promedEMT Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Well Im not sure where this post would go so I thought I'd try here. The story goes a Medic/owner of a ambulance company who runs 911 in my hometown saw a post I put on facebook and perceived it as bashing his service and found a friend of mine who worked in his volunteer fire department a while back and sent a message to him to relay a message to me to back off. After I received the message I looked on my facebook for anything that could be taken that way and have found nothing. I cant get a way to communicate with the guy directly so I relayed through my friend to give him my number so we can discuss this and settle any problems and its been two weeks and ive received nothing from that medic. I want to settle this dispute with him because Ive had problems with him since ive been in highschool working as ground support with a competing company that wants the 911 contract. Is their any way I can get this small town medic off my case either legally or personally while not endangering my certification? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobey Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 If he doesn't want any further communication, why push it? What do you gain by "explaining yourself"? To be honest, in this post you seem to be desperate for someones approval who does not approve of you. *Note: This is why I NEVER... EVER.... EVER post things on FB that are even remotely related to work. If you want to handle this professionaly, go delete your entire wall to ensure you got the one that upset him, then never post work stuff again. The other option is to continue giving power to this individual to disrupt your life so much, you must reach out to strangers in a desperate attempt to "settle the score" BTW: Welcome to the City Glad too see so many new users being post-active lately. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
island emt Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Well Im not sure where this post would go so I thought I'd try here. The story goes a Medic/owner of a ambulance company who runs 911 in my hometown saw a post I put on facebook and perceived it as bashing his service and found a friend of mine who worked in his volunteer fire department a while back and sent a message to him to relay a message to me to back off. After I received the message I looked on my facebook for anything that could be taken that way and have found nothing. I cant get a way to communicate with the guy directly so I relayed through my friend to give him my number so we can discuss this and settle any problems and its been two weeks and ive received nothing from that medic. I want to settle this dispute with him because Ive had problems with him since ive been in highschool working as ground support with a competing company that wants the 911 contract. Is their any way I can get this small town medic off my case either legally or personally while not endangering my certification? Gotta ask: What the heck is a ground support person? Do you mean you wash ambulances? Put air in the tires? Obviously you are young and have managed to piss someone off if as you state "had problems with him since high school". Anyone stupid enough to post anything on any social media platform that is derogatory towards anyone else is opening themselves up for legal action. Also you'd be surprised how many future employers are searching the web to check on the moral character of potential employees, and will use that info to make a determination of suitability for hire. Have you thought about giving this business owner a simple phone call and asking what the issue is? Why are you going through a friend? Or grow a set and walk into the office and ask for an appointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Star Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 God bless freedom of speech and the first amendment! Unless your post was libelous, slanderous, defamatory or otherwise legally actionable; it doesn't matter what he thinks about your post on some 'social networking' site! You've made a reasonable attempt to discuss it, and were met with apathy. He is obviously not your employer, so there's really nothing that he can do about your opinion. I really don't see what the big hoo-hah is about a post on someone's social networking page. Owners of companies are going to believe that their company is the best thing since sliced bread and turning doorknobs, even if someone in the general public thinks it's the biggest waste of space and resources ever brought forth. That's part of the joy of living in America! We're ALLOWED to have different opinions. Since this guy obviously has no intention of discussing the matter with you, why lose sleep worrying about it? His message was delivered to you, yours to him...end of story. If your posts have violated no local/state/federal laws, it doesn't matter if he likes your opinion or not. If I had a penny for every time someone was 'offended' by their interpretation of a post in a chatroom, forum or social networking website; I'd be richer than Bill Gates himself! Of course, there are those posts where it's VERY clear what the poster is saying; but unless someone can actually hear the inflection in your voice and see the expression on your face as you're composing your message, it's very easy to misread or misinterpret exactly what the content of said message REALLY is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 In a moment of professional downfall I too have been pulled up for a facebook comment. Something as simple as ‘having a quiet shift’ resulted in an anonymous phone call to the hospital and the nursing supervisor pulling me aside telling me to delete the comment. Of course I was quiet shocked with the whole situation and immediately deleted 90% of the comments on my facebook, I rarely commented on work related matters anyway but to air on the side of caution I did a mass clean up as soon as I got home. Fortunately no further action was taken, I thank my lucky stars it was merely a warning shot. I was actually a little shaken by the incident but we live and learn and I certainly won’t be doing that again! If there hasn’t been any further contact I think you should let sleeping dogs lie, I certainly wouldn’t recommend going through other people with an issue like this, it can only cause trouble and get messy. Put it out there if the complainant wishes to