Guillermo “Billy” Quezada was meant for a role in operations. For the past 12 years, he’s been part of some kind of operations work, from cable installations to a lead inspector for Verizon FIOS in California and now a general manager with Wash Me Fast, where he’s been for the last four years.
No matter the role or the industry, Quezada has been happy. “Each role came with a different challenge,” he said.
Maybe that’s because Quezada takes a different approach to work. He said the best career advice he’s ever heard was that to make a difference in the workplace, you have to enjoy what you do, even if it’s not your dream job. “You have to put joy into everything you do,” he said. For Quezada and the people around him, that has made all the difference.
“Billy is one of the hardest working, most grateful people I have ever been around,” said Jimmy Starnes, chief strategic officer at Wash Me Fast. “He is truly an emerging leader who wants to learn and grow to be the best he can with whatever he is involved in.”
Quezada said he never intended to end up in the car washing business. “It happened by accident,” he said. “But I’m so glad it did.”
Quezada, an immigrant from Guatemala who recently received his citizenship, had been living in Georgia for three years and couldn’t find a job, so he moved to California while his wife and daughter stayed in Atlanta. One of his good friends was leaving his role as a general manager with Wash Me Fast and wanted to know if Quezada was interested in the job. The rest is history. “I’m glad I was offered the job, and I’m glad I took it,” Quezada said. “Now I get to work with such amazing people, from my team leaders to my customers.”
With a degree in electronics, it’s clear that Quezada enjoys the challenge of fixing things. But when you talk to him or his leaders, it becomes obvious that it’s the people aspect of the job that energizes him. “Serving people is something I really enjoy,” Quezada said. “As my career continues, I see myself more involved in our community, training the next generation, being the place where everyone wants to work.”
Quezada is already contributing to his community through a program at Wash Me Fast. “Billy is a big part of our Wash Away Thirst organization, where we raise money to help provide clean water to needy families,” Starnes said.
In his role as general manager, Quezada feels leaders need to be able to listen, both to have a successful business but also to help staff learn and grow. “As leaders, we like to drive change. But when that change is not happening, we could end up making poor decisions,” Quezada said. “Listening can cause us to deliver the best customer experience, retain staff, drive higher sales or even resolve conflict.”
Quezada has been able to do all of these things.
“Billy has been with Wash Me Fast for four years as the general manager for our Stockbridge, Georgia, location,” Starnes said. “Since he stepped in as general manager, he has increased our sales by 40 percent. Our team turnover has decreased, and he has actually trained up team members on maintenance and customer service, which has enabled them to move on to higher-paying jobs.”
He’s also created training materials to help everyone at Wash Me Fast learn how to repair equipment and do preventive maintenance properly. “He consistently challenges everyone to be better and make the wash and people around him better,” Starnes said.
When Quezada’s not at work serving customers and helping his team succeed, he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, playing guitar, listening to live music, traveling and rock climbing.
