RedlineIt
ArboristSite Guru
The operation is the local office of a large international arboricultural company, been in business for ages. This local office is involved in residential and commercial tree work, not the Hydo clearance operations, that is completely separate. No need to identify the company by name here, I'm certain it is a fine company dedicated to advancing the science of arboriculture, while turning a profit. I have no beef with the parent company.
The Head manager of the local office is also a good guy, he has run the place for years, and he holds the contracts on all of their significant commercial contracts. He barely bothers to drum up residential work anymore, he has repeats that call him up. If the residential work gets a bit thin, he can spend five minutes on the phone with his commercial contracts and have work for a crew for the day. Impressive.
BUT, he is looking at an early retirement. His health is not so good. The meds he has to take are diminishing his memory, renders him unable to deal with anything rapidly changing. He can't remember who talked to him about needing new gear, who was hired last, who is due for a raise, and he's not too good at writing things down. Sad, yes, but a fact.
And so the day-to-day is being taken over by, let's just call him the Brown Stool, or BS for short. He was transfered to this office after failing as a manager in another local office after the staff rebelled against him. (They quit in droves.) He was supposed to be just a residential salesman here, but the unfortunate situation of the Head manager has put BS in charge again.
BS has some sort of inferiority complex that makes him be a bully. I have had the opportunity to talk to people who have known him all his life, and he has been a bully since his days in elementary school on the playground. While he is a fairly big fellow, he is fat and slow, and wit goes straight over his head. He is ISA certified as an arborist, and he also has a diploma in horticulture from a good college.
I believe the fact that he is now "in charge" of fit and trim arborists who work the trees and do the challenging physical things we do has overstimulated his inferiority complex and has resulted in some of the experiences which follow.
Whew, stage is set for the good stuff.
BS met me on site while I was still just setting up and clearing the property of breakables for work. From fifty feet away he comes striding up, bellowing:
"Just get your f*cking c*nt up the goddaamn tree, I want some f*cking wood on the ground!"
In fact, I have heard this phrase more than once from BS. People are interested when a tree crew shows up, they want to watch. I have seen children withdrawn by parents and heard windows closing after one of BS's rants.
Also, BS changes his commands without thinking about what he last said. It is impossible to please a boss who can't make up his mind. I'll give one example of what happens on a weekly, sometimes daily basis:
Someone must have tweaked an 020 while using it on the ground. BS calls a morning meeting to announce: "Your f*cking 020's are a climbing tool you p*ssies! Can't you useless f*cks handle a 044! If I ever catch one of you using an 020 to buck sh*t up, you'll be sent home a day without pay!"
Now I can actually get behind such a sentiment. It made sense to me.
But inside of a few days this:
Employee: "This work order calls for a removal. I won't be able to finish it."
BS: "And why the **** not?"
Employee: "I have no ground saw. I have told you for days now that you do not have enough equipment to run four crews."
BS: "It's a small tree, you *sshole! Just use your 020! It's a f*cking no-brainer, idiot!"
Now this is just to give you a taste of the joy it is to work for this man. I can handle the put-downs, his misplaced sense of personal worth. If he drives away business with his foul mouth, dripping a wad of chaw, I don't care, I have options.
But finally there is this. BS handed me a work order with his usual flair, tossing it at me so that it fluttered and I either have to catch it or let it drop to the floor.
BS: "Deadwood this Dougie and the Grand Fir, first branch is sixty foot up, so just spur 'em."
Me: "Spur a live prune? Look, I could toss in and climb my rope, it wouldn't take much longer.."
BS: (Interrupting me) "I've bid low, and you've got lots of other jobs today. Just f*cking spur it, and make me a happy man."
Me: "Look I know you've said we do topping because that is what the customer wants, and if we don't do it someother hack-wad will anyway, I can buy that, but this you know is just wrong!"
BS: "Just spur the f*cking tree would you! Why did we hire you if you won't follow orders?"
--------------------
So, I have gotten lots of advice from friends in the industry as how to deal or work around this fool.
There have been some great threads on this board on dealing with poor employee performance, and I thought I would put this one out there.
