WINTER 2024

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THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
ROBERT FOOTLIK HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DOES IT TAKE TO TRASH A REPUTATION? from page 102
Lessons To Be Learned
“Louie” might have wanted to teach me a lesson or
two, and he did. Here is what I learned, and what “Louie”
should have learned.
¤ “Louie” is a bully or incompetent. It was readily
apparent that he drew all the “actors” into his plot,
even though they might not have wanted to participate.
Alternatively, “Louie” and his employer were totally
incompetent.
¤ Adding “Louie’s” CEO to the email chain did not
change the game. Either my email was blocked or the boss
was also a willing participant. “Louie” did ask that I omit
the boss from my contact list. I did not comply.
¤ The “Three Stooges” were the biggest losers
in this comedy. Their professionalism and skills were
denigrated and their reputations (if not their conscience)
were trashed just as they trashed the existing equipment.
¤ A “Senior Operations Manager” who was a lousy
actor, a worse liar and an idiot on a forklift could easily have
cost someone their limbs or life. He proved himself to be a
“loose cannon” and dangerous on the job site.
¤ My tenants’ employees who watched this farce
unfold were angry at the way the contractor’s employees
worked, goofed off and left for long lunch hours.
¤ Even the pipefitters who operated professionally
resented their role. They could not say anything, but their
attitudes and hints were apologetic. The “Three Stooges”
never returned.
¤ A real hero was the rigger who started to climb
into a fall protection suit as a costume, thought better of it,
removed the gear and just got the job done. Before he left,
he admitted that he had assembled this type of equipment
many times before, but, “Never under these (unspecified)
circumstances.”
¤ “Louie’s” game had real consequences for his
employer. Lost time, squandered resources, pipefitters
and others who could have been working more productively
elsewhere, etc.
¤ Two of the professional pipefitters showed up
without tools. To me this was totally incomprehensible until
they made a supply house run and returned with new 36”
aluminum wrenches and a bright red “tri-stand” stand pipe
vise purchased against this job. Time to check the billing!
¤ One of the tenants uses his space for finished
goods that come from his nearby factory where there is
production piping, chillers, boilers, compressors, etc. Can
you guess how anxious he would be to use this contractor?
“Louie” should care, but will never know how he lost a job.
¤ This same contractor is doing a job for a large
hospital where I know the CEO. Might I suggest that they
audit the time cards, billing and extras?
¤ Under no circumstances would I ever recommend
this contractor, or his employees to even my worst enemy.
¤ My late Father would never have the patience to
see this through. His reaction on day one would have been
to “pin Louie’s ears back.” Dad might have been right.
On the day of the final commissioning, I brought
cookies to the tenants as a thank you for their patience
and understanding. They were regularly updated regarding
what was going on, often with direct quotes from “Louie’s”
emails. Their cooperation was greatly appreciated and
communication with them was vital to finally getting things
done.
Early on, I said to “Louie,” “An Engineer doesn’t point
fingers in the middle of a project. The blame game and
finger pointing come after the project is done.”
Had “Louie” been at the commissioning party to receive
final payment for the job there indeed there would have
been finger pointing. It would have come from the tenants,
not me…and only one finger raised…unanimously.
Think “Louie” will learn anything?
A Few More Questions
Why did my sons tell me to go along with this farce and
why did I agree?
Because we all wanted to see just how far it would go,
how long it would take and whether this was “Louie’s” play,
systemic to the mechanical contractor, normal operating
procedure or was Dad paranoia? Along the journey, I took
many time-stamped photos, documented much of the job
and we followed our own scripted actions/reactions. We
have reached our own conclusions. What do you think?
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