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We have a new tech. He asked my mentor for some help on a race the other older tech came over and messed up the hub as he drove the old race out.
I tell the new tech needs to take off the high spots. He worked in our body shop so he knows how to shape metal etc and do a good job of it. The older tech says no you shouldn’t do that. The new tech listened to be me over the older tech both while i was standing there and while the older tech went over later to try and reconvince him. After he hit the high spots he still had one hell of a time putting the bearing race back in so much so we couldn’t use a brass driver he kept bending it. So I helped put it back in without tearing up the race using a hardened race punch.
The main problem is that older tech acted pissy the rest of the day. This happens any time someone disagrees with him or proves him wrong. Any of you guys able to relate?
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I would say unless you have experience repairing races, then its probably best left to a specialist. Would that specialist be a racist ?
Been on both sides of the coin on this one. I’ve had to deal with some old farts that were dead wrong about something, usually diagnostic work on modern vehicles, and I have been the older sage that tried to teach and help some young punk fresh out of school. Either case, I just go on and ignore them. It is a hard pill to swallow for the older guys when you don’t agree with how they have done it for the last 500 years, right or wrong. Lots of testosterone in a shop, no way about it, so it happens. Just remember, he might not offer to advise you down the road, but on the flip side, you may not want that advice either. Best thing to do, is find something you both like in common and bring it up one day so that he doesn’t think your a total jerk(in his eyes).
Yeah StreetGlide, that’s pretty much the way to go. I do have to say that my career experience with big dumb egos has mostly been with the younger, greener guys that think they have it all figured out. All the old guys with egos I’ve worked with have them in check and are actually good techs. I do feel lucky about that though, because I’ve met many of your really cocky old morons in all the various shops I’ve hung around in over the years.
We have this new guy at work that I do kind of like, but he’s got that bug. He’s 23, and supposedly a solid tech that has been flat rate for 5 years. I pulled him aside the other day after he was balancing truck tires and had the huge centering cone set up so that the wheel’s hub face could not sit flat on the hub face of the balancing machine. The guy that works next to the tire machines mentioned that he kept re-spinning it and adding more weight just kind of saying ‘oh well’. I showed him how his setup prevented the wheel to mount to the balancer straight, and he said something like “well with the way that rim was, that’s how to set it up so it’s straight.” So I said “Okay, as long as you know it’s good like that, then that’s fine.” I didn’t bother telling him that I mounted the last set of tires on that particular truck and he’s flat out wrong because he told me, in so many words, that he was flat out right. I could tell by his tone when he said it that he wasn’t sure he was right, but he was willing to tell me he was right anyway. It’s like, why am I going to argue with that.
The junior kid that works next to me that his age but out of school less than a year is a reformed ego boy. He was all cocky right when he started and we all abused the hell out of him over it. Now he’s turned into a kid who’s excited to be proven wrong or be taught new tricks, a honest-to-god sponge. I’m really glad to see it too, because he has the potential to be an A+ level tech someday and has gotten in the right mindset to learn even though he’s already really good for his age. He’s already noticed that the new guy that’s supposedly “better/more experienced” than him (they’re both 23) is turning out to be less skilled than he is.
All I can say is ………….. Soon as you get an EGO in this trade yer gonna get yer arse handed to ya, plain an simple!
[quote=”Fopeano” post=125313]Yeah StreetGlide, that’s pretty much the way to go. I do have to say that my career experience with big dumb egos has mostly been with the younger, greener guys that think they have it all figured out. All the old guys with egos I’ve worked with have them in check and are actually good techs. I do feel lucky about that though, because I’ve met many of your really cocky old morons in all the various shops I’ve hung around in over the years.
