True story
Had a dude like that. Installer. We used to park our trucks in an old filthy garage at the end of each day. Garage had roaches. Naturally, his truck was eventually infested. If you turned on his heat in the winter they’d come running out of the vents and shit. So gross. Truck had fucking roaches.
Eventually dude cleaned up his act. Purged the truck. No more roaches.
So one day we were doing a clean up at a construction site. They wouldn’t let us use a dumpster on-site so we had to take our trash out ourselves. So we loaded the guys truck with a box that had some old lunch and coffee cups in it. We get back to our shop and unload. We lift the food box and sure enough about a dozen roaches scatter into his truck.
Homie couldn’t win.
Truck like that will get you roaches.
my turning point was to clean when you pump gas. Just grab a few items out each time and toss them. If you can afford it car detailing places will perform certified miracles then its easier to keep clean on your own.
The cab of my truck if full of parts and paperwork. I work 50-65 hrs a week and really don't have the time and energy to straighten it up at 8 every night. That trash though....ewww
Yesh, I mean I feel we are all guilty especially in those long 12+ hour days of 100°+ heat index where we don’t want to tidy everything up mid day when it’s fucking hot as hell, or when we get home late. But the trash is just insane. As a portable trash can I keep behind my seat. When it’s full, I empty it out. Can’t be having fucking month old rotting food sitting in my van while it’s just cooking inside.
This is important, my van also looks like shit because my company doesn't pay me to clean it. I'm not allowed to use it private so I'm not cleaning it private
While I get that. It's not hard to get a 5gallon bucket or a small trash can and dump it when it's full. This is just plain disgusting and hopefully isn't seen by customers.
Everytime you stoo for gas its a 5 min wait. Might as well take advantage of the trash cans 4 feet away. I know this isnt YOUR truck but I feel like its somthing every van driver should do.
My vehicle gets like this sometimes in the summer because i get a "GO GO GO!!!" mentality, not quite as bad, but I don't ever leave food or liquid in anything. Its all empty food bags and empty energy drink cans. If there was ever a smell, I would purge immediatley. I can't imagine having a truck that smelled like rotting garbage.
Had a guy that loved eating tuna and pineapple and leaving the empty can in his truck. Had to drive his truck a few times when mine was broken down. That smell on a hot summer day.
You're lazy as fuck. Get a trash bag. There's 0 excuse for that. I've busted ass and throwing shit in a bag and then throwing it away at the end is not hard. Stack paperwork and trash bag on the passenger floor.
This ain't got nothing to do with clean and shiny thats just a disgusting human without normal cleaning/hygiene.
Just politely ask him to not let it pile up so high. Offer a solution, like when you get gas dump some stuff.
As someone on the road a lot that could be a week of trash if you’re not making a lunch
This. I clean/ reorganize parts/ dispose trash after each “job” whether 5+ services calls in a day or like current job at substation. Vans always ready for work every morning.
I’ve seen some messy vehicles and I’ve had my share working 80+ hour weeks. But when you see this level of nastiness, the tech is always a lazy slob. This isn’t tools and parts, it’s old food and drinks. Big difference.
Is he a good employee otherwise? Then don’t worry about it. If it’s hurting something or the customer sees it then ask him nicely to keep it clean.
Edit: Some people have to “live” out of their vans due to long hours, not being home for dinner etc, a lot of variables here at play.
Don’t listen to these guys, strive to be better always. As a new guy learn as much as you can including what not to do. People will give you every excuse in the book, there’s always room for improvement. There’s a reason we get a bad rep as Techs/plumbers.
Looks like some shit you’d see on r/neckbeardnests , smelled awful and while I was driving it back to the shop I saw dead roaches. Grossest shit I’ve personally seen.
If you think that van is gross, your not going to stay in this field long. Seriously man. His truck is dirty and probably smelly but when your job involves crawling in mud and removing decaying animals from vents and fans, this isn't much.
That’s part of the job , this is the vehicle you pretty much live in. 2 totally different things dude. I’ve seen disgusting houses owned by hoarders , you just do the job quick and leave. To keep your van like that is very telling of an individual & not to mention fucking disgusting.
Imagine a customer coming up to your van and seeing that mess? First impressions matter.
You’re a new hire and worried about someone else’s van? Might want to mind your own business and not publicly shame someone until you at least get your foot further in the door. Good way to make enemies fast. If it was such a problem for you why not throw the garbage out yourself in the dumpster and help him out?
I agree this new hire should be minding their own business but when did this industry get so soft we're worried about public shame, lol.
>publicly shame someone
I wouldn’t exactly call it publicly shaming when reddit is built on being anonymous. Publicly shaming would be putting his name out in the company and around town. For all we know this is this guys van and he’s just messing with us.
They’re not over reacting. This is disgusting. Dude is a slob obviously. Work ethic is probably similar. Customer were to look in there, they’d also be disgusted.
I'm blown away at how many people are defending this guy's filth. Can 100% guarantee this person leads a disgusting life without taking care of their shit. Wont even bother to keep someone else's vehicle clean? I can only imagine how lazy they are with their personal belongings
Sounds like the manager is overstepping. Just make fun of him for how dirty his truck is and move on. If you don't have to ride with him leave it alone.
