What should I do in this situation?

I just took over as chief installer at a small car audio shop. I have more qualifications than any other installer they have ever had in the 7 years they have been open. They pay pretty good, especially for a small town shop, but I am in a dielema. I love Alpine and have Alpine h/u in all my cars, but they dont sell it. They sell JVC, Kenwood, and Panasonic as their main head units. I even have Alpine decals on my cars. I am using my Tahoe to demo for the store, but I dont want to pull my flagship Alpine deck and Alpine ERA-G320 dsp and let it sit. I also use a Precision Power PAR245 pre-amp and they dont sell PPI either. The amplifiers I have are all PPI also. They only thing in the Tahoe that I have in the Tahoe that the shop sells is the subs and I purchased them from the store and did a custom install in the truck to show some creative installation with tweed and mirrors and stuff. He doesnt give me any "real" flack about having the other stuff... and he as mentioned carrying the units, but I think it is just to keep me there. Should I just pull my stuff or not show the truck, or try to get some of the stuff in my Tahoe into his storefront? He doesnt want to carry Alpine because another shop in town has it. As far as I know noone is carrying PPI and he really doesnt complain about them as much as he does about the Alpine. I guess it would be like working for Coke but drinking Pepsi... but on the job?? Any thoughts? Derl

open your own store.yo

You just started the job?  If you want to stay there get rid of the decals.  Toe the line for awhile.  Your boss didn't hire you to advertise a brand he doesn't carry so whatever system you listen to in your car, if it's not a brand he sells keep the car out of the ballgame.Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

Get over it.

I agree.  Lose the decals and if you don't want to swap out your gear, don't use your car as a demo vehicle.My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.

Well... just started meaning a little less than a year. I understand the point and I am just kinda hoping that he may bring in the line. He has talked about it, but we will see. I do have a Saturn that has all of his brands in it. It is just no where near as impressive as the Tahoe. OH well.... thanks for the ideas. Derl

My question is what does it matter what gear is in your personal vehicle?  Unless you've been hired on the basis of using your personal rig as some sort of show car for the shop why does it matter, you're working in the install bay, right?  And if you were hired so that the shop could use your vehicle as a show piece, then I hope that A) you are being paid for that, and B) if the owner wants his or her gear in the vehicle, let them pay for the change.Support the12volt.com

Well... see.... me and the owner have gotten to be friends somewhat and me and my wife tend to hang with him and his wife often. We all get along great, and he does have a demo vehicle of his own, but the install is very much basic. That is the reason I built the Tahoe was for a better looking install so it would help bring in business. His demo car is pretty much flat pieces of 3/4 mdf with some tweed on it. He did it himself and he is one of those people who wants to work on his own car, but it just lacks in being a real impressive demo. I am in no way trying to prove "who is a better installer" but I want the business to succeed. I had everything already installed in my cars before I ever started working there except for the wall of subs in the Tahoe that I bought from him.... heck... My astro van has Rockford Fosgate all the way up the side of the van. He doesnt sell that either, but I just cant go and have a complete lifestyle change just to work there. I plan on changing the van anyway because I have decided to change lines (undecided at this point what to change to). Basically, I dont want to disrespect him or his business, and I am doing everything in my power to better his business for him. But if I go and compete and I have brand "A" in my car and everyone knows I work for him selling brand "B", what kind of message does that leave. I dunno. I was opening my own shop years ago just before the divorce hit and then I postponed it until things could level off. I still plan to open one, but I believe in small businesses and I want to do all I can to help him and his shop. He is a good guy and I can see the point if I had my shop, I would like my employees to use my stuff. I guess there is no perfect answer but I like to hear all the comments. Heck, it makes a good topic of discussion anyways! Keep posting! Derl