The comment about not helping people was an abstract, not a factual statement accusing someone of saying any certain thing. As far as the micromanaging thing, I point out how fast you showed up here and proof of the point. I expected it. Me looking at things 'in the wrong way' of course is only a limited single point of view. I see nothing in that replay of fact above that changes my view of things, but you are trying to sway others (not me) toward your viewpoint anyway. . I pre-guessed again correctly that it would show up if you, Travis, did. Somewhat different viewpoint I guess, I have not learned to control all brains yet, not that I would ever want to. It is far better if all are different.
Look here...............I don't exactly LIKE causing trouble, I just rise to perceived needs to comment pretty quick. Sometimes (actually probably a LOT of the time) I do it TOO quick and the shortsightedness is mine there of course. I am generally a lot faster to look at myself rather than projecting all fault outwards only like so many do. Many call that weakness where I consider it a strength, and similar to the 'wrong way or your way' above. And why I am quick to point that out here and at other places. Just to note, at those other places I often get lauded for calling things as they really are. The people on the other end won't like it of course. I don't live to stir things up, it just is a result of getting in there to get things done and I did that at multiple places where I worked up to supervisor in record time and never got fired once. I got lectured a time or two over being too abrupt but I already know that and immediately ask the superior the question.......do they want that or do they want the business to make money and go forward without waste and as efficiently as possible? You know what the answer back always was. I approach bike repair and cars the exact same way, as in quit screwing around with rumor fixes and personal BS, deal with your own issues first, as they otherwise get in the way of the successful outcome you at least pretend to be looking for. A lot of people take exception at that and then they get mad, somewhere in there the bike languishes to not be fixed too.
A couple of thoughts. The next to the last place I worked at I went to manager from a zero based rookie in about 3 months. The overall manager at the time hired some people at reduced wage that were somewhat 'mentally challenged' because she professed to feel the need to help them due to her brother being the same way. That resulted in a two tier employee system, one where some people who were ordinary joes got placed against people who had perceived problems. It quickly got to where the former began to chafe hard at having to 'be nice', they got it in their heads that the lesser employees were milking the system to not have to do as much work and I agreed. These latter had no proof of being substantially less able in any way, they just fulfilled the promise by their actions, i.e., they just did less work on purpose, they were slackers pretending to have personal issues as a reason why they would not carry their share of workload. I counseled the manager that she was being taken advantage of and then she told me she actually hired them at lesser pay taking advantage of that and that others had to figure out whether they wanted to work there or go somewhere else. Then I got a lecture about how we had to 'be nice' to them even though the store output dropped due to lesser competence and the raises were the same across the board. Meaning you got the same increase as the slackers did. I pointed out at the time that others do like to step in and help but past a point it gets old enough they begin to look at the handwriting on the wall to figure out they were being mixed in with those lesser workers to become in essence the same to corporate and a waste of time trying to get ahead in that. Like school classes now, the entire class can now move only as fast forward as the slowest person can go and now why the schools put out nothing but incompetents that the businesses cannot use at all. If you excell in learning you are severely penalized for it. Anyway, the better workers began to quit to go elsewhere pretty quick and the same answer from them all as to why, they got tired of no raises or ones so low not worth working for AND still having to deal with the poisoned work environment. I myself quit over it 3 years later and the prime reason I gave was the two tier thing the manager had imposed. By then she had buried herself in multiple harassment claims over going hard on the better people instead of spreading it around to catch the slackers and shortly after I left she got fired for that.
Second thought here. I know someone I personally counseled over the years to be a go-getter in business and pass up people left and right. That person only reached a leadperson position and later moved slightly sideways/up to become a SAP systems wave planner at a logistics company. The company is FULL of slackers and got only worse through the 12 years he was there. The worst were the actual shift supervisors. 3 shifts and 2 of them practiced every technique used to delay work to throw it on other shifts. This leadperson was on second shift and got the delayed shipments to have to shove them out lightning quick when the early day shift left them lying around with zero movement on the work to have maybe 4 hours of work performed in 2 to make the deadlines. The plant supervisor being another total incompetent allowed all that to happen and even worse, he saw no issue if the deadlines got met even though sometimes they were missed. The leadperson I speak of of course got blamed for the misses even though he came on at 2p and the work would have laid on floor since 6a in the morning. Deadline at 4p or 6p. The leadperson's super quit over the situation and then the new super then made the lead do all of his work as well. Then the lead changed to SAP wave planner (workflow/scheduling creator for the entire plant) and they now want him to do all 3 jobs even though paying others to do them that ain't. The lead got so good at SAP that when the company switched to it he singlehandedly held up the entire company to have a chainwide best ever SAP introduction, they brought all the corporate heads in over it. He actually produced over 400% better results than the official SAP group that trained for 2 years to do just that, they turned out to be totally unready for the go-live. This lead was NOT on the SAP training group, he was left out on purpose as punishment for a perceived slight done years in the past, the plant supervisor was still punishing him years later. Then raise time comes and everybody gets big raises except for the lead guy. He gets SUPER pissed and sets up his quit to be at the worst possible time and leaves with zero warning to force the plant super to stay the entire weekend since the fool gave everybody else time off and could not cancel it, a major problem he had. That was weeks ago, the exact same company that with ONE person only extra was not working any overtime (commanded not to, the wages are killing the budget because NOBODY works there) is now working every single week with 100-200 hours of OT now just to stay close to where they were before and the national contracts are beginning to disappear left and right now. Corporate has now been there for 2 weeks and it is expected the plant manager will be gone any minute.
Wait, you say, that's work and not the same. Not true. When you go overboard to cater to the intentional slackers that then use you completely up, then you not only are screwing yourself, you are screwing them as well, they learn to depend on others saving them instead of thinking solutions out. Why being nice can be one of the worst curses you can put on somebody, I've practiced that myself to deadly effect before. Here it could be done and just don't mention anything that actually fixes the bike. Just throw all the things out there (SEAFOAM! #1!) that people do that they think does something when it has no effect at all.
Yes, we should help people and be nice BUUUUTTTT, when somebody wants you to lead them around by the hand one should be able to stop that without getting sanctioned for it. My answer in cases like that is often something like 'give him the 500 page book' and I have gotten slammed for that. Testy responses do not help but to some people the words 'thank you' can be mistreating them, BTDT. One of the most unexpected complaints I ever got was from a woman who in our entire transactional experience was very kind and I was back, it was I thought a pleasure to help her. Later the complaint I got back was so Jekyll/Hyde that corporate didn't even believe it. they had others to corroborate what I said to her.
MANY of the people who complain quick ARE baby-like whiners, do NOT understate the possibility there.
Yes, be nice. No, don't go crazy with it, it won't fix a single spark plug or broken wire. It's a minefield out there. When they start paying for it you can further develop the small talk. Do you want the d-mn bike fixed or not? You're getting this FOR FREE. Learn to ignore what you don't like, it works just as well as not answering posts. Informational transactions are a TWO WAY street. Newbies are just as able at that as oldies. Anything else is prejudicial.
I apologize to all for the wall of text.