Cowboys Beware

Cowboys Beware! Written by Paul Green

As I waited to be served at my local Resene ColorShop, I couldn’t help over hearing an in-depth conversation about how there wasn’t any money in painting and there were too many cowboys in the industry.
Just then, the trade entrance door opened, sending a gust of wind through the shop. We all turned to look, sensing trouble. We stepped backward, clutching our newly purchased tools, ready to defend ourselves, with rollers, brushes, and scrapers in hand; - - - - - - a deadly silence came over the store.
The reflection of a large shadowy figure appeared through the glass, as we all felt the hair on the back of our necks rise, we looked to see if there was any means of escape.
The Resene manager nervously whispered, "Do you think it’s those outlaws who have been playing havoc all over the city and robbing painters of their tools?"
The figure sauntered through the door, wearing a long overcoat and brandishing a large roller pole under his arm, followed by two other craggy looking misfits who were pointing 270mm Roller sleeves at the store manager.
"Oi", shouted the shadowy figure, "hand over all your sundry items and be quick."
"Ok, please don’t hurt me." the manager whimpered, as he began filling the bags as quickly as possible. The same guy saw the paperhanging brushes go in to the bag and shouted. "Stop, we don’t need those." We were all shocked by this revelation. One of the painters shouted "Frauds, let’s get em."
We all began moving forward herding them into a corner and preventing their escape. They pulled back their overcoats revealing filthy, thread bare T shirts and trousers covered in paint.
"Cowboys." one of the painters shouted, and barrelled one of them against the counter saying, "Show us your trade C come on, why aren’t you wearing overalls and why are you on horseback, not in a van?"
The cowboys cowered in the corner begging us to let them become Master Painter members.
I wrote this light-hearted story after visiting my paint supply shop and noticing how unprofessionally dressed most of the painters appeared. I found myself chuckling at this spectacle; partly seeing the funny side of the situation and partly feeling utterly embarrassed by their appearance and knowing what challenges lie ahead for our industry.
You can understand how our painting industry can easily be misrepresented and at the same time be seen to be unprofessional, even inferior by comparison to other trades in the construction industry.
Unfortunately this impression eventually flows through to the general public, making it very hard to shake off the attached stigma.
This is why our industry is taking such a knock, many painters have lowered their standards so far they have lost sight of the fundamentals.
Which are;
1. Training to acquire trade certificate to gain the understanding of this industry.
2. Wearing the appropriate attire to carry out your work.
3. Using clean ground sheets when working in people’s homes.
4. Look and be professional at all times.
5. Treat your client with the utmost respect and just remember who’s paying.
6. Affiliate yourselves to a painting association such as the Master Painters, as this will benefit your business and at the same time, you can collaborate and stay level with your competitors.
I hate hearing negatives about our industry; we impact in a good way on so many people’s lives. Just imagine what life would be like without colour, it would paint a very grey picture, just like the negative-ness that plagues this industry.
As far as I’m concerned the people that constantly moan and pull down this industry should leave it.
If we want respect, we need to change and this change needs to start right here, right now, starting from today and putting the fundamentals in place.
Doing this, we will regain the respect we all deserve and in turn will come the financial rewards.

For things to change for the better, what’s needed is a change of mind set.
Constantly re-evaluate your business and don’t be afraid to seek advice. There are many organisations out there that can help.
Pricing up work can at time be a daunting prospect for all of us, most small one man businesses repeatedly under charge for their services, thinking as long as they can keep work flowing through the door, they’ll be ok. But quite often you end up rushing round like a busy fool, working harder for very little or no return.
Businesses need profits to re-invest and build our industry. Painting companies should not be charging any less than $ 45.00 an hour. Low wages destabilise the whole sector, especially at times of recession. Its madness to drop prices, when times become difficult as they only perpetuate lower prices and so the cycle continues and businesses struggle further, having to cut back or lay off employees.
OSH and legal requirements must be diligently and actively complied with. We should all take on the responsibility of reporting all situations where you witness contractors not complying. Think about this, they have likely eliminated you from the competition by cutting compliance costs just to get the work.
Investment is the key to all our futures, as we all have an interest in the growth of our industry. (Training is a very important investment)
We need to hold our nerve and STOP these wild price fluctuations which erode business opportunities, stifle training and investment, and surrender the power to the customers who in turn dictate our return.
The choice is yours. Upskill and make a better future.
All feedback welcome , Paul Green paul.green@hdl.co.nz
Operations manager HDL The Painting Professionals www.hdl.co.nz