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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
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Ricardo
Ricardo
He wandered onto my remote property south of the Bahia de Los Angeles early one day. I heard the car pull up and the engine shut off and went down
the outside stairs to see who it was and what was happening.
He introduced himself in Spanish. I?ll call him Ricardo because this story paints his work habits as problematic at best and he?s a nice if troubled
family man with a wife and four young children and I don?t want to defame him in any way.
Ricardo told me he had performed serious work for the previous owner of our new home. He had worked there for many years and done much of the
electrical, solar, plumbing systems and was intimate with it all. We sat talking for a bit and he seemed dedicated and anxious for work. I asked him
what it would cost for materials and labor to fill in a second floor outside balcony that was dangerously open to the ground below. Ricardo gave me a
price that I felt was fair and we shook on it. He would start muy temprano the next morning, 7 A.M. he said. I was working in the garage when he was
about to take his leave. I was sorting the solar, electrical and plumbing spare parts left by the previous owner into something I could comprehend.
Ricardo spent half an hour telling me how he could use most everything in the garage if I didn?t need the items. I told him I was sorting through
them and would let him know. But I knew there were a number of bulky bags of used clothing, bed linens and other items that he could have now. I
would see him muy temprano the next day.
By noon he still hadn?t shown. By mid afternoon he pulled into the dusty drive with a bunch of cardon ribs in the back of his truck. By the time I
arrived downstairs, Ricardo was filling an overheated radiator while his workmate pumped up a flat tire with a hand pump. Wow! Ricardo explained
that his house had been entered by the Mexican Federal police early that morning, and that they had accused him of stealing the Items I?d given him
from some tourist. He told me that the police had beat him, handcuffed him and thrown him in jail. He than said that after he was released he and
his workmate had been out in the desert all morning looking for the ribbing. They threw the ribs onto the ground and began cleaning the thorns and
small irregularities off them by means of two large machetes. I watched from a distance. Once again he asked for several items from my garage. For
each he had a specific application. I put him off. I was beginning to think that Ricardo was living a life to evoke sympathy. It was having the
opposite effect.
Within an hour the workers had cleaned the cardon and were headed back into town, saying they?d be back muy temprano. Ricardo, solo, returned the
following afternoon. He told me his story about how a rattlesnake had cornered him in his outhouse that morning and held him at bay for some time.
He then worked alone and finished the job in about half the time we had agreed it would take. His work was acceptable. When he finished and was
preparing to leave he told me he?d be back at 5 A.M. to begin the next task, which I?m beginning to wonder about.
At noon the following day he?s back with another wild story. This time it?s about his ear which has developed some infection and kept him awake all
night. By now I?m beginning to question everything Ricardo tells me. But he begins fronding my palapa and I say nothing. He has estimated 250 palm
fronds will do the job and I have paid him for that many. By afternoon he is preparing to depart and idly mentions that I will need to have him
purchase another 350 fronds to finish the job. I ask him how was he was so inefficient as to underbid the materials so significantly. He brushes the
question off lightly, telling me that the first set of fronds (that he had chosen) were ?undersized.? He asks me for money to make the purchase and I
hand him half of the requested amount. You?ll have to wait for the remainder until I go to Guerrero Negro I told him. ?That?s fine, Miguel,? He
says. ?We will continue on schedule regardless. I?ll be here muy temprano.? Then he asks me for more spares from my garage. I?m beginning to see a
pattern.
Ricardo shows up in the afternoon with a few fronds and screws them down to the cardon ribs before he?s asking for more money. I remind him that I
have no more money until I get to the bank in a few days. It?s a seven hour deal just to get a maximum of $400. Ricardo doesn?t like what I?m
saying. Additionally, he asks if he can have an air conditioner that is sitting on the floor of the garage. I told him to please stop asking for
everything in my garage before I can determine what I need and what I don?t. He noisily throws his spare tire and tools in the back of his truck. He
angrily adds water to his radiator and pumps up his leaky tire and slams off down the rocks toward town. Too bad, I?m thinking, as I?ve told him
nothing but the truth and paid him more than a fair wage.
