The Middle Distance

Back in the day, when I had first been released into the wild from anti-rot, I worked briefly on an electrical contractor crew. We started at *7*, which when the jobsite is in unmapped Outer Slobovia, means you have to get up at about 5am. Let me just say that again, for the horror effect: Get up. At 5 am. [shudder]

When I asked one of the guys why in the name of all that was holy did we start at 7 in the godamn morning, he just looked puzzled and said 'So we can get off at 3!'

I tried to point out that this was basic mathematics, not an actual reason, and if we wanted to get off really early in the morning, we should try starting at midnight. "We'd get off at 8 in the morning! Think of how much you could get done if you got off work when everyone else was just getting started!" Sarcasm is underappreciated on the jobsite.

Really, they do it because that's when everyone else in trades does it. It's a very old fashioned field, and doing things certain ways because that's how it's always been done is the best reason they have. The fact that this basic scheduling ghetto-izes them is, I think, a perverse point of pride.

However, in this you case, you are at least partially the customer, and you should be able to dictate their schedule somewhat. Even as a tenant, your landlord has to give you 24 hours notice, and you can throw some weight at your landlord about timing. Try implying that they are just afraid of trying something different...