I am a PhD student and I have been thoroughly searching for future supervisors.
I have been speaking with current PhD students about a certain professor to get to know more about them, and they let me know their experiences as well as the experience of a previous student. Apparently, it seems this previous student had some major problem with the supervisor and left in an ill manner (e.g., as soon as the PhD was finished, they left not teaching the new students after them how to use the equipment they built). The PhD Student I had this conversation with is a respectable one, and I strongly believe they were having a serious conversation with me.
This professor under question so far is a great person, and I am incredibly happy to be working with them soon, and as far as I know and can see, they are attentive, supportive, encouraging and very willing to take suggestions from their team.
This conversation I had with the PhD student worries me slightly and due to the professor’s kindness, it makes me even more anxious to find out the professor’s side of the story, and what they thought about it. However, I am too anxious/embarrassed to bring it up. I have been thinking of having a one-to-one meeting with them and asking them a few questions I could frame as a “mini interview I like to take of future supervisors”:
Have you had any unpleasant experiences with PhD students in the past?
but I was wondering if the academic community on here would have better/more suggestions?