Employment issues - any and all advice welcome!

[A-train]

I've never had employees, so this certainly isnt coming from past experiences so I'm just throwing out ideas.
- what about filing an add with a staffing agency/ job contractor. Since they screen people and their background everyday an may know of things to look for that you or I may not pick up on. Either way I hope it works out and you find some solid guys and have continues growth.

 

[Bates Detailing]

Back on topic: I suggest talking to family, church members, heck even clients that you are comfortable with to inquire of possible candidates for employment.
Most people I know are blundt and to the point and will rather give a good reference than to send someone they respect a clown.
Last suggestion
The state I reside in offers prescreened applicants throught the State Employment Office... and it's free.

I completely forgot about the employment office - that may be a plan. I definitely will not hire family or friends at all - don't like mixing family and business. I almost feel the same way about clients suggestions. We hired the husband of the manager of the Starbucks that we go to just about every morning and had to let him go for just completely not having an eye for detailing and working super SLOW. Now when we go to Starbucks she is not very cheery anymore, instead tries avoiding us lol. Don't want that happening with clients!

 

[Bates Detailing]

B&B, Quick question, you say you don't have a shop? Right? So where do you set up? Been Trying Malls, outlet Malls, different Shopping Centers and its always the run around. Any quick advice? thanks!!

We go to our client's homes or workplaces - never have set up in a parking lot before. Ive seen guys doing that, but never went that route.

Obviously you need to find someone on this forum and hire them. :xyxthumbs:

There is a gentleman on this forum that has come out with us for a couple of days - worked great too, but he just wants to trade a few hard working days with us for a paint correction on his truck. Love the trade-off but wish he could jump on board with us lol.

I've never had employees, so this certainly isnt coming from past experiences so I'm just throwing out ideas.
- what about filing an add with a staffing agency/ job contractor. Since they screen people and their background everyday an may know of things to look for that you or I may not pick up on. Either way I hope it works out and you find some solid guys and have continues growth.

I thought about this when we get larger, but if Im not mistaken they charge quite a bit - I may be wrong though.... I'll check that out too - thanx for the advice man.

 

[Flannigan]

What is your interview process like? It kinda seems like you should be able to root out at least the worst of the worst so you don't have to deal with the showing up late, or working super slow. Maybe give them a try out? Have a car in the shop and ask them to do some simple tasks to it. If it takes too long, or isn't done to your standards then you know right then and there.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I thought about this when we get larger, but if Im not mistaken they charge quite a bit - I may be wrong though.... I'll check that out too - thanx for the advice man.

Yeah they charge a ton and IME you get the same crappy candidates you'd get yourself. The only good thing is they usually guarantee the person for a year so if they quit or you can't stand them the agency will get you another crappy candidate.

When you get into actual "headhunting" like at the executive level, you may get some decent screeening, but at this level it's an employment agency and they will send a stream of people no better than you are getting on your own, IME.

 

[bigez]

If I could make $60K a year, I would come do it and alleviate you of your employee search...lol. Been at my current job for about 2 years. Haven't missed a single day. Actually, haven't taken a whole day off yet either because I'm a contractor and don't get paid if I miss a day. I'm in NC though. Was born in Bristol, TN...still have some family there.

 

[swanicyouth]

No Auto Geeks in TN that need a good job?

 

[Kristopher1129]

Cool man - quick question :

How do you get so many reviews? We service say 3 to 7 new customers a week and each are always super happy - I ask them to write a review, they agree, then a few days later I see nothing.... very frustrating.... but I see you post new reviews all the time. Do you offer them something in exchange?

Nope, nothing in exchange. It's actually all done with my scheduling software. I use Genbook...I believe I told you about it when I was looking into something to use.

It's an online based scheduling program that will send automatic appointment confirmations, reminders, and a follow up review request to any customer who leaves their email with me.

Then, you have the option to view the review, and publish it. Once it's published, all your reviews will show up on a google search like this Reviews for Northeast Detailing in Hooksett, New Hampshire

Not gonna lie...it's the best thing I've ever done for my business. I have well over a thousand clients in my database now, and it grows every single day and I've only been using it for a year. Plus, I've got almost 60 reviews for my business.

