Ever Hire Brad Pitt?

[Joe Marconi]

I few months back, I was on the hunt for an A level tech. One of the tool reps informed me that a great tech at another shop is not happy where he is. He went on to tell me that this guys runs the shop and can do anything! He wasn't happy because of all the hours and that the pay did not math what he was doing. So I gave him a call and set up an interview.

 

The moment I met this tech I thought he was amazing: well spoken, clean cut, great credentials and had the energy of Tiger. He told during the interview that he did three T belts today.

 

I hired him.

 

Turns out this guy is the COMPLETE opposite of what I thought. He is slow, no ambition, moody, unfriendly and not the great tech he claimed to be.

 

So, I named him Brad Pitt. Why? What an actor, he fooled me.

 

And I ask you, Ever Hire Brad Pitt?

 

 

[xrac]

Yes! Master Tech moving into the area from Texas. Fired dealer experience. He was a total flop. I let him go after 4 weeks.

[SMMotors]

Did you check references ?

[Joe Marconi]

Did you check references ?

 

Yes, but I did not call his employer, for the obvious reasons. To be honest, I have been giving it a lot of thought since my post. He is involved with a women who has a child. He may be feeling the pressure of the relationship and/or has other issues that I am not aware of. We will see how it plays out. I cannot put the puzzle pieces together, not yet anyway.

[mspecperformance]

Joe, have you had a conversation about his work yet?

[Joe Marconi]

Joe, have you had a conversation about his work yet?

 

My manager has. It's not that he is not a good tech. It's more that he moves like a snail and is real moody. We have not counted him out yet, but as I mentioned in the original post, he is not the person I thought he was. And not the person his reputation states he is.

[ncautoshop]

I Can't Be Late…:

 

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[Joe Marconi]

Very Funny!

[ncautoshop]

I've got one that's resembles the snail. He's got a great attitude and probably is willing to learn but cleaning the shop is his place. He'll do one thing a day! hope you get your guy situated. I feel it shows true character that you didn't count him out and send him packing. People sure do give up on one another much easier today.

 

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[alfredauto]

I hired 2 brothers on a referral from my parts store manager. These guys lasted one day, they worked together on wiring a trailer and after 6 hours the result was they sliced open all 24' of heavy duty trailer harness to figure out the wires. Thanks but no thanks. If your guy can actually do work he might speed up or start paying him flat rate. My lead tech now has days where I scratch my head and wonder what the problem is but who knows maybe he's having personal problems. Overall he does 10x more work than me so I can't complain.

[SMMotors]

We techs are a moody group of curmudgeons. Family drama ( which should be left outside the shop, be they were human), bills, and working in this business can make your emotions run the gambit.

 

Can you really blame the dude for over selling himself? That's a damn good skill especially if it fooled you, maybe he could move into sales? Times are tough, and sometimes you got to go where the grass appears to be greener.

 

One thing I do to check references without calling the current is to talk to the tool trucks. They have a pretty good bs meter and know what's up. Also, I ask if they are on any forums and take a gander at their posts.

 

Someone who is constantly bitching about their employer, not really contributing anything to the topic, my alarm bells go off.

[flacvabeach]

You never know what you've got until they settle in and you get to know them. We hired a self-professed "super tech" who turned out to be a nightmare. He had the biggest toolbox I have ever seen! Whiner, troublemaker. Fortunately, he talked our female Service Writer into going drinking at lunch time. Goodbye! Turned out he had gotten a cashier pregnant at the last place he worked. We were getting his stuff back for rework long after he left. In general, we have been very fortunate in our hiring, but he stands out as a bad example. Be slow to hire, quick to fire.

[Joe Marconi]

^{_{I've got one that's resembles the snail. He's got a great attitude and probably is willing to learn but cleaning the shop is his place. He'll do one thing a day! hope you get your guy situated. I feel it shows true character that you didn't count him out and send him packing. People sure do give up on one another much easier today.}}

 

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^{I never give up on anyone. But, I do feel that everyone has a responsibility to not only the company they work for, but to themselves. As someone who has spent 40 years in this industry, I know all too well what we go thru, whether it's under the hood or behind the service counter.}

^{There is no easy answer or one-size-fits all when it comes to employee management. The best we can do is continue our quest to find the best people, mentor the ones we have, treat our employees with respect, and keep the lines of communications open.}

^{But, it's a two way street, with both the shop and employees pulling in the right direction. Once one side feels they are giving and the other side is not, you will have problems.}

^{Great comments, I am glad I posted this.}