When we started this blog, we said we wanted it to be different. We didn’t want to blog about car care, or something industry related (just a little boring, if you ask us). We thought we had a unique perspective of Tucson, because of our customers and our employees, and we wanted to share those with our readers. So in keeping with that spirit, I’m going to (every so often) sprinkle in a brief biography of an employee, or a customer, I think you should know about.
Today, I’d like to introduce you to Juanita, one of Metro Car Wash’s best employees, and one of the nicest, friendliest people you will ever be lucky enough to meet. And since you are likely a Metro Car Wash customer, you’ll have every opportunity to look for her and say “hi” at your next visit to our Speedway location.
I picked Juanita to introduce, because I think her story (and her character) are inspiring and a great example of hope (in a somewhat depressing era).
Juanita applied for a job with Metro Car Wash three years ago. At the time, she had just immigrated to Tucson from Equatorial Guinea, one of the smallest countries in Africa. As it so happens, it’s also considered one of the world’s most corrupt governments (we’re talking torture and unlawful killings by security forces, no freedom of speech, and extreme poverty for most of the nation while the government big-wigs collect American oil money … not a great place to be).
Juanita’s father had actually been a Spanish-educated dignitary for the country, but under the corrupt government he was imprisoned while Juanita was just a child. After his release, the family moved to Gabon, a neighboring county, because of ensuing death threats against him. The family lived in Gabon for 13 years, but was in constant fear. Eventually, the US Embassy convinced the family to leave Gabon for the United States for their safety. When the family arrived, Juanita was pregnant; the father of her child had not been able to come with them. She spoke no English. She had never driven a car. And she had never had a job.
Shortly after their arrival, Juanita had her child. And because she was younger, and more capable of work, she set off to find a job while other members of her family watched her son. Metro Car Wash was lucky: she came to us first.
While Juanita didn’t speak English, she did speak Spanish. We were able to communicate with her, and while we understood that she had no work experience, we were impressed by her great smile, her courage, and her willingness to learn. When people are good people it shows, no matter what the language barriers are.
And so here is what Juanita did: She started learning English immediately. She started going to school and is earning her GED. She learned everything she could about the car wash business and her job responsibilities. She learned to drive (standard and automatic). She began to excel at every position we gave her … began training others, began noticing when there was a problem, began coming to manager meetings (Saturday at 6:00 AM) and began participating with good ideas to make our business better. She was promoted. Then promoted again.
I’m proud to know that Metro gave Juanita an opportunity. But most of all, I’m proud of Juanita herself. In a world where too many people make excuses for why they’re having problems, or why they’re in some kind of a jam, Juanita is a great example of what can be accomplished with a positive attitude, hard work, and determination.
The next time you’re at our Speedway location, look for her. She’s hard to miss. She’ll have a huge smile on her face, and she’ll probably shout out “hello” to you. She is Metro’s shining example of what we want our employees to be: hard working, friendly, and in fact charming. I once overheard Juanita tell a customer: “I don’t care if I’ve only met you once. I’ll treat you as if I’ve known you forever.”
From our perspective, we hope we have her as an employee of Metro Car Wash forever.
Until next time … stay clean my friends.
DJ DripDry signing off.
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