Employees Are The Worst

[mfatty500]

I am 26 - i don't like that comment AT ALL.

You don't like that eh? Well then, let me give you 2 punches on my Tuff Sh!t card, because that's what i see a lot of these days, I'm glad that you are not in that class. But wait until your in mid 50's or (sooner) and you'll see what I'm talking about, people 30 years younger than yourself..

 

[ikarasu]

You don't like that eh? Well then, let me give you 2 punches on my Tuff Sh!t card, because that's what i see a lot of these days, I'm glad that you are not in that class. But wait until your in mid 50's or (sooner) and you'll see what I'm talking about, people 30 years younger than yourself..

It works both ways. IMO, it's more about leadership than it is about age. If you have a boss that lets you get away with murder, thats what you will do... and once everyone else sees it, thats what they will do also.

 

[hcardwell93]

Sounds like you need to fire everyone except for your "engineer" and start paying him more. You obviously disdain everyone you have hired. You claim to be doing 90% of the work, get rid of them and their wages will go towards rent. You make all the quotes, take the extra minute and email it to the client. Do your invoicing at night. Get a bluetooth headset you can talk on the phone while still being productive.

Want to get out of debt? Have you tried negotiating with the landlord on the late fees? Explain that being kicked harder doesn't help you get out of the hole any faster. Maybe you should consider moving to a more affordable location.

Call American Express. Let them know you are having a hardship and negotiate a fixed monthly repayment in exchange for a much lower interest rate. If they know they will get exactly $XXX every month they are open to it.

Once you accept that you are 100% responsible for the current situation and any hope of recovery your future will not improve. Stop with the blame. You're not 6 years old, you're an adult. Look at mistakes and failures as teaching opportunities for yourself and your employees. Figure out what went wrong, then decide how to avoid doing it again in the future.

It sounds like I worked for a guy like you once. I liked the job but the owner was awful. He would never allocate the resources that we needed, and asked for, and when things went wrong he took it out on us. We used to always say "keep making bricks, but you don't get any straw." What you need to do is reduce your debt and get yourself squared away, then you find a veteran shop manager that will insulate your employees from you. When he gives you advice or asks for things, trust him and follow through with promises. When your employees are happy you will see mistakes vanish.

 

[Gino]

I don't see this as an age question as much as a boss/owner call out the chute.

If you generalize, you will see much more of a younger crowd who can't deal with work or even authority. It's what's in the schools, what politics are doing and then the biggest factor, your home-life.

Work ethics are first learned at home. If you were raised with a good working code, you're bound to be a good worker.... or at least eventually fit in. Without the work code, you're bound to be a loser or a quitter. I have a kid who just turned 18 and works part time wit me and he has some of the best habits I've ever seen. Everything is..... yes sir, no sir and yes, I can do that. He helps and is thinking as he goes along. He has the next tool ready without my asking. He anticipates and he asks questions if he doesn't know. Outside the shop and inside, he is one of the best workers I ever had. I have people who have worked here for years, they constantly challenge things, things that shouldn't hafta be explained..... or discussed, but I figured it out some years ago what's going on. If they discuss how to do something or debate what might be better, it sounds all good and whatnot, but all it is..... is a time waster. They get outta work while we stop to talk and inevitably, they never win, cause their appraoch was bassackwards.

Back to the age thing. Again, while I don't believe it's an age thing, altogether..... it is on the person hiring to at least keep up with things and if they've made a mistake in hiring the wrong kinda person..... get rid of them. You don't just keep someone on board to fill a spot, if all they do is suck up air and money.

So, ya set a good precedence and keep everyone working at a good pace and when one starts to falter, ya write them up. If it happens again, they're out. I have a 2 strike system, not 3. So, it's the person doing the hiring who is to blame and making the whole barrel rotten, cause that's all anybody sees.

 

[peavey123]

I guess you don't have your employees on here cause they'd be pissed off if they saw this thread. lol

I always thought it would be a good idea for shop owners to get their employees on S101

 

[Gino]

Ha..... I always thought it would be a good idea for shop-owners only to go to and keep the employees working and off the computer with this nonsense.

Ya know, the pendulum swings both ways..... makes no difference what side you're on, you're always gonna be wrong to some.

 

[peavey123]

Ha..... I always thought it would be a good idea for shop-owners only to go to and keep the employees working and off the computer with this nonsense.

Ya know, the pendulum swings both ways..... makes no difference what side you're on, you're always gonna be wrong to some.

I just mean like if you're hiring young people, they're on the internet all the time why not point them to a site that can teach them a thing or two and/or inspire them? I dunno? I've been on here since day one of starting in this business and I've learned a lot from both my bosses and this site. Plus, I'm not saying let them go on when they're supposed to be working. lol

 

[Gino]

I guess I still see it differently. If an employee is having a problem doing something... I'd like him/her to come to me and see if I can solve it. If I can't, I'll come here and look for the answer(s). Otherwise, I will tell them to research it, but hardly are any of the real answers ever found here at s101. The only thing found here besides name-calling and cockfights is name that font, where are the cheap inks and how do I make this cheaper without letting onto the customer I shortchanged them ?? Is this wood ??

