How to hire automotive and watercraft service attendants

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Check tire pressure and levels of fuel, motor oil, transmission, radiator, battery, or other fluids, adding air or fluids as required.
• Clean parking areas, offices, restrooms, or equipment, and remove trash.
• Collect cash payments from customers, and make change or charge purchases to customers' credit cards, providing customers with receipts.
• Grease and lubricate vehicles or specified units, such as springs, universal joints, or steering knuckles, using grease guns or spray lubricants.
• Order stock, and price and shelve incoming goods.
• Perform minor repairs, such as adjusting brakes, replacing spark plugs, or changing engine oil or filters.
• Rotate, test, and repair or replace tires.
• Sell and install accessories, such as batteries, windshield wiper blades, fan belts, bulbs, or headlamps.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: No formal educational credential]
• Strong active listening, speaking and critical thinking skills
• Working knowledge of customer and personal service, mechanical, sales and marketing and administration and management
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $17.15 an hour ($35,670 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for automotive and watercraft service attendants

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to check tire pressure and levels of fuel, motor oil, transmission, radiator, battery, or other fluids, adding air or fluids as required. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to clean parking areas, offices, restrooms, or equipment, and remove trash. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to collect cash payments from customers, and make change or charge purchases to customers' credit cards, providing customers with receipts. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to grease and lubricate vehicles or specified units, such as springs, universal joints, or steering knuckles, using grease guns or spray lubricants. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
7. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What automotive and watercraft service attendants do

• Check tire pressure and levels of fuel, motor oil, transmission, radiator, battery, or other fluids, adding air or fluids as required.
• Clean parking areas, offices, restrooms, or equipment, and remove trash.
• Collect cash payments from customers, and make change or charge purchases to customers' credit cards, providing customers with receipts.
• Grease and lubricate vehicles or specified units, such as springs, universal joints, or steering knuckles, using grease guns or spray lubricants.
• Order stock, and price and shelve incoming goods.
• Perform minor repairs, such as adjusting brakes, replacing spark plugs, or changing engine oil or filters.
• Rotate, test, and repair or replace tires.
• Sell and install accessories, such as batteries, windshield wiper blades, fan belts, bulbs, or headlamps.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningSpeakingCritical ThinkingCustomer and Personal ServiceMechanicalSales and MarketingAdministration and Management

Education, experience and outlook for automotive and watercraft service attendants

• Typical education to start: No formal educational credential (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: None (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Short-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: +3.8% over ten years, about as fast as average · about 12,900 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay automotive and watercraft service attendants

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See automotive and watercraft service attendants pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
• Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers
• Maintenance Workers, Machinery
• Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment
• Home Appliance Repairers
• Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists
• Rail Car Repairers
• Aircraft Service Attendants
• Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
• Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.