Advice wanted.

Dognapper

So last week I wrote a thread that I’d be offered a job in Fastway’s , well unfortunately that fell through but today I have a guaranteed job in a small hotel working as a maintenance person. I really can’t afford to turn it down as I have two kids to feed , most of the work is cleaning , gardening all the easy stuff.

The part I’m worried about though is if something breaks I could be expected to fix it , I mean I change my own fixtures and fittings at home no major stuff just something I don’t want to pay a 50-70 call out fee for an electrician to change a light switch or a plumber to fix a leaky pipe.

I don’t mind doing all that in my house but that’s as far as my handy man knowledge goes really is this something I will pick up over time / google or am I going to come across as a complete idiot the first time something breaks and I can’t fix it? Just to clarify I never lied on my cv or in interview I was honest about my abilities.

Teyla Emmagan

I think you'll be fine. They will want someone reliable, helpful, dependable and honest. If you are all of those things they will be happy enough to call in a professional if needed. Most jobs are just looking for someone with a bit of cop on, and you have been honest and upfront. You'll get on great.

Dognapper

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

I think you'll be fine. They will want someone reliable, helpful, dependable and honest. If you are all of those things they will be happy enough to call in a professional if needed. Most jobs are just looking for someone with a bit of cop on, and you have been honest and upfront. You'll get on great.

Yeah I would consider myself all those things , I can do most things in my own house but then again no one is paying me money to do it , they did say they have their own plumbers electrician etc so I suppose they only expect so much.

beauf

Give it try. You'll probably be grand. If it doesn't work out. What harm.

Still waters

I know a couple of lads full time in maintenance in a couple of local hotels, they're only expected to do the light stuff, most places would have men that come in to do the electric and plumbing, they won't/shouldn't expect you to do work outside of light gardening, painting, cleaning etc.

wally1990

Exactly OP, you'll be fine. Your over thinking it.

They have professional plumbers and electricians on hand etc should major issues need resolving.

You are '' maintenance'' and that's how you should be viewing the role taken.

You'll be absolutely fine and you clearly already have an understanding or thought process that certain issues not forseen will be outside of your skill set/experience and remit , and that's perfectly fine. because you'll know then to advise the other staff to call in the plumber or electrician etc.

Also,

from An insurance point of view certain jobs You should want to stay away from.

You should be confident in not only knowing your own role/remit but appreciate the risk to the business from insurance risks due to something you do that you shouldn't so it's the awareness you have already to identify those issues/risks and report them so the correct Person can take over.

Remember, you clearly have shown alot of soft skills that are applicable and now you just need to drive that home in practice.

Good luck

antix80

Dognapper wrote: »

today I have a guaranteed job in a small hotel working as a maintenance person.

You'll be grand.

YouTube is great for learning bits and pieces so you'll be gaining experience.

Don't go near electric stuff, anything more than changing a bulb. Anything else may be illegal so at least get advice. If you take off a plastic cover and there's more wires than you expected.. Just put back on the old one and make a phonecall. BTW, if the old work was done by the previous handyman you'd be doing a botch job on a botch job. That's how fires start.

El Tarangu

Good luck with the new job, OP! I'm sure you'll knock 'em dead

KaneToad

You'll be grand. Any time something goes wrong, you'll be the go to guy. You'll be assessing the problem and fixing it, if it's fixable, or getting a professional in to fix it. The more experience you get the more stuff will fall into the 'fixable by you' category and you'll need the professionals less often.

I'd advise you to watch the professional when they're at work - if possible. Or, at the very least, ask them to tell you exactly what they did. If you don't understand, Google it. In no time you'll learn an awful lot.

Good luck with the new job.

punisher5112

I wouldn't call cleaning easy though.... Hotel work is tough going....

Best of luck with it though.

v638sg7k1a92bx

Dognapper wrote: »

So last week I wrote a thread that I’d be offered a job in Fastway’s , well unfortunately that fell through but today I have a guaranteed job in a small hotel working as a maintenance person. I really can’t afford to turn it down as I have two kids to feed , most of the work is cleaning , gardening all the easy stuff.