speak with you they may, if not then so be it. Delete the comment and move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crotchitymedic1986 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I disagree, you have noted that this has been an ongoing issue for awhile, so I suggest you go meet with him. That is the adult thing to do. I would much rather someone confront me with an issue so that I can explain myself to them, versus having a long standing grudge over non-sense. Another reason to do this is because you said he is an owner in your service area; although you may never care to work with him, owners and directors usually meet quite often, and they do discuss who should not be hired (informally), as it is almost impossible to get a true "reference" from an employer anymore. He could be spreading the word right now, "don't hire promedemt, he will blast you on facebook everytime he gets upset". Clear the air, you never know you might make a new friend. "Crotchitymedic would like to go ahead and issue a pre-apology for all those who will be offended by this post" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P_Instructor Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I disagree, you have noted that this has been an ongoing issue for awhile, so I suggest you go meet with him. That is the adult thing to do. I would much rather someone confront me with an issue so that I can explain myself to them, versus having a long standing grudge over non-sense. Another reason to do this is because you said he is an owner in your service area; although you may never care to work with him, owners and directors usually meet quite often, and they do discuss who should not be hired (informally), as it is almost impossible to get a true "reference" from an employer anymore. He could be spreading the word right now, "don't hire promedemt, he will blast you on facebook everytime he gets upset". Clear the air, you never know you might make a new friend. "Crotchitymedic would like to go ahead and issue a pre-apology for all those who will be offended by this post" I have to agree with with you on this one. Get is done 'face to face' and clear the air. It is probably some petty little thing that has snowballed out of control. He may still 'spread the word' but at least the OP would show some maturity in trying to deal with the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 You have no way of knowing if your friend delivered your response. I can't believe I am getting anywhere near agreeing with one of the posters above but owners and EMS managers talk. You get one mad and while officially you are hireable, unofficially you are not hireable. Showing you are man or woman enough to walk in might get you some respect and so when they talk you might become someone that is sought after for hiring. In EMS jobs are often gotten because of who you know not what you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERBIE1 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 I am all for a face to face. You may or may not get a resolution, but at least you put out your side of the story. Recently had an issue with a coworker. This person was ducking her work, had a lousy attitude towards coworkers, LEO's, family, hospital staff. Gentle kidding and prodding did nothing. It even came to the attention of higher ups- still nothing was done. Someone(a chief) finally DID come down on her, and lo and behold they were threatened with a sexual harassment/discrimination charge. That person has since retired so the charge was dropped, but since then, everyone else has been reluctant to confront her. It was aggravating to me and my partner, and we came to the conclusion that we had 2 choices. Either I continue to be angry and agitated about something I have no control over, or simply ignore her. When we meet, now I barely acknowledge her existence. Finally she decided to confront me. Why are you avoiding me? Why do you ignore me? Played stupid to a "t". I outlined a few things, which she of course denied. She actually called ME immature for not engaging her. I said it was a waste of my time and energy to further this, when clearly she had no intention of changing her attitude or behavior, nor will she even admit she is doing anything wrong. Sadly, I've known this person for years- her personality has changed, and I think she has become one of "those" folks- burned out, and is taking it out on the world. Yes, she has had a couple personal issues in her life- as we all have, so that is still no excuse. Gawd knows the last 6 months of my life have been hell, but I fail to see how taking that out on others will help me. Moral of the story- say your piece, but don't assume anything will change.You cannot control the behavior of others, and depending on the circumstances, things may not change or they may even deteriorate. Best case scenario- things WILL improve, and I hope that is the case, but do not let this situation define you or affect you adversely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I disagree, you have noted that this has been an ongoing issue for awhile, so I suggest you go meet with him. That is the adult thing to do. I would much rather someone confront me with an issue so that I can explain myself to them, versus having a long standing grudge over non-sense. Another reason to do this is because you said he is an owner in your service area; although you may never care to work with him, owners and directors usually meet quite often, and they do discuss who should not be hired (informally), as it is almost impossible to get a true "reference" from an employer anymore. He could be spreading the word right now, "don't hire promedemt, he will blast you on facebook everytime he gets upset". Clear the air, you never know you might make a new friend. "Crotchitymedic would like to go ahead and issue a pre-apology for all those who will be offended by this post" paranoid? But seriously I totally agree with your post. Go talk to the guy. see what he took offense to. If he refuses to see you then that's his loss. But the advice of others stands - no matter what you are tempted to write on facebook, think of it this way 'would I want my boss, mother, sister, lover, coworkers" to see this? If not then don't write it. Go see the guy and talk to him. probably won't make a friend but it's possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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