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I made a serious mistake entering this field

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#21 ·
I need to vent and this looks like the perfect thread to do it. This is my 1st post on this forum but after reading this thread I feel that I need to reply! I have gotten to the point that I wished i would have never gotten into this field of work. Not because of the work itself. I love troubleshooting and fixing problems and helping out customers and selling upgrades. However, I find myself in the position of there are no good employers in my area. I graduated college in 2003 with the highest GPA in my class in HVAC. I since have worked for 4 hvac companies...the longest being 5 years(the best of all 4). one job lasted less then a week because I did not like the way they conducted business and left immediately. Then i went to a huge company and HATED it! More rules then being in the military, worked me 60 hours a week during not busy times of the year, and constantly beat down techs for not bringing in enough revenue...didn't matter how much you brought in it should have always been more. I was the top tech there and it was a 50 millions dollar a year company. So I find a job closer to home, actually higher pay, and for the first month or so a really cool boss. Now for the past 2 months I am getting treated like dirt. I am lucky to get 1 service call a week and most of the time it is a warranty call or callback on another tech or we just installed this last week deal. So my boss is all over me about not making him any money. the only thing I get to do is install (which is not what I was hired for and I have not done much of, which i told him when I interviewed), and all my boss and service manager do is beat me down for being too slow. I know how to do install and i know how to make a job look good and do it right, but they expect me to do a changeout in 3-4 hours! I get calls from the boss while I am there trying to work yelling at me why am I not done yet and before I can even respond he hangs up the phone on me! I have been told by other guys that i work with that if I confront him about this he will just fire me. My wife is out of work and I have a newborn at home, I really can't lose my job right now but I can't keep dealing with this. There are no decent companies in my area hiring right now and i fear for my job daily because of the way I am treated and my bosses short fuse. Also he has no business ethics, we are expected to sell systems on pretty much any service call we go on no matter what the problem. Hot surface ignitor on a 7 year old furnace...why didn't you condemn the system?!?! I can barely sleep at night anymore. I am a very ethical and honest person and I don't know what to do! Everyone in my life is not supportive of me with this...when I say I am displeased with my job i hear you should just be happy to have a job or you're never satisfied or you always think the grass is greener...and so on and so on. Basically I needed to get this off my chest to hopefully someone that will understand how I feel. thanks
 
#23 ·
WorkinforAHack said:
I can barely sleep at night anymore. I am a very ethical and honest person and I don't know what to do! Everyone in my life is not supportive of me with this...when I say I am displeased with my job i hear you should just be happy to have a job or you're never satisfied or you always think the grass is greener...and so on and so on. Basically I needed to get this off my chest to hopefully someone that will understand how I feel. thanks
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I know what you mean. The company I work for too they are becoming a bunch of a..holes in management. I heard about a month ago they talked to a group of about 7 employees and threatened to let them go. The management claims they weren't performing. Your not alone being treated badly these days.

Sometimes you just have to move to find something better. I know it can be a tough choice but why put yourself through what your going through? I would be putting my Resume out on some job search websites and wait. You might be surprised what may come along.

As for the comments that people say. Ignore them. They aren't walking in your shoes or have your values. Focus yourself on improving yourself. Pick up a good technical manual and burn some time with it. There is a difference between a "job" and working at something you like or someplace you like. Hell anyone can just get a "job". Maybe your reply should be I should be so lucky not to just have a "job".
 
