Frustration with continuing "staffing issues"

[WylieCoyote]

Having some issues with the transmission in my '18 Mustang. 2 local dealerships are telling me that I will need to drop the car off and let it set there between 7 days and 2.5 weeks before someone will look at it. I hung up with them and called Ford customer relations and opened a case. In the beginning of the call, my representative believed that she would be able to call the dealership and at least get it worked out where I can take them the car when they're ready to actually work on it, as she found it absurd that they want me to drop it off and let it sit for 2 weeks. The dealership basically shut her down with the excuse that they are short on transmission technicians. I know I am not the only one facing a situation like this. If you're having similar issues getting your car worked on, be sure to let Ford be made aware of your situation. They can't fix anything unless they know. I don't know what their plan of action is or if they even have one, but numbers make a difference when you start receiving thousands of complaints about the same issue. It is high time Ford started applying pressure to these dealerships to get their act together, or get out. But that starts with the community of car and truck owners that are directly impacted by this ridiculous situation.

I'm asking that you contact Ford (or any manufacturer) any time you face an egregious waiting period to get your car fixed. Squeaky wheels eventually get greased if the noise is deafening.

 

[D60]

Hope springs eternal

Jeep Cares is like the BBB: if the dealership cares, they might care about Jeep Cares. If the dealership doesn't care, Jeep Cares has exactly ZERO power or influence

 

[PWMDMD]

Food for thought.

I'm in health care. I have had positions open in my practice for +18 months. It is a combination of no one applying or completely unqualified candidates with criminal records applying. It has nothing to do with money. We are on a skeleton crew which means on days when someone calls out we've had to reschedule entire columns of patients. In 14 years with the exception of the past 2 years this never happened once because we always had extra people to fill-in. Every dentist I've spoken to in my state in every state in the US is having the same problem. We've had people yell obscenities at staff, threaten staff, demand to speak to the manager, demand to speak to me in the middle of a busy day, when the simple fact is we just do not have the manpower some days. This is the new norm for now in many sectors. I lose money when this happens too and if there was an easy or even difficult fix I and all my colleagues would've done it.

BTW...I will kick your ass out of the practice faster than Usain Bolt hopped up amphetamines if you yell, swear or threaten me or my staff - so that's fun too!

 

[CKN]

Food for thought.

I'm in health care. I have had positions open in my practice for +18 months. It is a combination of no one applying or completely unqualified candidates with criminal records applying. It has nothing to do with money. We are on a skeleton crew which means on days when someone calls out we've had to reschedule entire columns of patients. In 14 years with the exception of the past 2 years this never happened once because we always had extra people to fill-in. Every dentist I've spoken to in my state in every state in the US is having the same problem. We've had people yell obscenities at staff, threaten staff, demand to speak to the manager, demand to speak to me in the middle of a busy day, when the simple fact is we just do not have the manpower some days. This is the new norm for now in many sectors. I lose money when this happens too and if there was an easy or even difficult fix I and all my colleagues would've done it.

BTW...I will kick your ass out of the practice faster than Usain Bolt hopped up amphetamines if yell, swear or threaten me or my staff - so that's fun too!

Usually this indicative of not a high enough wage. We don't know who you are. What position(s) are open (for example) and what do they pay? I keep seeing posts about "government money" and people staying home and getting paid. Meanwhile I have looked all over the Internet and can't see that an abled bodied person getting paid to sit home, other than some limited unemployment benefits.

 

[MNgopher]

I'm assuming this isn't warranty work.

So if you keep driving it while its "having some issues", and then grenades itself even further, are you going to blame the dealer too?

Similar to the last poster, its a lot of fun trying to hire people right now. The last positions I filled we did not fully hire the crew we wanted and needed - we were at the bottom of the barrel and literally offered positions to every person who was actually qualified and didn't have problems with a background check... A really skilled position we had went unfilled for almost 2 years... Other positions have been open for 6 months or more. Running a skelton crew with no backup or redundancy...

Current unemployment rate here is 1.8%... If you want to be working, you can be - right now. There just aren't a lot of bodies on the bench these days.

