The other rmchrgr got a job!!

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Wow, how did I miss this?

Congratz rmchrgr! There's nothing quite like hands on training. :)
 
Good luck with the new job!Ask questions too the oldest mech. there, hope you learn alot! Enjoy the pay check and make sure you get benefits for the wife and baby!!
 
rumblefish360 said:
Which one?
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Huntington Chrysler/Jeep/Hyundai, corner of Jericho Tpke. and Park/Deer Park Ave. I think they just swallowed up the Dodge dealership down the road towards Commack too.

rumblefish360 said:
Don't worry about the kids. They'll cherrish you more when you come home and play with them. I'm lucky to work nights and spend all day at home.
Full time job plus Mr. Mom!

(Dang I'm tired!)
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Man, that's gotta be tough. Being Mr.Mom is NO JOKE, it's a full time gig. Even if you're just sitting around, you still need to be aware of what's going on, you can't check out. MAybe that's why I had a relatively easy time getting back into the swing of things, I've been holed up with a crazy one year old!

I can understand that my wife just wants to shut down when she gets home but we have to be 'on' for Jake until he goes to sleep. Long days when you have an energetic toddler.
 
LOL, No dount! Mr. Mom is tuff. The hardest time I had was workin 10pm - 6am, then my daughter after that while twisting wrenchs for a side gig right out front of the house. I was lucky in my daughter was very easy going and content with little.
(Nothing like being called to duty for her when your seriously elbow deep in gease. I looked up and the diaper was HUGE! I'm like how can a little thing like her CRAP SO MUCH!)

I know the dealership. I used to travel past it alot. The wife worked up in Huntington as a Med ***. on West Carver. Good crew, livley bunch, would often travel to Mehanns (SP!) or somewhereover there in town. So many places to party!

I noticed alot of dealer gone and wonder if they were able to take up the slack of customers and X employes.

This is good though. Getcha back into the swing of things and maybe that program!
 
Congrats on your new job. If you take care of those Mopars like you take care of your child and family there will be lots of happy Mopar owners out there.
toolmanmike
 
rumblefish360 said:
LOL, No dount! Mr. Mom is tuff. The hardest time I had was workin 10pm - 6am, then my daughter after that while twisting wrenchs for a side gig right out front of the house. I was lucky in my daughter was very easy going and content with little.
(Nothing like being called to duty for her when your seriously elbow deep in gease. I looked up and the diaper was HUGE! I'm like how can a little thing like her CRAP SO MUCH!)

I know the dealership. I used to travel past it alot. The wife worked up in Huntington as a Med ***. on West Carver. Good crew, livley bunch, would often travel to Mehanns (SP!) or somewhereover there in town. So many places to party!

I noticed alot of dealer gone and wonder if they were able to take up the slack of customers and X employes.

This is good though. Getcha back into the swing of things and maybe that program!
Click to expand...

Lot's of dealers gone here. Huntington Chevrolet which used to be Pape Chevrolet close to me on Oakwood and one on Jericho closed up, both big places. A Mazda, Ford and GM dealers all on Jericho near my house are also closed up.

Meehans' is right on NY Ave., an old Irish bar. Huntington is all fancy restaurants now. I swear it's more expensive to go out here than it is in the city. Plus, I'm too old to go out with the kids and too young to be a regular with all the old men. I drink beer at home and go to bed. I was really tired this week, tough being on your feet all day using your arms, legs and back after doing nothing for almost two years.
 
Well, Ive made it through my first month at the dealership. I have to say that I'm doing pretty well. They have me doing all sorts of stuff and I'm picking it up quick. I've made some mistakes, worst of which was leaving lug nuts on a wheel loose. Luckily the customer didn't get too far and there was no damage. I took it pretty hard but it turned out to be no big deal. I also chipped a brand new console panel on a Grand Cherokee that was like $700 to replace. I owned up to all of it and offered to let them take it out of my pay but they said don't worry about it, it happens, we'll get one from a lease return. Despite all that, I've been told that I'm doing a good job and am now part of the team. Got my uniform the other day so I'm in for the long haul.

I've learned a few things - working with trim SUCKS. I've had the interior apart on several cars so far and it's never fun dealing with all the plastic panels. Chrysler sure does love their Torx bolts. There is so much plastic crap on modern cars, everything is covered with a plastic panel.