#24 ·
WorkinforAHack said:
I need to vent and this looks like the perfect thread to do it. This is my 1st post on this forum but after reading this thread I feel that I need to reply! I have gotten to the point that I wished i would have never gotten into this field of work. Not because of the work itself. I love troubleshooting and fixing problems and helping out customers and selling upgrades. However, I find myself in the position of there are no good employers in my area. I graduated college in 2003 with the highest GPA in my class in HVAC. I since have worked for 4 hvac companies...the longest being 5 years(the best of all 4). one job lasted less then a week because I did not like the way they conducted business and left immediately. Then i went to a huge company and HATED it! More rules then being in the military, worked me 60 hours a week during not busy times of the year, and constantly beat down techs for not bringing in enough revenue...didn't matter how much you brought in it should have always been more. I was the top tech there and it was a 50 millions dollar a year company. So I find a job closer to home, actually higher pay, and for the first month or so a really cool boss. Now for the past 2 months I am getting treated like dirt. I am lucky to get 1 service call a week and most of the time it is a warranty call or callback on another tech or we just installed this last week deal. So my boss is all over me about not making him any money. the only thing I get to do is install (which is not what I was hired for and I have not done much of, which i told him when I interviewed), and all my boss and service manager do is beat me down for being too slow. I know how to do install and i know how to make a job look good and do it right, but they expect me to do a changeout in 3-4 hours! I get calls from the boss while I am there trying to work yelling at me why am I not done yet and before I can even respond he hangs up the phone on me! I have been told by other guys that i work with that if I confront him about this he will just fire me. My wife is out of work and I have a newborn at home, I really can't lose my job right now but I can't keep dealing with this. There are no decent companies in my area hiring right now and i fear for my job daily because of the way I am treated and my bosses short fuse. Also he has no business ethics, we are expected to sell systems on pretty much any service call we go on no matter what the problem. Hot surface ignitor on a 7 year old furnace...why didn't you condemn the system?!?! I can barely sleep at night anymore. I am a very ethical and honest person and I don't know what to do! Everyone in my life is not supportive of me with this...when I say I am displeased with my job i hear you should just be happy to have a job or you're never satisfied or you always think the grass is greener...and so on and so on. Basically I needed to get this off my chest to hopefully someone that will understand how I feel. thanks
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Im sorry to hear that. It sounds to me like the company your working for is in fear of closing its doors. That causes stress at all levels all the way down to you. You shouldn't let the stress they're feeding consume you though. Ride it out, times are real tough right now. I bet every company is stressed out. I know I would be. New construction has come to a hault.
 
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#25 ·
WorkinforAHack said:
I need to vent and this looks like the perfect thread to do it. This is my 1st post on this forum but after reading this thread I feel that I need to reply! I have gotten to the point that I wished i would have never gotten into this field of work. Not because of the work itself. I love troubleshooting and fixing problems and helping out customers and selling upgrades. However, I find myself in the position of there are no good employers in my area. I graduated college in 2003 with the highest GPA in my class in HVAC. I since have worked for 4 hvac companies...the longest being 5 years(the best of all 4). one job lasted less then a week because I did not like the way they conducted business and left immediately. Then i went to a huge company and HATED it! More rules then being in the military, worked me 60 hours a week during not busy times of the year, and constantly beat down techs for not bringing in enough revenue...didn't matter how much you brought in it should have always been more. I was the top tech there and it was a 50 millions dollar a year company. So I find a job closer to home, actually higher pay, and for the first month or so a really cool boss. Now for the past 2 months I am getting treated like dirt. I am lucky to get 1 service call a week and most of the time it is a warranty call or callback on another tech or we just installed this last week deal. So my boss is all over me about not making him any money. the only thing I get to do is install (which is not what I was hired for and I have not done much of, which i told him when I interviewed), and all my boss and service manager do is beat me down for being too slow. I know how to do install and i know how to make a job look good and do it right, but they expect me to do a changeout in 3-4 hours! I get calls from the boss while I am there trying to work yelling at me why am I not done yet and before I can even respond he hangs up the phone on me! I have been told by other guys that i work with that if I confront him about this he will just fire me. My wife is out of work and I have a newborn at home, I really can't lose my job right now but I can't keep dealing with this. There are no decent companies in my area hiring right now and i fear for my job daily because of the way I am treated and my bosses short fuse. Also he has no business ethics, we are expected to sell systems on pretty much any service call we go on no matter what the problem. Hot surface ignitor on a 7 year old furnace...why didn't you condemn the system?!?! I can barely sleep at night anymore. I am a very ethical and honest person and I don't know what to do! Everyone in my life is not supportive of me with this...when I say I am displeased with my job i hear you should just be happy to have a job or you're never satisfied or you always think the grass is greener...and so on and so on. Basically I needed to get this off my chest to hopefully someone that will understand how I feel. thanks
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I worked for a company that had a superintendant like that. The guy was a total A hole... he was right and the guy in the field was always wrong or always f-in off... always tring to send the sheet metal guy on the changeout home in less than 8 hours so he could pocket the hours (salesman always sold a full day's labor on a changeout). The fitters always got their hours and then some (different supers).