If you know where the tree with qualified transmission techs are growing, there are a ton of places that would love to talk to them...

 

[RooflessVW]

A week to 2 week wait has never been abnormal.

 

[kpatter]

Usually this indicative of not a high enough wage. We don't know who you are. What position(s) are open (for example) and what do they pay? I keep seeing posts about "government money" and people staying home and getting paid. Meanwhile I have looked all over the Internet and can't see that an abled bodied person getting paid to sit home, other than some limited unemployment benefits.

exactly 100% correct. Low wages offered..

 

[bullwinkle]

Having some issues with the transmission in my '18 Mustang. 2 local dealerships are telling me that I will need to drop the car off and let it set there between 7 days and 2.5 weeks before someone will look at it. I hung up with them and called Ford customer relations and opened a case. In the beginning of the call, my representative believed that she would be able to call the dealership and at least get it worked out where I can take them the car when they're ready to actually work on it, as she found it absurd that they want me to drop it off and let it sit for 2 weeks. The dealership basically shut her down with the excuse that they are short on transmission technicians. I know I am not the only one facing a situation like this. If you're having similar issues getting your car worked on, be sure to let Ford be made aware of your situation. They can't fix anything unless they know. I don't know what their plan of action is or if they even have one, but numbers make a difference when you start receiving thousands of complaints about the same issue. It is high time Ford started applying pressure to these dealerships to get their act together, or get out. But that starts with the community of car and truck owners that are directly impacted by this ridiculous situation.

I'm asking that you contact Ford (or any manufacturer) any time you face an egregious waiting period to get your car fixed. Squeaky wheels eventually get greased if the noise is deafening.

I feel your pain-the 10 speed auto that Ford felt they had to put into my company 9K+ GVWR Transit has been slowly acting up more & more since new-slipping/flaring on shifts, slow to engage (& then sometimes with a loud bang) from Park to Reverse or Drive-I’m dreading the inevitable stealership visit. It’s going to have to die completely & be towed in first, I’m not dealing with Ford’s ridiculousness (yet) again.

 

[PWMDMD]

Usually this indicative of not a high enough wage. We don't know who you are. What position(s) are open (for example) and what do they pay? I keep seeing posts about "government money" and people staying home and getting paid. Meanwhile I have looked all over the Internet and can't see that an abled bodied person getting paid to sit home, other than some limited unemployment benefits.

Nope not wage related because 1. It is the entire industry in every state and this has been identified as the number one issue in the industry; 2. Ad simply says wage is negotiable based on experience and no one applies. The few who have applied didn't pass a CORI check.

We have hygienists making $60/hr plus benefits and assistants making $35/hr plus benefits. Hell, we have receptionists making $30/hr. Benefits are health insurance, 401K match, short-term disability, uniform allowance, paid vacation days, paid sick days, and eight paid holidays. WE'RE EVEN DONE BY 4PM EVERYDAY and no weekends. What else can I offer to at least make them apply? In the past, it was unusual to have a position unfilled for more than a couple weeks.

 

[The Critic]

Nope not wage related because 1. It is the entire industry in every state; 2. Ad simply says wage is negotiable based on experience and no one applies.

We have hygienists making $60/hr plus benefits and assistants making #35/hr plus benefits. Hell, we have receptionists making $30/hr.

So, where did all of the qualified candidates go? Did people just exit the workforce?

 

[MNgopher]

In some cases, yes - some estimates are there are 7-8 million less people in the workforce than there was 2+ years ago...

One type of example - one spouse changes jobs, gets a great pay raise, and suddenly the other spouse can afford to not work, and better balance work and family life. I know several folks who this is the case - the primary breadwinner is making so much more today, the other is a stay at home parent. Stop looking for work, and you aren't unemployed anymore.

We could look at how many folks passed away the last two years...

Look at our falling birthrate and wonder where all the kids are that should be coming - that aren't there...

Etc, etc...

 

[PWMDMD]

So, where did all of the qualified candidates go? Did people just exit the workforce?