Since the lug nut mishap, I've learned to double check everything and whenever the wheels come off, I take it for a quick ride just to make sure everything is hunky dory. Little extreme perhaps but just an added measure of safety while I'm still learning the ropes.

Most of the guys are willing to help out, lend a tool or a hand. The guy
I work with is one of the lead techs in the shop and I'm lucky to be working under him. He's shown me more cool stuff in a month than I learned in a year of school. He's told me on a few occasions that I'm doing well so my confidence is building.

I need more tools. Lots of them.

Work is now fun. That's never happened for me. I beat my head against my desk in the printing industry for 15 years, I never knew what it was like to enjoy what I was doing and the days dragged on forever. Days go by so fast now, even working from 7-5. I'm tired but it's OK. Going from the lifestyle of daddy day care to working 10 hr days at a busy shop was quite an adjustment but I'm getting used to it.

It's good to have some money and to be able to pay for things for my family. It's also nice to have a career again. I'm happy to finally be putting my training to action. What a difference it makes to do what you set out to do and get a paycheck!

I'll try to update more in the future. Thanks again for all the encouragement.

- Greg
 
LOL! Sounds like quite a ride so far.
 
rmchrgr said:
Well, Ive made it through my first month at the dealership. I have to say that I'm doing pretty well. They have me doing all sorts of stuff and I'm picking it up quick. I've made some mistakes, worst of which was leaving lug nuts on a wheel loose. Luckily the customer didn't get too far and there was no damage. I took it pretty hard but it turned out to be no big deal. I also chipped a brand new console panel on a Grand Cherokee that was like $700 to replace. I owned up to all of it and offered to let them take it out of my pay but they said don't worry about it, it happens, we'll get one from a lease return. Despite all that, I've been told that I'm doing a good job and am now part of the team. Got my uniform the other day so I'm in for the long haul.

I've learned a few things - working with trim SUCKS. I've had the interior apart on several cars so far and it's never fun dealing with all the plastic panels. Chrysler sure does love their Torx bolts. There is so much plastic crap on modern cars, everything is covered with a plastic panel.

Since the lug nut mishap, I've learned to double check everything and whenever the wheels come off, I take it for a quick ride just to make sure everything is hunky dory. Little extreme perhaps but just an added measure of safety while I'm still learning the ropes.

Most of the guys are willing to help out, lend a tool or a hand. The guy
I work with is one of the lead techs in the shop and I'm lucky to be working under him. He's shown me more cool stuff in a month than I learned in a year of school. He's told me on a few occasions that I'm doing well so my confidence is building.

I need more tools. Lots of them.



- Greg
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Nice that you owned up the mistakes. Seems that nothing will get a man into trouble in the repair biz than breaking something then trying to cover it up. Way to step up. Nice job.

Taking a car for a quick test drive is never a bad idea, either, if only for peace of mind. And if you hear that strange noise better to bring it back in and check yourself than to let it get into the hands of the customer and have them hear it. Double checking yourself after a mistake is a good way to remember that one mistake and make sure it doesn't happen again. Now it's time to make new ones and learn from them! :grin: (Trust me, we all do!)

Having a more experienced guy take you under his wing is always beneficial. When Brian hired me at the Ford/Mercury/Hyundai shop I hadn't been in a dealership in a while and the last one I was at was as a body man. Now here I was the last line of defense for auto repairs. I wasn't in the aftermarket anymore, no one to slough it off to in case the shop didn't have the tools to work on it ("sorry, ma'am, can't figure it out, the dealership's that way..") now I was at the dealership. Brian put me next the best tech I've ever known and I learned a lot just through osmosis. It helped this tech and I were in the only two techs in the Hyundai shop. Just the radio, him doing his thing, me doing mine, bouncing ideas off each other. When things went south there and I was forced to leave and went to another dealership I was asked to do things that no one else had the guts to take on. And I got 'em done, and done right. The fact that you're seeing that yourself means you'll be the top guy in no time! Keep up the good work.
 
Just thought I'd post an update on how things are going with me at my job.

Seems I'm bent on making every terrible mistake that a tech can make in the first two months of work. Though I doubt this is how it works, I hope I can get these gaffes out of the way now and not have to go through them again. Yeah, right.

I'm still employed though, so I guess I must be doing something right. To recap:

1) Left lug nuts loose on a car. Customer came back, heard a 'noise' and 'felt like the wheel was loose, to please check it'.

