Messy co-workers in a body shop

[WoodShopDisaster]

I am new here and do not know if this topic has ever been covered, but does anybody work in a shop environment, or any work place for that matter, where a co-worker is extremely messy? I am a very neat and organized person and maintain my area and jobs at all times, while being productive. We have one fellow who amazes me everyday as to how it is humanly possible to create such a disaster in one day. Like clockwork, he drops his tools at 4:30 and walks out the door, leaving his entire corner like a bomb went off. All his tools, equipment and floor are covered in glue, bondo, paint, you name it. One problem with this is we have insurance adjusters, sales reps and customers walk through the shop everyday, and it presents itself as unprofessional. It bothers me so much that I go over and straighten up at night when he leaves. Anybody have one of "those" at their job?

 

[Krash Kadillak]

Used to work as an auto insurance damage appraiser, so I can relate.....

Unless you are the boss, it's not really your problem. If your boss is anything but asleep, he knows........

Bigger thing is, what is the quality of this guy's work? He could be a complete slob but still be a good technician. (I would tend to think otherwise, though).

Just keep doing what you're doing. Some of it may rub off.

Marshall

 

[PugetDude]

...does anybody work in a shop environment, or any work place for that matter, where a co-worker is extremely messy?


It bothers me so much that I go over and straighten up at night when he leaves.

Asked and answered...

 

[WoodShopDisaster]

Used to work as an auto insurance damage appraiser, so I can relate.....

Bigger thing is, what is the quality of this guy's work? He could be a complete slob but still be a good technician. (I would tend to think otherwise, though).


Marshall

I'll just say this: One of his jobs comes out from paint ready to assemble. Tail lights don't fit properly, can't get lines to quarter, deck and rear fascia. Benches car and proceeds to start pulling again, cracks seam sealer on rear body panel and tail light pockets. Delivers job, job comes back for a leak in the trunk. This is one of many incidents.

Have I answered your question?

 

[CJM8515]

Does the rest of the crew have an issue with this particular guy? If so make it so he has to quit, done it before at shops Ive worked for. no one likes the dirty guy or the rat or whatever and they get the hint sooner or later

 

[kwb]

Why should he clean up? - he has you to do it for him.

There are guys that do amazing work and do it in spaces that would make a hoarder proud, there are guys that do hack work and keep space like a surgery center.

Unless his mess is contaminating your quality of work keep your head down and do the work.

 

[jd_1138]

Being a slob is detrimental to being a good technician. A friend of mine sometimes has me to pick him up when he drops off his cars to get serviced at his indy mechanic's shop.

The place is disgusting. There are 4 stalls but 3 of them are filled with a single pile of junk and garbage -- like jugs of dirty oil, car parts, garbage, etc.. He only has 1 bay to actually work on cars in. And last time I picked up my friend there, the mechanic told my friend "it'll be a few days before I start on your car because I gotta finish this one first (pointing to a lady's car in the 1 stall that actually is used for work). I am waiting for parts for it. But I don't want to lower it and wheel it out since I already have it apart."

If one of the other 3 bays were open, he could've worked on my friend's car while waiting for parts for that lady's car. Just asinine. Also, the entire place is coated with like 3 inches of grease. It's like you're walking on slippery ice -- just walking around in that place.

 

[Gear Wolf]

The more I think about it doing what I do isn't much different from working at an auto shop in terms of organization and flow.

When I catch someone being a slob or doing poor work, I give them this look and hope that sets them straight:

Really the only thing you can do is let the person that is above you know and separate yourself form that person's work. Hopefully, in time they'll out themselves.

 

[WoodShopDisaster]

Good points guys. The problem is that management does not face the issue. The boss always says he wants the shop to look nice and clean, but saying it is as far as it goes. The other guys in the shop all see the issue and are fed up with it. I should just go with the flow on this one, but its hard sometimes.

One problem that did interfere with my quality of life was his primer gun cup breather was clogged for the longest time, so he just turned the pressure all the way up to make the gun spray. One night I cleared to jam and told him the next morning. We haven't had the shop smoked out since.

 

[Harrison2]

in our shop we have a sweeper upper. but I hate dusty floors and tools everywhere all though I have been known to work late and leave a mess until the next morning because it got late.

in the last shop I worked the guy next to me would clean his area by simply blowing the dust out the way and towards the door and oven.

 

[jd_1138]

One problem that did interfere with my quality of life was his primer gun cup breather was clogged for the longest time, so he just turned the pressure all the way up to make the gun spray. One night I cleared to jam and told him the next morning. We haven't had the shop smoked out since.

That sounds dangerous to the rest of you techs? What an asstard this guy is. Too bad the shop manager/boss doesn't man up and set this joker straight. I would.

 

[Ilikeike]

Major pet peeve of mine.

I think if you work with others and have to share a work space, it should be common Curtesy to keep it cleand up for the next guy to use. Put new blades on the power tools you use up, don't just leave a worn out sanding disc on, equipment almost out of fuel....

