Holiday work schedule scheduling woes and disagreements amongst your peers on how to handle it. You deserve time off at Thanksgiving and Christmas; you can’t show up in somebody’s backyard on Memorial Day, the 4th of July, or Labor Day. No one is questioning whether you deserve to have time off. The argument stems from how we take that time and do it without fucking over the customer with unfair pool service hours.
The Double Uppers
The double uppers are adamant that skipping a week is a disservice. It’s more important to be there, even if it means offering a reduced level of service for every single customer than it is to skip a days’ or a weeks’ worth of people. Everybody gets some, and nobody goes without. I ain’t no Week Whacker. But, is five days’ worth of swimming pools cleaned in three days the right way to do it? Is it still cool if it means offering a reduced level of service to make it happen?
The Week Whackers
The 48-weekers think that’s a bunch of bullshit. Those pool pros refuse to Net & Jet, Chuck a Puck, Splash ‘N Dash, or Shit ‘N Split under any circumstances (not that this is what’s being done). But, that doesn’t mean they can work the holiday either. As much as their customers appreciate them ain’t nobody wants to see your ass in their backyard while the kids watch the Macy’s parade or Uncle Vinny is flipping burgers at the grill.
Similar article Finding the Time to Take Time Off ⏰ #smallbusinesseveryday
So, what’s the 48-week plan? That’s simple. Instead of offering balanced billing for a 52-week year or billing most months at 4-weeks and four months at 5-weeks, they bill each month in the year as a 4-week month. This strategy gives the pool pro four weeks that they do not bill, which builds four weeks’ vacation into each year. Work that fifth week when it actually occurs, and it gives you a week you can float to use when needed (Christmas week, Thanksgiving week, etc.)
Great, now we have a way to take off the week of the 4th of July. Don’t be f**king ridiculous. If you take a week before August, you out your f**king mind.
This is your business
Here’s the deal. The correct answer is you do you. As long as you’re delivering the bill of goods, you sold that pool owner when you signed them up as a service account; you’re doing right by them. Your product doesn’t have to be the same as anyone else’s. Capeesh?
After all that, this year it ain’t nothing but a thing. Thanksgiving week has passed, Christmas and New Year’s are on Saturdays, and I can’t see any of us skipping a pool on Memorial Day week. However you work in whatever you have to work in, I hope your holiday’s rock and you get a good amount of downtime with the family. Thank you for reading the stuff I write and know that I appreciate you!
If you have some other solution to scheduling your pool cleanings on a shortened holiday week – drop your thoughts in the comments, we’d love to hear them.
