A schoolboy has been hailed an 'old-fashioned gent' after washing his uncle's entire fleet of vehicles so he could take his crush out to McDonald's and pay for her - managing to bag himself a job in the process. Lee Robinson received a text from his nephew Lloyd Catlow, 13, asking if he had any odd-jobs available in exchange for some pocket money, so invited him to his workplace
The youngster 'never thought of asking for money for free' and instead hoped to earn a 'few quid through hard work' so he could take a girl from school out on a date. Lee, who's an operations director of a commercial cleaning service company, said Lloyd spent two hours washing the exterior of six vehicles and was 'over the moon' with the £20 he earned.
But the 36-year-old was so impressed with Lloyd's can-do-attitude and the 'great job' that he did that he offered him a job - and he'll now be cleaning the vehicles, inside and out, every month. Lloyd even managed to upgrade his date from McDonald's to a local milkshake parlour and a post his uncle Lee shared online praising his strong work ethic has amassed more than 14, 592 likes and comments.
Lee, of Colne, Lancashire, said: "Lloyd just messaged me out of the blue and said that he wanted to take this young lady to McDonald's and asked if I had any work for him. I was really buzzing because I've always had a job since I was 13, paper rounds and whatnot.
"He's always expressed an interest in being a Saturday boy, earning a bit of money and having a job to pay for his boxing classes and stuff like that. He never even had an inkling towards receiving any money for free. I said 'no problem, I'll find you something. I'm sure you can wash the vans and get them ready to go'."
Lloyd said: "It felt really good to finally be able to take the young lady out and it was just so much better with it being money that I earned myself through hard work." Lee said that Lloyd is a keen boxer and boxes around two to three times a week and that he's also expressed interest in going into the armed forces in the future.
Lee said: "He did a really good job. Once I'd shown him to start at the top and work down and to make sure he was just doing one panel at once so there would be no smears that way, he was over the moon when he got the hang of it, and it gave him the appetite to come back. He took her to a local milkshake parlour instead. He was only expecting to maybe sweep the car park or tidy up my office or something and get a few quid. When I said I'd give him £20 for washing the vans that weren't out on jobs, he was over the moon.
"We're going to invite him back every month to do the vans inside and out, so he's gained himself a job from it, by just having that little bit of initiative and asking. It's sort of the message that you want to send across really, it was just a chance message and I work in sales and operations so I see that day-to-day - I'll e-mail a client 'how are you doing? We haven't seen each other for a while' and sometimes it can turn into a job.
"I just wanted to show that to him, it's about getting off of your backside and he seems to be wanting to work and he showed that, I was really over the moon for him. I've got two boys and a girl and I hope that they have that same ethic and drive that he's got, which is really good for a young lad."
The doting uncle shared a LinkedIn post about Lloyd which he said received half a million views and that Lloyd was overwhelmed with the response and the messages of positivity it received. Kim Billy Leipold commented: "This is indeed inspirational. I used to do this when I was a kid, but not with car washing instead in our shoe factory. I help every weekend and summer vacations to earn money, helping to put on shoelaces, polish shoes, and box them.
"As my parents taught me, if I was something I have to earn it either with good grades or by working! This kid will be in the future very successful! Kudos Kid!" Andrew Kunman FInstSMM added: "Top lad." Christopher Brazell said: "This is phenomenal! If he continues in this way, he's not going to need to be calling around asking for work, people will be calling him. Great job goes to the young man, and also the family who influences an incredible attitude towards work and reward. Hats off to you! And great job picking the milkshake place over McDonald's! Another win for the young man, his parents, and the young lady! Good stuff!
Carla Hutchison commented: "Lucky girl to meet such a hard-working lad. Please nurture that too many people don’t. He’s a leader of the future." Lee Haworth said: "You've obviously taught him well. What a good lad, he'll be a valuable asset to any firm when he's ready for a job.
"A proper old-fashioned work ethic which is sadly not as common these days. Someone who's prepared to graft to get what he wants - he could probably teach a lot of grownups a lesson or two. I'm sure this young man has a bright future ahead of him." James Khurana remarked: "Class!"
