Things that employees do that just make you boil

[Larry B]

What are some of the stupidest things an employee has done that just makes your blood boil.

We "had" a guy thats been with us for over a year that in the last week has done some of the stupidest SH!T I have ever seen and after a small thing Tuesday that pushed me over the edge, I fired him.

On the busiest street around here he puts the van in park at a stop light and while messing turns on the PTO power switch on the dash. The switch engages the PTO clutch and also engages the security system so the van will not shift out of park.
He calls me and says "I have been blocking the road for over a half hour and the van wont shift from park". It took me 2 seconds to figure out what had happened and I got "Oops".

 

[Desk Jockey]

Had one last night rub the opening to the garage door as he was pulling the van in. If you're straight you're good, come at an angle and you've got problems. I've fired them before for doing that but this guy is a good kid, I'll give him the shitty work for a week.

I need Ken's body man for a month, my fleet looks like it's from the Detroit Metro area.

 

[PCCN]

Got one older perfectly idiot proof Butler for night cleaner to use doing restaurants. Very simple: turn it on and set the water pressure to 350 for carpet or 800 for tile (I labeled the panel so they wouldn't forget- duhhh).

Previous worker had been with me a couple months. Called me late one night and said water running all in the back of the van. Told me he had no water pressure but the tank was full of water. The needle on the pressure gauge wasn't moving. Hmm, simple enough. A hose has come loose or he left the hot water supply valve open that we normally fill jugs with. He said nope. He brought the van back and I went out to look at it the next morning since it was already after midnight.

Wellllll, I looked in the housing and the CAT pump was in 2 pieces. It seems Mr. Idiot had beaten the "idiot proof" machine. No, the needle wouldn't move because he had pegged it all the way PAST the 1500 PSI mark and literally sheared the screws off the CAT pump when it blew the manifold off. When I told him the problem, I kid you not, he replied, "Did I do that?"

By the way, the pump had been on the truck 3 days. Butler just rebuilt it.

 

[Brian H]

Oh the stories I could tell.....

I just wouldn't know where to begin.

 

[Mikey P]

Give us a few highlights Brian..

 

[Desk Jockey]

Yea tell us a bad one misrey loves company....well only if your story is worse.

 

[Ken Snow]

Give us a few highlights Brian..

He knows better, but pretty much if it could possibly happen, it has.

 

[Brian H]

I can give you one that happened at another company that I worked for...

The guy figured instead of using a VOC (something similar to 111 trichlor) as a spotting cemical, he would just mix it in with the regular cleaning concentrate. If I remember correctly, we had to replace the solution line from the chemical jug, replace the metering valve, totally rebuild the cat pump and also rebuild the valve on the wand.

At the same company, one of the techs forgot that you could use ATF ( auto trans fluid) for power steering fluid. Instead he used the ATF as BRAKE fluid. That one was a new master cylinder, flush all the brake lines and rebuild the rotors and wheel cylinders.

 

[The Great Oz]

We've seen a lot of screw ups and heard of lots more. One of the most fun topics for an association meeting is to bring one of these stories along and tell how you handled it.

I can understand almost any kind of mistake since I know that great techs often have little mechanical ability, no spatial reasoning skill, or maybe enough experience to avoid that mistake. I don't have much patience for the same mistake repeated. What grinds me the most is a tech that wants to argue that whatever happened was unavoidable or wasn't their fault. I can't have confidence that he can learn from his mistake if he won't listen to how he can avoid making that mistake again.

If fifteen techs can work without ever bouncing a portable down the stairs it has to be avoidable.

 

[mcatt]

My last tech crashed the van, called in late or sick all the time, and generally just whined a lot.

 

[Larry B]

I don't have much patience for the same mistake repeated. What grinds me the most is a tech that wants to argue that whatever happened was unavoidable or wasn't their fault.

LoL
In IL we had a tech that would leave the wand at houses all the time and it was never his fault. Every single time the customer would call to say he left it behind or he would call to say he was running late because he had to go back to the last house it was always "I had it ready to go outside but the customer........."

 

[rhyde]

I had an employee call me said he hit a curb ruptured the tire tried to put the spare on but something is wrong with wheel?
so i drive all the way out there to find he's put the wheel on backwards so the rim is scraping the brake caliper

Then there was the guy that lost his license but didn't tell us about it, drove company cars for 3 frigg'in months! until he was leaving a store and
hit another car and in a panic hit the car 2 more times trying to get out of the parking lot. 2 days latter the cops show up and take him away in hand cuffs for hit and run
Best part, claiming he didn't know his license was suspended by that time we had found out he was cited by police not once but twice! for driving on a suspended license !

