Techs. excuses for being late or not at work......

[KZSOUTHGAL]

Recently I have been keeping records of the excuses I receive from my employess. After reading the customer complaint ones I had to add these. If you have some good ones, please let us know, makes for a good laugh for the day if nothing else. Thanks.

Excuses for being late:

* Traffic was too bad... at 10:00 am ??
* Wreck had to go around-(Tech lived 2 miles from dealership) must have went to next town to get here at NOON.
* 3 days in a row, same technican-- had a flat tire all 3 days--3 different ones I might add
* Had to wait for pants to dry
* My dog ate a razor and I had to take him to the vet.
* Someone hit a power pole "somewhere" and my alarm clock did'nt go off.
* I might be there, I don't know yet a tree went through my roof
* I don't have a phone--then how can you call me a tell me you have a tree through your roof ?? interesting.....

Excuses for not coming to work:

* Overslept and figured you would'nt need me.
* No way to get to work
* Got bee stung on finger trying to recover on Monday still
* Lost wallet, trying to trace down-- same employee told this one twice in about 6 mths time period.
* I'm not going to be there, I'll tell ya tomorrow why not. ( still waiting to find out why )
* I have the "sniffles"
* Forgot what day it was, thought it was Friday and went to school ( ASEP student )--I ask "who forgets its a Friday ??
* 2:00 in afternoon, got sick eating B-B-Q for lunch,"supposely" has food posion, needed to go home, by the next morning turned into strep throat, next morning has turned into the flu. That's some illness. Got caught riding motorcycle.
* 40 yr old techs mother calls and says his cold is getting to him
* Needed to leave early to see allergy doctor, got caught 1 mile from dealership getting windows tinted in car.
* Need to leave early to go fix machine in a laundry mat ?? Part-time maytag man I guess ???
* Got vehicle stuck putting up a "hunting thingie" and when I get unstuck will be here, 2 days later he showed up
* I am late because I woke up during the night and seen flashing lights and thought they were UFO's and hearing skill saws..
* And the best one yet I have had for NOT being at work one day was " I DON'T KNOW " how do you not know to come to work exactly ????

I have many more, but thats enough for now. Maybe that will make someone smile today.

Have a great day to all !!!

Jeannie

[gizmo]

What is your attendance policy?

Our shop implemented a 'no fault' attendance policy a few years ago. It works very well.

Employees are assessed points for each lateness, absence or leave early. After a certain point total is reached, the employee receives a written warning. If still more points accrue, the employee is suspended for 3 days. If the employee exceeds the maximum allowable point total (8 points, in our case) he is terminated.

If an employee has perfect attendance for 1 month, .5 point is deducted from his point total.

We assess .5 point for a tardy or leave early, 1.0 points for absence w/ a phone call, 2.0 points for no-call/no-show.

[mh]

Don't forget all the snow stories too!!

[sdunkerly]

That system is interesting, Gizmo. Are points assessed for "planned" events (ie I have a doctor's appointment next wed afternoon)? Tx.

[greg01]

Thats a very interesting policy. After how long do points "drop off" the record? What about funeral, and verifiable medical days off (doctors note, or temporary off work disability such as gall bladder, or other major health conditions)?

Has this policy been discussed with a legal professional, and/or challenged by a dismissed employee?

I ask, becuase I have been considering what to do about attendance also.

Thanks

[s60152e]

Without good technicians, Service Administration would not have Jobs, If they call in sick it may because they work for a service director that refuses to grant the planned time off. By the way how easy is it to get good technicians now a days?

[This message has been edited by s60152e (edited 09-26-2002).]

[gizmo]

More info:

sdunkerly:

Points are assessed any time an employee fails to report for work as scheduled, or fails to remain at work for the duration of his/her shift. Under our system, there is no such thing as an 'excused absence'. However, sick leave and/or personal days can be used to cover a planned absence w/ 7 days written notice. If an employee has used all his or her sick/personal time prior to the planned absence, points are assessed for the absence.

greg01:

After how long do points "drop off" the record?

.5 point is deducted for the 1st month of perfect attendance. 1.0 point is deducted for 2 consecutive months of perfect attendance. 1.5 points is deducted for 3 consecutive months of perfect attendance. The cycle starts over at .5 point deduction/mo. after 3 mos. of perfect attendance OR if a new point is assessed.

Example:

An employee accrues 4.5 points. He then cleans up his act & has perfect attendance for 3 months.

After 1 month of perfect attendance, his point total would drop to 4.0 points.

After 2 consecutive mos. of perfect attendance, his point total would drop to 3.0 points.

After 3 consecutive months of perfect attendance, his point total would drop to 1.5 points.

The monthly point reduction cycle would then start over at .5 points/month.

Also, consecutive days absent are considered a single occurence & points are only assessed for the 1st day. A doctor's note is required for an absence of 3 or more consecutive days AND the employee is required to call each day & report off, or his absence will be treated as a no-call/no show for that day.

Has this policy been discussed with a legal professional, and/or challenged by a dismissed employee?

Yes and yes.

The corporate lawyers were ok w/ it. A few employees were dismissed under the policy & 2 of them got their jobs back on a probationary basis. This was an out of court settlement deal w/ terms laid down by management. At least one of the employees failed to abide by the probationary terms & was again fired.

Our company is subject to FMLA & points are not assessed for FMLA situations, as that would be a violation of FMLA.

You can tailor this system to suit your needs. Just make sure you run it by your lawyer before you implement it.

[wcarleton]

When working as a shop foreman on the night shift, a tech came to me and said "I have to go home early, my eyeballs are swollen and it is giving me a headache" How can you tell if a persons eyeball are swollen. I let him go home.
Had another tech that his wife would call in for her husband. She had so many excuses, that we started to call it "Bernice's book of excuses"

[This message has been edited by wcarleton (edited 10-02-2002).]

[dallas]

one person actually told me "i got locked inside my house" when i asked why he didn't just leave from the window, he stated "in my neighborhood you don't get caught leavin"