I’m not even sure if this is the right place to post this since I don’t really think I fucked up, but everything shitty that’s happened is a product of me doing something, so here it goes.
I (17 m) work at a golf course during the summer. I work maintenance: cutting grass, watering the course, and keeping everything looking nice. My boss is cranky at times but I get along with him. While I do get paid a lot, my schedule can be VERY demanding, and more than once a week I have to wake up at three in the morning, as well as a few 12 hour work days. On the days I’m watering, I start at 4:00 am and work until noon, then come back to work at 7:00 and go until midnight. It’s a lot. Sometimes I get stressed and forget to do certain things, or I just don’t want to talk to people.
Anyways: when I water the back half of the course in the morning, it’s not uncommon that golfers will catch up to me and get wet on the later holes. We have “coworkers” called Marshall’s that make sure everyone is moving at the right pace, but they also tell people what to expect. I place sprinkler heads out across fairways and I have to do them in segments; I leave each set out for an hour, and then I have to pick it up. All in all, it takes about 7 or 8 hours. The big rule is that all the sprinkler heads have to be off the course by 11:30. I always am.
We had a new Marshall in today, and he comes up to me at around 6:00 am and says: “I told the golfers that you’ll be done watering by 10.” He didn’t ask me when I’d be done. I told him, “well I can’t put my last set down until 10:30, so these guys might get wet”. He looks at me and says “be done before that” I say that’s not how it works and he drives off. I leave because I had 2 hours of sleep and desperately needed a coffee. I’m in the midst of picking up/putting down my last set and my phone is getting flooded with texts from my boss, telling me about complaints. Apparently some golfers had been out, got wet, complained to the Marshall, and he told not only my boss but some of the higher ups on the board. I told them what happened, and my boss said that he knows I did my job well, but I needed to explain to the new Marshall how my hours work. He said he didn’t want to fire me, but apparently some of the higher ups want me gone now and are mad at me.
I don’t know what the fuck to do. I need money for university next year and because this guy was inconsiderate and I was tired I’m at risk of losing my job.
TL;DR someone I work with at a golf course told golfers I’d be done by 10, I “failed to correct him”, golfers got wet, complained, and now my jobs at risk.
Comments
sounds like your boss is the one who failed to train the marshall properly. Why should it be your responsibility to tell them how the timing works?
I’m not sure what you being tired even had to do with it, the guy drove off after you explained.
Tell your boss you did explain how it works and the guy didn’t listen. From there it’s not your responsibility if the marshal thinks he outranks you when he doesn’t.
Ask your boss for a meeting with him and the marshal. You can explain to the marshal how things work and your boss will be there to back you up. If your boss doesn’t back you up then I’d walk out. Nothing worse than a boss who won’t back you up and I guarantee if he doesn’t back you up this marshal will be a pain in your ass for as long as you work there.
You didn’t fuck up; the marshall is just an asshole.
The Marshall should be fired as he’s the one who fucked up and did not bother to understand how your job works. His boss is also at fault for not telling him how it works.
He probably has connections and is using this as an excuse to get rid of a “whiny kid”.
Old man yells at clouds energy.
Is this a PGA certified course?
You know, this might be a little paranoid, but perhaps the marshal has a grandkid he’d like to put in your job. I’d do what others suggested and have a meeting with him, your boss, and the marshals boss, and make sure everyone knows just wtf the deal is. After that, unfortunately, there’s not a lot else you can do.
You indeed did NOT “fail to correct him.” You told him “thats not how this works” and he willfully ignored you. Insist upon this.
Ask what you should have done in that scenario. Should you have not done your job properly because he didn’t do his properly?
Sounds like you would be difficult to replace. Ask your boss to explain to ALL the Marshalls how this works, or enjoy filing a wrongful termination suit.
Your boss needs to step up and advocate for you. Why wasn’t this marshal cross trained and given education on what other departments do in order to give your guests the best experience?
I’d make sure to add a lot of bleach to the water next time
Are you able to contact the higher ups yourself to explain your side of the story? Or are there other golf courses you can apply to? The fact that he threw you under the bus for his mistake and your boss not correcting the mistake with the right people is never a good sign. Good luck OP.
I know you’re only 17 but I promise you whatever you think them paying you “a lot” is, it isn’t, and also a 12 hour split shift that starts at 4am is the most heinous shit I’ve heard all year.
Dare them to fire you, ain’t nobody else doing that. Also, I hope you’re actively putting resumes out to anywhere else lol
Marshall was a dick but… Could you not have just done each segment for 45 mins instead of an hour and finished 2 hrs early? Sounds like everything else was pretty fixed but that timing was variable.
That dude is 65 years old and doesn’t know how to own up to a mistake and makes you the scapegoat? You didn’t do anything wrong and I hope they won’t fire you for that. But people lack integrity and it wouldn’t surprise me if you unfortunately lose your job over this.
That sucks, but it sounds like a clear communication issue. Your boss even said you did your job well, it’s just that the new Marshall didn’t get the full picture. If you can, try to calmly explain your watering schedule to the Marshall and the higher-ups so everyone’s on the same page. Showing you’re willing to fix the misunderstanding might save your job. Keep your cool, and don’t be afraid to ask for a quick meeting to clear things up.
I think you perhaps need to play this off as a system issue.
I’d be explaining that you did indeed tell him you wouldn’t be done by 10 (thats not how this works) dont go into detail, but maybe you should suggest that as well as putting out the sprinkers you also pop out a sign at the start of where you’re watering that will explain to anyone who might have forgotten or otherwise not realised theres a danger of getting wet.
Stick to the line that its possible that the official process that you followed is possibly flawed and you have a solution but that you’d done everything you could within that process as it currently stands including telling the Marshall you wouldn’t be done by 10 (thats not now this works).
Marshall messed up and shouldn’t be giving information from ass. 🤷🏻♂️
Your boss should be the one explaining it to the marshal and the higher ups. Since he knows how good you are you shouldn’t be fired. If you get called in then you tell the big boss how you were trained and the marshal had no knowledge or right to tell you to be done by 10 and the marshal screwed up by trying to be accomodating to the players when he didn’t know what needed done. Our night time maintenance started at 10pm and was done by 5ish so the mowers could hit the greens by 6ish. And I’d suggest that to big boss if they want players to not get wet.
A little story; on my last day b4 college I wanted to set the pins to be a challenge and pit them in the 2nd hardest spot on each green. There was a mound on #2 and I put the hole about 1 1/2 foot off center. I played that day and was sitting in the restaurant after 9 and one old timer who reminded me of Rodney
Dangerfield came into get a bite and loudly saying “Who the hell set them pins today, I 5 putted on #2 …..3 times from the same spot!!!!” My boss came to me a little later and said what’d you do and didn’y you know we have an Old Pal match today.
Also When I was playing that day with a friend I bladed a shot on a par 3 that was about 8 ft from the green and the pin was set way to the back up a hill all the way about 70-80 ft away from the hole. My buddy put his t-shot 10 ft from the pin, pin high. I usually don’t put great but my putt just missed going in and past the hole by about a foot. And then the ball stopped and because the green there was so steep it started rolling backwards into the hole for my birdie. My buddy just about crapped dropped his club in disbelief and and said “God we can see who set the pins today!”He then proceeded to 3putt fom10 feet. That was a fun last day.