I'm 44 and have been turning wrenches since I was a kid.... I would be bold to say I am the best metalshaper/fabricator on hotrods in my area, I'm a very good machinist(had my own auto machine shop). I've been working at a truck dealerships for the last 15 years and there's not one auto restoraton shop or rod shop that can match there wages or benifits. I'd be there if they did. You need to remember Your looking for a very special person in certain circumstances that permit medium wages for excelent skills.....
I get the whole idea that a lot of young kids look for hand outs expecting not to work, but what that does for the image of other kids who are willing to work pisses me off. I constantly have to deal with that problem because I am just another punk kid looking for a free ride in every employers eyes. That's what makes it difficult for young people, who are willing to work their ass off and learn, to get anywhere. Honestly, I don't care about pay as long as I am doing something and can keep my heard above water. My last job I earned just enough to put gas in the pickup to get to work and maybe get a couple dinners with my gal, but I was just happy to work. I dunno, at this point I am just ranting to myself I guess. This week off is driving me nuts haha.
It's the silverspoon generation. Seems like it's worldwide. As bad as everyone living their lives through that stink'n Facebook. What the F... did they do for entertainment and amusement before that crap. Anyway, your right. We went through 6 young blokes before hiring a mid forties guy with experience and, yep, worth his weight in gold. On time every day, and never sick. Perhaps it's the having to work as opposed to wanting. Sad ol' world ahead.
Why the heck would someone want to work when they can get a check...thank our government for this and I guess ourselves for voting these assholes into office...sorry just ready for a changing of the guard hopefully come election time.
If its N.C. , sorry , most of the really good bodymen can't pass a pee test. Thats why I have had my own shop since I was in my twenties, I never could pass a pee test either, I love my weed. To hard a job without a little help with the aches and pains . I know good body work guys, they smoke weed, they drink, they don't give a damn what anybody thinks. I love N.C. Good luck, you will find somebody. Not as many illegals here as there use to be too, slim pickings.
Frank, I'm not sure just where you're going with the "a union man" comment, but if it's to say union workers feel they are entitled and have a poor work ethic, then I'd have to say you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground. The fact remains that whether or not if you work in a union job, your pay and benefits are a by product of union negotiations in your field of work. I work for the Union Pacific Railroad, a company that during our last contract period (last 6 years) made over 22 billion dollars in profit. Now I'm talking profit not income. We just concluded a new contract and while we did receive a nice pay increase we also got a substantial increase in our out of pocket health care costs. Any one who knows anything about economics will tell you that this country saw it's largest period of economic grow and it's best standard of living by the middle class when unions were at their strongest. I spent most of my adult life in service to this country and like most had no idea how much unions had done to protect the working man, both in and out of union shops, until I went to work for one. I'll be the first to admit that I make a good living working for the railroad. (make between 75-85k a year) At the same time I'm on call 24 hours a day, have no set work schedule (never sure when I'm going to work) often work 12-14 hours with a federal mandatory rest period (ten hours) then back to work for another 12-14 hours. Rare is the time I work less than 50-60 hours a week most weeks more. Additionally I have no scheduled days off. I get 3 weeks a year vacation (not together) and a handful of personal days. Federal law says if I work more than 276 hours a month (your typical 9-5er works 160) I can't be called to work anymore that month. (without pay) Now if congress had to pass a law saying railroaders can't work more than 276 hours a month, how often do you think it happened? Now if you still think I'm over entitled, think about this. Do you want some illiterate, illegal alien making 25k a year hauling 20 tank cars full of anhydrous ammonia (one of which if dumped could wipe out everyone in a fairly good size town) through your back yard at 50 miles an hour? Or would you rather have a well payed professional do it? Ya gets what ya pay for. If I read more into your comment then intended, I apologize for the hole in the ground comment. Scott
Most people that are good and want to work have there own buisness. I worked for other shops for 6 years after high school then went on my own. I have a hard time finding help too now. I end up doing everything and loosing some work because of timelines.
The comment on cell phones is valid. We require a signed cell phone authorization from the subs and then enforce it. It works well. Id almost guarantee that the people who show up late, bad worh=k habits, you name it are the same ones in school who were tardy,never had pencils ect. A old lazy ass was a young lazy ass.
