It's what's between the lines that counts / myLot

Rockingham, Australia

June 22, 2025 2:32am CST

In another life, we were partners in a farm machinery business. At one stage, they took on a young mechanic but soon found he was more of a liability than an asset. They gave him six months notice, citing there wouldn’t be enough work coming in to keep him on. When our partner saw the reference, he was surprised at some of the terms. Vince had said mechanic was reliable, punctual and aimed to please. He explained these to his partner by saying the young man could be relied on to stuff up every job he was given; he was punctual in that he was regularly ten minutes late to work and always knocked off early so you couldn’t deny he was punctual and he always aimed to please although he never quite managed to hit the mark.

22 people like this

17 responses

snowy

@snowy22315 (191572)

• United States

22 Jun

Somebody else undoubtedly got stuck with him.

4 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (356574)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jun

He was costing the company money as his work was substandard.

3 people like this

Arunima Singh

@arunima25 (90873)

• Bangalore, India

22 Jun

Nice of Vince to notice the positive traits. It doesn't seem like an attitude problem there, he just might be slow to pick up. I hope that he is doing well wherever he is.

3 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (356574)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jun

They had a lot of return work from jobs where he hadn't done work properly. He was starting to cost the company too much money. I know he got another job quickly so I hope he did okay.

2 people like this

Arunima Singh

@arunima25 (90873)

• Bangalore, India

23 Jun

@JudyEv Hmm...businesses can't keep up with such employees. I just hope that he could get things better in his next job.

Anna

@LadyDuck (477089)

• Italy

22 Jun

Vince was nice to try to help that boy, of course it did not really help those who needed a worker.

2 people like this

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Anna

@LadyDuck (477089)

• Italy

22 Jun

@JudyEv I fully agree with you, it's sad not to give another opportunity to someone.

1 person likes this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (356574)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jun

The reference enabled him to get another job so it was probably better than a more brutal reference.

2 people like this

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@DaddyEvil (151649)

• United States

22 Jun

That's an interesting reference... I hope the young man learned to do better at one of his later jobs.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (356574)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jun

Maybe he just needed more experience but any work he did mostly came back to the workshop because it wasn't done properly.

2 people like this

@DaddyEvil (151649)

• United States

22 Jun

@JudyEv That's always possible.

1 person likes this

LindaOH

@LindaOHio (192119)

• United States

22 Jun

I think I would have just verified dates of employment and not said anything else.

3 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (356574)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jun

Fair enough.

2 people like this

Jim Bauer

@porwest (101617)

• United States

22 Jun

I tend to believe in "survival of the fittest." Let people succeed and fail on their own times. It's their turn always to shine. If they are dim lights, it's on them. lol

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (356574)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jun

That's fair enough. You can't afford to keep someone on who is costing you money. Every job this guy did was brought back for one reason or another.

2 people like this

Jim Bauer

@porwest (101617)

• United States

22 Jun

@JudyEv Yeah. Look, at the end of the day, the purpose of business is not to employ people. Employing people is simply a byproduct of successful business. The main purpose of business is to make money, and in order to do that, you need CAPABLE people, not just people who get paid.

1 person likes this

Always smiling

@allknowing (148096)

• India

22 Jun

Workers are a class by themselves - a mystery I am going through that just now

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (356574)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jun

That's a fair comment that workers are a class by themselves.

2 people like this

Juliaacv

@Juliaacv (53970)

• Canada

22 Jun

Hopefully the mechanic got along to another company and eventually learned that there is more to his job then turning a wrench to be successful.

2 people like this

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (356574)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jun

Probably the main factor was that he wasn't a very good mechanic. Jobs often came back as unsatisfactory.

2 people like this

rakski

@rakski (140481)

• Philippines

23 Jun

Vince clearly had a sharp sense of humor, and a way with words. It’s funny how a reference can sound glowing on the surface, but with the right context, it tells a very different story.

Shiva

@Shiva49 (27346)

• Singapore

22 Jun

Attitude matters more when we are young and learning the ropes. Once we are on a firm footing, things will become easier. I recall learning the hard way and putting all the effort needed to lay the foundation for a secure future.

1 person likes this