Posted: 11/9/2013 10:42:00 AM EDT
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I originally posted this here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1554834_My_Job_Put_Me_On_90_Days_Probation.html but my problem is a bit different, and I really need some outside opinions to help me see the situation more clearly.
I'm in a bit of a situation at work. Here's my own long winded, narcissistic version. I'm retired USAF. I've only been in the civilian work force for a few years and not entirely sure how I should handle this....I'm trying to be professional, prove my worth and move up the ladder within the company, but I'm not sure if that's really in my best long-term interests. I work in a small, very specialized heavy equipment rental facility. The company has about 15,000 employees worldwide, but my facility is only a 2 man operation that services the entire southeastern US....Miami to Baltimore, Atlanta to the coast. I am the equipment mechanic and I'm only expected to handle the maintenance and assist wherever I'm asked to. Just before Christmas last year, I was given a $2/hr raise and started receiving a bi-annual percentage based bonus....not too bad, and better than I expected in this economy. Up to this point, I don't have many bad things to say about my employer. The other position at my facility manages the inventory, customer communications, shipping and the sales/rental contracts. The rental manager is a salaried position and makes considerably more money. The problem I'm experiencing is that the rental/sales position has been vacant for the past 8 months, and I've been doing both jobs. The company took more than 3 months just to post the vacancy on the job boards. In 5 months, they have only interviewed 2 candidates, neither of which were deemed suitable. I firmly believe that this less than robust effort to hire someone is because I've done a good job juggling both positions. I say this because my facility's sales/rental revenue and customer base has increased by more than 50% over last year and I've been handling everything all by my lonesome for most of that time. I may have an inflated opinion of myself, but I'm starting to suspect that the company doesn't see the need to pay another employee when they've got me to do it all. Since my coworker resigned, I'm working o/t every day just to keep the store open during our 7:00-5:00 business hours. This doesn't bother me....a 50 hr work week just means that I have a nice paycheck every week. What burns me is that I am also on call 24/7/365. Due to the nature of my customer base, my equipment is in use almost exclusively on nights, weekends and holidays. To maintain good customer relationships, I have to drop whatever I'm doing on my off time and take care of problems or supply parts whenever needed. After 8 months of this, I'm fairly exhausted. If I didn't like my job and appreciate my paycheck, I would probably have already quit. I have good supervision that backs me up as often as they can...but they can't do much when the next closest location is in AL and my store is in SC. My immediate supervisor has strongly suggested that I threaten to quit unless they offer more money....but I'm hesitant to do this even though I have literally ALL the trump cards right now. If I walk from this job today, there could be more than $180,000/month in lost revenues and it would take about 3 months to get someone spun up enough to recover from that--maybe longer, depending on how well my competition fills the void and how well my company reacts....it's hard to win a customer in this field, but easy to lose one. I just get the feeling that if I extort the company for another raise during this little crisis, they'll find a reason to replace me with a cheaper alternative as soon as the smoke clears. The company HMFIC is fond of saying that mechanics are easy to replace--unfortunately, I know that he's right about this so I keep my bitching to a minimum. I do have a plan of sorts--I've applied for the open rental/sales manager position. There isn't any advancement opportunity for a mechanic at my shop, but the sales/rental position has several avenues for upward and lateral mobility. And unlike the mechanic position, there is no company wide pay cap--instead of hourly wages, I would be salaried based on my numbers and the bonuses are much larger too. If I get the position, I'm looking at making about $10K more than I am now. I've already proven that I can do the job pretty well as evidenced by my revenue growth and customer base increase. With my maintenance background, I don't have to rely on the mechanic nearly as much as the other rental managers do to answer questions from the field. I have product and technical knowledge that takes years to acquire, and finally, due to the specialized nature of our equipment, it's not easy to find someone that doesn't require about a solid year or OJT to be completely self-sufficient. I think I'm a shoe-in for the position, but I'm not pinning all my hopes on it, nor am I convinced that it's really the best thing to do. If I don't get the sales position, I'm most likely going to take the next job that I find that offers enough money. I can understand why a company will take advantage of a hard working and loyal employee, but while I may understand, there are limits to what I'm willing to put up with....and I'm quickly getting to my breaking point. TL;DR: I'm tired, overworked, under-payed, and under-appreciated...same as everybody else in the working world. Question for GD: What would you do in my situation? 1) Hit the company while they're vulnerable for a big raise and stay in my current position? 2) Accept the sales/rental manager position (with a raise) if/when it's offered? 3) Or based on the way I believe I've been taken advantage of, and knowing that it will probably happen again, say 'enough is enough' and find another job? |
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They're fucking you because you're letting them. Time to move on. Thank you for not mincing words. This is exactly what I'm thinking too, but the paycheck is considerably better than anything else I've found within a reasonable commute...and the only reason I haven't already ejected. I'm getting fucked because I'm letting them fuck me because they're paying me fairly well.....I'm pretty sure this makes me a whore 