I share my small shop space with 2 other full time co-workers(I'm the supervisor) and a couple part time when their department needs somthing extra, or needs to use my cool stuff that ALWAYS works.

One full time guy and myself are ex military aircraft mechanics,he's still reserve, we are very neat and organized, I'm a neat nazi. Tool chest is 5S. Everything in its place...All power tools are maintaind,light gas, heavy equipment fueled maintained and to specs and ready to go. Back hoe, crane, loader, dump.,etc....
The one guy has no clue that others work there, he just won't catch on,and I ride his ***, I even gave him a tape measure with a cable attached and a 2" nut on the other end since he's always losing them,even the ones he barrows, leaves his multiple pairs of gloves,hard hat,jacket and other **** on the welding table or bench. Hello ! Others work here too.

 

[stikman56]

Little bit of a problem with it now on this job with the other guy, I do get frustrated with it, but, WTF, I get paid by the hour. I just don't care for the fight, I don't need it. Usually Friday night, as I work Friday's by myself, I clean up before I go home. I'm one of the highest paid janitors I would say. I used to work with a couple of a-holes that left messes everywhere they went. It was a fight the entire time I was there. One denied it every f-ing time, the other actually admitted it, but still did nothing to correct it.

 

[WoodShopDisaster]

Some people are just sloppy A-holes, and nobody likes a sloppy A-hole with sh*t all over the place, am I right?

 

[wrench409]

I deal with this everyday. Guys open boxes in the parts room and actually drop the wrapping/packaging on the floor (my work area) as they leave the room.

My fix? I open the door and kick the trash out into the shop.

I wasn't hired as a janitor.

 

[shoot summ]

I think he worked on one of our cars once...

Was amazing to see the work, after a dozen trips back to this shop we finally went somewhere else. Funny thing was this shop has a slogan "we make it look like new", and worked on a lot of high end cars. Really amazing to see how the car would come back even more screwed up than it went in the last time. It was like the tech would remove fasteners and throw them across the shop, then find anything that would fit in the hole to replace it with like drywall screws. His brother must have been the paint guy, he would paint over anything, and the prep guy could scratch anything he put the buffer on...

 

[bobbycos]

I had a coworker who was a slob, only washed his hands at the end of the day

Lost a weeks pay when he worked on an older Cadillac with a white leather interior and left

Handprints on the dash and steering wheel

His work area was also a mess

2 weeks after the Caddy thing he was gone

Personally he was also not the cleanest person either, we noticed the old sweat smell went away after he left

 

[WoodShopDisaster]

I forgot to mention, when this guy crouches down to work, his whole *** is hanging out. When he stands up its still out as he walks away. It's like he has no clue or he just doesn't care.

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

I think you need to man up. This guy is not your problem, and if the boss doesn't care maybe you shouldn't either. Stop picking up after the guy after he leaves. Stop fixing HIS equipment after he leaves. Why would he do anything when the "night crew" does it for him.

CALL HIM OUT. I do it all the time. I'm no body's mother or maid. I'm a tech, not someones janitor. Bust the guys balls. Some people there just is no reaching however. They see the world differently. Much like our garages, I see organization when others see chaos.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Leave his mess alone, you are not the janitor. Let his trash pile up to the point that the guy is tripping over stuff. Then maybe management may notice.

If his work is as bad as you say he will be gone eventually anyway, unless he is related to or an old fishing buddy of the shop owner.

I'm not the neatest guy in the world, but it amazes me that some people work with no regard at all to the mess that they are making. They think the floor is a trash can. I try to keep people like this out of my shop.

Chris

 

[T-Mac]

we had a young tech that constantly left his tools laying out until we hung them all from the rafters in the shop one night-never left them out again!

 

[arz71]

Leave his mess alone, you are not the janitor. Let his trash pile up to the point that the guy is tripping over stuff. Then maybe management may notice.

If his work is as bad as you say he will be gone eventually anyway, unless he is related to or old fishing buddy of the shop owner.

I'm not the neatest guy in the world, but it amazes me that some people work with no regard at all to the mess that they are making. They think the floor is a trash can. I try to keep people like this out of my shop.

Chris

I think that is the best point, he will either be let go or move on down the road. Management should enforce the rules, regardless working in a pig pen will eventually affect everyone because someone gets injured/hurt due to a mess or accident.

Quality over quantity, leaving a total disaster behind reflects someones lack of respect, poor quality and this is a sampling of their work. If one cannot do the most simple jobs (like cleaning up well), that bodes well for the rest of their work. It eventually catches up with you and does not end well.

Generally if you was to check up on them in 5 or 10 years sometimes they reform themselves or still leaving disasters behind.

 

[goforride57]

1. Post a picture of this slob's area.
2. Start looking some where's else for work.
3. The guy running the show must not care about you, the slob's or anyone else's safety.

