Job Scheduling - RC Double Post

[mattwhitehcha]

Ok guys, I realize this is kind of a general question, but how do you all go about scheduling out jobs? What I am trying to figure out is how to schedule out jobs such as prewires, satellite installs, service calls, retros and final hookups. Here is the kicker though. We only have one crew, me and my helper, and then there is my boss. My boss schedules jobs for me and then seperate jobs for him, but he leaves his jobs incomplete and makes me come in and finish them on top of any other jobs I am doing. Do ya'll have any suggestions on how to effectively schedule jobs? It's driving me nuts cuz we never have time to complete a job and we either have to reschedule other jobs to finish the one we are on, or leave the job we are currently at incomplete and rush to the next one so we can be on time. What factors do ya'll consider when estimating how long a job will take.

Thanks in advance for any advice
Matt

[AHEM]

I still say your boss is a boob.

[Gary]

I still say your boss is a boob.

Me to.

[mattwhitehcha]

Yeah he's a DD cup

[sirroundsound]

something you need to do first, figure out how long it takes you to do certain aspects of the work you do. And example would be, a DVD player, from the time you remove it from your delivery vehicle, open the box, hook it up to the system, program into a remote, or go through any set up, and test it, how long does this take you? Allow for the fact that on some jobs you may have to deal with existing cabinets and running cables can take a little longer. Now do this for all the other items on your list. Now you should be able to come up with a "minimal" time allocation for a project. Add travel, allow for a break or meal if it's a fairly long set up, and just add another couple of hours minimum if the client will be there.
If you are leaving one job unfinished to get to the next, you are not doing yourself or your clients any favours, and who ever is scheduling these is expecting things to be done too quickly which will also lead to sloppy work (of course maybe it's you, and you are taking way too much time to do things).
Cedia had a time management sheet many years ago, much like an automotive shop, flat rates for doing certain jobs, it was a good general guide line.

[mattwhitehcha]

yeah my cell phone usually rings during an install and my boss says "Just hurry up and get it working" I did do a dvd player install in 10 min. before. That included getting paid by check and making sure it worked. Drvie time made it a 30 minute job

[sirroundsound]

If your any good at what you do, figure out a way to get your boss to understand that it takes time to do the job right (you should be charging the client for this time), If he doesn't get it, look around, even decent installers can find work just about anywhere, good installers are in high demand everywhere. We can't find anybody, and my assisstant is getting calls from other dealers trying to lure him away, fortunatly he is happy working with me, and he knows from a previous employer, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

[mr2channel]

I still say your boss is a boob.

Me to.

sounds like my boss! :D :D 8) :lol: :lol:

[AHEM]

Matt's boss is beyond hope.

Get out now. That's the only advice that I can offer at this juncture.