If you have an agreement with your boss to go on here throughout the day, good for you, but I'd like a running tab of what's going on.

 

[Stella_FB700]

You don't like that eh? Well then, let me give you 2 punches on my Tuff Sh!t card, because that's what i see a lot of these days, I'm glad that you are not in that class. But wait until your in mid 50's or (sooner) and you'll see what I'm talking about, people 30 years younger than yourself..

Trust me I've seen a lot of it - but also older people who don't know the difference between a screwdriver to their own rear end.
Guess i am the lucky one who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job completed and find possibly solutions daily.
I know how hard they are to find - Guess my mentality is work hard or go home.

 

[hcardwell93]

I guess I still see it differently. If an employee is having a problem doing something... I'd like him/her to come to me and see if I can solve it. If I can't, I'll come here and look for the answer(s). Otherwise, I will tell them to research it, but hardly are any of the real answers ever found here at s101. The only thing found here besides name-calling and cockfights is name that font, where are the cheap inks and how do I make this cheaper without letting onto the customer I shortchanged them ?? Is this wood ??

If you have an agreement with your boss to go on here throughout the day, good for you, but I'd like a running tab of what's going on.

What font is this piece of wood for my printhead error?

 

[Gino]

What font is this piece of wood for my printhead error?

Yesss......... I don't know.

Is it yellow yet or did they already collect for lunch ??​

 

[hcardwell93]

Yesss......... I don't know.

Is it yellow yet or did they already collect for lunch ??​

Well I was looking for a profile to keep my vinyl from falling off the Disney Collection paint and I noticed you didn't pay me.

 

[Gino]

Pay you what..... ??

You want payment ?? Use this....... some day you will hafta stop playing to go poop. Now, that.... ya can take to the bank or just flush it.

 

[hcardwell93]

Pay you what..... ??

You want payment ?? Use this....... some day you will hafta stop playing to go poop. Now, that.... ya can take to the bank or just flush it.

Only if it's hand painted, right?

 

[Gino]

Alright folks, let's put this one to bed. Once ya start talking toilet mouth stuff, ya stick a fork in it and it's done. Anything good to contribute ??

 

[CVS]

That's neat and all, but if we hire someone to do something, we actually expect them to perform in order to receive their earned pay. Having a rewards systems in place or holding their hands or griping about them...... that's non-productive. Now you hafta charge more for your rewards. If not, you're making them [the customers] pay for mistakes made on your company time, because you can't find competent people. Hey, it that works for you, fine and dandy. I'd rather just get the work they promised to do out of them and pay for it. Now, I don't need to dance around and waste time figuring all these side bar deals.

Now, if we have a nice project going through and someone or some people can make things easier on me, by taking some of the heat off of me, so I can do other things, they get a bonus. Everyone here knows that by performing certain things better, will result in a bonus. However, I take that outta my pay, not the customer's.

Everything that goes through your shop should have a cost factor applied to it for error/problems/ downtime/ mistakes/whatever. This cost helps when or if something goes wrong. If nothing goes wrong, it builds towards the next something or other that might go wrong. This sh!t factor is always calculated in, unless I'm doing a project, solo.

It is a way for employees to see the costs associated with doing a poor job on something. And of course it's factored in to the operating costs. It acts like a bonus. My husband's old boss had a similar system where he paid a certain amount into a fund each month. Mistakes were taken out of it and whatever was left became the Christmas bonus.
I find that employees don't always know the true cost of time and materials as its pretty abstract to them, where it's very apparent to us owners.

 

[burgmurk]

Take a step back and figure out why your employees don't respect you.

 

[ams]

This thread started out excellent, very useful information, some opinions, some helpful suggestions, some comments where I need to do better.
Now it has turned to "Stop acting like a F***ing 6 year old and grow up", so I am not replying anymore because some of you are immature. It was nice while it lasted and I learned a few things.

 

[hcardwell93]

This thread started out excellent, very useful information, some opinions, some helpful suggestions, some comments where I need to do better.
Now it has turned to "Stop acting like a F***ing 6 year old and grow up", so I am not replying anymore because some of you are immature. It was nice while it lasted and I learned a few things.

If you take the time to read my post for what it is there is some really good info there. When you type "Stop acting like a F***ing 6 year old and grow up" I can tell you didn't read what I was trying to say, you only see what you want to see.

 

[Andy_warp]

I really wasn't a very good leader until I realized I worked for my employees, not the other way around. When I started to see their failures as my failures, things turned around quickly. Was I setting them up to succeed every day...or just shoveling the bs from workstation to workstation? Your attitude is a huge contributor to their attitude and output. I see the millennial gripe all of the time...and the reality is...nobody is giving these kids direction! It's up to the old school to show why this trade used to be "something" If you offer no direction and expect everything to be learned from youtube...well...

I also would have you look at what you really are expecting from them. As a business owner you simply cannot expect your employees to be as invested in your company as you are. I've had employers in the past pull out their wallet every time I made a mistake...and frankly it's extremely insulting. Mainly because there were many times my integrity and work ethic filled up the coffers as well...and nobody was there to display the drama of putting the cash in the wallet. Your employees simply don't get the benefits and perks that you do as a business owner, so you can't expect that type of dedication. You can expect to get what YOU pay for.