He Was Working On Site When An Executive Assumed He Was Staff And Tried To Terminate Him Without Realizing He Worked For Someone Else
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Job sites get messy when powerful managers start ordering around workers they don’t actually know.
A young contractor was told to clean another company’s mess while handling his own skilled work.
When he explained who employed him, an angry director somehow decided to fire him anyway.
Check out how that power trip came back to bite management.
I work here but not for you…
I’ve worked for Company 2 for about 3 years, and our main job is putting down fancy-looking stone blocks for high-end commercial buildings.
About 2 years ago, they moved me over to one of the local multi-million-pound houses because they needed more manpower. The job was taken on by Company 1, and Company 2 was brought on as a contractor for the outer blockwork and tiles.
Most of the work was finished when I started on that site, but the buyer was meticulous about pointing out problems, so most of the jobs we did were replacing old, damaged stuff.
The tolerance for all the blockwork was 1mm, as per the contract that Company 1 signed. For anyone not familiar with construction, this is an insane tolerance to work toward and led to some hilarious stories.
A little more context, since this is a private building and technically a finished house, we didn’t have hard hats, steel boots, or jackets on, so nothing to really identify ourselves. We basically know everyone on site by name.
Two years down the line, I’m one of two people from Company 2 still on site.
Enter the big wigs.
This contractor was asked to clean up, which was not his job.
One of the main reasons why this job was going so wrong was the fact they had management for management’s management. Things got so disconnected that the site management didn’t even come down to see what was going on, and so they didn’t know us.
The directors of Company 1 came down to look at the job with some upper managers — presumably to see how much longer this job was going to take.
I was doing some grouting for a tile I’d just replaced when the big shots walked in and demanded I go clean up a mess in the other room. I presume they thought I was a laborer since I’m young-looking and I had a brush in my hand.
They walked off before I got a chance to say anything. I ignored them and carried on with my work since it’s NOT my job to clean up after anyone other than myself.
Twenty minutes later, I’d moved on to a broken tile in the room they’d asked me to clean when the big shots walked in on me. They just stared at me for five seconds, open-mouthed, while I moved their equipment from one side of the room to the other.
This is where the fun begins.
The heated exchange went like this.
UM – Upper Manager; DD – Difficult Director; SS – Strict Supervisor; SM – Site Manager;
Me – meDD: What on earth are you doing? I asked you to go clean that mess up! Why are you just moving it to the other side of the room? Are you trying to be funny with me, kid? Do you even want a job?
Me: I don’t—
DD: NO. You’ve done enough talking. I’ve seen how long your breaks are. Just move it out. Now.
Me (raising my voice): Look, I don’t work for your company. I work for Company 2—
SS: Look, I know you don’t work for us, but can you just clean it out anyway?
Me: No. That’s not my job.
DD: I’ve heard enough. You’re fired.
By this point, DD is red-faced and furious.
Me: UM, you can’t fire me. If you want someone else from Company 2, you’ll have to call my boss. I can get you the number.
UM: Oh, so now you’re trying to be a smart aleck, are you? Get off-site.
He left then called his real boss.
I just packed up my stuff and left. I knew he didn’t have the authority to kick me off-site, only the SM could, but it wasn’t worth the hassle.
All the while, DD was lecturing me about how I’m a terrible laborer. I was packing up my tools when he stopped me from leaving, accusing me of stealing, but after I showed him they all had my name on them, he let me go. Somehow it didn’t set off alarm bells that I had masonry tools.
Would you believe they met me down the path while I was driving away, just to jeer at me and tell me how useless I am? Very professional.
I drove down the road and parked up to call my boss. I told him the whole situation and how I’d been kicked off-site. He just laughed and told me he’d be down in 10 minutes. I could take the day off.
And he soon got a letter of apology.
I got a phone call about two hours later telling me that it had been sorted out, but not to go back yet. He told the management that if they wanted to kick one of HIS staff off-site, they needed to call him directly.
He’d still be invoicing me out to their company but wouldn’t be sending me back until I got a letter of apology for the way they treated me.
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Two days later, I was called into the main office to have a look at the letter that came in. It was a small victory, but it tasted sweet. He gave me a copy to keep, and he framed his own.
I started work that day and got an apology from the SM and SS, who assured me this wouldn’t happen again.
Rumors started circulating, but nobody really knew what happened until I came back to tell them and showed them the letter. We laughed about it for a few weeks.
That’s how you show the higher-ups who’s boss!
Let’s read what other people are saying about this story.
This couldn’t be more true.
This one commends his boss.
A valid request.
Here’s to big wins.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a lifeguard who saves a child only to be confronted by parents angry about the paperwork.
And people are finding the story awesome.
This contractor calmly left after managers who didn’t employ him cursed at him, fired him, and ordered him off the site.
His boss charged them for two paid days and refused to send him back until they provided a written apology.
The director borrowed authority he didn’t have and still received the bill for using it.
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