Genbook costs about $20 a month, and an extra $15 or so gets you Genbook Promote, which basically promotes your reviews and raises their rankings in a search engine.

It's literally like hiring a secretary. I book appointments 50 times faster, especially if they have already been to me before. It's awesome...you should really try it.

 

[arack]

Some additional thoughts on this topic:

Do a three part interview over three days.

One early morning start, helping you for an hour.

Another interview within a day or two. Face to face.

Final interview the next week. One hour, helping you with something else. Mix up the questions, start times.

You should ask them behavioral event interview questions. Such as:

Please give me an example of a project you completed from start to finish.

Can you describe a situation in which you had multiple priorities? How did you handle it?

Most interview questions are not tailored to force the interviewee to provide some real examples.

 

[Bates Detailing]

Yeah they charge a ton and IME you get the same crappy candidates you'd get yourself. The only good thing is they usually guarantee the person for a year so if they quit or you can't stand them the agency will get you another crappy candidate.

When you get into actual "headhunting" like at the executive level, you may get some decent screeening, but at this level it's an employment agency and they will send a stream of people no better than you are getting on your own, IME.

LOL - seems like a wonderful cycle of crappy candidates

If I could make $60K a year, I would come do it and alleviate you of your employee search...lol. Been at my current job for about 2 years. Haven't missed a single day. Actually, haven't taken a whole day off yet either because I'm a contractor and don't get paid if I miss a day. I'm in NC though. Was born in Bristol, TN...still have some family there.

I was offering Kris that mainly cause I knew he would say no lol! If for some reason he said yes I would probably find a way to pull it off - mainly cause talking with him for over a year now I know he is a great detailer and motivated as hell.

Nope, nothing in exchange. It's actually all done with my scheduling software. I use Genbook...I believe I told you about it when I was looking into something to use.

It's an online based scheduling program that will send automatic appointment confirmations, reminders, and a follow up review request to any customer who leaves their email with me.

Then, you have the option to view the review, and publish it. Once it's published, all your reviews will show up on a google search like this Reviews for Northeast Detailing in Hooksett, New Hampshire

Not gonna lie...it's the best thing I've ever done for my business. I have well over a thousand clients in my database now, and it grows every single day and I've only been using it for a year. Plus, I've got almost 60 reviews for my business.

Genbook costs about $20 a month, and an extra $15 or so gets you Genbook Promote, which basically promotes your reviews and raises their rankings in a search engine.

It's literally like hiring a secretary. I book appointments 50 times faster, especially if they have already been to me before. It's awesome...you should really try it.

Wow man - that sounds like its worth having for sure! Will definitely be looking into that tonight :dblthumb2: Thanks for the info!

Some additional thoughts on this topic:

Do a three part interview over three days.

One early morning start, helping you for an hour.

Another interview within a day or two. Face to face.

Final interview the next week. One hour, helping you with something else. Mix up the questions, start times.

You should ask them behavioral event interview questions. Such as:

Please give me an example of a project you completed from start to finish.

Can you describe a situation in which you had multiple priorities? How did you handle it?

Most interview questions are not tailored to force the interviewee to provide some real examples.

Very good advice man - thank you!



This is why I love AG - I will study this thread (as Im sure others will too) before looking at other candidates and pick the best advice from each individual and implement it into the hiring process. Thanks again everyone for the wonderful advice!

 

[umi000]

Some additional thoughts on this topic:

Do a three part interview over three days.

One early morning start, helping you for an hour.

Another interview within a day or two. Face to face.

Final interview the next week. One hour, helping you with something else. Mix up the questions, start times.

You should ask them behavioral event interview questions. Such as:

Please give me an example of a project you completed from start to finish.

Can you describe a situation in which you had multiple priorities? How did you handle it?

Most interview questions are not tailored to force the interviewee to provide some real examples.

