1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

Check your state laws. Some don't allow it to be reflective at all.

 

Well, I finally did it. I put in my notice at work. 9/30 will be my last day here after 11 years 3 months.

I told my boss 2 months ago about how much I hate residential work. I ended up on a bathroom remodel and finally had enough. I called a buddy and he told me call the union hall. They did some head hunting for me and got me on at a big company here that does only commercial. It's a $4 an hour raise after all the benefits are paid, $16 an hour before they're paid.( )

It's gonna suck leaving here; I've been here the longest and am basically part of the scenery. I have to pull my bumps out of my van along with all the wiring, and my tools. (I may have to take pics of that, we like pics.)

It's also gonna suck going from top of the heap to bottom of the barrel. I'm hoping my masters and 16 years in the field count for something there. I'm not sure how union's work.

I'm pretty heartbroken over the whole thing. This place is like my family, and I really do like my boss. Oh well, here's to moving on to greener pastures.

 

New jobs are always a challenge, but you have to do what is best for you. I hope the new place is a good fit, and that you are happy with the change!

 

I was talking to my friend about this recently and he summed it up nicely. Work for him is just a transaction. They pay us to perform a service and that's as far as it should go. We have to do what's best for us, not for other people. That is a substantial pay raise so you shouldn't feel bad about it. Congratulations!

 

As someone in a similar boat to bmf, at the same place 20+ years, practically part of the scenery, one of the longest there, a whole career of being happy but recently pretty damn miserable with new work they've got me doing, so I'm actively talking to recruiters, I gotta say ...

Work is a hell of a lot more enjoyable when you feel like you're 'in it together' with others. Unified towards a common goal. Sharing at least limited loyalty and sentiments you're part of something larger than a paycheck. Knowing you can rely on someone else or be relied on in a jam, even if one of you isn't necessarily on-shift.

The thought of treating my job as purely transactional, like, "I worked X hours today, just pay me, I don't want/need anything else", sounds like either a pretty lonely existence, or regressing back to my days in the service industry where you only got paid by the clock, neither is place I'd want to return to. Even when I was retrofitting fluorescent lamps in grocery stores in Orlando back in the day with my own crew, it was virtually family, anyone who wasn't down for that got tired and left pretty quick.

In no way am I implying a person has to have loyalty to the company nor put themselves and/or their well-being before it, but I would say there's totally a balance between "the man sticking it to you" and "you sticking it to the man". I've managed to toe the line between the two nicely in a push/pull, give/take way with my current job. I've enjoyed a lot of perks over the years that came from meeting in the middle, things I know I won't see at my new job or I'll spend years earning.

Only reason I bring it up. Something I've noticed in the last 10 years or so is an absolute lack of loyalty to anything work-related from the younger generations coming in the door. I don't blame them, seems like every generation over the last few since mine have gradually gotten more and more screwed over. Still, I think it's a mistake when you don't care about the bigger picture, or honestly believe everything is hour-vs.-dollar.

I'm also a little conflicted on it, and looking at it from the view of a very specific industry (tech). My service days ended roughly 20 years ago, when I moved into the tech sector.

 

Congrats dude!!!! Exciting and terrifying all at once. But when the day is said and done, you gotta do what’s right for you, no matter how friendly your boss is or how long you’ve been there.
Cheers to a new future!

 

https://youtu.be/c1j_H_y4Ssk

 

I agree and I'm not saying that you can't also be friends with your coworkers. I guess I've just seen how corporate America works. I have zero loyalty but I still enjoy my team. My company met most financial goals for 2020 and still laid a bunch of great people off in January.

 

Employee engagement is good for both the employee and the company. Trouble is, many companies undervalue their hard working employees, and that causes a lack of engagement. It's a downward spiral that can eventually sink companies.

When I started at my current company I was as engaged as an employee can be. So happy to go to work, and bust my ass, and I felt the company actually cared. They kept that façade up for the first few years, and then the true colors showed through. After continual beatings didn't improve morale, I just disengaged and became a bare minimum employee. I pushed on for a time like that, but then moved to a new department that has it's office off the main campus. It was a new part of the company with a manager who I had worked with in a different capacity before. He gives a crap, and so I am more engaged now than I have been in the 5 or so years before the switch. I still work for the same company, though, so my level of commitment is still damaged. I won't ever put forth the same level of effort for the company. For my boss, and my direct coworkers, I bust my ass, but the company can kiss it before I'll bust it for them.

