[Annoying] Working over the holidays..

[Josh93]

This year, I used up my holidays with a fabulous trip to Thailand with my fiance in November, was one of the best trips of my life, and we are going back again this year!

How ever, due to this lack of paid leave, I worked through the Holidays, which would normally be fine, not much to do, sit around, read a few books. But the small amount of service calls that came through, and due to the lack of things to do, the head tech decided he would accompany me on a few.

Woo.

Now I don't have an issue with him, he is a good guy and an excellent tech, though me may be a bit old fashioned, and more than a bit rusty when it comes to any of the IT side of things, but hey, we are not all perfect.

But these last few calls he came with along to, it was horrid, hanging over my shoulder, trying to tell me things, messing up the general order in which I like to do my calls. I have a pattern, kind of like a formula, that I didn't even know I practiced until now.

He says its good to check up on the techs work, but what if hes mere presence makes me mess up? Its really hard to concentrate when you are trying to do things your way, whilst the person behind you scolds you for not doing it their way..

Any one else had similar experiences when they where a young tech? Not exactly super experienced, but I know what I am doing, and don't believe I need monitoring, and my service call record should validate that..

Just venting

[allan]

Re: Working over the holidays..

During the holidays i work from home and only go to the office if i dont have boot stock. The call comes in the form of text messages. During normal days if there is no work i go home and wait for calls. Best company i am working for. As for knowing if a tech can do his work or not dont ask the manager ask the service controler.
If i go out with the manager we end up screwing around to mutch.

[Josh93]

Re: Working over the holidays..

During the holidays i work from home and only go to the office if i dont have boot stock. The call comes in the form of text messages. During normal days if there is no work i go home and wait for calls.

That would be so sweeeeet, but unfortunately some times there is a little cleaning and mucking about to do in the shop, I don't mind it to much. Was only a few days, starting to pick back up now!

[allan]

Re: Working over the holidays..

We dont hord anything if it needs to go it goes so not mutch cleaning we dont realy do refurbs exept for charity we scrap out of contract machines for bbq money. We operate out of a 3 bedroom house 21 poeple in total. Konica minolta is the shiznes . This place revolutionized the way all the previos place i worked for operated.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Working over the holidays..

I honestly don't remember any ride-alongs back in my green days. My manager at the time gave us as much rope as we wanted.

Over the years I've become much better at observing, and asking questions, and not interfering with the techs methods, rhythms. =^..^=

[slimslob]

Re: Working over the holidays..

The proper way for a supervisor to do a ride along is to stand back, observe and take notes. Suggestions should only be made at the end and only if the supervisor thinks there is something else that need to be done. If he/she want to comment about your technique, that should never be done in the customer office. It should wait until you are back in the office. Next time remind that it is like having a customer that hang over your shoulder the entire time you are working on a machine. I am sure he has had a few over the years.

[fixthecopier]

Re: Working over the holidays..

Last time I had a ride along, it was from the contract manager for the military. He was a pain. He kept bitching at the customers for things like toner spilled at the door where toner goes. He was dumfounded at the access I had, because of customers being familiar with me, walking into secure areas, having the scipher lock combo for 1 building, having a key card for another, driving into motor pools and generally acting like I owned the place. He was a pain. Tried to take a second ride, but I ditched him.

[CompyTech]

Re: Working over the holidays..

Generally It's slow for us around the holidays. Normally we go home and us techs take turns being on call for service calls. This year I requested to my manager that I take my vacation time and stay off till the 2nd. If we do work usually it's doing odd ball stuff around the shop.

I generally don't get too many ride alongs. If I do usually it's for help on deliveries and installs or "training" a new guy. Back when I was a greenie, I rode along with a couple other techs and was a tool/part carrier/observer most of the time.

I do remember this time I had the boss son ride along with me once to help on a delivery and install. I was kind of nervous about that, turned out he was cool as hell. Didn't give a rip about copiers really, he was just glad to hang out and help us.

[blackdog]

Re: Working over the holidays..

I honestly don't remember any ride-alongs back in my green days. My manager at the time gave us as much rope as we wanted.

Over the years I've become much better at observing, and asking questions, and not interfering with the techs methods, rhythms. =^..^=

"Techs methods, rhythms." I like it. Blackcat, you missed your calling as an author.

[NeoMatrix]

Re: Working over the holidays..

I honestly don't remember any ride-alongs back in my green days. My manager at the time gave us as much rope as we wanted.

Over the years I've become much better at observing, and asking questions, and not interfering with the techs methods, rhythms. =^..^=

Re. Green days .
Did you get a length of rope with your freedom?. All we had in my day was blow-up floaties around our arms and <splash> into the deep end. Come to think of it not much has changed. At least now we have tech-support as a life jacket.

I remember taking the national technical training manager out on a few service calls and teaching him better more effiecient methods to servicing machines. He insit that must I follow his nation wide training methods, until I removed his arguements with a common sense approach. He informed my boss that I had a potential future in the business machine industry.

Every apprentice must first learn their trade from their superior,
and then develope their own way of doing the job. There is and forever will be more than one way to skin a rabbit. Which means there's only effiecient or inefficient methods to completing any given task.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Working over the holidays..

Re. Green days .
Did you get a length of rope with your freedom?. All we had in my day was blow-up floaties around our arms and <splash> into the deep end. Come to think of it not much has changed. At least now we have tech-support as a life jacket. ...

I can only hope to be as good a manager as my first. He would mostly go along with anything plausible, as long as I stood behind it and accepted the recalls. I think you can encapsulate his entire philosophy in one sentence: "You might as well do a good job the first time ... because I'm going to keep sending you back until you get it right." Once you know that, the decisions get easy.

And yes, he'd give out as much rope as I wanted (to hang myself with). =^..^=

[slimslob]

Re: Working over the holidays..

Last time I had a ride along, it was from the contract manager for the military. He was a pain. He kept bitching at the customers for things like toner spilled at the door where toner goes. He was dumfounded at the access I had, because of customers being familiar with me, walking into secure areas, having the scipher lock combo for 1 building, having a key card for another, driving into motor pools and generally acting like I owned the place. He was a pain. Tried to take a second ride, but I ditched him.

Many years I used to work on some word processing typewriters at China Lake Naval Weapons Center. The customers would call ahead to the security desk with my Social Security number to arraign clearance. When I got to the security desk, there would be a pass ready for me that, with my existing Army Reserve clearance, had pretty much unrestricted to the base. The only time I required an escort was when I had to go to a machine that I didn't know the location. A number of times when I was out at Salt Wells Propulsion Lab I would here the exterior door and some one shout "Escorted visitor entering." You would then hear every office door down the hall being closed. When the escort left with the unsecured visitor he would shout "Hallway now clear."

[allan]

Re: Working over the holidays..

Atleast you got some floties. What do you do with a tech that just cant learn to swim?

[Josh93]

Re: Working over the holidays..

Haha thanks for the replies guys, some good advice, next time he comes along, ill politely request he keep his suggestions until the end