Fired For Buying A Harley!!!!!!!!

[syco133]

This was on Michigan Live which is basically a website for all the major newspaper publications in the state of MI. What really gets to me is that the dealer have used harley's on the showroom floor but an employee can't have one.

When Tom KeKONI showed up for work at Babbitt's Sports Center on May 17, he had no idea it would be his last day.

That morning, a sales manager approached Kekoni, a 46-year-old certified mechanic, and asked him whether he had made a certain recent purchase.

The mechanic acknowledged he had, and the sales manager informed him that he didn't need to punch in for work.

Kekoni thought the guy was teasing him.

"Too late, I already did," Kekoni responded.

A little later, the sales manager again approached Kekoni, asking if he believed him.

Kekoni said he did, but he wanted to "hear it from the horse's mouth," referring to his boss, Eddie Babbitt.

Babbitt then fired Kekoni.

The reason?

Kekoni had just bought a 2005 Harley-Davidson Superglide motorcycle. Babbitt's sells products that compete with Harley, such as Yamaha and Polaris.

"How would it look if my mechanic drives in on a competitor's product?" Babbitt said.

Both Kekoni and Babbitt admit to the firing, which broke no laws.

According to Jack Finn, an administrator with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Babbitt did nothing illegal.

"Michigan employment is termed 'at will', and as a result an employer can terminate an employee without cause," Finn said.

Kekoni and Babbitt sharply disagree over whether a policy existed against owning competitors' products.

Kekoni, 47, alleges no such thing existed. "There was no policy," he said.

Babbitt, meanwhile, claims the policy always has existed. "It's been a standing policy here forever," he said.

Babbitt added that Kekoni should have been tipped off to the policy by two incidents prior to his firing.

The first was a firing about a month before Kekoni's. Babbitt terminated another employee for buying a Honda off-road motorcycle from a different vendor.

Before that, Kekoni said he approached a sales manager concerning some used Harley bikes in Babbitt's showroom. After Kekoni inquired about purchasing them, he said the sales manager told him, "You don't want to do that."

Kekoni said it wasn't clear to him why the sales manager responded the way he did.

He would later end up buying the bike through Sandy's Harley-Davidson in Fremont, and it already had been shipped when the other employee was fired.

Shortly after letting Kekoni go, Babbitt said his business came under fire from Harley sympathizers and owners.

"I've been blasted online ... it's not easy being the boss," he said.

Kekoni said he learned nothing can be done legally. He remains upset about the reasoning behind his firing.

"Everybody in my opinion has the right to own and buy what they feel they want to have," he said. "It shouldn't be dictated to you by your boss."

Kekoni said he plans to keep the bike.

"It's a helluva thing to get fired over."

If you want to read the rest of the story click the link please.

http://www.xlforum.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10640

[JasonInAugusta]

Sounds like Sandy's Harley-Davidson might have a new mechanic on the way.

[rindaen]

While I don't agree with how he dealt with his employee. It is Legal :(
Our labor laws allow this stuff to happen.

We have the Right to work and Quit whenever we want without repercussion.
The Employer has a Right to Fire us when we don't comply to there Policy's.
No matter how stupid they may be.

[Fishmaxx]

Originally Posted by rindaen

We have the Right to work and Quit whenever we want without repercussion.

The Employer has a Right to Fire us when we don't comply to there Policy's.

People seem to forget its a 2 way street!
Employees screw over their employers all the time.

[rindaen]

Originally Posted by Fishmaxx

People seem to forget its a 2 way street!
Employees screw over their employers all the time.

EMployees for the most part get away with ALOT until they finally get fired.
Hmm Gotta get back to work , Not supposed to be on the internet except for
Business reasons hehe

[Gimbal]

I support the shop in this case.
Personally, I work for a phone company. If I went and got phone service from a competitor, it would be very damaging to my employer if their customers knew their employees did not support them. If I walked into a bike shop and saw one of their mechanics on a competitors bike I would immediately wonder about the quality of the shops product.

[T-Man]

That's is just crazy.

I work for Cingular Wireless, and after we bought out AT&T, I found out that AT&T didn't have a very good family plan for their employees, and most of the employees wifes and kids were on Sprint or Cingular because of the rates. I wonder if they could have gotten fired for using another providers services According to this, there are alot of people in Michigan, and other states I am sure, that should be canned.

[firstumustcrawl]

It may suck for the guy who got fired but you should realize what your doing when you work for a shop you try and represent that shop in the best way possible and you should have some respect for the place you work gimbals right if i walked into a shop and saw the mechanics harley and the place only sold like hondas and polaris's and crap like that i would be kinda wondering WTF is goin on here?

[syco133]

Yea but if you follow the link and read some the shop has 2 harley's in the shop there forsale.That's what I dont understand.

[Rockpiledriver]

That's BS right there.

