Well, here we go again... I managed to find a guy that actually could prepare a brake unit casting better than I could - an impossible dream come true. The golden rule is to always locate people that are better than you to bring on board into your staffing. I actually did it, and Rob really took care of business! But.... here comes the end (again). Rob is from Chicago, but fell in love and married a woman here in Nashville a few years ago. They have unfortunately divorced, though have tried and tried to reconcile their marriage to no avail. This has impacted Rob deeply. Despite how much he loves his job, he now (understandably?) feels the fiery need to get away from his ex wife as far away as he can - not just the other side of town. I have tried and tried to make his existence here at Hydratech as wonderful as possible, doing everything I could to keep him on board, paying him well, taking good care of him.
We had a classic end of the work week discussion, and Rob dropped the bomb on me that he has had it with his ex, and desperately wants to get as far away from her as possible, likely going back home to his roots in Chicago, or possibly swinging the other way to stay with some family in Texas. Either way, he has agreed to stay another month, willing to train anybody that can fill his shoes. No amount of money I have offered him to stay is going to change his mind - it's not about money for him in this scenario. Naturally, we have guys here that want his position, but I am not convinced that they may be able to step up to the challenge (no slight against them - they are good men). Working a brake unit casting into expert precision with carbide cutters is an art, as you can always take the metal off, but you can't realistically put it back on (DOH!). Shaping the castings into perfection, then painting them into glory is something that takes a very specific artistic talent that you don't see very often. Rob can take a rough raw OE brake unit, carbide it into perfection in less than hour (amazing), put a couple of expertly applied coats of paint on it, and achieve total perfection. The kicker? He can do it without having to even do any corrective sanding in between coats - AMAZING. You can want to do it, but "you have either got the mojo magic talent or you don't". Yes, a person with enough drive or will to succeed can get there, but the path to perfection may be a long one unless you have got the mojo.
This drives me nuts, as it means I am likely going to have to cover this position
again. I am already so damned busy as it is that covering for another 40 hour position is going to murder me. With my Diabetes slowly taking me down, I just can't do
half the things I used to be able to do just a short few years ago. I built a
wicked 488 stroker for my 442 as a 50th birthday present to myself. I patiently waited until I had 500 miles on the build. As soon as I dropped the hammer for the very first time, I blew the highly prepared Grand National 200R4 darned near right out of the car. I then ordered in a GM Performance 572XP 4L85E to swap in, but have not been able to get to it in over two long years now. It breaks my heart to walk by my 442 up on the hoist in the shop 50 times a day, knowing that I am just too busy with Hydratech to get into the considerable troubles it is going to take to graft in the new trans (gutting the interior for some floor pan mods needed to accommodate this beastly trans). The engine also got hurt when this happened, as it revved up to kingdom come when it happened, dropping 30 lbs of oil pressure afterwards, so I have to also dive back into the engine to see what happened in there too.
At least it is sitting in a fully climate controlled shop staying shiny and bright! Long nights burning the midnight oil until the sun comes up covering for this position is something I am NOT looking forward to if I can't find the right candidate - I just can't physically do it anymore. Of course Rob is going to work with our existing guys to see if we may be able to get them skilled up enough, though I just don't see it happening. No slight what so ever against my other guys that want it, but they are more mechanical than artistic. Who knows, maybe one of them will reach for the golden ring and surprise me. Meanwhile, I have to put this post back up
(again) in the hopes that it just might hit the right target. Sometimes it is just dumb luck to be at the right place at the right time despite the odds!
Sooooo.... If there is by chance a member here, or possibly a person that you may know that could possibly fit the position, by all means do please let me know.
Thank you kindly!
