The Wrench Monkey's Lounge - Page 4

*Svetlana* · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarGate

No Way Jose!!! Theres only one jack n coke. The real thing.

Aye aye on that

Never been into cocktails much, but we've always got an ample supply of Jack and a few Coca-Cola's around for when the need strikes

dsmack · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Svetlana

Aye aye on that

Never been into cocktails much, but we've always got an ample supply of Jack and a few Coca-Cola's around for when the need strikes

... Now just do away with that nasty Coke, substitute ONE ice cube, and you're all set!

My best friend and former room mate from college days has his entire pantry stocked with every known item from Good Old Jack Daniels. He was lucky enough to have his younger sister marry a fine gentleman who became the General Sales Manager for the company. It certainly gets liquid when I visit him!
Don't usually remember much about the previous evening's festivities, though.

Saleenguy · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by A2rider

For booze, you must either tell stories or agree to what we say!

I was under the impression men always had to do what women say.....or suffer the consequences.

Saleenguy · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Svetlana

*Bonnie stumbles into this little corner of the forum whilst sipping some whiskey and pop....*

Wow! There's life here!

*Bonnie passes around some jack and cokes AND some Hair of the Dog for the tomorrow morning.... looks like you're all gonna need some

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Thanks

A2rider · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saleenguy

I was under the impression men always had to do what women say.....or suffer the consequences.

You're a mechanic, I've checked you out. Pull up a seat and join in!

And yes, we want stories, good, bad or other wise.

zedx11 · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saleenguy

I was under the impression men always had to do what women say.....or suffer the consequences.

that's the way it works around here.

A2rider · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by zedx11

that's the way it works around here.

Yes, dear, I will buy a new bike.

Yes, dear, I do need a full set of leathers.

Yes, dear, we do need a GPS.

StarGate · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by A2rider

And yes, we want stories, good, bad or other wise.

OK, here's a story with a happy ending no less. I didn't have to go to the job today so I decided to sleep in. Got up, drank a few cups of coffee then decided to go outside. I like to fell down the steps as I walked out the door. Now before I go ahead with story, this let me give you a little bit about what lead up to this point. I had heard that a friend of mine had a fire in his little shop this winter. I dropped by a few weeks ago to see if there was anything I could do. Turns out his bike was in the building when it burned and it was a total loss of structure and contents. He has a couple of old Honda parts bikes there that he says are too far gone to fix up, so I mentioned parting them out on ebay. Yada yada yada one thing led to another and the subject of a luggage rack came up. I said I had been watching ebay trying to find one that would fit mine. He said he's got one so I said I'd be interested in buying it if it would fit my bike. He said it's one of the universal fit type and I could have it if he can find it. Here is what I saw when I walked out the front door.

A very nice luggage rack with the adjustable backrest that can be set for passenger or for the driver. The chrome is in very good shape but the backrest pad needs to be recovered. I've already taken the end mounts off because I have to modify or make a new bracket that attaches the front to the shock mount but that will be easy. I've already started on the new brackets and I'll probably carry the pad in to be covered this weekend. I've seen racks like this on ebay going for 120-200 so I have no problem investing in new cover for the pad.

A2rider · 07-14-2008

A new rack and drinking with Bonnie. Your life is now complete.

LoudFastUgly · 07-14-2008

Absolute worst experience with a customer ever.
A really long story that only mechanics would understand.

By LoudFastUgly

At times this story may seem unbelievable. I did my best to be true to the moment.

I have worked in the material handling industy as a tech for over 8 years, mostly as a lift truck mechanic. I've worked with the smallest and the biggest clients. I've worked with the most demanding (LTL or less than load cross dock) and the least (pharmacutical) and the most ignorant pestulant pricks in the universe (Grocery or 3rd party logistics).

One day in February, I was called to go to a LTL account.

LTL is not warehousing. They strip down truckloads, seperate and divert the loads to dedicated run drivers and they deliver the loot to the end user.
Essentially, your fine china, and other exotic low volume purchases get dumped off of a 52' trailer by a guy who gets paid directly based on his productivity, dumped unceremoniously on the floor after crossing over a metal dock that is sitting on an angle that only Evil Kneivil wouldn't shy away from, and all this with the engine running at full governor speed. We should have been replacing drive tires here almost every 6 weeks to prevent vibration damage to the trucks (no suspension on a lift truck). They'd never let us. In a decent account they'd last over a year.

