Lamb’s Tire & Automotive
Dear Garrett,
Today was a very surprising day for us both. You went to work at the Lambs Tire and Automotive Store in Georgetown this morning. You arrived early which you always do but when you arrived there you were informed by an assistant manager that you no longer worked there! Yes, this was a shock for you and me too as well as for some if not all of the other employees who get payed with this online paycheck stub template.
At the time of your termination, you had worked at Lambs for nearly a year and a half. Recently and on multiple occasions, you had informed me and others that you really liked your job at Lambs. During your time there you had advanced immensely in the amount, type and quality of work you were able to perform. You began your work at Lambs as a beginning apprentice. With the support of technicians like Bo, Steve and others, you advanced in knowledge and ability quickly. This was not unusual for you as you have always advanced quickly in whatever you set out to do. Not only did you graduate as Salutatorian in your high school class but you graduated early, remember? On at least one occasion at Lambs, I remember hearing that you had actually logged the highest number of flag hours company wide in one week.
Recently you informed me and others of your excitement that Lambs would participate in the acquisition of your ASE Certification qualifications. Your excitement regarding that anticipation in your potential career development at Lambs was very welcome and encouraging for many of us to see. It was shocking to see that hope vanish so quickly when you were notified of the termination of your employment at Lambs today.
As you know, I have expressed an interest in you speaking with the owner or a vice president level person at Lambs. Being a business owner myself, it is my opinion that if a higher level person were to know about the circumstances of your termination they would be most concerned about the loss of you as an employee and an asset to their company. I have always admired your devotion to your work, the speed and care with which you perform your work and your honesty and integrity. I would expect a corporate level person at Lambs as well as any Lambs manager to feel the same way.
Speaking of honesty, it appears that is was your honesty that resulted in your termination. It is my understanding, that you had informed your manager that you had been selected for Jury Duty and that you would be taking two more days off at work — Tuesday which was your scheduled day off and then Wednesday to complete your second day Jury Duty service. When you went in on Monday which was your first day of Jury Duty, your manager asked you if you were looking for another job and you replied yes. Actually, you had not begun looking for another job but were considering that as a possibility as a result of recently disclosed corporate decisions which would adversely affect your pay and job stability for your work at Lambs.
It is my understanding that a few days prior to your appointment to Jury Duty service, your store employees were informed of two new pay policies which would significantly impact your pay as well as your job security at Lambs. You were informed that your pay to perform an oil change on a vehicle would be lowered from a .3 flag hour rate to a flat $2.00. It is my understanding that twenty minutes is allowed to perform an oil change. This means that if you performed three oil changes in an hour you would be earning $6.00 per hour assuming you were only given oil changes to do in that one hour period.
Along with this reduction in pay, you were also informed that the time you spent performing oil changes would not count toward the flag hours you were required to log to make your weekly hourly requirement/quota set by the company to keep your job. It is my understanding that you were also informed that you would only be paid $3.00 to perform a Vehicle Safety Inspection and that this time would not count either toward your weekly flag hour requirement.
In preparing to terminate you, the manager wrote you up for having a negative attitude. I noticed too that your attitude had slipped from very positive to very negative when you were informed of the aledged Corporate decision to lower your pay and adversely (for the employee) amend the flag hour policy. When I saw this, I asked you to keep up the good work you had always done at Lambs and simply “weather out” the new policy to see how things would work out with the new policy in place. This you were prepared to do had you not been so abruptly terminated. It is my opinion that had the manager taken some time to discuss the entire matter with you in a competent manner, this employment termination from Lambs would have never occurred.
It is my opinion that someone in Corporate at Lambs would like to have seen your situation handled quite differently. When you arrived for work Thursday, the assistant manager informed you that the manager said you had quit. You did not quit nor did you tell the manager you were quitting. You simply answered his question honestly when he asked you if you were looking for another job. He could no doubt sense that you, along with other workers, would be looking elsewhere for a job when the notice was given to reduce your wages and at the same time make it more difficult to meet your weekly flag hour requirement jeopardizing not only your ability to make an adequate living but simply keeping your job as well.
It is my observation that you are handling this entire matter in a very mature manner. You are not speaking ill of the manager. You have actually told me he is a good manager which you have told me also about your preceding managers at Lambs. I actually felt that you would have manager potential someday at Lambs if they had kept you there long enough and supported you well in your development as a more fully ASE Certified mechanic and employee. You told me that you are feeling calm about the matter although you are feeling stressed about the loss of income from being terminated as an employee at Lambs.
Garrett, it is still my opinion that there is someone at Lambs who would be most eager to know about this matter and call you in to discuss your work and potential for a future at Lambs Tire and Automotive.
Dad
Mark Wilson
512.751.6275
Email from Raymond Kemp June 26, 2013
Dear Raymond — thanks for your comment re Garrett’s job loss at Lambs Tire and Automotive.
“I realize that all of this happened over 3 months ago, but I too, believe that when one door closes another one opens. I hope by now Garrett has a much better job with much better pay. Graduating Salutatorian (congratulations) should give you some other options as scholarships general are offered to you. My best to you and your dad!” Raymond Kemp
Yes, Garrett has a great new job which he loves www.solomoncorp.com. He has just completed his 90 day probation period at Solomon Corp and now has full benefits — health insurance, 401K and paid vacation. It’s a great job and one with a future.
Thank you…Mark