Tony302600 Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 We have a ex-tech now service writer who used to work on diesels. He hurt his back so they made him a service writer...he hates being a service writer and we are swamped with diesel work so he's back here now. He has been working back here for 3weeks. His warranty tickets started getting declined /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif I found out that he lost his certification. I was up by the manager who was taking plavce of the dispatcher and noticed him putting my number on his tickets. Because obviously im certified and the other diesel tech is at school this would seem kinda fishy to warranty if ever a audit. I am really upset about this because A. no one asked me if they could. B. I cant do anything about it because im sure the manager will just tell me to go back to work, possibly even threatening me if it came down to it. Me and the manager butt heads because sometimes i overlook things unintentionally, but he thinks im being careless. So now i'm just sitting here fuming. I need some advice here. I dont have any pull around here being only 23yrs old and my history with the service manager and him knowing i dont like him too much. His sarcasm is very hard to judge at serious times and it leaves me extremely pissed and confused. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/shrug.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hempstead Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I would say something to your manager and explain how you feel without casuing a argument. If he just blows you off then I would talk to the dealer princepal and see what they would say. It would be very bad for the dealer if they had warranty claims reviewed. Just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 The DP is awesome, but i wouldnt want to talk to him about something like that. He is way too busy with other stuff. The worst part about the shop is that EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHING. If i go talk to the manager, EVERYONE knows within the 30min. I can go in there and talk to him about someone or something without someone finding out. I call it the beauty shop because everyone gossips at work. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif c'mon Jim gimme some creative advice. LoL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 The DP is awesome, but i wouldnt want to talk to him about something like that. He is way too busy with other stuff. The worst part about the shop is that EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHING. If i go talk to the manager, EVERYONE knows within the 30min. I cant go in there and talk to him about someone or something without someone finding out. I call it the beauty shop because everyone gossips at work. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif c'mon Jim gimme some creative advice. LoL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 The DP is awesome, but i wouldnt want to talk to him about something like that. He is way too busy with other stuff. The worst part about the shop is that EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHING. If i go talk to the manager, EVERYONE knows within the 30min. I cant go in there and talk to him about someone or something without someone finding out. I call it the beauty shop because everyone gossips at work. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hempstead Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I wish I had creative adivce for you. All I can say is just focus on your work forget the gossip and let everyone talk, I just ingore all the gossip and don't let it bother me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Wow!!! Doesn't anything SIMPLE happen any more? This a bad situation and it's going to take some care to avoid turning it into a worse situation.... FWIW, and if it's any consolation, I'll bet that this sort of behaviour is more prevalent than we'd like to think. No matter how we try to dress it up, it's misrepresentation at the very least and might even be fraud. It would be nice to get a real feel for your current situation... what you have for a comfort zone when it comes to "mentioning" something, "asserting" something or having the veins in your temples pound... To begin with, the SM should have talked to you about it.. you are unwittingly involved so you have a clear concience, anyway. But, the damage has already been done..... even though him digging the hole deeper isn't going to help. So let's take a look at the first thing that needs to happen to fix the situation (short of using the wheels on your toolbox). What's it going to take to get the other techs certification re-instated? Is he currently working towards it? For your part... are you mad because they're doing it? Or are you mad because they didn't ask first (don't get me wrong, you have every right to be mad)? Lunch is over and it's time for me to head back the salt mines... Chew on this a bit and let's revisit the topic at the end of the day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 It's more of this as to why im mad.... the worst part about the shop is that EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHING. If i go talk to the manager, EVERYONE knows within the 30min. I cant go in there and talk to him about someone or something without someone finding out. I call it the beauty shop because everyone gossips at work. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banghead.gif The DP is awesome, but i wouldnt want to talk to him about something like this. He is way too busy with other stuff. If the manager told me, "Hey, can we put your number on his tickets until we get him into classes" i wouldn't be as bothered by it. He's had 2 comebacks in the 3 weeks since he's worked on these trucks. I'm the only diesel tech that stresses FUEL PRESSURE diag and/or the only one that does but its in one ear and out the other. I'm just so stressed that i can't talk to the manager without it turning into a episode of jerry springer and chairs get thrown. He dislikes me because I had an attitude....well the attitude was stemmed from coming up to you with a serious situation and ure cracking jokes in front of other techs, or giving smart ass answers detering from helping the concern. He's at the point of blaming me for anything and everything that happens on the tickets i work on. Maybe because im the only one that tells him when something is broken, or a tool is missing from the box, he gets mad at me. Other people band-aid things like that, I straight out tell him. It's all because im 23 and no1 wants advice from a kid whos had everything handed to him when working on vehicles. "i'm too good to ask him, only to find out that "hey....he was right"" More and more i think that the man upstairs is showing me the signs to go after my dream of being a cop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregH Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Tony, I'm hearing several messages from you. You're pissed. You're pissed because the service manager is using your number to defraud Ford You're pissed because of the attitude others have towards you - because you are "only" 23 and have the ability to use your brain for diagnosis You're pissed because the whole shop gossips. You're pissed because the manager gets upset when you point things out to him. Believe it or not, from this I see quite a similarity between you and how I was two decades ago. I was young, full of energy, punted diagnosis past the endzone, not afraid to dive off into anything, annoyed at others' ineptitude, got bent when special tools were missing or broken, didn't suffer fools well. Heh, then I grew up some. Got married. Got a mortgage. Got a kid. Lost my father, mother, uncle, and mother-in-law. Figured out that working on trucks is what I do for money. Let me repeat that another way - If they didn't pay me, I wouldn't be here. This is a job. With all it's victories and frustrations, it's still just a job. At 5:30, my ass is out the door, and this place is out of my head for another 14 hours. After I figured this out, my work got a whole lot easier. Once I adopted this come to work, do my work, go home to my life attitude, I don't have a reason to get bent out of shape anymore. And let me tell you, I could throw some tantrums.... The way I see it, you've got some valid, concrete complaints. Your dealership is using your numebr to defraud Ford. And you've got inadequate tools to work with. The rest of your complaints, sorry to say, sound like "noise" to me. Who cares if the shop gossips? What does it matter if the manager gets bent at you when you report equipment deficiencies? I would suggest that you consider a few things. First and foremost, give yourself a good hard self evaluation. Clear the house out - send the wife and kids to stay at Grandma's for a night - and pour you a few strong drinks (or whatever your poison is..). Turn the TV off. And think about yourself. What are you doing right? What are you doing wrong? Where are you being mature and immature? Will you look back in ten or twenty years and feel ashamed about your behavior? Be brutal, but be honest. Make a list if that helps you. Then go to your boss. Tell him that you feel that misusing your number is committing fraud, and that you are an accessory. Tell him you want it stopped by a specific date, or you will call Ford. Next, tell him that there are deficiencies in special service tools and you'd like to schedule a time to do an inventory with him. Then leave his office. Go back to work. Do your job, and do it well. Do not discuss what happened in the office with anyone except your manager. Tell gossipers to take it elsewhere, and don't get drawn in to talking about people. If you aren't working on a vehicle, or talking with a customer, then be in your designated work area ready to work. Remember that this is a job. If they didn't pay you, you wouldn't be here. It's not a social club, you don't come here by choice, it's not a hobby or any other sort of pastime. Adopting these attitudes have made a real difference in my life. I'm happier, easy to get along with, good at my job, and have a wonderful family life. So, maybe some of this will hit home. Some of it will clearly be a miss. Maybe you'll see through my ramblings and pick out the good pieces you need. I understand that most everyone feels that they were cocky and headstrong in their younger days. Maybe it's a rule of life that you have to progress through stages - I donno... Part of me wishes that someone would smack me at 23 and tell me to straighten the fuck up. Part of me recognizes that I needed to have lived through my 20's just as they were so I could see the folly and fix it... I don't have any answers - just know that I've been there and survived. Many other members here have similar stories... We're with you, buddy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 Greg, all extremely