Bad Form

That's actually a quote from the movie, "Hook". But lately, that quote seems to apply to the decisions I've made concerning business. First, I chose to do work for a contractor, who was somewhat slow in paying, but had always paid his tile bill. Then he landed this hair brain idea to make a jump in the size and quality of home to build, likely driven by greed. He had always built a pretty nice home, but he was impatient with the progress his company was making, and thought this $850,000 home would not only show the housing market he's the real deal, but if he sold it, that would propel his company financially. It backfired, then crashed and burned. I had no choice but to put a lien on the home, because his tile bill was approaching the $14,000 mark, and that was too big a hit for a small fry like me to absorb. Well, I recently received a letter, stating the house was entering into foreclosure, and Great Western Bank, whom the loan is through, will be putting it on the market for public auction, and will be the first bidder at whatever the balance of the loan is. If the bank actually gets the house at auction, my lien is null and void, and someone just received a top notch tile job, compliments of Kevin. You're welcome. Didn't see that one coming! The next issue, I should have nipped in the bud much earlier, but I was fearful I needed the extra help. I hired a tilesetter who has a fair amount of talent, but is a social menace. First of all, the title 'tilesetter' usually means the individual was too dumb, lazy, or a combination of both, to get an education, and since the trade has NO set standards like it did 25 - 30 years ago, the lowest forms of mankind have found a way to make fairly decent money, for less than desirable craftsmanship. I'm not a believer in evolution, but the tile trade, as a whole, could make a strong statement otherwise. So the guy I hired has this unique quality of saying and doing things, to make the people around him very uncomfortable. He's very self centered, and any conversation will eventually be manipulated toward him, and he will elaborate with some story, or phrase, that would leave you feeling violated. After warning him several dozen times to keep his mouth shut, and just set tile, I finally got the last warning I would ever receive from one of the best builders I've ever worked for. I took that information, processed it, and acted upon it. So this week finds me short handed on help, but the complaints about this guy are history. It's sad, because I thought he was just a diamond in the rough, and working for me, and the quality type people I surround myself with, I could somehow mold him into a top notch craftsman. Bad form Kevin! My wife once said, "When people show you how they are... believe them". So, a couple of unfortunate mistakes on my part, now I just need to learn from them.