15. Left Stumped
I owned a tree removal service. I hired a guy as a ground worker, and for the first two weeks, he worked great. He didn’t complain, seemed to know the work, and I paid him well. During his third week working for me, we did a job that consisted of two big boxelders to be removed. It was 95 degrees out that day. I told all the guys, “Don’t push yourselves too much. Make sure you’re getting enough fluids, and if you need a break, take one”.
The new guy drove his own vehicle to the job as he needed to leave that day 40 minutes early to make it to a dentist appointment. We were about 40 minutes into the job when I noticed he was moving really, really slow. He just looked really unmotivated and like he didn’t want to be there. We had the customer’s driveway blocked off with brush everywhere.
At that point, I was still climbing in the tree, and I saw the new guy driving through the customer’s yard—about two acres—and then onto the road in a serious hurry. I called him about 30 times to make sure everything was alright but didn’t hear back from him. My other employees had no idea and were in shock. They saw him hop in his truck and just dart. He decided right then and there “forget this” and left. I didn’t fire him, but I never heard back from him again.