Workplace reviews and discussion: 普洛吉村有限公司

Pros

I joined in 2009 and worked there until 2012. I left Puluo to work in China and returned to Puluo in December 2019 to help out in the repair department.

After being away for many years, I found that a lot had changed: Xiao Xue’s personality and temper had improved greatly compared with before, and he had quit smoking.

The shop had also been renovated (there were still quite a few things that needed to be put in place).

One thing about Xiao Xue had not changed: his habit of repairing vehicles. There are not many people left with old-school skills like his, after more than 30 years of repairing cars without stopping.

His greatest strength is that he can repair all kinds of vehicles—classic cars, ATVs, and so on. If it has wheels, he can repair it.

Even when parts are no longer available, he can modify or make replacements. Screws are a small matter; in his hands, he can adapt them to whatever size is needed. I really admire that.

He likes to import vehicles from overseas himself, inspect them himself, and sell them himself.

Now the closing time is earlier, and Saturdays are off every other week.

It is an honor to come back and help Xiao Xue repair cars.

Now the mechanics do not have to move the cars when opening or closing the shop. Damn, in the past I was scolded terribly whenever I failed to move them.

I am happy to return to Puluo to repair cars. It is a wonderful old shop. You have to truly love cars to be able to do this for more than 30 years. It is really not easy, dealing with so many issues inside and outside the shop. The reason I returned to Puluo is that I feel the cars there can never be fully repaired—there is always something new and worthwhile to learn every day. Keep it up, Puluo. Thank you, Xiao Xue, for welcoming me back to work (I am getting a bit older). Thank you to the younger brothers for helping me with everything related to the internet, computers, and so on. You are great. I hope we can continue striving forward together with Puluo. I am really happy working here.

Cons

When you go out to work for someone else and receive someone else’s money, of course you follow the boss’s lead. As for labor and health insurance, my whole family of four is enrolled through Puluo. Whenever I need help, I only have to ask and Xiao Xue will help (basic courtesy should not be forgotten). Smokers are more prone to catching colds, and in Taiwan’s changeable weather they can easily get sick. Because I take my work attitude seriously, when I catch a cold I just take medicine and do not take leave. I often come in early, help out for a while, then tell Xiao Xue, “I’m going out to see a doctor and get medicine.” He has never deducted my pay for the time I spent going out for medical treatment.

If you want to casually eat lunch, take a nap, and then get back to work, that is not possible. This is a service business, not a large corporation.

Whenever a customer arrives, the boss puts down his chopsticks and goes to serve them. As an employee hired by someone else, how could I sit there eating and let the boss handle things?

For all this hard work, Xiao Xue only gives compensation afterward when we sing karaoke at group gatherings. Everyone is expected to help when called upon. If you calculate every little thing too carefully, you really cannot learn.

Whether wages are high or low depends on each person’s ability. Xiao Xue has been a boss for more than 30 years and has seen people come and go, so he understands these things.

He is only tough-talking but soft-hearted. If you speak to him properly, he will help. If you cannot do anything and are only a trainee or assistant, asking for NT$40,000 is impossible—the boss has to eat too. Only after he has enough to eat can the employees have food as well.

There is nothing particularly frightening about dealing with the dogs. If you are not used to it, divide the work and cooperate; with so many people, it can be handled—unless you are afraid to speak up.

In a car-repair shop, if a pipe or toilet breaks and a new one is needed, the boss may ask you to get the materials yourself to save costs. If you do not know how, watch and learn from the side. Once you learn, you can do it yourself at home instead of paying an expensive plumber. If you do not want to learn, that is fine—go do something else.

As for Xiao Xue sleeping during work hours, why have I never seen it? I only know that the shop opens at 9 a.m., he arrives before 8 a.m. and stays busy until 8 p.m., and even after the employees leave he is still upstairs buying goods from overseas. Maybe I was busy and simply never saw him sleeping. Employees can ask for leave to take care of personal matters. If the boss sleeps during work, so what? Closing his eyes for a moment when tired is normal, especially after working overtime until dawn the previous day. The accounting assistant did not work overtime and was not forced to, so they did not know the situation and should not make random claims. It is easy to cause a major misunderstanding. If you are too tired and have not slept enough, you will be exhausted the next day. In any case, he is the boss and can do as he wishes. I simply do my job, clock in, leave when my working hours are over, and wait for payday.

I may forget what was discussed in the interview as time passes, but if I forget, I can always ask to confirm. The boss’s wife handles the accounting and will tell me everything; she even asks Xiao Xue to reconcile the accounts with me. Could there have been an error between what was discussed in the interview and how the salary was calculated? If something is missing, it can be corrected; as long as it is reasonable, that is enough.

It is impossible that the accountant cannot do the books. She speaks as sharply as a knife, but I can see that she is very clear about collecting payments from customers and making payments. Many students work part-time as assistants and learn the internal procedures from her. Imported cars involve imported goods, so how could she manage the internal accounts if she could not do the bookkeeping? Unless there is some misunderstanding, perhaps when she is unhappy she does not handle outside matters and instead asks assistants to make more trips outside to pay for things. It is also possible that the assistant could not do the books and was unable to help, so they were asked to run errands and handle miscellaneous matters outside. You have to start with small tasks before you can handle the main work—isn’t that right? She is a woman, and a young woman with no experience who does not understand and is overly concerned about small matters. How can the probationary period be shortened that way? The boss raises the pay of employees who can do the work, but it takes time. Someone who has only been there a few days does not yet understand things well, so it is not good to criticize randomly. You should get to know your coworkers better. In any case, this is not a full-time office position for a young woman: it is a shop, not a company, and it is impossible to sit at a computer and work until the end of the day.

The boss arrives early to open the shop and wait for the employees. Employees help the boss share the responsibility of closing. Everyone works together and divides up the miscellaneous tasks to finish them. There is nothing wrong with that. If you do not want to do these miscellaneous tasks, that is fine—congratulations, you can open a shop or company and be your own boss.

Every industry has advantages and disadvantages. Of course, look at the advantages when deciding whether to work somewhere. Every job has a probationary period, so try it for a few days; if it is not a fit, resign and follow the proper process. Before criticizing the company or someone else’s professional abilities, you need to understand the situation clearly. Do not complain based only on your own mindset. If someone truly is not doing their job well, the boss or person in charge should be the one to say so. As an employee who clocks in and out, before deciding that the accountant cannot do the books, I would first ask myself how much I could do.

Bring notes to the interview and write everything down clearly. When you receive your pay, reconcile the accounts and ask the person in charge to handle any issue. Unless I am afraid that I might also be confused, I would ask the person in charge; if I understand the matter, I would not add unnecessary complications, as that would be embarrassing.

Young people have the strengths of youth, while older people have the perspective that comes with age. Young people may publicly criticize things as soon as they are dissatisfied, but perhaps the boss also did not think highly of you—he simply did not say so.

A boss is bound to have a personality and a wealth of experience. Speak appropriately depending on whom you are dealing with. First do your own job well; when you become a supervisor, then manage others and judge whether they can do the work.

An old shop has many small tasks. If you want to learn the big things, first try to see how many small tasks you can complete!

Puluo is only a small shop. If you want better benefits, I suggest going to a large company—only at that scale can all those requirements be met.