He'd call me on *my cell phone* to ask "are you done yet". When I stopped answering it because the company refused to reimburse me when I went over my minutes (like $100 worth), he would stop by a job every couple of hours to ask the same thing.

The owner is cut from the same cloth, so these guys were like peas in a pod.

There are companies/people like this all over... I checked your location because it was a dead ringer for a place I worked at... :D

You gotta do what you feel is best.

Being employed by someone making your life miserable is no better, and maybe worse than being unemployed.

Is there a relationship between the owner/boss and the person you are following up behind? If it is slow and you are fixing that persons mistakes and no one is noticing, then nothing is gonna change.

Best of luck.
 
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#26 ·
let me get the pampers out. you guys are crying like a bunch of little girls. You think your boss is an a$$? well guess what, that's his job. Its to push you to make more money, spend less and increase profit. Ive never had a bad boss, maybe because i do my job and don't cry like a little b!tch. If i where you I would shut up and step my game up a couple of notches. it seems to me the guys the boss rides the most go first when its layoff time.
 
#27 ·
How his boss is running the company is one way to run a company, but it is not the only way. It is "old school." It is lean harder and harder and harder on someone. The boss is berating him, harassing him, even calling him during and install and then complaining he is too slow. That is so bass ackwards. And, the boss should never hang up on him. His boss is trying to get better performance through intimidation. But you know what, respect goes both ways. I have a boss, who challenges me, but she also turns to me for advice. She values me and is growing me as a professional. You are not going to win with this guy. You need to be looking.You mentioned that you were not hired for installs. I'm curious, what your specialty is.
In situations like this I pray. I pray that either the situation will become harmonious or I will be lifted out of it. Having said that, while you are in this situation, you can be practicing to be the type of employee you want to be. If I were in the HVAC field, I'd be looking for someone like you.
P.S. I've been through rough patches like this and I've learned you cannot let it get you down. I know that sounds trite, but it's stupid to let a turkey like this get you down.
 
#28 ·
I also have worked for some "eccentric gentlemen". I also have been an a-hole at times running a supermarket install. People are the way they are and my only choices are 1. To look for another job 2. Find a way to accept the behaviour without taking it personally. 3. Start my own company.
 
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#29 ·
clintkennon said:
let me get the pampers out. you guys are crying like a bunch of little girls. You think your boss is an a$$? well guess what, that's his job. Its to push you to make more money, spend less and increase profit. Ive never had a bad boss, maybe because i do my job and don't cry like a little b!tch. If i where you I would shut up and step my game up a couple of notches. it seems to me the guys the boss rides the most go first when its layoff time.
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I love responses like this. Maybe you didn't read what I said. Maybe I should step it up and not be a crying b1tch tech. How exactly is that suppossed to happen when I don't get to do any service calls and all I do is installs when I am not an installer and I told the boss that when he hired me? He hired me to be his top tech because of how much money I can make for a company doing service but then he doesn't let me do service and yells a me for being too slow doing installs! I do not have a problem doing installs or care that I am doing them instead of service but I do have a problem with getting yelled at and belittled for taking too long when doing them. I'm not going to do sh1t work like my boss and service manager just to get a job done a half hour faster and then get called back to the job a week later because the customer is p1ssed about how bad the job looks or isn't working right after they just spent xx amount of dollars on the job. If you knew me at all you would know that I'm not some slacker that needs to step it up. Every job I have ever had I have always averaged a couple of hundred dollars more on my average ticket then the other techs that I worked with.
 
#31 ·
clintkennon said:
I'm sorry. your right, your boss is a jerk. Why should he expect you to know how to install the equipment you service in a timely manner?
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Allright smart@ss what is a timely manner to you then? this is a good question...maybe I am wrong...maybe I am taking too long....lets hear some average install times for all systems. Lets start with typical basement installs...boilers, oil furnaces, gas...both 80 and 90's and heat pumps. Go ahead and let me know how long these shoukld be taking me and I will be honest and let you know if I am doing it faster or slower
 
#32 ·
I am a smart a$$, I just cant help myself. My point is that it doesn't matter how long it takes to install a furnace, there's only a problem if you make it a problem. If you boss pushes you then something has made him do this. If you honestly went as fast as you could on every job and did a good job , then he wouldn't have a problem with you.
And by the way I don't do boilers down here, but last week I installed a 80%furnace in 2.5 hours and yes it was done right. I'm not bragging but, I am good.
 
