Am I an a**hole for jumping mechanic about..

[HoosierBuddy]

So,

There's an oil change place I've been going to for a while now. This is a one-man-shop operation that's owned by a local businessman who rents it out. In the past they used to only change oil, but the shop didn't get enough business. So, they ran the old oil-change guy off and hired a young "mechanic". He does brakes and other small jobs in the side bay and oil changes in the main bay (there's just a pit on one side).

I went in there yesterday and dropped off my SUV as he had one truck in already changing the oil and appeared to be changing the in-tank fuel pump on a wrangler in the other bay as his fill-in job. As I'm dropping off the truck, I note the wrangler is on one jack stand under the side of the back axle and one floor jack with a block of rough-sawn wood (I'd say 10 inch cube) sitting on top of the floor jack under the other side of the axle, and the jack is all the way up where he's just managed to get enough clearance to get the fuel tank out, which is now sitting on the floor behind the jeep, which is sitting at an extreme angle as the left side is 2 feet higher than the right side.

So, I looked at this and then I gave him hell. Kid obviously thought I was a complete a**hole for telling him how to do his job. But geeze, I just thought "how am I going to feel if I don't say anything and then hear he got pinned and died before help got there."

How do you guys handle this type of thing?

 

[czervika]

Say hey you're gunna kill yourself with that. Then move on with my life. No reason to treat him like a kid either he takes the advice or he doesn't. No reason to get all worked up and give the guy hell.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

The tone and verbiage used while giving a person constructive criticism, will most times determine their reaction and what they get from it.

 

[Trey T]

These days, I learned to be selfish and I would watch the kid die. I'm kidding but that's how I feel about people sometimes ... everybody is so damn sensitive, gets ****-hurt easily ... like members on here, too. Nobody likes it when you have a backyard-party-style talk to people ... you gotta take proper steps and address properly.

Step 1. take it to his superior
Step 2. explain to him/her what's going on
Step 3. walk him/her out to the bay
Step 4. explain to his superior why the kid is now pinned by the differential.

All jokes aside... Regardless of how you deal w/ the issue, I don't think the kid will appreciate your concern then; he will think you're a pest. At the end of the day, if you do what's right (proper or not), they will thank you ... not to you then; perhaps when they head to bed thinking about it.

You seems like a good parent.

 

[WWShop]

Not sure what your definition of giving hell is, but mine is raising my voice and yelling at someone. If you did that, then maybe thats a bit over the top but you definitely did the right thing by saying something.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

The tone and verbiage used while giving a person constructive criticism, will most times determine their reaction and what they get from it.

That's a great point, and I should say that I tried to be very civil in my tone, like "Hey, I know you don't want to hear this from me, but that's crazy dangerous...."

As far as calling him a kid...he went to high school with my oldest son...so yeah.

Phil

 

[Two Door]

...I should say that I tried to be very civil in my tone, like "Hey, I know you don't want to hear this from me, but that's crazy dangerous...."


Phil

That seems extremely appropriate and far nicer than he would get from most.

 

[Doug Arthurs]

Not really your business. Was he actually under the truck at the time? Maybe he just pulled the jack stand out to move the tank around. I would say keep your mouth shut and if you don't like the way he works take your truck elsewhere.

 

[tacostand]

A fellow I grew up with watched his father die this way. The dad was working under a car which came down on him and pinned him. The kid had to just watch. Nothing short of The Hulk could have saved his dad. I don't think it's something he will ever shake.

Good for you for speaking up.

Is there another tone or maybe a more diplomatic way to convey the message? Good for you for having the self-awareness to open it up to discussion.

 

[jd_1138]

If you were pretty friendly about it, he ought to thank you for the concern and for the fact that you might've saved his life.

99% of people (even ones who know better) would've said NOTHING to the kid, so good for you.

 

[Roddyo]

He may have been doing the best he could with what he had to work with. It's a lot easier to take the moral high ground when you have money in your pocket.

Good on you for taking an interest but if the guys broke....what does he do?

 

[Lee Celtic]

whether you did or didn't say anything is irrelevant he sounds like a future Darwin award winner .. If I turned up at a garage charging money for work done and saw a car jacked up with a block of wood on top of a jack I'd turn around and go somewhere with a professional setup.. shoddy work practice = shoddy work..

 

[Rookie2]

If you like the shop and labor rate and the kid then think about buying him a set of high jack stands with the understanding that he can pay you back . Flowers for a funeral are around $65 -$150 think about it. I've started giving some of my tools to guys that would appreciate them.

 

[Wanna Ride]

He may have been doing the best he could with what he had to work with. It's a lot easier to take the moral high ground when you have money in your pocket.

Good on you for taking an interest but if the guys broke....what does he do?

Yeah, what he ^^ said!
Even OSHA cuts people slack for not having enough money for TWO whole jackstands... geez. Why can't you? You trying to bankrupt the poor kid, before he ever has a chance to get ahead in life?

