Just When Things Were Getting Better

I was starting to get good hours at work (more than 40 hours a week) accelerated by doing State Inspections. Even if things get slow I was able to do used car inspections to give me more hours. I could do them when it was slow, during lunch, after work hours, and on my days off. Of course our team leader would hog all of them and bend the rules to do as many as he wanted but I was still able to get some here and there. I was able to listen to music all day long using my headphones which came in handy with all the noise around me. Then there was the fact that our team leader was about to go on vacation which would allow me to get my fair share of used state inspections for a whole week.

However, over the weekend a car I worked on ran into a problem. I didn't tighten the oil drain plug all the way and it came off while the customer was driving and they didn't notice the oil light and kept driving which caused the engine to blow out. Now I am temporarily banned from doing used state inspections (and right before the week I could actually do a lot of them), not allowed to listen to headphones, and I owe Honda $4,000 which will be garnered from my paycheck for the next 6 months to a year. The last part I don't mind so much because it was my fault and I deserve to loose money on that. However, without the used state inspections I will loose money, and now I'm being told I might not be able to come in on my days off to get extra hours.

I'm pissed off at myself because of my screw up and I'm also pissed off at my employers for taking away chances to pay them off sooner. I'm going to have to curb my spending and start selling off stuff to keep my savings account growing and to suplement some of the money I will be losing.

that sucks, but don't beat yourself up about it. mistakes will happen, learn from it & move on. that's about all you can do at this point. i'm currently being sued (again) thanks to a mistake of mine, but there is not much i can do about it but hope for the best & keep going. good luck to you.

That sucks DB but I agree with MC.

mc666 wrote:

that sucks, but don't beat yourself up about it. mistakes will happen, learn from it & move on. hope for the best & keep going. good luck to you.

+1

The thing about the headphones is a safety thing I'd bet. Makes sense. Best of luck, DB.

Yea man dont worry about it everything will work it self out again.

Obviously your mindset is a positive one or you wouldn't be beating yourself up about your mistake, if I was your employer I would commend you for having a good work ethic. Mistakes happen even to the ones who think they are bulletproof, they just tend to direct the attention to someone else.


One positive thing to veiw is at least you did not get sacked! Yea, you got reprimanded and are losing an opportunity to make more scratch, but at least you are still employed... and in this economy that is saying something.

martinsane wrote:

Obviously your mindset is a positive one or you wouldn't be beating yourself up about your mistake, if I was your employer I would commend you for having a good work ethic. Mistakes happen even to the ones who think they are bulletproof, they just tend to direct the attention to someone else.


One positive thing to veiw is at least you did not get sacked! Yea, you got reprimanded and are losing an opportunity to make more scratch, but at least you are still employed... and in this economy that is saying something.

great points!

Humans make mistakes, it's part of life. Learn from it and move on.

You know I've been a tech for almost 20 years, Don't take offense, they are just teaching you a lesson. I won't let my guys wear 'phones or hands free cell phone crap period. There are too many things in a shop that can kill you or someone else if you aren't paying attention.

Shawn D. wrote:

Humans make mistakes, it's part of life. Learn from it and move on.

DB, this is right on point. Years ago I worked at a bank and a customer wanted me to transfer $25,000 from their account into their savings. It was over the phone and by mistake I put in an extra 0. Needless to say, I drained the guys account with money he didn't have which set off a bunch of other financial problems for him. They listened to the called and even heard me confirm that I was going to transfer $25,000 and not $250,000. The bank was cool about it, they took care of him and just told me to be careful next time. Made me pay real close attention on every transaction from that point on, so take it as a good learning lesson. At least the person didn't have an accident...

Hamer12 wrote:

You know I've been a tech for almost 20 years, Don't take offense, they are just teaching you a lesson. I won't let my guys wear 'phones or hands free cell phone crap period. There are too many things in a shop that can kill you or someone else if you aren't paying attention.

I don't take offfense but $4K is just too much (about 20% of my estimated yearly income after taxes) especially when I'm not allowed to make extra hours. I'm also not beating myself up for my mistake, but I am working hard on not ever letting it happen again. I plan on talking to my imediate supervisor and try to get myself out by offering to pay $1K while keeping the restrictions on making extra hours. A thousand is a lot for someone in my income bracket but I will gladly pay that but four thousand is almost like taking a 20% paycut and I only make $10.50 an hour. People I work with tell me they would not pay that much (even a guy who makes $18 an hour-he said he'd quit before paying that). They suggest I look for another job to get out of paying that. I really don't want to adjust to a new job just yet so I figure the best way is to try to compromise with management. Let's face it, $1K is a lot for me but $4K is a drop in the hat for a big dealership.

BTW, I understand your feelings on headphones. I however, am very safe with the way I use them. I only have them in one ear and I keep the music at a level that allows me to hear everything around me. Me not being able to have them is a privelage lost to me for now, everyone else can still use them (of course they aren't as cautious with them as I am).

Ah, gotta love screwing up by not screwing up.

Eyesore wrote:

Ah, gotta love screwing up by not screwing up.

