2nd outage of 2017

[Jamesh]

James had a mother who worked 2 jobs for 6 days a week just to get by. His earlier memories were of him and his sister being home alone from morning till night...

[Jamesh]

Yet, he can never recall a moment when his mom wasn't there in his time of need...

[Jamesh]

Anyways, James was never really interested in school and his behavior reflected that...

[Jamesh]

He never actually applied himself which was the reason his teachers would always stress that he had such potential...

[Jamesh]

James skated through middle and high school with minimal effort and a C average to prove it...

[Jamesh]

He knew college was not in his cards. Not because he was incapable, but because he was never motivated...

[Jamesh]

James decided to get a job. Any job. He had zero interests and understood that a career in dry cleaning or table waiting was not a path to success. He watched his mother work those jobs for close to 2 decades with little to show for it...

[Jamesh]

His first job out of high school was a shuttle driver for a local dealership. $7.00 an hour, Monday through Friday...

[Jamesh]

He did that job as best as he could and even managed to take on additional responsibilities along the way. Taking out the shop trash, making bank deposits, scooping up dog crap in the service drive...

[Jamesh]

During his 12 months as a shuttle driver, James would observe the service technicians diagnosing and repairing vehicles that belong to doctors, lawyers, teachers and waitresses alike. He remembered when his mom's car would break down and how she would cry, not knowing how much it would cost to repair it...

[Jamesh]

It was then he decided that becoming an automotive repair technician would not only be a decent living, but would mean that his mother would never have to cry again when her car broke down...

[Jamesh]

James convinced his manager to sign him up for basic automotive repair training courses and he got to work. In his spare time, he would take hard disc training courses home and study...

[Jamesh]

He completed many prerequisites to be eligible to attend clasroom courses to get factory certifications. In the meantime, he continued to drive the shuttle, park cars, make deposits, scoop crap, take out trash and assist technicians. All while asking the technicians how or why some vehicle system worked...

[Jamesh]

One day, James mustard up the courage to ask his management to be promoted to a lube tech...

[Jamesh]

His manager and assistant manager agreed that James had the potential to accel down that career path. However, they decided that he had been doing such a great job as a shuttle driver that they couldn't allow him to be promoted...

[Jamesh]

James understood where the management was coming from but was determined on taking the next step. He had been buying tools months before in anticipation of advancing further...

[Jamesh]

He pleaded with his managers to give him a shot to no avail. Finally, he insisted on working Saturdays, for free as long as he would be performing lube oil and filter services on customer vehicles...

[Jamesh]

His managers were, at last, convinced that James had the ability and motivation to work on vehicles. They have him a pay raise to $7.50 an hour to change oil and perform the most minor repairs...

[Jamesh]

He did the job he was promoted to do and continued his training. He took this opportunity to learn from the more seasoned technicians around him and was soon sent to classes in basic automotive electrical...

[Jamesh]

From there, he applied his newfound knowledge and developed a thirst for more. He would perform all of the new recall repair proceedures and even "taught" the journeymen the methods of completing the newest recalls ...

[Jamesh]

James' efforts did not go unnoticed and when the time came, he was promoted to the new steering/ suspension technician after the previous guy decided to quit...

[Jamesh]

To be continued.....

[Jamesh]

It took him almost a year to become competent on vehicle front ends and alignment proceedures. Since there was no one else in the shop who could help teach him, he relied on the workshop manual and lots of trial and error.

[Jamesh]

 He even got another raise to $11.00 flat rate. Just as James was settled in his position and was beating the flat rate times for most jobs, the shop's only diesel technician quit.

Once again, management decided to place James in the vacant position. As it turns out, it was easier to find another steering/ suspension tech than a diesel tech...

[Jamesh]

It was deja vu all over again. No one experienced with diesel diagnostics and repair was at the shop. James relied heavily on his continued training, the workshop manual and even the technical asistance hotline, offered by the manufacturer.

He made many calls to the "hotline", always indicating his lack of experience to the engineers. Most engineers took the extra time to teach James "the ropes" on the fly. Something James would never forget...

[Jamesh]

It took another year and many long days before James could confidently diagnose and repair diesel engines. And a couple more raises came along the way. $21.00 flat rate...

[Jamesh]

Since James already had certifications in steering/ suspension, diesel engine diagnostics and repair, he decided to continue his training and go for certifications in gasoline engines, climate control, brakes, electrical systems and a couple of other odd-ball areas like the manufacturer's horrendous electric "golf cart".

He suspected that automatic transmission was some sort of black magic, thus, he was saving that certification for last...

[Jamesh]

After management changes and because James was to be married, he decided to part ways with the dealership that helped him go from shuttle driver to a solid technician.

To this day, he remembers his career's "birth place" and the people who gave him a chance...

[Jamesh]

At his new dealership, James quickly settled in and enjoyed another raise. $29.00 flat rate. He continued to work on all aspects of diagnosis and repair, except automatic transmissions. His main job was still diesel diagnostic/ repair.

He was no all star at any one thing but he was competent all around. Something that he learned was important as a flat rate technician. If he ran out of one type of work, he would do another so as not to be sent home early when it was slow...

[Jamesh]

He worked at that shop for 4 years, becoming a team leader and receiving 2 more raises. He learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes aspect of the dealership in that time. He even took a crack at the service advisor position but failed horribly. He never realized how much more of a salesman that position required somone to be.

There was a span of a couple of months where one of the other diesel technicians got injured and could not work. Much of the diesel work wasn't getting done so James stepped up...