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  • rsauto

    Member
    May 27, 2011 at 7:01 pm in reply to: Turnover Rate and Comebacks

    Update. New mechanic is already a bust. Started coming in late on the 1st or 2nd day, work is still piled up and he has already damaged a power steering pump. Of course, the company had to eat it. So, I guess it begins all over again. Yippee!

    The boss did have a come to Jesus meeting with the guys yesterday. I hope it does some good.

    I do want to clarify something, though. I think there has been some eye rolling at my boss in here. I do disagree with how long he keeps these dead beats around, but we simply get little to no resumes in from the Employment Security Comission. I have also posted ads all over the internet and received little to no response. The most response I got was from affiliate marketers trying to get me to put an ad on their site.

    Should I keep toiling along with free ads and the ESC or should I try a paid service? Do you get better results with a paid service such as monster? If I don’t get an actual technician in here, I may be out of a job.

  • rsauto

    Member
    May 12, 2011 at 3:58 pm in reply to: Turnover Rate and Comebacks

    Well, I haven’t given you guys an update lately, so here it goes. The mechanic returned to work. I couldn’t believe it either. He was supposedly sick and in the hospital. Poor kid. He is so in over his head it is pathetic. My boss is looking for someone new and actually did an interview yesterday and he is thinking of hiring him. I told the boss this morning that his business is suffering because he hasn’t been able to do any PR work for all the baby sitting he has been doing lately. We have to go the extra mile in PR because we are on a main highway, but out of town. With all the problems with the employees he hasn’t been working on talking with the clients and drumming up business. We also talked about moving to a flat rate system. I think it will whip these boys into shape or they can move on down the road. They have put my job in jeopardy and I am pissed. The boss is considering how to handle letting the guy go because he can’t stand it any more. He has been so busy baby sitting that he hasn’t had time to get his thoughts together and clean house. He couldn’t even check the new interview’s references for having to fix the mechanic’s and the body repair guy’s mistakes. Oh, did I forget to mention that there is issues with that employee, as well. He couldn’t be on time and work a full 40 hours if his life depended on it! I am looking for a new body repair technician, as well. I can’t make decisions, but I sure can make suggestions to save my job!

    Oh! this is important. I contacted the labor board to find out if the company had broken any laws by telling the guy he had to clock out and if he worked on the truck it would be on his own time. He was told he could home at any time. He was not asked nor forced to work on that truck. Guess what. We have got to go back and pay him for the few hours he was clocked out! Seems that if an employee works on a project on his own accord you still have to pay them, so if you are in NC don’t let your employee work on anything on their own time. You have to pay them. Nice huh? You also can’t deduct from their pay if they cost the company money. You can take them to civil court, but you cannot deduct from their pay.

    I will let you know how it goes. Hopefully the new guy will be good and the old mechanic can be let go. Hopefully a new body tech will be found that cares about the company and wants to make it prosper, so that he can.

    Oh! we are thinking of moving the guys to a flat rate. I think it would be much better.

  • rsauto

    Member
    May 2, 2011 at 2:12 pm in reply to: Turnover Rate and Comebacks

    Update!

    The mechanic didn’t show up today. My boss said he had a conversation with him Friday night. They stayed until about 9:00 pm because once the mechanic got the truck back together again (I think that was the 5th time) an oil line blew off and leaked out all of the oil again. The boss said that they had a coversation and even the mechanic said that if he were the boss he would fire himself. The boss didn’t fire him he just told him that they had to figure something out to make this work. Once again, too good for his own good. The mechanic is 27 with a wife and kids. He is a nice guy and really dependable. The situation just sucks!

    Well, I am off to see what I can find. I will post an update as soon as something happens.

  • rsauto

    Member
    April 29, 2011 at 7:44 pm in reply to: Turnover Rate and Comebacks

    I wish it was that easy. I have never been one to change a job at the flip of a coin. I sink with them. Looks like I would know how to fix a sinking ship by now! LOL!

    I just wrote this guy a check this morning (not to far from the amount of mine) and that is with him being clocked out part of the week. Plus he is still working on that flipping truck! I know the boss doesn’t have time to fix it because he is working on others. I think he may be trying to teach him a lesson, but it is freaking me out! The customer is calling and what do you say? Hey our mechanic is in over his head and has damaged your vehicle much further than it was in the begining. He has put it back together for the 3rd to 4th time, but sorry he is having problems performing simple mechanical work.

    I think I could have put the water pump on twice myself in this amount of time. LOL! That was a nervous laugh. I think there should be a new short hand for nervous laugh out loud. You know the kind. Louder than it should be and everyone looks at you funny, so NLOL!

  • rsauto

    Member
    April 28, 2011 at 12:38 pm in reply to: Turnover Rate and Comebacks

    Update. He is baaaaaaaaack! I came in this morning and when I saw his truck I almost ran off the driveway. I will post an update when I find out what in the world is going on here.

