Interesting employment offer from a very good client...

[thecomputerguy]

I have a client who owns an extremely successful auto repair shop, probably one of the largest in the county. He's been my client for 6 or 7 years. He is an excellent client. He does what I say needs to be done without question, and pays on time.

He's quite a bit older than me and I've relied on him in the past for some life/business advice and our relationship has turned quite friendly, and we've dabbled in how I see my business turning out in the future (employees etc), he employ's about 20 people and lives a pretty good life. Business is always business, I have my cars maintained there, and I service his computers/server and network, neither of us would ever ask for discounts or favors because we both very much believe in supporting each others businesses.

He employ's his son at his shop as a shop hand doing basically anything that is asked except car repair.

He called me up and said that his son (who is 26 or so) expressed an interest in doing what I do. I wasn't really expecting him to ask me that so I just listened to what he had to say and said I would think about it.

Basically he said that he would be willing to pay for his sons employment in my business for a period of time (a few months) after which I would be able to decide how well the relationship works, how well he fits in, and whether to keep him or not. Basically I would get a free employee, and my cost would be the time I spent on training him. It might sound too good to be true but his son is kind of a lost adult (which is why he employ's him). His son recently approached him about money for some sort of college, and he doesn't believe in college, and to some extent neither do I.

I don't really need an employee right now, and haven't in the 3 years I've been self employed. There have been periods of time where I wish I had one, but I always got through it, then inevitably was hit by a slow period of days, weeks, or months which I would thank god I didn't have an employee.

I explained to him that a lot of people that do what I do have moved to the full store-front/office with employees and secretaries etc. only to eventually pull right back into a one man show at a small office or at home. I have 3 different colleagues who do similar to what I do in the area do exactly that, pull back into one man shows.

It sucks that a lot of us are one man shows because it is so difficult to pull away from our businesses given that anytime a customer wants something it's an emergency and they need it done 15 minutes ago, which makes it difficult sometimes to live life and take breaks/vacations.

So I thought it was an interesting idea he presented me with. I still don't think I will accept. He said if I don't accept, business will go on as usual, and if I do accept and it doesn't work out it would have no ill effect on our relationship, which I mostly believe because he's a no BS kind of guy.

I can see the pro's to hiring him on for technically little to no financial investment, but I currently only make enough to support myself and support myself pretty comfortably. I don't however grow very much at all and rely on my existing client base for almost all of my income so I can see it as an opportunity to spread my wings a little bit and try things I haven't tried and put some effort into growth which I basically haven't ever done.

Anyways, just rambling. The negatives are pretty clear, I don't have to pay the guy but he will take my time. He is completely untrained aside from basic customer service/answering phones. He is a pretty lost individual so his motivation level isn't exactly inspiring aside from telling his Daddy, "Yeah! That would be cool to do what 'thecomputerguy' does!". But I can also see the positives. I am getting married next year and taking an extended honeymoon is pretty much terrifying. Then there is the possibility of this effecting our relationship even though we both agree it won't.

So anyways, just rambling, what do you all think?

 

[Larry Sabo]

It sounds like the son has no burning interest in anything in particular, which is sad. It might be a good idea to have a chat with him to learn why he thinks it would be cool to do what you do, and learn what he knows about repairing computers, sales and marketing, administration, etc. Basically, see if there is anything that fits with what you could have him productively doing, as an intern.

Determine what his interests are and how motivated he is to learn the trade and apply himself. What else has he tried that he really enjoyed doing and where does he see himself in 5 years. If any of that lines up with what you could build upon to the benefit of your business, then it might be worth taking him on. I think I'd want to set out some clear goals/objectives/metrics for him, so he could envision a growth path and you could measure progress/commitment/performance.

No way is he going to fill in for you while you're away, and he is likely to be a burden rather than an asset to the business. You'd be doing it as a favour to your client, with marginal potential for personal benefit. If you can spare the time and involvement, as a kindness to the son, giving him a chance would be a nice thing to do. We don't often get the chance to help others in their career/personal development, so look at this as an opportunity to do so.

Lisa (CallThatGirl) could give you better advice, based upon her experience with interns.

 

[oldtech]

This has trouble written in bright orange all over it. Son expresses interest in what you do with his (son's) sole exposure being what you do for his pops, what could the motive really be here? (I think you already know) Pops offers to pay you in essence, to hire & train his son for some unspecified period of time? Does he also pay people to be his son's friends? 26 year old who is good for naught but answering phones or answering a question about jack shite? How is it he hasn't absorbed more skills relative to his pop's biz in the 8 years since high school?

I would recommend pops pay for De Vry or a similar school and let his adult son grow up and stand on his own. No way this will turn out being good for you. You will likely lose a friend or customer or both.

You can't motivate an unmotivated individual of this caliber without them experiencing something life changing. Just doesn't happen.

As always this advice is worth what you paid for it so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[sapphirescales]

Bad, bad deal. He's got a deadbeat son that is a hopeless cause and he's trying to dump his problem onto someone else. People like that will never shape up and take responsibility. He's a millennial. Millennials are the laziest, dumbest generation to ever exist (I'm a millennial myself BTW). They're the entitlement generation that doesn't want to work for anything and expects everything to be given to them for free. What's worse is daddy has always taken care of him until now, and he's still trying to take care of him by getting him a job. It won't work and it will destroy your relationship with your client. Just tell him that you're way too swamped to take the time and train a new employee right now but that you'll consider it later down the line and hope he drops the matter. RUN, don't walk from this problem.

 

[Mick]

What if he turns out to be a natural and six months or so down the line, Daddy figures out that with sonny-boy so knowledgeable and all, he doesn't really need you any more?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

"his son is kind of a lost adult"

Big alarm right there for me...a kid who expects to leech from his father (and working for you via his father paving the way is still leeching off his father).
Will likely not work out, I don't see the kid being ambitious...after such a life of being spoonfed. And at the end of the 3 month "trial"...when you can't float the kid, you'll hand the kid back, saying it won't work, and the friendship with the father will sour.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I think everything about this is doomed. The guy crossed a line asking you to do that. If you refuse, you harm the relationship. If you take the kid on and it doesn't work out, which is likely, you harm the relationship. The fact that the man asked this of you explains a lot about his failed relationship with his son. The man hasn't set up good boundaries with his son and he just exercised the same poor judgment with you. He may be a nice man but he has issues. The safer course is to refuse outright and expect some backlash.

 

[labtech]

Despite of all the red flags, if for whatever reason you consider hiring him, hire him on a temp basis and as a contractor (1099).

 

[MichaelEC]

Your auto mechanic has placed you in what I would consider, a very awkward position.

If you want to maintain the relationship you have enjoyed over these years I would not do this.

You could explain to the guy that you work better alone and are not an instructor type person. Or whatever suits you best, but I would not do this under any circumstances.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

The guy crossed a line asking you to do that.

That's what I was thinking...I just didn't say it. Owners/managers of businesses can become good friends over time, it happens...I have plenty of good friends that are clients of mine, visa versa. I got nothing against "trading" business and stuff like that, never had a problem with that. But something like this...to hire a family member as a favor..yeah, that's just a bridge that should not have been crossed.

 

[cypress]

Deadbeat and leech were the first two words that came to mind after reading the original post. I didn't want to say it until I saw it mentioned already.

The guy has no desire to really work and living off his dad has been the norm for 26 years. I agree with letting him go to college and hopefully he turns his life around. This makes for an awkward situation with your client, when you refuse it. (Because this is what I would do)

If he wants to learn what you do then he should go to school for it, put in the hours of work and be taught about it. While he in school he can decide whether he wants to continue to drop out or do something else. This shouldn't be on your time.

