Mistakes and How I Handle Them
If you think I have all of this figured out, then you are way off course. I’m just a guy writing about my experiences from the time I spent in all my years of doing one thing, and doing it all the time. Kinda sounds boring when you look at it that way I guess. Leaning over engine bays, doing the same stuff and installing a lot of the same parts day after day. I mean, at least it's not as bad as an 8x8 foot cubicle in an office you can't leave all day? Sorry to those who sit in a cubicle and if it makes you feel better I used to design office setups in the family business many many years ago and if yours sucks, it wasn't my fault.
What is it they say? School of hard knocks? Does that mean they come to your front door at your house or is that when something hits you smack in the head and you sit there cursing for a few minutes cause it hurts so bad. The phrase I use the most with any of my employees is “ ask me how I know”. It's kind of a funny phrase, being synonymous with, yeah I tried that and hurt myself. Next! But in a way, I think it also shows a moment of connection to the one learning and the one who got hit in the head 5 times. “Ask me how I know”. See how that works? I think it's funny.
If you have ever broken something that is not yours, how did you handle it? This is the big one at hand with any shop owner. I was first afraid when I started, but if I did something wrong that was totally on me, I sucked it up and told the customer. To my surprise the customer was understanding. You know why? They did not feel like this was another way to make more money. In fact, it was me personally saying I made a mistake. So for me the act of someone older giving me the respect of honesty - I just realized this goes full circle. The less afraid you are of your work, the less you have to worry about.
Do I still feel bad if something doesn't work, damn right I do. The thing is I do what it takes to examine and try to understand why. Sometimes when on the phone with a shop I work with, I don't have the answers. But there is not a time I am not willing to sit down and ask myself, what is really happening here. It’s easy to feel like you let down the guys who trust you, but you can also take that energy and apply it back to looking back over the work and finding the solution. And you also have compassion for the fact that in that moment they may have lost some faith in you. This is all a part of the process. You can not have rainbows every day of your life.