Script 13 · from the Firm & Fair Playbook
How to tell an employee they’re not meeting expectations
When work stops meeting expectations, talk in private before the day gets busy. Open with the facts and an honest question:
“Glenn, two of your brake jobs came back in the last six weeks, and the torque line was blank twice this month. That’s not like you. I want to hear what’s going on.”
Then ask for one specific change and a day to review it together, and don’t guess out loud about why.
The situation
Glenn has run bay two at your shop for sixteen years, and he trained half the techs you’ve got. In the last six weeks two of his brake jobs came back: the Hendricks Silverado with a soft pedal, and a Camry with a caliper bolt that was never torqued. Twice this month, the torque line on his repair order was blank. You’ve been rechecking his work after close and saying nothing.
With a long-timer, owners wait. This script keeps the person and the decision apart: kind about one, firm about the other.
Before you talk
- Pull the paper. Both repair orders, what came back, what the comebacks cost you in free labor and a loaner, and the two blank torque lines.
- Leave your theories in the truck. You don’t know why this is happening, and you’re not going to guess out loud: not his age, not his home life, nothing personal. Your job is the work and an honest question.
- Know what you want when you walk out: a signed torque check on every wheel, starting today, and a look at the sheets together on Friday.
- Pick the moment. Tuesday at 7:30, before the bays fill, in your office with the door closed. Not Friday at 5:30 when he’s halfway to his truck. Just the two of you.
- If he tells you about something personal that may need time off or a change at work, don’t ask for details or strike a side deal on the spot. Thank him, write it down in his words, and get advice before your next step.
- This talk isn’t discipline. If it ever heads toward a write-up, run the Check below first, and look hard at two lines: anything personal he’s told you, and whether anyone could believe your real reason is something other than the comebacks.
The first words
You“Glenn, two of your brake jobs came back in the last six weeks, and the torque line was blank twice this month. That’s not like you. I want to hear what’s going on.”
What they’ll say, and what you say
They“Everybody gets comebacks. Ask Jason how many he’s had.”
You“Jason’s work is between me and Jason. Right now I’m asking about the Camry and the Silverado. Walk me through the Camry.”
They“I was doing brakes before you had a sign out front. I don’t need a checklist.”
You“You know brakes better than anybody here. The sheet is how I prove that to a customer when something comes back. It’s two minutes a wheel.”
They“Maybe I’m just getting too old for this.”
You“I’m here about the torque sheets, that’s all. Is anything here at work getting in the way of doing them every time?”
The Playbook’s full script also covers the denial (“I torqued it”), the reply to handle with care (“It’s been a rough couple of months”), the close, and what to do if it turns: if he brings up something personal, if he says you want him gone, if he gets angry.
Never say
- “None of us are getting any younger.”Why: When he jokes about his age, don’t join in. Agreeing turns a talk about torque into a talk about age, and if his job ever ends, that’s the sentence a lawyer underlines. Go back to the sheet.
- “Have you thought about when you’ll retire?”Why: It’s an age question in work clothes. If he wants to talk about retiring, he’ll bring it up. Until he does, it isn’t your topic.
Write it down the same day
- Tonight, on a conversation record: the date and time, both repair orders and what came back, the two blank torque lines, and what you asked for, with Friday’s review. Write his answers in his words.
- If he brought up his age, write that he raised it, in his words, and that you went back to the torque sheets. Add nothing about why he might have said it.
- If he raised something personal that may need time off or a change at work, note only that he raised it and when you’ll get back to him, and keep that page out of his regular file.
- If the sheets are still blank on Friday, the next step is the documented conversation. If the work keeps slipping, a performance improvement plan gives the later steps targets, dates and weekly check-ins. If it ever comes to letting him go, use the script for someone who’s been with you for years.
Before any write-up or firing: the Check
Trouble often starts with something reasonable done at the wrong moment: a write-up the week after a complaint, a firing right after a request for time off. The Playbook has you run the Check first.
Before you act, has any of this happened?
- They complained about something at work recently.
- They asked for time off, or for a change in how or when they work.
- They told you about something personal that may need time off or a change at work.
- There’s a workers’ comp claim.
- They were a witness in someone else’s complaint.
- They’ve talked with coworkers about pay or working conditions.
- The timing could look like payback.
- It’s a layoff, and you’re choosing someone 40 or older.
- Someone could believe the real reason is a different one.
Any yes: stop, and get advice before the next step.
A tip from the Playbook: many business insurance policies include an HR or legal helpline. Find out whether yours does now, before you need it.
The Firm & Fair Playbook
This is part of Script 13 in the Firm & Fair Playbook. The full script has every beat, what to do if it turns, what never to say, and what to write down the same day.
32 conversations, word for word, 18 templates with a filled-in example each, and Quick Cards for your phone.
$97 once. Instant download. 30-day refund, and you keep the files.
See what’s insideQuestions owners ask
Can I fire a long-time employee for not meeting expectations?
In almost every state, employment is “at will”: you can end it for any reason that isn’t an illegal one, unless a contract or a written promise says otherwise. With a long-timer, you still follow the discipline path, because it shows what the real reason was. If someone later says it was their age, a dated trail of conversations, warnings and chances answers that far better than your memory can. Run the Check first, and get advice on any yes.
How do I document an employee who isn’t meeting expectations?
The same day, the way a camera would have caught it: the dates, the jobs, what came back, what’s missing from the record, what you asked for, and their answers in their words. Facts, not labels: the two repair orders with blank torque lines, not an adjective. People argue with labels. Dates and times are much harder to argue with.
Related
- Sloppy work you keep fixing yourself You’ve been fixing their work in silence, and they don’t know it’s wrong.
- Starting a performance plan Targets you can count, real help and weekly check-ins, for someone you want to keep.
- Letting go someone who’s been there for years Fourteen years, then a final warning. A careful, generous exit that still holds up.
- Performance improvement plan template Goals you can count, real support and weekly check-ins, with a filled-in example.
Free
Take Script 1 with you.
The complete first conversation as a PDF to keep, and the full contents of the Playbook. Then four short emails over eleven days: two more hard conversations, the four moves behind every script, and what’s in the full Playbook.
Not legal advice. Practical wording and process guidance for business owners, written for workplaces in the United States. For a specific situation, talk to an employment attorney licensed in your state.