DallasBlack wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Ah, gotta love screwing up by not screwing up.

It's not funny if I have to explain it!

You didn't "screw up" the plug tight enough. Ah, never mind. Haha.

Oh! Now I get it! :geek:

I'll be honest with you here. You should quit that job. You may have made that mistake, but you should not be responsible for paying for it. That's what companies have insurance for. I wouldn't pay it. Quit, move on, find another job. Or find one first, then quit, but don't pay $4,000 unless you signed something beforehand stating that you're financially responsible for mistakes such as this.

After working at Burger King I seriously found out how much making money drives people. I never really got it Sometimes you just gotta lose some to gain some.

Eyesore wrote:

I'll be honest with you here. You should quit that job. You may have made that mistake, but you should not be responsible for paying for it. That's what companies have insurance for. I wouldn't pay it. Quit, move on, find another job. Or find one first, then quit, but don't pay $4,000 unless you signed something beforehand stating that you're financially responsible for mistakes such as this.

I would go with the second part - find a job while you are working and then quit. Its not fun to re-adjust but having to pay for one's mistakes is counter-productive.

Eyesore wrote:

I'll be honest with you here. You should quit that job. You may have made that mistake, but you should not be responsible for paying for it. That's what companies have insurance for. I wouldn't pay it. Quit, move on, find another job. Or find one first, then quit, but don't pay $4,000 unless you signed something beforehand stating that you're financially responsible for mistakes such as this.

Listen to Eyesore - he's got it right. I do think that it is illegal to force you to pay. Full Service restaurants pull that kind of crap too - telling wait staff that they have to pay the check if someone runs and doesn't pay (which is illegal)

That would never happen here. I've done my share of mistakes with cars I've worked with, but I've never paid for it with cash or extra work. It's never been a question!

thejokeriv wrote:

I do think that it is illegal to force you to pay.

It ain't illegal at Tom Chucklewalter's HONDA & DAEWOO

thejokeriv wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

I'll be honest with you here. You should quit that job. You may have made that mistake, but you should not be responsible for paying for it. That's what companies have insurance for. I wouldn't pay it. Quit, move on, find another job. Or find one first, then quit, but don't pay $4,000 unless you signed something beforehand stating that you're financially responsible for mistakes such as this.

Listen to Eyesore - he's got it right. I do think that it is illegal to force you to pay. Full Service restaurants pull that kind of crap too - telling wait staff that they have to pay the check if someone runs and doesn't pay (which is illegal)

sounds to me like the $4k is them trying to force him to quit, rather than the possible drama of having to fire him.

mc666 wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

I'll be honest with you here. You should quit that job. You may have made that mistake, but you should not be responsible for paying for it. That's what companies have insurance for. I wouldn't pay it. Quit, move on, find another job. Or find one first, then quit, but don't pay $4,000 unless you signed something beforehand stating that you're financially responsible for mistakes such as this.

Listen to Eyesore - he's got it right. I do think that it is illegal to force you to pay. Full Service restaurants pull that kind of crap too - telling wait staff that they have to pay the check if someone runs and doesn't pay (which is illegal)

sounds to me like the $4k is them trying to force him to quit, rather than the possible drama of having to fire him.

yep - sometimes what is the law and what gets presented as the law are two different things...

mc666 wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

I'll be honest with you here. You should quit that job. You may have made that mistake, but you should not be responsible for paying for it. That's what companies have insurance for. I wouldn't pay it. Quit, move on, find another job. Or find one first, then quit, but don't pay $4,000 unless you signed something beforehand stating that you're financially responsible for mistakes such as this.

Listen to Eyesore - he's got it right. I do think that it is illegal to force you to pay. Full Service restaurants pull that kind of crap too - telling wait staff that they have to pay the check if someone runs and doesn't pay (which is illegal)

sounds to me like the $4k is them trying to force him to quit, rather than the possible drama of having to fire him.

Allot of companies do that nowadays. They won't fire someone for fear of lawsuits or having to pay unemployment. However, if they make it miserable enough for the employee that they quit, the company gets off scott-free.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

mc666 wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

I'll be honest with you here. You should quit that job. You may have made that mistake, but you should not be responsible for paying for it. That's what companies have insurance for. I wouldn't pay it. Quit, move on, find another job. Or find one first, then quit, but don't pay $4,000 unless you signed something beforehand stating that you're financially responsible for mistakes such as this.

Listen to Eyesore - he's got it right. I do think that it is illegal to force you to pay. Full Service restaurants pull that kind of crap too - telling wait staff that they have to pay the check if someone runs and doesn't pay (which is illegal)

sounds to me like the $4k is them trying to force him to quit, rather than the possible drama of having to fire him.

Allot of companies do that nowadays. They won't fire someone for fear of lawsuits or having to pay unemployment. However, if they make it miserable enough for the employee that they quit, the company gets off scott-free.

My guess is that they're trying to make him really pay that $4,000, and once it's paid they'll fire him. (Sorry, dude!) That's what I think.