Subject to Change

Schedules are important, so I've been told. So I make it a point to sit down, spend some time figuring out which jobs are going to happen where and when, and then throw it out the window or blow my nose in it. It's practically impossible to make and maintain a schedule based on peoples' performances ahead of your own. All it takes is one person to lag behind, or one company to delay shipment, and the pressure is now on! I recently experienced a setback in scheduling, due to lack of communication on the homeowner's part. She had sent me an email asking when I could start her job. I sat down, scrutinized my schedule, and sent her back a starting date along with an invoice for down payment. I was waiting for a response plus a check for about two weeks. Finally, we were within two days of starting, so I initiate contact and tell her, we are going to start two days from now. She promptly emails back, bringing me up to present, so I can "adjust my schedule", that I'm not the one doing her project. She found someone cheaper, but they can't start for another month. She was willing to wait for the savings. Fortunately, I hadn't ordered any material, which would come with a 20% restocking fee. Her job would take about two and a half weeks to accomplish from start to finish. So now I adjust my schedule? I had nothing planned but her job for the next two and a half weeks! I hope she doesn't call me back when her "cheap" help is learning to set tile on her job, and she realizes the mistake she's made. I'll probably step in to save the day, first, on MY schedule, not hers! And second, with my "revised" estimate for work to be accomplished. Nothing beats a pay raise! Some people need to learn, "You don't mess with mother nature", and "You don't drop a bomb on Kevin's schedule". In my opinion, the reason a schedule is made in the first place, is to convey optimism. It's fun to get the person's hope up, and get them to commit. Then, welcome to the real world! Your schedule is just a pipe dream meant to make YOU feel good, and to make everybody else crazy trying to maintain it. Folks are always asking me, "when do you think the tile will be finished?". My response, "Well let me check my schedule. When the last piece of tile is set, your job should be complete". That narrows it down to the exact time. You can't get any closer than that!