Firing Jesus

Jesus, our new gardener, showed up one Monday looking like he either had been up all night or was drunk. However, to my surprise, he had some woman with him and they decided to have a little picnic at the stone table in the back yard. Later I was sitting at the computer and out the window I say him hurl an empty plastic soda bottle into the vacant lot next door. (I made him go pick it up and put it in the garbage.)

It seemed to me, that after only four days of service, bringing your girlfriend to your new job for a picnic reflects very poor judgment. (If his judgment is so bad this early in his employment history, what other mistakes might he make?) And deliberately littering non-biodegradable products makes my skin crawl.

Wednesday morning Rodrigo was getting ready to leave for work. “Don’t leave before we fire the gardener,” I said, “I may need your help.”

He looked uncomfortable. “I’ve never fired anyone before.”

“This will be good practice. I’ll do it but if he argues or something I’ll need your help with the language.”

“I have a pit at the bottom of my stomach. Don’t you?”

“The first time I fired someone I cried afterwards. After a 100 people or so, you get used to it. Help me write out a script in Spanish and I’ll read it. Just something like, “We’ve discussed it and your services are no longer required.” We don’t want to provide a lot of details because those just become potential points of argument.”

So Rod wrote out a note and we took it to the back yard where Jesus was on his knees pulling weeds. “Jesus,” I said, “Lo hemos pensado y ya no te necesitamos. Gracias por tu servicio. No necesitas terminar lo de hoy.”

Jesus looked shocked but acknowledged that he understood. Rod made a beeline for his car and left for work. I went back into the house.

A few minutes later Maria came into the house and told me that Jesus wanted to talk to me. He wanted to apologize for bringing his wife to work. He didn’t realize that I would be so offended.

I had no desire to discuss anything with him. My decision was made, he needed to leave. If he wanted to talk to someone he could talk to Human Resources. But wait, I don’t have a Human Resources department anymore. So I called my friend Andrea who has experience with these things. Andrea graciously agreed to speak with him so I had Maria take him the phone. A few minutes later he left.

After Jesus was gone I took over his chores. This time of year it is all about watering. We have very limited water pressure so watering involves dragging hoses and buckets all over the two acre property, in the blazing sun. My desire to green-up the property has created a watering nightmare this time of year. (The rainy season starts in June and I can hardly wait.)

After a couple of hours Maria came across the yard with the phone. “Rodrigo,” she said, and I took the phone from her.

“Hi,” he said. “I’ve been trying to call you. Where have you been?”

“Out in the yard, watering. My cell phone is charging so I don’t have it with me.”

“Well, I’ve been trying to reach you. When I came back to the clinic after picking up some dogs, I came around the corner and Jesus’ car was parked in front of the clinic. I drove really slow hoping that he would leave but he didn’t. He wanted to apologize for bringing his wife to the property and explained that she was helping him. He didn’t think that you would mind because you didn’t say anything when his son was helping him the week before. He also said that you probably thought that he was drunk but he doesn’t drink. He says you can call anyone that he has worked for and they will tell you that he is a good worker.”

“I didn’t have a problem with his son because it was semana santa (holy week) and kids were out of school. But there was no reason for his wife or girlfriend or whoever she was, to be there. You don’t bring a stranger to our home without our permission. Plus, that thing with throwing the bottle over the fence. My decision is made and I’m not inclined to reconsider.”

“I don’t think that he wants his job back. He just wants to make sure his reputation is not damaged.”

“Well we’re not going to bad mouth him to any potential employers.”

“That’s what I told him.”

In defense of Jesus, he drives a taxi on weekends and there is a possibility that he hadn’t slept. In retrospect, he probably enjoyed the job, working with the earth rather than being stuck in a taxi dealing with tourists in 12 hours shifts. He has two young children and however small was the extra income, it probably helped.

I feel torn. Was I too hasty? Had he been a long time employee and he’d made these mistakes, I would have discussed and forgiven them. However, it seemed a warning sign when it happened after such a short time. Then I wonder if I’ve committed a cultural blunder. I doubt in a Mexican corporation that it is acceptable to bring family members to work without notice. But in small businesses and little shops it is probably common. Andrea assures me that it was the right thing to do. But I do wonder.