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A Mechanic's Life - Tales From Under the Hood

3515 messages,  Last post on Jun 18, 2013 at 2:06 PM

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Messages Page 352 of 352

#3506 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [thecardoc3] by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Jun 18, 2013 (5:56 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jun 18, 2013 5:44 am)
His country? Sounds like it's time for some sensitivity training.
 
Careers are kind of like interstate driving. You always need to have an exit plan so you don't get hit if something happens. When you are in a financial position to give notice and leave a job when someone goes Dilbert on you, it lessens your stress and ironically, can make you a better employee.
 
After the tech quits, suggest he take some time off before jumping into the next full-time job. Have him take over your shop for a couple of weeks - you need a vacation too.

#3507 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [thecardoc3] by srs_49

Jun 18, 2013 (6:01 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jun 18, 2013 5:44 am)
Don't know all the details (how long he's been with the current shop, where he lives & what the job market for techs is like in his area, what his salary requirements are, ...), but the best time to look for a new job is while you still have one.
 
Don't know how easy it would be for him to just ignore/avoid his boss.
 
That said, I've never had an immediate supervisor/manager with that sort of attitude.

#3508 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [thecardoc3] by gimmestdtranny

Jun 18, 2013 (7:23 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jun 18, 2013 5:44 am)
I'd tell him.."Well of course people die everyday. Everywhere. Maybe if you had had to travelled back to your country FOUR times in as many weeks to bury FAMILY members, then maybe you'd have some inkling the mental state I've been in lately. Now go %&^#$ yourself".
 
Of course that is the "comeback" reply...I'm reminded of Seinfeld..years ago...in fact the episode was called The Comeback. Throughout the episode it was centered around George always thinking of the best comeback, but long after the fact...
 
It's the ol' hindsight being 20/20 thing..
 
Without the benefit of time for his insensitivity to sink in...I'd have been in shock too I think..
Sounds like the boss is none too bright to boot.. and worse...probably bosses the wife around and kicks the dog when home..

#3509 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [steve_] by thecardoc3

Jun 18, 2013 (8:03 am)

Replying to: Stever@Edmunds (Jun 18, 2013 5:56 am)
When you are in a financial position to give notice and leave a job when someone goes Dilbert on you, it lessens your stress and ironically, can make you a better employee.
 
This is a trade that is dominated by the attitude that has shop owners afraid to pay the techs enough that they could some day afford to move out and go into business for themselves and compete against the original shop owner.
 
After the tech quits, suggest he take some time off before jumping into the next full-time job. Have him take over your shop for a couple of weeks - you need a vacation too
 
Looks good on paper, until you write down the real numbers that it would cost to do that. I'd be on the hook for $8500 in workman's comp fees the day he moved his tool box in, and that's just the beginning.

#3510 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [thecardoc3] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jun 18, 2013 (8:04 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jun 18, 2013 5:44 am)
I wouldn't react to it, just quietly start looking for another job. Like it or not, he may need a good reference for his new job.
 
Beyond the age of about 12, it's very hard to change the ingrained behavior and attitudes of people--it's POSSIBLE but it's an effort we usually reserve for those friendships we wish to keep.

#3511 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [thecardoc3] by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Jun 18, 2013 (8:34 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jun 18, 2013 8:03 am)
It is an area with a few land mines, but you may be able to do an independent contractor deal and avoid having to pay workers comp. You'd need some local advice since state laws vary. But a lot of mechanical trade workers don't have workers comp (which is a bit ironic, since a lot of those trades involve some risk of injury).
 
You could even let him run his own books while you are enjoying the beach or mountains for a couple of weeks (link - Example 3).

#3512 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [Mr_Shiftright] by busiris

Jun 18, 2013 (9:06 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jun 18, 2013 8:04 am)
I would use your approach.
 
There are jerk bosses everywhere, in every business and trade.
 
My first job out of college was in a company that, looking back on it, was run more like a fiefdom. The sales group were the princes, and the duties of everyone else were to fulfill their desires and correct their mistakes.
 
What the company president did right was to insist on hiring really bright individuals across the board. What he did wrong was to not realize bright people could figure out the two-tier treatment company employees were getting, and then act in their own best self-interest.
 
This wasn't a small company, BTW. In the mid 1980's it was ranked in the top 5 largest privately held employers in SC (Milliken Industries was number 1).
 
By the early 1990's, these bright individuals started leaving in droves, taking huge chunks of customers as they left. I made my exit in 1989. The company entered into a "forced" merger in the mid 1990's in order to survive.
 
Even the sales organization started feeding on itself and self-destructed before it was all over.
 
I learned so many valuable lessons from that experience that were never taught in any business school I attended.

#3513 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [busiris] by thecardoc3

Jun 18, 2013 (10:45 am)

Replying to: busiris (Jun 18, 2013 9:06 am)
was run more like a fiefdom
 
That's a really good word for what life is like for many techs.
 
What the company president did right was to insist on hiring really bright individuals across the board. What he did wrong was to not realize bright people could figure out the two-tier treatment company employees were getting, and then act in their own best self-interest
 
How many times have you seen me say that we can't attract the people that we need?

#3514 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [thecardoc3] by fintail

Jun 18, 2013 (11:47 am)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jun 18, 2013 5:44 am)
Find another job and get hired, then tell the "boss/owner" where he, his wife, mother, kids, etc can stick it, on the last day. Bridges can be burned, but always wait til the right time.
 
Or a good reply would be something like "your country is a marginally developed hellhole that doesn't value human life, you obviously came here to escape it, nobody will complain if you go back permanently".

#3515 of 3515 Re: From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" file. [thecardoc3] by busiris

Jun 18, 2013 (2:06 pm)

Replying to: thecardoc3 (Jun 18, 2013 10:45 am)
I'm not surprised the behavior I experienced and described earlier is spread across the entire employment spectrum. In fact, it was surprise me if it wasn't.

Messages Page 352 of 352

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