Reply to Thread

hey

dont smell like booze,,shave,dont wear the high temp silicone clothing u have..be friendly....

I've worked with all types of people in my career. You just can't tell by what you see who will work out, and who will not.

The proof lies in their technical abilities and their interpersonal skills.

Case in point. Slash (the guitarist) Not much to look at, but DAMN......he's intelligent. Ever listen to or watch an interview with him? Very well-spoken and well educated on current events.


Just my .02............

Originally Posted by dirtyboy103us

i worked in flooring sales while going to a/c school

ironic, I am in HVAC school now and am also in flooring sales.......i know exactly what you mean.

I'll stay a one-man shop...................

Originally Posted by adamste81

I agree, like the others have said, tattoo sleeves can be covered by certain uniforms and long hair can be pulled back to look somewhat professional. I just think it would suck to be on a rooftop unit in 95 degree weather in long sleeves because you have tattoos, if I had numerous tats I would go into refrigeration

Not too many store managers are going to complain about a guy up in the compressor room with tatts, that's for sure!

Originally Posted by adamste81

Ok, totally hypothetical question here but I am curious what most people would pick. If you could hire one of, and only one of these two guys who would it be. The guy who had hair like Troy Polamalu's and has no tattoos, or the guy with the nice haircut but has full tattoo sleeves...........I have attached photos for your viewing pleasure.

Basically what I am after is what would be more of a turn off to an employer, the hair or the tattoos? You have to treat them both the same, thus to say since the tattoos are permanent, then you cannot just tell the guy with the long hair to go get a haircut.

Well, I have to disagree with a part of your premise.

Sure, you can have him get a haircut. I was told point blank in 1976 that I would not get hired unless I cut off my "pony tail," which is how I was controlling my longer hair when working. I went back an hour later after my girlfriend cut it off, and got the job. Stayed there for nine years.

The bottom line is that if a guy is trainable and has the aptitude, you can train him in your ways to be a good tech. You can't train your customers to feel good about something they don't like.

i worked in flooring sales while going to a/c school

had two biker types as installers (covered in tats and long hair) and would warn my customers in advanced about their looks but the job they did would be the best and the people loved them, had repeat customers from this one trailer park that requested them on a regular basis

rememmber the old saying dont judge a book by its cover

and tats i see more old ladys with them more and more, my wife just got one at 40

Originally Posted by Duttydutdut

I think being clean, smelling nice, not looking like a homeless person or smelling like a nicotene freight train is more important.

I agree, like the others have said, tattoo sleeves can be covered by certain uniforms and long hair can be pulled back to look somewhat professional. I just think it would suck to be on a rooftop unit in 95 degree weather in long sleeves because you have tattoos, if I had numerous tats I would go into refrigeration

Originally Posted by adamste81

perfect answer!! and yes my friend I agree......I imagine those who only will hire clean cut, perfect appearance, perfect english kind of techs probably are not running that profitable of a business.

Clean cut is what most clients are looking for, so hiring clean cut employees is what it takes to run a profitable business.

A person is free to look however they want to, but I am free to hire whoever I want to as well as long as I do not discriminate based on race, sex, religion or sexual persuasion.

I have exposed tattoos on my arms so maybe I am biased. I have though worked for some of the biggest residential companies around. Now, I do not have any vulgar or scary tattoos either..I believe that makes a difference.

Who you going to trust the guy with a tattoo that says by the grace of God, and King of Kings around a cross...orrr the guy with a naked chick with a swazi on her forehead?

Most people haven't even noticed my tattoo's and I do a lot of work with the elderly, occasionaly one will ask and I'll explain to em what they mean I might not share with them my whole story but assure them I'm not a thug or an axe murderer.

I think being clean, smelling nice, not looking like a homeless person or smelling like a nicotene freight train is more important.

Now by the end of the day no promises but carry around some febreeze and maybe an extra shirt..I always get too close to my work.

Personally for me it would be the tattooed guy because long sleeves cover it however I hate long hair and earings on guys and . I watched my old man pull an earinng right out of my brothers ear growing up so I always wondered what he would do if one of us got a tattoo. I like having two arms I guess my dads beliefs about long haired hippie people have stuck with me. Whether I like to admit it or not I am way too much like my dad. Tattoos are fine with me if they can be covered but I just cringe when I see people with them on their hands or up the back of their neck. Whether or not its right imo they made their life a lot harder for the sake oif some ink.

If they have the same other qualifiers, I guess it would be how they presented themselves if they both came into the office looking like the pictures then neither, if the tattoo guy came into the office with long sleeves and wore long sleeve uniform and the long hair guy came with his hair pulled back and looking professional then it really doesn't matter which one I hire.

IF that's the only difference, I'm hiring the tattoo'd guy but he's getting long sleeve uniform shirts.

Both may be great employees but my wife's 90 year old grandmother would refuse to let either of these guys in if they knocked on her door with a toolbox in hand and that sort of thing has to be considered when you own a service business.

Originally Posted by woodsman

Weed smokers make the best workers.

Nah, meth is the hot ticket these days! Although pot heads seem to have more longevity and bill out more hours per job...

Tattoo vs. long hair.

I view them differently, and I think it runs deep in the psyche.

One I see as resistance on a benevolent level, while the other I see as branding on a semi-tribal, level. Owners have always branded property. In the case of other humans, either forcibly or to prove acceptance ... Never made them grow hair, as far as I know. The same way they tattoo a purebred's ear, this proves acceptance into the fraternity of Pugs or Schnauzers.

Independence vs. acceptance. Almost like the Left vs. Right thingy... again... eh?

Personally, I want the person who knows their stuff or is willing to learn hard and fast. I run a business... not your life. You are here for a reason. Once YOU forget that, I have to put aside my daily work and take on more... That's when I start thinking long and hard about the person I hired.

Then again... Gandhi didn't have hair, now did he...

Weed smokers make the best workers.

Originally Posted by the dangling wrangler

Hair can be cut, tattoos can be covered.
If either guy was going to be dealing with the home owners,general public, then I'd have a hard time employing either.
If it were new construction/retro-fit work, I really don't see a problem.

I think a lot of the arguments here, are from people automatically thinking everybody else is in the residential sector. Not all of us are, there's a lot of different facets of this business/trade where looks don't matter one bit.

Trust me I know. Being in the flooring business it is the same way. The guy doing a re-model on a lived in house better look a lot more presentable than the guy doing the tile in a new construction commercial job.

Hair can be cut, tattoos can be covered.
If either guy was going to be dealing with the home owners,general public, then I'd have a hard time employing either.
If it were new construction/retro-fit work, I really don't see a problem.

I think a lot of the arguments here, are from people automatically thinking everybody else is in the residential sector. Not all of us are, there's a lot of different facets of this business/trade where looks don't matter one bit.

I just read my reply, and I sound like my father. He used to address men with long hair as "Sally." Then I find old pictures of him in the 70's with long hair! I think we both like to be grouchy old men.

If they can both do the job, the longhair is only a hairut away from looking the part. No way would I hire someone with that many tattoos, unless I was looking for a tattoo artist, not an HVAC tech.

If the hair really was permanent, I still think it looks better than the tattoos, and I think our customers would be more comfortable with clean long hair than tattoos.

I have met plenty of longhairs that looked presentable. In this trade, tattoos and long greasy hair go together. They often come with DUI's, substance abuse, absenteeism, and crappy work. I keep hoping to be surprised. We just hired 3 more tattoo'd longhairs, I probably won't learn all their names before they are gone.