How to deal with incompetent co-workers?

[WhoDunnit?]

Hello everyone, I am new to these forums. I was wondering if anyone had any advice about how to deal with co-workers who are completely incompetent? I work a 4 man shift in which two of us are pretty much "normal" and the other two are completely off the wagon.

One guy spends the entire shift telling us how he has been a CIA operative, worked for the FBI, NSA, ICE, US Marshal Service, and so on, all the while he is completely unable to perform the simplest of tasks. This same person also tells us that we are not doing the job properly all the time and writes report after report about how things are not being done per SOP. My boss knows this person is completely nuts, but they have been friends for over 20 years and has actually told me that he knows this person could not function in any other job.

The second guy is a state certified mental case, so not much explanation is necessary, but once again my boss has told me specifically that he knows he would not be able to make it in any other job and won't fire him.

I realize that this just seems like a rant, but I really do have a question/point. I have kept my mouth shut for months, but these guys are single-handedly making the security department, and the two of us who actually do our job, look completely ridiculous. I have only touched the surface of all that these guys do, but you get the point. What the hell should I do here? I am sure that I am not the only person who deals with this, so what do you all do?

[JSam21]

Smile and nod. And then prepare to bust your ass to cover for thoes two. It sounds like MacGyver isn't going anywhere but you might want to think about that mental case and how he could be a liability for the company.

[WhoDunnit?]

Thanks for the response.

That is my main concern. These guys are walking liability but nothing is done. I got to thinking last night about what if I got into a fight and needed backup ASAP? The "Super Guard" weighs roughly 370 pounds, and couldn't get there before the bad guy's friggin arraignment, and the mental case couldn't figure out how to get where I was with a map. I guess what really gets me is that our supervisor knows about these guys, but since we are on midnights and most of our clients never see them, he does nothing about them!

[JSam21]

come into the chat room and we can talk more about it. If you don't know how to get there go to the Off-Topic forum and click on the SIW Chat thread

[Bill Warnock]

WhoDonNit, three options. 1. These two have a Rabbi and you won't win. 2. Ask for a different assignment, a different shift or a different location. 3. After asking yourself, "why do I stay?" and there are no satisfactory answers, go to another company.
Remember, for all practical purposes you are a one man shift and you are fettered to a crazy person and further complicating things, another who suffers from narcissism. If the pot boils over, ask yourself, what will I do?
It is well to remember, when you are in a hole, stop digging.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[Andy Taylor]

Why are you staying? I would be searching for other employment.

[WhoDunnit?]

There is one and only one reason I am staying. Money. This position pays almost double what any other security position in my town pays.

[Hank1]

There is one and only one reason I am staying. Money. This position pays almost double what any other security position in my town pays.

I would think that your safety is more important that the money. But that's just me. I would look for another assignment.

Be safe,

Hank

[BoyInBlue]

If the pay is good you should stay. Don't let these morons run you out of a good job. Security jobs attract alot of these types of people as most members could
tell you. (I think I'll start a thread about it.) So it could be worst at your next job.

What you should do is write about all the boneheaded things these guys do on the forum so we can all have a laugh.

[Andy Taylor]

If the pay is good then stick with it, but still keep an eye open for other oportunities. Always a good idea no matter what your situation.

It could be worse. One of them could be your supervisor.

[locknid]

every security company will have the idiot special ed's who can't do anything and you are surprised that they made it this far in life. That will never change because of the simple fact that in a lot of states there is no check on mental state when getting hired, or even to get a state license if that is needed. For the most part the only thing that matters is if the person has criminal charges or not. Also many security companies will have those contracts where there is not much human contact, even a monkey can do them.

Even though the company I work for is professional they need bodies to fill contracts and sometimes those bodies don't need to be functioning at full capacity. I have had the privilage of working with some and I can tell you I am not even proactive with them because I know that if something goes down I can't depend on him as back-up. I just keep to myself and let them talk, because crazies will talk all night long. like another said, smile and nod.

You will find it everywhere so don't quit because of it.

[Fedtia]

I have to agree with Hank. I have been in this industry since 1985. I have worked with, worked for and (sadly, with no other choice) employed some truly incompetent individuals in my career. This industry, as someone said, tends to attract this sort of person. Very sad, but very true. The industry wide practice of low-balling contracts has always made the paying of appropriate wages impossible. With razor thin profit margins and clients who are unwilling to invest the appropriate amount of money in the protection of their property and personnel, this trend seems destined to continue. In your case, safety must take priority here. If your environment lends itself to you finding your butt in a “jack pot” at 0200 hrs and you have no back-up, no amount of money will compensate for that. Going elsewhere will not mean you will never encounter officers who should have NEVER been employed in this field. But you may be able to at least reduce your personal liability by finding a position in which the quality officers outnumber the Barney Fife’s! Good Luck!!

[Bill Warnock]

Were it not so tragic, it is hilarious to watch some of these maladroits at work. Supervise two or three on the shooting range and one will invariably shoot at another's target. Excellent grouping, only one tweeny problem, wrong target.
Field problems can be a challenge for some. "We will all meet at the supervisor's vehicle, the one that will have the flashing red light on the roof." Simple, right? Not so fast though, one man always seems to wind up standing next to the umpire's vehicle that does not have a light of any color on the roof let alone flashing. Well you can get rid of them, right? In a pig's eye, somebody will always be there to defend this person and you are advised to "take them under your wing." Somebody's life may hang in the balance is this craft if stupid mistakes are made.
Never assign one of these folks to a dog patrol. It frustrates the dog because he cannot get his "human" partner to heel properly.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[WhoDunnit?]

Wow, it is nice to know I am not the only one with these moron's working. I am fairly new to the whole gig, and these other guys have been doing it their entire life, yet I and my one competent partner are the ones called on for most assignments. That always makes my day because I get to hear how it must be a crap detail, or they must be trying to train us to be real guards because there could be no other reason "Super Guard" would be forced to stay at the comm center and mindlessly babble on the radio.

Thanks everyone for the replies, it is much appreciated.

Fedtia- The truly sad part is, the wages here are awesome, but the place doesn't advertise jobs so we end up with all of the supervisors buddies working.

I guess I will just start keeping track of all the dumb*** stuff they do and putting it on here for all to enjoy.

[HotelSecurity]

To prevent unwanted people from entering the office area of the hotel the application forms are kept outside the security office. Day after day I see people coming in asking if we have any jobs. When asked what skills they have they say: none. They ask if we have openings as Housemen (Janitors). Dishwashers & Security.