I Hired A Con Man | Crew Stories #12

[@SuperYachtCaptain]

Big thanks to Ridge for sending me this wallet and supporting the channel! Here’s the site if you want to check them out! > ridge.com/syc

[@Buddy869-z9x]

I love my ridge, even though I’m a girlie girl 😜

[@louisglen1653]

The bizarre thing is that there are people who are very good at being interviewed and sell themselves very well, but are lacking. Then there are others who are very capable and excellent at what they do, have great skills and attitude and are great people, but are terrible when it comes to being interviewed.

[@TrappedinSLC]

I am HORRIBLE at being interviewed and at talking myself up. But I’m actually extremely capable. You just have to ask someone else about me to know about it. 🤣

[@AviationNut]

That would be me i am very horrible when someone interviews me, but as soon as I get hired i work my butt off. I just get extremely nervous when being interviewed.

[@sunshineproductions4122]

Ego maniacs tend to be very confident that they are highly intelligent & can learn to do anything.... So untrue

[@grosvenorclub]

I was in the construction business and can remember hiring a guy all the right background , certificates and even a good engineering degree , interviewed well but did not seem to stay for completion of a project . His story was that once the projects were up and running well he was moved onto the next big job. Seemed plausible , but the realty was quite different . He was in fact moved out by his employer .

[@livergen]

I have been watching and enjoying your channel for a little while now Tristan, many many years ago while living in Florida at one time I actually helped build yachts and design molds for specific shapes and components. There were times I had the privilege of being a crew member to deliver New product designs in our 50' - 65' catamarans over to the Fort Lauderdale boat show, of course I was in absolute awe of what I would see down there. I have truly enjoyed listening to you and observing you as a captain of such calm demeanor and truly driven with integrity and utmost class. I guess the boat industry and the beautiful lifestyle has never gotten out of my blood, I'm pretty old right now ha-ha, but you have brought so much joy in your videos in the technical abilities and beautiful craftsmanship that always makes up the backbone Of a well put together crew and functioning yacht of superb success on the open seas. I hope you and your wife remain blessed & are kept safe always... Danny in Texas.

[@donnakawana]

I had my own cleaning biz. I worked for high end clientele..I also house sat. I signed several NDA's so I explained to my new employee ,I will train you myself. Had her shadow me for a week. She was on point . Did very well paid attention... After 2 weeks of training.. She did 2 houses... I called to check on her she was on schedule.. I thought to myself finally I can spend time with my kids.... I wasn't home 10 mins before my office phone started ringing... Both clients called with the same complaint.... Nothing was cleaned an stuff was missing from off limits areas .. She robbed them of stuff an tried to sell it on eBay.. used tissues, an stuff outta their trashcan's. They had perimeter cameras an caught her on film putting stuff in my work truck...!! I almost lost everything.. she was arrested an charged... An my NDA's were updated.. I am still friends with several of the ppl I cleaned for.. I retired at 45 an lived on my sail boat.. Til we lost it it a marina fire rite be4 the pandemic.. an now home is a motel rm .. getting my boat in order... To push off...

[@oceanaxim]

Good sea story! I have been a mariner for over 30 years. If there is any advice I can give anybody is be careful of anyone who talks a big game. Overconfidence in yourself or someone else will come back to bite you. I am sometimes told I am too humble when speaking of myself, and even with all of my experience, the moment I step foot on the deck of a new ship, I am a greenhorn all over again, and have to earn the trust of my shipmates and that is something you can't put on a resume'. Cheers!

[@nemo227]

Some of them don't talk a big game. The best practitioners try not to reveal too much information about themselves because information can be verified or disproved.

[@vincelardner330]

A crew member that thought the owner's yacht and all that came with it was his own party palace, a natural for Below Deck but not a good employee. No matter how good the CV and interview, you can never be totally sure of someone, until temptation has been put in their path, and they demonstrate their true character.

[@redwolfexr]

I suspect he damaged the boat and figured he was sacked anyway and might as well go out in a blaze of glory. He already expected to be fired, so he didn't care anymore. I have seen that before - had a guy that restarted a switch in daytime.. its one those "it takes 10 minutes to come back up, and you are no longer an employee when it does" sorta things. He got up, went to start telling VPs what he REALLY thought of them.. he knew he was gonna get fired and escorted out anyway. This guy just had a week instead of 10 minutes.

[@dtaylor494]

Good job. You handled that situation superbly. You always put a smile on my face. Keep up the good work.

