Quote:
Originally Posted by Super Werty
So if you owned the business and that money came out of your pocket you would still keep that employee?
I know for sure I would not feel sorry for him as I fired him.
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It depends. If every other day he helped make the workplace a success, I might be furious, but I'd be shooting myself in the foot to let him go.
If he had a record of being "on the cusp" and then managed to wreck a car, I'd feel differently.
He certainly wouldn't be up for a promotion anytime soon, but unless his actions forced the business to shut down if they didn't absorb his salary, all we're doing is throwing out a good worker who had a bad day. That means another person who is unemployed and a family who may be in dire straights. That's a hard lesson considering everyone carries insurance and US wages are stagnant...
I'm guessing the dealership has still turned a profit this year, making this compensatory act possible.
Leaning towards cutting someone loose the second they become a liability in one way or another is the norm in the US -- how's that been working out for the workforce?
Maybe he's been a screw-up from day one? If so, then see my second point.
If this is the first time he's managed to royally screw up, my guess is it will not only be his last, but he will be determined to toe the line henceforth.
I am certainly not criticizing Koeppel for wanting to fire him -- I'm saying, it might be for the best that they didn't if they can cover the the liability and they now have an employee who will be doubly motivated to appreciate his job and work hard.
Beyond that, I am always going to be more sympathetic to the worker than the boss, given the power/opportunity/risk-reward differential.
What if the OP hired the guy -- should the person who hired Crashy McCrashypants also get the boot for picking a loose cannon from the applicant pool? We're getting into "dog bites person, who gets the blame, the dog or the owner?" territory...
I think the dealership handled themselves admirably and appropriately in this ugly matter, and my prediction is, it will more than make up for any immediate losses by way of continued patronage from folks.
If I had gone though all this, I'd be furious, but I would also continue to do business there. Actually, I kind of did just go through this with another place; they made good, and I am still there, happy as I had been before.