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Well this sucks- snapped at a client.

Trboatworks

Diamond
Joined
Oct 23, 2010
Location
Maryland- USA
Engineer who has a special project going with a thousand changes evolving all the time- I have tried to pin him down and still facing re-do's and general too much fussing around.

He comes in the shop to let me know something was not right as I had to do some cuts and went with templates he provided not the actual parts.
Well more work is needed- not a big deal to rework but boy I laid it out that this is why I said I needed all the plans finalized and relevant equipment on site before work begins.

He turned tail and got out of the shop in a flash.

Sucks- I didn't even think- it just crossed a line and I spelled it out.
Now I need to apologize to the guy for crossing the line and just keep keeping on till the work is done.
And its a damn subcontract so I had to go explain to the general that I snapped at their client and why.

Some jobs- Whew.
Seems I am getting less willing or able to just roll with it.

Ok- that's all.
 
These are stressful times, TR, and you yourself have gone though personal stressors that make things worse.

Roll with it. At some point the client IS wrong, and even if they're paying for the extra work due to the mistakes they make, they're still screwing up scheduling for you, and, as we see, increasing your heart rate due to their lack of organization.

Been there. Occasionally been the unorganized guy myself. Neither's fun...
 
What they said. No one has limitless patience.

In the Christmas spirit -
One particular Christmas season a long time ago, Santa was getting ready for his annual trip but there were problems everywhere. Four of his elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones so Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule. Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her Mom was coming to visit; this stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out at heaven knows where. More stress.

Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys. So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of coffee and a shot of whiskey. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had hid the liquor and there was nothing to drink.

In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the coffeepot and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw it was made of. Just then the doorbell rang and Santa cussed on his way to the door. He opened the door and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas Santa. Isn't it just a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Isn't it just a lovely tree? I need to put it up. Where do you want me to put it?

Thus began the tradition of the little angel on top of the tree.
 
Ha- that's funny Mud.

Milland- that might be part of it.
I find myself bidding high, reluctant and less tolerant - seems the ground has shifted under my feet a bit.
 
Yep,I d just leave it be......you were in the right ,they need to get their act together....No need for any apologies.......must say ,though,I would get upset only if the rework was on my dollar..... if you had quoted a fixed price.........If its all hourly rate,then they they can have as many variations as they like...............Bit like builders,when the clients wife decides all the windows are completely wrong.The contract price goes out the window(figuratively speaking),and all the variations double the price and more.
 
some times its the best thing we can do, their incompetence blows your scheduling to hell. now you have to call the 10 people down the line and say your running late and take all the blame. I finally fired a client that I had worked for since I started my business but I couldn't work for anyone else but him while on his jobs. I would spend an hour on the phone with his employee, have a plan, trailer loaded on my way out to the job they would have a meeting, change the plans then be mad because I didn't have the right stuff on the trailer. all this time my other jobs are getting farther and farther behind. I worked his jobs from 2006 to march of last year. finally told hime to put his work up his ass, that he was a pompous, drama queen, incompetent, his jobs were chaotic, unorganized, and I was done bidding his work at any price. it sure felt good, still feels good. told him to find some young guy starting out that would put up with the incompetence and make him look good but that I was done. sometimes you just have to torch the bridge
 
I've done that a few times.........Still have a job...........still play fill in supervisor.............

Then the guys I give an ear-full, now ask my opinion.........took 12+ yrs.......

Now I'm to the point, that I don't want to deal with stupidity........

Magic words..... "Not my problem" ............ If you wanted it fixed, you should of included the machine shop, before you committed to this abomination....
 
Woman I live with, my girlfriend 15 years ago, has two children. Son, 41, has two girls with wife, daughter has three girls, 8, 6, and 3 years old, with a guy and now twins in her belly from same. Couple of days ago, daughter with children at our table, the little one, about a year retarded speech-wise, keeps crying about something and pounding on mother’s waist until I can’t stand it anymore. In a voice to wake her up I teach her Do finally slap this one!

After the 39 years old has risen a perfect tyrant she felt insulted and no longer welcome with us. Pulled everybody together and left. We can only walk the dog since then.

There’s much worse than an angry client.
 
the little one, about a year retarded speech-wise, keeps crying about something and pounding on mother’s waist until I can’t stand it anymore. In a voice to wake her up I teach her Do finally slap this one!

What a wonderful human being you are.
 
What a wonderful human being you are.

Yah, well. God in her wisdom provided children with "learning muscles" AKA 'gluts'.

Funny thing is, if/as/when disciplined impartially, surely, fairly, and "at once" they learn so incredibly fast it is hardly necessary to do that even TWICE.

Left NOT attended to? They reinforce BAD behaviour until it is hard-core BAD HABIT. "As above". Why would they NOT?

ADULTS can exhibit the functional equivalent.. as TR (and "not-only") has been overly patient in putting up with.

You think that a long-overdue smack - physical OR "verbal" - is overly HARSH?

Are you part of the solution?

Or part of the PROBLEM?

Howjah like having to drop everything and bust-ass to build an ark to deal with forty days and forty nights of rain and a global FLOOD? "The FIRE, next time!". Or being turned into a pillar of salt?

Or just run TF off of profitable work whilst dealing with chronically parasitical IDIOTS?

Guess one could move INTO Kaliphoney-yah SSR and have all of that .. and worse... be taxed half to death to PAY for the privilege of watching outrageous waste and FLAUNTED by 'elites', at that.. but still...

It doesn't have to BE that way...
 
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I snap at customers all the time. I've had engineers that got ass chewed for their stupidity. Can't think of any that didn't keep bringing me stuff, almost always without the stupid. They are trainable.
 
I snap at customers all the time. I've had engineers that got ass chewed for their stupidity. Can't think of any that didn't keep bringing me stuff, almost always without the stupid. They are trainable.

You get some "winners" that will NEVER be "trainable" though.

I was once interviewing an in-house applicant for a support role, the "International" side of Cable & Wireless, Americas, Inc.

Hong Kong being one of our more crucial clients, I asked if they could point it out to me, gestured toward the massive "company" world map on the wall that had ALL C&W presences prominently flagged, 62 countries, "back in the day", IIRC.

Puzzled look. Then admission of failure.

"Well.. maybe if I had a MAP?"

"That IS a 'map'!"

They had been STARING directly AT the map for several minutes and had never even twigged to it BEING a "map", let alone one the company had special-ordered, already MARKED!

I may as well have smeared chopped chik'n liver on the wall for all the use of it they made.

No.

They did NOT get that job!

:D
 
Not enough information to form an opinion on whether getting upset was justified. I don't believe the customer is always right. Was the guy blaming you for a mistake that was on him? And if that mistake is his fault is he expecting you to fix it free of charge?
 








 
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