普洛吉村有限公司

There are endless good things to say. I’m Baozi. Brother Xue was the one who brought me into the industry. I switched from banking to a car dealership. He taught me how to sell cars, how to sell parts, and how to modify cars. To me, Brother Xue did more than just teach me about the car business—he also taught me how to become a successful and good boss. You can’t be an employee forever. Now that I’m a business owner myself, I often chat with Boss Xue about everyday life.

Eating too much late-night food will make you gain weight.

When I came for the interview, the boss explained the job duties very clearly, including what an accounting assistant should learn. The labor insurance was also explained clearly.

The boss promised that after the three-month probation period, my salary would be increased if my performance was good.

Hehe 😁 I actually passed my probation after just one month.

The boss’s wife—I call her Sister Ni—has a very distinctive accent and a really hot figure. I thought a pretty lady wouldn’t know how to cook, but she can! She often cooks lots of delicious dishes 😋 and shares them with me. Salad 🥗 with shrimp 🦐—so good. It has a traditional feel 👍

Maybe it’s because I’m a woman! I rarely have to buy meals for others. I only often go out to the bank. Thank you all for taking such good care of me.

The boss’s wife said, “That would be best. It’s fine to come to work looking beautiful every day—wear a skirt 👗, etc.” I was really embarrassed because I thought an ordinary traditional shop wouldn’t be so open-minded. It turns out that the prettier and more dressed-up you are at work, the better.

My car broke down, and the master technician helped me repair it. The boss only charged me the cost of the materials. He said the professional employee discount saved me a lot of money. Thank you, boss.

A very impressive old shop 👍

Buying meals? Actually, it’s okay—there’s delivery for everything. I’m still not very familiar with helping order boxed meals. (After doing it for a few more months, I should understand it and be able to order delivery smoothly.)

I’m still a little afraid to answer the phone because I’m not very confident speaking.

What I want to learn is the accounting debit and credit entries... It’s really giving me a headache because I don’t understand them (but I really want to).

There are many account titles to remember in my head. I’ll only be able to help after I learn these. Keep working hard~

The boss doesn’t like being contacted by phone to ask about things. It’s best to write a note, take a photo, and send it to the LINE group.

I learned that voucher samples cannot be taken home, so I have no materials to practice with at home. I can only take it slowly. Keep going.

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.

I joined in 2011 and worked there until 2015.

I started as an apprentice for a little over a year (at age 21), then worked as a semi-skilled technician for almost two years, and as a full technician for nearly one year (this calculation follows the salary-increase records).

Then I went abroad and left ProLo (because I wanted to learn about vehicles from other parts of the world; I was only 25 at the time), also to meet my elders’ expectations.

As a poorly educated punk who did not like studying, all I liked back then was riding motorcycles. Over time, I became curious and wanted to modify my own motorcycle with my own hands.

That mindset led me to ProLo (I feel very honored). Everyone called ProLo a famous shop. My goodness, I got hired.

At the time, Brother Braised Egg was the supervisor of the repair department. Brother Baozi handled sales and warehouse management...

During the interview, I sat down with the boss (Brother Hsueh) and talked about everything from my youth. Wow! (Inside: Can I start work right away?)

Every vehicle in the shop was modified perfectly. As a rookie, I was really excited.

The first three months after joining were truly busy. The modified vehicles we worked on every day were genuinely one of a kind, and I also met quite a few major business owners.

I learned more than just being a mechanic. Beside Brother Braised Egg, I also learned from his EQ—how to talk with customers and discuss vehicle modifications, and how to serve customers professionally. We talked about modifying vehicles while smoking. Brother Braised Egg said, “When I first came here, I didn’t know how to talk to customers either. Brother Hsueh kept lecturing me, and after being lectured for a long time... I don’t even know when I became the repair department supervisor. People only grow under pressure. You—ask less, observe more, and keep your eyes open and follow along. Most importantly! There are many valuable skills to learn during overtime... stop going on dates over there and work hard to learn, okay~~~~”

At the time, I found it annoying and felt I was constantly being ordered around. Now I understand: “Learn the right attitude toward repairing vehicles first, then learn how to repair them.” That was often said in meetings.