 

[Desk Jockey]

LoL
In IL we had a tech that would leave the wand at houses all the time and it was never his fault. Every single time the customer would call to say he left it behind or he would call to say he was running late because he had to go back to the last house it was always "I had it ready to go outside but the customer........."

We have of couple of what we call "Teflon Tech's" nothing ever sticks to them when the blame is passed around. They might as well not even open their mouths when questioned, we already know it wasn't them.

I don't get it, I willingly admit when I break or damage something, yet these two have an excuse to everything. Gezzz

 

[Hoody]

One place had a maintenance supervisor, he was an ex mechanic that was in charge of fluid changes as we did them in house, and he wrenched on machines. He had to 'sign out' vehicles out when he was working on them so office staff knew what was available and what wasn't. He was doing two cat pump oil changes, and had the plugs off letting them drain but didn't update the system those units weren't available for use. Techs jumped in one of them while he was at lunch, and long story short we had a fried pump.

Had two dehus needing new evac pumps(I forget what they're technically called, but pump outs on dehus). When equipment was broken it was to be tagged, and put in the 'out of service' area so it could be sent for repairs or done in house. The two broken ones weren't taken out of service, we were drying a wood floor, and sat them on an undamaged part, when it filled it flooded the entire wood floor while we weren't there Only 10% of the floor was originally flooded, we were lucky and able to save it, but we had to add more equipment that we didn't get paid for that was needed on other losses.

 

[Askal]

My favorite question during an interview is when a prospect asks if we have sick leave. I say "No, and if you need that then you are too sick to work here. If you miss a day that means everyone else has to work 30% more that day and that is not fair so I expect everyone to show up everyday and on time.
Al

 

[bob vawter]

ya..you mean like if an employee wennt all out taking care and being responsible for a certain area of the business...for YEARS
and the boss came in and rewarded all this hard work by betraying him and sticking a knife in his back...
is THAT what yor talking about?

 

[FredC]

 

[Steve Toburen]

I don't have much patience for the same mistake repeated.

I never (OK, seldom) minded a screw-up one time. That was just a heads-up for us to analyze 1) why the mistake occurred and 2) how we could change our written procedures to make sure it never happened again and 3)train everyone (usually at our weekly staff meeting so IT NEVER HAPPENED AGAIN.

What would drive me into a hat-stomping, foaming-at-the-mouth, insane frenzy is when we got hit with the same bone-headed mistake again and again and again and...

Steve Toburen
www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS Clueless employees? One time we had an office assistant that we had hired because her mom was a family friend and she needed a job. Then we started billing a long time residential account who insisted they had sent us a check. We searched and searched- no check. Finally the client grudgingly stopped payment on their check and sent us another one. Years later (long after we had sent the girl packing for discovered stupid messes) we found the original check in a folder that she had filed under "C"- for "check" of course!

 

[Desk Jockey]

I'd would have been your dream employee Steve.......I screwed up in lots of different ways.

Which would also have kept you busy writing procedures, which I know you love to do.

 

[trojancarpetcare]

Got one older perfectly idiot proof Butler for night cleaner to use doing restaurants. Very simple: turn it on and set the water pressure to 350 for carpet or 800 for tile (I labeled the panel so they wouldn't forget- duhhh).

Previous worker had been with me a couple months. Called me late one night and said water running all in the back of the van. Told me he had no water pressure but the tank was full of water. The needle on the pressure gauge wasn't moving. Hmm, simple enough. A hose has come loose or he left the hot water supply valve open that we normally fill jugs with. He said nope. He brought the van back and I went out to look at it the next morning since it was already after midnight.

Wellllll, I looked in the housing and the CAT pump was in 2 pieces. It seems Mr. Idiot had beaten the "idiot proof" machine. No, the needle wouldn't move because he had pegged it all the way PAST the 1500 PSI mark and literally sheared the screws off the CAT pump when it blew the manifold off. When I told him the problem, I kid you not, he replied, "Did I do that?"

By the way, the pump had been on the truck 3 days. Butler just rebuilt it.

Same problem I have with a employe I have a laminate sheet with pressure for carpet tile and upholstery ad he still can't figure it out.

