TikToker @dirty2dreamyllc posted a response to a q&a prompt on the platform that asked: “People who quit their jobs on the first day, what was your ‘I’m outta here’ moment?”
The creator, who runs Dirty2Dreamy Detail Services in Auburn, Washington, says that his decision to not lie to a customer on his first day at an auto repair shop ultimately led to his future success.
@dirty2dreamyllc #answer to @tiktok_qna I couldn't believe what this owner actually asked me to do. It was a no from me and I left 4 hours after I started #smallbusiness #autodetailing #cardetailing #detailers ♬ original sound – Dirty2DreamyLLC
“Y’all are gonna love this story of how I quit a job four hours after starting,” he says at the beginning of the clip.
The TikToker explains that he left his old job at Firestone to work at a new repair shop. His new role was assistant manager, to man the shop when the owner wasn’t there. He says that during the interview, the manager led him to believe that the job didn’t entail any mechanical work, despite his experience as a mechanic.
“He needed somebody to sell and run the front shop,” @dirty2dreamyllc says. “Yes, I was a mechanic. I was a front-end mechanic, but that’s not what I wanted. So, day one, first customer, he says go ahead and take this work order and go outside and diagnose this car.”
The TikToker then cuts the video, pausing to show how he took issue with what his manager just told him. “What? Excuse me?” he questions. “So I proceed to diagnose the car. The vehicle had a mass air flow sensor code. And I looked up and I happened to notice it just had been to Jiffy Lube recently so my thoughts were I bet you they didn’t plug the sensor back in.”
However, the creator says that when he handed the manager the work order, he told him to “sell them the mass air flow sensor.”
“I say, ‘No, let me test these few things first,'” he recalls. “He proceeds to estimate a mass air flow sensor. I proceed to continue diagnosing as you’re supposed to. I find that they did leave it unplugged I plug it back in, the code’s gone, check engine light goes out.”
Despite the issue being resolved, @dirty2dreamyllc says the manager insisted that he still sell the customer the mass air flow sensor. The TikToker did not sell the customer the unnecessary part.
He asked the customer if she had recently been to Jiffy Lube, and when she replied in the affirmative, he explained the situation.
“‘So here’s what happened, they took your air filter out to check it, to try to sell it to you if it was dirty, they didn’t plug your Mass Air Flow Sensor back into the air filter housing,'” he recalls telling the customer. “‘Which caused your check engine light to come on. After doing some testing and finding the resistance on the sensor is still good, I plugged it back in, the check engine light went out, you have no problem anymore.'”
The TikToker then exposed the manager’s bad intentions to the customer.
“‘But, the owner of this building wants me to sell you a Mass Air Flow Sensor anyway,'” he again portrays his conversation with the customer. “‘So here’s what I’m recommending you do. Here’s your keys. I would take your car, I would leave, and I would never come back to this building because this guy is a shyster, and I’m not gonna be working for him as of the end of this conversation. Today is my first day and I’ve only made it four hours and I’m quitting.'”
He adds that the woman thanked him and handed him a business card.
“And that right there folks is the reason why I’m a success several years later,” he concludes, “because people follow me wherever I go. Because I run an honest business with integrity.”
According to Direct Paint and Collision, 38% of American consumers say that they don’t trust their mechanic whenever they bring in their vehicle for service, and AAA’s survey of 1,001 drivers seems to back up that claim.
The TikToker uploaded a follow-up post delineating his short-lived boss’ reaction when he told him that he was going to quit.
He explains that he had this conversation with the customer as the owner was standing right next to him. He says he immediately told him that he was quitting.
“I look at him, and I go, ‘that’s going to be the last customer that I help. I’m good,” he recalls. “‘You don’t run a business with integrity and I can’t support that. So I’m gonna head out, I don’t need this job.'”
He says the owner then reached into the register to pay him for his four hours of work—around $100, at $22 an hour. However, the TikToker tried to decline the money.
“As he goes to hand it to me, I tell him, ‘you keep that, that’s dirty money and I want nothing to do with it,'” he says. “And he actually says to me, ‘I wanna keep it honest. I owe you this money.'”
At that point, the TikToker starts laughing, finding comedy in the fact that the business owner suddenly decided that he wanted to keep his interactions honest. He tells the owner that the man is going to need the money a heck of a lot more because he will be “going out of business.”
The creator added that he was “broke” at the time and “didn’t even have a car,” but he still elected to leave the job so he didn’t have to work in a place that cheats customers. He also claimed the reason he left Firestone was because they employed similar practices as this particular business owner when it came to automotive repair.
TikTokers who saw the auto service worker’s post thanked him for his integrity, remarking that finding an honest car repair individual was difficult.
“An honest mechanic is a gem,” one user wrote. “Found one a decade ago and gone to him ever since.”
“Do people understand customers return to honest people?” another questioned. “Just takes one bad experience to not go back.”
“Awesome. You have to be able to trust your mechanic like you trust your Dr,” a third claimed.
“Great story. It’s always nice to hear a story like that,” a fourth added. “Your old boss has no clue that being honest to that customer will bring them back.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @dirty2dreamyllc via TikTok comment for more information.