[@martinlanders6135]

I must have missed the marriage news in previous vids Tristan. Congratulations to you and Giv!!

[@martinosborne2842]

When I was younger and working as a deckhand on a 600 ton coaster we had a relieve deckhand come on board, first day at sea at midnight I went down to wake him for his turn on watch with the mate, when I entered his cabin he was fast asleep cuddling an empty bottle of sherry, he never did his watch and was let go at our next port. We all loved a drink but never whilst at sea, big,big no no!!!

[@TheTerryE]

In my prior life I did a lot of interviewing. My conclusion after all this interviewing? You learn only two things in an interview: whether or not they speak English and whether or not they're clean. That's it.

[@chrism6764]

I've worked with a guy like "John". They take advantage every chance they get and then give you a squirmy sob story when you catch them. There's people like that everywhere. In my situation the boss was way too forgiving and gave him the benefit of the doubt 2 or 3 times before finally sacking him. That was almost more frustrating for the rest of us then what the guy was actually doing. 😡

[@rbslammed6163]

I don’t think he gave any sob story did he? Clearly not someone who is trustworthy but also not like the guy sold the place settings off the boat or cleared it out of everything

[@matt_waddy]

Now I'm curious if he made any effort to clean up his mess scattered about before he left the boat, or if he just left the chaos for you two to clean.

[@bosgaurus1]

😂 Yeah. These guys are everywhere, in every industry. At a local car dealership, one guy, a new employee, conned the manager into buying several dually pick-up trucks, claiming to have contacts ready to buy a small fleet of the large trucks. After several months of stories the manager finally clued in on just how big of a con this guy had pulled. Basically a large amount of the dealership's money was tied up in big diesel trucks it had no customers for for over 6 months. They finally auctioned them off at a significant loss. The con man, it turned out, has already spent over half of his life in prisons for all of his failed cons.

[@bend8353]

Them trucks would sell 30% over MSRP these days

[@blest5132]

good story, thanks for sharing, have a great weekend.

[@nickcastings1568]

Juan-les-pins, got a mention, and was made famous many, many years ago, in the song ‘Where Do You Go To My Lovely’ by Peter Sarstedt!

[@dorothygale1104]

Tristan - You didn’t specifically say whether you verified any of the info on “John’s” CV was true or whether any background checking on “John” was done. If not, I’m sure that was a management lesson learned the hard way and cold have cost you your job with many employers. Also, did “John” pay for any of the damage he had done?

[@Rob-fx2dw]

Nice one Tristan. Good you have such reliable people around you and can no doubt return their favours.

[@henrycarlson7514]

Thank You, I hate to think about how many hours , days and weeks you and the crew must have spent to clean up the mess .

[@Samshomecookeddesign]

To be honest I wouldn't trust you with my boat (if I had one) if you hire a guy and immediately leave him in charge of the boat when you don't know him!

[@robertcornelius3514]

I agree. It takes one to know one.

[@michaelross2254]

Risk management springs to mid. Several videos on managing the different risks would be very useful.

[@CH-st2ij]

Reminds me, many years ago I was interviewing potential employees for a role that also required a security check - was nothing to do with boats, ships, sea - completely unrelated field. One young woman interviewed well, seemed competent. I contacted most recent employer listed on CV and explained the situation, and that I was simply after their impressions from having worked with the young woman. Big long silence on other end of phone, followed by - "Are you kidding me? She put me down as a reference? I sacked her for theft ! " .......................... 🤣

[@I-am-awayTOM]

You're a business man now... this will not stop. After a while biz people seem 'aloof' this is why! A timeless story. My family business had over 100 PhDs and I had to deal with all of them... oy!. HR dept. dealt with the rest.

[@mikenelson1495]

Excellent overview of what can happen when one thinks one has the right person but in reality maybe not. Glad it all work out for the best in the end and you have an excellent experience from that it dissolves you more and more into what you are today and outstanding boat captain. I wish you the best and hope all is well best regards pilot Nelson

[@dorothygale1104]

As Ronald Reagan used to say about dealing with the Soviet’s: “Trust but verify.”

[@Omnamahshivay8079]

Great story . We all have our tales of the Bosun who drank too much, or the deck hand who gambled away his tips ,but this is a first. Does the owner pay the salary of the crew or the management company ?

[@thomasw5430]

Nothing surprises me anymore. I’ve worked a r a few jobs- non yacht, where bosses hired clowns who could not do the job they were hired for-although they did not rack up a bill like yours did.

