had a bad first day

posteggy

New member
well i got a new job working at a car wash. as a detailer.. well i go there 4 cars ready to go .. "complete detail" i whent to work buffing with a mild compound and a wool pad . finished the pass fender and started on the hood. my boss asked me if i knew how to buff. i said yea. well i got half way though the hood, and tells me im going to slow. i finish the hood and he comes up to me and says : i dont know were you learnd to buff but your doing it all wrong. i said okay show me how to do it . he get a copound mix he hads that was: compound, polish, wax, mix. he showed me how to mix it "just in case i needed more", so he walked around the car and splaterd the mix all over the car and put on a soft foam pad turns the buffer up to 2200 and gets to work. 15 mins later he is done with the hole car.... okay that was on a escalade, so i get to work the in. and and using a degreaser/ and foam for the carpets. i started on the driver side and was planing on working my way around ending in the trunk, i was told i had to start in the trunk and so i did.

i was pulled off the details. and was told to prep cars for wash, so i started to vac cars n prep. a car gets vac. and then we rinse. and scrub by hand with degeaser and a wool mit. then drive them down a line that has pressure sprayers. and air blowers. i pulled one down the line and was told not to drive. i said okay. a black g35 pulled in and 3000gt. 3000gt went frst and the the g. we preped both of them. pulled the 3000 tru the g was starting to spot up so i kept it wet until the driver came back. then whent back to vac. my boss calls me over and said why did i take so long. i told him that it started to spot up. and was keeping it wet. he said i should just let them sit and vac.

so it slowed down and my boss was telling me he will teach me to detail. the right way. i said dude the way you do cars is crazy you buff polish and wax at the same time you should be in jail. you dont take out any oxidation out and the paint looks the same. lets look at ur buffing and car and lets look at mine. so we did i told him to feel his buff and to feel mine. mine was soft and smooth. his was lol the same, he asked me why i clayed the car. and wanted to charge me for the customers "clay job"
then i went in the inside. the weather strip was dirty and i asked about that. he said its not important. i looked down the side of the seats and seen sunflower seed. he said the vac dose not fit down there. i checked the door jams. wax all over. he said thats okay. i kept looking i kept finding stuff wrong. but thats what happens when you clean up a car in a hour and call it a detail

im sorry i had to get this off my back i know see why ppl that walk in to a meat prossing plant turn in to vegans. thats how i felt in there.
i ended up detailing 2 cars got 2dollars in tips. i did not go back and kinda wish i did because i need the cash. and have done the same with a few carwashes / detail shop left because i did not like the work being done. am i wrong for that? i need help finding a way to get in to a good detail shop any ideas.
 
So you just left and never went back without an explanation to anyone? And you've done this two other times? Yeah, I'd say you're wrong for that.

And I know I harp on this, but your post is murdering my eyes. Capitalization, punctuation and grammar will go a long way.
 
i know im bad at writing sorry. and i told them i was no happy with the way thay did cars and treated there customers
 
When leaving a job, it makes you the bigger person to explain why you leave and try to leave on good terms.

In principle, I agree that you didn't compromise and stay at a hack shop. It sounds like everything about that shop was bad.
 
yea i felt bad for some ppl, i can make a car look good with a can of kerosean and some armor all but i would not charge you a arm n a leg for it.

oh sorry for the rant. it just made me mad
 
There is a local tunnel wash here that does the same procedure. I almost went to work for them when they first opened up, but after talking to the owner I declined it. When i was asked how long it takes me to do a full detail and i told him 8 hours plus, he almost fell out of his chair.
 
There is a local tunnel wash here that does the same procedure. I almost went to work for them when they first opened up, but after talking to the owner I declined it. When i was asked how long it takes me to do a full detail and i told him 8 hours plus, he almost fell out of his chair.
I think you might be kidding yourself if you think you actually had the opportunity to decline. Judging by the going rates of charges for details at such establishments in this area and factoring the payment for your services and a reasonable expectation for a profit for my operation, I would have asked you why you wasted my time.
 
what is good pay for by the car shop?
AFAIK, prices will vary by region, local market, several other factors. One way to guage might be to ask for his prices. Then you must factor in something for the owner's overhead plus a profit for the shop, somewhere after that will be what he likely intends on paying his labor.
 
I think you might be kidding yourself if you think you actually had the opportunity to decline. Judging by the going rates of charges for details at such establishments in this area and factoring the payment for your services and a reasonable expectation for a profit for my operation, I would have asked you why you wasted my time.

the owner and myself agreed to disagree and that was it. His way and my way were totally differant and for minimum wage I wasn't willing to do hack jobs on peoples cars.
 
the owner and myself agreed to disagree and that was it. His way and my way were totally differant and for minimum wage I wasn't willing to do hack jobs on peoples cars.
For the sake of clarification, since the owner holds the keys (or in this case the job) his opinion was the only one that mattered.
 
For the sake of clarification, since the owner holds the keys (or in this case the job) his opinion was the only one that mattered.

Maybee I'm confused here, but I don't see the big deal in two people agreeing that a position isn't right for someone. Especially when the job didn't pay anything and I already had a job but didn't like it. Its not like I was desperate for work at the time. There were no hard feelings or arguments. In fact I know the guy pretty well now.
 
Maybee I'm confused here, but I don't see the big deal in two people agreeing that a position isn't right for someone. Especially when the job didn't pay anything and I already had a job but didn't like it. Its not like I was desperate for work at the time. There were no hard feelings or arguments. In fact I know the guy pretty well now.
The only confusion would be if after the owner/hiring authority etc. determines the prospective employee isn't a good fit or desireable, etc. that the anyone could believe the prospective employee's opinion plays any pertinent role.
 
Man I'm sorry, sometimes bottom line takes a back seat to doing it right; in a production world. Stick to your guns and people WILL notice.
 
Man I'm sorry, sometimes bottom line takes a back seat to doing it right; in a production world. Stick to your guns and people WILL notice.


thats why i dont like dealers. i worked for them along time. and they just want nice cars. they should take them to car washes. for them to detail. and then sell i whant ppl that love nice cars. and when they see a detail i whant there jaw to drop. i under stand that a company cannot pay a employee if the employee cannot pay for him self. whats the point. but just raise your price and show the diffrence. do a walk around the car before and afther. play they remember game and make sure the owner is happy.
 
As said earlier, I think the best strategy is to stay employed and look for a better job in the interim. It is best to not be seen as a quitter and an angry employer may just use it against you when talking to his friends.

In the end your reputation will be what is needed to secure future jobs and customers once you get out on your own.
 
I think Bunky summorized what everyone is saying. Don't misunderstand what I said; "sticking to your gun's" is relative to the position you are in. Find a good mentor who has "been there" and listen. This is a great place to start. It's not so simple to walk out and go on your own full time and make a year round income. You never know who your employer may know and right now his word trumps yours. A mentor of mine once told me when you work in a situation you don't like keep a journal of your likes, dislikes and how you will plan to correct problems. You then have a reference and can avoid "sounding off" and costing yourself a job till you find something else better.
 
thanks guys really helps me think, I dont think I can work for shops any more im going back to the warehouse industries, and do details on the side untill I can make it a full time bis.
 
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