#33 ·
clintkennon said:
I am a smart a$$, I just cant help myself. My point is that it doesn't matter how long it takes to install a furnace, there's only a problem if you make it a problem. If you boss pushes you then something has made him do this. If you honestly went as fast as you could on every job and did a good job , then he wouldn't have a problem with you.
And by the way I don't do boilers down here, but last week I installed a 80%furnace in 2.5 hours and yes it was done right. I'm not bragging but, I am good.
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And you would have taken an hour too long doing it. thank you.
 
#35 ·
There are good people out there to work for...clearly multiple people should keep looking for a better employer. The more I hear these kind of stories and deal with some of the stuff the more I am thinking I need to open my own shop and have a company mission statement of the likes -
1. To treat the customer fairly and honestly and to fix mistakes when they happen.
2. To treat employees fairly and honestly and pay them well. Happy employees will equal more happy customers.

Yet I know a guy that I think did treat his guys fair and finally he sold out since he was tired of all the complaining and whinning about the way he was doing things. He claims his employees were paid the best in the area and that after he sold out he had numerous employees ask him to start something back up and they would work for him. The grass always seems greener on the other side.

BTW - that furnace install would've likely taken me at least 3 hours...I don't pick up parts/equipment for free!
 
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#37 ·
WorkinforAHack said:
I need to vent and this looks like the perfect thread to do it. This is my 1st post on this forum but after reading this thread I feel that I need to reply! I have gotten to the point that I wished i would have never gotten into this field of work. Not because of the work itself. I love troubleshooting and fixing problems and helping out customers and selling upgrades. However, I find myself in the position of there are no good employers in my area. I graduated college in 2003 with the highest GPA in my class in HVAC. I since have worked for 4 hvac companies...the longest being 5 years(the best of all 4). one job lasted less then a week because I did not like the way they conducted business and left immediately. Then i went to a huge company and HATED it! More rules then being in the military, worked me 60 hours a week during not busy times of the year, and constantly beat down techs for not bringing in enough revenue...didn't matter how much you brought in it should have always been more. I was the top tech there and it was a 50 millions dollar a year company. So I find a job closer to home, actually higher pay, and for the first month or so a really cool boss. Now for the past 2 months I am getting treated like dirt. I am lucky to get 1 service call a week and most of the time it is a warranty call or callback on another tech or we just installed this last week deal. So my boss is all over me about not making him any money. the only thing I get to do is install (which is not what I was hired for and I have not done much of, which i told him when I interviewed), and all my boss and service manager do is beat me down for being too slow. I know how to do install and i know how to make a job look good and do it right, but they expect me to do a changeout in 3-4 hours! I get calls from the boss while I am there trying to work yelling at me why am I not done yet and before I can even respond he hangs up the phone on me! I have been told by other guys that i work with that if I confront him about this he will just fire me. My wife is out of work and I have a newborn at home, I really can't lose my job right now but I can't keep dealing with this. There are no decent companies in my area hiring right now and i fear for my job daily because of the way I am treated and my bosses short fuse. Also he has no business ethics, we are expected to sell systems on pretty much any service call we go on no matter what the problem. Hot surface ignitor on a 7 year old furnace...why didn't you condemn the system?!?! I can barely sleep at night anymore. I am a very ethical and honest person and I don't know what to do! Everyone in my life is not supportive of me with this...when I say I am displeased with my job i hear you should just be happy to have a job or you're never satisfied or you always think the grass is greener...and so on and so on. Basically I needed to get this off my chest to hopefully someone that will understand how I feel. thanks
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Man, if you tell me your working in Northwest Arkansas then I know who you're working for. And if so then yes, you are working for a hack. They don't have a customer list because no will use them a second time. How they're still in business is a mystery to us all. Hang in there, because when business picks up this summer all of those companies that let their techs go for a lack of business will be looking to replace them from a large pool of canidates. Make sure resume is current and be as impresive as possible at interviews. Life is too short work in an atmosphere like that. I don't care who you are, you don't treat employees like that. You don't have to respect your employees but you do have to treat them like humans, not like dogs.
 
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