2) Broke a VERY expensive bezel during a radio R+R, like $700. None found in the lease return parts bin.

3) Left an oil pan drain plug loose, customer came back because of dripping oil but luckily engine didn't blow up. Dealership accountant!

4) Lowered the bay door with a remote while someone was driving out, just didn't see what they were doing. (driving really fast inside with the hood up) Cherokee hood met descending garage door. Loud noise, screeching brakes, stunned looks. Dent Wizard!

5) Backed a Commander into a Hyundai on Monday. Narrow lot, Hyundai parked by customer in my blind spot. Even checked the navi system backup camera which was clear and didn't beep before impact. Told the guys the R.O. said customer states 'does not feel safe in little shitbox' so I decided to test the structural integrity of the Hyundai's door skin to make sure the car was structurally sound. Failed test. Commander = 1, Elantra = 0. Not something Dent Wizard can fix.

Again, I am still employed at this place. Not sure how or why but dosen't matter. I have not hid from any of this stuff. I showed remorse and promised to be more careful.

The guy I work under said mistakes happen, most have a crashed a car or two in their careers. Told me a story of how the service manager TOTALED an Eagle Talon on a 'test drive' several years ago. Amazingly enough one of the guys in the prep dept. crashed a brand new Liberty into a brand new Challenger IN THE SHOWROOM today as well, so my little fender bender pales in comparison. (sort of) Luckily this is not an independent shop or I'd probably be out. Mistakes seem to just get folded into the cost of doing business. Not saying ALL places are like this.

On the bright side, I am learning a ton of stuff. The thing I need to work on though is how to assess a car quickly and make money on it and learn to separate the cars that are time wasters - several little complaints that add up to nothing but grief. I'm still hourly and will be for a while but I need to learn this particular skill to eventually make the real money.

I'm also learning how to work within a system. Not easy. Service writers and grumpy parts managers can be the bane of my existence some days.

Lastly, I'm learning how to work efficiently/smart. I need to remember I can't do two things at once. And I can't leave my tools from a brake job in the cart while I'm doing a transmission service.

Whew! Still glad to be working though, definitely. Time goes by quickly so I am enjoying it when I'm not crashing cars in the parking lot. Like today, I felt I was able to work well, kinda just came to me after two days of agonizing and self-doubt. Banged out a bunch of jobs in succession without issue, felt good! Learning is tough, the object is to get back up when you get knocked down. Do it enough, you get good at it!

Not sure if I should be posting this stuff here on the internet for all to see especially since I said where I worked earlier in the thread but I thought it would be entertaining to read.

Rock and Roll,

- Greg
 
Greg, the guy you're working with has it right: s*** happens. It's how you deal with it that matters.

The fact that you're not trying to run away from the mistakes and making excuses about them is why you're still employed. You're owning up to them and showing that you're willing to learn from them.
 
Thanks guys, I think that things will get easier for me. The last few days have gone relatively smoothly, no further catastrophic screw ups. Basically everything I do is new to me so I gotta go through stuff a few times before I get a feel for how to do it. I've already picked up speed in some areas, I can do a brake job pretty quickly now.

I have a few things going for me that certainly play in my favor - one is the service manager likes me and two the place is pretty lenient for whatever reason and tolerates a lot of stuff. It's not the most well run shop around but they have several loyal employees who have been there for long stretches, some over 20 years. I plan to stick around for as long as makes sense.

Thanks for reading!
 
Thought I would post a one-year update. Safe to say I have learned a lot. Going from essentially point 'zero' to where I am now seems like a fairly big accomplishment but I still have a long way to go. Here are some high lights.

  • I have absolutely no trouble diving into stuff and I am not afraid to unbolt anything. Having confidence in your abilities is a great feeling.
  • I am able to complete fairly involved projects - not as fast as some of the more experienced guys but I'm getting there.
  • After many broken fasteners, I have learned how to use air/power tools judiciously.
  • Pretty sure I got the quick inspection down - assessing a car quickly for what the complaints are and what it may need.
  • Reduced my major mistakes by a ton - no more crashing Commanders, leaving drain plugs or lug nuts loose etc.
  • Learned the importance of good tools. Had been buying tools almost weekly until I upgraded my tool box... trying to pay the Mac man off now so I can start buying tools again.
  • Looking forward to getting some factory training in the spring to put it all together.

Thanks for reading!
 
I love the report card! Great stuff!!!!!!!!!
 
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