Assistant

jdoria · 08-01-09, 04:55

I have never worked on a car with an assistant before.

and I will never work on a car without one again...

I completed 2 today. I never have done this before.

You guys laugh that do production work, but I typically consume 8-10h per car.

I paid out a fair rate to my help and delivered 101% on both cars. (09 Cayenne GTS, old school 944 Turbo)

Hitting it again tomorrow on a 993 cabrio and yet another Cayenne GTS.

What would have taken me a month to compete is now done in a weekend.

Setec Astronomy · 08-01-09, 08:35

You found an Autopian to help you?

Jakerooni · 08-02-09, 05:52

A month for 4 cars??? LOL Anyhow cool beans on finding the right help. I still have a few numbers on the speed dial if I get in over my head on work load. I have a cousin that usually comes over when he can. He loves this stuff. A good assistant will make the day go much faster thats for sure.

toyotaguy · 08-02-09, 06:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakerooni

A good assistant will make the day go much faster thats for sure.

"aint that the truth"

I am still looking for my solid helper! Used one guy on multiple occasions, and a few others...none are on my level or willing to learn to get there. i get a lot of the "i know" answers...then I have to keep going over his work

I finally just said forget it and I'll stick to it on my own for the time being, but with two solid weeks (last and this week), I may need to look into it some more!

Got More Wax · 08-02-09, 08:33

I'm gonna hire her!!!

Andy

Got More Wax · 08-02-09, 08:38

Are you thinking that 10 hours per car is out of the ordinary? I spend at least 10hours on most exterior (paint correction) jobs. I would guess that most Autopians spend about the same, or more. I guess I would be cool with an assistant working the interior. But, if I'm doing the exterior with another person, I worry that two people working different panels might yield different results on each panel. So, I would expect some pretty extensive training would be in order prior to turning someone loose on a car I am working on.

Andy

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdoria

I have never worked on a car with an assistant before.

and I will never work on a car without one again...

I completed 2 today. I never have done this before.

You guys laugh that do production work, but I typically consume 8-10h per car.

I paid out a fair rate to my help and delivered 101% on both cars. (09 Cayenne GTS, old school 944 Turbo)

Hitting it again tomorrow on a 993 cabrio and yet another Cayenne GTS.

What would have taken me a month to compete is now done in a weekend.

jdoria · 08-02-09, 02:22

No, 10 hours is typical. I just like some time back occasionally.

For now, I have the assistant help wash the car and do the interior.

I review the work he did on the interior when I'm done with the paint.

bullitt21 · 08-06-09, 08:55

This is exactly what I'm looking for, but can't seem to find the right person for the job. My neighbor is out of work and he came over and wanted a job. Figured this could be my answer, but he just doesn't have the passion to yield the results that I do. Wish I could clone myself a few times, that would be perfect. I just think you have to find someone young, and hungry to learn( and capable of learning), and that will stick around and grow with the company. I have to many cars to handle right now, and could be making 3x the money with a solid assistant to wash, clay, interior, etc and slowly learn the correction process. The neighbor who came over stated he wanted to learn everything and become a part of the company, but when I started showing him the ropes and what all go's into the cars I do, I think I scared him off. He saw how perfect I was making everything and it took him 7 hours to clay bar a car. The right assistant's out there, but I'm sure I'll go through quite a few to get to the right one.

WAS · 08-06-09, 11:48

Agreed, an assitant is an excellent help.

My first one, who worked with for me for all of 1 day, broke my carpet extractor, didn't say anything, and then decided to never show up again (didn't pick up his final pay cheque either).

I'm currently on my second, and he's actually pretty good, eager to learn and interested in doing the job correctly.

jdoria · 08-07-09, 05:15

I have a set "play"interview process I go through for each person I meet. (From my recruiting biz)

1. Do they look me in the eye when greeting?
2. Is their handshake weak?
3. Do they use words out of context? ("Ill be where Im at" or "Them there those things")

If they failed any one of those three on the initial meet, I say, "Im sorry, something has come up and I need to cancel the interview. But thanks for coming I'm really sorry. Here is the the door"..

If they pass those 3 we go to the next.

1. Do you have a resume with you? (I scan quickly looking for companies I know people at)
2. What attracted you to come today for this position?

No resume, unless they sent it prior. DONE
No answer as to why they want this job. DONE

NEXT:

I tell them that key hiring criteria for me is personality and I can teach anyone what I need them to do.

1. Tell me about your last job?
2. Can we call you old boss right now and see if he/she would recommend you?

From here its a personality agreement or disagreement. If I feel I can control the person, they are hired. If I feel they are more work than they are worth, its over.

I then tell them for 20-30 minutes how and why the business operates the way it does and what I expect of the candidate and position.

Now its question time.

I ask if they like what they heard, and if they have any questions. They all say the like it, its a "lie to me question". But you need to let them feel comfortable a bit. If they have no questions, you most likely bored them to death. If the dialogue was interactive, you may have a hire.

Asking "Let me lie to you" questions is pointless. You will teach people to do things your way if you need them to.

"Do you know how to use a rotary"?
"Are you good"?
"How many wahses can you do in a day"?
"Do you know the XYZ product line"?
"Can you wet sand"?

All pointless questions. Its not a pissing contest, you already won, you are the boss. Just move on to the important stuff. Get to know the character of the person as best you can in those initial 30-60 minutes.

To set someone up for failure, including yourself, is to bring in someone who can "hit the ground running" from day one. To make this work, you have to invest your time. You need to make sure they un-learn all their old "skills" and learn how to do things your way.

WAS · 08-07-09, 12:11

jdoria: You have an excellent interview / hiring method. I see a lot of similarities to when I used to do hiring when I worked for the telco corporation.

That said, I assume you're paying the average rate for an assistant, which isn't going to net them $60,000 yearly. How do you get the "right" person interested enough to go through your interview process ? Generally all I'm able to get is the high school / recently finished high school students who have little to no real life work experience (that's the best I can hope for actually), or the deadbeat adults who've never done anything other than go to jail and wash dishes (yes, I get frustrated on this topic, lol).

jdoria · 08-07-09, 12:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by WAS

jdoria: You have an excellent interview / hiring method. I see a lot of similarities to when I used to do hiring when I worked for the telco corporation.

That said, I assume you're paying the average rate for an assistant, which isn't going to net them $60,000 yearly. How do you get the "right" person interested enough to go through your interview process ? Generally all I'm able to get is the high school / recently finished high school students who have little to no real life work experience (that's the best I can hope for actually), or the deadbeat adults who've never done anything other than go to jail and wash dishes (yes, I get frustrated on this topic, lol).

Thats the pool I have been geting in the $15/hr range. The oldest candidate thus far was 23 years old.

I'd rather have a revolving door store of decent, presentable, middle-class kids who want to work AND:

A. Missed out on an internship this summer
B. Didnt finish college yet and need extra cash

I found a good candidate from SUNY Purchase, a school near my house. He dorms there and is ready to get in his 335xi coupe and show up where I ask when I ask. I cant call him during class time in the fall, which is fine with me. He just loves to be around the cars and wants to keep his like new. Thus far he has produced 2 friends who are also ready to fill-in when he is busy.

For my needs, its going to work out fine. Most people wouldnt benefit so well form that set up.