Doesn't matter how hard you work, management sees that as just doing what you're supposed to.
Pros
Decent pay for an 18 year old. Get to work on cars all day. Good alternative to fast food as long as you don't mind really tearing your body apart. Also you can usually work on your own/ friends cars using the shop's resources if you're clocked out.
Cons
Once you get the hang of the work, it's pretty monotonous. Belle Tire is the McDonald's of auto repair shops. HUGE amounts of customers, and they all get promised to have their car finished that day. The problem is the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the grunts: tire techs. You will be constantly moving, lifting, operating equipment, grinding, cleaning, and you better pick up the pace big time. Bathroom breaks are frowned upon, or even heaven forbid a 5 minute break. But if you decide you're going to try your best and bust your ass to do your best everyday, management will never care. They will only notice when you mess up. I worked at Belle for 4 years and probably worked on 10,000 cars. In my last week I accidentally scratched a car while lifting it. There's something called shop insurance that shops are supposed to have in case a tech proves that they're human every couple years and damages a car. Belle Tire does not use it's shop insurance. They take it out of their employees paychecks. Like they don't have the money to say "here, we'll cover this for you Mr. employee, we know you didn't mean to make the mistake, but you show up here everyday in the freezing cold or blistering hot to work for basically minimum wage. We got you". So I quit that garbage job. They will dangle a salesman or mechanic promotion in front of your nose for years for you to hang in there. Believe me that's what they did to me, and that's what they do to a lot of people. Only work here if you cant stand fast food and you have no other option.