    This is frustrating! That boy is costing customers and that means my money! I can’t make decisions here about such things. I try to talk to my boss, but he just won’t fire him and get it over with. He is too good for his own good. I would rather there was no mechanic than this. We already have to turn work away because of his inability to turn work. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

  • rsauto

    Member
    April 27, 2011 at 8:28 pm in reply to: Turnover Rate and Comebacks

    I thought I would give an update on the situation here. The mechanic had to change out a water pump on an s-10 for a fleet that is our major account. Should have taken 1.3 hours. Well, after about 10-12 hours he finally got it “fixed”. Client called back the next morning and said that all the oil had leaked out and the fan belt was shredded. My boss was at wits end and calmly told him that he could not pay him any more money to work on that particular job. He told him that he could clock out and make the job right or he could go home while he (the boss) fixed his mistakes (the mechanic is paid hourly not a flat rate). He did not fire him. He did warn him that if this continued, he would have to let him go. The employee chose to stay and work on the truck after he clocked out. He continued to work on it for another day and half. He was clocked out while working on that particular truck, but if he worked on something else he would clock back in for that job only. He broke off some bolts under the motor at lunch and called the boss to ask him where the tap tool was and when everyone returned from lunch he (the mechanic was gone). We didn’t pay any attention to it. We thought he may have just clocked out late for lunch and wasn’t back, yet. His wife called and wanted to speak to him and I told her that he wasn’t here. She wanted to know why and I told her I didn’t know. She asked to speak to the boss and basically told him that she was going to contact the labor board for him working and not be paid. It was his decision to work on the truck while he was clocked out. He was free to go home if he wanted. The company was already in the hole with the amount of labor put into the truck before it came back. Not to mention the client that is one of our biggest clients is upset at the foolish mishap. Now, more labor and parts have to be incurred and they can’t be billed. So it is a huge loss.

    Should we be worried about the labor board? Was the boss wrong in what he did?

    P.S. If you know of any good mechanics, could you let me know. LOL!

  • rsauto

    Member
    April 18, 2011 at 9:00 pm in reply to: Survey – Hiring New Employees

    Harder than in the past!

    We have been posting for techs needed on craigslist, Employment Security Commission and by word-of-mouth. It has gotten us one employee that was knowledgable, but wouldn’t show up and suddenly quit with no call. A mechanic that is dependable, nice guy, but is slow has a lot of comebacks.

    I have said this in another post, but I will say it again. People do not want jobs. They may say they do, but they want a job on their terms. Starting pay is laughed at and refused. Their answer “I can make more sitting at home”. It is nice that they think so highly of themselves, but as a small business we cannot take a chance on their opinion of themselves. People do not want the pleasure of starting at the bottom and making it to the top. They are educated fools with no job and those of us that do not have such high opinions of ourselves are paying for them to live. They say “thank you” by the way. LOL!

  • rsauto

    Member
    April 14, 2011 at 9:02 pm in reply to: Turnover Rate and Comebacks

    Don’t worry Tom I am a bit of a ramlber, as well.

    Thank for your reply and I do care very much what happens here. You see, I am not out in the shop very much. I do see what goes on and more importantly hear what goes on with jobs. I know when they come in and I have to play defense when clients call in and want to know what is going on with their vehicle. I also see my boss sitting in his chair occasionally in the morning and he looks like death. He has been up here till about midnight trying to get something accomplished. These boys take advantage of his good nature and I see it. He also needs help, so he keeps them. The ones that he has are good guys, but there is a lot of backing up around here.

    In reply to your comment about those that are taking a vacation on unemployment, AMEN. I know too many people out there that have admitted that they can make more staying at home than they can working. They may complain that they can’t find a job, but really it is the fact they can’t find a job that will bring in a new hire at the same rate that they can make from unemployment from their previous job. That is the problem. No one wants to work themselves up the ladder anymore. They want to start at the top. Basically the working class has become the non-working class by their own decision. I don’t want to hear anyone poor mouth about not finding a job and how hard they have worked to find one. I went from a graphic designer to a secretary at a auto repair shop and took a $160.00 a week pay cut, but I have a job and I am making it. I have very little pity for those that will complain. You might not have your dream job (what is one of those anyway), but you are not living off everyone else. I will step down from my soap box now.

    This business was built literally from the ground up. He started in his father’s farm shop in a small room and kept expanding. The shop is very nice because he is a neat freak, but we are off the road and a little hard to find. By word-of-mouth, he once had up to 8 employees before the recession, he has stayed extremely busy. He knows to make up for the lack of good location he has to have large accounts. He takes on fleet work and it pays the bills, so fun jobs (restorations) can be done. The location can’t be helped, but it is well maintained with a good work atmosphere.

    He is caught in a catch 22. He has to have some assistance even if it is Oil changes, but the help is costing money and causing disastifaction amungst customers. What is the point of hiring one of the few that have applied and their app is basically scary to look at due to their work history?

    I keep telling myself that there has to be dependable, knowledgeable people who want to work, but then I see the horror stories on this forum, as well.

    What to do? Suggestions are welcomed!