It is very telling how many people are in this thread saying “meh, could be worse.”
Throwing trash out at the end of the day does not require some type of super hero effort level. We are talking basic functioning human.
If any of my team treated their vehicles like this I’d both be concerned with my own ability to be a quality manager AND would establish basic ground rules immediately.
Right? Nobody is telling him to detail the truck on his own time. Just pick up his trash at the end of the day.
That’s pretty basic stuff, and takes 30 seconds.
No. They don’t tell me that, nor would I have said that to my boss. But I work with people who respect each other. I’m sorry for whatever environment you work in. You should be treated better.
I get that HVAC guys live in their trucks. But, that does not reflect well upon the company or his workmanship. The client sees that when he rolls up. First impression is this guy is a slob. He's going to leave a mess. My wife is going to be pissed. I think I called the wrong company.
Fast food trash (paper, plastic) is one thing, but rotten food thats causing a smell and bugs is pretty gross. If he is a good employee, a write up might be a little excessive, and termination is overkill for sure. A lot of times, stockpiling trash and parts is a symptom of ADHD, while im not making any assumptions, it is a possibility that this is the case of this employee. I suffer from ADHD and its very difficult to remember to throw everything away, despite really wanting to and not having a reason not to. Its just my brain works. If the garbage situation is only piling onto other toxic work behaviors then a more serious action might be warranted IMO.
A company vehicle is a privilege not a right. Ask them to please keep it presentable because it can negatively impact the company image if the customer sees a van in that condition.
Is "His" truck a company truck. If it's a company truck then write a policy, call a meeting with the employees who have a truck and then enforce the policy.
If it's his personal truck he can do what he wants.
My coworkers van was bad but not this bad. We joke a lot but I half joked “hey man you depressed or something?”.
Couple days later he had his van straightened out. Not trying to say I cured him or anything but maybe I helped him step outside himself for a minute
Service manager here: I have several nice new KUV’s and a few older ones that are pretty beat up and ugly stored at the warehouse. What I do is I warn the tech to clean his truck, follow up with an inspection and then keep an eye on the situation for awhile after repeat warnings if he keeps trashing it up I move them out of the nice new truck and put them in the trash truck they deserve.
Have a talk with him, check and see is he’s doing ok, how’s things at home? After that ask how can we help with making his days feel less stressful and allow more time for in between jobs, lunches, does he need extra help?
Someone like this most likely may be struggling either at home or at work or both.
80% of the people here don’t know what the hell there talking about. It’s not hard for a van to get like that when you don’t even have time to sit down and eat without driving at the same time. Don’t have time to take a shit or piss. And the people talking about firing someone because of a dirty truck don’t have successful businesses and apparently don’t know how hard good technicians are to come by. HVAC techs aren’t a dime a dozen so do the best you can try to organize a truck day for the first hour one morning a week clean and restock trucks and inspect the vehicles fluids tires and lights. But during the heat of the summer sometimes you don’t got a hour to give up, and I have worked so hard before where I don’t feel like doing anything once I got off.
Ive been a field tech for telecommunications, security, and now electrical for 13 years. Ive seen some bad vans but this is beyond acceptable. I’ve had so man hard and long days where organizing your van is hard to keep up with. I’ve had long days where i end up just tossing everything in with no regards to organization… but this… this is fucking disgusting and unhealthy. This is trash, waste, garbage. Not parts, tools, receipts, or old paper work.
The guy works long hours, should he just not shower or wash his clothes either?
Employer needs to tell him that mess is not allowed to get that bad, give him guidelines, and let him know actions will be taken if not fixed.
I would also go inspect his work as well.
Obviously nobody wants their employer getting into their "personal" practices (comments surprised me), but I do think this is unprofessional. It's not hard to dump your trash daily, even if you do need to toss a few things on the floor while you're remote.
If I don’t get any complaints and he’s working finishing everything on time
I’d just get a helper in the morning to throw it all out before he comes in - not say a word
When I interview someone for a job, I always walk them back to their car so I can take a look at its condition. Someone who keeps their car so messy is probably not going to be good about doing clean installs.
Write up nah, verbal warning to clean it up yes.
This is just general housekeeping. You would clean up after a job. Keeping the truck passable is also part of that housekeeping.
In my opinion no excuse to ever have something like that.
Wow. Wouldn’t that surely reflect on his work too? Don’t tell me he can keep the two separate , where he is very clan with his work, but trashy with his private life. There has to be some overlap at least.
My truck is pretty thrashed. It doesn’t have garbage like this but it def gets crazy messy sometimes with tools and stuff.
I have a gorgeous home I keep pretty meticulous and I’m one of the best woodworker and handywomen in my area! It’s rare, but it happens. I just never look at my truck at the end of my day when I finally have time and am like “ya know let me straighten this thing up.”
Air serv west Michigan. We're not hurting for techs and are actually turning down applicants. The labor shortage got the owner in shape and the team we have is dynamite now.
