A Veteran Sign Installer Returns to His First Shop

WE ALL HEARD THE LEGEND was back after decades of being a true journeyman sign installer, having traveled the four corners of the nation and most parts in between. Now he was back here at NY Knights Sign Co. in Brooklyn. Roy Hobson, “The Natural,” had gotten his start here at age 17 in 1988, just a few years after the Robert Redford baseball film came out.

It wasn’t just similarities in the names — Redford’s Roy Hobbs and our Hobson. Like the movie character, Hobson demonstrated incredible skill and talent from that early age. For 18 months or so he shone like a star, once installing three electric signs, solo, on a steeply pitched roof — all before lunch. But right before the turn of the decade he departed mysteriously, we presumed to experience life and the world.

Now back in Brooklyn, he was ready to settle down and work here if we’d take him on. Would we?! He boasted every certificate imaginable, even underwater welding. “Can you start tomorrow?” we all asked at once.

And he did, though he didn’t make it in until a bit after 8:30 a.m., after our two install teams had been dispatched. We sent him out to join the team with the tougher job. They came back in the late afternoon saying Hobson had proved his value on a challenging electrical connection, even if he’d been late.

After a few days with the crew, they were about two hours from completing an install. Everyone wanted to put in the overtime and finish, but Hobson said he had something else to do, that the crew could button up the job in the morning, and as his expertise was required, the team had no choice but to come home. That didn’t go over well with Poppy “Pop” Fisher, the VP of fabrication and installation, who had a word with Hobson about it after finishing the Signs of the Times Big Survey.

Over the next several months we saw more of the same — expert skill which we had nowhere else in the company, but also a tendency toward, well, laziness. At the rate he was blowing through his PTO, which he’d negotiated to that of a 10-year veteran, he’d be out of days with five months left in the year.

Maybe he was getting tired. After all, Hobson was 54 and he’d come back to Brooklyn for a reason. Maybe he just needed some rest — but it seemed like he should be getting plenty of rest with so many days off. One afternoon when his crew had finished a job early and rolled back to the shop we sat around shooting the breeze, asking Hobson if it really was that tough to find experienced installers around the country.

“Absolutely, it is,” he replied. “If you’ve got the years, the certificates like I do, you can pretty much write your own ticket, work anywhere you want.”

“Well, if it’s so hard finding experienced installers, I guess we should hire and train more people like me,” Bobby Savoy, the youngest member of Hobson’s crew, ventured.

“Yeah, everybody’s got to start somewhere,” Hobson answered. “But companies need those experienced installers for the training.”

After an entire month of showing up on time every day, Hobson called off two days in a row at the last minute both times. He was down to his last pair of vacation days and it wasn’t even August yet.

This morning before his crew went out on a big electric project, Pop Fisher made an appearance to provide a little pep talk. “OK, Roy, I need you to knock this one out of the park without blowing up all the surrounding lights,” she said. “I’m expecting this done today, even if it starts to get dark, understand?”

He made no move.

“You’re up, ‘Hobbs,’” she said.

My thanks to Bob Chapa, National Branding (Troy, MI), for this idea. — Rolf L’mao

Nonnie L.
Norwood, NC

That’s a hard place to be in for any employer. In our small rural shop we are mostly working in easily accessible areas, not like NYC. The demands on a shop in NY or other densely populated areas are extremely different from ours. Here we would let the queen keep her throne as long as the jobs were done correctly and on budget. I understand the need to treat all employees the same as long as they have similar skill sets… Maybe the answers would be to put a shadow worker on the star and let him train the younger sign guy as his own. Perhaps he would share knowledge freely while recognizing the importance of keeping the respect of fellow workers by showing up every day on time ready to get it done!

Mike C.
Murray, KY

An employee that is not dependable lets the entire company down. I would tell him of my concerns immediately. If no improvement is seen shortly, I would let him seek work elsewhere. No one is indispensable in our company.

Conan S.
Tulsa, OK

I think veterans like Roy have earned and deserve a certain amount of “seniority privilege” with the proven accomplishments of dues being paid in full many times over. Slaying many kinds of proverbial dragons is a young man’s game for the most part, and so less can be expected of someone with 30-plus years of experience, as time takes its toll on all of us when it comes to the physical expectations, especially on a truck, in the field, in all extremes of weather — like accessing a 125° attic crawl space on hands and knees over metal studs with insulation filling your nostrils — the old guy can do it, but that’s just additional wear and tear. As for the days off, it is give-and-take. You get the experience Roy brings to the table, and the gene pool there tends to be rather shallow in terms of replacements. Demand will hopefully always be there, but Roy eventually won’t be. Clear expectations are required with consideration of potential decline in physical limitations.

Cindy G.
Placerville, CA

It seems like ‘The Legend’ has gotten too full of himself.”

Mike S.
Glendale, AZ

A sign on a business — while it may be delayed a day, even a week — is going to be up for many years to come, so in the overall scope of things, a day or a week is nothing really to ruin your day over. A lot would have to depend on the attitude he showed. Also, if he got along with everyone well. Definitely never let one person be the ‘all or nothing’ on an entire crew, so even if he leaves or is a no-show, make sure he can be replaced immediately. At the very least the owner needs to be able to fill the spot if it comes to it. I tend to work until I am finished and being solo means I am often on jobs for a pretty long time, but I prefer that and it leaves no one else to blame for mistakes. There is also no problem if the boss demands the work done before I go home. I do not go home until it’s finished. Ever.

Don B.
Cypress, CA

Don’t remove Hobson… Offer him a newly created position as director of training and personnel development. Cut his salary by 50%. Offer incentive compensation based on achieving well-documented goals that would allow him to earn 150% of his prior salary. Goals will be reviewed every four weeks. Terminate Hobson if he is not achieving the goals.

Jeffrey J.
Sterling Heights, MI

No one and I mean no one is irreplaceable. The morale of others will be dramatically impacted by the existence of what I always referred to as The Prima Donna. Whether you’re an owner or supervisor, you need to quickly recognize those who are less-than-team players. While there is tremendous upside to highly experienced and talented sign professionals, those who exhibit bad habits will poison the initiative of the people they surround. Open, honest dialog will allow easy affirmation as to Hobson’s true character and your ability to influence behaviors.