Worklopnik PSA - Don't pubilically mock the people you've hired

"themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles" (themanwithsauce) 07/14/2014 at 15:29 • Filed to: Worklopnik

11

17

Raw material supplier has had two strikes so far in trying to make a simple blend of two solvents. Two months ago we had a 2400 lb batch smell like bad eggs and this time we're struggling to get it to dissolve solids correctly. This is literally a blend of two solvents and nothing else. We even had them tested.....twice. Couldn't figure out what was wrong but both gas chromatography graphs were slightly different. The plant manager shot down the request to change back.

Here's the PSA portion - He blames the workforce and myself and says that our opinions aren't enough to go on and that we need hard evidence. I countered that each batch being different is enough evidence to warrant this switch. The response? A bunch of hearsay and experiences by the operators and yourself is meaningless and are only assumptions so if the outside tests say they're the same then they're the same. Again, he is the PLANT MANAGER. The man responsible for hiring/firing these guys. So what he basically said is "I can't count on the opinions and thoughts of the people I hired and I will ignore the opinions of our senior technical employee".

Life tip - don't say that. Never admit to it on a public level. One on one it's fine. Not on a "reply all" email. Oh and don't drag more people in the email list to try and look good to the other higher ups. Now I'm getting the old vendor re-approved at a whopping 0.5% price increase over this crappy one (seriously, we've been fighting this stuff for a year just to save 30$ a week) AND the plant manager's boss is flying in this thursday to have some....emergency meetings. I can't wait for a good beer after today, because the second half of this week is going to be loud.

thebigbossyboss > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 07/14/2014 at 15:32

4

"when contracting to the absolute lowest bidder goes horribly wrong".

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > thebigbossyboss 07/14/2014 at 15:34

0

No shit. He is pitching such a bitch over this too while my own boss (not the plant manager) probably racks up about 10-15 grand each year in fees and expenses because he buys all his plane tickets last minute.

Mattbob > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 07/14/2014 at 15:34

0

the most important thing is to leave that shit at work. If there is one thing I have learned so far in my short career it is that. I like to pretend I was sitting on the beach all day.

thebigbossyboss > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 07/14/2014 at 15:36

0

Hahaha....how much is this lost productivity costing you guys also? I have literally no clue what you do...but if it's supposed to dissolve solids...and then doesn't...wouldn't that back up the production of what you do?

thisisamazonman > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 07/14/2014 at 15:36

0

Christ sounds a bit like where I work. We keep telling executives that we need to train new people to be business people, not just sales people, and we keep missing our goals. GUESS WHY FUCKER? And then they blame it on us, the people who they hired to figure out why revenues are not going up.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Mattbob 07/14/2014 at 15:36

1

Yeah, I don't sync my phone up to outlook for that very reason. I come in in the morning to about a dozen emails sent between the hours of 7pm and midnight. I refuse to even look at them once I walk out the door. Not unless my job was something where that actually mattered.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > thebigbossyboss 07/14/2014 at 15:39

0

We make chemical compounds and apply them to textiles. The holdup wasn't too bad once we added a different non-blended solvent. But the cleanup takes twice as long. At 15$ an hour, if we lose an extra two hours a week to cleanup because this stuff doesn't soak as well, there's our 30$. But what's scary is some tanks come in just fine. Others come in, we fill the soak tank, and it takes forever for things to soften up enough to be scraped off. We still can't figure out why. We have no analytical equipment here so we have to go to outside companies and that means setting up blind comparisons to make sure there's no bias or anything.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > thisisamazonman 07/14/2014 at 15:41

1

Here's your dilbert.

mcseanerson > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 07/14/2014 at 15:41

1

Coffee + Beer = Happy Engineers

Spoon II > thebigbossyboss 07/14/2014 at 15:41

0

Otherwise known as "always"

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > mcseanerson 07/14/2014 at 15:44

1

I work about half a mile from the brewery. Might pick up a growler this afternoon.

Bandit > thebigbossyboss 07/14/2014 at 15:55

0

I didn't know this was about the auto industry...

samssun > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 07/14/2014 at 16:01

0

How he's phrasing it probably has a big impact. It sucks if it comes across like blaming you but opinions vs evidence is a valid concern. Reporting to senior managers that "my guys don't like the new stuff" holds much less weight than "the old formula worked consistently in 15-25 minutes, while the last two batches took 45 and 65 minutes, and needed a second application, which warrants investigation".

thebigbossyboss > Spoon II 07/14/2014 at 16:05

0

"when contracting to the absolute lowest bidder goes as you thought it would".

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > samssun 07/14/2014 at 16:22

0

I agree. And I would investigate a lot deeper if there was a massive price variance. Or if this was more complicated than filling a tank. It is also nearly impossible to prove consistently because that's my issue - we never get the *same* issues twice. My working theory is their pumps and hoses are also used to pump other solutions so we end up with mild cases of cross contamination. The company denied this, but then explain how isopropyl alcohol and toluene smell like two month old eggs. But again, how long do you want myself, an even higher paid employee, to dedicate work on this aspect alone while others continue on. I came up with some simple comparisons we can do once we get the new stuff in to prove out my theories but that depends on getting some in in the first place. Which was a denied request until the end of our exchanges today.

samssun > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 07/15/2014 at 00:46

0

Best bet would be to document facts, stats, times, numbers. Quantified statements hold much more sway than feelings and opinions, and are easier for decision makers to digest. Plus you'll be the guy who took point on it.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > samssun 07/15/2014 at 01:01

0

Again - the solvent does not appear to show any difference in terms of density, weight, color, clarity, or GC tested purity. So that "data" is irrelevant. However, odor seems to be noticeably different from batch to batch. As are a few other incredibly difficult to "quantify" parameters. This is what I was trying to get across - I'm well aware the tests show that it should be the same, but the end users are saying it isn't. And given that the plant manager didn;t even bother to show up to the plant at all today, it speaks volumes of his opinion about us. I don't think the new solvent is the source of all of our problems, but given the rather cavalier attitude management is showing towards this issue (and others) it has me pretty well pissed off. He hasn;t even bothered to look or talk to the workers himself. He is relying on what I am telling him and is saying that *I* am the one making assumptions. When he can;t drive the 1 mile trip to go from our offices to our manufacturing plant to verufy anything before calling us out? He's a fucktard and needs to go.