I've been to this client many times as a tech, and as team leader over safety issues (this client actually had an industrial accident that resulted in a death, a man inadvertantly reversed over his driving partner during a 'brake inspection' on a rig. His partner was also his son. No joke). One of the main complaints from my guys was the cold. This account has no heat in their warehouse, and the shape of the building (Imagine 50 loading dock doors on the south side, 50 on the north, 50 foot wide building - the lift truck drivers are on commission, they wouldn't close a door to keep mother teresa alive.) resulted in a wind tunnel. We'd often light brake cleaner fires on the concrete to warm our hands during prolongued jobs. No Joke.

The call at the LTL account was 'a problem with the forks on a rental truck'. Typically, the last thing to get destroyed on a lift truck is the forks - 100 Lbs of 2.5 x 4 x 42" steel doesn't get trashed too easily. So, after I arrive on site and produce my reflective vest (the prevention to running over your own children in a commercial truck lot) I locate the unit. It's burried behind somebody's new lounger couch; The fork hanger (the part the forks 'hang on' to) and forks are laying on the ground beside the rear of the forklift. Not Good. All 9 of the lower mounting bolts have be cleaned off - remember the Evil Knievel loading docks? If you don't lift the forks up with a load on board, and drive across the dock, the plate will catch the forks and hanger and rip it off with a KBANGGGGG.
Of course, no one knows what happened for sure...

I told the contact "Jammy", that his company would have to pay for the damages. He requested a quote.

This was the game. We would quote, they would squak, and cry poor me; promise to buy more lift trucks from us and get a discount on the quote, off of my sweat equity as parts are parts and could never be discounted.

Certainly, a 4 hour job quoted by the tech should only pay 2.5. The tech is just being greedy.

So I grabbed the fork hanger and forks, dropped them off at the machine shop that i use for quotes to repair (They'd NEVER pay for new) and ordered the little things to complete the job (the 9 bolts, 2 special washers each.).

Well, along comes March, and the quote has been approved after 45 days, oh, and if you could complete the job today that'd be great! Says the Customer service rep who's boobs are bigger than her brain. As it turns out, several more rental lift trucks have been returned by this same client, now they want mine up and running so they won't have to pay to send another one out!

Things are always slow after Christmas till easter, so I was glad to have any work, even if it was that particular sh*thole. I don't remember how cold it was that day, but it was damn cold. Frost on the windshield right after you cleaned it with washer fluid cold. I'd basically be working in the same temps.

So, off to the parts counter. Wheres the bolts and washers??? "We didn't bother to order them from the factory, it's just hardware...". I hate parts people. Grab an assortment of what might work times 9 from our rusty bins. Race up to the machine shop (25 minutes in now, 2 hours left in the quote) grab the forks and hanger. Fly up to the client (40 minutes) park my truck, drop off the hanger, move my truck to a 'parking spot' - in front of the garbage container, there is nowhere else.

Grab tools and go inside... where the f*ck is the lift truck? They've moved it? WTF? Track it down amongst the sea of flotsam, turn the key... dead meat. Nothing, the dash lights barely come on. 45 days sitting in wind tunnel in the heart of a Canadian winter. The B*stards couldn't even bother to start it up every once in a while after they killed it. Back to my van, grab booster cables (50 minutes in) run back inside, carjack the maintenance guys lift truck and boost, boost, boost!.
Well folks, smoke em if you got em. Nothing worse than trying to coerse a propane powered vehicle back to life after a nice long rest outdoors (as this account basically was). Run back to my truck, grab my torch, back inside and use the open flame torch to heat the convertor on the propane system. Yes, an open flame on a propane convertor (makes liquid propane into gas via engine coolant - propane boils at -44C, which is fine, but the diaphragms in the convertor need warmth like you and I). Wait for the explosion... Scribe 'ALL TO WIFE' on the top of my little tool box... Remove the heat and giver a go. Burrrr-rurrr... Burr rurr rurr rururruaapppp! ITS ALIVE! Pull the cables off, ITS DEAD. OH YOU B*STARD! BURRRRpapapapa keep your foot in it... and were off after a full minute with the carb pegged open. The maintenance guy is amazed, says to me "I told Jammy it would never start again, it sat there for almost a month!" Great. Thanks pal. 1 and half hours in to the job.