This :iagree:

I don't run a detailing business, but I've interviewed dozens of people for our company, and have undergone training regarding interviewing techniques. A lot of people ask questions that are hypothetical or speculatory - where do you see yourself in five years? Here's a situation, what would you do in this case? The problem with these types of questions is that most people are aware of what you want to hear, and therefore will tailor their answers to meet (what they believe to be) your expectations.

Instead, ask them about actual situations or tasks that they have been involved from which you can extrapolate some idea of how they will perform in the prospective job. For example, if you want to find out how someone deals with customers, ask a question like, "Have you ever been in a position directly facing clients? If yes, could you tell me about a time where you had a difficult client? How did you deal with?" Have the candidate answer, in concrete detail, what it was that he or she, specifically, did - none of these "we gave the customer a call..." or "the company decided to...".

The important point to remember is that past performance predicts future behaviour - so try and find situations in the candidate's prior work or life experience from which you can determine whether or not they are a fit to the position you're looking to fill.

 

[Bates Detailing]

This :iagree:

I don't run a detailing business, but I've interviewed dozens of people for our company, and have undergone training regarding interviewing techniques. A lot of people ask questions that are hypothetical or speculatory - where do you see yourself in five years? Here's a situation, what would you do in this case? The problem with these types of questions is that most people are aware of what you want to hear, and therefore will tailor their answers to meet (what they believe to be) your expectations.

Instead, ask them about actual situations or tasks that they have been involved from which you can extrapolate some idea of how they will perform in the prospective job. For example, if you want to find out how someone deals with customers, ask a question like, "Have you ever been in a position directly facing clients? If yes, could you tell me about a time where you had a difficult client? How did you deal with?" Have the candidate answer, in concrete detail, what it was that he or she, specifically, did - none of these "we gave the customer a call..." or "the company decided to...".

The important point to remember is that past performance predicts future behaviour - so try and find situations in the candidate's prior work or life experience from which you can determine whether or not they are a fit to the position you're looking to fill.

Good stuff here - thanks man :dblthumb2:

 

[Bates Detailing]

Everyone has been awesome! Thanks for your help with this issue :thankyousign: I created a posting on Craigslist and received over 20 resumes and this is what I sent back to them :

Thank you for applying for our detailer position. We have received an overwhelming amount of resumes and will go through each and every one of them thoroughly. Please understand that the majority of our clients are located from East Nashville to Murfreesboro. We currently meet every day in Smyrna TN. While we are growing rapidly, we cannot grow any further until the right crew member fills our detailer position. For this reason there will be an enormous amount of pressure to learn and perform tasks in a timely manner. We are seeking individuals that are looking for a career, not just a job. With all of this said, if you are still interested in becoming a member of B & B Detailing please send an explanation of what “drives” you. Also please submit examples of situations that you have gone above and beyond personally or for a company. Thank you,



Anthony Bates
President
B & B Detailing, Inc.
615.967.8121
B & B Detailing - Nashville's Professional Mobile Detailing - Auto, RV, Bus, Semi, Aircraft



I have only received one reply to this since this morning lol - guess people want to push the copy and paste button (for their resume) but don't want to put effort into their job hunt. Well, Im gonna give it a few days and see what happens. The funny thing too is that I know 2 of the people applying (they did not know that this is my company), and both have bad reps IMO - small world in detailing :/

 

[david79z28]

Wow, you replied to everyone who sent in a resume.

That's awesome!

 

[dad07]

Had a girl that "detailed" for 5 years come for one day lol - all she had to do was clean door jambs, was not impressed at all lol (old habits I guess). scenario already unfortunately lol!

Sounds like the guys i hired with 19 yrs detailing. all he had to do what clean wheel wells, rims, an tires. help dry vehicle vac an windows ( all the things that i dont like to do -LOL) An one day was enough old habits are hard to break lol[/QUOTE]

Good help is hard to find and it's harder to keep them!

never ask ANYONE to do something that you would not do yourself!

use your employes strenghths and weakness's to your advantage

I have people standing in line within the company I work for to come and work with me.......I'm firm but I'm fair.(which gains respect)

not saying that you'all are the worst....just some insight as to what I think and strive for.