It was not until I became a semi-skilled technician that I grew closer to Brother Hsueh (because Brother Braised Egg had left ProLo and returned to Hualien to open a shop).

Brother Hsueh’s rule was that when things were busy, don’t ask him too many questions—do more, keep your eyes sharp, and keep up. Most importantly! Tools could not be left on the ground. Every day, at the beginning and end of work, the repair department had to be as clean as the storefront. If you forgot, he would scold you without mercy! But Brother Hsueh was a different person at work. At dinners, he was the life of the party, as if he had two different personalities 😊

After returning to Taiwan, I had my own workshop (my main job was helping my family run their shop). Repairing vehicles was my dream, so I could not give it up. I also really enjoyed going on drives with Brother Hsueh and Brother Baozi—it was a lot of fun.

Even now, when I occasionally have free time, I still go over to help when Brother Hsueh needs me, because I still want to repair ProLo’s vehicles and enjoy doing it 😃

So, anyone can become a mechanic because the work itself is simple. But becoming a “great mechanic,” like Brother Hsueh, and “spending a lifetime repairing vehicles” is not easy.

Thank you, Brother Hsueh, for teaching me everything. Thank you, Brother Braised Egg, for treating me like one of your own and scolding me every day for my own good (I was often late).

Thank you, ProLo, for helping me grow—from someone who did not even know how to change engine oil into someone who can now modify and repair vehicles. I will keep repairing vehicles and will not give up. This is my dream!

If you are in a hurry to become a technician, you may leave before completing your probationary period because you need to make a living. It takes time to become familiar with the people and inner workings at Braised Egg’s shop. Wherever there are people, “relationships” are always needed. Only after building relationships can you open your heart; then the boss and supervisor will open up and teach you all the procedures and skills.

Brother Hsueh’s usual order was noodles with kimchi, thin noodles, and the soup served separately. (When I first arrived, I often bought it wrong and got scolded, then had to make a second trip to buy it again. In any case, I had to get it right and make sure Brother Hsueh could eat at exactly 18:30.) These tasks were originally rotated among the staff, rather than being assigned entirely to a newcomer.

When you are learning while earning a salary, you are learning other people’s skills. In ancient times, people said you had to become an apprentice. Without understanding the customs between teacher and apprentice, and without enough human connection, who would teach someone who does not understand them?

At the time, I thought buying meals, purchasing materials... whatever task the boss or supervisor assigned was important. If you worry too much about fairness, you will fail to learn anything.

I personally liked dogs, but I was also afraid of them when I first arrived. Brother Hsueh usually rode his bicycle early in the morning with several dogs for a lap, and at night it was our turn as employees to help take the dogs out to poop. The black dog was very smart, and Brother Hsueh walked it without a leash. What about us? Without a leash, it would run and make me chase after it~~~~ It even made a mess right at the beer shop entrance. It took about a month of getting to know the dogs before things became normal.

When things were busy in the afternoon, Brother Hsueh usually bought freshly baked pastries sold by mainlanders and called us over to eat.

Don’t even get me started on group dinners: the liquor had to go around one cup at a time. Only after drinking could we work up the courage to give feedback to the supervisor @@

Brother Hsueh disliked technicians who chewed betel nuts. He would only scold them @&@. Brother Hsueh was also very sensitive to the foul, rotten smell of sweat. If the smell was strong while repairing vehicles, we did not dare stand near him, or he would scold us terribly.

When repairing vehicles, even refueling could not be spilled on the ground—not even a little.

After a technician finished repairing a vehicle, they had to wash it personally before handing it back to the customer. After washing it, Brother Hsueh would inspect it. If he rejected it, we had to wash it again. In any case, we kept washing until he said it was acceptable. He had very high standards.

Every shop has advantages and disadvantages. If you only see its disadvantages—complain, get angry, and feel sad—none of that does anything for you.

There are not many people who live only among the advantages, either. Human beings never remember the good side, but if something unpleasant happens even once, they remember it for a lifetime. That is just how people are.

So, when I was a full-time employee at ProLo, if the pressure became too much, I would take a day off, calm down, think 🤔 about what I should do next, and then decide.

