As the C.E.O. of a Commercial Electrical Contracting company we use staffing agencies frequently for general labor - mostly digging and hauling materials. I'm not sure which distresses me more about our recent experience with Staff Zone - the fact that they had to send out 7 different guys to dig trenches (on what should have been a 3 day job that turned into a 4 day job) because of a complete lack of willingness to exert any effort on the part of the laborers - OR - that despite the billing rate the General Manager Wes Divine and another gentleman named Junior agreed to with my C.O.O., "Corporate" decided it should be nearly $3 higher because ditch digging is considered "Advanced Labor" and not "General Labor"?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Regarding, my second issue: According to the very sweet and patient A/R person I spoke with, pushing a broom is General Labor, but ditch digging is Advanced Labor because "it takes effort". Well, I'm pretty sure work takes effort regardless of the task (unless I've been doing it wrong all these years)! Also, when a GM agrees to a billing rate, that should be the cost...PERIOD. If Corporate refuses to honor an agreement, what good is anybody's word in the organization? What a shame that a man's word and a hand shake means nothing to this company. SHAMEFUL!
Regarding my first issue: If you can't follow simple directions ("dig 2 feet down from here to there" with a shovel that has a 2 foot mark on the handle) and work to your fullest capacity in a timely manner without having to ask "Is this good enough?", you are of NO USE to ANY employer, current or future! Where is the self-respect for a job well done, regardless of the job? Now I recognize that digging ditches isn't glamorous, but we can't all be rappers or game designers, now can we? Of course, I realize this has more to do with the laborers sent, and not Staff Zone itself, but I'd really like to know what happened to the work ethic of our youth today? (A philosophical question for another time, I guess) STILL, SHAMEFUL!
If the laborers that were sent to us actually exhibited ANY effort at all, I might not have an issue with paying the higher rate. Because we had to send guys home, had to keep on top of them at all times, and it took 4 days instead of 3, JUST TO DIG DITCHES I cannot justify paying the full amount of the invoice sent, let alone what the "agreed to amount" should have been.
If you are absolutely desperate, call Staff Zone. If you do, make sure you get the list of exactly what tasks qualify for which billing rates, and if they differ from what's quoted, so there is no confusion, GET IT ALL IN WRITING...CYA. read more