Misc. Ramblings

See this article here from Joel on Software on his version of the perfect office design.

Most software managers know what good office space would be like, and they know they don't have it, and can't have it. Office space seems to be the one thing that nobody can get right and nobody can do anything about. There's a ten year lease, and whenever the company moves the last person anybody asks about how to design the space is the manager of the software team, who finds out what his new veal-fattening pens, uh, cubicle farm is going to be like for the first time on the Monday after the move-in.

Well, it's my own damn company and I can do something about it, so I did.

Speaking of Design. The difference between a professional craftsman or woman and someone who thinks they are, but is not, is in the details. I have learned this both from our renovations of last year and from the recent bathroom repairs.

A professional, like a doctor, seeks to do no harm. That is, he or she protects the existing structure from any damage caused by their doing their work. For example, the first thing Bret Hill Construction folks did last year was lay down protective plastic on the floors and created a contained plastic lined wall surrounding the area they were currently working. On the counter tops, they laid down veneer board to protect the surfaces from damage.

Contrast this with the plumbers and tile guy from Creative Plumbing who did nothing to protect the floors and walls from damage. Thus, it is not surprising that we will need to paint the walls and scrub our less than one year old floors to correct the damage they caused. In addition, the tile guy gouged the brand new tub in two places. Even worse, he dumped his left over grout down our toilet, but did not flush it. Hence, the grout began to harden. If we hadn't noticed what he had done, the toilet could very well have been ruined.

As it is, I'm not sure how much of the grout went down into our sewer pipes and are even now clogging things up.

Secondly, a professional expects the unexpected. Anyone who has worked on existing structures knows that, over time, houses settle on their foundations. This means walls and floors are no longer even. So you have to expect to work a little harder to get things back to being plumb and true. This is to be expected and planned for. On the other hand, the tile guy swore up a storm when he found the wall studs a little out of kilter.

Which leads me to my last indicator. A professional respects the owners of the house as they, if for no other reason, are the people paying his salary. So, swearing like a sailor on shore leave after six months at sea is not professional conduct. Tracking dirt, gravel, and water into the house and on our wall-to-wall carpets does not reflect professionalism. Not having a project manager to check on the work of your sub-contractors is not professional because you will not know how well they do their job until you are served with the legal papers bringing suit against you. And finally, having a plumber drop off the bill before all of the work is completed does not engender trust as it appears you are interested more in money than ensuring the work is completed in a proper manner (which is probably the truth).

It is not difficult to see who are the professionals and who are not. The problem is, you can't tell the difference until after they start work. Sigh.

Aloha!