I often times will allign the "Honey Do List" with the "Tool Wish List", it makes new tool additions blend right in. - Just one married mans method.
No one ever warned me!
- Thread starter ctfjr
- Start date
I like to have the tools needed to complete the task
at my old job (kubota tech, and 4 other brands) there were all kinds of tools needed, and since the boss didn't buy specialty tools like pullers and such, I had to buy them.
5 brands, a hundred different kinds of equipment ranging from motorcycles to atv's to side by side to mowers, tractors, excavators, wheel loaders, track loaders, outboard motors, boats, generators, golf cars, and everything in between, you can imagine that my tool boxes were overfull. Probably a hundred grand worth of tooling once you figure in the big ticket stuff like flowmeters pressure gauges laptop software etc. Realize that I bought all of it out of my own paychecks. You know, stuff that the boss said made no sense to purchase to use once. Now he don't have access to it at all. Yea I let the other techs use my stuff too. I hope he realizes that. What little bit of stuff they do have, outdated garbage, is strewn about on the top of the office, with zero lightning (take a flashlight), no organization, if you needed a 45mm inverted fork seal driver, go to my toolbox...there was probably one up there but it was dangerous to get up there and two you probably couldn't find it anyway through an inch or so of dust.
2x Harbor freight 72" chests. On top were 2x 52" harbor freight top boxes. I didn't get the side boxes but they were next. And it was overflowing. I need to do a tool inventory. I bet it's over a hundred grand insured replacement value.
Then one day I went to work as I have for the last 28 years and looked at my box, opened up the one drawer, opened the laptop, clocked in, and went into the boss' office and said 2 weeks and I'm outta here. Just out of the blue. Burned out, crap working conditions, heat, cold, no a/c, barely adequate heat, dirty, trash, guys smoking and drinking in the shop, on the job, and in customers' equipment (I am sensitive, since I don't), jerk boss that doesn't listen, I put up with it for a long time and made a decent living at it. No idea what I was gonna do.
Couple weeks later, day before my last day actually, a guy messages me and said if you are looking for work, call me. So I did, for giggles. Pays 65% better (not counting any bonuses), a/c in the shop, heat in the shop, it's clean, nice, modern, more professional, and only two product lines golf cars and side-by-sides. Oh and they supply tools, but I have everything I need so I bought my own condensed. I don't have to deal with customers either, most of the time which is opposite of the old place where I was a tech, service writer, service manager, parts puller, and csr....all in one, and for 65% less pay than what I am at now. Be an idiot not to, thus I took advantage, after a nice long vacation of doing NOTHING. Wait I had two side jobs, a rhino overhaul and a boat/motor/trailer complete resoration (flat bottom, 25hp) from a junky duck boat to a nice aluminum boat that the new owner was proud of. Time consuming though. Still had a week or so to just relax, did a lot of fishing and filled the freezer back up. I hope someday I can retire. Probably could now actually.
Took all my kubota specific stuff and put them in one box, along with half of the motorcycle junk. Now down to just the bottom half of one (1/4 actually) and room to spare. So far, loving it. Other stuff is stored in my home shop, haven't touched it in months. Covered up in the corner.
Guy from the deere dealer also called me and said they needed a tech, so I went & talked to him. All I'm gonna say is that Kubota and their dealer network need to step up their game if they want to get and retain good technicians.
at my old job (kubota tech, and 4 other brands) there were all kinds of tools needed, and since the boss didn't buy specialty tools like pullers and such, I had to buy them.