[@rodwilliams2782]

You never ever leave a new hire unattended for the first several months specially when compromising YOUR job , hello unbelievable . What a story

[@d23bw]

That was a really cool story. You handeled it perfectly. I miss your superyacht captain content. Will you be captaining any superyachts in the future? I hope so.

[@pistonburner6448]

Oh my lord, the amazing ways employees can cause headaches... It's absolutely unbelievable what some people manage to get up to. The worst is when an employee is a total nightmare, absolutely deserves to be fired on the spot due to half a dozen different fireable offenses, but they have some crazy labour laws in that industry (not yachting) and massive, aggressive unions and they manage to cause YOU trouble when you have to fire them! It really didn't take long to learn that the right people are in fact the key to successful (and enjoyable) business. And that I will forever avoid having to deal with HR management myself.

[@schwags1969]

That industry is tight knit, I am sure people like that do not make it far before they are called out.

[@lulabellegnostic8402]

To me a Yacht is, and always will be, a bermudan ketch. A ‘superyacht’ is a form of supertanker requiring the same seamanship skills.

[@paulfrost4678]

Great story , you must have lots you could share with us . Would make a superb series

[@rebekahlow8375]

That's quite a story!! Love from Vermont

[@lulabellegnostic8402]

Top tip. When looking at references, always SPEAK to the referees. Then research the referees.

[@ThoughtfulWander]

LOL wow what a turkey! I can't believe people think they are going to get away with this type of stuff... Sheesh.. Glad you had a friend close by to help your wife with the situation... Wow giving customers false information too... sheesh wow crazy...

[@lmcmaster66]

this is one crazy story to hear!!

[@neilwharton720]

Funny story had a very similar experience with a deckhand many years ago, he did the same thing but my captain friend said ha ha nice party on your boat last night joking,I said what do you mean he said ask security, I did and then questioned the deck hand about the night before , anything you want to tell me, no nothing happened, come 5.30 when we were about to finish he says can we have a word!!! I replied yes pack your stuff now , your fired.

[@TheYourvoice1]

Hi great channel. I’m looking at buying a Azumit S7 what amount of crew would you recommend. It’s private use only. Many thanks in anticipation

[@RosequartzDivination]

This guy reminds me of "danny" from below deck.

[@mumblic]

I think you should look up the word Con Man. Because if he was one he would be playing games with you for years, and you wouldn't know it;-))

[@walkaboutclive]

Interesting story . Happens in every situation.. give people an inch they take a mile… some people are like a computer . the reason . They go to sleep if not watched for 25 mins

[@robingilmore1444]

I've wondered about things like that. Not just crew but captains too. Is this sort of thing common? That's a huge gobs of money to trust to a stranger.

[@seantwomey396]

He was not really a con man. He was an irresponsible youth who made hay when the boss was away. Some people feel entitled and lie readily. It is sad but you can’t really trust someone until a lot of time has passed. If he had not drunk the booze and damaged the boat I might have given him a break on just the tender. That would have been my kind hearted mistake.

[@youtubemodsaresnowflakelef7692]

Is that why he used a fake name when calling? How do you know he wasn't setting up a con? Inviting women (and maybe later guys also) onto the boat, presenting himself as someone rich, and then pitching them an "investment opportunity"... You don't hit people like that with this right away, you show off what you have first etc to sell the image of being "one of them". It's like fake it til you make it, except with a far more sinister motive. You see this type of stuff on youtube also. People pretending to be rich, finance gurus, selling stuff on other peoples' behalf that they know NOTHING about or essentially selling you a worthless dream with generic "marketing information" about ie dropshipping and such. Yeah, you can make money with it, but you need to find really good products (or make your own), find niche stuff etc. Most people will spend hundreds or thousands on this stuff, which essentially is a con too, except it's technically legal...

[@Simon-ho6ly]

@@youtubemodsaresnowflakelef7692 Bit late but i know tristan cant say how different or what the two names are but if it was something close and somewhat interchangable then i would maybe have my doubts, we have a jack on staff who usually goes by john for a bunch of reasons, so if it was like the guy was someone like that who under his new employment was told he HAD to use his given name or something then its a possible... Tbh i suspect he was just using the boat and illusion of money to get laid.. thing is a long term partner and stuff.. and after a few weeks asking if he could bring them out on the tender for a day or whatever would probably have been given the ok had he gone about it correctly

[@rrrfrazierable]

...there is something extra sad about a person with potential that spends their life subverting that gift repeatedly. I think it occurs in all walks of life. Like they want to invalidate themselves because it hurts less than when someone else invalidates them. I've seen it in the military, medical school and all the time in sports.