 

[Bates Detailing]

I'm firm but I'm fair.(which gains respect)

Im always fair for sure - but I can say that I can be somewhat more of a friend than a boss..... I think that gives some people the impression [kind is weak]. I will not make this mistake again - No matter where I worked in my past, if I stopped enjoying who I worked for I would up and move on. I try to remember this when I hire - but I think I may have been a rarity lol - cause these people take advantage of the situation instead of embracing it as a great place to work. :nomore:

 

[Kristopher1129]

Im always fair for sure - but I can say that I can be somewhat more of a friend than a boss..... I think that gives some people the impression [kind is weak]. I will not make this mistake again - No matter where I worked in my past, if I stopped enjoying who I worked for I would up and move on. I try to remember this when I hire - but I think I may have been a rarity lol - cause these people take advantage of the situation instead of embracing it as a great place to work. :nomore:

I'm still feeling your pain. I've got a guy that is attempting to work for me...but I just can't seem to get him to not be lazy. If we're working anywhere near 5 pm he starts whining like a baby. Just doesn't wanna work I guess.

Not only that, he likes to text me and ask for advances on his pay that he want's to "work off". To be honest, he kind of makes me sick. Dudes got 3 kids, and makes less money than I made when I was probably 16. He refuses to work more than 3 days. All it takes is for the right person to walk in the door...and he's absolutely done, I'll be glad to tell him why.

I know I work really hard, and ask a lot from my guys. But hell...they walk away from the week with $600 pay checks! If I didn't have my business...I would do that in a heart beat. I just don't understand laziness. Ahhhh!

 

[Bates Detailing]

I'm still feeling your pain. I've got a guy that is attempting to work for me...but I just can't seem to get him to not be lazy. If we're working anywhere near 5 pm he starts whining like a baby. Just doesn't wanna work I guess.

Not only that, he likes to text me and ask for advances on his pay that he want's to "work off". To be honest, he kind of makes me sick. Dudes got 3 kids, and makes less money than I made when I was probably 16. He refuses to work more than 3 days. All it takes is for the right person to walk in the door...and he's absolutely done, I'll be glad to tell him why.

LOL - I here ya on the makes me sick part lol - had a guy that just skiddattled always cry about how he is hurting on money.... This guy was like 26 years old, never left his mom and dads house, had no bills other than his cell phone, yet this guy cried DAILY about his money situation. I've got 5 kids total - kiss my %$# lol. We actually told him in the last week to quit complaining about money cause we were paying him great money and it was annoying us that he didn't realize how great he had it. Im getting super serious from now on - the last couple of guys ruined it for the future for sure :bat:

 

[crash93ssei]

Wow, it is unreal to hear that the hardest thing for you to find isn't an employee that can actually detail to a professional quality level, but instead an employee that is punctual, respectful, and has at least some amount of work ethic.

It is just crazy seeing this with the motivation I have grown up with. I have never been fired at any job, never been in any sort of trouble at any job I have ever had, and just always basically do right by others around me especially my employers (don't bite the hand that feeds you!)

I am not sure if I could ever grow my little setup into something like you guys are doing, of course you never know, but it is very unsettling to know that finding a good quality employee is this hard.

I would have thought for sure that the hardest thing to find would be someone that can actually do a good quality job as I really don't think that detailing is something that can be taught to just anyone.


I tell you right now, if I was in the area, or was looking for a job and had no kids I would be moving down there and applying for sure. I know I could make good money and definitely help bring some good work in.


Hard work pays off, it does not come easy, but it surely pays off!

 

[brawl]

How about looking for guys in detailing forums? Anyone hired a person he met in detailing forums? I bet a detailing forum member who was laid off, not happy with his job, earns the same rate might be interested in working for you or someone who wants to start a detailing business (and wants to learn your techniques. ) might be interested. He may be a full time employee or a part time who will only help you during his day-offs. The latter may work if you find 2 or more persons who have different day-offs. lol I bet a detailing forum member will (most likely) be dedicated to the job and put pride in his works.

Of course, there's the chances of him pirating your clients. On the other hand, the best scenario is him becoming your Padawan, starting a business of his own (in some other place or sharing the market with you), and you will be proud of his success.