What's new
What's new

My continued struggle to find decent shop help

Status
Not open for further replies.

wheelieking71

Diamond
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Location
Gilbert, AZ
So, this is becoming quite the saga. Had to fire the latest one this morning.

Hire a 27yr/old kid two weeks ago. Preface of this dude:
Clean cut (other than the giant empty holes in his ear-lobes). Well spoken and polite. Single dad of 3yr/old. Ended up on hard times after a few bad decisions.
Told me all about his issues during interview (DUI, crazy EX, and a bad business partnership deal in another state left him broke/homeless).
Said he is staying with his mom, and just wants to put his life back together. This is perfect because it is only two miles of bike-trail to get to work.
Looks really interesting. 40 hours. And, he can only make $500/wk and retain state support for his 3yr/old.
I took really good mental notes, and did a quick google powered background check after he leaves. Whole story checks out. To the "Tee".
Found his Mom (who brought him to the interview). Daughter. Brothers. DUI info (dates were spot on). Crazy EX. Failed job in another state. Basically, it looks like he is on the level.
Seems like the kid could just use a break after the last couple years.
First day was Mon. Worked Mon, Tues, Wed, called in Thurs. with sick kid (102 fever).
I gave him Fri. off because I was out of material, and kind pissed about Thurs.
Reason: he had already told me he needed day-care Mon~Wed, but his Mom had Thurs/Fri covered (he could have come to work Thurs if he was telling the truth).
Second Mon. was holiday. I gave him the choice to work or not. He chose not because his day-care was closed.
Then calls in Tues. with sick day-care provider (food-poisoning). Forwards me text from day-care provider (because apparently he assumes I don't believe him).
Now, here is the kicker (this is a new one for me! LOL)
Shows up for work Wed. 2 hours before quitting time, he is crying (literally) and tells me his brother just killed himself in a motorcycle accident.
Volunteers a whole bunch of details (brothers name, age, exactly how it happened)
Not really knowing what to say (the only reason I kinda believe him is because he is crying) I offer him a ride home (he is on a bicycle, it is only two miles).
He declines because "Mom won't be home for an hour anyway". :skep: :toetap: I tell him after that news, he is in no shape for work, send him home.
Back to google!
YEP! Sure enough, his brother died. In February!

This kid put on quite a show to go home two hours early! WTF?!

Anyways, I think there is a grain of truth to everything he says. But, I can't trust him. Bye-Bye

NEXT...................
 
Ouch! Sounds like last loser we had. Not bashing this dude for his "for real problems" but embellished shit makes it hard to be sensitive
 
Yeah, he was a really shitty employee and deserved to be fired. I do feel bad for him though, sounds like he's still pretty messed up from everything going on in his life right now. It's not always easy to snap out of that on your first try. You firing him might end up being the best thing for him, nothing like a little wake up call.

That being said, you said this was a saga? What other trouble are you having?
 
Did you think it to be easy adding people?
Now you know the bad.
Do you try to raise and do the the things to this bad child or just go get another?
The question is how much effort to put in on a new hire.
While I am known as the "nice boss" the first 90 days in my shop are very brutal on purpose. No excuses, no slack. Think drill Sargent and a-hole boss.
We all have bad luck and bad times. Some use this as sorry times and others pick their ass up and deal with the cards layed down.
It is possible to resurrect an employee gone down this path but it takes a lot of effort and planning.
I tend to be a softie and try but this has failed more often that it has worked.
Bob
 
robots. lots of them.

Due to data capped internet I cannot be watching videos, at what point does using a robot become feasible doing tedious work like 30 second cycle times on a chucker lathe doing second ops loading a 16C dead stop collet? How much time does setting up the robot arm or whatever it is take? Also how fast loading is it compared to a human? Loading time for me ranges 7-9 seconds on like jobs, including opening and shutting the door.
 
So, this is becoming quite the saga. Had to fire the latest one this morning.

Hire a 27yr/old kid two weeks ago. Preface of this dude:
Clean cut (other than the giant empty holes in his ear-lobes). Well spoken and polite. Single dad of 3yr/old. Ended up on hard times after a few bad decisions.

Learned the hard way. Head Doc research supports it.
Core human personality is locked around age fifteen.
Responsible. Not.

You were more than ten years too late to expect a change.
All it got you was a waste of YOUR time.

A former next-higher and VERY valuable mentor covered that in an article he wrote for the AMA around fifty years ago. David Arthur Stumm:

Conducting the Job Interview
Select. Do not "settle".


