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Summer employment is the highlight or the downfall of a student’s freedom from school depending on the job. There are the amazing summer jobs that require minimal work with incredible pay and even some benefits. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are the jobs that demand hard work with minimal pay.
It is a coming of age experience to work a summer job as a young high school student. The students who do not receive this lovely privilege are in reality the underprivileged. So many life experiences find their roots in summer employment.
One of the most memorable, as well as my very first, summer jobs I worked was as a car washer at Auto Valet. Auto Valet is a full body carwash with a side of mechanics. Although you can get your car tuned up and detailed, its main feature is the “touchless carwash" which really means the car is put on a conveyer belt and washed by a big machine.
The car washer’s, or professional automobile filth remover’s job, takes place after the car goes through the machine wash. You quickly have to open the driver side door, spray the inside windows with window cleaner, jump in, and drive off before the next car hits you.
Once safely outside, you must hastily clean the windows before the cleaner runs down onto the console. After that you must go around and open all the doors to dry the door-jambs. When finished, you must then polish the tires with Armor-all and clean the wheels. It is imperative that you clean the wheels after the Armor-all or else you will have to re-clean the wheels because Armor-all is a little messy.
Finally, you must dust off the inside of the car and spray the driver’s choice of lovely scents ranging from “new car" to strawberries and everything in between. When the owner of the vehicle comes out to inspect the car, you hope and pray you did not miss anything or else you might not be getting a tip.
After you learn the tricks of washing a car, the job becomes astonishing simple, which is when the exciting part of the job picks up. You then learn to read people by the cars they drive and the types of washes they purchase. I discovered that older males with average cars are generally the best tippers, but also the most inspective. The young stud with an expensive car is normally the jerk that does not leave a tip, probably because all his money goes to paying off the nice ride. And most women do not realize that leaving a tip is expected in the car washing realm.
The workers and I would often bet on who would leave the best tips and it was always a fight to win the car that was sure to give a nice tip. As with any job, you learn to recognize the regulars and try to build relationships with them. When you know someone, they will more likely be generous with you.
One would think tips are the best part about working at Auto Valet, that and free car washes whenever you want. And rightly so, but that is not the case to an innocent 16-year-old male. The thing I enjoy remembering is the people I worked with. Most of them were ex-convicts. Looking back, it is great that Auto Valet offered them jobs so they could support themselves and their families when other work places would not.
However, to a young man who is still naïve about the world, teaching an ex-convict, who was in prison for stealing televisions and stereos, how to wash a car properly is a little overwhelming and frightening. Especially when the man is telling you how hard it is to support a 3-year-old daughter and a girlfriend after spending two years in the slammer. Keep in mind that this particular young man was only five feet six inches and weighed a meager one hundred twenty pounds.
I do not think I fully appreciated the position I was placed in. There was a lot of wisdom to gain from the men who I worked with and I did not take full advantage of that. On the other hand, it did make me deeply desire a college degree.
Although the hours were long and the days were hot, the money was good and people were interesting. All in all, working at Auto Valet was one of those special summer jobs that teaches kids a little bit about themselves, how to respect others, and provides them with higher ambitions.
Also, working there blessed me with the ability to read people as good tip leavers or bad ones. And I was also taught how to make even the nastiest cars look amazingly immaculate. Skills I am sure with travel with me for the rest of my life.
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