Hello everyone! a lot of people have been commenting and messaging me for an update on my previous post. I’ll link it in the comments below.
Firstly, I just want to say thank you to everyone who commented and reached out with support, advice, job offers, all of it. I really didn’t expect the post to blow up the way it did, and was really just looking for a place to vent and get perspective on if I was overreacting or not. Regardless of the initial intention, the post and the responses have literally been life changing.
To cut to the chase, NO, I have not been back to that job since last Tuesday. I was off Wednesday and Thursday due to us having no cars to work on (combination of us finishing cars ahead of schedule and cancellations). My intent was to go in on Friday to get my final pay, say what I had to say, and leave – but we had yet another cancellation Friday, so I was told to come Saturday or Monday, as pay would not have been ready Friday. The owners of my former job had definitely seen the post, and though it wasn’t said outright by them, there was a mutual understanding that I was done there. I’m still unsure if I got fired, but I definitely quit. As of Thursday, February 24th, I was effectively jobless, with my last paycheck on hold until whenever I could come collect it.
That same Friday I called a shop I previously applied at, and told them that I would like to refer people to them, instead of my (now former) employer. Some of these referrals were fellow redditors who, after seeing the post, messaged me directly asking me to do work for them. I would have loved to, but since I had no shop, no resources, and my tools were still at my former job, I wanted to send them somewhere that I trust would take care of them. I told the shop owner that I was cutting ties with my former employer, but had people who needed work done, and that I still wanted to learn/work. The shop owner asked why I was cutting ties with my former employer, so I sent them the original post because I felt it summed up the situation best. A few minutes later, I got a call from the owner of the shop, and was told to come in for a follow up interview on Saturday (02/27)!
That Saturday I went in, and was given advice and constructive criticism on my work (I spent some time there a few weeks ago helping out and establishing a baseline of what I could do). Then I was told to come in on Monday for my first day! I am very much appreciative of this because up until that point, I realized that though I was a GREAT employee for my former employer, and became GREAT at what they needed me to do (installing mainly pre-cut kits on cars), I was nowhere near good enough to run my own operation. Being the lead installer for my former employer is akin to being very good at riding a bike with training wheels, or swimming competitively in a kiddie pool. I was good enough to make my former employee a lot of money – but not good enough to go off and start my own business. By giving me a shot, this new job is effectively taking my training wheels off, and teaching me the skills that I missed out on developing at my previous employer. It’s clear to me now that there is a steep learning curve to get from “good enough to make (someone else) money” to “great at what I do,” and this new job is my first real step towards that.
Monday was my first full day on the new job, and I was thrown into a completely new and challenging environment. I loved every second of it. I helped wrap a whole boat in vinyl, which was my first real venture into vinyl (was a ppf installer originally). Made some mistakes, learned A LOT, and overall, the job got done in 6 hours and came out great. Most importantly, I was treated with much more respect. It’s going to be a long road to succeeding the way I want to in this industry, but I’m here for it.
Finally, in regards to my former employer(s) – a lot of people have been asking me to expose them, name names, and throw them under the proverbial bus. I don’t want to do that out of respect for the friends I’ve made there, namely the other employees. I don’t want to take money out of their pocket. Really, I don’t want to take money out of anyone’s pocket by tearing others down. I want to be chosen based on my merit, quality of work, and skill set. For the sake of fairness, I must also say; I grew a lot at my former job, and though I took way more shit than I should have, and got a lot less than I put out, I did gain experience and had a job through covid. This may also be an unpopular take – but looking back on it, I would say that all three owners of that business are decent (even good) people OUTSIDE of the business. All of them are family men who look out, and do a lot for, their own. I would have a beer with them if I didn’t know/experience what I had. That being said HOWEVER, I would/could never work for them, or anyone like them, again. Their business needs a lot of sorting out, and the employees suffer for it – but that’s no longer any of my concern. I will be going there this morning (Wednesday, March 2nd) to collect my final pay, say what I need to say, say goodbye to my friends, and close this chapter.
Once I am good enough to confidently run my own operation, I may just take some of you up on your offers to invest in me! The statement still stands; fuck businesses who use the “we're a small business/family” to justify disrespect, shitty treatment, abuse and exploitation. BUT now I can say that for every one of those bad businesses, there are countless more good people who will have your back. Again, thank you all for following me through this whole situation and offering the advice, support and positivity that you did.
TLDR: wasn’t expecting the post to blow up, but it did. Business owners saw the post – mutual understanding that I was done there as of February 24th (still not sure if fired, but I definitely quit). Called a local shop trying to send them referrals because many people, including some redditors, were asking me to get work done (but I had no resources). Explained to the new shop that I was sending people to them because I was cutting ties with my old shop. They asked why, so I sent them my original post, and received a job interview from said shop 10 minutes later. Came in for the job interview Saturday, and my first official day was Monday! Was unemployed for a total of one business day. Still have a lot to learn, but am now on a better path to succeeding the way I want to in this industry. Am going to take the high road and not expose my former employer as I have respect for the friends I’ve made there (mainly other employees). Will get good enough to employ them one day though! Thanks for all the support!