Run the sh*tbox back to where I left the fork hanger, mount it, sort out the hardware and apply Green Threadlocker to every last one. You mechanics know what i just did. 2 Hours, 20 minutes in, the fork hanger is mint.

Chuck tools, booster cables and torches into my van and fire it up. Find and finish the paper work for the job, run back inside and drive the lift truck up to the contact "Jammys" office in the dispatch bubble and get a hope to get a signature. An office with all glass walls. Talk to the guy at the counter, he tells "Jammy" I'm there.

This is the part where I Get REALLY ANGRY.

Jammy goes out of his way to ignore me. He knows the sh*tbox won't start, and is avoiding me; probably thinks I need to requote.

This goes on for 15 solid minutes. I'm watching this guy, he even walked right by me, passed right in front of my held out hand! He's just being a **** now.

OOOH, NOW IM MAD. Call up bigboobs. Explain in none to kind terms what has gone on, ask her to call.
Jammy, gets the call, sees the number on his cell and puts it away without answering!

RAAAGE! OK D*CKHEAD, I'm outta here, signature or not, I'm done.

I'm halfway through the warehouse, en route to my van when I hear my name, it's Jammy.

SNAP<> I lost it. Click, did you hear it? That was the decency switch, getting turned off.

"What, you want to waste some more of my F*cking time, A**whole? F*ck YOU!" Lots more of this. The warehouse that is usually deafening with activity is dead silent. No Joke. Jammy is the warehouse manager.

This is where it gets funny. A dapper tall man (still don't know his name) intervenes what was certainly to be a 5 second fury. He makes many attempts to tell me that Jammy would never do such a thing after I explain myself. Keep in mind, I'm not getting paid after 2.5 hours. Were now closer to 3.5 with all the waiting and screaming. I explained this to dapper almost toe to toe.

Keep in mind, DEAD SILENCE, especially Jammy. As a matter of fact, ever since dapper stepped out, Jammy's eyes haven't left his shoes... and hasn't said a word.

I realized it was time to go - still no signature. I walked over to the lift truck, cranked the ignition and it comes to life almost instantly. Turn, and salute both Jammy and dapper with my middle finger.

All the way out, I was waiting for the shovel across the middle of my back, a brick thrown at my head - LTL guys define the term roughneck. Nothing.

I never heard a word about it, period from my office. I actually confessed months later, and they outright laughed. Dapper, is the purchasing agent, and the CEO. This is a multi-provincial account.

Later, my guys told me Jammy said I wasn't welcome to return.

I laughed.

A2rider · 07-14-2008

Those are the stories I've been waiting for!

zedx11 · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoudFastUgly

lift truck mechanic.

I was actually thinking about doing this for a company in Springfield. it was a lot more money than I was making as a MC mechanic. kinda glad I didn't after reading that.

StarGate · 07-14-2008

I'm just glad I never broke any of the ones I've driven.

LoudFastUgly · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by zedx11

I was actually thinking about doing this for a company in Springfield. it was a lot more money than I was making as a MC mechanic. kinda glad I didn't after reading that.

Every penny is a prisoner in the material handling world. Most businesses are run by accountants now. The ones i feel sorry for are the temps at the warehouses, half the wage, all the cost of living.

i hate it with a passion.

Single income, wife 2 kids mortgage. My mantra.

LoudFastUgly · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarGate

I'm just glad I never broke any of the ones I've driven.

mechanics have to eat too

LoudFastUgly · 07-14-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by A2rider

Those are the stories I've been waiting for!

i've got more, some are funny some are sad.

someone elses turn first

A2rider · 07-14-2008

I can't believe the guy ran over and killed his own son.

Karma, maybe? Too many Legos left on the floor?

LoudFastUgly · 07-15-2008

Who adjusts 's' cams at night, with their son laying under a truck that is idling?

LoudFastUgly · 07-15-2008

TheStar.com | News | Woman injured in industrial accident

Read the bottom of the article.

