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A retired sat diver told me over coffee in Morgan City that the tides don't care about your schedule, and it made me rethink how I bid jobs
I was grabbing coffee at a gas station outside Morgan City after a week of hull inspections and got talking to an old sat diver who was in town visiting his daughter. He asked what I was working on and I told him about a job I was rushing to finish before a weather window closed. He laughed and said the water has been running this show for 40 years, you just learn to read the day it's giving you. I asked what he meant and he told me about a job in the 80s where the company pushed them to keep going against a building swell and they ended up losing a whole day of bottom time when the spread got pulled. He said the best thing he ever did for his career was learning to tell a supervisor no when the conditions said no, because the tide and the swell don't care how much the client paid for the day rate. I sat with that for a while because I've definitely pushed a dive when I shouldn't have just to keep a schedule. Now I build half a day of slack into every bid and the clients grumble but they call me back. Any of you ever had a job where walking away for the day ended up being the smart call?
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anthony_campbell884d ago
Turns out the tide's the only client that never negotiates the day rate.
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