Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Random Rant - Whatever Happened to Service Guys Actually Giving a Shit?

    It seems like the guys who fix things, maintain things, install things, and in general are supposed to know how to make things work, just don't give a rat's ass anymore. A few weeks ago, I took a rifle to a gunsmith/parts changer/ guy who hits shit with a hammer. There was a piece of a brass cartridge case stuck in the chamber, and I couldn't get it out. The rifle was pretty much worthless as it was, I couldn't fix it, so I assumed I would simply take it to an expert and pay too much to get it fixed, but the thing would actually work when I got it back. A few days later, I got a call, the rifle was ready, I could pick it up any time saturday. I grab some ammo and some targets, drive for about an hour, pay the "expert" for his services, and head for the range...where the rifle is completely locked up! I can't rack the cocking handle to load a cartridge, the bolt carrier assembly is totally jammed, the thing is completely non-functional. Understand, it was running fine when I last handled it. The problem was the empty cartridge case getting stuck, not the rifle itself. They got the brass out of the chamber, but when they reassembled the rifle, they didn't do a function check. A simple little procedure where you cock the weapon on an empty chamber and pull the trigger...do this 3 times, and you can be confident the stupid thing will function. You pay someone to be an expert, they do the job, but they don't take an extra 30 seconds to make sure it is working properly before they send it out the door.

    At my place of business, we recently had a very expensive, complex piece of equipment installed. It is composed of several modules of high-tech gear that are all supposed to work together and produce the results we need to stay in business. The manufacturer sent 2 modules that would not interface with the main module, and forgot to send a rather important special cable that allows a 3rd module to do what it needs to do, so the installation specialist left the site without testing the installation - he couldn't make sure it worked, because the factory had shipped the wrong gear. The repair guy came out, futzed around with the various parts and modules, and after about 4 days of screwing around, proclaimed it functional, and left without making sure the stupid system was working properly. We have had the thing for a month now, and I don't think it has worked yet - and it cost well over $100,000! The other repair guy is due tomorrow, we'll see what kind of job he does.

   It isn't just the high-tech guys, or the expert craftsmen types, who don't give a rat's ass anymore. It seems like NOBODY gives a crap. The custodial crew at my building works for a different contractor company than we work for, and I know they don't care worth a fart in a hurricane. The cleaning crews don't even bother showing up half the time, and they haven't actually cleaned any of the floors in two years - let me repeat that; they haven't actually cleaned any of the floors in TWO YEARS, including the bathroom floors! I have personally observed people leaving the bathrooms with such a pale, nauseated look on their faces, I thought they had the flu, or maybe food poisoning, but it was actually the smell of the room itself. The bathrooms smell like fermenting sewage! If you are foolish enough to look closely at the brownish-gray tiles and black grout, you will see that they are actually supposed to be blue, green, and white tiles, with pale sand-colored grout. You will also notice the furry texture of the tiles is due to funny little curly hairs that are stuck to the floor, just like your feet will stick when you walk on the tiles...no, I am not making this up. The problem is actually three problems rolled into one situation. ONE: The crews are not given mops, they are given cleaning pads, like big Swiffer pads, and a "special cleaning solution", and they are told that you don't need to scrub or rinse, just wipe the pad over the floor with the special cleaning solution, and the dirt and grime will magically dissolve into thin air! It'll be so clean, it will actually be sterile. You could perform open-heart surgery on those floors! TWO: The cleaning crews know that this is absolute bullshit, but they don't care, they are just following orders. They can smell the fermenting rat shit smell as well as anybody - they use those bathrooms, too. THREE: The supervisor in charge of the crews doesn't care, because his company has the contract, and it's damn near impossible to get fired from such a place, and he knows it. He doesn't need to check on his cleaning crews to make sure they have done their jobs - he knows they haven't, and he just doesn't care! He couldn't care less about the floors, cuz he gets paid one way or the other...The situation has gotten so bad, we actually clean the f***ing bathrooms ourselves, just so we won't have the overpowering urge to spew our lunch every time we take a whizz...God help the ladies, who actually have clothing touching those hideous floors while they sit doing their business. On those rare occasions where I am forced to drop my pants on the floor in there, I feel an overwhelming need and desire to go to the gym and take a long steamy shower...

The lack of care and concern in the service sector of our society is getting out of hand - I could go for the obvious bad play on words and say that the situation is really shitty, but that would be a gross understatement.

Folks, if you are gonna do a job, take the time and have enough personal pride to actually do the damn job, do it right, and make sure it is done correctly before you move on!

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