Holy fuck does this topic hit a nerve with me. Spoiled little pricks with a sense of entitlement, lazy bastards looking for enough weeks to re-qualify for unemployment, a general disdain and jealousy toward your customers who can afford the bitchin cars, constant questioning and comparing someone else's opinion of the process. No it ain't local, it's national as far as I'm concerned. I pride myself on being the easiest guy in the industry to work for. It really takes a lot for me to go off about something and I always forward my experiences to the ones who help make it happen. The next step is mistaking that open and kind approach as a weakness. Then comes the "Go fuck yourself" that you can probably hear from down there. I'm a solo act today, and in fact it isn't just the workforce. It's like a chronic disease that even spread to the owners of the shop I was managing. Did I do a bad job for them? "Hey Highlander, it's you!" ? Not at all. Enjoy who you are and what you do because odds are YOU are the one who really "gets it" in your niche. You want everyone who comes in that door to care, appreciate, stimulate growth and develop more profitable ways to do the job efficiently, just like you. Not gonna happen. The tens of thousands of dollars you have invested in your life and shop are just that, YOURS. It ain't easy. I'm probably going to retire a solo act because I simply don't have it in me right now to open "big" again. I have the work, 90% of the equipment, a waiting list, available and cheap real estate to pick from, and I'm holding back hardcore simply based on staffing the shop. Why should I take on another $4-5K/month and end up there 12-16hrs a day fixing fuck ups and trying to generate enough billing to stay afloat? I like the way I'm doing things now and have the freedom to persue the myriad of other ways to make a living in this gig. We also own a hair and nail salon. It's not just the car/resto biz that suffers this. I could bore you to tears with the same ol story from that industry. Am I bitter? Fuck no. I got happy customers, bills are paid, got some kool shit of my own that I actually have time for. Now if I got a 1/2 dozen PMs from qualified guys here that want to do some of the koolest shit around I might give it a 2nd thought. However, I won't hold my breath. I can't pay like Ford or GM. I can't offer free medical benefits. I can't offer 2 weeks paid vacation. Not now, and don't think I'd build up fast enough in a short enough time to match the entitlement mood. Is there an answer? I have an idea or 2. I'm slowly but surely looking at and talking to, wait for it...here it comes...RETIREES. That's right, you older gent with a genuine work ethic, appreciation for the skills and the cars they're applied to, an easy going no-pressure PART-TIME JOB. I might end up with 10 or more part-timers, but look at it from the outside or as a customer. Would you feel better about brining your 6 figure car to shop full of elder skilled craftsmen or shop full of tattoo'd punk wannbes? No offense meant to tattoo'd punks who have skills It might work. It may be just the ticket. If Mr. Senior in the morning can meld with Mr. Senior in the afternoon and keep the process seamless? Sure, I'd have to have some youth and stamina in there, and even that's not a total lost cause. It's just a cause I don't have the time or desire to persue right now. Keep punchin brother. You'll find it. FWIW, I went through 6 guys in 2yrs to get the crew I left behind, and it wasn't Utopia but it worked. Only 2 of the originals are there today. Oh well, ya can't save em all. And another FWIW, I don't drug test. I could care less if a skilled worker burns a doob on his own time. I'm less patient with alcohol use than that. Anything else like meth, pills, cocaine, or opiates, they don't have the ability or the mindset to even onsider this type of work. A good drunk from the night before usually carries into the next morning, hence my reluctance and disdain for that. The last guy I fired was drunk at 9am...from the night before...on weekday. Can't have it, won't have it. Like I said, keep punchin bro, you'll find it.
Hawg head, I am not saying Im having trouble finding good help for cheap. I mean I just cant find someone that will show up for work and do their job, etc... Dont really drug test unless theres an accident (insurance) and i dont care if an employee smokes pot or drinks, just dont come to work on either. Ok everyone ragging the young guys. I hire more older people than younger and usually have the same problems, and sometimes worse specially since im a young guy and they dont wanna listen to me telling them what needs done. I do have 8 years experience working in dealership body shops, restoring classics, building bikes/trikes, and building motorcycles for handicapped people. With an additional 2 years learning with people for no pay.
I do have 8 years experience working in dealership body shops, restoring classics, building bikes/trikes, and building motorcycles for handicapped people. With an additional 2 years learning with people for no pay. That's 10 years at 23 years old. And somebody let a 15 year old work in a dealership body shop?
Still going thru this with the wife's upholstery business... And it's the reason I'm not hanging my shingle out again anytime soon.
Right now Im the "young guy, with no experience, unskilled, did I mention young guy?" Im smoke free,drug free, practically booze free, 10 minutes early, 10 minutes past quitting time. I took the job as parts counter guy cuz thats all he thought I could do... Guess who is now the shop manager, lead tech, 2nd painter, fit and finish? YA ME! NO pay raise from getting hired a month ago... Oh wait, only got paid once so far for not even a weeks pay... Still going to work tomorrow...