 

[Know Wosad]

Been there. I just ask one simple question and not too nice( because I AM an ******* )
"Hey numbnuts. Tired of having birthdays ?"
If they come back, I let'er rip

 

[gregtwojeeps]

That's a great point, and I should say that I tried to be very civil in my tone, like "Hey, I know you don't want to hear this from me, but that's crazy dangerous...."

As far as calling him a kid...he went to high school with my oldest son...so yeah.

Phil

If you warned him of the situation in a civil tone, then you are not a AH. If he reacted poorly to your warning after you spoke to him in a civil manner...then he is a AH.

If a car is actually in the action of getting ready to roll over someone, then yes, a raised voice and freaking out is a normal presentation of words. jmo

 

[DalyArcher]

He may have been doing the best he could with what he had to work with. It's a lot easier to take the moral high ground when you have money in your pocket.

Good on you for taking an interest but if the guys broke....what does he do?

We aren't talking about some guy in his backyard trying to make do on a one-off situation. This is a commercial business, a "professional;" shop. Even at that, some things you simply do not skimp on. My dad ever caught me under a car without a PAIR of jackstands, he'd kick my ***, garage would be locked and that would be the end of my tinkering and wrenching for a good while.

This situation does have an element of "mind your own" I suppose, but no harm in politely pointing out the obvious out of genuine concern. Again, I really don't but the "what if he's broke" argument. You're running a business, make a basic investment in the BASIC tools required to run that business.

 

[Tucko]

So, did you STILL leave the SUV for him, now that he's pissed at you?

 

[justanengineer]

Was he actually under the truck at the time? Maybe he just pulled the jack stand out to move the tank around. I would say keep your mouth shut and if you don't like the way he works take your truck elsewhere.

+1. My first thought was exactly that - he's pulling a tank on a short vehicle and probably moved the stand and jacked it up for clearance. If he's only reaching an arm in quick then no big deal, its done daily and even OSHA would approve.

 

[Know Wosad]

He may have been doing the best he could with what he had to work with. It's a lot easier to take the moral high ground when you have money in your pocket.

Good on you for taking an interest but if the guys broke....what does he do?

It's a lot easier to die than it is to load a couple sacks with sand(or mud) and toss them under a car you just jacked up.
Or a couple spare tires....or a bunch of firewood...or 75 empty beer boxes( which da rednecks often khave tossed around). A combination of all the above and top it up with the ol lady's shoe collection.
Or die. in which case more oxygen for me !

Now that I think about it I put a bunch of bagged mulch under a backhoe frame one day by lifting it with the boom, then snatching the wheel. Had the hose blown, no problem.
555 Ford. 11,000 lbs,

 

[allinon72]

Not sure it's your place to be scolding someone else's employee. Bring it up to the manager/owner perhaps, but that's it.

You may just find your drain plug torqued to 400ft/lbs now.

 

[TractorJeff]

Without re-reading the OP, I believe he states the building is rented to the younger guy who is running a Oil Change/Small Repair business. This means the YG should have Business Insurance of some sort. He should also have common sense to not get killed. Anyways the first post didn't specify if the 2nd Stand was nearby indicating that he had taken it out to get the Jack/Block in there to lift higher? Also when you think about it deeper, you realize that the 2nd Stand should have been still in its original location as you can not put it in the same exact spot as the Jack lifting the Vehicle.
Food for Thought!

 

[johninct]

Respectively mentioning it to him is one thing but loosing it and blasting him is another. ...

 

[Roddyo]

Respectively mentioning it to him is one thing but loosing it and blasting him is another. ...

My point exactly.

 

[Tony G]

At his age everyone of us felt invincible. He'll get over it. If he makes it that is.

 

[ezover]

He may have been doing the best he could with what he had to work with. It's a lot easier to take the moral high ground when you have money in your pocket.

Good on you for taking an interest but if the guys broke....what does he do?

nope!! if he is working for an employer the employer needs to have his *** reamed for allowing the young man to do this, and provide the safety equipment to do the job.

 

[the gypsy]

You did good, regardless of what he thinks of you. He may disagree with you now but sometime in the future he will thank you. His opinion of you doesn't matter, it is only an opinion and not a fact. The fact is you were concerned about his life as you wish someone would be concerned about your son if he were doing something stupid.
It takes a village to raise a child/kid.

Have a nice day and don't lose sleep over it.

P.S. How did he react to your comment.

 

[Zeke]

If that jack episode represents what he knows about working on cars as a mechanic I'd ge taking my car elsewhere.

 

[Wanna Ride]

If that jack episode represents what he knows about working on cars as a mechanic I'd ge taking my car elsewhere.

Yep. If he can't grasp the fundamentals...

But like I've said before... if you're going to be dumb, you better be tough.