I hate to fire employees, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary. I only fire employees if they leave me with no other choice. Most of the time, I will offer an intervention or solution. In the past three years, I’ve only fired one employee, and that’s because he was stealing from the company. It’s tough to find smart and reliable heating and AC technicians, so I like to keep the good ones around. Some of my heating and AC technicians have trouble with tardiness. I don’t get too angry with late employees, as long as they still perform exemplary fieldwork. When employees have unexcused absences, it really hurts the heating and AC business. We are a small shop with less than a dozen employees. Our heating and AC business is often busy, and each employee has a daily schedule. When someone doesn’t show up for work, all of the other employees have to pick up those extra jobs. I hired a guy named Henry last year, and he was doing a great job. The customers were happy with Henry’s repairs, and he was getting along with the other employees. Sometime last month, Henry and his girlfriend separated. Ever since that, Henry has been a totally different guy. He shows up late for work, and sometimes he doesn’t come in at all. Last week, a customer complained that Henry was drunk on the job. I hate to fire the guy when his girlfriend just left, but I am afraid that he isn’t going to leave me any other choice. I can’t have any employees putting themselves or our customers in danger.