5 brands, a hundred different kinds of equipment ranging from motorcycles to atv's to side by side to mowers, tractors, excavators, wheel loaders, track loaders, outboard motors, boats, generators, golf cars, and everything in between, you can imagine that my tool boxes were overfull. Probably a hundred grand worth of tooling once you figure in the big ticket stuff like flowmeters pressure gauges laptop software etc. Realize that I bought all of it out of my own paychecks. You know, stuff that the boss said made no sense to purchase to use once. Now he don't have access to it at all. Yea I let the other techs use my stuff too. I hope he realizes that. What little bit of stuff they do have, outdated garbage, is strewn about on the top of the office, with zero lightning (take a flashlight), no organization, if you needed a 45mm inverted fork seal driver, go to my toolbox...there was probably one up there but it was dangerous to get up there and two you probably couldn't find it anyway through an inch or so of dust.
2x Harbor freight 72" chests. On top were 2x 52" harbor freight top boxes. I didn't get the side boxes but they were next. And it was overflowing. I need to do a tool inventory. I bet it's over a hundred grand insured replacement value.
Then one day I went to work as I have for the last 28 years and looked at my box, opened up the one drawer, opened the laptop, clocked in, and went into the boss' office and said 2 weeks and I'm outta here. Just out of the blue. Burned out, crap working conditions, heat, cold, no a/c, barely adequate heat, dirty, trash, guys smoking and drinking in the shop, on the job, and in customers' equipment (I am sensitive, since I don't), jerk boss that doesn't listen, I put up with it for a long time and made a decent living at it. No idea what I was gonna do.
Couple weeks later, day before my last day actually, a guy messages me and said if you are looking for work, call me. So I did, for giggles. Pays 65% better (not counting any bonuses), a/c in the shop, heat in the shop, it's clean, nice, modern, more professional, and only two product lines golf cars and side-by-sides. Oh and they supply tools, but I have everything I need so I bought my own condensed. I don't have to deal with customers either, most of the time which is opposite of the old place where I was a tech, service writer, service manager, parts puller, and csr....all in one, and for 65% less pay than what I am at now. Be an idiot not to, thus I took advantage, after a nice long vacation of doing NOTHING. Wait I had two side jobs, a rhino overhaul and a boat/motor/trailer complete resoration (flat bottom, 25hp) from a junky duck boat to a nice aluminum boat that the new owner was proud of. Time consuming though. Still had a week or so to just relax, did a lot of fishing and filled the freezer back up. I hope someday I can retire. Probably could now actually.
Took all my kubota specific stuff and put them in one box, along with half of the motorcycle junk. Now down to just the bottom half of one (1/4 actually) and room to spare. So far, loving it. Other stuff is stored in my home shop, haven't touched it in months. Covered up in the corner.
Guy from the deere dealer also called me and said they needed a tech, so I went & talked to him. All I'm gonna say is that Kubota and their dealer network need to step up their game if they want to get and retain good technicians.
I bough one too and don't like it. Too slow, bulky. I use one of the 3 lincoln air greasers 99% of the time, only time I ever used electric is if it was a field service job with no air, or something I forget to do at the shop and was too lazy to go back out there & get the tractor to bring it back to the shop, just do it on the lot somewhere. Now that I work elsewhere I took one of the lincolns to work, have used it once in 2 months...only because theirs was having a leakage problem and I needed to get a project DONE asap. And now I get to weld up a crack in their gun, boss said he'd give me $20 for doing it
I would question why they needed a tech. Look into the turn over rate of tech`s in dealerships, they are all about the same today.
Thats why my wife & i bought a Kubota, so i wouldn`t have to run back to the dealer every time something broke or didnt work. Not to mention, Kubota got my money because DEERE couldnt even begin to come close to matching what we bought from Kubota. Another thing, Kubota builds their own diesel engines (at least all the Kubota`s i`ve seen and owned are built by Kubota), DEERE does not. I dont think very many of the others out there build their own either. Fortunately, our Kubota has had zero issues since brand new in 2017.
The last DEERE i bought, was in 1989 (brand new), and its still running like new and we use it alot. But then again, they dont build them near as good as they use to.
And, i can relate to the dealership working whoa`s, been there and done it. Still have all my roll cabs and top boxes. They are ALL retired to my garage, for good.