 

We had a pretty brutal weekend at the river.









Business in the front, party in the back.



I also came across a 2WD Blazer buried to it's rear axle and gas tank. That took a lot of digging to clear out but my truck popped it out easily with the help of my plywood and kinetic rope. Those people are super lucky I came across them, that's all I'm going to say about that.

 

I’m on the fence is jumping ship from my place. But I’ve got no idea where I’d go… all these dealers are owned by corporations now and they suck

 

This is basically where I'm at now. Only the company legit did care. About 10 years ago they started cutting back and consolidating under the arm I worked, then companywide they started expanding into a newer branch of the security industry that's burgeoning and happens to be chock full of egotistical d-bags. I guess when you move into an industry full of d-bags and therefore need to hire from the executive level down, you end up with d-bags leading the show with absolutely zero regard for the company's history or culture, and suddenly shit sucks for everyone, unless you happen to be a personal or professional friend of one of the d-bags in charge, or a A+ primo ass-kisser.

And this, really, is where I ultimately hope @bmf4069 is going, and where I want to be. Just need to find the right nook to sink into.

 

I work for a family-owned European-based international entity. Well, family-owned and operated until the father died, then one of the two brothers mysteriously died in a "gardening accident", whatever the fuck that means - now it's one of the brothers running it basically alone, and doing whatever he wants for more than a decade. Corporate Europe may work different from Corporate America, the group I work for actually did care about theirs, but that ended not long after that 2nd brother passed.

I was fiercely loyal. Then they started laying off 2013-2015 in multiple rounds and took out several of my counterparts, at home and overseas. It flared back up again around 2016-2017. Then I've watched as all of the other groups outside of mine have gotten scaled down. Unfortunately, there's no opportunity for upward growth starting 4-5 years ago after those last rounds. I was sweating getting laid off in 2018-2019 bigtime and sorta wished I had been: The package would've been awesome.

There are legitimately companies out there who give a damn. There are companies out there who deserve the loyalty. Just seems like something in the tech world flipped within the last 5-10 years and that's gone the way of the dodo. It sounds like, from what I'm hearing from friends and family, it's gone the way of tradework, where everyone and everything is expendable. If so, that's unfortunate and I don't see myself lasting in my current career for long.

 

Weren't you saying independent wasn't an option? What about something like an independent national chain or something? I don't know what I'm trying to say...

 

Got a nice little surprise on my desk today. A plant that is trying to escape the bowl decided to flower.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRlcN6vRHhg

 

I remember when I had to pull my stereo out of my van. I left the window tint and the modified racks.

Hope the new place treats you well brother. Its hard to leave a job you've lived with for so long but its the right move.

 

I like knowing one brand more than having to deal with all the brands

 

I like knowing one brand more than having to deal with all the brands

 

Congrats! I'm not a big union guy but the wages, benefits and not having to harass your boss for a raise is amazing.
I think I mentioned once I was with my non-union elec shop for 13 years. Best decision I made was to leave, and I really liked my old shop.
Let us know how it goes.

 

Penske dealerships have been a better experience for me & the employees seem upbeat & one I questioned about working for Penske said it was a good thing.

 

penske is one i'd consider. but im not moving 2 hours south to indy to work on luxury cars. i dont know of any toyota dealers they have close

 

Fuck it’s only Monday and I’m already thinking of a Friday poll…….
I hope this week goes by fast

 

Be like me and work 7 days a week for months on end and you'll forget what day it is. Problem solved.

 

What the fuck in the horizontal, vertical, and lateral control arm is this?

 

"An I get an alignment?"
"Sure, year make and model?"
"2019 honda clarity"
"You need to leave, now."

 

Got this in my email from McGeorge Toyota today. Just passing it along.

 

My first thought was….well aren’t you special especially after using them for my last 6 orders.

Then I checked my email….take backs for my thoughts

 

Wish I could get a picture of the side of this truck. Woooo-boy. I thought the RCLB was ruffffff