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So I was fired last Thursday. Time to vent about some of the stupid shit I had to deal with at my ex-company, so I can get it off my chest once and for all.
I worked in the Parts department for the #1 West-Coast distributor of Service Bodies - that is, truck beds for the service industry. Contractor's trucks, plumber's vans. That sort of thing.
#1 complaint, bar none: Car salesmen. I work in the Parts department, so I shouldn't ever have to hear from dealerships directly, right? Wrong! At least twice a week, we had to replace keys for the side compartments on trucks that hadn't been sold yet, because the dealership salesmen lost them. That normally wouldn't be a problem - they lost them, they pay for replacements, right? Wrong again! If I dared to try to charge them for replacement keys, they'd go screaming to upper management, who would come screaming at me. They don't have any agreement for unlimited replacements, they just expect it. And management bends over and takes it, because business has been sucky, and we can't afford to "lose" any dealership customers.
What's worse about this is that it's just money-grubbing on the part of the salespeople. I worked at a dealership, so I know how it goes - the Salesmen get no financial support from the dealerships. Have to spend $10 getting new keys? It comes out of the Salesman's commission.
And the part that really steams me - when we deliver a truck to a dealership, we give a delivery sheet that gets checked off by the receiving dealerships. It includes a confirmation that keys have been delivered with the vehicle - three of them. Two on the keychain, and one under the driver's seat. And yet, they still manage to lose all three with shocking regularity. So, in essence, every single dealership agrees, when the truck arrives, that they got the keys for the trucks. But every single time, when a truck is missing its keys, they pin the blame on our company, as though we didn't deliver the keys in the first place. Our management should say, "Nope, we've got the delivery sheet right here - shows receipt of one ignition key and three bin door keys. How many replacements would you like to buy?" But that's not allowed - that makes too much sense!
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#2 is something that only happens once in a while, but it still annoys me. Part of it now is that one of these pricks is a portion of the excuse for firing me. What pricks, you ask? People getting insurance-covered work done on their cars who want to get more work done, and try to stick the insurance for it. Not only do they state plainly that this is the damage from the accident, and we want that done too, they try to sweet-talk us into supporting their fraud! At least have the decency to offer some kind of bribe, for crying out loud! My integrity doesn't come cheap, and it sure as hell isn't free!
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#3 is a minor pet peeve, but it persisted from day one to last day. We put a sticker that explains more about the truck body than you really care to know on the bed itself. For service bodies (IE, anything other than a flatbed or stakebed), it's located inside the front driver's-side storage compartment on the bed. Say it with me now, OK? Front - Driver's side - storage compartment - on the bed. Where's that? Glovebox, you ask? FUCKING NO, I DIDN'T SAY GLOVEBOX! The glovebox isn't on the driver's side, is it? (Well, for some luxury cars, it's under the steering wheel, but this is a truck, okay?) The glovebox isn't on the bed is it?
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#4 is petty shit. We occasionally got calls for things from way out in left field. Engine for a '72 Corvette? No, sorry. Streetlamp post? What business do you think you're calling? (And yes, I did double-check and triple-check to make sure he wasn't talking about headlights, or taillights - he wanted a streetlamp.) How about a stock bed for a 1978 truck? Not a service bed, a factory stock bed. Hell, we don't even have 07's any more.
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Lastly, and this isn't stupid customers. Well, it could be... I'll leave that for you to decide.
If you go to Home Depot, Lowe's, or any other construction megastore, either leave the service truck at home and go in a stock pickup truck, or leave someone with the service truck. Thefts from service trucks are skyrocketing over the past three months. These turkeys have learned how to pick, force, or pry a lock in seconds. If you must take the service truck, either leave all of your tools at home, or make sure you have better than stock locks. A steel crossbar across the doors, and padlocked, usually is good enough.
And don't leave a service truck out where the public can get to it overnight, either. Either take the tools out, or park it in a secure garage. Because otherwise, sooner or later, you're going to come out in the morning and find that you've lost $6000 worth of tools.