Yah no longer need to read beyond that title, do yah? Not if your OWN time is to still be available to the enterprise.
 
Due to data capped internet I cannot be watching videos, at what point does using a robot become feasible doing tedious work like 30 second cycle times on a chucker lathe doing second ops loading a 16C dead stop collet? How much time does setting up the robot arm or whatever it is take? Also how fast loading is it compared to a human? Loading time for me ranges 7-9 seconds on like jobs, including opening and shutting the door.

Depends on the robot...depends on the auto door

If you have a system where it pulls parts from a tray, programming is pretty fast. If you dont already have a system in place, its going to take some time to program and setup.

We use fanucmate and nachi (nachi is like ferrari speed)
NACHI - MZ07 CNC Machine Tending Application - YouTube

With robots its not about the speed its about not needing an employee that shows up late or not at all or gets sick or tired. Change the grease in the robot and keep running.

Lets see your part, I can compare it to some stuff we run and see about what your time would be to load/unload.
 
Keep moving forward. 35 years ago a mentor told me I'd have to run a lot of people through the shop to find a few good ones. He said keep hiring and firing and keep the good ones. I thought he was daft and I thought "that doesn't apply to me". It turns out now that he was giving me excellent advice. And it applies to everyone, and applies now more than ever.

You did it right. The worst mistakes I made have been keeping the iffy ones instead of letting them go on to their greater good elsewhere.
 
Did you think it to be easy adding people?
Now you know the bad.
Do you try to raise and do the the things to this bad child or just go get another?
The question is how much effort to put in on a new hire.
While I am known as the "nice boss" the first 90 days in my shop are very brutal on purpose. No excuses, no slack. Think drill Sargent and a-hole boss.
We all have bad luck and bad times. Some use this as sorry times and others pick their ass up and deal with the cards layed down.
It is possible to resurrect an employee gone down this path but it takes a lot of effort and planning.
I tend to be a softie and try but this has failed more often that it has worked.
Bob

Hell no! I know the reality. It is my least favorite part of running this place. By a very large margin.

And, I am of very similar nature.
The absolute #1 attribute that will cause me to do whatever it takes to keep somebody gainfully employed (for both parties) is trust!
Look how long I drug Tommy out for Christ's sake! That was 90% because, I trusted him 100% (for good reason).
But, this kid yesterday? If he is willing to put on that kind of show, and turn such a devastating truth, in to a lie, just to go home two hours early?
What other lows is he willing to stoop to? Pathological liars are also usually not far removed (if at all) from THIEF! That is why I nipped it right in the bud.

I used to scare myself all the time. Now, there is only one situation I am afraid of. I humbly advise: do not steal from me.
I will turn and walk away from anything else.
 
I have a carpentry apprenticeship. Oh the stories they can tell!:rolleyes5: It makes for days where no one sweeps up the shop until 6pm..yep..that’d be me.
i think the majority of the younger generation can be summed up in one emoji..:cheers:
 
Keep moving forward. 35 years ago a mentor told me I'd have to run a lot of people through the shop to find a few good ones. He said keep hiring and firing and keep the good ones. I thought he was daft and I thought "that doesn't apply to me". It turns out now that he was giving me excellent advice. And it applies to everyone, and applies now more than ever.

You did it right. The worst mistakes I made have been keeping the iffy ones instead of letting them go on to their greater good elsewhere.

POINT! The technology, products, jobs, work, change.

Human nature not so much.

WHEN you GET "good ones", and if you want to KEEP "good ones"?

High on the list of what you now OWE them ....as much as yourself.. is to NOT abuse the team by introducing BAD ones. Pissing in the soup does not make it serve more folks.
 
(other than the giant empty holes in his ear-lobes). Well spoken and polite. Single dad of 3yr/old. Ended up on hard times after a few bad decisions.
Told me all about his issues during interview (DUI, crazy EX, and a bad business partnership deal in another state left him broke/homeless).

A history of making bad decisions indicates, well, a propensity for making bad decisions
 
Do you try to raise and do the the things to this bad child or just go get another?
The question is how much effort to put in on a new hire.

sounds like you've been watching a lot of Simon Sinek. It sells books but a lot of it just BS. Maybe if you're Consolidated Flange you can be a surrogate Dad to life's loosers, but us small business guys do not have the time. I agree though its a big a problem, the essentially unemployable, Big enough I wounder if I should keep going in manufacturing...its a very different in a professional services environment. There you get these keen bright young-ins that stay to 9:00 at night
 
Status
Not open for further replies.








 
Back
Top