Really Stupid Things I Tried

[Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>]

I tried to do little extra things to help my guys out, but it was never
appreciated.  Stupid things I tried included:

I once asked a local hotdog place to run a tab for me, and told my guys
if they "ran out of cash" before the next pay day they could use my tab
there.  They bitched me out up one side and down the other because they
didn't want to eat hotdogs EVERY F'IN day.  I closed the tab.  I didn't
say I was buying lunch every F'N day.  I had figured I'd have to pick up
the tab for them a day or two a couple times a month.  Yeah, the tab
looked like they had been inviting all their friends, family, neighbors,
and that weird guy down the street they didn't even like.

I once put a couple cases of sodas in the office fridge and told a guy
if he was thirsty he could grab a soda out of the office fridge.  Two
days later it was empty.  I didn't say anything, and on day three he
rather pointedly told me I was GOING TO HAVE TO restock the office
fridge.  He'd been talking an arm load out to his service truck every
morning.  I unplugged the office fridge the next day and told him it was
broke and I couldn't afford a new one after supplying him with an 18
pack of sodas every day.

I once told a guy I kept spare change in the ash tray of my truck if he
needed to buy a soda.  Just to see I dumped about ten dollars worth of
quarters in it (plus what was already in there).  At the end of the week
he dutifully TOLD ME I need to put more money in the ashtray.  I said,
sorry.  "That was for if you ran out of money, but now I have run out of
money.  I don't know How I'm going to make payroll.  I'm ten dollars
short.  Just the amount I kept in the ashtray."

I used to keep extra fuel in gas cans in one of my service trucks.  One
guy kept telling me He needed to fuel his truck every other day.  I
followed him to the gas stations and sat across the street and watched
when he filled the gas cans, but didn't put any fuel in my truck.  I
took the gas cans out, installed locking caps, and filled the trucks
myself every weekend after that.  Nobody every said anything about the
locking gas caps, but that one guy did try to tell me he needed gas in
his truck twice after that.  "Nope.  I filled it yesterday.  You do not."

Early on when we had a slow day I would ask the guys if they wanted to
go home or go fishing.  I paid for everything when we went fishing of
course.  One guy got mad when it was a day to work, and said, "Bob you
are a good fishing partner, but a lousy boss."

"Yeah, I know.  I was a total douche bag for cutting off your flow of
free hotdogs for your extended family, friends, neighbors, and that
weird guy down the street you don't even like."


--
Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff

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