The final day of our working relationship Ricardo has yet another wild story. This past evening his wife has been bitten by a black widow spider and
had to be taken to Guerrero Negro to save her life. No one else in this tiny community has heard this story and I question it without saying
anything. I have obtained the necessary money to pay Ricardo, and, unknown to him, have firmly decided I will never hire him again. Never. There is
no reason to aggravate the situation with words Ricardo doesn?t want to hear so I make my final decision and smile at him and pay him the last cent he
will see from me.
I guess the largest lesson is to be learned in my responsibility and that would be to check out the reputation of each person you hire before they?re
on your payroll. But I think the second lesson is important as well: if I put myself into the head of the Ricardos of this world, even though some of
us are hungrier than others, it?s still important to just simply tell the damned truth.
In the days that followed Ricardo?s unending errors of judgment I have had another fellow recommended by friends. I stopped by to talk to him this
morning, while he was at work. I observed that his work had a high degree of quality and that his labor rates were more favorable and open than
Ricardo?s. I will have to tell Ricardo these facts somewhere down the line, not to ?get even? or to be malicious, but to discretely let him know that
there are honest and direct folks in this world who want to do a reasonable day?s work while being factual. We could all win with those small
improvements.
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mike Humfreville
I will have to tell Ricardo these facts somewhere down the line, not to ?get even? or to be malicious, but to discretely let him know that there are
honest and direct folks in this world who want to do a reasonable day?s work while being factual. We could all win with those small improvements.
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Mike, with all due respect, do you really believe he doesn't know these facts already?
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oladulce
Super Nomad
Posts: 1625
Registered: 5-30-2005
Location: bcs
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Ol' Ricardo was going to eventually run out of venomous creatures to blame for his woes.
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
Member Is Offline
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Oladulce, Sooner rather than later as his BS was getting old quickly.
Roberto, Sometimes when you can directly confront another with the garbage they've thrown at you and let them see how silly it all looks to the rest
of us it can make a small improvement. Not many of us enjoy looking stupid. But on the other hand, this guy was trying to feed the horde he'd
created and a little empathy doesn't stop us from understanding.
Thanks for your comments.
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
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Mike, just a small word of "advice". If you are going to finance many projects down there, you are going to have to be more careful and do your
homework more carefully.
And ... NEVER pay in advance.
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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you were lucky Mike and you also learned a valuable lesson that we all do here in Baja Ca. I know some people that spent tens of thousands of dollars
to get the same education.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
Member Is Offline
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Roberto,
Speaking of which, I hear you sold your place.
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Roberto
Banned
Posts: 2162
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
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Yes, you hear right.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64480
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Mike, is Debra still there? She stopped here in O'side to pick up a bunch of 'got baja?' stickers for any Nomads she meets... Oh, and to tag your
trach cans and other visible objects!!!
It is going to be so great to read your entries from Bahia! I hope you get Baja Bus or ?? to install a satellite Internet connection... and a live
mini cam would be great too!  
If POT II is running, join us to Mision Santa Maria after the El Rosario festival!!
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Mexray
Super Nomad
Posts: 1016
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: California Delta
Member Is Offline
Mood: Baja Time
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Senor Mike...
How much do you pay...I work for 'Almost Free' up here at home...with the rate of exchange in BOLA territory, that means I'd probably have to pay you!
Good to hear that 'retirement' has finally caught up with you...enjoy, amigo.
According to my clock...anytime is \'BAJA TIME\' & as Jimmy Buffett says,
\"It doesn\'t use numbers or moving hands It always just says now...\"
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mrchuck
Junior Nomad
Posts: 82
Registered: 11-6-2002
Location: Gun Barrel City, TX
Member Is Offline
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It is sad to say but every group of homes in Baja owned by Americans has a "Ricardo", just like yours.
It is painful not to give him something.
But the biggest problem is that this "Ricardo" type, becomes the loudest mouth against the "P-nche gringo groups", that are residing in your part of
Baja.
You will experience this soon, if you already haven't.
All Mexican Nationals that know "Ricardo", also know what his diatribe will be.
Make friends with the other Mexican workers plying for your business.
In 6 months, you will smile about this educational experience that you just received a diploma for.
Saludos,,,,mc
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Dicho
"If you pay the mariachis before they sing, you may not like the tune" Having said that, you have to pay for the materials so in that regard you have
to trust someone. So it comes down to trusting people or not doing anything. One day your house will be just like you envisioned it and none of this
will matter one whit.