During meetings, communicate more!

1- Store manager: A-Hao (nickname: Pro-ge). I admire him; he’s young (many years younger than me, but much more capable). During the interview I spoke with the owner, and on my first day of work as a warehouse administrator, A-Hao trained me. Thank you to A-Hao for being patient and professional when helping me get started. (He often reminded me, “This is what the boss requires…” and so on—“Don’t make mistakes just because you’re new here like I did when I first started; it’ll be troublesome.” He was very conscientious. It wasn’t until the meeting in my second week that I realized: it turns out A-Hao is so capable because he is constantly pushed and pressured by the boss. The other colleagues were also very capable 👍 and good at repairing cars, but they were busy, so I felt embarrassed to ask them questions.

2- I only worked there for one year and eight months, which isn’t very long. But after I went home to help with my family’s company, I understood: being a boss or store manager means your mind has to change every day, just like the weather, while handling many other things. When I was a full-time employee, learning everything felt exhausting, and I used to think, “Why do I have to learn so much?”

3- So, newcomers: the old store uses very traditional methods, but there are many things you can learn that may not be useful at the time but will be useful in the future. Please be patient.

4- Thanks to Boss Xue for teaching me many advanced “ways of doing business.” Thanks to A-Hao for teaching me about the parts I didn’t understand at the time.

5- It was super comfortable seeing lots of custom modifications right in front of me every day! So cool! Absolutely awesome 👍 (I like modifying cars.)

6- The female owner’s choice of words isn’t always very pleasant, but she’s excellent at cooking, and most importantly, she always gives me food. (“You get diarrhea often from eating out. Stop eating out—I’ll cook something for you; just eat whatever I make, okay~~.”) I call her Sister Ah. She talks like that, but she treats me very well. (She has a bad temper and can be fierce with people who are rude, and I often forgot to bring back receipts for reimbursement. She would say, “Are you really stupid, or are you pretending to be?” Hehe 😁 Sorry! But every time, she would cool down soon afterward 😭, cook something, and call me to eat. Good people may not have sweet words 😄 Thank you, Sister Ah, for taking care of me 😄)

1- The boss has a very demanding temper and expects 95% perfection. If you can’t keep up, you’re out 😭. But if you come back and manage to keep up, you’ll learn quite a lot. (The boss is very good at negotiating business. After just a couple of sentences, even if a customer is hesitant, they’ll listen to him.)

2- During the first week of employment, you need to adjust and adapt. You have to treat it as your own store to make it through the probationary period.

3- There must be a group meal on payday. The boss says it’s rude not to attend.

4- Those who are afraid of dogs should consider this carefully (there are several very fierce ones), but they’re okay once they get used to you.

5- Unlike other companies, payday is the 10th. Whether you are a full-time employee or have left the company, you are paid on the 10th of each month for the salary from the 1st through the 30th of the previous month. (If you miss the 30th, you have to wait until the following month to get paid.)

6- Heated lunch boxes are provided, but the microwave is a little old 😭 and doesn’t heat things very well.

7- From the 2nd to the 16th of every month, you have to help with worship and offerings.

⚠️Traditional shop⚠️The longer you work full-time, the more you learn.

It is recommended that you work a trial period of three days before deciding.

Leaving work early

The boss's personality.

The accountant doesn't know how to do the bookkeeping.

The salary does not match what was agreed upon during the interview.

The working hours do not match the employment contract signed with the company.

When repairing cars, everything has to be done with makeshift methods; there is no required level of technical knowledge.

When the boss is in a bad mood, they take their emotions out on the employees.

They care about appearances, but the basic technical skills are not proficient.

Whenever the boss finds the time, they slack off and sleep.

You have to take the dogs out to poop both when arriving at and leaving work—four dogs each time.

During the renovation period, employees are treated as outside contractors and made to do tasks such as painting, connecting water pipes, wiring, masonry work, and installing toilets.

During work hours, you also have to go out to buy dog food, breakfast, meals, and coffee.

Anyone considering applying, please think twice!!

Leaves work early

You must clarify the salary clearly

It will not comply with the Labor Standards Act

It will also not be the same as what was discussed at the beginning