I worked in the Parts department for the #1 West-Coast distributor of Service Bodies - that is, truck beds for the service industry. Contractor's trucks, plumber's vans. That sort of thing.
#1 complaint, bar none: Car salesmen. I work in the Parts department, so I shouldn't ever have to hear from dealerships directly, right? Wrong! At least twice a week, we had to replace keys for the side compartments on trucks that hadn't been sold yet, because the dealership salesmen lost them. That normally wouldn't be a problem - they lost them, they pay for replacements, right? Wrong again! If I dared to try to charge them for replacement keys, they'd go screaming to upper management, who would come screaming at me. They don't have any agreement for unlimited replacements, they just expect it. And management bends over and takes it, because business has been sucky, and we can't afford to "lose" any dealership customers.
What's worse about this is that it's just money-grubbing on the part of the salespeople. I worked at a dealership, so I know how it goes - the Salesmen get no financial support from the dealerships. Have to spend $10 getting new keys? It comes out of the Salesman's commission.
And the part that really steams me - when we deliver a truck to a dealership, we give a delivery sheet that gets checked off by the receiving dealerships. It includes a confirmation that keys have been delivered with the vehicle - three of them. Two on the keychain, and one under the driver's seat. And yet, they still manage to lose all three with shocking regularity. So, in essence, every single dealership agrees, when the truck arrives, that they got the keys for the trucks. But every single time, when a truck is missing its keys, they pin the blame on our company, as though we didn't deliver the keys in the first place. Our management should say, "Nope, we've got the delivery sheet right here - shows receipt of one ignition key and three bin door keys. How many replacements would you like to buy?" But that's not allowed - that makes too much sense!
- - - - -
#2 is something that only happens once in a while, but it still annoys me. Part of it now is that one of these pricks is a portion of the excuse for firing me. What pricks, you ask? People getting insurance-covered work done on their cars who want to get more work done, and try to stick the insurance for it. Not only do they state plainly that this is the damage from the accident, and we want that done too, they try to sweet-talk us into supporting their fraud! At least have the decency to offer some kind of bribe, for crying out loud! My integrity doesn't come cheap, and it sure as hell isn't free!
- - - - -
#3 is a minor pet peeve, but it persisted from day one to last day. We put a sticker that explains more about the truck body than you really care to know on the bed itself. For service bodies (IE, anything other than a flatbed or stakebed), it's located inside the front driver's-side storage compartment on the bed. Say it with me now, OK? Front - Driver's side - storage compartment - on the bed. Where's that? Glovebox, you ask? FUCKING NO, I DIDN'T SAY GLOVEBOX! The glovebox isn't on the driver's side, is it? (Well, for some luxury cars, it's under the steering wheel, but this is a truck, okay?) The glovebox isn't on the bed is it?
- - - - -
#4 is petty shit. We occasionally got calls for things from way out in left field. Engine for a '72 Corvette? No, sorry. Streetlamp post? What business do you think you're calling? (And yes, I did double-check and triple-check to make sure he wasn't talking about headlights, or taillights - he wanted a streetlamp.) How about a stock bed for a 1978 truck? Not a service bed, a factory stock bed. Hell, we don't even have 07's any more.
- - - - -
Lastly, and this isn't stupid customers. Well, it could be... I'll leave that for you to decide.
If you go to Home Depot, Lowe's, or any other construction megastore, either leave the service truck at home and go in a stock pickup truck, or leave someone with the service truck. Thefts from service trucks are skyrocketing over the past three months. These turkeys have learned how to pick, force, or pry a lock in seconds. If you must take the service truck, either leave all of your tools at home, or make sure you have better than stock locks. A steel crossbar across the doors, and padlocked, usually is good enough.
And don't leave a service truck out where the public can get to it overnight, either. Either take the tools out, or park it in a secure garage. Because otherwise, sooner or later, you're going to come out in the morning and find that you've lost $6000 worth of tools.
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