Ok this guy is driving me nuts

[mrblaine]

The old adage of , " There are no stupid questions " is incorrect.

I warned one of them many times to avoid asking questions with obvious answers because I considered them to be stupid and I have a very low tolerance for stupid. It probably didn't help that the second time they visited they were late. As soon as he got out of his truck, I yelled at him and called him a fucking liar.

You would have thought I slapped him in the face with a dirty stick. I told him he was late, and he lied about when he was going to be here when he called me that morning to ask if he could swing by. He did the bullshit "oh, my meeting ran late". Ok, so just to be clear, somehow that little magic phone of yours stops working when you have a meeting that runs late. No, it works fine. Ok, well, if you don't want to be a fucking liar, then use that piece of shit to call me and tell me your meeting ran late and you won't be here when you said you would be. You were on the road an hour, use that time to not be a fucking liar.

He was never late again.

 

[ColoJeep]

I warned one of them many times to avoid asking questions with obvious answers because I considered them to be stupid and I have a very low tolerance for stupid. It probably didn't help that the second time they visited they were late. As soon as he got out of his truck, I yelled at him and called him a fucking liar.

You would have thought I slapped him in the face with a dirty stick. I told him he was late, and he lied about when he was going to be here when he called me that morning to ask if he could swing by. He did the bullshit "oh, my meeting ran late". Ok, so just to be clear, somehow that little magic phone of yours stops working when you have a meeting that runs late. No, it works fine. Ok, well, if you don't want to be a fucking liar, then use that piece of shit to call me and tell me your meeting ran late and you won't be here when you said you would be. You were on the road an hour, use that time to not be a fucking liar.

He was never late again.

A little courtesy and respect goes a long ways.

 

[AndyG]

This was my guy , highly skilled and did beautiful work. However , it doesn't matter when a project take 4 times what it should. I tried to give him a lot of grace , and would figure in 2X the time on his projects . But it didn't matter due to all the side tracks he would get on. After he was fired I was In a total jam being down two guys and having to support 24/7 emergency coverage and snow removal . But a giant stress was removed from my mind and well being .
The 800lb. gorilla in the room is you also go to church with this guy ,and that adds about a million other pressures to you , from people not qualified to have an opinion on this . I will pray for guidance for you and him.

You are very very aware.

Much appreciated.

Locally around church everybody has pretty much been aware of his behavior for a long time- I think when he came to a wedding reception with 100 quart cooler to take food home it was pretty evident this guy is off the chain.

 

[AndyG]

Blaine’s post has me thinking about something else that seems to be going on-


These people are typically sucking up to the boss and they will ask questions just to try to capture attention-

Which is OK if it’s the right time and a relevant question

But if it’s not then it is wasting your time and distracting your thought process from a job you’re having to work harder on because of people like this that can’t carry the ball

 

[sab]

Oh, your tires and rims showed up.
Are you going to install them on the rig? No, I'm going to roll them out front and use them as high dollar flower planters.

I reinforced your tub rails because I watched someone in JV back the corner into a rock, fold up the wheel well and it pretty much ruined the rig.

Did they have reinforced tub rails? Yes, because I am so fond of doing useless things that take lots of time and effort to figure out that I decided to waste that effort on something that doesn't work.

Do you have an open end 8mm wrench? Yes I do.

"Here's your sign"
--Bill Engvall

Love that bit, and use the phrase occasionally when I'm feeling snarky...

 

[sab]

I warned one of them many times to avoid asking questions with obvious answers because I considered them to be stupid and I have a very low tolerance for stupid. It probably didn't help that the second time they visited they were late. As soon as he got out of his truck, I yelled at him and called him a fucking liar.

You would have thought I slapped him in the face with a dirty stick. I told him he was late, and he lied about when he was going to be here when he called me that morning to ask if he could swing by. He did the bullshit "oh, my meeting ran late". Ok, so just to be clear, somehow that little magic phone of yours stops working when you have a meeting that runs late. No, it works fine. Ok, well, if you don't want to be a fucking liar, then use that piece of shit to call me and tell me your meeting ran late and you won't be here when you said you would be. You were on the road an hour, use that time to not be a fucking liar.

He was never late again.

You're channeling my mother, Mr. Blaine! Growing up, we obviously didn't have mobile phones, but she expected a call from a pay phone if our plans changed (either the location we would be at or the time frame involved). She even went so far as to ask us if we have pocket change for the pay phones as we left the house. She invoked common courtesy as the reason, and I actually understood that as a kid. Tight ship, she ran, and I still thank her for equipping me for the real world...

 

[AndyG]

You're channeling my mother, Mr. Blaine! Growing up, we obviously didn't have mobile phones, but she expected a call from a pay phone if our plans changed (either the location we would be at or the time frame involved). She even went so far as to ask us if we have pocket change for the pay phones as we left the house. She invoked common courtesy as the reason, and I actually understood that as a kid. Tight ship, she ran, and I still thank her for equipping me for the real world...

A good mom is gold. I can’t even put into words how I feel about this.

