "honkeys" I am sure his business would thrive :) No wonder Bush won.
thats it feed the mexicans and when your kids go on welfare because everything in this country is gone you can tell them how the mexicans were such great assets.

[cleancutccl]

I don't expect my kids to be competing for the same job as illegal immigrants are getting, I feel sorry for you if that's all the expectations you have for your children. If mexicans start taking all the good jobs it is because they are becoming citizens and getting educations, not because they are getting paid to flip burgers or mow lawns.

[mikefromny]

exactly! mexicans are taking over crap jobs so get a education and u dont have to worry about it

[Jdmtnbikr]

thats it feed the mexicans and when your kids go on welfare because everything in this country is gone you can tell them how the mexicans were such great assets.


Unbelievable. Take some responsibility for your own well-being. It's called thinking outside the box people, good God. If your business is worth a sh*t, you wouldn't be worried about the mexican workers.

[Hilltop grading and seedi]

I hire family. Mexicans would be a giant step up.:rolleyes:

When I started in business, I hired 2 guys that are BOTH still with me. They brought their sons in for a job. Now there are 7 of us. With the work load we have, that is enough most of the time. I'm the exception rather than the rule. I don't foresee needing any more employees in the next year or more.

But when the time comes, I have a set criteria for hiring.

U.S. Citizen, at least 10 years.

High school diploma

At least 3 personal references that I check out

Military experience a plus

With those guidelines, I must pay well enough to attract my kind of team player. It's on my back to make enough to pay them, and get enough work to KEEP them.

If you want to be picky, you have to set YOUR OWN standards high.

SO FAR. . . . this has worked for me. Let's hope it stays that way.

[dhadaway]

We made one of our mexicans our supervisor. I understand the fear of jobs going away to cheap labor, but we pay our mexican guys the same as our whiny college white/black boys. I think that if you look at the willingness to work in the two groups, the mexicans will work twice what the new generation of american young workers will do. I'm only 32 years old, and the work ethic between me and one of our 22 yr olds is like night and day. I cannot believe how guys think that if the make it to work on time for a month straight, they deserve a raise! Or when they get a raise, they come back asking for another one in three months! Our mexican guys, though we have had the occasional bad seed, are dependable, honest, family men who will work. They aren't a lower class of human, just better workers then the current crop of high school grads!

[kc2006]

Agreed. Totally different worlds I guess. If KC came to Cali talking about "mexicans" "arabs" and "honkeys" I am sure his business would thrive :) No wonder Bush won.

Just speaking the truth my friend. I see too much bullshyt putting me, A white male between age 18-35 that is catholic, at the bottom of every list because we need to make everything "equal" between races. Last time I checked equal meant for everyone not for everyone but whites.

I don't get whats so wrong about saying I want to speak with AMERICAN's when I call AN AMERICAN company. I have nothing wrong with mexican works their hardworkers. Will i have them working for me? Probably not. Will I pay honkies (after all thats what blacks refer to us as) good money and expect good results from them? Yes. Will it work? I'm sure I'll have to weed through some people but when I get the right people and pay them right...I'm sure they'll stick around.

I wish Kerry would of won so this country could be more fawked up then it already is. We know Cali is the most fawked up state in the US so now wonder my fawked up business would thrive there. I bet you drive jap cars too! :waving:

[CLARK LAWN]

Unbelievable. Take some responsibility for your own well-being. It's called thinking outside the box people, good God. If your business is worth a sh*t, you wouldn't be worried about the mexican workers.
i do take responsibility for my self everything i have i bought and paid for myself since i was 16.but what i'm saying is that were do you think the money you pay the mexicans is going sure ain't going back into our economy your just as bad as the big corp. that close up and move to mexico or india or where ever else they can get someone to work for 10 cents a day. they all complain about no employee loyalty to the company and then the next breath they want to move to mexico so they dont have to pay well whats going to happen when no one can pay you to cut their grass or trim their srubs or anything else because they lost their jobs o foreigners and dont think that is to far off . BUY AMERICAN & EMPLOY AMERICANS and if you love mexicans so much move there left in a box and sh!t in the street we wont miss you here

[Ol'time Lawncare]

No one on this forum is saying anything bad about legal Mexican workers, but if they are illegal then they should be sent back and not giving jobs , especially in the lawn business.5000 of them come here everyday , witch only a quarter go back. Mean while the ones who don't find work get welfare> WTF. i pay for that and you do to, only if your paying taxes!If any one trys and takes any of my lawns i will report them and the company they are working for.It will put those company's right out of business. thats how we all can end this nonsense!If you are one who has illegal Mexican workers working for you, when i send them back to the border ,why dont you go back with them, start a lawn business in Mexico and have them work for you over there! This is NJ, not California, we don't want this crap around here anymore!!!

