Hit and run at work

[AndyG]

Yesterday we were involved in a hit-and-run.

My worker nearly got away.

No joke.

He backed into somebody and seemed to have started having an exchange of information with the person and when the person went to their pick up truck to get their information he jumped in the vehicle he was driving and left the scene.



My guy told me that this person flew into the parking lot and just drove right into the trailer ball on his truck. Keep in mind this is the same person who has destroyed at least a dozen vehicles and was not supposed to be driving a company vehicle and lies about most everything.

I’ll get to see the video at noon.

I’m going to call it and tell you that from meeting the person who was struck by the vehicle and seeing the damage there is absolutely no way that it occurred that way and neither did the police report indicate that or the sworn witness, who is a city worker.

Will I fire my guy?

Of course. But it is not simple and if I’m not careful all that will do is leave me holding the bag.

It is invaluable to have good relationships with experienced attorneys if you own a business. Their view of situations like this is way broader than a laymans.

 

[Westtown Willy]

Of course. But it is not simple and if I’m not careful all that will do is leave me holding the bag.

you'll hold the bag if/when the interested carriers decide you'll hold the bag, that is where the analysis begins and ends.

 

[LostintheForest]

A shame, this bozo for sure sounds like a liability.

Good luck on your path forward.

 

[AndyG]

you'll hold the bag if/when the interested carriers decide you'll hold the bag, that is where the analysis begins and ends.

Yep. But if he works here at least I have the option for some payroll deduction down the road.

At the same time if he’s here he’s a walking liability.

It’s been a long road with this guy but I think we have finally succeeded in getting near the end.

He has worked here for a decade and I’ve seen him make over $650,000 in my estimation and he has pretty much no bills-And stays completely flat broke.

 

[Msteel]

Yesterday we were involved in a hit-and-run.

My worker nearly got away.

No joke.

He backed into somebody and seemed to have started having an exchange of information with the person and when the person went to their pick up truck to get their information he jumped in the vehicle he was driving and left the scene.



My guy told me that this person flew into the parking lot and just drove right into the trailer ball on his truck. Keep in mind this is the same person who has destroyed at least a dozen vehicles and was not supposed to be driving a company vehicle and lies about most everything.

I’ll get to see the video at noon.

I’m going to call it and tell you that from meeting the person who was struck by the vehicle and seeing the damage there is absolutely no way that it occurred that way and neither did the police report indicate that or the sworn witness, who is a city worker.

Will I fire my guy?

Of course. But it is not simple and if I’m not careful all that will do is leave me holding the bag.

It is invaluable to have good relationships with experienced attorneys if you own a business. Their view of situations like this is way broader than a laymans.

when I was running construction work, union, we rarely fired anyone, just had a one man lay-off.

 

[WestCoastDan]

How the hell do you ever find enough time to actually accomplish anything?

 

[AndyG]

How the hell do you ever find enough time to actually accomplish anything?

Well that leads to a pretty good conversation-

First of all I’m really not even telling you guys anything but the highlights- Adult daycare is quite a project

But to answer what you’re asking hits a nerve because what I’ve always had to do is out work all this bull crap-

That means working three hours later because you lost three hours during the day talking to police officers and so forth

That means working harder and doing more jobs to offset the losses and inefficiency this creates.

Just like yesterday his dad had to pull off of a $700,000 job to take him down to the police station to turn himself in because I insisted on that.

And truthfully these things are really not even the big problem-

The big problem is these guys wake up every day and go which ever way their pecker is pointing- I have to think for them. I hate it with a passion.

They don’t plan their day. They don’t think about the tools and materials and tasks.

They forget to tell me where they got to on the job they’re doing -

I have no clue how to answer customers or how to truthfully tell anybody anything without pulling information out of them

They run out of fasteners before they think to order any

When I run a job the first thing I do when I start is check every piece of material and see if I have enough to do what I’m trying to accomplish. You do this the minute you step on a job- What am I doing, do I have what I need to do it and what am I missing - and if I’m missing something where is it and when will it be here.

By the middle of the day I’m already planning the next day

Most construction workers today are a joke. Their idea of quality and speed and speed nearly 80% sometimes.

...you get somebody really talented and they won’t show up for work,steal, have drama.

I have had to outwork, outsmart and outfinance all this stupidity for decades. No choice- that or lose my butt.

I’ve been very blessed - but I have fought every kind of bad attitude you can imagine. For the most part the kind of people I’ve had to deal with in the workforce have been a cloud over my head -

It’s hard to even listen to advice from outsiders because they have no clue that you’re dealing with people who have to pay child support to their own parents.

It’s hard to treat people with respect that you despise.

