so I am 400 miles from home training a guy who doesnt want to learn

[backwoodsbob]

Part of my deal to transfer to SC was that I would come back for a week when they had orders for a new part to train a guy on an old injection molding machine.What a mistake.

The guy I am training is a friend who has VERY limited prior exp. on these machines but he was their best option.After two days it's already obvious he isn't a mold tech.He is nonchalant about the whole thing which surprises me.He looks at problems with the machine as a chance to walk away and talk to friends which is the WORST thing you can do with a barrel loaded molding machine.

Now I have the choice of pissing my friend off,probably losing him...or leaving at the end of the week knowing i'm leaving this machine with someone VERY ill suited to this job.It also doesn't help that if I start a new guy from scratch I'm probably here for 6 or so weeks.

I know the right thing to do but it isn't easy

THIS is why you want your company to think you're a dumnass...you don't get put in these spots

[GoneOffShore]

1. Sounds like you need to have the "Come to dog" talk with him.

[backwoodsbob]

2. I know

like I said...I know what to do...doesn't make it easy

[NYC_SKP]

3. He is not much of a friend if he can't take constructive guidance-- that could make him $$$$

And save his live, or a finger, or a face.

Anything you do to help him be successful should be welcome by him, including tough love and harsh redirection, if needed.

If he doesn't care for that then he's not worth having as a friend, IMHO.

Good luck.

[backwoodsbob]

4. yeah I can't sleep thinking about what to do

This is our first project together and he surprised me about how he is handling it.Up to this point we were good friends...I mean good friends as in camping,cookouts,watching his kids blah blah.

I know what has to be done but it's killing me

[turtlerescue1]

5. Find out what HE would do if the roles were reversed?

Good luck to you.

[HopeHoops]

6. Been there, done that, but with computers (read on).

The Boston Globe kept on its union workers from the old typesetting days and tried to integrate them into the new electronic typesetting system my company made. On a tech support call (on speaker phone), one of my subordinates told someone to throw the application in the trash (MAC). We heard a loud noise and she fortunately hit the mute button just before we all exploded in laughter. He's tossed the keyboard and mouse into the waste barrel.