Bad Bowtie Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) I work in a Body shop & business has slowed down a lot. At 1st I didn't think the dwindeling economy would effect our line of work, but I guess those people who are out of work are filing vehicle accident claims then keeping the money to spend on food, bills, etc? I don't know how else to explain it. I know that there are NOT less people driving around here, so how could traffic accidents slow down/lessen?? I'd say around 80% of our business is the "fender bender" type of repairs, & the remaining 20% is cash customers who "broke the mirrors off their cars", etc. We also have our own car dealership's internal repairs on new/used vehicles (scratches/dings), but that is a small piece of that remaining 20%.... IDK. I bet this economical "dip" hangs around for several more months or maybe even the rest of this year. Edited February 16, 2009 by Bad Bowtie (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireRescueSS Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 i just dropped a grand on shit i didn't need.. i'm a fuking idiot I just did the same thing, for the SSS. We had some lay-offs in December, largest in company history, pervious record was just 4 at one time... we laid off about 20 or so at my facility... half has been recalled since. We're still at the top of our field, just waiting for people and busniess to start building things again. People still need plastic, just not buying or building anything new. Our mirror department is about to fold, they are only running 1 shift, 3 - 4 days a week now, and then they still can't find enough work... extrusion though is still operating like normal, for the time being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sierra ss Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Been job less for over two months but luckily draw just enough to pay my truck payment and have a lil left for other things. It could be better but it could be a lot worse. I beleive the lord will come back before the economy gets straightend out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobradh77 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Right now i'm ok but i do worry..I'm in the oil/gas buisness and the phones are not ringing like they used to and although nothing has been said about layoffs i still have it in my head that it could happen...Luckily we are a small buisness with only like 8 full time employees and just as many temps. i still worry...I keep my fingers crossed for $4/gal gas becuase lets face it...when oil/gas is making money the economy is booming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hot rod truck Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) Business has been on the decline for the last 24 months (automotive parts distributor) People had the ability to buy or lease a new car every 2-3 years and technology has improved cars regardless if it's domestic or an import so fewer repairs needed, just maintenance, which most people neglect. Fast forward to now and business has been picking up the last few months as people are not buying new cars and keeping what they have and repairing them. Unfortunately, I have seen quite of few repair shops and dealerships go out of business before and after the current economic crisis we're in. I expect more will close before it gets better. Spending a lot more time chasing money from slow pay customers as well. In the past a recession was good for my business, I'm not sure it will be as good as in the past with how wide the impact has been so far. Edited February 17, 2009 by hot rod truck (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slammedbowtie Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 i dont buy as much food for lunch or breakfast. i just buy more coffee and cigarettes lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonickoolten Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 bein in the military i really havnt seen any much diff other than my pay is the same the prices just keep goin higher othere than that everything is the same..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssspringer Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Alot here lately. Wife has been outta' work for 4 months and the company i've been a mgr.with for 14 years had to close last week!! And this is in a high tech business area!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chevyman03SS Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Well the economy really hasnt hurt use yet but you never know!!! I am also in the oil and gas industry!!!! The best thing about my job is as long as there is flow in the gulf of mexico there has to be oil and gas measurement!!! THe only thing that has been a sign is that my mom got laid off! The funniest thing about that is the showed a 40% gain in the last 2 months and had to cut costs!