[CLARK LAWN]

I don't expect my kids to be competing for the same job as illegal immigrants are getting, I feel sorry for you if that's all the expectations you have for your children. If mexicans start taking all the good jobs it is because they are becoming citizens and getting educations, not because they are getting paid to flip burgers or mow lawns.
if they have chidren here their children are american citizens so the illegals you are paying today are breeding tonight and in 9 months guess what a legal one has arrived. been to a hospital lately can't even understand half the doctors there not mexicans but pretty close

[Jdmtnbikr]

No one on this forum is saying anything bad about legal Mexican workers, but if they are illegal then they should be sent back and not giving jobs , especially in the lawn business.5000 of them come here everyday , witch only a quarter go back. Mean while the ones who don't find work get welfare> WTF. i pay for that and you do to, only if your paying taxes!If any one trys and takes any of my lawns i will report them and the company they are working for.It will put those company's right out of business. thats how we all can end this nonsense!If you are one who has illegal Mexican workers working for you, when i send them back to the border ,why dont you go back with them, start a lawn business in Mexico and have them work for you over there! This is NJ, not California, we don't want this crap around here anymore!!!


WTF?! Take a deeeep breath man. You guys are comedy on the other coast, I tell ya

Tell me, where did I say to hire illegal mexicans? I didn't. Where did I say I would rather hire a mexican then a white person? I didn't.

You guys are misunderstanding me. All I am saying is quit your bitching about mexicans "taking over the country". Concentrate on your own business, stop worrying. A client chooses to hire a "mexican" for half the rate you are charging? Oh well. Move on. Are those really the kinds of clients you would want anyway? They are obviously concerned more with $$$ than quality care.

*CUSTOMER SERVICE* Learn it people. If you take the extra effort to make your clients happy, instead of just showing up, mowing and leaving....your clients will be LOYAL. Use the English Language to your advantage, talk to your clients, see how they are doing, how the kids are doing, is there any issues they have with the work etc etc. That right there, gives you an advantage over the non-English speaking community. Think about it.

[Jdmtnbikr]

i do take responsibility for my self everything i have i bought and paid for myself since i was 16.but what i'm saying is that were do you think the money you pay the mexicans is going sure ain't going back into our economy your just as bad as the big corp. that close up and move to mexico or india or where ever else they can get someone to work for 10 cents a day. they all complain about no employee loyalty to the company and then the next breath they want to move to mexico so they dont have to pay well whats going to happen when no one can pay you to cut their grass or trim their srubs or anything else because they lost their jobs o foreigners and dont think that is to far off . BUY AMERICAN & EMPLOY AMERICANS and if you love mexicans so much move there left in a box and sh!t in the street we wont miss you here

Go back Clark my boy, and show me where I said to hire mexicans and not white people. You guys are totally misunderstanding what I am saying.

[Ol'time Lawncare]

WTF?! Take a deeeep breath man. You guys are comedy on the other coast, I tell ya

.
I didn't direct my thread towards you! Just cause i used California in a sentence,LOL it"s to who it may concern!!!

[Meadowbrook]

I can't help but feel as though my thread has started a riot. PLEASE STOP ARGUING! Plain & simple. I was looking for business advice, not to have people bash on one another. I personally have viewed my situation both ways, and can't figure out which is best---never fails, so thats why I asked for help, from you guys & girls. I did not, however, want to have everyone fighting over their beliefs, although I agree that the future of our economy lies in the hands of American workers and not 'outsourcing' so to speak, I also need to accomplish a task. Which is why I asked you-professionals. So be at least somewhat professional about it, please.

Chris

[Jdmtnbikr]

I can't help but feel as though my thread has started a riot. PLEASE STOP ARGUING! Plain & simple. I was looking for business advice, not to have people bash on one another. I personally have viewed my situation both ways, and can't figure out which is best---never fails, so thats why I asked for help, from you guys & girls. I did not, however, want to have everyone fighting over their beliefs, although I agree that the future of our economy lies in the hands of American workers and not 'outsourcing' so to speak, I also need to accomplish a task. Which is why I asked you-professionals. So be at least somewhat professional about it, please.

Chris

Sorry Chris. My apologies. Tough decision (as you can imagine). Can't really tell ya one way or the other. Just do what is best for you and your company.

Regardless of what people may perceive of me, I too think the rampant outsourcing of jobs in America sucks. That wasn't my argument.

[kc2006]

I'm sticking to what I said in the first post. Pay americans good enough and they'll work good enough. Theres alot of us that start our own business because we too were paid too little (I know I was, I was paid $9 an hour and expected to run a crew and to manage another crews route lists). Although I was an exception, I still took pride in what I did, just how I was brought up. I didn't think "this guys not paying me enough so i'll only do 60% of what I should" I did to the best of my ability.

I don't see the need to go h2b for my business, I'll stick with guys from around here and pay them a good wage. Although it would be cool to have a mexican guy for the cooking since I like mexican food :p