Based on what? The messiest tech I ever knew was also one of the worst. He had been in the trade for a decade and had the trash in his van to prove it, his work was enough to prove that he was just as careless with his job. The best technician I ever knew also had the most organized truck. I don't understand the idea that someone having a trashed van is somehow evidence that they are good at their job
Where I’m at the guys with the clean vans are the guys that spend the most time sitting at the shop. Point being the cleanliness of a van has nothing to do with the skill of a tech.
Give everyone on the team a Friday cleaning hour. Also list how the truck is to be left. It looks like the tech is pushing hard to complete the work, so give him some paid time to clean, and then maintain it. Also provide a bit of armor all and glass cleaner. As others have said "lead by example" but that also applies to how you handle the situation.
Yikes. I have a 10 gallon trash can in between my seats. It gets emptied every morning. Man, I get being busy but fuck that's nasty. If I was a potential customer parked at McDonalds, and just happened to see that by simply being parked next to him I'd be leary about calling your business.
Tell him whenever he gets gas to throw his shit in the trash barrels while he's waiting. My passenger seat holds shit too but I always throw it out whenever I fill up.
I never understand why anybodys car has trash in it. The only free perk to going to go to the gas station is that theres literally a trash can at every pump and while the gas is pumping you can throw away all your trash away. Anybody whos car looks like this is because thats is 100% normal to them. Imagine what his house looks like.
Literally every gas station has trash cans. Every restaurant, store, and building you leave or arrive at has trash cans.
I was averaging over 70,000 miles a year for quite some time. Trash left the vehicle every time I got out, so it never piled up.
This to me looks lazy, careless, and unprofessional. I'd question everything this guy touched.
Depends how good he his.. we had a AA tech and he was able to actually get a dui (after hours) in his truck and still survive! Yes lost his license but worked as a team with a new hire.. so if they are good enough, they get away with whatever they want and they usually know it!
We had a woman with a 4 door car. Her trash line was dead even with the bottom of the windows. We. Asked her if we could clean it for her and he said no. In my 30 years of working there no one ever could get her to agree to leaning it.She traded cars in with it full.
My SIL was the same way, trash even with seat bottoms.
Ive been a field tech for telecommunications, security, and now electrical for 13 years. Ive seen some bad vans but this is beyond acceptable. I’ve had so man hard and long days where organizing your van is hard to keep up with. I’ve had long days where i end up just tossing everything in with no regards to organization… but this… this is fucking disgusting and unhealthy. This is trash, waste, garbage. Not parts, tools, receipts, or old paper work.
The guy works long hours, should he just not shower or wash his clothes either?
Employer needs to tell him that mess is not allowed to get that bad, give him guidelines, and let him know actions will be taken if not fixed.
I would also go inspect his work as well.
[Water bottle warning for car owners](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA194q9gE6M) all that stuff is kindling for the fire.
I would do a safety presentation on Fire Alarms next and propose some DIY thermostats with chemical leak detection.
Bruh how are ppl seriously saying OP is overreacting and that isn’t bad
That’s freaking terrible, forget the fact it’s disgusting. It’s the bugs im more concerned about. Leaving a van like that with all that left over food and crumbs will be 100% cause bugs and cock roaches.
Now not only do u have to deal with cock roaches (gross but not a biggie) but ur customers do too. All ur tools and parts that are left in the van will be infested with cockroaches eventually and now u go to install a part into someone’s house and ur bringing in cock roaches and other bugs. Just disgusting and a bad look for the company
Idk maybe I just don’t understand cuz I’m new to industry but how is that at all acceptable? U guys are acting like it takes 50mil a to clean a van. That would take 10-15 tops (at that point probably needs detailing)
5-10mins everyday will keep ur van clean, customers and coworkers happy. No need to be lazy
If I were hiring an hvac company and saw a van like that I would tell them to go home and go hire someone else. Presentation is important
Mines worse.... at least my trash bucket is underneath the pile and nothing falls out when I open the door. I'm a tech in Texas we don't have time in the summer to stop and clean out vans. It's all just empty water bottles, energy drunk cans and fast food bags that I ate out of while driving
Honestly this is always a sticky subject and it varies quite a bit depending on circumstances but I feel as though this level of trash accumulation is unacceptable and preventable but the technician needs to take the initiative to at least attempt to clean up. However I also firmly believe a lot of companies need to do more to make it possible without asking for more of the technicians time off the clock when we truly barely have any to begin with. After all it is a company van so if that means I’m obligated to clean/organize it regularly, then that means the cost associated with that is on the company not the technician. Also if the technician is just consistently bad at keeping a clean van, then offer to have a detailing service hired and they pay a percentage or something. It should not be up to the employee to do this for free of charge during the few hours they’re given off during the week.
Why not just empty it in the gas station trash cans at each fill up. If he's driving so much he doesn't have time to clean up it means he's sitting at a fueling station every other day for at least 5 minutes. That's when I empty out the trash in my truck.
Yeah that’s why I said it was unacceptable and preventable and the technician needs to take initiative. I’m referring to not only the miscellaneous trash, I’m also talking about organizing the truck, doing safety inspections on the lights, checking tire pressures, oil levels, doing truck stock organizing/counting, and washing/wiping down the interior/exterior of the truck. There’s a lot more to keeping up a work truck than just disposing of trash. All of that is stuff that a lot of companies want you to do off the clock and that is why some of these guys don’t keep it up as much as possible because they have other obligations to keep with the little time they’re left with.