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
Member Is Offline
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Whay you are saying is true, regarding payment of materials versus labor, and it doesn't take long to learn who's who in the community. I am willing
to trust those who seem worthy and learn who are not through my own experiences as well as through the experiences of others. Your comments of locals
knowing their own and who is fair and who is not and their willingness to cast off the unfair ones are absolute. If I tolerate the poor worker I will
be held in disrespect also.
But it doesn't take long to find the segments of the community, both locals and foreigners, that are worthy of respect and join their ranks.
The kicker with "Ricardo" was, when I was waiting for him at his house one afternoon, one of his children came outside, grabbed a cup sitting on a
box, and scooped up a drink from a 55 gallon oil drum filled with bad water. While Ricardo doesn't particularly matter to me, he's still struggling
to support his family and it's his plight I care about, his family. It would be too sad to see his family pay the price of his lack of integrity.
But when I throw this whole story into the evolutionary process I have to tell myself that it's all for the best.
Thanks for all your comments.
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Braulio
Nomad
Posts: 321
Registered: 11-7-2002
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Cornered by a rattlesnake in an outhouse - you're a pretty good story teller Mike - but I think Ricardo has you beat.
Excellent stuff as usual - please keep us posted as to the house construction.
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Baja Bernie
`Normal` Nomad Correspondent
Posts: 2962
Registered: 8-31-2003
Location: Sunset Beach
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just dancing through life
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Mike
I am pleased to see you are 'almost' setttled in your new digs. Pull out my book and you will see that I only wrote good things about the Roberto's
of La Salina. As everyone has said on this thread---finding the bad ones can be part of the fun too--and a great learning process and in the end it
will all add to your enjoyment of these wonderful people.
Just don't waste your money on the 'shifty-less' ones. Far to many of the 'good' ones need work and they do spend it on their families while the
Roberto's have a way --- of sipping it away.
Keep writing!
My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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lizard lips
Super Nomad
Posts: 1468
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: EARTH
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Mike, I have had several "Ricardos" work for me here in Mex. and they all still owe me alot of money but what confuses me more about this type of
outright theivery is when I see them after the fact in town and they approch me they dont mention what had happened or that they even acknowledge what
they did! It is the same north of the border as well I can certainly attest to that.
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Mike, people like Ricardo will respect you more if you're firm with them and tell them "enough already". They will take advantage of your good
intentions and kindness and see it as a weakness to take advantage of and disrespect you. They will deceive you and actually will start to respect you
when you stop their BS. It's a weak versus strong mentality. They keep pushing until you push back.
Dr Phil
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
Member Is Offline
Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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Mike just seat down and have a nice big peace of banana cream pie and a good laugh.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Eli
Super Nomad
Posts: 1471
Registered: 8-26-2003
Location: L.B. Baja Sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: Some times Observing, sometimes Oblivious.
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Ay que Don Miguel, another great insight into every day life, thanks.
Expect we all know a Ricardo por hay. I have "met" versions of him several times. You can bet I always run when I get that gut feeling, hate whiny
guys, who always have an excuse and covet everything within sight, eck.........
I doubt seriously that any comment will correct his actions, any more than it would my spelling, Jeje. Anyway, if it makes you feel better to tell
him, go for it.
As to paying a worker in advance, again, I believe it is a gut feeling sorta thing. Over the years I have been paying Serafin as much as 6 months in
advance to care take the huerta in Auga Caliente. He certainly doesn't over do it, but he never knows when I am going to show up there, (neither do I
for that matter). Ah but when I do arrive, the wells are always dug around the trees, they are watered, and the grounds are raked clean and pristine.
He never asks me for favors, but he might bring up how much he enjoyed the pears I brought him the last visit, or how his grand kids still play with
the hotwheels that I brought how many Christmas's ago. Sure he and his wife kinda are always wishing for and know that when I finally do show, I will
bring a load of staples mixed with a few goodies. Of course, I always do, I think it is a ranchero owner kind of thing to do.
[Edited on 6-4-2005 by Eli]
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Debra
Super Nomad
Posts: 2101
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Port Orchard Wa./Bahia de Los Angeles BC
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David, Mike must have known I was coming "armed" I couldn't find a single trash can at this place!
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