valid points. The special tools thing...if its missing, the manager will replace it ASAP, doesnt care how much, thats what i love about him. I was EXTREMELY COCKY, didnt care about anyone, was ignorant, mouthed off 8months ago...that went on for 4months then something hit me ( me realizing its a job and not a frathouse) and i went to work. I went through 2 weeks of people confused because i wasnt my "usual cocky, smartass self." I dont joke around with the managers, i say Hi, and bye, if i get a comeback, i grab the ticket and say ok, not problem i'll look at it. (before i would completely be ignorant to the fact that the almighty me could have messed up). I get frustrated because when i have a question i have no one to ask diesel wise. I ask the other diesel tech and i get the deer in the headlights look and then im stuck. If i post on here a lot it's because you guys are the ones that Understand the systems and how they work so you can help me out /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif. Hotline gives the "it could be wiring, component or PCM" answer and its like NO-SHIT. I get the deer in the headlights feeling when i tell them i voltage dropped the wires in the CKT, and voltage dropeed teh PCM power and Grounds.... After my venting, i just tunneled all my energy and motivation on work...I learned to swallow my pride and just be pleasant to work with. What i'm taking from this is exactly what ure saying Greg....its a job, not a hangout. If we get audited, and one of "those" tickets with my number comes up, im not covering anyones ass but mine. The manager is all about the $$$ and so is the DP. So when i'm complaining and bitching up front im not making $$$. Thank you guys for letting me vent. i feel like a crybaby now.. LoL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmlew Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 You need to mark "your" tickets in some inconspicious way so you can show which ones you actually worked on. That way when the others come back you can say "told you so" or at least cover your ass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Greg has stated things so eloquently.... And he is absolutely right.... So many years ago, I was cocksure that I was Gods gift to the trade.... Bold as brass, I was... Like Greg and like you, Tony, I finally saw the light - I knew what I knew... but rarely applied it to what I was doing.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hitthefan.gif Then, I started on the road to maturity... not sure how my progress is, but I'm doing pretty good.... For you, it's a fairly recent thing.. and that is what you need to downplay... Sure... you may have a lot of beefs... but you need to attack them individually and separately. Not to mention calmly and with good reason at hand.... <why> they shouldn't do something spoken in realistic terms... <why> they should do something, also in realistic terms... don't try to couch anything in assumptions... state facts.... An audit that shows you were "double clocking" is going to earn people a real slap on the wrist and put your service dept. under a microscope. If you make your displeasure known, you have a defence... tenuous, perhaps... but as long as they can't attribute personal gain to you for the practice, you should be good to go... Address each issue individually and in turn... If you cloud a meeting with multiple topics, you might return to the appearance of a "trouble maker" and loose what you might have gained over the past months... A lot of managers don't like having shortcomings brought up.... these same managers deal with an odd mix of "budget" and "profitability" usually forgetting some important considerations along the way. We used to have one service manager that repeatedly told me I know nothing about this business... She's gone.. I perservered. Some DPs or general managers don't take kindly to mixing with us mere peasants... But if yours are approachable, it helps to develop a rapport with them. Discuss things in a way that highlight benefits to the dealerships profitability and CSI scores... And the single most important thing to remember.... nobody ever promised any of us a rose garden.... and we certainly aren't going to get one. Like a tree... if we can bend with the wind, we will survive... if we remain steadfast and unmoving.... Yesterday, I was in shit because my production is down... today I was in shit because my "green team" is making too many mistakes.... Back to what triggered your initial post... the best you're going to hope for is the other tech to regain his certs as quick as possible... This should become one of your managers missions... After that, you can attack some of the other issues that concern you... remember... present them in a light that will show benefit to the shop.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbup.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snw blue by you Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Allow me to be sarcastic for a moment... The wheels on the toolbox go round and round, the wheels on the toolbox.... Well you get the point. Either you need to work with your management to get issues resolved, have a change in attitude, or move on. I try not to complicate the issues. coexistence is a two way street, and if you or your management are at odds and there is no way to reconcilliate, time for a divorce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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