Marinucci: Unreasonable demands undermine staff respect

Impulsive, unreasonable demands undermine workers' respect at any business, including automotive service facilities.

Without workers' respect, bosses struggle to lead effectively. Solid leadership often spells the difference between average and high-performing employees.

A prime example of a capricious, unfair command is ordering service personnel to boost output specifically to meet a boss' personal needs.

This means selling a lot more tires, maintenance and repairs simply because the boss has personal bills to pay — financial obligations that don't benefit the business.

I am a product of a different era, and my views don't always mesh with those of younger people.

My parents and industry mentors emphasized that a boss' personal obligations — especially financial ones — were the boss' business and no one else's. Money issues were highly private matters rather than causal chatter for employees or customers.

Whining to everyone about personal matters was called "airing dirty laundry," and the practice was not considered classy or professional. The older I get, the more strongly I believe this.

Instead of airing issues in public, seek help and advice from qualified people in private.

I have crisscrossed the country for years researching diagnostic procedures at auto repair facilities. I also have presented technical seminars nationwide since 1993.

These travels have put me face-to-face with lots of service writers and techs, discussing their lives. During these informal bull sessions, the topic of heavy-handed bosses has come up — unsolicited — more than once.

Furthermore, the instances they cited sounded remarkably similar, regardless of employer or geographic location.

For example, I heard that a common reason for bosses to push for greater profits was their desire to cover college tuition for their children.

In other cases, bosses boasted that they were bankrolling extravagant vacations in exotic places. Or, they crowed about hosting lavish, reality show-style wedding receptions.

Rank-and-file employees often cited the seemingly obvious contradiction — bosses bragging about sparing no expense for a vacation or wedding while whining about the exorbitant expense of these things.

Service writers and techs also recounted bosses' boasting about purchases such as new boats or cars.

Employees repeatedly have told me that it was galling to hear bosses describe various luxuries and costly hobbies as if these things were life's necessities.

Being told to work full-throttle and having their bonuses and incentive plans canceled to help pay for these supposed necessities was particularly insulting, they said.

Service writers and techs also told me that boastful bosses sometimes risked making an uncomfortable contrast between their personal pleasures and the needs of their businesses.

For example, it was hard for the bosses to justify extravagant personal spending when the roof over the customer waiting area leaked, the service department's floor drains needed professional cleaning, and some shop lights and ventilation fans had been broken for weeks.

Make no mistake about it, hard-working tire dealers and service shop operators are entitled to the fruits of their labors. However, service professionals and techs are, too.

Every boss has to balance personal and business expenses, planning ahead for big outlays.

For instance, earning the money to pay for a child's education is a dream come true for many parents.

Similarly, some parents who bankroll their daughters' weddings describe it as being one of the greatest accomplishments of their lives.

I know owners and managers who, having worked hard all their lives, earned some relaxing pastimes. Fishing or restoring a classic car have become vital stress-relievers in their lives. (No one is more convinced than their spouses.)

I may risk overstating the obvious, but there's a night-and-day difference between a boss who squirrels away the dough needed to enjoy life and one who pulls much-needed capital from their businesses to pay for large personal expenses.

In the former case, they have anticipated college tuition or wedding reception costs by investing early and shrewdly. Although they coach their employees to work as productively and efficiently as possible, their goals reflect good business sense.

The latter example suggests blatant selfishness. Pushing workers to oversell stirs up disrespect and foments discontent.

These emotions often spur workers to look for new jobs.

Worse yet, this short-sighted approach eventually builds the boss' reputation as a hustler.

Ultimately, making unreasonable demands of employees for personal expenses is a high-risk, low-reward tactic.