Building Morale Vs. Building Bikes

(We have a regional manager who would sometimes drop by and try to motivate us to build more bikes faster. The thing is, while he is a decent manager, he did not know much about the actual bikes. Usually, bikes take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half to build, depending on the bike.)

Manager: “So, I see there are a few holes on the racks. Are you guys trying to fill them?”

Coworker: “Yeah, the builder is working on those. I will help once I get done with today’s repairs.”

Manager: “Well, it shouldn’t take that long. I did one once, and it only took like half an hour!” *leaves*

Coworker: *to me* “Yeah, he built one alright—except it fell apart on the first day and was returned right after that. Took me a few hours to fix all his mistakes! We never told him.”