My party chief with over 30 years experience is on vacation this week.?ÿ He is and always has been a very difficult employee, but I've known him since I started surveying about 25 years ago. And at one point was his I-man for a period of time.?ÿ And I knew how to take him.?ÿ He has run off every I-man?ÿ I hired to work with him over the past few years.?ÿ And now I have an entry-level mid 30s employee that is very enthusiastic about learning surveying and the hardest worker I have ever had and has a great attitude.
Well he's almost quit a few times do to the constant berating from PC.?ÿ I have had many discussions with PC and his attitude improves for a week maybe.
Well I think I'm at the end of my rope.?ÿ Today while covering the PC in the field, I returned to two city jobs to set rods that he didn't find.
First job he found 1 out of 4.?ÿ The left rear.?ÿ I walk the small lot to get a look at things.?ÿ There is a chain link fence (neighbors) at the right rear.?ÿ I can tell that this corner has not been looked for without the metal detector, as the dirt was not disturbed.?ÿ I get the shovel and start to dig against the fence corner and DING rod found an inch deep and an inch off fence corner.?ÿ So I explain to the newby the importance of not relying on the sole use of the metal detector to find corners.?ÿ Now I go to the left front, which has a sidewalk in regards and a row house on the left line.?ÿ I take my foot kick the grass away, pull some with my hand and start sweeping the dirt away with my fingers and guess what.?ÿ ?ÿDing ding ding a lead hub and tack in the side walk.?ÿ Walk to the right front, follow the same procedure and you guessed it LH&T.
So after finding the 3 corners he didn't, I decided to check another job a few blocks away. That he only recovered 2 of the 4.?ÿ On a corner lot.?ÿ I start at right front, pull the distance and dig.?ÿ Nothing...I note the offset distance from the sidewalk and pull down the walk and pull the offset.?ÿ The point hits on a conrconc apron that is covered with weeds.?ÿ Again I could see that there was no effort to find this point.?ÿ Kick away the weeds, sweep dirt and you guessed again a LH&T.
?ÿOh and by the way he didn't have put a stake or flag the corners he did find.
I think his vacation is going to become permanent.?ÿ My trust in his work ethic is now broken.
I guess I'll return to those 12hr days.?ÿ Field during day office at night.
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It sounds like the stress level around your office will go down when you have done what needs to be done. No one is irreplaceable.
Or, perhaps,?ÿ"It's better the devil you know ..."
My trust in his work ethic is now broken.
Your PC being cantankerous and lazy may be irritating, but if the above is true you only have one choice.?ÿ All you have left to do is determine the amount of his severance pay.
I hate to hear stories like this. The attitude is one thing, not doing your job is another. I wonder how someone with 30 years experience all of a sudden becomes negligent?
Also, I cannot imagine not looking thoroughly for a corner. That??s the fun part.?ÿ
The challenge is to discover how many other jobs have been mishandled because your neck is on the line. ?ÿCorrect all you can find.
Suprised you put up with it that long. I would have fired him long ago. People like that will ruin your business. Don't ever put up with employees that think they control you.?ÿ ??ÿ
I don't know why he has become so lazy.?ÿ It's like he doesn't care about his work anymore.?ÿ ?ÿEvery job is a bitch fest.?ÿ It's either muddy, dusty, wooded, too hot, too cold.?ÿ
I have to precalc everything which eats a couple hours a day.
I was much happier when I was in the field a few days a week and the in the office a few.
Hell yesterday I worked in the field from 7 to 3 and the office from 3 to 10.?ÿ Can't do that to much longer.?ÿ But I'll work it out.
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Maybe he needs glasses.?ÿ Those tacks are pretty small to spot.?ÿ However, his experience should compensate for some poor eyesight.
He's?ÿburnt out but probably keeping up appearances for the money. I worked with an older?ÿguy like that in his late fifties. One stressful day while I was struggling to keep my head above the waves I walked over to his work station to ask him a question about a job and he didn't see me coming. My jaw hit the floor when I saw what he'd been doing all afternoon. Pictures of wooden boats, not one, but hundreds and hundreds he'd been collecting off the internet. All the while I'd assumed he'd?ÿbeen working all he was doing was dreaming of sailing off into the sunset in his little wooden boat. He later ended up imploding in?ÿa rather?ÿspectacular fashion.
I thought that guy retired from us??ÿ I didn't know he took a job somewhere else.
I'm not surprised at all.?ÿ I've met too many of these guys.?ÿ Seems they never find any of the monuments that are hard to get to, in a marsh, thorns, poison ivy, over a fence, etc.
A lot of these guys are bitter bastards who think they're owed something more for still being in the field full-time, while not really getting that it's their own fault for not learning the research, CAD, comps, etc.
When you can no longer trust his work ????. you know what to do.
You can teach skills and gain experience but you can't train attitude.?ÿ People don't fundamentally change from who they are. Sounds like he has had several opportunities to improve and you can't do anything about an individuals choices.?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿ
