I was working on a evening shift as an apprentice mechanic, I was working with a licenced mechanic and the shops foreman. I was performing maintenance (lube oil and filter) on a customers tanker truck by myself, I found several defects on this unit and informed the foreman of the defects found, as it was close to quitting time the foreman instructed me to finish the oil change and leave the repairs for the next day. I arrived to work the next day and the owner of the shop called me into his office, he informed me that I had missed several defects on the service I had done the night before, the driver of the truck that I had serviced was very mad and had filled a complaint. I informed the owner that I had found the defects and informed the evening shift foreman of them, the owner said he had talked to him and he knew nothing of them. Before I could defend myself the owner sent me home and told me not to come back for one week.
As a result of what I thought was unfair treatment I handed in my resignation and found a new job. The foreman of the shop lied to save himself from being reprimanded and was later fired for stealing from the shop. After that foreman was let go I took my old job back and worked there for many years.
Q: Why do I view the situation like that?
A:I felt the foreman had lied to save himself based on his selfish nature, and this was verified when he was caught stealing.
Q: What assumptions have I made about the situation?
A: I assumed the owner would have come to the same conclusion of the foreman's character, and hoped the owner would have wanted to hear my side of the story
Q: How else could I interpret the situation?
A: I might have thought the foreman might have forgotten about our conversation of the defects I had found.
Q:What other action could I have taken that might have been more helpful?
A: I could have waited until the owner calmed down and talked to him then, and I might have been able to defened myself and make him realise I had found the defects.
Q: What would I do if I am faced with a similar situation in the future?
A: I have changed the way I report any defects found to prevent any miss understandings, I now write down and leave a note for any repairs that were not finished during my shift.
To start with, I really enjoy your background image for this page.You have put alot of time into this blog, awesome!
ReplyDeleteLike I had commented on Stephan's blog previously....I enjoy hearing about the stories that come from a trades perspective. I am definitely getting a better appreciation for the various jobs that make up the trades. I am familiar with office environments and lifeguarding......aspect of trad jobs are new to me.
I'ts unfortunate that the evening shift foreman felt it necessary to lie about the situation. I think it could be quite detrimental to work with someone like that in an environment where dangerous machines or situations are involved. For example-what if that same shop foreman lied about the state of a semi truck and the driver then was killed in an accident due to mechanical or structural failure?
Good post Jesse!