The part I’m worried about though is if something breaks I could be expected to fix it , I mean I change my own fixtures and fittings at home no major stuff just something I don’t want to pay a 50-70 call out fee for an electrician to change a light switch or a plumber to fix a leaky pipe.

I don’t mind doing all that in my house but that’s as far as my handy man knowledge goes really is this something I will pick up over time / google or am I going to come across as a complete idiot the first time something breaks and I can’t fix it? Just to clarify I never lied on my cv or in interview I was honest about my abilities.

Whether you’re a handyman, accountant, cashier, electrician or whatever - it’s perfectly normal to have doubts when changing jobs. It would be more unusual if you didn’t. From what you described it sounds like you are more qualified than most people passing themselves off as tradesmen.

Take the job with both hands. Recognise that it’s normal to get the jitters when changing jobs but you’ll realise that you are more than qualified for the position and most things can be googled these days anyway or if it can’t, then you probably need an engineer or electrician at that stage anyway.

Best of luck.

Nicole2020

I’ve worked in hotels for 13 years and it sounds like you have the perfect experience. The maintenance team is usually there to fix small problems such as blocked toilets, broken sockets, cracked baths etc. and then able to assess when a qualified plumber / electrician needs to be called. You’re just basically there to save money on bringing in the above everytime something small goes wrong. Expect a lot of calls about the things I mentioned and also general maintenance upkeep such as, painting, grouting, changing lightbulbs etc.

Best of luck and I hope you like it!

The chan chan man

The longer i work and the more people i meet, the more i realise everyone is just spoofing their way through their job, myself included.. Go for it, you’ll be fine.

Dognapper

beauf wrote: »

Give it try. You'll probably be grand. If it doesn't work out. What harm.

I’ll definitely give it my all anyway , thank you .

Dognapper

Still waters wrote: »

I know a couple of lads full time in maintenance in a couple of local hotels, they're only expected to do the light stuff, most places would have men that come in to do the electric and plumbing, they won't/shouldn't expect you to do work outside of light gardening, painting, cleaning etc.

I will be fine with all that stuff just the thought of looking stupid Is what bothers me 😂😂

Dognapper

wally1990 wrote: »

Exactly OP, you'll be fine. Your over thinking it.

They have professional plumbers and electricians on hand etc should major issues need resolving.

You are '' maintenance'' and that's how you should be viewing the role taken.

You'll be absolutely fine and you clearly already have an understanding or thought process that certain issues not forseen will be outside of your skill set/experience and remit , and that's perfectly fine. because you'll know then to advise the other staff to call in the plumber or electrician etc.

Also,

from An insurance point of view certain jobs You should want to stay away from.

You should be confident in not only knowing your own role/remit but appreciate the risk to the business from insurance risks due to something you do that you shouldn't so it's the awareness you have already to identify those issues/risks and report them so the correct Person can take over.

Remember, you clearly have shown alot of soft skills that are applicable and now you just need to drive that home in practice.

Good luck

Thank you , reading all these positive answers is really helping with my nerves

Dognapper

antix80 wrote: »

You'll be grand.

YouTube is great for learning bits and pieces so you'll be gaining experience.

Don't go near electric stuff, anything more than changing a bulb. Anything else may be illegal so at least get advice. If you take off a plastic cover and there's more wires than you expected.. Just put back on the old one and make a phonecall. BTW, if the old work was done by the previous handyman you'd be doing a botch job on a botch job. That's how fires start.

Yeah I get you I took off one of my own switch covers here at home last week and it looked dangerous enough obviously an amateur worse than myself, I just left it to someone else , I don’t mind paying for peace of mind.

Dognapper

El Tarangu wrote: »

Good luck with the new job, OP! I'm sure you'll knock 'em dead

Was having a bad morning and this made me laugh thanks 😊 😂😂

Dognapper

punisher5112 wrote: »

I wouldn't call cleaning easy though.... Hotel work is tough going....

Best of luck with it though.

Oh I know it’s tough I’m not saying that at all , I done night porter for two years in a hotel all I’m saying is it’s easy as in easy for me as I know what I’m doing in that regard.