'[He] got chewed out for that for sure': FAA facility manager gets humbled after his rule forbidding airplane techs from talking to the clients gets him on a ‘Performance Improvement Plan’

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Dec 6, 2025 6:00 AM EST

An FAA facility is a very important place for any sort of airplane activity. This is where they take car of the planes. Full of engineers and technicians. Unfortunately, it is also filled with entitled managers who think they're better than everyone else simply because of their job title. (Even though the techs and engineers are way smarter…) Recently, a FAA facility manager got humbled by his own techs. 

 

It all happened when a tech communicated with a client. It's not like the client was unhappy or anything, the manager just didn't like how he wasn't a part of it… Yeah, it's that petty. So, the techs maliciously complied. Then one day an auditor came into the facility. The only person on the floor at the time was a tech, and he had to tell him he wasn't allowed to talk to him. He even printed out the email that stated so and gave it to the auditor. 

 

The next day, the manager was in front of everyone with his manager chewing him out. He revoked his "rule" and was even put on PIP (performance improvement plan) for it. Just goes to show you that even if you are the manager, you should listen to your smart employees.  

Advertisement
  • group of young business people working and communicating while spending time in the office
    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Back when I was working in an FAA facility doing repair and overhaul we had a boss who wanted to control everything.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • This boss came to us from the production side and did not understand why we were reactive in our work versus scheduled like production.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • Repair and Overhaul is just that, we repair or overhaul parts that come back from the field, so cannot schedule it more than the customer lets us know it is broken and we say send it in type thing.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • Not the point, not the compliance, but giving you a little of how the mindset is.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • Anyway, about a month after said boss comes in, we have a customer representative who is talking to engineering regarding the product I was working on.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • The customer had a question regarding a specific failure we continued to see, and wanted to talk to the technician (me) about it.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • modern airport terminal with a jet bridge
    via Unsplash+ (and Adolfo Félix)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • So engineer brings customer to me, and I answer customer rep's question. Should be easy, right?
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • Wrong! Boss says I did not have the authority to answer the question and that customer should have been brought to him or Quality Assurance (QA).
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • At the next morning stand up, boss reiterates to entire group that no one is to talk to anyone not a part of our company without either boss or QA there for conversation.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • I asked for this in writing, and got an email within minutes after the stand up.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • Fast forward about a month, I am not talking to anyone without boss or QA and we have an ISO 9001 audit.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • The audit is scheduled, and somehow when the auditor is on the repair floor no one is around but me, so naturally I get audited.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • young auto repair man drinking coffee and communicating with a colleague in a workshop
    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Should be easy, right? Auditor asks me what I am doing. I reply I am not allowed to talk with personnel who do not belong to my company without my boss or QA present.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • Auditor asks me if I know who they are (I do, they introduced themselves as they came up to me.) I let them know I have been given instructions and cannot talk to them.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • They ask me if I can show them the instructions. I had sent the email to the printer as soon as I knew I was going to be audited, so asked auditor to please wait one minute and went and got the email.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • Auditor thanks me, and leaves. Next morning at stand up, boss comes in with regional management.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • Boss apologizes to us technicians and lets us know we are allowed to talk to people from outside the company without boss or QA.
    via *DSM_Master_E
  • I raise my hand, boss says email has already been sent. Found out from boss' aide, boss was put on PIP for this.
    via *DSM_Master_E

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

management salary boss employee hourly manager job work coworkers upper management co-workers employees career supervisor workplace company business
Scroll Down For The Next Article