Got to tell you a story

Jesstzn

Jesstzn

New member
Four years ago when my hobby detailing became a "lets do the odd friends car" thing then progressed to requests to do it for money, I decided to not compete with the shops in town and concentrate on high end cars, show cars and newer cars that I knew people appreciated.

I only do a couple cars a week as its not my income. I did this for a year or so then decided that at my age a little help would be nice.



I went to a few of the teens in the neighborhood and asked if they wanted to earn some summer money. I had one boy show interest but on the day he was to start he never showed and I contacted him and he siad he had "something else to do that day". I think the problem is 8 AM comes early .. it can be cold in the mornings in the spring fall months and aweful hot ( 90+) in the summer.



After I talked to the boy his mom came out and I kiddingly suggested maybe she would like a job. She said yes if I could teach her. I figured what the hell .. if I could teach a 15 year old who knew nothing about detailing I could teach her and decided to try her for one car .. an NSX. Took us 7 hours.



She started that day and has been with me ever since. She doesn't get the fun stuff.. she gets to take bugs off the front, dry the car after wash, vacuum the car , wipe down door edges, take off polish , take off wax etc etc.



One of the things she is very good at is identifying flaws to be worked on . After we wash the car she takes a roll of painters tape and puts a small piece on each scratch she finds then I follow with the buffer and work on the spot. She is also great at final inspection ( QA) so the customers gets a good finished product.



All the jobs I do are ona quoted bases and some jobs you make a lot on and go quickly some slower. she gets a fixed % of the quoted price. We also seldom take any breaks including lunch.



She has never been late, never squacked about the work , never squacked about the weather and has been a joy to work with. She also take a lot of pride in her work ... all this from a lady who has ADD.



To give you an idea of her work ethic and how much she enjoys being productive here is a run down of our schedule for tha last 10 days ( keep in mind this isn't a bread winner job but more of a hobby / sideline ).



Starting with Sat May 5th .. full polish out and detail on a BMW SUV

Sun,,, full polish out and detail on a 07 Dodge Mega cab P/U

Mon.. full polish out and detail on an Infinity G35

Tues... no car

Wed.. full polish out and detail on a Black 06 Mustang convert.

Thurs ... full wash and cleanup of a 07 Jag

Fri ... No car .. I prepped mine for car show on Sat. wash & coat of #16.

Sat/Sun.. days off

Mon ( yesterday) full polish out and detail on a 05 Matrix and this is the first car she missed in over 2 years but did get there in time for the final inspection.



Today we have an Alero to do and she said she will be there .. a little slow maybe but will do her best ..





Oh .. I forgot to tell you .. on Saturday she delivered a 9 Lb 11.7 oz baby .... yes she worked right up to her delivery date. I told her to take some time off and the job will be here for her but she liked the exercise and the work.



I'll tell you what .. when you get a good employee like this .. appreciate the hell out of them .. they are hard to come by. And for you hiring .. never rule someone out just beacuse of a medical issue .. YOU might be the one loosing out.



And for all you young kids out there .... well nuff said..
 
That's an awesome story. I love working with and buying from people with strong work ethics.



I have two bad stories of individuals with bad work ethics, the first one was a mechanic that sliced up my carpet instead of removing the center console to remove the carpet to get access to the area behind it. Lazy sloppy work, we're dealing with that this week.



The second is an individual at a tint shop that cut the rear window too big so when he went to trim it, it didn't cover the entire window and from outside you could see it really bad. I take it back, and they brush on this tinted paint crap and you could clearly see brush marks reminicent of the first picture I painted by brush at the age of three. Absolutely no pride in their work.



I can definately appreciate an individual that takes pride in their work and are efficient perfectionists. Send her our congratulations on her new born.
 
Very inspirational story. Kudos to you for seeing beyond her medical condition. The world could certainly use more employers like yourself.



I wish the both of you continued success!!
 
Jesstzn : That sounds like a real good work relationship you have going there. Sounds like She's a lucky lady to be working for / with you - shame the Son had his teenager moments, he could've had a good boss as well. :2thumbs:



Dumb question time though : What's ADD ? :confused:
 
Attention Deficit Disorder. They used to call it being high strung! :) Generally people with ADD have trouble focusing on one thing. Their minds are going so fast, they simply can't sit still or concentrate.



Ironically, when they DO focus on something, it absolutely CONSUMES them, so they can be incredibly detail oriented.



I have worked with a number of ADD kids over the years. They can be terrific athletes if you can master their challenges.
 
SCoach said:
Attention Deficit Disorder. They used to call it being high strung! :) Generally people with ADD have trouble focusing on one thing. Their minds are going so fast, they simply can't sit still or concentrate.



Ironically, when they DO focus on something, it absolutely CONSUMES them, so they can be incredibly detail oriented.



I have worked with a number of ADD kids over the years. They can be terrific athletes if you can master their challenges.
Click to expand...



Aha. Yep, that rings bells now - I've seen documentaries on TV about people with this condition.



Thanks SCoach :)
 
SCoach said:
Ironically, when they DO focus on something, it absolutely CONSUMES them, so they can be incredibly detail oriented.
Click to expand...



Very true. My younger son is ADHD and he can focus like a laser beam when detailing. Just amazing how utterly spotless he can get doorjambs and other little things that most people half-a$$ when detailing.



Great story, Dee. I had a young lady work for me several years ago (young mother) and it was the same deal. Always on time, had a very strong work ethic and a good eye for detailing. Too bad she (well, for me!) she went back to college and is now a marketing manager for a car dealership.
 
Update .. well she was on time and the car took 5 hours .. we took a 20 min lunch and all she couldn't do was take polish/wax off the bottoms of the doors and bumpers .. she vacuumed and everything ..



Here is a couple pix .. Polished as needed with #83 then Optimum polish on a cutting pad followed by #21



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Dee: What a wonderful story. I can name only a handful of people I know like that.



I think you, her, and many Autopians work the same. Once we get in the zone, we don't stop! I find myself taking short lunches and no breaks whatsoever...The instant results keep us going.



You hit it on the head when you said don't let someone like this go. It's funny how things work out, but no kidding. Keep her close, wish her my best (on her new addition!), and keep the business moving!



All the best,

Sean
 
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