We have this new guy at work that I do kind of like, but he’s got that bug. He’s 23, and supposedly a solid tech that has been flat rate for 5 years. I pulled him aside the other day after he was balancing truck tires and had the huge centering cone set up so that the wheel’s hub face could not sit flat on the hub face of the balancing machine. The guy that works next to the tire machines mentioned that he kept re-spinning it and adding more weight just kind of saying ‘oh well’. I showed him how his setup prevented the wheel to mount to the balancer straight, and he said something like “well with the way that rim was, that’s how to set it up so it’s straight.” So I said “Okay, as long as you know it’s good like that, then that’s fine.” I didn’t bother telling him that I mounted the last set of tires on that particular truck and he’s flat out wrong because he told me, in so many words, that he was flat out right. I could tell by his tone when he said it that he wasn’t sure he was right, but he was willing to tell me he was right anyway. It’s like, why am I going to argue with that.
The junior kid that works next to me that his age but out of school less than a year is a reformed ego boy. He was all cocky right when he started and we all abused the hell out of him over it. Now he’s turned into a kid who’s excited to be proven wrong or be taught new tricks, a honest-to-god sponge. I’m really glad to see it too, because he has the potential to be an A+ level tech someday and has gotten in the right mindset to learn even though he’s already really good for his age. He’s already noticed that the new guy that’s supposedly “better/more experienced” than him (they’re both 23) is turning out to be less skilled than he is.[/quote]
TBH, that story of the junior kid kinda sounds like me though I am close to on par for being faster then every tech in 3 yrs. I am at 1.5 now and I am in the top 3 for proficiency. It is what I stated when I was fresh out of school that in 3 years I would be faster then anyone else. I will admit though I will not know nearly as much as the other techs around me for at least another 10-15 yrs. (With the exception of the new guy) I set my bar high and it will probably fall and then bend around my hard head but, there is a slim chance I can make it so I will go for it.
We have a young tech (used car inspection tech), acts like an advanced level A-tech with amazing diagnostic skills, but in reality he’s a C tech hanger and banger with little to no diag skills.
I work in the “express lane” department doing C-tech work and oil changes. We have three lifts and shared one with the young tech.
One day the used car tech decided he was going to take two of our lifts for his used car inspections. Our boss came out saw 12 cars lined up for oil changes, told him what he could do to himself and made him give us our two bays.He threw a fit, wouldn’t speak to anyone for the rest of the day and slamned his tools around. Come to think of it that was the best day I’ve had so far. I didn’t have someone asking me what I was doing every ten minutes because he was bored.
Everyone gets a little cocky sometimes. Sometimes its a matter of being arrogant, sometimes it’s reactionary to someone around you. The pesky entitlement kid that works beside me tends to bring it out of me from time to time. You just have to judge what the situation is. Difference is, if you’re going to be a lil cocky, you better be right, or you’re gonna look like the village idiot.
tell him that there is a duramax coming that needs a distributor cap and some muffler bearings. When he gets confused, send him out on a smoke break at peak hours. Make sure he smokes either by the bosses window or right where the customers wait. Then when he out is out powerwash his work bench. Leave tools and parts on on while washing
After reading many of these post, it makes more sense. If someone has been in the field for many years, in some cases many decades its hard for them to adapt to knew ideas, and be wrong on something. I think people don’t like to be wrong no matter what their age. People I work with are amazed I have my bachelors in mechanical engineering, and I’m ten years older than our youngest tech, but our youngest tech runs circles around me on tires and balancing.
Anytime he helps me I graciously thank him, ask lots of questions to understand better and try to improve as a tech in every area. Mutual respect is incredible and I’ve butted heads with some older techs and techs my age. Streetgldok actually has a perfect idea because I’ve thought I made an enemy for life with one tech because of a disagreemt. But one day I saw he had a marvel comics shirt on, I asked him about it we got to talking and come to find out we like a lot of the same hobby’s. We’ve been really cool with each other ever since.
Fopeano hit it on the head also. This is a field with all guys, lots of testosterone. Everyone pounds their chest and holds up the biggest kill.
I have had some guys with shared interest in video games, R/C cars, hunting, guns, offroading, heck even ham radio stuff. Yeah, I have a geek side as well as desire of pain with shooting big guns. Most times, you can find some common ground, because there is only a few types of people who do this and stay with it. As a result, you’re bound to find similar interests.
