So this probably belongs under rants and raves but it's pretty hometown relevant. I've been fixing cars in Austin for 25 years now. I have seen it all in those years and when I chose my most recent employer I did it based on their reputation as an "honest" shop having won numerous back to back chronicle awards for most honest shop in Austin in the early 2000s.
I should have known better when after a few months the owners wife told me "I know too much" during a meeting where I disagreed with the manager telling me he would make up for short changing me on a job on my next one. So he literally adds time to another customers bill to compensate me. I had mentioned to them that every other shop I worked at simply "ate" the time. It really wasn't much. I didn't huff and puff about it but it irked me and I was always hesitant to send friends or family there.
Through 7 years of grinding I was literally the most productive and efficient employee they had in the entire history of the company spanning over 20 years. The last 2 were rough considering I endured 50 cent raises in consecutive years during which they not only raised their labor rate by $35 but also received almost $250k in COVID PPP money. Naturally when COVID hit they disappeared to their lake house along with part of the shop supply of nitrile gloves. During this same period we broke records for revenue as everyone worked on.
The COVID money thing baffled me. When I found an article in the el paso times about the money they received I thought how did they qualify while making more money than ever before? Now it's clear they must have claimed their children as employees too since they simply never had their reported number of staff.
But it gets better...I finally put in my 2 weeks after dealing with the owners wife not paying my earned PTO, over a month after I took it. Then when I submitted a tx payday law claim she edits a document she submitted to show I have no YTD accrued vacation but paid me anyways. I cited the numbers from our Intuit payroll portal in the filing. So I finally get paid those days only to find my PTO edited the next week in the payroll portal. Literally removing almost a week of earned PTO in spite of only getting paid for 2 vacation days and one sick day.
I wanted to quit right then but our employee manual only shows end of year payouts for unused PTO. I decided to ride it out til January first then I finally submit my 2 weeks. Even come in the Monday after to finish a job I started on an APD vehicle. So Monday I start packing, talked to the owner and he tells me, no hurry understanding that I have 4 tool boxes, 2 of which require a tow truck to move. Tuesday I head in and the manager says hey you need to be out by Thursday. I thought ok I'll get it done.
Then today as I'm cleaning and packing the manager tells me the owners wife said if my tool boxes aren't out today she will charge me a thousand dollars a day for storage! When I call towing companies most won't do it, others need a day to make the right driver and flatbed available. At the end of the day I get it done. Shout out to Damien with K&S towing but I couldn't help but tell the owners wife that's the most unprofessional treatment I have received in my 25 years.
And before you ask, yes they are liberals who voted for Biden. I'd tell her she lost the respect of every employee there today but the reality is she never had it. I talk to people all the time about how Austin has changed but this is an entirely new experience.
I should have known better when after a few months the owners wife told me "I know too much" during a meeting where I disagreed with the manager telling me he would make up for short changing me on a job on my next one. So he literally adds time to another customers bill to compensate me. I had mentioned to them that every other shop I worked at simply "ate" the time. It really wasn't much. I didn't huff and puff about it but it irked me and I was always hesitant to send friends or family there.
Through 7 years of grinding I was literally the most productive and efficient employee they had in the entire history of the company spanning over 20 years. The last 2 were rough considering I endured 50 cent raises in consecutive years during which they not only raised their labor rate by $35 but also received almost $250k in COVID PPP money. Naturally when COVID hit they disappeared to their lake house along with part of the shop supply of nitrile gloves. During this same period we broke records for revenue as everyone worked on.
The COVID money thing baffled me. When I found an article in the el paso times about the money they received I thought how did they qualify while making more money than ever before? Now it's clear they must have claimed their children as employees too since they simply never had their reported number of staff.
But it gets better...I finally put in my 2 weeks after dealing with the owners wife not paying my earned PTO, over a month after I took it. Then when I submitted a tx payday law claim she edits a document she submitted to show I have no YTD accrued vacation but paid me anyways. I cited the numbers from our Intuit payroll portal in the filing. So I finally get paid those days only to find my PTO edited the next week in the payroll portal. Literally removing almost a week of earned PTO in spite of only getting paid for 2 vacation days and one sick day.
I wanted to quit right then but our employee manual only shows end of year payouts for unused PTO. I decided to ride it out til January first then I finally submit my 2 weeks. Even come in the Monday after to finish a job I started on an APD vehicle. So Monday I start packing, talked to the owner and he tells me, no hurry understanding that I have 4 tool boxes, 2 of which require a tow truck to move. Tuesday I head in and the manager says hey you need to be out by Thursday. I thought ok I'll get it done.
Then today as I'm cleaning and packing the manager tells me the owners wife said if my tool boxes aren't out today she will charge me a thousand dollars a day for storage! When I call towing companies most won't do it, others need a day to make the right driver and flatbed available. At the end of the day I get it done. Shout out to Damien with K&S towing but I couldn't help but tell the owners wife that's the most unprofessional treatment I have received in my 25 years.
And before you ask, yes they are liberals who voted for Biden. I'd tell her she lost the respect of every employee there today but the reality is she never had it. I talk to people all the time about how Austin has changed but this is an entirely new experience.
