Educated Fool

I was at work this morning at a hotel that I work at as a maintenance engineer. The front desk clerk called on the radio and said a customer was stuck in the parking lot, and for me to bring salt and sand to put under the tires.

Now putting sand under the tires is useful but putting salt under the tires is useless as far as I know. I informed the service technician of this, the guy, that was stuck, driving the white 3/4 ton van packed with tools and parts. He was parked on a grade and needed to back up, up the hill so he could turn and leave. He had driven his vehicle into an unplowed stall with two feet of snow up to his van door all around. He had the nose of his van up against a parked car facing him so we could not push him forward. He was on 4 inches of ice and was spinning and spinning until he put the vehicle sideways. He marvelled that he had not got stuck all winter, but got stuck in a parking lot. I gave him as shovel to dig out under his vehicle while I went for help.

I told him that I had no sand on property, and that salting under the tires was pointless. I went and got two guys, one of whom was my young general manager, to help push him out, the only way we would get him out.

I explained to my boss that salt was of no help, and the guy asked for it again. My boss told me to go get some salt and put it under the tires. I have only been doing snow removal for 40 years, but when a young fella from Boston tells you that the customer is right, in front of the customer, one goes and gets a bucket of salt and shovels it under the tires as ordered to do--even though one knows it is not doing a damn thing.

Then we three guys pushed and pushed, and rocked the vehicle. Finally, we were able, barely, to get the van going uphill backwards on ice, until he could turn and leave.

Many times in my life, a college-educated manager has overruled me. He does not know what he is doing. I am just a dumb, uneducated blue collar worker, and he figures that he has gone farther in life than I have, so his very success proves that he is smarter. This educated fool made an ass out of himself in front of three people. He is so self-confident, that he ignores expert advice because he is always right, and is the smartest guy in the room,

It is no wonder that an educated fool like this guy, running a business, or serving as a bureaucrat, often leads the organization astray. Wrong, dumb and arrogant often go together. As I get older, I usually offer the advice, and if a boss blows me off, unless it is a matter of health and safety, I usually drop the subject and do it his way. But I know who the fool is.

It is human nature to allow a little power and a little formal education and a title to make one feel superior to workers. The educated have always seen workers as lazy, naughty children to be disciplined and directed. These dumb ups would be shocked to know what the smart downs really think about them.

It was probably wasted advice, but I had to try. After the other two employees went inside, I pulled aside the young technician. I showed him that he had forced his heavy vehicle into an icy snow-filled parking stall on a grade slanting downward.

I advised him that in the future, in winter in Minnesota at night, to always park his vehicle on level ground, so backing up and fighting an icy incline does not make him late for the next appointment. He thanked me for the advice. Mindfulness and knowing what we are doing is critical to living successfully. Some pitfalls are avoidable, and some experts can help us avoid them--if we are not to smart to be taught anything.