Day 1 & 2 went OK. Day 3, he called in 3 1/2 hours late said he over slept. Shop is very busy so shop foreman told him to get in here. About an hour later he shows, Slathered in cologne, smelling of booze. He came with one OK recommendation. He's now looking for work. I hate hiring. This area has less than a 3% unemployment rate! How about some sympathy from the peanut gallery?
From contributor Bo
I have you beat. I hired a guy Dec 12. He said he would start on the 19th. Then two days before he started he asked if he could start a week later. A week later he asked if he could postpone three days. Ha ha. On his third day of actual work, his Mom died. Had to leave town for a week. A week after he got back, his daughter got chicken pox and had to stay home for a week. This morning I woke up to a text "sorry boss, I have to go to my daughters school for a meeting, then I will be at work." He never showed the rest of the day. I stopped counting on him on day number three. Tomorrow, the long overdue axe shall fall.
From contributor ja
Sent one packing monday, soon as i did two super talents got laid off at another shop and i snapped em up.
in the last two months "dude" lost" 22 of 40 work days all the same excuses yes his relative passed, sick sick and more sick and i lent the expenses, Missed another 6 days after funeral i sent him packing and told him to keep the loans , it was cheaper to not employ him
No one in the shop Drinks or smokes,, he stood out like a sore thumb.. had another (and both of them were experienced) recovering drinker,, totally talented and his self esteem and nerves were shot.. did my damndest to help him but he could not stop argueing or not completing task given.
From contributor Sh
And then they get fired, you hire a Spanish guy who wants to work, they go out complaining that the Immigrants are taking they jobs.
From contributor ja
Had one walk in monday asking for work,, asked him if he had experience, Why yea of course he said, I asked him where, Ohio, Ok what shops at the commercial level, "Oh you would not know them" we try me i said I need to see if you understand this level of shop. he then say's "Oh I know where this is going" and walks out of the shop.. we sent two mexican nationals back to vera cruz in 07 paid a good 4 k in legal fees to get them legal and never got them back in the states,, any of you would have wanted thier work ethic and finish quality.
From contributor Sc
I have another good one. I hired an installer just after Christmas. Days one and two went well. Day #3 the wheels fell of the wagon. After wandering around the job site aimlessly, he told the other installer that he quit. My other installer said he looked like he was drunk, even sent me video of him stumbling around. The guy left the job site and two miles away, he was pulled over and got a DUI. He was twice the legal limit at 10 am. Later on the guy called me after he got processed at the police station to say the he cracked his first beer at 2 am to celebrate his new job and by the time he got to work, he was drunk as could be.
From contributor Wo
I had a guy come in and interview and offered him the job , he would start on Monday. He called me Monday morning and he said he was really sorry but was not going to be starting with us.
He comes in 4 months later, apologetic as all hell and very sorry for what he did but his current job offered him more money to stay so he did. I understood his choice , we all have to take care of our selves. However even with the pay raise he still did not like working where he was and would like another chance to come work with us. Needing good skilled people I said yes....he again would start the following Monday. If you can believe it....he called in that Monday and said once again he was not going to be joining us.
From contributor Pa
Sort of like bidding, bid 10 to get 1, or is it bid 20 to get 1, or...
From contributor ca
The property next door to my house in Seattle was converted from a single family residence to a 4 unit town home. The various work crews were primarily hispanic.
It was like a ballet watching these guys work. They worked hard and quick. It was the most amazing thing to see.
They were an absolutely polite, hard working crew. Wonderful people to have on the team.
From contributor ja
Posted on Face book,
" It is a Crime to disolve all shop and cabinetry programs, Today's kids do not want to Build something,, They want to Buy something"
From contributor Pa
So Mike Rowe is not making any headway?
Maybe Mike should do his show in Spanish?
Tim has this right Latinos are the way to go, it is your only option.
From contributor do
We did a drug test and background check on everyone that we hired. Past tense because I don't work there anymore. Every add that I ran said that. I mentioned it to everyone who called or emailed for an interview. I can't count the number of folks that went through the whole process and never showed up for the drug screen. I'd wait a day or two and when I hadn't received the results I'd call to check and time after time I was told that no one with that name or SSN had been in. One time however when I asked about the results I was told that they didn't know what the urine came from but they did know that it wasn't human.
From contributor To
Ok, This is fun....
Had an guy start with me that was turning out to be a decent installer.
It was about 1 1/2 weeks into a one month install.
A Kitchen with stained cherry coffered ceiling, he disappears.
No call -nothing... I going crazy now trying to finish the job with shop projects going on.
He left his tools,mitre saw, compressor all in the garage ? Shows up a week later at the site to get his stuff.
Complains to me about using his tools ! Mine are at another site with guys I pulled out of the shop.
I ask WTF ? He says he went to a party where his ex was.( She has a restraining order against him.)
A Smart person would leave immediately.
No he stays and she calls the Sheriff.
Gets locked up for 7 days.
The really stupid thing is that the house we are working in is for the biggest lawyer in town who's dad is the judge...
One phone call and I could have gotten him out to finish the job, then fired him....
From contributor Al
About 15 years ago a lumber vendor bought a company in Hawaii. The notified all the existing employees that when they took over in 60 days they would all be drug tested.
One guy failed the test and called the VP on the mainland and asked if he could get a copy showing he failed.
The VP asked why and the guy wanted to get his $39 guaranteed to pass masking agent money back
A-
From contributor Ph
One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was taking French in HS instead of Spanish...
Had an entry level helper, his 2 references had given good reviews (goes to show what references are worth!). On week two my brand new DeWalt brushless impact driver went missing. He had helped me load the truck the last time it was seen, so I thought maybe he had left it on the job site. He spent half an hour scouring the site, asked all the tradesmen there, and of course you and I know darn well where it went. He knew better than to do it in the shop since I had security cameras.
By Friday, a new tag showed up on the downspout of my shop, and it looked like a Meanstreak pencil (which we used to touch up white melamine). Sure enough, the moron had the same tag on the brim of his baseball cap...
By Monday of week 3 I had not yet put 2+2 together, but he made it easy as he just stopped showing up. Then the state started sending the letters to garnish his wages for child support...
Then there was the finisher who always showed up smiling and enthusiatic, ready to work. He was fast, a little too fast if you know what I mean. I soon noticed copper metallic marks on the seat of the toilet. I wiped them off, but they reappeared. Then I noticed that his jeans had a bunch of copper rivets on the rear pockets. Hmmm, why was he sitting on the toilet seat with his pants on?
From contributor ja
Child support next to School loans is one of the few things the Government can garnish wages on.
I have always wondered why this info is not posted for employers to obtain at the outset,
I paid CS for 18 years and am well aware of how easy it is to get behind and deal with them. yet it can make for a bad situation when they contact you after the employee has worked a while and no gets his check cut, we can help the good ones who are honest but the others generally turn out to be gone eventually
From contributor Jo
I had an installer that was such a slob. He gave notice. I looked at the van and condition of the tools and told him to keep the van and its contents. Sold it to him for one dollar.
The stories could go on for hours but what we must remember is to keep recruiting and culling out the turds. And remember when you get rid of the shop asshole, someone else will take that spot !
As crazy as it is, I take it in stride and look at the good aspects of being a business owner and align myself with the good people.