 

[thecomputerguy]

I pretty much agree with everyone here and while the kid is nice, he also seems to be looking for the quickest way out without actually putting in the work for it. I think it's something along the lines of "Oh 'thecomputerguy' is young, I'm young, I know how to google answers, he seems to be doing well, I'd like to do that!"

I think if I we're selling bicycles he'd be interested in selling bicycles too. The huge red flag is the incredible lack of direction and motivation as an adult, so like I said in the OP I'm 99% positive I will not accept the offer, it's just a matter of how to decline it to minimize the fallout.

Just thought it was interesting... Maybe if he was 15 or 16 and had been into gaming/computers in his childhood I would be more willing to consider it. But as of now he's around 26 years old, lives rent free, his thing is music, he's in a 'band', and has worked for his pops his whole life, and he's just now decided that tech is a field he'd be interested in. I'm not saying it's too late for him but at least take an A+ course or something to get a basic understanding of hardware. I doubt he even know what a power supply looks like.

Red flags everywhere.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Not to mention instead of asking his Dad for my number and then asking him to ask me if it was OK that he called, his Dad called me asking for the job offer, which is also a pretty telling sign. I'm a little bit older than him but I can't imagine asking my Dad or Mom to put in a call for a job opportunity, I'd vehemently pursue the opportunity myself. I guess that among other things is what makes him so different from me and my mindset of being a self-starter.

 

[glennd]

I can see Dad's desperate. Do some research and find some more formal education ideas. "He'd be better off going to [whatever your version of an adult education tech college is] and do the certificate in [whatever computer related course you can find on google]. They can teach him way better than I could and it would give him a much better idea of whether he's suited to this profession."

 

[Krynn72]

I can see Dad's desperate. Do some research and find some more formal education ideas. "He'd be better off going to [whatever your version of an adult education tech college is] and do the certificate in [whatever computer related course you can find on google]. They can teach him way better than I could and it would give him a much better idea of whether he's suited to this profession."

I think this is a good way to turn down the offer. Its true (they'll be able to teach him the basics better than you can, because you won't be able to give him the proper attention while working full time) and you don't need to let on that you just simply don't want to do it.

 

[callthatgirl]

Here are my opinions, the dad is the enabler of the son. I have been there before as my brother is a "lost son" and no matter how hard I tried to help my brother, he will always continue to make mistakes (some not intentional) but there are issues that go with these mistakes and many times financial because they don't know how to say no, fix things themselves or know right from wrong.

I would take the time to setup an interview. Give this kid a great interview and really drill down into him, his goals and then be the nice guy, give him some good advice, as I'm sure his interview will guide him to not wanting to be a tech (you can express all the hard core issues you deal with) and send him off with some new ideas that he can draw for himself on how he can move on with this life, without his dad. I feel for these guys and I love how the dad is willing to help, but it will not help that son at all. I agree on the tech who said that he didn't come to you first, big flag this kid is riding the enabling train, too lazy to call you when he knew he could himself.

I think the dad would really appreciate you giving his kid 30 min or so, to hear from another person about business and work, etc.

@Larry Sabo Thanks for the shout out on this, I was already prepared to reply, but not about interns

 

[TechLady]

"Lost adult" and family that "doesn't really believe in college." Gee, wonder if those are related.

I think @glennd has the right response here.

 

[callthatgirl]

Kind of a rough assumption

My family didn't believe in college. I believed in college at the age of 26, the same age of this "lost boy". I graduated at the age of 31 with 2 degrees and a 4 page resume.

Just saying, sometimes it takes awhile for the lost to figure out things.

 

[Vyper28]

I will play thr other side a bit here. Business wise, it doesn't make much sense, but I was once that lost guy, sure a bit yoinger, but school kept telling us we should know what we want to do before we graduate. I got offered an internship for a local break fix shop at the age of 18 because it was run by a friend of the family. I fell in love with I.T. and now, 21 years later I am self employed and looking at 40% y.o.y growth.

So maybe it doesn't make the best business sense, but I still have some compassion in me, for now, and I would probably try to help the guy out.