Yes sir. Worked for minumum for a long time, after doing an apprentice program through the highschool for 2 months, learned lots. Mack brown chevy in Boone, NC. Worked there for 3 years and they still try to get me back.
Welcome to what is currently the number one complaint of every HR manager in corporate America today, attendance. Want an easy answer hire ex-military. There is a huge glut of returning veterans that are looking for work especially disabled veterans. Any HR manager will tell you they love ex-military because if nothing else, they know how to show up for work. But what if they don't know anything about auto mechanics or body work? Doesn't matter, your talking about a group of people that came out of high school with no technical skills and within a year were flying helicopters, operating and maintaining tanks, and trouble shooting vital electronic systems. There is nothing you do you can't teach these people to do with just a little effort. What they are going to expect from you is, as your business grows, they benefit from that growth as well. Scott
Similar situation when was younger. Second semester of senior year we could go to work after 11:00. Needed to be 17 to do that at affiliated employers. At age 20 I was the night shift foreman at that Fab shop. After about 6 months of that I was instructed to lay one guy off that was twice my age but a fuck up. Hard to do but that was a pivotal moment that would shape my career. 4 years later I had my own company.
Poster child for what is wrong with a lot of young workers is they have played video games all their lives, where no matter what you do, it just resets when you push the button. No harm no foul. Well real life intruded on a 24 year old at the Navy shipyard here. He was "agitated" due to a fight with his ex-girlfriend so he started a fire on a nuclear submarine he was working on as a civilian painter. He wanted to go home early!! Did $400,000,000 in damages and he'll probably do life in Leavenworth if they don't try him under the Patriot Act and shoot him for treason. Unbelievable it never crossed his mind the shit he was stirring.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/08/...g-400-million-submarine-fire-to-stay-in-jail/ They are talking about scrapping an attack nuclear submarine
Wow. Whatever they punish him with is too generous, in my opinion. That is beyond messed up. What a selfish lowlife.
I remodel homes for seniors and handicapped clients. It requires a lot of skill in various disciplines, excellent customer rapport and the ability to deal with tight schedules. I used to have five employees and two crews. Now I am myself and one hardworking ethical 64 year old carpenter, we crank out the work and are booked up for months. I get these guys applying for a job with baggy ass pants, tattos up their necks onto their faces, lack of proper hand tools and they can't even show up on time for the fucking interview!!! The lack of ability to read is a big one as they cannot read the installation manuals on various components, know I just administer a reading and spelling test at the interview, I haven't hired anybody in two years, I could use the help but they just aren't out there!
Rattle Trap, Before you call BS on someone you really should do some research. First, the freight railroads in this country have never been subsidized. They were at one time regulated (freight rates, trackage rights etc.) by the government but that ended in the early 80's. Second, the only railroad in this country that is subsidized is the passenger only Amtrak. It has to be subsidized as the cost to operate any railroad far outweighs the what they can charge people for a ticket. That why all the railroads got out of the passenger business decades ago. Third, all passenger railroads in the world are subsidized by their counties' government, they have to be, either that or local commuters would be paying $200.00 a day for a ticket. Scott
To say that you cannot find qualified help is BS. Dont show up? No work ethic? Want too much money? Smoke breaks? I get so sick of hearing this crap I could puke. You want help? Ill help you. Im 50 years old. For close to 30 years I did heavy CAD mechanical engineering, and supervised the department. I have an MBA, finished at the top of my class (night school, naturally), and I have another BS in accounting. I have done every aspect of auto restoration and repair. For the last 3 years the best job I can get is as an auto mechanic for $10/hr. I can work as hard and as long as anyone else, and I always stay late when asked. I now make 25% of what I used to, with no real future in sight. I have busted my ass to have a good job and a future, and I have neither. What time do I start on monday? Cant find good help? Blow off.
body shop teacher hired me right out of school for his shop, 5 years of pure hell till he felt I was "trained" no bondo just metal finishing and a minimum of lead, I was lead hand for the last 2 years there, took the journeymans walk to another shop, we had a 2 year waiting list till the government added a 7% tax then no work, all that training and learning I couldn't backslide into kick and fill work so started an ornamental iron shop and have been self employed with that for 16 yrs, no employees (fired my wife when she wanted cable tv in the office) Following the member posts on the H.A.M.B has really washed away my car hatred, you guys do REAL cars, not some money man's restored trinket. Cars are a tough business for making a living and Im glad I got out, now Im almost ready to reenter it for pleasure, till then I just be reading.Thank you all
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