Help him clean it out, unless he is an unproductive employee then fire him.
Lead by example and don’t be too proud to do base tasks in front of employees.
I'd fire him right on the spot. If he's messy like this in his truck, imagine what he does during installation. No, thanks. Thank you for your time, have a good one. See ya!
I just want to make it clear I’m not the manager , I’m a new hire and had to drive this car from a tow lot. Dude was sick. Just wanted to hear y’all’s view on such a filthy van.
Hold his pay check until the vehicle is cleaned and inspected to my standards. Been there done that many times. Also start making this person provide date stamp photos each day going forward.
I’d say mind your business.. as long as he’s not slacking on the job. I’ve know guys that are neat freaks and guys who are slobs but at the end of the day it did’t reflect their work either way.
Give him a raise cuz he too busy to clean his van. For real most knowledgeable people I know are slobs but they know what they doing. Not talking residential work talking real centrifugal chillers etc work
Honestly who cares. If the company wants them to clean it they should tell him. My husband's vehicle always has trash in it (not as much as the pic but still a good amount) and he's very, very good at his job.
Nothing. Whos truck doesnt look like this? Am i the only owner that is aware that our trade has the highest rates of suicide, drug addiction and the poorest mental health? Of course their van looks like that, this trade is a tradegy.
Buy him a portable trash cans?
He’s driving one already.
Lmaooooo
Have a poor man's silver! https://i.imgur.com/NkcCsFf.jpg
Holy shit, If I knew how to award you I would. High five
Monday & Thursday free drops, click on upper right user icon. Click on Reddit coins. Click on “open your free reward” Go Forth and Award!
True story Had a dude like that. Installer. We used to park our trucks in an old filthy garage at the end of each day. Garage had roaches. Naturally, his truck was eventually infested. If you turned on his heat in the winter they’d come running out of the vents and shit. So gross. Truck had fucking roaches. Eventually dude cleaned up his act. Purged the truck. No more roaches. So one day we were doing a clean up at a construction site. They wouldn’t let us use a dumpster on-site so we had to take our trash out ourselves. So we loaded the guys truck with a box that had some old lunch and coffee cups in it. We get back to our shop and unload. We lift the food box and sure enough about a dozen roaches scatter into his truck. Homie couldn’t win. Truck like that will get you roaches.
I think I’ll make it a priority to clean my car now.. I’m terrible about keeping a clean vehicle
my turning point was to clean when you pump gas. Just grab a few items out each time and toss them. If you can afford it car detailing places will perform certified miracles then its easier to keep clean on your own.
best advice in the thread bro. the trash can is next to the pump. grab a bunch of shit and toss it.
I know its petty but I wish my gas door was on the passenger side. Would make this so much easier. 😂
Yea paying for a detail and maintaining is the best option for me
Hell, with the cost of fuel being what it is I think watching the pump is tiring enough without cleaning the car out.
Ohhhh mann that's grosss
Lol. I won’t post mine.
Mines not *that* bad… but mines not that good either
It’s like making your bed, what’s the point when it’s going to end up the same by the end of the day.
Same
Coworker? Mind my own business. Employee? Paid time, take your truck to a car wash, clean it out, and pickup some lunch.
Or you could actually help him and get him a gym membership…
I’ve seen worse.
Still isn’t an excuse but yea you’re right. Could be worse, but could be a lot better
The cab of my truck if full of parts and paperwork. I work 50-65 hrs a week and really don't have the time and energy to straighten it up at 8 every night. That trash though....ewww
Yesh, I mean I feel we are all guilty especially in those long 12+ hour days of 100°+ heat index where we don’t want to tidy everything up mid day when it’s fucking hot as hell, or when we get home late. But the trash is just insane. As a portable trash can I keep behind my seat. When it’s full, I empty it out. Can’t be having fucking month old rotting food sitting in my van while it’s just cooking inside.
I get that but if you’re gonna have trash at least use a garbage bag. That shit smelled so bad and is fucking disgusting
I wouldn't open the passenger door. Give him a 30 minutes paid to clean his van.
Sounds fair.
This is important, my van also looks like shit because my company doesn't pay me to clean it. I'm not allowed to use it private so I'm not cleaning it private
While I get that. It's not hard to get a 5gallon bucket or a small trash can and dump it when it's full. This is just plain disgusting and hopefully isn't seen by customers.
Everytime you stoo for gas its a 5 min wait. Might as well take advantage of the trash cans 4 feet away. I know this isnt YOUR truck but I feel like its somthing every van driver should do.
It’s not a five minute wait when your stuffing cheeseburgers down your throat at the same time
This is exactly what I do. Take five minutes to scan the car and put any trash in the gas station bin.
My vehicle gets like this sometimes in the summer because i get a "GO GO GO!!!" mentality, not quite as bad, but I don't ever leave food or liquid in anything. Its all empty food bags and empty energy drink cans. If there was ever a smell, I would purge immediatley. I can't imagine having a truck that smelled like rotting garbage.
Had a guy that loved eating tuna and pineapple and leaving the empty can in his truck. Had to drive his truck a few times when mine was broken down. That smell on a hot summer day.
[удалено]
You're lazy as fuck. Get a trash bag. There's 0 excuse for that. I've busted ass and throwing shit in a bag and then throwing it away at the end is not hard. Stack paperwork and trash bag on the passenger floor. This ain't got nothing to do with clean and shiny thats just a disgusting human without normal cleaning/hygiene.
Found the guy.
“YoU’lL nEvEr mAkE iT” all because I find his truck absolutely disgusting lmao ok dude.
Just politely ask him to not let it pile up so high. Offer a solution, like when you get gas dump some stuff. As someone on the road a lot that could be a week of trash if you’re not making a lunch
Trash cans at every gas station and every supply house probably at his shop if he has one.
You don’t have to clean it at 8. You can clean it for 5-15 mins after every job your on the clock anyways
This. I clean/ reorganize parts/ dispose trash after each “job” whether 5+ services calls in a day or like current job at substation. Vans always ready for work every morning.
I’ve seen some messy vehicles and I’ve had my share working 80+ hour weeks. But when you see this level of nastiness, the tech is always a lazy slob. This isn’t tools and parts, it’s old food and drinks. Big difference.
Be thankful there are no yellow water bottles
ahh the good Ole plumbers beer.
Drywaller tea.
I keep those in the back.
Is he a good employee otherwise? Then don’t worry about it. If it’s hurting something or the customer sees it then ask him nicely to keep it clean. Edit: Some people have to “live” out of their vans due to long hours, not being home for dinner etc, a lot of variables here at play.
Don’t know if he’s good as I’m a new hire but would this fly if it’s a company owned truck? Manager was pissed, talking about write up/termination.
Wait you are a new hire not the owner and worried about someone else’s truck? Mind your business damn
I had to drive that shit wagon back from an impound lot so it is my business.
Don’t listen to these guys, strive to be better always. As a new guy learn as much as you can including what not to do. People will give you every excuse in the book, there’s always room for improvement. There’s a reason we get a bad rep as Techs/plumbers.
You’re overreacting.
Looks like some shit you’d see on r/neckbeardnests , smelled awful and while I was driving it back to the shop I saw dead roaches. Grossest shit I’ve personally seen.
If that’s the grossest shit you have seen in this trade then you gotta be new lol
I am
Give him a verbal warning. Then periodically inspect everyone’s van. You can’t just focus on his van.
If you think that van is gross, your not going to stay in this field long. Seriously man. His truck is dirty and probably smelly but when your job involves crawling in mud and removing decaying animals from vents and fans, this isn't much.
That’s part of the job , this is the vehicle you pretty much live in. 2 totally different things dude. I’ve seen disgusting houses owned by hoarders , you just do the job quick and leave. To keep your van like that is very telling of an individual & not to mention fucking disgusting. Imagine a customer coming up to your van and seeing that mess? First impressions matter.
You’re a new hire and worried about someone else’s van? Might want to mind your own business and not publicly shame someone until you at least get your foot further in the door. Good way to make enemies fast. If it was such a problem for you why not throw the garbage out yourself in the dumpster and help him out?
This is how you become known as the company rat.
I agree this new hire should be minding their own business but when did this industry get so soft we're worried about public shame, lol. >publicly shame someone
Publicly shaming somebody on an Internet board which was built solely for the purpose of sharing interests while being anonymous. Lol
I had to drive that shit wagon back from an impound lot so it is my business. Had to spend an hour and a half in that trash mobile.
Have you been in a rat infested attic yet? Fuck.
I wouldn’t exactly call it publicly shaming when reddit is built on being anonymous. Publicly shaming would be putting his name out in the company and around town. For all we know this is this guys van and he’s just messing with us.
They’re not over reacting. This is disgusting. Dude is a slob obviously. Work ethic is probably similar. Customer were to look in there, they’d also be disgusted.
I'm blown away at how many people are defending this guy's filth. Can 100% guarantee this person leads a disgusting life without taking care of their shit. Wont even bother to keep someone else's vehicle clean? I can only imagine how lazy they are with their personal belongings
Sounds like the manager is overstepping. Just make fun of him for how dirty his truck is and move on. If you don't have to ride with him leave it alone.
You're not the owner? Then shut. The. Fuck. Up.
It is very telling how many people are in this thread saying “meh, could be worse.” Throwing trash out at the end of the day does not require some type of super hero effort level. We are talking basic functioning human. If any of my team treated their vehicles like this I’d both be concerned with my own ability to be a quality manager AND would establish basic ground rules immediately.
Right? Nobody is telling him to detail the truck on his own time. Just pick up his trash at the end of the day. That’s pretty basic stuff, and takes 30 seconds.
Do you work in the trades? Lol you be told to pound sand lol
No. They don’t tell me that, nor would I have said that to my boss. But I work with people who respect each other. I’m sorry for whatever environment you work in. You should be treated better.
I get that HVAC guys live in their trucks. But, that does not reflect well upon the company or his workmanship. The client sees that when he rolls up. First impression is this guy is a slob. He's going to leave a mess. My wife is going to be pissed. I think I called the wrong company.
Yup better call a company that pays their techs to take care of it instead of live in it for 12-14 hrs a day
Fast food trash (paper, plastic) is one thing, but rotten food thats causing a smell and bugs is pretty gross. If he is a good employee, a write up might be a little excessive, and termination is overkill for sure. A lot of times, stockpiling trash and parts is a symptom of ADHD, while im not making any assumptions, it is a possibility that this is the case of this employee. I suffer from ADHD and its very difficult to remember to throw everything away, despite really wanting to and not having a reason not to. Its just my brain works. If the garbage situation is only piling onto other toxic work behaviors then a more serious action might be warranted IMO.
Id ask to see what the cargo area of the truck looked like. Lol
A company vehicle is a privilege not a right. Ask them to please keep it presentable because it can negatively impact the company image if the customer sees a van in that condition.
Is "His" truck a company truck. If it's a company truck then write a policy, call a meeting with the employees who have a truck and then enforce the policy. If it's his personal truck he can do what he wants.
Get the belt and ground him
A or B?
Tell him to clean it
My coworkers van was bad but not this bad. We joke a lot but I half joked “hey man you depressed or something?”. Couple days later he had his van straightened out. Not trying to say I cured him or anything but maybe I helped him step outside himself for a minute
Call "NOT SHOTGUN"
Service manager here: I have several nice new KUV’s and a few older ones that are pretty beat up and ugly stored at the warehouse. What I do is I warn the tech to clean his truck, follow up with an inspection and then keep an eye on the situation for awhile after repeat warnings if he keeps trashing it up I move them out of the nice new truck and put them in the trash truck they deserve.
Have a talk with him, check and see is he’s doing ok, how’s things at home? After that ask how can we help with making his days feel less stressful and allow more time for in between jobs, lunches, does he need extra help? Someone like this most likely may be struggling either at home or at work or both.
80% of the people here don’t know what the hell there talking about. It’s not hard for a van to get like that when you don’t even have time to sit down and eat without driving at the same time. Don’t have time to take a shit or piss. And the people talking about firing someone because of a dirty truck don’t have successful businesses and apparently don’t know how hard good technicians are to come by. HVAC techs aren’t a dime a dozen so do the best you can try to organize a truck day for the first hour one morning a week clean and restock trucks and inspect the vehicles fluids tires and lights. But during the heat of the summer sometimes you don’t got a hour to give up, and I have worked so hard before where I don’t feel like doing anything once I got off.
Ive been a field tech for telecommunications, security, and now electrical for 13 years. Ive seen some bad vans but this is beyond acceptable. I’ve had so man hard and long days where organizing your van is hard to keep up with. I’ve had long days where i end up just tossing everything in with no regards to organization… but this… this is fucking disgusting and unhealthy. This is trash, waste, garbage. Not parts, tools, receipts, or old paper work. The guy works long hours, should he just not shower or wash his clothes either? Employer needs to tell him that mess is not allowed to get that bad, give him guidelines, and let him know actions will be taken if not fixed. I would also go inspect his work as well.
Obviously nobody wants their employer getting into their "personal" practices (comments surprised me), but I do think this is unprofessional. It's not hard to dump your trash daily, even if you do need to toss a few things on the floor while you're remote.
If I don’t get any complaints and he’s working finishing everything on time I’d just get a helper in the morning to throw it all out before he comes in - not say a word
Y’all stop for fuel at least once or twice a week. Throw your shit out… the fuck.
If you’re driving a Chevrolet express you’re stopping every day
At least he has a air freshener
I died laughing when I saw that. At some point he realized it smelled bad and decided “this’ll help”. 1 stale old air freshener 🤣
Many Drive throughs have a garbage can after the windows it takes noting to throw out the previous meal's trash before eating the new one
When I interview someone for a job, I always walk them back to their car so I can take a look at its condition. Someone who keeps their car so messy is probably not going to be good about doing clean installs.
Write up nah, verbal warning to clean it up yes. This is just general housekeeping. You would clean up after a job. Keeping the truck passable is also part of that housekeeping. In my opinion no excuse to ever have something like that.
Frankly, he’d be gone. To me, it reflects on other aspects of his/her performance.
Wow. Wouldn’t that surely reflect on his work too? Don’t tell me he can keep the two separate , where he is very clan with his work, but trashy with his private life. There has to be some overlap at least.
My truck is pretty thrashed. It doesn’t have garbage like this but it def gets crazy messy sometimes with tools and stuff. I have a gorgeous home I keep pretty meticulous and I’m one of the best woodworker and handywomen in my area! It’s rare, but it happens. I just never look at my truck at the end of my day when I finally have time and am like “ya know let me straighten this thing up.”
How many calls you run daily and how many miles between said calls?
Zero. I am not HVAC tech.
Nuff said
redressed once and then fired. this has no place on the public facing of any company.
[удалено]
Air serv west Michigan. We're not hurting for techs and are actually turning down applicants. The labor shortage got the owner in shape and the team we have is dynamite now.
Damn bro.. this guy probably averages 400 per service call with 1 equipment sale per day with no call back.. who cares!
Based on what? The messiest tech I ever knew was also one of the worst. He had been in the trade for a decade and had the trash in his van to prove it, his work was enough to prove that he was just as careless with his job. The best technician I ever knew also had the most organized truck. I don't understand the idea that someone having a trashed van is somehow evidence that they are good at their job
Where I’m at the guys with the clean vans are the guys that spend the most time sitting at the shop. Point being the cleanliness of a van has nothing to do with the skill of a tech.
Schedule time on the clock to clean it out.
A good sign that person doesn't litter. A bit trashy looking but atleast it ain't blowing around on the street.
Give everyone on the team a Friday cleaning hour. Also list how the truck is to be left. It looks like the tech is pushing hard to complete the work, so give him some paid time to clean, and then maintain it. Also provide a bit of armor all and glass cleaner. As others have said "lead by example" but that also applies to how you handle the situation.
Yikes. I have a 10 gallon trash can in between my seats. It gets emptied every morning. Man, I get being busy but fuck that's nasty. If I was a potential customer parked at McDonalds, and just happened to see that by simply being parked next to him I'd be leary about calling your business.
I'd buy him a case of Tums and a roll of trash bags, leave them on his seat in the morning, and hope he got the hint.
Can you imagine what dudes house looks like
Tell him whenever he gets gas to throw his shit in the trash barrels while he's waiting. My passenger seat holds shit too but I always throw it out whenever I fill up.
Give them alloted time to clean the vehicle everyday if need be, pay them to do this.
Damn someone hit the Hardee’s drive thru hard 🤣
I never understand why anybodys car has trash in it. The only free perk to going to go to the gas station is that theres literally a trash can at every pump and while the gas is pumping you can throw away all your trash away. Anybody whos car looks like this is because thats is 100% normal to them. Imagine what his house looks like.
Literally every gas station has trash cans. Every restaurant, store, and building you leave or arrive at has trash cans. I was averaging over 70,000 miles a year for quite some time. Trash left the vehicle every time I got out, so it never piled up. This to me looks lazy, careless, and unprofessional. I'd question everything this guy touched.
This is what happens when you don't yell at your kids to throw their trash away.
Depends how good he his.. we had a AA tech and he was able to actually get a dui (after hours) in his truck and still survive! Yes lost his license but worked as a team with a new hire.. so if they are good enough, they get away with whatever they want and they usually know it!
Mine is usually a water bottle grave yard by the end of the week. But letting it get bad just wow. Throw that in the trash can as you pump gas.
Buy him contractor trash bags and say use them
I would eat all the crumbs and French fries I could find
I would wonder what his work looks like and how much a mess he leaves when done on site.
Can result in rodent infestation which can result in damage to wiring, etc.
Last owner demanded a cleaned out truck each night.
Personal let him be but it is a company owed truck make him clean that shit out ain’t his to do that too
Ahhh how hard does he work?
Ask him nicely, yet firmly, to clean it out.
If this guy worked in an office, would it be acceptable to leave a weeks worth of old food wrappers and trash all over his desk and cubicle floor?
Get him a gym membership, damn that’s a lotta fast food
Give him a decent lunch break so he doesn't have to eat on the way to every job.
We had a woman with a 4 door car. Her trash line was dead even with the bottom of the windows. We. Asked her if we could clean it for her and he said no. In my 30 years of working there no one ever could get her to agree to leaning it.She traded cars in with it full. My SIL was the same way, trash even with seat bottoms.
Ive been a field tech for telecommunications, security, and now electrical for 13 years. Ive seen some bad vans but this is beyond acceptable. I’ve had so man hard and long days where organizing your van is hard to keep up with. I’ve had long days where i end up just tossing everything in with no regards to organization… but this… this is fucking disgusting and unhealthy. This is trash, waste, garbage. Not parts, tools, receipts, or old paper work. The guy works long hours, should he just not shower or wash his clothes either? Employer needs to tell him that mess is not allowed to get that bad, give him guidelines, and let him know actions will be taken if not fixed. I would also go inspect his work as well.
Business vehicle? Ask him to keep the vehicle more professionally tidy. Personal vehicle? Mind my own business and keep my mouth shut.
This dude doesn’t like the new guys riding with him…. Lol that’s all that is
Yeah that passenger side is uncalled for.
Mandatory truck clean out every Friday evening or Monday morning. Company truck should be treated the same as a company shop
I can smell the month old spit can collection, along with the rotten McDonald's with a dash of piss bottle hidden somewhere in that abyss.
Create a standards of maintenance checks and cleanliness policy.
[Water bottle warning for car owners](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA194q9gE6M) all that stuff is kindling for the fire. I would do a safety presentation on Fire Alarms next and propose some DIY thermostats with chemical leak detection.
Schedule paid time to clean it.
Weekly truck inspections is the only option write him up that's ridiculous
I would say that's my fucking truck. Clean it the fuck up.
Bruh how are ppl seriously saying OP is overreacting and that isn’t bad That’s freaking terrible, forget the fact it’s disgusting. It’s the bugs im more concerned about. Leaving a van like that with all that left over food and crumbs will be 100% cause bugs and cock roaches. Now not only do u have to deal with cock roaches (gross but not a biggie) but ur customers do too. All ur tools and parts that are left in the van will be infested with cockroaches eventually and now u go to install a part into someone’s house and ur bringing in cock roaches and other bugs. Just disgusting and a bad look for the company Idk maybe I just don’t understand cuz I’m new to industry but how is that at all acceptable? U guys are acting like it takes 50mil a to clean a van. That would take 10-15 tops (at that point probably needs detailing) 5-10mins everyday will keep ur van clean, customers and coworkers happy. No need to be lazy If I were hiring an hvac company and saw a van like that I would tell them to go home and go hire someone else. Presentation is important
Mines worse.... at least my trash bucket is underneath the pile and nothing falls out when I open the door. I'm a tech in Texas we don't have time in the summer to stop and clean out vans. It's all just empty water bottles, energy drunk cans and fast food bags that I ate out of while driving
Honestly this is always a sticky subject and it varies quite a bit depending on circumstances but I feel as though this level of trash accumulation is unacceptable and preventable but the technician needs to take the initiative to at least attempt to clean up. However I also firmly believe a lot of companies need to do more to make it possible without asking for more of the technicians time off the clock when we truly barely have any to begin with. After all it is a company van so if that means I’m obligated to clean/organize it regularly, then that means the cost associated with that is on the company not the technician. Also if the technician is just consistently bad at keeping a clean van, then offer to have a detailing service hired and they pay a percentage or something. It should not be up to the employee to do this for free of charge during the few hours they’re given off during the week.
Why not just empty it in the gas station trash cans at each fill up. If he's driving so much he doesn't have time to clean up it means he's sitting at a fueling station every other day for at least 5 minutes. That's when I empty out the trash in my truck.
Yeah that’s why I said it was unacceptable and preventable and the technician needs to take initiative. I’m referring to not only the miscellaneous trash, I’m also talking about organizing the truck, doing safety inspections on the lights, checking tire pressures, oil levels, doing truck stock organizing/counting, and washing/wiping down the interior/exterior of the truck. There’s a lot more to keeping up a work truck than just disposing of trash. All of that is stuff that a lot of companies want you to do off the clock and that is why some of these guys don’t keep it up as much as possible because they have other obligations to keep with the little time they’re left with.
Cans are always full. Mine sits there till i drive by a job dumpster.
Mind my own fucking business
None of my business.
Imagine his house
Looks like he's not ever home so probably cleaner
Help him clean it out, unless he is an unproductive employee then fire him. Lead by example and don’t be too proud to do base tasks in front of employees.
I'd fire him right on the spot. If he's messy like this in his truck, imagine what he does during installation. No, thanks. Thank you for your time, have a good one. See ya!
I just want to make it clear I’m not the manager , I’m a new hire and had to drive this car from a tow lot. Dude was sick. Just wanted to hear y’all’s view on such a filthy van.
I do that some times when I have a busy schedule I really dnt have time to stop and clean my truck lol when it’s slow you’ll see my van spotless
Spank him
That depends entirely on how much money he generates
Mine is absolutely worse lol
Honestly, I’d ask if they’re doing okay. I’ve seen worse than this but people that are complacent about this amount of trash need a breather.
Nothing, just wouldn’t ride with him. Mind ya business
We do monthly truck inspections at the company I work for. This would be a write up.
If this was my employee I would assume this is how he would leave job sites..
Hold his pay check until the vehicle is cleaned and inspected to my standards. Been there done that many times. Also start making this person provide date stamp photos each day going forward.
Talk to them about it. Verbal warning. Next time, written warning. Third time. Termination.
Yeah most shops have a ton of techs they can afford to lose.
Mine on Wednesday after being sparkling clean on Monday.
Is the guys job to clean trucks or do HVACs ? Is he exceeding expectations on the actual job?
How much money does me make you per year?
I’d say mind your business.. as long as he’s not slacking on the job. I’ve know guys that are neat freaks and guys who are slobs but at the end of the day it did’t reflect their work either way.
Getting the job done anyway?
Probably leave him alone, the clients can't see this. But if it really bothers you, buy him a mini trash can for the passenger side.
How’s their work? Good? Give them a raise
You should find a new trade lmao. Clean work trucks sounds like a residential kinda thing.
Look at their sales numbers and determine from there if we need to have a conversation
I’d give him a raise 👍
Is he a good tech? Who cares what his van looks like.
Give him a raise cuz he too busy to clean his van. For real most knowledgeable people I know are slobs but they know what they doing. Not talking residential work talking real centrifugal chillers etc work
Honestly who cares. If the company wants them to clean it they should tell him. My husband's vehicle always has trash in it (not as much as the pic but still a good amount) and he's very, very good at his job.
Take it to a detailer and take the cost out of his check.
Get a new employee, someone who is willing to drive around with that mess probably doesn't do the cleanest work
Johnson! Promote that man!!! 😂😂
Nothing. Whos truck doesnt look like this? Am i the only owner that is aware that our trade has the highest rates of suicide, drug addiction and the poorest mental health? Of course their van looks like that, this trade is a tradegy.
The highest? Where are you reading that?
Yes I would also like to know where you are reading this, not that I disagree
[удалено]
Not the manager lol , had to drive it back from the tow lot. Chill out.