07-14-2008	#70 (permalink)
LoudFastUgly Got KZ? BTK Expert Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ontario Kanata Posts: 882	Absolute worst experience with a customer ever. A really long story that only mechanics would understand. By LoudFastUgly At times this story may seem unbelievable. I did my best to be true to the moment. I have worked in the material handling industy as a tech for over 8 years, mostly as a lift truck mechanic. I've worked with the smallest and the biggest clients. I've worked with the most demanding (LTL or less than load cross dock) and the least (pharmacutical) and the most ignorant pestulant pricks in the universe (Grocery or 3rd party logistics). One day in February, I was called to go to a LTL account. LTL is not warehousing. They strip down truckloads, seperate and divert the loads to dedicated run drivers and they deliver the loot to the end user. Essentially, your fine china, and other exotic low volume purchases get dumped off of a 52' trailer by a guy who gets paid directly based on his productivity, dumped unceremoniously on the floor after crossing over a metal dock that is sitting on an angle that only Evil Kneivil wouldn't shy away from, and all this with the engine running at full governor speed. We should have been replacing drive tires here almost every 6 weeks to prevent vibration damage to the trucks (no suspension on a lift truck). They'd never let us. In a decent account they'd last over a year. I've been to this client many times as a tech, and as team leader over safety issues (this client actually had an industrial accident that resulted in a death, a man inadvertantly reversed over his driving partner during a 'brake inspection' on a rig. His partner was also his son. No joke). One of the main complaints from my guys was the cold. This account has no heat in their warehouse, and the shape of the building (Imagine 50 loading dock doors on the south side, 50 on the north, 50 foot wide building - the lift truck drivers are on commission, they wouldn't close a door to keep mother teresa alive.) resulted in a wind tunnel. We'd often light brake cleaner fires on the concrete to warm our hands during prolongued jobs. No Joke. The call at the LTL account was 'a problem with the forks on a rental truck'. Typically, the last thing to get destroyed on a lift truck is the forks - 100 Lbs of 2.5 x 4 x 42" steel doesn't get trashed too easily. So, after I arrive on site and produce my reflective vest (the prevention to running over your own children in a commercial truck lot) I locate the unit. It's burried behind somebody's new lounger couch; The fork hanger (the part the forks 'hang on' to) and forks are laying on the ground beside the rear of the forklift. Not Good. All 9 of the lower mounting bolts have be cleaned off - remember the Evil Knievel loading docks? If you don't lift the forks up with a load on board, and drive across the dock, the plate will catch the forks and hanger and rip it off with a KBANGGGGG. Of course, no one knows what happened for sure... I told the contact "Jammy", that his company would have to pay for the damages. He requested a quote. This was the game. We would quote, they would squak, and cry poor me; promise to buy more lift trucks from us and get a discount on the quote, off of my sweat equity as parts are parts and could never be discounted. Certainly, a 4 hour job quoted by the tech should only pay 2.5. The tech is just being greedy. So I grabbed the fork hanger and forks, dropped them off at the machine shop that i use for quotes to repair (They'd NEVER pay for new) and ordered the little things to complete the job (the 9 bolts, 2 special washers each.). Well, along comes March, and the quote has been approved after 45 days, oh, and if you could complete the job today that'd be great! Says the Customer service rep who's boobs are bigger than her brain. As it turns out, several more rental lift trucks have been returned by this same client, now they want mine up and running so they won't have to pay to send another one out! Things are always slow after Christmas till easter, so I was glad to have any work, even if it was that particular shthole. I don't remember how cold it was that day, but it was damn cold. Frost on the windshield right after you cleaned it with washer fluid cold. I'd basically be working in the same temps. So, off to the parts counter. Wheres the bolts and washers??? "We didn't bother to order them from the factory, it's just hardware...". I hate parts people. Grab an assortment of what might work times 9 from our rusty bins. Race up to the machine shop (25 minutes in now, 2 hours left in the quote) grab the forks and hanger. Fly up to the client (40 minutes) park my truck, drop off the hanger, move my truck to a 'parking spot' - in front of the garbage container, there is nowhere else. Grab tools and go inside... where the fck is the lift truck? They've moved it? WTF? Track it down amongst the sea of flotsam, turn the key... dead meat. Nothing, the dash lights barely come on. 45 days sitting in wind tunnel in the heart of a Canadian winter. The Bstards couldn't even bother to start it up every once in a while after they killed it. Back to my van, grab booster cables (50 minutes in) run back inside, carjack the maintenance guys lift truck and boost, boost, boost!. Well folks, smoke em if you got em. Nothing worse than trying to coerse a propane powered vehicle back to life after a nice long rest outdoors (as this account basically was). Run back to my truck, grab my torch, back inside and use the open flame torch to heat the convertor on the propane system. Yes, an open flame on a propane convertor (makes liquid propane into gas via engine coolant - propane boils at -44C, which is fine, but the diaphragms in the convertor need warmth like you and I). Wait for the explosion... Scribe 'ALL TO WIFE' on the top of my little tool box... Remove the heat and giver a go. Burrrr-rurrr... Burr rurr rurr rururruaapppp! ITS ALIVE! Pull the cables off, ITS DEAD. OH YOU BSTARD! BURRRRpapapapa keep your foot in it... and were off after a full minute with the carb pegged open. The maintenance guy is amazed, says to me "I told Jammy it would never start again, it sat there for almost a month!" Great. Thanks pal. 1 and half hours in to the job. Run the shtbox back to where I left the fork hanger, mount it, sort out the hardware and apply Green Threadlocker to every last one. You mechanics know what i just did. 2 Hours, 20 minutes in, the fork hanger is mint. Chuck tools, booster cables and torches into my van and fire it up. Find and finish the paper work for the job, run back inside and drive the lift truck up to the contact "Jammys" office in the dispatch bubble and get a hope to get a signature. An office with all glass walls. Talk to the guy at the counter, he tells "Jammy" I'm there. This is the part where I Get REALLY ANGRY. Jammy goes out of his way to ignore me. He knows the shtbox won't start, and is avoiding me; probably thinks I need to requote. This goes on for 15 solid minutes. I'm watching this guy, he even walked right by me, passed right in front of my held out hand! He's just being a **** now. OOOH, NOW IM MAD. Call up bigboobs. Explain in none to kind terms what has gone on, ask her to call. Jammy, gets the call, sees the number on his cell and puts it away without answering! RAAAGE! OK DCKHEAD, I'm outta here, signature or not, I'm done. I'm halfway through the warehouse, en route to my van when I hear my name, it's Jammy. SNAP<> I lost it. Click, did you hear it? That was the decency switch, getting turned off. "What, you want to waste some more of my Fcking time, A*whole? Fck YOU!" Lots more of this. The warehouse that is usually deafening with activity is dead silent. No Joke. Jammy is the warehouse manager. This is where it gets funny. A dapper tall man (still don't know his name) intervenes what was certainly to be a 5 second fury. He makes many attempts to tell me that Jammy would never do such a thing after I explain myself. Keep in mind, I'm not getting paid after 2.5 hours. Were now closer to 3.5 with all the waiting and screaming. I explained this to dapper almost toe to toe. Keep in mind, DEAD SILENCE, especially Jammy. As a matter of fact, ever since dapper stepped out, Jammy's eyes haven't left his shoes... and hasn't said a word. I realized it was time to go - still no signature. I walked over to the lift truck, cranked the ignition and it comes to life almost instantly. Turn, and salute both Jammy and dapper with my middle finger. All the way out, I was waiting for the shovel across the middle of my back, a brick thrown at my head - LTL guys define the term roughneck. Nothing. I never heard a word about it, period from my office. I actually confessed months later, and they outright laughed. Dapper, is the purchasing agent, and the CEO. This is a multi-provincial account. Later, my guys told me Jammy said I wasn't welcome to return. I laughed. __________________ KZ550A4