 

[arz71]

1. Post a picture of this slob's area.
2. Start looking some where's else for work.
3. The guy running the show must not care about you, the slob's or anyone else's safety.

Like the truck off the lift, oops time to go to lunch.

 

[countryroad82]

I work with guys like that, I don't clean up after them, I'm not their maid. I run a small body shop at home and when it comes to cleanliness, I try to keep everything in order for customers and adjusters. Currently though with all this nice weather plus being super busy the shop has gotten a little out of hand, but when the weather clears it will be dealt with lol. As for what to do, let the boss take care of it, it's his problem not yours.

 

[Kaizen]

Everyone has a different idea of what should be done in any environment. I know its hard to contain your clean and what it comes down to is will you be able to sleep at night. I am messy but in a public place make sure I clean up but some people just don't care. sounds to me like you should raise your issue with the boss and leave it at that. doesn't sound like it will change and you do NOT want to be the clean up ***** of the shop so don't keep doing that or you will eventually be doing hours every night.

 

[Zeke]

I doubt if any of this advice will change a thing. I had a partner like that once. I got out. He never changed.

 

[arz71]

When it cost the owner/management money they will take action then. Sometimes things will go on like this till it cost money. Then they will be gone, and most likely the management as well for not doing their job.

 

[ScottsGT]

I had my own shop years ago. Mostly car lot work and walk ins. Not a lot of ins. work. I approached the business as something I like to do, (AKA: A hobby) not as a business that went after the big money jobs. I was young, inexperienced in the business world and had spent my years as a bodyman in the shop, not up front dealing with customers and adjusters.
Thankfully, I got burned out on it before I went into debt and went back to school. A former boss started his own shop and was a business man. He made everyone stop working 15 min before getting off time and clean up their area so when we walked in the next morning, it was a clean slate. It was a great use of psychology with mind over work load, they day ahead, etc.. His reasoning was that you can start the day better with a clean area. It worked.
What use to piss him off was the other bodyman didn't use a broom. (He would sweep up majority of filler dust and shavings) He just blew all the dust from his area out into the parking lot. Now that was a hoot to see the big cloud of shop dust blowing out and watch the owner blow a gasket on a regular basis.

 

[Zeke]

I've been around bodyshops most of my life. I never worked at one. I saw the air hose come out a lot. Many had a simple connector coupled with another male and just let the full blast come out with no lever and no restriction. Loud as hell.

 

[sberry]

I have worked with dum fuks thought they were entitled to ruin as much stuff as they could. All the supplies scattered, cans left open. I would do it later and I wouldn't bother became a saying. I put up with a little a long time ago, today I make it clear we are fussy so we can find it with little effort asd possible and I toss out a lot of cardboard and build shelves for a lot of items, its not used spark plug and air filter storage.
There were times I didn't care when I worked for others but usually would have brought this up on the second day. I have told bosses their hand tools and stock were pathetic. Some situations never change and 90% of real bussiness problems are owners and bosses.

 

[sberry]

I had a guy work for me shortly had worked for a competitor, never got to ask them how they dealt with it. Did the same thing at his next job. Couldn't wind up a cord or a hose, walked on every tool he used in last week while wet sanding, brand new material on the floor. Just pathetic stupid.

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

I hate watching people step on extension cords or air lines. Really urks me. I'll rest my impact on the ground, but I won't drag it around by the hose.

 

[vintagespeed1956]

...It bothers me so much that I go over and straighten up at night when he leaves. Anybody have one of "those" at their job?

yeah, i got one of those. she comes around at night & dusts and organizes my stuff on my desk, one of these days i'm hoping to work late & get a handie!




jk, i feel ur pain. but really?

 

[jrsulo]

Worked at a shop in 1984 that was so dirty.Was cleaning out the booth before getting ready to paint and got yelled at,,,,,Owner said they only clean it once a year,,,,my comeback on that got me fired by the end of the week !!!!!!!!

 

[66354dream]

It is VERY annoying, I had 2 guys ( father and son) act like they where too good to lift a finger and clean anything up whatsoever because they had been employees for a long time, didn't help the manager himself was a pig.

 

[pepi]

Pretty sure there is an app for that.

 

[Greggshere]

As the old saying goes, "I've seen good mechanics get dirty, but I've never seen a good dirty mechanic."

 

[WoodShopDisaster]

Like clock work, he dropped his tools and left at 4:30. When I say drop, I mean literally dropping tools and tripping and stepping on them. Only difference tonight was I left it. I told one of the other guys that I wasn't doing it anymore. He said I wouldn't last too long without cleaning his area up. I said, how much you wanna bet? He said coffee. I'll let you guys know who buys the coffee.

The first pic with the guy in it was in the morning. the other three pics were right after he left. It looks better than it did bc he actually picked up some of the papers off the ground, but I can't for the life of me understand why he even bothered. The third pic just shows how the mess starts to migrate out of his area.

 

[willymakeit]

Sweep your mess to his area. Tell him you thought it was the trash bin.