You don't see this kind of thing happen at car dealerships. While they do give an employee discount they don't require you to drive their brand.

A Harley is different than a Japanese counterpart. Mabey the guy wanted to support the US economy and buy American.

[T-Man]

Originally Posted by firstumustcrawl

It may suck for the guy who got fired but you should realize what your doing when you work for a shop you try and represent that shop in the best way possible and you should have some respect for the place you work gimbals right if i walked into a shop and saw the mechanics harley and the place only sold like hondas and polaris's and crap like that i would be kinda wondering WTF is goin on here?

Well, it is a Harley thing, and some people just don't understand. I kinda do, but I personally won't buy a $25K Harley when I can get a very similar bike for $12K-$18K and it will last 5 times as long.

[mike]

man thats sucks for him. i can take my banshie to the handa dealer and i can take my cr 125 to suzuki and they would work on it like any other bike.
for example, i had taken my cr to the suzuki dealer and they ended up giving and installing new front fork seals for free.

[fuzzhead]

Originally Posted by T-Man

and it will last 5 times as long.

bull****

[Train Of Thought]

It seems to me this worked out best for all parties.
It's a good thing that an employee can quit for any reason AND that an employer can terminate an employee for no reason (as opposed to "any" reason).
If you disagree with why you were terminated, then it makes sense that working there might not be something you want to do anyway.
In other words, your values and your employer's values should mostly match if you both are to win.

What I think most employees don't understand is that being employed is a gift. The employment issue is all twisted up because there are far more employees than there are employers, and the employees leverage the power of bulk influence (unions). Compare that with how Microsoft leverages their dominance in the OS market. Yet Microsoft is demonized and employees receive pitty and protective legislation. I don't get it.

How about this; IF you don't like where you work, THEN quit, ELSE stfu.

[RD400]

Being employed is not a gift. The employer can not provide his/her product or service with out the employee. If he/she could there would be no reason to hire that person.

The employer needs the employee as much as the employee needs the employer. It is a partnership, the employer handles the money, marketing, inventory, what ever, but they cannot sell, ship, move, build, repair, etc without the employee. Well, not as well or as much.

The employee does play a big role in how sucsessful a business is.

But in the end, it is probably better for that guy to leave. I would not want to work for a pric like that, life is to short for that kind of trivial crap. :-P

[Train Of Thought]

Perhaps gift is not the best word, but the employer has higher risk, less control (by way of current laws, etc), and has done something you are either unwilling or incapable of doing (namely, starting the business).
Yes, it is a two-way street, yes it takes both parties to win... and all that obvious stuff. Considering it takes FAR more skill and tenacity to be an employer than it does to be an employee, especially in the small business arena, it would seem to me the employer has something you don't. All the empoyer needs is more bodies to make the economies of scale work. As the employee you offer nothing unique, but the empoyer does.
So perhaps it's just a difference in opinion, perception, etc, but if you consider your empoyment a gift, then the situation is more workable.

Also, you must make your employer more money than they pay you else the whole system no workee. By that measure alone, the employer wins and you are just settling for less. So you accept this, consider it a gift, and lose the stupid and counterproducitve victim mentallity. Life goes on, you make as much money as your performance allows, and live the American dream.

[RD400]

In this case the employee does have something the employer needs, a certification in mechanics. With out the employees knowledge, the employer cannot provide his service.

Yes the employer can and will find someone to replace him, but he still needs someone with those skills to provide his service.

[bigdogrod]

ok say you work for ferrari, but can not afford to buy one so you have to buy and drive something else...

so that means it's ok for ferrari to fire you?

what if you are handicapped and you need a wheelchair van, and work for say honda or toyota, and that their vans are not capable of wheelchair modifications..

so by this thinking you can be fired for buying a ford or chevy?


i think that's total bs on the dealer's part, and it makes me rethink my intentions of purchasing a honda shadow aero...

granted that minght be only a measly 7 grand out of honda's pocket.. but it's the principal of a thing...

glad i don't live anywhere near Babbitt's Sports Center ...

bdr

[JohnRobHolmes]

its not honda's policy, its the dealership. if you own a business you can be a big prick too if your laws will allow it.

[Reflection]

I can believe that crap,don't really agree with it but I believe it.

My cousin works for Pepsi. I was told there is a brutal conflict going on all the time between Coke and Pepsi. I recon Coke employees will get fired if they are caught writing with a BLUE ink pen,how gay is that. Don't know how true,it's just what I was told. He said they won't fire you over it but they frown big time,Pepsi wants you to use ONLY a blue pen at work. Pepsi employees are only allowed to eat at Taco Bell,KFC and Pizza Hut.....why.....because they are owned by Pepsi. Coke employees are NOT allowed to eat at the above mentioned fast food joints. The way he talked,the list of bull crap goes on and on and on and on and on and on and.....ohh,sorry.