Delays? Riggers?
Hello,
And ouch. I recommend that you take Joe up on his offer. I'd help you myself, but we are, um, swamped right now.
Seriously, I don't know that there's anything intrinsic to the trade that inclines riggers to be slow in filling orders, but I have two only-moderately-defensive observations. One is that I often get requests for rerigs with very, very short notice. The idea seems to be that it's only rigging, so how long could it take? In the past I have gotten into some interesting jams trying to please such clients. This mistake, coupled with my own considerable talent at misunderestimating things, can be disastrous. The other excuse I might make has to do with our dependence on suppliers. If we get delays on having things shipped, or if the wrong things are shipped, we are the ones who have to tell the client that things will take a bit longer.
After much work, and thanks to our new partners, who actually have a head for business, we have addressed both problems. For scheduling, other people's notions about how long things should take are not our fault; we tell them when we can do something, and we deliver emphatic warnings about the possibility of unexpected evolutions, once we get into the job. Regular communication with clients during the course of the job helps keep everyone aware of what is going on, so we are big on that, too.
As for suppliers, we make every effort to find and hang onto people who are reliable, who care about getting the right things to us, on time. Sometimes they slip up, but we have definitely reduced incidences of delays.
As for the reasons that you suggested, I do not know what "garnering" business is, but my impression is that there is not so much a shortage of good riggers -- though that is also true -- as a shortage of good riggers who also know how to run a business. It took me close to 40 years to get a notion of that.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss
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