Don’t worry about being fast. I’m not a fast person, I’m too lazy. I’m efficient, and believe in smarter, not harder. Fast people make mistakes. Slow people don’t get anything done. Efficient people get things done with the least, or no mistakes in a timely manner. Stupidest question is the one you never ask. If you don’t know something, ask, or look it up. You’ll learn and always remember it.
I’ve only worked with a few who had out of control egos but one of the guys wasn’t a bad person. He started working with us and hired on after graduating with an Associates Degree in diesel. He really thought he was it with two years of schooling. One of his first jobs was a VW diesel with a dead battery and no start to boot. I told him to charge the battery and then check the glow plug fuse which was notorious for blowing and a 10 second fix.
He couldn’t figure it out and any ego he had disappeared that day. After that, great guy to be around.The other guy was a total horse’s axx. He had moved here after being a mechanic in Colorado for about 3 years total and was arrogant beyond belief over that 3 years. He was always making snide remarks to everyone and I did my best just to ignore him.
One day while about 8 people had carpooled for lunch at the pizza place I found this guy had invited himself along and was sitting across from me at a buffet table in a packed house. I was pxxxxxx off to the max due to the fact that he was even there. He continued to run his mouth and eventually made a snide remark at me.That did it. I grabbed the first thing in front of me, which was a butter knife, leaned across the table and jabbed it hard into his throat and held it there. I told him that if ever, ever even looked at me crossways again I was going to take that butter knife and saw his throat from one ear to the other. The tech on my left was trying to calm me down but I reiterated this guy had better keep his mouth shut or else.
That solved that problem. He avoided me like the plague and when he was around me he was Mr. Humble and polite.
What was even funnier was that he spent the next couple of days trying to keep his collar turned up so no one would keep seeing that butter knife gouge mark in his neck.I had something similar happen to me when I first started. I did start with an ego out of school not going to lie. So of course I got ridden and ridden hard. Most people eventually snap at some point it took about 3-4 months which is much longer then most. We have a guy at our main shop where i worked before i moved. He always always rubbed me the wrong way. So one day he sitting there riding me. With his little group of followers and I pick up my 50mm wrench and walk up to him and ask him nicely to stop.He goes what big man needs a wrench to beat me up? So I Took and threw it about 40 ft away where it skidded another 20 ft. Looked at him and went go ahead make me happy. I dare you. His followers suddenly disappeared and he was back pedaling hard to get out of the situation. Part of the reason he rubbed me the wrong way is I am never scared by people 99% of the time unless its my ex’s those women scare everyone.
After that day he only rode me as much as anyone else in the shop. Eventually I ended up talking to him and letting him know I don’t mind helping ya if you need help etc but, you just rub me the wrong way. Never had an issue with him ever again. He is a good guy just his ego and my mentality clash hard.
A 50 MM wrench is a pretty hefty hunk of iron. That would do some serious damage. 🙂
Regarding that guy I stuck with the butter knife, what was funny was when he approached me a couple of weeks later and he was in a jam. The details were unknown to me but it apparently involved a clutch replacement on a car that may not have gotten a new clutch. It may have been an adjustment issue. I never knew the story.
I always kept customer parts for 2 weeks and disposed of them if they were never asked for or wanted. This clutch customer came back the next day wanting his old parts and that guy didn’t have them. He came crawling to me asking if I had an old clutch lying around that would fit that model of car.
Yes, I do.
Can I please have the parts; I’m in a bit of a jam here and the customer wants the old parts..
No you can’t. If you weren’t a jackass I’d consider it. Adios.He left the dealership not long afterwards.
Yeah, the guy I did that too is not a very knowledgeable mechanic pretty much just a part changer.
50mm is pretty big it is just a hair under 2″ wrench which i had to buy later on. Stupid trucks. As soon as I bought it they changed the nut to larger. I gave up and just use the shop tool it just means 20 mins of trying to find it each time at least till I got to my new shop.
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