Blaine said it well- You can struggle with these people or you can work yourself to an early grave to get everything done. Choose.

 

[BlueC]

you'll hold the bag if/when the interested carriers decide you'll hold the bag, that is where the analysis begins and ends.

Care to expand on that? Are you saying that because it appears to involve a "work/company vehicle"?

 

[Westtown Willy]

Care to expand on that? Are you saying that because it appears to involve a "work/company vehicle"?

if I understood the post, numbnuts was driving a company vehicle. Assuming there is insurance and no exclusions exist, AND it in fact is his fault, it's about as cut and dried scenario as there can be, they'll pay and it's done. On the other hand if there is an exclusion that permits them to reserve their rights and ultimately disclaim coverage, for example "he wasn't supposed to be driving the company vehicle", which in my world can, in the worst case scenario, mean he's an unauthorized user thus an excluded driver = no coverage. In that case, Andy may commence bending over and picking up the bag he'll be holding as we all know employer is responsible for the negligent acts of his employee...

 

[DuckNut]

He has worked here for a decade and I’ve seen him make over $650,000 in my estimation and he has pretty much no bills-And stays completely flat broke.

In my previous life I had a guy working for me that I would pay tens of thousands a month (percentage of profits). If he got paid on Wednesday he would not be seen until some time the following week and asking people to loan him money for lunch. This went on for a couple years. Get his check, go cash it at the currency exchange for 4%, come back and pay people, disappear for a few days. Never once did he not pay people back when he got his next check.

There was a time he was not seen for about 2 weeks and I got a call from him; he is in Nevada traveling with the Grateful Dead. A month later he comes back and starts his routine all over.

He was a trader and was trading my money so if he did not work, no deal what so ever. In fact, it limited my exposure.

Some while after that we all put in money and sent him for lunch. He was never seen again. There was about a dozen people who put in $20 and it was gone. The next day I got a piece of mail from him. Inside the envelope was a betting ticket from OTB and a note. The note said "On the way to get lunch I got a hot tip and used the lunch money to place the bet, here is the ticket". I send an intern to OTB with the ticket and he comes back with $2,600.

This guy has never been sent or heard from since that day.

It is/was a shame. The guy was making a 300-400k a year and squandering it all on drugs and other stupid shiz. To just drop off the planet, he probably ended up overdosing and died on a curb.

 

[AndyG]

In my previous life I had a guy working for me that I would pay tens of thousands a month (percentage of profits). If he got paid on Wednesday he would not be seen until some time the following week and asking people to loan him money for lunch. This went on for a couple years. Get his check, go cash it at the currency exchange for 4%, come back and pay people, disappear for a few days. Never once did he not pay people back when he got his next check.

There was a time he was not seen for about 2 weeks and I got a call from him; he is in Nevada traveling with the Grateful Dead. A month later he comes back and starts his routine all over.

He was a trader and was trading my money so if he did not work, no deal what so ever. In fact, it limited my exposure.

Some while after that we all put in money and sent him for lunch. He was never seen again. There was about a dozen people who put in $20 and it was gone. The next day I got a piece of mail from him. Inside the envelope was a betting ticket from OTB and a note. The note said "On the way to get lunch I got a hot tip and used the lunch money to place the bet, here is the ticket". I send an intern to OTB with the ticket and he comes back with $2,600.

This guy has never been sent or heard from since that day.

It is/was a shame. The guy was making a 300-400k a year and squandering it all on drugs and other stupid shiz. To just drop off the planet, he probably ended up overdosing and died on a curb.

Holy cow. WOW.

 

[DuckNut]

Holy cow. WOW.

We were a very tight group. To this day we still all talk with each other and not any of the 25 or so people ever heard from him. His mom had a different last name and nobody knew what is was. The guy might have been 28 or 29 years old.

 

[steelhd]

when I was running construction work, union, we rarely fired anyone, just had a one man lay-off.

We called it a reduction of force. Send em back to the hall and call somebody else out. Of course the steward could take exception and a for show sit down with the BA would be required. Whole thing was a freaking hassle.

 

[AndyG]

We were a very tight group. To this day we still all talk with each other and not any of the 25 or so people ever heard from him. His mom had a different last name and nobody knew what is was. The guy might have been 28 or 29 years old.

It never ceases to amaze me how some people can just completely live to a different set of rules-

And usually when I run into people like that they will have just tons of talent- Usually just terribly misdirected.

 

[DuckNut]

It never ceases to amaze me how some people can just completely live to a different set of rules-

And usually when I run into people like that they will have just tons of talent- Usually just terribly misdirected.

Tons. Making that kind of money is virtually unheard of for someone that young. That was in the 90's.