Slame it out shops.
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I work in a fast paced family owned shop. I love to watch how it should be done videos. But my world rarely allows for all the steps. I fight with what I know is right and what the employer demands. Anyone else have these kind of issues?
Sometimes it’s just the way it is. I’m sure everyone will have worked in an environment the same
I will not alloy for corners to be cut even if that means that a job goes over its due dateI am under alot of pressure to produce. Jobs are not easy to get right now and as mother of 5 I can’t lose my job. I choose my battles. I just got moved to per peice from salary. I’m not used to that and payimg my own preper. I am the only ASE tech and worry about what goes on there. I’ll just say the trenches of this field! :hunt
I used to be under the same situation. Not the same pressures as flat rate, but the guy simply wouldnt spend any money on decent materials. I used to have to wash my mix cups out to use them again. He would buy the absolute cheapest stuff he could find as well. The problem I had was he was a super nice guy, paid well and on time everytime, and let me do my own stuff there on the side. Also I could work whenever I wanted. Worked completely by myself too. Pretty good set up besides the crap product. I dealt with it for about 3 years and decided to move on. Now I have more pressure and less flexability, but do better work in a better working environment. Its all a trade off. Is there other places you could go in your area?
I am always looking. I do know the used cup method lol. Used paper, used plastic, used rags. How about a different clear everyother day? gotta love that.
as a painter for over 40 years I know where you are coming from. The boss is the boss for a reason evan if he is wrong. What makes a great painter is the ability to adapt. Keep looking for another job is the only solution to your problem, belive me you cannot change the boses ways and if you keep fighting with him you might loose your job. Good luck.
[quote=”Shadow888″ post=29718]as a painter for over 40 years I know where you are coming from. The boss is the boss for a reason evan if he is wrong. What makes a great painter is the ability to adapt. Keep looking for another job is the only solution to your problem, belive me you cannot change the boses ways and if you keep fighting with him you might loose your job. Good luck.[/quote]
Well said 😉[quote=”Shadow888″ post=29718] belive me you cannot change the boses ways and if you keep fighting with him you might loose your job.[/quote]
Yup, that’s exactly how I lost my last job!
In future if I think there’s a better way to do something I’ll politely point it out, but do whatever the boss decides in the end 🙂
whenever i have worked for such people i wont push things i just do as requested eventualy it usualy costs them with redos and failures ,the last pratt i worked for insisted we go direct from 80 grit to filler primer ,jobs looked great for a few weeks lol
currently i am working with great bloke who doese listen and will try alternative sugestions ,i have introduced him to new tools and converted him from wet flatting to dry ,introduced him to superior materials that although initialy more expensive have increased productivity three fold ,i enjoy my day and this shows in both my productivity and finished results
If your working for someone who doesnt apreciate your knowledge and skills then that is their loss becouse most likely he wont need to sack you you will find somewhere nicer to work
Paul
I agree with all the guys here. I’ve worked for my boss for 11 years and he’s been in the trade for 30 but he’s old school and isn’t up to date with the paints and methods, I get hold on a daily bassis that he knows best and I don’t know what I’m talking about.
It is hard to keep your mouth closed when your boss is in your face 8 hours a day ha ha. I like to do spare work and do it the way I like and plus its the work my boss won’t touch ie motor bikes 🙂 doing this helps me relax and try new things with out the pressure of my boss. Try your best to keep calm and do what he likes and when it goes wrong then it’s his fault 🙂
A lot of times if you can show your boss how a different method, procedure or product will increase his bottom line or decrease his stress in life you can get a little more room to do things your way. With today’s economy and the pressures from the insurance companies most shops are finding it harder and harder to make money in this business. One of the most respected shops in my area has homemade paint booths, uses old bed sheets instead of plastic and buys their paint guns from some discount big box store. I was looking at AndyTs paint jobs in a parking lot with snow on the ground and it reminds me that someone has always got it harder than I got it. So I come here a few times a week and steal an idea from someone else that’s making it work for them. Just got to make it work for ya
Chuck
Yeah I lost my F’n job because I was over meticulous. Our shop was a 215-230K shop in sales a month. I had a re shoot rate of less the 5%, GP on paint was roughly 35-38%, industry standard is 20-25%. The corporation wanted 50%.
a painter sprays to a T the way paint line says, in this case Nexa Autocolor, they have a very specific way of doing things. You follow it Things turn out beautiful.
So I and my paint crew got pulled aside to write up an “action plan” on how not to “trip on our dicks” need I mention cycle times in the paint shop were 2 days sometimes 1 on the obvious sometimes 3 on the really big stuff. They asked what I could do different? I responded nothing. Didn’t know we had an issue. We had a bogyman that we sent back work 2-3 times almost every job because mud work was horrible, and turn around and have to reprime or paint would fix and back flag. Parts was always an issue, and the use of keystone bumpers on almost every job. We would grind down casting lines and end up priming a new bumper. How does this save money.
I would say that half my paint jobs were no buffs, a few were spot nibbed and a rare occasion a “buff it to save it”
So my manager at the time preaches quality. We need to set the example in the industry and be the leaders in quality blah blah blah. Just to contradict yourself by your actions. REALLY
about a month later I got canned. I felt good about standing up for what I knew was right. It’s a very cut throat trade. Can’t really say I like it. But I like painting.
I feel your pain. I am constantly being yelled at for amount of production I turn out. I am in the worst shop you could imagine. No supplies, dirty air, dirty booths, crap a– bodymen, no preppers all which holds me up. Sometimes though bosses just wanna hear open ended responses not no. Sorry you lost your job, but everything happens for a reason. Your perfect job could be around the corner. I understand the anger to give your all and all you get back is “how can you do more?”. The way this industry is going everyone is evaluating and tightning up the purse strings. The numbers after your gone should show then what you contributed to the biz.
some of these old school gaffers are like f###in tadpoles you cant get the feckers out the flatting bucket and onto dry land and they wonder why the jobs are taking too long
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