Back in about 92 I had this skidder operator that was giving me fits. we were finishing up a job and was real close to the landing. Like just about close enough to drop a tree without hitting him. It was cold and real wet, we just had a bunch of snow melt.
For some reason he decided to quit cutting them up and was on my butt within minutes with the skidder. I would only have one, maybe two trees down, and there he was right beside me- waiting for a couple more trees to make a hitch. He was like right in my way.....I said well, if you would have cut that last hitch up I would have had time to have a few more trees down for ya.
He wouldn't budge, he cut them up the whole job and now he isn't. We were paid by the hour, so it didn't matter what we did, it all paid the same. Here is the good part, at the end of a miserable day I have to go out and cut up logs with frozen mud all over them, half buried, etc when he could have cut them up dry on the back of the skidder. I don't hold a grudge but I think of that all the time and how close I come to quitting that job. Whats your story?
I work with family I have a story at least once a week
Youve been thinking about it for 25 yrs? Boy id hate to see what your grudges look like! :D
Just that one. He wouldn't give an inch and I was never more miserable! LOL.
I hear you. I had a boss that thought everyone should learn by his mistakes. Then give jobs he knew they could not complete because of what ever. Then give them heck for failing . He tride that on me. I told him i was his age and it was obvious that he never learned from his mistakes so go stuff it. He turned red as a beet thought he would blow a gasket. Never bothered me again with such garbage. But that really does stick in your craw years later.
I would have dropped a big tree on him . Then said you didn't see him .
Was hired as an instrument man at a Survey Firm. In the field, day two, set up over a point
scanning the work and saw a reference water tank we
had started to intersect from multiple positions from the previous days work. Waiting on the Chief to run some comps,
so I take a sight at the tank and sure enough
there is a Tele-pole on line, dead-on,
and not close enough to "focus past" I can guestimate at best, but I know from past experience
we have to be able to measure multiple angle sets to it and they have to be good.
The Chief to call out some check positions
then he calls "cut an angle to the water tank,"
I call back "no good there is a pole on line I can't get a good sight"
He calls back how do you know you didn't turn the angle?
I respond "I already checked it while you were running comps I can guess, but can't get a solid line on it."
Nope, not good enough for him, I get the "when I tell you to do something" Line.
So I turned the angle and respond "the Pole hasn't moved yet"
Now he's unhappy with me and gives me the "whats your problem"
I reply "the *&^%# pole you don't think I'm experienced to know if its on line or not"
He left one week later, my days got much better
and the pole never moved off that line.;)
D
My first boss was 78 i think the day i started. I was 13. He yelled at me during my interview ( a job he insisted i apply for while walking past his shop) for requesting what "A GROWN MAN MAKES!" I wrote 4.25 in the pay box, min wage. "Ill pay you 3.50"
Alright, better than workin for free at home. What i didnt know at the time is the position was for a whipping boy to keep the old man busy and let the shop guys work. The job description should have said "be micromanageable."
My name was boy. Never ever learned my name. Hed call me every other guys name in the shop and id ignore him to his face until he started screaming boy. "Yes wilfred?" It was great. I did excellent work but loved getting him all frothed up.
Bout 3 years later hes lost the last marble, sees dirt on anything ive just cleaned. This time its a (very clean) toilet.
"Did you clean this?"
Yes wilfred.
Wipes his finger through it in his usual way to show me the dirt by putting the finger in my face.
"Whats that?!"
(Admin language edit) What else would it be?
"GET IN THERE AND CLEAN THAT TOILET BOY!"
I get down there and start scrubbin and he gives me a foot shove right into it. Hes 4ft6 and im 6ft. I swing around and flip out, (Admin language edit) you old man i quit!
YOU CANT QUIT TAKE TWO WEEKS OFF!
2 weeks later im back again like an idiot since i know if i dont show hes just gonna come to the house and get me. Conned my buddy into working there following summer then i quit and went to the next sweat shop.
It made the marines pretty easy. God bless ya you cheap #&$!
I went out on the boats at 18, I do kind of miss it. I had worked for Moran for 3yrs then a season on the great lakes, went back to NYC working moving oil. I get hired and had to work on another boat for a week before my regular schedule started, I don't know how many of you have ever been around a "coonass" 😂 he starts telling me how great this guy is that I'm going to go work with, great guy. Can't say enough good about him. I fall for it. I'm 1 week shy of my 22nd birthday and still wet behind the ears. We had to ride out by tug to get on the barge, loaded out on the mooring about 500yds off the statue of liberty, I go to talk to this guy I'm going to be working with, he rolls down his window, looks at me and rolls his window back up. I get on the boat and start riding over, he walks past me like I don't exist. We pull up to the boat and start throwing out stuff over, the guy I'm relieving shakes my hand, says it was nice to meet you, I probably won't see you again but have a good hitch. I go down below and ask this guy where my gear goes ? Down in the generator room, ok. Pull out my Z-card and hand it to him, he looks at it and throws it back at me. Explains to me that I'm the 16th guy in a row to show up, he isn't showing me anything and I shouldn't unpack my bags because I won't be there long. Gets up, tells me that I get to sleep in the office, closes the bunkroom door and goes to bed. This boat had a spill a few yrs prior that was so bad 1 guy served a few yrs for it, 3grades of oil in a tin can basically deckloading it, waiting to see a geyser of oil at anytime. That story has stuck with me, he actually became a good friend of mine. Alot of our guys have been with us 10+yrs, we don't tolerate any BS and don't keep bad apples, anymore it's to easy to get sued. I've got 2 very experienced women doing the hiring and managing at the store, let them weed out the problems.
man my wife could tell some stories about a stubborn guy she used to work with a lot and still does some...oh wait THAT STUBBORN GUY IS ME!!!! :D
Seems to me that the only time I have a stubborn helper is when I work alone.
How true, All in all, Ive been the most stubborn guy I ever worked with. We don't fight much though....
I've always rehired myself. Just stubborn I guess ::) ;D
Meself I prefer to be considered determined :D
I go by tenacious
Had a guy at work that was hard to work with.
The most memorable one was when he was drilling a 3/8 hole into a I beam on a ladder and first off he should of had a taller ladder. He had to reach over his head to drill. He was drilling for quite a while in that position. At least 15 minutes steady,maybe more. Did not get far,So he said there must be an easier way. I suggested starting out with a much smaller bit and keep moving up until he got to the size he wanted. He puffed right up and told me that would take WAY too long. I tried to explain how it's much easier that way,but too long kept coming out of his month. There was more than one there when I told him that. I just walked off. I think that was the last time I gave him any help. Get tired of hearing that is not going to work when someone won't even try to see if it will.
I will try to help out coworkers if they seem to be the type that want to learn. If not, I enjoy watching them struggle😊
Id have razzed him in the name of science.
"Since your little creampuff arms dont seem to be offering enough pounds per square inch joe, and you clearly dont have more to offer, perhaps you should reduce the amount of square inches youre trying to push through that beam at one time. Here, they call it a pilot drill. Try not to fly off the ladder while youre piloting it."