Even at the best dad’s are gone a lot and women have everything it takes to shape and mold and nurture and build the foundation children need.


My mother would hit for distance but at the end of the day we knew she loved us and cared about us and wanted us to do good. And made sure we did.

 

[Zorba]

Locally around church everybody has pretty much been aware of his behavior for a long time- I think when he came to a wedding reception with 100 quart cooler to take food home it was pretty evident this guy is off the chain.

On the spectrum or not, there's only so much you can do. Thank Goddess I'm not "further up" than I am - I at least usually learn something from someone who says "hey dipshit..." - twice tops!

 

[DavidBT]

On the spectrum or not, there's only so much you can do. Thank Goddess I'm not "further up" than I am - I at least usually learn something from someone who says "hey dipshit..." - twice tops!

My brother-in-law that helped me get in the Laborers Union used say, quit being dumb!!

 

[lBasket]

My brother-in-law that helped me get in the Laborers Union used say, quit being dumb!!

I like to say "it's easy, all you gotta do is not fuck it up"

 

[Zorba]

My brother-in-law that helped me get in the Laborers Union used say, quit being dumb!!

My late father used to have a saying, "I'm not that stupid and neither are you!"

 

[WestCoastDan]

Having read a few more replies and given a bit more thought on this, I have to suggest that there is still a lesson to be learned here by both AndyG and the unfocused employee. Not the same lesson, but a parallel lesson, if you will.

I have come to realize that life will continue presenting us with the chance to learn a specific lesson a thousand different ways, UNTIL WE ACTUALLY LEARN IT.

With that in mind, what possible lesson are you missing here, AndyG?
Is it a lesson about how you deal with challenges, is it about understanding and compassion, or is it possibly related to who and how you hire employees?
There has got to be something that you haven't learned, understood, accepted, etc. for this to become a constant hurdle for you to overcome.

For the unfocused employee, it could be a lesson in listening, humility, or god-knows-what.

Regardless, I feel like there is probably nowhere solid for you to take your next step...
If you fire the guy he's still going to be present in other aspects of your life, and those with zero knowledge of the issue will surely judge you for it rather than allowing the facts to dictate their opinions.
If you keep the guy on, he's going to end up costing you time, money, reputation, etc.
Neither of these options has a good feel to it.

From this outsiders' view, I suspect one of the lessons that needs to be learned here is how to find a fresh talent pool to draw from.

 

[WestCoastDan]

My late father used to have a saying, "I'm not that stupid and neither are you!"

So he was half right...

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I wouldn't unless 95% of folks I deal with are also on the spectrum.
I've had hour long conversations with dozens of folks where every other response from me should have been "asked and answered". Instead, I just turn into a bigger dick than normal.

Oh, your tires and rims showed up.
Are you going to install them on the rig? No, I'm going to roll them out front and use them as high dollar flower planters.

I reinforced your tub rails because I watched someone in JV back the corner into a rock, fold up the wheel well and it pretty much ruined the rig.

Did they have reinforced tub rails? Yes, because I am so fond of doing useless things that take lots of time and effort to figure out that I decided to waste that effort on something that doesn't work.

Do you have an open end 8mm wrench? Yes I do.

Multiply that x 100's and that's how my conversations go with most folks.

I don't think I would evaluate your customers (who presumably aren't hanging around in your shop and don't know how it operates and how things go) on the same playing field as a guy who's at work and should know what's up. I'm naturally going to ask a lot more follow up questions and repeat back my understanding to make sure I'm getting the intended message with someone I don't know as well, in an environment I'm not used to, vs at work where I'm the one being asked.

 

[AndyG]

Having read a few more replies and given a bit more thought on this, I have to suggest that there is still a lesson to be learned here by both AndyG and the unfocused employee. Not the same lesson, but a parallel lesson, if you will.

I have come to realize that life will continue presenting us with the chance to learn a specific lesson a thousand different ways, UNTIL WE ACTUALLY LEARN IT.

With that in mind, what possible lesson are you missing here, AndyG?
Is it a lesson about how you deal with challenges, is it about understanding and compassion, or is it possibly related to who and how you hire employees?
There has got to be something that you haven't learned, understood, accepted, etc. for this to become a constant hurdle for you to overcome.

For the unfocused employee, it could be a lesson in listening, humility, or god-knows-what.

Regardless, I feel like there is probably nowhere solid for you to take your next step...
If you fire the guy he's still going to be present in other aspects of your life, and those with zero knowledge of the issue will surely judge you for it rather than allowing the facts to dictate their opinions.
If you keep the guy on, he's going to end up costing you time, money, reputation, etc.
Neither of these options has a good feel to it.

From this outsiders' view, I suspect one of the lessons that needs to be learned here is how to find a fresh talent pool to draw from.

Well once he gets on task he is remarkable-

Jocko Willink pointed out something somebody did- He had a commander that did not have a loud voice and he knew that was a liability in combat.

He put a guy in a situation where he had to speak louder or he was going to jeopardize his future as a SEAL team leader- When it got down to the wire the guy looked over at the person next to him and said “
shout xyz “- and it worked.

In other words he found a way to get the job done.

For me, it has been to let Matt handle this guy- And not even go by the job when he’s there- As bad as I hate to do that.


I’ll wait till he goes to lunch.

Whatever.

You know in a weird way I love the guy but let me tell you what happened this morning-


I sent my top dog over there to show him how to remove some cabinets-

He said

“ i left dumber after talking to him than when I came”

 

[lBasket]

Well once he gets on task he is remarkable-

Jocko Willink pointed out something somebody did- He had a commander that did not have a loud voice and he knew that was a liability in combat.

He put a guy in a situation where he had to speak louder or he was going to jeopardize his future as a SEAL team leader- When it got down to the wire the guy looked over at the person next to him and said “
shout xyz “- and it worked.

In other words he found a way to get the job done.

For me, it has been to let Matt handle this guy- And not even go by the job when he’s there- As bad as I hate to do that.


I’ll wait till he goes to lunch.

Whatever.

You know in a weird way I love the guy but let me tell you what happened this morning-


I sent my top dog over there to show him how to remove some cabinets-

He said

“ i left dumber after talking to him than when I came”

This dude needs a TV show

 

[JMT]

As far as Unions, I researched them lately because my son is doing an electrician apprenticeship and currently with a non-Union but interested in going to Union. I'd always been anti-union, but ignorantly so. I thought they were tied in deep with the Democratic Party. That is really a fluke of history in the 1970's. Republicans should have shown more support, but it simply became a Democratic Party talking point. Bottom line is without a Union the company big whigs get all the say and the employees are nothing more than chattel. At least with Unions the workers have a say. If they don't then it results in the haves and have-nots of socialism/communism. So, as long as Unions function properly they seem like a veritable corrective tool. I know big companies like Walmart and Amazon have done everything in their power to not become Union. Hmmm...and why would that be? Walmart has been successful so far. Amazon not as much. Also, Unions are increasing around the world and the prospect in America is for more Unionization. Whether you are for or against them is not the point of this post.

 

[AndyG]

As far as Unions, I researched them lately because my son is doing an electrician apprenticeship and currently with a non-Union but interested in going to Union. I'd always been anti-union, but ignorantly so. I thought they were tied in deep with the Democratic Party. That is really a fluke of history in the 1970's. Republicans should have shown more support, but it simply became a Democratic Party talking point. Bottom line is without a Union the company big whigs get all the say and the employees are nothing more than chattel. At least with Unions the workers have a say. If they don't then it results in the haves and have-nots of socialism/communism. So, as long as Unions function properly they seem like a veritable corrective tool. I know big companies like Walmart and Amazon have done everything in their power to not become Union. Hmmm...and why would that be? Walmart has been successful so far. Amazon not as much. Also, Unions are increasing around the world and the prospect in America is for more Unionization. Whether you are for or against them is not the point of this post.

We had a local tire plant-

It was really good for a lot of people in our area, especially solid guys that did not have college degrees- you made good good money and had great benefits.

A lot of these were guys that were just getting into the workforce as the need for technical workers was growing and they were just good old boys and went to work there. It was one of the last types of jobs that you could get around here without a college degree and still live above average.


Years went by and it was great for everybody and the union got even stronger and eventually negotiated to pay to the point that the manufacture closed the plant.

That really broke my heart and kind of left me with a bad taste in my mouth- I mean for goodness sake they’re supposed to be looking out for the employees.

I have seen individuals and big companies and organizations look out for themselves so fiercely to the point that they hurt themselves.


To bring everything together I will say if a person like this individual was caught up in a union environment you would have yourself a real problem. And it happens.

 

[mrblaine]

As far as Unions, I researched them lately because my son is doing an electrician apprenticeship and currently with a non-Union but interested in going to Union. I'd always been anti-union, but ignorantly so. I thought they were tied in deep with the Democratic Party. That is really a fluke of history in the 1970's. Republicans should have shown more support, but it simply became a Democratic Party talking point. Bottom line is without a Union the company big whigs get all the say and the employees are nothing more than chattel. At least with Unions the workers have a say. If they don't then it results in the haves and have-nots of socialism/communism. So, as long as Unions function properly they seem like a veritable corrective tool. I know big companies like Walmart and Amazon have done everything in their power to not become Union. Hmmm...and why would that be? Walmart has been successful so far. Amazon not as much. Also, Unions are increasing around the world and the prospect in America is for more Unionization. Whether you are for or against them is not the point of this post.

If it wasn't for unions, China wouldn't stand a chance in our market places. So there is that.

 

[mrblaine]

I don't think I would evaluate your customers (who presumably aren't hanging around in your shop and don't know how it operates and how things go) on the same playing field as a guy who's at work and should know what's up. I'm naturally going to ask a lot more follow up questions and repeat back my understanding to make sure I'm getting the intended message with someone I don't know as well, in an environment I'm not used to, vs at work where I'm the one being asked.

Guessing you missed the 95% part? Send me your email address and I'll start sending the asked and answered questions over. The above was just a couple of the examples of what I deal with every single day in person, on the phone and in email.