The man who was fired for knowing too much

[Owain Taggart]

I think there have been similar threads posted here recently surrounding this topic. In this case, this one happened very recently to a friend of mine who worked at a high-end photography store. Before he even landed the job, people knew him for his knowledge, and he was very good at what he did, and more or less considered an expert on the subject by those around him.

That said, you would think that a high-end photography store that focuses (no pun intended) on selling DSLR cameras would want to have knowledgeable people sell their stuff, and said friend has sold loads of stuff for them. Apparently that wasn't good enough for the store, as co-workers were complaining that he was just too good and stealing all clients from the others, as clients gravitate towards him. Can't help it, the man is knowledgeable, so what's a guy got to do to keep his job? I can understand the frustration co-workers were having, but shouldn't knowledge be praised instead of it being looked at negatively? This guy knew the ins and outs of film and digital cameras, something that is getting harder and harder to find. The kind of knowledge is gathered out of experience and isn't just something you can find.

They gave him a severance pay and he took it. But I'd hate to think that people are being forced out of their jobs because they know too much or they're too good at what they do, and it does seem to be getting more common. There should be some kind of compromise where everyone is comfortable.

 

[RoJoHen]

What they should have done is give the guy a promotion and put him in charge of training the other employees to make them more knowledgeable.

 

[Lindley]

What they should have done is give the guy a promotion and put him in charge of training the other employees to make them more knowledgeable.

He should have taken that initiative himself. If he knows something another sales rep doesn't, he can share that knowledge discreetly after the fact. If he was intentionally leveraging his superior experience to increase his own commissions then he's not working in the best interests of the store as a whole.

There really isn't enough information to reliably decide what the story is here.

 

[StarMan]

Lindey is right in there isn't enough info, but it does bring to mind the scenario my Mother is finding herself in where her knowledge and experience is working against her. She was disestablished from her management position and now simply requires employment at any level. Logically, one would think such experience would be a asset. Unfortunately, an employer will not favor hiring someone that they perceive could be doing *their* job.

 

[Owain Taggart]

What they should have done is give the guy a promotion and put him in charge of training the other employees to make them more knowledgeable.

He should have taken that initiative himself. If he knows something another sales rep doesn't, he can share that knowledge discreetly after the fact. If he was intentionally leveraging his superior experience to increase his own commissions then he's not working in the best interests of the store as a whole.

There really isn't enough information to reliably decide what the story is here.

Well, the store itself doesn't base itself on commission, which would be far worse if it did. It's being fired for doing his job too well that is puzzling. The co-workers from what I can understand were getting frustrated that he was making everyone else look bad in comparison because he was so good at doing what he did. There wasn't any ulterior motive on his part. He was just good at it. As for getting them trained, depending on store policy that may or may not have been part of his job, but I do believe he was the kind of guy to share everything. And he was there almost all the time due to his expertise. This guy is in his 60's and getting a job is getting harder and harder. He's now looking for a job at Best Buy, I hear.

 

[Amaris]

That's what got me fired from Walmart. My knowledge and customer service levels were light years beyond everyone else in my department. There were people who would come in and ask for me. It drove our department manager mad.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, I think that's what happened here too. He was getting along well with his co-workers, but at some point, it must have been too much. I guess it becomes a problem of giving everyone an equal level playing field and making sure they have something to do. To be fair, I've often come into the store to see him, but I'd also talk to some of the others and had established a pretty good rapport with everyone. I can't see him lasting very long at Best Buy as I've heard similar stories come from there too.

 

[ed629]

I was 'laid off' from a property management position because of similar reasons. The company managed residential and commercial property, they were enforcing rules that were illegal. When I pointed that out I was told to be quiet about it. And I was also the IT Administrator, and I did the job too well. I was able to convert their old system to the new one in about 1/4 the time they had projected, and also realized that the hours of the maintenance employees were being adjusted to pay them for less time than they actually worked. I was laid off with a 'severance package' that other people never received, or hush money.

 

[Kommander]

Yes, this kind of thing is quite common. In general, people don't like feeling stupid or incompetent, and when one employee out-performs others, they tend to be ostracized by their co-workers. When it comes to the attention of management, they tend to do what is easy instead of what is right.

Most companies tend to fuck up industrial/organizational psychology principles pretty well.

 

[scotpens]

I assume most of us are familiar with Kurt Vonnegut’s classic short story “Harrison Bergeron.”

’Nuff said?