[@tightcamper]

The hardest thing to do is interview potential staff. You have to ask questions that they cannot possibly answer.

[@patricathomas7824]

I love your honesty about your own mistakes. It would have been interesting to know what you had learned from this experience i.e. to check references, not to trust someone new with so much responsibility until they had earned that trust…..?

[@smythrich]

have to think it was poor judgement to leave a new lad on the boat alone so soon. if i was the owner i wouldnt have been happy. funny story though. he had a great time.

[@RidgeWalletYT]

Aluminum - Matte White ftw 🙌

[@gfrizzleshizzlemanizzle]

Hey bro 'John' here. Sorry again for that. Must admit sure was a good week. In my defence I'd had a few lines of the owners Charlie and was a bit out of sorts. Also managed to hack his computer and squirrel away 2.6 million quid from one of his accounts in Belize.

[@sideast]

your saying you never had party on owners boat while they were away 😆

[@KKhhoorrnniittee]

Don't know what hit me, but I misread the title as "I hired an ex-con" and was waiting for the big reveal at the end, lol. Awesome story anyway. Like.

[@riantomuklis6786]

Yhesh thengs you kaptend bhot 👍

[@Dan-oj4iq]

All that comes to my mind (maybe I've seen too many movies) is that you got very, very lucky. In the movies "John" could have done far more than to have just walked away. In the movies you might not have been able to even tell us this story.......ever.

[@jamesrichards9284]

Hey Tristan .. let’s be honest “John” was a lucky boy that day, I’ve never seen Giv so angry!

[@TheDartsPirate]

Sounds like you were the captain in the slip nextdoor haha

[@RobertPalomoMusic]

People can be their own worst enemy.

[@JCP58]

Crazy that you would not know people in the industry that worked with this “John” guy that you trusted before risking your safety with him.

[@willumverberne9663]

What a great guy people make mistakes But years later you have him sacked a second time Wow ......

[@nomax101]

Yeah….years later? Should have let it go man. Kind of a dick move to call his boss. Let his boss figure it out.

[@daveboon5992]

Tinder Swindler 😎😎😎😎

[@derekstuart5234]

A good boat Captain, for sure. But an unwise employer. No one ever should take a new employee into a position of trust and then leave them more or less straight away in a position of responsibility, completely unsupervised.

[@mauricematla8379]

That is a bit silly, no matter wich job i give you. It is always one of responsibility

[@derekstuart5234]

@@mauricematla8379 no it is not silly. What is silly is leaving a new member of staff unsupervised so soon after they start working for you, no matter how good the reference. When I take on new staff (a different industry) I never leave new staff unsupervised until I've properly assessed them. Quite frankly I am surprised at him admitting to this error of judgement anyway.

[@mauricematla8379]

@@derekstuart5234 I think ook missed missed my point. Sinds there is not a single job out there without responsibility

[@mauricematla8379]

Who is to say YOU can be trusted... The thing is of of must go both way's have you ever been honest to a new guy and openly told him that YOU are not to be teksten and can not be left unsupervised?

[@derekstuart5234]

@@mauricematla8379 OK. Life is too short. Is this how you normally win arguments? Write nonsense until your opponent loses the will to live?

[@triedproven9908]

John went nfg yolo on the job. The pofessional scammer was probably going to put in honest work until his maintenance crew left. It's usually how it happens for them.

[@trevr10]

I guess you won't fall for my previous experience of circumnavigating the globe on an inflatable turtle I bought from a kiosk on Skegness sea front when I apply for a job?

[@shawnmcmanus174]

In JohnJoe's defense, you asked him if he *wanted* to say anything else about taking the tender out. I imagine he didn't *want* to have any part of the conversation at all.

[@I-am-awayTOM]

I toured Lazzara Yachts. Seems well built, good yacht support and... Built (mostly) in America... but I won't brag.

[@patricklarue2023]

I work at a Marina, and I've seen this too many times.

[@lisalisa3110]

He was just out for a joy ride lol

[@joshem16]

GREAT Story :)

[@netinfluencer]

I gave the 1000 Like, Jippiee!!

[@JimmyDCarter]

Always check a prospective hire's last few of their "claimed" employment history! That's a good practice I have learned by a past mistake! I am sure you are doing this now!

[@ValhalaDuke]

Nice video, I have one question... What are my best chances to transfer from cruise ship as an 3rd engineer to yacht as engineer?