 

[idreadnought]

So I am with a tech on a job. It is an empty and I normally don't go on jobs but this one needed a very difficult repair done in a bedroom. So the tech is getting setup and and will start in other rooms. I keep hearing this banging, or clanking. Over and over. I couldn't figure out wth he could be doing. Well he is using a wrench and hitting the side of the quick connect trying to get it on the sprayer. He started the machine with the valve open then closed it and created a hydraulic lock. I explained that when you bring the hose in the hose you make sure the valve is in the off position before you turn the machine on. If you don't you will have to open the valve and turn the pump off then close the valve before turning the pump back on. but under no situation do you beat the equipment to try and make it work. IF there is a problem figure it out. Not really a big deal because aside from the beating part techs don't understand how mechanical things work.

Fast forward two months... I get a call from the same tech complaining that he can't get the sprayer attached and the quick connect must be all messed up. I ask him if he turned the machine on with the valve open...Yes. Then did you shut the valve.... Yes. Then did you try and connect the sprayer....Yes. DO you know how your going to pay for diapers for your baby when your unemployed.......................

 

[BLewis]

Just had a tech pull a stupid one last night. He was using the pressure side of the PC650 hp, about 15 minutes into the pressure washing job he noticed the wand pulsating and although it took him a couple minutes to figure out why he was able to figure it out. You see the tech had been using the Vortex for about 5 years without rinse so he forgot to turn off the pump's chemical by pass when he went to the high side for pressure washing. I sure hope he learns quick from his mistake! I've bitched him out plenty since last night! Actually I am getting tired of hearing myself bitchin "myself" out! lol

 

[Desk Jockey]

Put a hole in the chem pump diaphragm? We've done that numerous times.

 

[BLewis]

My first but I am quite sure it won't be my last!

 

[Desk Jockey]

I quit using it for pressure washing, they would forget and put a hole in it and we'd have to send it in to get our chem system back up. I just got tired of the hassle and while the machine is capable we don't use it unless it's a big sewage wash down and then it's tagged. Otherwise they know to leave it alone.

 

[Larry B]

So I am with a tech on a job. It is an empty and I normally don't go on jobs but this one needed a very difficult repair done in a bedroom. So the tech is getting setup and and will start in other rooms. I keep hearing this banging, or clanking. Over and over. I couldn't figure out wth he could be doing. Well he is using a wrench and hitting the side of the quick connect trying to get it on the sprayer. He started the machine with the valve open then closed it and created a hydraulic lock. I explained that when you bring the hose in the hose you make sure the valve is in the off position before you turn the machine on. If you don't you will have to open the valve and turn the pump off then close the valve before turning the pump back on. but under no situation do you beat the equipment to try and make it work. IF there is a problem figure it out. Not really a big deal because aside from the beating part techs don't understand how mechanical things work.

Fast forward two months... I get a call from the same tech complaining that he can't get the sprayer attached and the quick connect must be all messed up. I ask him if he turned the machine on with the valve open...Yes. Then did you shut the valve.... Yes. Then did you try and connect the sprayer....Yes. DO you know how your going to pay for diapers for your baby when your unemployed.......................

Sounds like you hired the one we got rid of. Lol


.... while eating raw fish

 

[Vivers]

Call in sick for a sore throat, whine about a call in on a light day, not come in looking groomed and ready to work, you know, like bed head and wrinkled clothes.

 

[Dmreed4311]

One that comes to mind for me was during college turn last year we had to clean half of an entire apartment complex (124 units). Another cleaning company was to clean the other half. Well I had one guy there cleaning all day for a week to get them all done. Well he had a clear list of what buildings he was to clean, I show up to check on him and I notice he has hoses run to a building that was to be cleaned by the other company. He cleaned 12 units that were already cleaned by the other company and he wasted a whole day. I wound up firing him a couple weeks later because he blew the head gaskets on my van by driving it all the way home while it was overheating, it cost me 1600.00 to fix it. That was his last day.

 

[Out of Character - 0]

2 different techs pulled the same dumb move within about a week of each other. Both were sent to clean foreclosures on lock boxes and both did the wrong house. When they pulled onto the street they stopped at the 1st for sale sign they saw and found unlocked front doors. Both big 2 story's that were trashed

 

[Ron Werner]

heard of a guy running a propane heater for his pressure washing unit which ran on a gasoline engine. Apparently the gas was leaking and leaked back to where the propane burner was, of course when the pilot light "lit" it up. Burned out the truck box. Insurance replaced everything.
About a week later, he did the same thing!