well the Nationals cost me a bit more than spending money

[Clunkmeister]

Today I was going through invoices and marrying them up with work orders, and lo and behold I find a bunchy of parts invoices that don't coincide with a work order. hmmmmmm.. the plot thickens.

I quiz my guys, and one of them tells me that the fill in manager I hired for when I was away had them work on his personal car all day Friday. Instead of the multitude of customer cars we had waiting. 

So a bit of forensic accounting and matching things up finds me out about $1450.00 plus the loss of the use of the bay and the loss of revenue from that employee. My employees are pretty darn trustworthy and told me that the Temp assured them that I had approved the personal time. One of my guys even stated it seemed a bit hinky to him so he tried calling my cell to verify the story. A search of missed calls verified his story.

These guys never get it. When you're called in for an interview, the interviewer already has the answers to the questions he's going to ask the interviewee.

Anyway, I fired him on the spot and rightly or wrongly, I feel violated, stupid, and incredibly used.

[harv]

Sorry buddy........harv

[Clunkmeister]

Yeah you never can tell, can you... grrrrrr

[JohnB]

A hell of a note!!!

[Jeff]

WOW............................................ this kind of stuff make sit hard to trust again............................I'm sorry to hear this one Ernie....................

[BlrwestSiR]

That's so disappointing to hear. 

 

[Martinnfb]

That sucks, but you discovered what was happening in time to take action and on the same token you verified reliability of your employees . Still sucks.

[ScottsGT]

My brother owned a Midas franchise at one time. Same experience.  Managers lying and faking receipts, employees he trusted with keys coming in to work on customers cars on the side when they came in for an estimate, pocketing cash for minor jobs, charging parts back to auto parts stores for personal items, faking (he tried to fake it, actually broke both his legs) an accident to get workers comp.  Couldn’t find any sober and high end mechanics since all the good ones went to dealerships.  

[Clunkmeister]

27 minutes ago, ScottsGT said:

My brother owned a Midas franchise at one time. Same experience.  Managers lying and faking receipts, employees he trusted with keys coming in to work on customers cars on the side when they came in for an estimate, pocketing cash for minor jobs, charging parts back to auto parts stores for personal items, faking (he tried to fake it, actually broke both his legs) an accident to get workers comp.  Couldn’t find any sober and high end mechanics since all the good ones went to dealerships.  

We call those techs “rounders”, because they keep going round and round between shops.  I won’t hire illegals, I won’t hire drunks, drug addicts, anyone with multiple negative employer reports, multiple jobs over short times, or violent criminals, so I’m sort of limited on selection.

I have four really decent blokes, so I’m happy there.

[The Dude]

That sucks Ernie. I was a tech for almost 20 years, 5 of them being a GM master tech, I gave it all up in 2009 because dealers around here don't pay worth a darn. Funny as most good techs around here leave dealers and go to indy shops. Now I m an assistant manager in a local retail shop- go figure. 

[Clunkmeister]

Yep. I pay really decent money for good help. My two top guys are probably the top paid techs in the North Dallas area. Yet they work and work hard. Some guys left me because they’d rather work half as hard and get 60% wage somewhere else.

[Bomber_County]

The days of a fair days pay for a fair days work is sadly gone.......

[GazzaS]

Sorry, Ern!

[Bill_S]

I could never figure out why some people will risk longer term viability (not to mention integrity) for short term gains. In my book, it's just plain stupid.

[Barry]

Sorry to hear, it is sad but why would you not put your most trusted employee in the position while away?

Why risk hiring someone for a week leaving them in charge of your livelihood?

Barry

 

[Clunkmeister]

18 minutes ago, Barry said:

Sorry to hear, it is sad but why would you not put your most trusted employee in the position while away?

Why risk hiring someone for a week leaving them in charge of your livelihood?

Barry

 

Well, I have a specialty auto repair shop, and if you’ve ever seen a technician try to run the front end of a high volume retail repair shop, you already have the answer. My trusted guys are techs, with little customer service finesse, would be like asking  a giraffe to recite Chaucer.   The man I was recommended had 31 years experience and decent reviews. I expect he’s pulled the will over a bunch of eyes in his day. I have enough checks and balances built into my systems to catch even the most dedicated amateur crooks, and it took me about a dedicated  two hours out of a day and a half to figure it out.  Breakdowns were several, the most serious being my suppliers failure to follow my directions to only bill to my account orders made by one named employee. Yes I’ve made calls, and yes I’m shaking the pear tree here.  They have responsibility. 

Yes, as the owner, in the end the fault’s all mine, but it still hurts. 

[krow113]

Not only an American problem.

Many Canadaians  all seem to feel that they have been hard done by and have to pass that on to their employer.

Working in open shops my whole life , I can tell you some stories , many of them ending with the offender pleading he thought it was ok.

Find trusted employees if you can and trust no-one else.

[Clunkmeister]

39 minutes ago, krow113 said:

Not only an American problem.

Many Canadaians  all seem to feel that they have been hard done by and have to pass that on to their employer.

Working in open shops my whole life , I can tell you some stories , many of them ending with the offender pleading he thought it was ok.

Find trusted employees if you can and trust no-one else.

Exactly.   

Like I said before, I have enough checks and balances built in to where I can tell almost at a moment's notice if something's hinkey.   This time it worked.  The issue with me is that oftentimes at the office, potential customers and employees have been known to mistake my kindness for weakness, and that never ends well.  Five families, mine included, directly rely on the health of this place for their sustenance, and I'll be damned if some petty thief is going to slide on in and mess with it.

I'm just glad the failsafes worked, and now, if he ever wants to work again, he'll need to move to another city.   Or Country if I have any say in it.