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Do the job you were hired for and let the other one wither on the vine (so to speak). Sorry I couldn't answer the phone, I was busy changing a henway sort of thing. Yep. That's the only way you're going to light a fire under upper management's collective ass. |
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In most states, being on call has rules. In the state where I used to work, every 24 hours on call was equal to 8 hours of pay. Keep really good records, check with your state's wage and hour commission. You may be entitled to a huge overtime check. I don't bother recording time spent on phone calls--most of them are short and only a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. If I have to go in to the shop after hours or fire up the computer to research parts or write up a contract, the company pays me a minimum of 2 hrs o/t---even if I only go in for 15 minutes. I think I'm being compensated fairly for my time....no complaints there. I'm just feeling burned out. |
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I'm getting fucked because I'm letting them fuck me because they're paying me fairly well.....I'm pretty sure this makes me a whore
This, Perhaps it is time for a change. http://blanchardmachinery.iapplicants.com/searchjobs.php |
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How are you going to get promoted to the sup job if they just wrote you up and put you on 90 days probation? RIF 
I originally posted in another thread and realized that my situation is entirely different. I've never been written up, can be counted on to work o/t without fail and received a pretty good raise because of it. But thanks for your input! |
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And you can't call yourself any kind of mechanic if you don't have a bunch of busy work strewn about the shop in case anyone comes to check on you. Bonus points if you have a big grinder or a cutting torch and aim the sparks at the intruder.  Always have busy work! Also have angle grinders, die grinders, sand blasters and a dozen other items close at hand that can be used to keep unwanted visitors at bay. That's how I passed my last safety audit--made the clipboard carriers wait outside until I was done making noise because they waddled into my shop without their PPE on. I'm pretty stupid about how a corporation works, but I know how to handle unwanted guests
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The company is only vulnerable right now because their management sucks. If you don't get the sales job or a substantial raise, bounce. Yup. The parent company has their hands in so many different industries, the smaller branches don't always get the attention they need. Poor or incompetent management is the number one complaint I've heard from other employees. A substantial raise will probably put me over the company's pay cap for my current position, and if it doesn't, I'll probably never see another due to spite. I just don't see a large corporation paying much more than I'm already getting for a lowly mechanic. My big problem now is that even if I get the sales job, how long will they take to fill the mechanic position? I'll still be in the same boat, just making more money......but since we've already established that I'm a whore, that will make the buttsecks easier to tolerate. |
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This, Perhaps it is time for a change. http://blanchardmachinery.iapplicants.com/searchjobs.php Quoted:
Quoted:
I'm getting fucked because I'm letting them fuck me because they're paying me fairly well.....I'm pretty sure this makes me a whore
This, Perhaps it is time for a change. http://blanchardmachinery.iapplicants.com/searchjobs.php Thank you for the link! I'm tailoring my resume and applying for a couple of these positions now. |
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There are always good maintenance jobs out there. Especially if you can multitask. Food processing is especially stable. Tig welding, machining, and PLC experience will open one hell of a lot of good paying doors. Yup. Unfortunately, I don't have the experience necessary to open most of those doors right now. I've been looking into welding and CNC at the local trade schools, but the locations and schedules are problematic. I'm willing to put in the time and effort but so far the class schedules aren't do-able....I'll either have to kill an hour or 2 after work to attend a school close to the shop, or double my 55 mile commute. There are very few times I regret buying a house off the beaten path.....this is one of them. |
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Thank you for not mincing words. This is exactly what I'm thinking too, but the paycheck is considerably better than anything else I've found within a reasonable commute...and the only reason I haven't already ejected. I'm getting fucked because I'm letting them fuck me because they're paying me fairly well.....I'm pretty sure this makes me a whore
Quoted:
Quoted:
They're fucking you because you're letting them. Time to move on. Thank you for not mincing words. This is exactly what I'm thinking too, but the paycheck is considerably better than anything else I've found within a reasonable commute...and the only reason I haven't already ejected. I'm getting fucked because I'm letting them fuck me because they're paying me fairly well.....I'm pretty sure this makes me a whore
Nothing wrong with being taken advantage of so long as it suits you for now. Certainly don't eject without something to fall back on. Sometimes getting fucked is your only option. |
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Make your point to management that you can do the job you want, already have, and be a fully trained backup for the job you have now. Great minds think alike! What you wrote is almost word-for-word what my application stated. Just not convinced that staying is the best option because of the way they're dragging their feet. Thanks for the comments everyone! Keep 'em coming! |
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Quoted: The company is only vulnerable right now because their management sucks. If you don't get the sales job or a substantial raise, bounce. if mechanics are a dime a dozen as they claim tell um you will move to sales ( with expected pay) to continue the great job you are doing and they can source a new mechanic |