Got a bad apple in your shop? Get rid of him fast!

[Joe Marconi]

Ever had an employee that spreads doom and gloom throughout the shop? You know the one; the employee that damages morale, complains about everything, comes in late, and is miserable all the time. And, after trying to fix him, you realize that you can’t. But, “He’s a great producer”, you tell yourself. Well, is he?

 

The fact is, if you have a poison employee, ask yourself this, “What damage is he doing to the rest of the shop?” Also, how is he damaging the morale of the shop? What production loss is occurring that is due to his attitude?

 

Consider this; you, as the leader of the company must have the support and respect of everyone. If you allow the bad apple to stay, others in the shop will not feel you are a leader that cares about everyone. They will think you only care about the bad apple’s production. They will think you value money first, and people last. When this happens, the rest of your team will begin to shut down, morale will continue to suffer, and so will production.

 

Here’s another scenario you are familiar with too. When you do finally get rid of the bad apple, the others will rejoice and tell you, “Well, it’s about time boss!”

[Shopcat]

Great point Joe. Allowing this type of situation to go on only leads to further dysfunction.

[lmcca]

well, said and very true

[weighit]

So true, I was hired into a dealership as the Service Mgr and had a wiz kid tech, really was an all around great mechanic, just a terrible person. Threw tools, swore, unhappy at most of what life tossed his way. He would come in and the whole mood of the shop would turn glum. I tried the normal things you would to to cheer him up, gave all the kudo's trying to inspire him to enjoy life. Talk and listen to what he was 'upset' about. After at least 6 months of this, pulled him into the office and said I Quit! He looked at me funny and I said your out of here, I quit trying to get you to work as a team mate and your unhappy attitude to the other guys and office staff. No notice, no lets try something else, I quit YOU. Load your stuff and I will have Sally cut your last check right now. As he was making his exit, the rest of the guys all came and said Thank You! Many said they were in the process of trying to find other employment, but now would stay and not feel threatened by the bad guy. Hard to believe but the work output went up with that one guy gone. Don't put up with a toxic employee.

[xrac]

I just had a guy with a bad attitude quit. The shop is so much more pleasant.

[PAPShop]

About a year ago we had to fire our bad apple. He was constantly complaining about working on rusty cars (Uh, its Minnesota dude.) and was just never happy about anything, to include how the owner ran the shop. There was no real reason to fire him, and the owner was looking for someone else. The bad apple did us the favor by taking a customer's 1969 convertible Mustang for a joy ride, I mean test drive, to check out if the fuse he replaced was the problem. 30 minutes of joy ride later, I mean test drive, and he returned, flying over the railroad tracks and a big grin on his face. When the owner asked if he brought a spare fuse with him in case the new one failed, the answer was no. He knew he was done and there was cause to let him go.

 

The change in atmosphere and attitude was like a fog was lifted overnight. The owner took his time finding a replacement and used a working interview to select the final hire.

[PAPShop]

About a year ago we had to fire our bad apple. He was constantly complaining about working on rusty cars (Uh, its Minnesota dude.) and was just never happy about anything, to include how the owner ran the shop. There was no real reason to fire him, and the owner was looking for someone else. The bad apple did us the favor by taking a customer's 1969 convertible Mustang for a joy ride, I mean test drive, to check out if the fuse he replaced was the problem. 30 minutes of joy ride later, I mean test drive, and he returned, flying over the railroad tracks and a big grin on his face. When the owner asked if he brought a spare fuse with him in case the new one failed, the answer was no. He knew he was done and there was cause to let him go.

 

The change in atmosphere and attitude was like a fog was lifted overnight. The owner took his time finding a replacement and used a working interview to select the final hire.

[xrac]

Life is too short to live wtih bad apples. One bad apple in the barrel will make all the apples rot.

[AJFA]

^{My bad apple quit last month. He had 9.5 unpaid days off in the first 3 months of this year, when asked if he could put in some nights or weekends to make up for the loss in revenue he did not think he owed me anything. Sorry to say I have had other 24 year olds say the same thing to me in the past.}

^{This one gave me notice then texted me the next day to say he was getting his tools!! Of course the shop & schedule was more than full but we survived without him.}

^{Looking for his replacement still.}

^Dave