Your guess is as good as mine? Different fields? Now a one worker house? Their parents basements? I mean I'd understand if they at least applied and then turned us down after we made an offer but no one applies. It's gotten vicious too. The few people getting hired tend to be longterm employees being lured away by other practices for stupid money only to move to another practice after being lured by insanely stupid money. There seems to be no "new blood" and we've had a few people retire early during CV-19 because it was just too much of a bother with all the new rules and regulations.

 

[PimTac]

So, where did all of the qualified candidates go? Did people just exit the workforce?

Tell him Johnny what he has won!!

 

[CKN]

Nope not wage related because 1. It is the entire industry in every state and this has been identified as the number one issue in the industry; 2. Ad simply says wage is negotiable based on experience and no one applies. The few who have applied didn't pass a CORI check.

We have hygienists making $60/hr plus benefits and assistants making $35/hr plus benefits. Hell, we have receptionists making $30/hr. Benefits are health insurance, 401K match, short-term disability, uniform allowance, paid vacation days, paid sick days, and eight paid holidays. What else can I offer to at least make them apply? In the past, it was unusual to have a position unfilled for more than a couple weeks.

ESOPs usually solve staffing issues. But obviously your kind of of services don't usually go this way.

 

[PimTac]

In some cases, yes - some estimates are there are 7-8 million less people in the workforce than there was 2+ years ago...

One type of example - one spouse changes jobs, gets a great pay raise, and suddenly the other spouse can afford to not work, and better balance work and family life. I know several folks who this is the case - the primary breadwinner is making so much more today, the other is a stay at home parent. Stop looking for work, and you aren't unemployed anymore.

We could look at how many folks passed away the last two years...

Look at our falling birthrate and wonder where all the kids are that should be coming - that aren't there...

Etc, etc...

Current labor force participation rate is 62.1%

Civilian labor force participation rate

www.bls.gov

 

[PWMDMD]

ESOPs usually solve staffing issues. But obviously your kind of of services don't usually go this way.

Nope...

 

[92saturnsl2]

We have the same issue at the company I work for, which is a blue collar trade (structural steel fabrication).

Entry level employees want $20+ / hr -- that's unskilled labor that needs training, which can be a wasted effort if they don't have the ability / ambition / work ethic which is completely unknown when you hire a new employee. We've upped our pay scale probably 30-50% for entry-level in the last couple years but those three things are missing almost every time with every new employee, so we end up letting most go. The ones we keep are generally the type that will at least make an effort and show up MOST days.

Many of the older folks with decades of experience are retiring in droves and there's too few people to fill the void.

 

[eljefino]

If you're trying to attract employees give a pay range in your ad.

"Competitive" is a con job-- why should someone take time off from their existing job to interview and go through hoops before (maybe) getting a lowball offer?

I work for the government and my wage scale is public record. It's liberating, honestly, knowing I make the same money to the penny as someone else on my scale. And the ads for my position list the pay.

It's a meme, but seriously, don't be mad at the people who show up for work. I was in Dominos Pizza (insanely busy) and they were getting phone calls from people "checking on their order." You'll get your food when it's ready, Karen!

 

[Aredeeem]

Nope not wage related because 1. It is the entire industry in every state and this has been identified as the number one issue in the industry; 2. Ad simply says wage is negotiable based on experience and no one applies. The few who have applied didn't pass a CORI check.

We have hygienists making $60/hr plus benefits and assistants making $35/hr plus benefits. Hell, we have receptionists making $30/hr. Benefits are health insurance, 401K match, short-term disability, uniform allowance, paid vacation days, paid sick days, and eight paid holidays. WE'RE EVEN DONE BY 4PM EVERYDAY and no weekends. What else can I offer to at least make them apply? In the past, it was unusual to have a position unfilled for more than a couple weeks.

I fear that the higher minimum wage has encouraged that portion of the workforce that aspires to do the bare minimum to survive allows them to reach that goal. I could be way off here and I apologize for veering off. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Hall]

What do you want Ford to do ? They can't force people to apply at dealerships nor can they force dealerships to hire workers.