[@gfrizzleshizzlemanizzle]

Hi bro. Today the chance is around 62% but it fluctuates daily. Get your school boy haircut and your short shorts on mate.

[@richardgiles2484]

You'll find a lot like this regardless of what industry your in 🤣

[@nomax101]

I had a pathological liar worm his way into my life ( and restaurant business) as well. Took about 2+ years for lie upon lie upon lie to just keep building, then everything came tumbling down. Bottom line, he cost me about $15k-$20k when all was said and done, not too much in the grand scheme and overall sales. He never really had full access to books, checks, accounts, etc, so everything was just petty shit that added up over a couple of years. I’m retired now, living in a gulf coast town, waterfront home with a pool out back while I hear he’s still up north scamming and conning, telling folks he was my executive chef, all my recipes were his, etc, etc…..lol….whatever….he has a long enough history of this con bs now that if they get sucked in it’s on them……it wasn’t a real big town so no way should they not know what he did to me and others….oh well….I truly believe though he’s going to cross the wrong operator one day….and wind up in a forest some where….

[@jennycorrigan6130]

MRS,MRS,MRS😂

[@SilasMoleCatcher]

Looking forward to seeing you back at sea. These land-based vlogs aren't doing it for me.

[@TheOUboy]

Crazy deal

[@jamesgraham6122]

Lesson? Always ask for references; always follow up on references.

[@jameshardy6277]

Should have let him clean up under the guise of redemption. Then fire him. Once sacked, I guess he would have just walked off.

[@Leo-uhhuh]

A proper conman would have done more damage then a few bottles of booze!

[@tlaloclopez-watermann3499]

Do you enjoy sailing at all or just motor yachts?

[@SuperYachtCaptain]

Just Motor Yachts

[@tomm9427]

"Now My Wife" When did this happen? Congratulations

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

Sadly it’s a small world and one bad apple will always try to pop up again..

[@ashleyjackson8538]

It cost a lot of money to get into yachts . Seems a bit messed up to throw it away .

[@floodo1]

Mmm that story really had me hooked (-8 Tell me more stories plz (-8

[@eveningstar1]

this isn't a con man - this is someone sabotaging a great career opportunity. it's low self-worth, not manipulative deception.

[@davidd5636]

no it's not, he left the guy alone on a boat without knowing him, that is his fault en he should have been sacked for this.

[@anthonynicholas1165]

Some people just can't help themselves, or appreciate you helping them, the worst part is people like him don't see themselves as the bad guy/girl, for them it's a succesion of bad luck situations, they're victims in their eyes, i think perhaps they don't have mirrors, yes i've been unlucky enough to meet more than one, the only good side was being able to fire them.

[@michaelshafer2996]

Regardless if that is your job or not, how can you disrespect someone else's property like that

[@brianball2002]

You don't end up losing your money to digital pickpockets, you lose it by buying a VERY expensive wallet!!

[@borysnijinski331]

Ironic aspect of this story is Tristan’s start in the industry where he exaggerated (lied?) about his qualifications and knowledge about how to operate boats and a jetski.

[@TheDartsPirate]

What do you mean?

[@pookatim]

I am curious, who paid for the damages and booze?

[@bobuncle8704]

Kind of blows my mind. But I guess that’s what cons do

[@erichaskell]

AND you made the error of hiring a crew member when you wouldn’t be around.

[@jimdelarosa9776]

John would have been better off just walking off the boat once the misses showed up...

[@mooliju]

Don't give up the day job!

[@nemo227]

Con man? They walk among us. We all have contact with a con man or con woman. Some people simply regard them as unreliable and don't see them for what they really are.

[@ScatPackRob]

I once hired a guy who had incredible credentials and interviewed extremely well. We had an urgent need that he could fill well. I went around the system and hired they guy before he took a drug test. Guess who failed the drug test. His work for the week and a half he was employed was only mediocre. Think his name was John.

[@macrichardson7440]

I will bet dollars to doughnuts that he told his “ guest”. That he was the a owner of the yacht.

[@ralgor100]

some people never learn,

[@Dylan-iq1de]

Hahaha had the time of his life

[@jakemason7194]

Ive made that mistake before tristan

[@SuperSic101]

u are captain or boat owner

[@zzzxxzzz3248]

The part of the story I liked was the part where he was hired to crew the chase tender and you left him on the boat with a bunch of maintenance jobs that was yours and your wife's duty also! What a dirty trick !