07-14-2008	#73 (permalink)
StarGate Navy Vet S.A.R. crew BTK Expert Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: NE Arkansas Posts: 5,028	I'm just glad I never broke any of the ones I've driven. __________________ Mike Original Owner 1981 KZ1000-K1 LTD 2000 Suzuki King Quad Photos

07-15-2008	#78 (permalink)
LoudFastUgly Got KZ? BTK Expert Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ontario Kanata Posts: 882	Who adjusts 's' cams at night, with their son laying under a truck that is idling? __________________ KZ550A4

07-15-2008	#79 (permalink)
LoudFastUgly Got KZ? BTK Expert Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Ontario Kanata Posts: 882	TheStar.com \| News \| Woman injured in industrial accident Read the bottom of the article. __________________ KZ550A4

07-14-2008	#69 (permalink)
A2rider Banned BTK Expert Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: KCK Posts: 19,729	A new rack and drinking with Bonnie. Your life is now complete.

07-14-2008	#71 (permalink)
A2rider Banned BTK Expert Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: KCK Posts: 19,729	Those are the stories I've been waiting for!

07-14-2008	#77 (permalink)
A2rider Banned BTK Expert Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: KCK Posts: 19,729	I can't believe the guy ran over and killed his own son. Karma, maybe? Too many Legos left on the floor?