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyMan23 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Well, it would have effected me pretty bad. I recently(October) managed to swing a new job. I now work for Unilever NA. We're the nation's largest provider of Ragu spaghetti sauce. They're hiring left and right, and I'm working 13 days on 1 off. I'm off 2 Sundays a month. So "my" economy isnt hurting a damn bit. Now, if I hadnt landed this job, I'd be lucky to get a 40 hour week, and many shut down weeks. I used to be in the plastic injection business, now I'm in the cold packing business. If you eat Bertolli frozen meals, it most likely came from my facility. All Bertolli and Ragu sauces come from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox_forma Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Been ok for me so far. Had a couple close calls at work but managed to make it out alive with all the cut backs that are going on. Only real thing hurting now is the dollar isn't worth what it was and that sucks. And its only going to get worse. I plan on hitting the powerball lottery in the near future though so I should be set!! As for spending and buying habits, it seems like i am still buying a lot of stuff but I don't go out as often and in the past 3 months have put aside roughly $3k. I am however selling off some of my toys but thats just because I don't use them anymore. It was the WOW factor before having a bunch of cool sh1t but now I plan on buying a house in the very very near future with the way real estate pricing is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houston05tx Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 bad for me i got laid off oct 30 08 still jobless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delay18 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Sucks here. I am supposed to be doing my internship to finish up my BT in auto tech. Cant find a job around me. I even had the county career center to tell me to change my line of work. I would have no prob doing that but need a job to graduate, then I will find something else. No one wants to hire people in the industry (at least by me). My professor told me to talk a unpaid internship, but if I do that how the hell do I pay the bills?! Lol. Right now I have exhausted most opportunities by me. Now I have to resign from my firehouse and move back to the Albany, NY area and hope to tell I can find something there. After that I am hoping to get my Paramedic and become a paid firefighter. Shit always burns and people always get hurt. Plus I might as well do something that I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KissMySilvSS Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) I live in a pretty rural upstate community that generally doesn't boom when the rest of the country is booming, or hit rock bottom when the rest of the country does. Things around here are pretty steady all around all the time. My family is in the auto business. My father owns a Chevrolet Buick Pontiac GMC dealership where I work in sales. We had a very good 2008, our numbers far exceeded 2007 both in new and used sales. Thus far it has been slow but steady, we are still selling new and used vehicles although new are trailing used. For us, its hard to gauge whether the economy is hurting us because the winter months in the car business are generally slow. We are lucky in the sense that we are small, tight knit, and dedicated...we didn't go out and build a new $1+ million dollar building when sales were high in the late 90's-early 2000's, and we don't have a huge overhead. We order what we can sell...My father always said just because you are the biggest, it doesn't mean you are the best! I think that rings true now, I am seeing dealers in CNY (Syracuse area) going out of business, dealers that touted how big they were and how many they sold. Its sad because many have been figures in their respective communities for decades, many since the 40's and 50's, but I guess thats just the way it goes. Our service/part dept. are doing pretty well, as we are consistantly filling the schedule week in and week out. Without going into a lot of detail, GM/GMAC are making things very hard on dealers all across the nation. They want dealers to take more units, demanding more and more money for overaged units/demos, and holding rebate money for longer periods of time. Don't bother looking for a better floorplan program somewhere else, because no major/reputible institution is accepting applications. Why is it our fault that they got US into this situation? They are punishing us for their poor business practices. But what are we to do? ...Just keep our heads high and do the only thing we know how to do! This combination took its toll on my fathers older brother, he was nearing retirement anyway and basically decided to say screw it when he was approached by a large drug store chain that wanted his property to build a new store. He owned and operated a Chevrolet dealership much like ours, only this was the dealership that started it all. My Grandpa Ted and his brother opened a small Chevy Olds dealership when they returned from the war in 1945. I never thought I would see this dealership close its doors, but sadly, as they say...every era comes to and end. I guess thats just the way it goes.... With that being said, my fiance was just offered a full time RN position in a nearby hospital and she took it. The pay and benefits are great and that hospital is where she wanted to be...so it all worked out! We are getting married in June. We joke constantly that this is probably one of the worst times to get married, but we will manage just fine. Time for me to get back to work! Buy a Chevy guys and support your local dealerships! Edited February 17, 2009 by KissMySilvSS (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hankg42 Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 The company I work for is doing OK, but planning for the worst. I work for a benefits consulting company, so companies that need advice on how to support their retirement benefits, health benefits, etc. need our company right now. Problem is, their ability to pay fees is reduced too. Personally, after re-marrying in 2007, my house in Long Island has been up for sale for almost 2 years, and the price has dropped almost $90K. It just went under contract 2 weeks ago. Hopefully, the sale will go through OK. Supporting 2 residences has hurt a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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