Sometimes, the most skilled fire protection specialists aren’t always the easiest to work with—they might be moody, rude, arrogant, or even mean. So, how should you handle this? With a shortage of skilled technicians, losing a diagnostic expert can seem like a significant risk. However, keeping a talented but difficult fire protection specialist can ultimately be more damaging to your business.
Ideally, this situation should be avoided altogether. Many business owners choose their top fire protection specialist based solely on technical expertise, minimal callbacks, speed, or billing volume, without considering their attitude. However, in my opinion, a technician's attitude is just as crucial. A specialist with a poor attitude can be a significant liability.
A negative attitude can create stress for your service manager, affect customer interactions, and impact your entire team. It can also lead to high turnover if other technicians don’t want to work with them, and it may even encourage similar behavior if left unchecked. Tolerating a bad attitude can normalize it and spread negativity.
Instead of immediately firing a problematic tech, consider whether you might share some responsibility for their behavior. If you consistently praise their technical skills without addressing their attitude, you're implicitly condoning their behavior. Have an honest conversation with them about their conduct and its impact on the team and customers. Make it clear that change is necessary and offer support to help them improve. If their behavior does not improve, termination may be the next step. A bad attitude can lead to higher costs and lower satisfaction.
If you need to replace a problematic fire protection specialist, reach out to us at 1-833-937-3546 or email us at info@rockstarrecruitinggroup.com. We specialize in finding talented fire protection specialists who not only have the skills but also the right attitude. Check out our 10 case studies to see how we've successfully matched companies with exceptional fire protection specialists and other skilled trades professionals.