Suggestions I have received elsewhere suggest that this man should not even retain ISA standing if he recommends spurring prunes to employees.
Your thoughts?
RedlineIt
The Head manager of the local office is also a good guy, he has run the place for years, and he holds the contracts on all of their significant commercial contracts. He barely bothers to drum up residential work anymore, he has repeats that call him up. If the residential work gets a bit thin, he can spend five minutes on the phone with his commercial contracts and have work for a crew for the day. Impressive.
BUT, he is looking at an early retirement. His health is not so good. The meds he has to take are diminishing his memory, renders him unable to deal with anything rapidly changing. He can't remember who talked to him about needing new gear, who was hired last, who is due for a raise, and he's not too good at writing things down. Sad, yes, but a fact.
And so the day-to-day is being taken over by, let's just call him the Brown Stool, or BS for short. He was transfered to this office after failing as a manager in another local office after the staff rebelled against him. (They quit in droves.) He was supposed to be just a residential salesman here, but the unfortunate situation of the Head manager has put BS in charge again.
BS has some sort of inferiority complex that makes him be a bully. I have had the opportunity to talk to people who have known him all his life, and he has been a bully since his days in elementary school on the playground. While he is a fairly big fellow, he is fat and slow, and wit goes straight over his head. He is ISA certified as an arborist, and he also has a diploma in horticulture from a good college.
I believe the fact that he is now "in charge" of fit and trim arborists who work the trees and do the challenging physical things we do has overstimulated his inferiority complex and has resulted in some of the experiences which follow.
Whew, stage is set for the good stuff.
BS met me on site while I was still just setting up and clearing the property of breakables for work. From fifty feet away he comes striding up, bellowing:
"Just get your f*cking c*nt up the goddaamn tree, I want some f*cking wood on the ground!"
In fact, I have heard this phrase more than once from BS. People are interested when a tree crew shows up, they want to watch. I have seen children withdrawn by parents and heard windows closing after one of BS's rants.
Also, BS changes his commands without thinking about what he last said. It is impossible to please a boss who can't make up his mind. I'll give one example of what happens on a weekly, sometimes daily basis:
Someone must have tweaked an 020 while using it on the ground. BS calls a morning meeting to announce: "Your f*cking 020's are a climbing tool you p*ssies! Can't you useless f*cks handle a 044! If I ever catch one of you using an 020 to buck sh*t up, you'll be sent home a day without pay!"
Now I can actually get behind such a sentiment. It made sense to me.
But inside of a few days this:
Employee: "This work order calls for a removal. I won't be able to finish it."
BS: "And why the **** not?"
Employee: "I have no ground saw. I have told you for days now that you do not have enough equipment to run four crews."
BS: "It's a small tree, you *sshole! Just use your 020! It's a f*cking no-brainer, idiot!"
Now this is just to give you a taste of the joy it is to work for this man. I can handle the put-downs, his misplaced sense of personal worth. If he drives away business with his foul mouth, dripping a wad of chaw, I don't care, I have options.
But finally there is this. BS handed me a work order with his usual flair, tossing it at me so that it fluttered and I either have to catch it or let it drop to the floor.
BS: "Deadwood this Dougie and the Grand Fir, first branch is sixty foot up, so just spur 'em."
Me: "Spur a live prune? Look, I could toss in and climb my rope, it wouldn't take much longer.."
BS: (Interrupting me) "I've bid low, and you've got lots of other jobs today. Just f*cking spur it, and make me a happy man."
Me: "Look I know you've said we do topping because that is what the customer wants, and if we don't do it someother hack-wad will anyway, I can buy that, but this you know is just wrong!"
BS: "Just spur the f*cking tree would you! Why did we hire you if you won't follow orders?"
--------------------
So, I have gotten lots of advice from friends in the industry as how to deal or work around this fool.
There have been some great threads on this board on dealing with poor employee performance, and I thought I would put this one out there.
Suggestions I have received elsewhere suggest that this man should not even retain ISA standing if he recommends spurring prunes to employees.
Your thoughts?
RedlineIt
. sometimes the only thing these types understand is direct confrontation. sad but true
