Florida hiring pains

profile

April 24, 2026

by a searcher from University of Oxford in London, UK

Hi All, I recently purchased a koi pond and fountain business servicing luxury properties across Palm Beach County. Unfortunately, I inherited techs who've skipped 10 visits in the last two months and only want to work six hours a day, four days a week — meanwhile I'm turning away new work, missing billing and risk loosing customers. Needless to say, I'm looking to make changes. If anyone knows reliable people in the Palm Beach area who might be a good fit, I'd really appreciate a referral. I'm looking for someone who is dependable, willing to learn, has a clean driver's licence, and doesn't mind getting wet from time to time. I am paying above market to find the best people - $20/hr during probation, moving to $30/hr full-time once they're up to speed. Training, van, uniform, and tools all provided. Thanks in advance — any leads are appreciated. Cheers, Ben
2
2
50
Replies
2
commentor profile
Reply by a professional
from Technische Universität Berlin in Miami, FL, USA
Ben, congrats on the acquisition and the staffing situation you've inherited is one of the tougher early chapters. Your comp package is strong so the right people are out there. Local Facebook trade groups and word of mouth in the contractor community tend to surface them faster than the big job boards for this kind of work. Worth naming something though: the missed visits and billing gaps you mentioned are as much a systems problem as a people problem. New crew or old, if there's no real accountability infrastructure in the field (route tracking, visit confirmation, billing that closes automatically) the same gaps will follow you. Getting that layer in place now makes onboarding new people cleaner too. First year post-close in a field service business is its own thing. Happy to share what I've seen work.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from University of Oxford in London, UK
Thanks Wolf. Fully agree on systems controls aspect. Anothet reason they will go because they will not adopt the new basic Jobber checks and balances I’ve put in place.
Join the discussion