Re: What is Your # 1 Question regarding Props?
Don't record your interview. Bad move! Even worse to broadcast it over the internet. Take notes or have him fill out a questionaire. And again it's a private matter. Keep it off the net. When hiring ANY professional, treat him/her with respect. These guys don't grow on trees. What you're proposing is incredibly
unprofesssonal.
Are you hiring a rebuilder as an employee? What is your line of business? Ask about training, experience, and talk to former employers. Toss the personal reference list in the garbage can. Applicants pad those with friends that would never say a bad thing about them. But don't take everything a former employer offers as gospel either. The fact that he/she is a
former employer is just as likely to be because of a bad employer as a bad employee. Being a former employee usually means there was a problem that couldn't be resolved. That's usually a 2-way street, but not always.
I'll give you a for-instance. I worked at the local marina for five years. The owner and I didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things, especially his policy of taking and selling his trade-in boats with no inspection whatsoever. But after being let go, I heard through the grapevine that he was badmouthing me saying I was doing shots of peppermint schnapps over lunch. I have very mild hayfever and asthma. Sucking on a Halls is all it usually takes to keep the pipes open. Peppermint Halls does the best for me. ( BTW he sold the biz, it went belly-up, and is for sale by the receiver at a ridiculous price nobody will ever pay (to make up for the losses). )
If you are just having a prop rebuilt, then two things come to mind.
First, I just got a lot of finger exercise and something off my chest.
Second, contact the service departments of local boat dealers. They see tons come in and go out and usually deal with the best. Here, I like one rebuilder for props and antoher for skegs. One does better work on props and the other does bettter work on skegs. But they both do both. By dealing with the two, I get the best results for the customer and the rebuilds usually look like brand new. And while both would prefer I did my business with them and not the other, they both appreciate the business they get. Once you decide, the two questions that come to mind are how much and how soon.
