An enthusiastic and motivated volunteer may also turn out to be a good student.  Is there time for volunteer training on a mechanical level either on an individual or small group basis? <div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder">
</div><div>While correcting someone in front of the group is in poor form, it is important to disseminate safe and accurate information to other visitors and volunteers by finding a gentle way to step in and amend, if necessary.  Otherwise, taking the volunteer aside for a private one-on-one/lesson would not be out of line.</div>
<div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>I think it&#39;s really important to stress that it&#39;s ok for volunteers to say &quot;i don&#39;t know&quot; and ask another mechanic or find other resources and learn alongside the visitor.</div>
<div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Good luck!</div><div><br></div><div>Casey</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Collective Member</div><div>FM Community Bicycle Workshop</div><div>
<a href="http://www.fmbikeworkshop.org">www.fmbikeworkshop.org</a></div><div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 11:10 PM,  <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:veganboyjosh@gmail.com">veganboyjosh@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Sorry for dominating the emails, folks. Community Cycles is in all kinds of transition, and we&#39;re looking for help.<br>
<br>I don&#39;t know all the details right now, so I&#39;ll keep this general.<br><br>We&#39;ve been lucky enough to have a volunteer show up who&#39;s very motivated and enthusiastic about our mission and our programs. This person has gotten really involved in existing programs and even helped work on and start a new one. <br>

 Recently, this person was asked by another shop visitor a mechanical question, since it was clear that the volunteer was more staff like, and less client. The answer given was very incorrect (one of the details I&#39;m missing is what the quesiton/answer were), but this was witnessed by another very competent experienced mechanic, who was uncomfortable correcting the misstatement in front of the group. <br>

 In another situation, the same volunteer was seen making very basic mistakes when working alone on a bike. From what I understand, the big one was being asked to install cables on a bike, and neglecting to include housing. <br>

<br>We would like to continue having this person as a part of our team, but
we also need to make sure the advice and work they do is correct, safe,
and appropriate. <br><br>One other wrinkle, is that the two incidents were witnessed by two different staff members, both very skilled mechanics.<br>
<br>How to approach the volunteer? Any help or experience you folks have would be greatly appreciated. <br><br>Thanks!<br><br>josh.<br>
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