-
Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?
-
.thumb.jpg.2b345efc275b9df0af2bbb306a10a78a.jpg)
By Joe Marconi in Joe's Blog5 commentsI recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
-
-
Similar Topics
-
By Joe Marconi
Premium Member Content
This content is hidden to guests, one of the benefits of a paid membership. Please login or register to view this content.
-
By Changing The Industry
The Basics of Owning An Auto Repair Shop - Balancing GP per Hour and Productivity
-
By carmcapriotto
Thank you to our friends at RepairPal for providing you this episode. As shop owners we were part of RepairPal’s Certified network and you can learn more at RepairPal.com/shops.
Show Notes
Reasons Google will suspend your GBP Adding Keywords to Your Business Name Using PO boxes or virtual office addresses Using your home address for a service area business - mobile mechanics Making major changes to your information - name, address, phone number Adding Reviews - Talk about RV Masters Recent experience Spam Reviews Two businesses sharing an address - same with phone number A competitor reported you Dandy Review Removal: Negative review removal using AI They had to rebrand from ReviewVio because of all the negative reviews and complaints that they received. They over charge and under deliver. It is a 12 month contract - not monthly Writer’s Hand: WriterHand.com's Review Generator AI employs state-of-the-art natural language processing algorithms to produce high-quality reviews in a matter of seconds. The tool is designed to cater to the needs of both individual writers and businesses seeking to enhance their online presence. By simply inputting a few key details about a product, service, or experience, users can obtain well-crafted reviews that reflect a genuine customer's perspective. Embed Social: Use AI tools to help you collect more reviews, reply to reviews faster and make your reviews widget designs. New AI Optimization services: Boost Ninja: Speak on Accurate Automotive GBP Listing being suspended after adding this company to their listing - Supposed to be a Google Maps ranking system by boosting local rankings by targeting top keywords and AI Optimization to your Google listing Problem is when you talk to client’s who have hired companies like this and ask what they are actually doing - the answer is the same: “I have know idea”
How To Get In Touch
Group - Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind
Website - shopmarketingpros.com
Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros
Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/book
Instagram - @shopmarketingpros
Questions/Ideas - [email protected]
Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
-
By carmcapriotto
Thanks to our Partner, NAPA Auto Care Customer service is the backbone of any successful auto repair shop. Tom Petty discusses the critical role of clear, effective communication with customers. And guess what? It all starts with your internal team and company culture. Tom Petty, Petty Motorworks, Waretown, NJ Show Notes
Watch Full Video TST Seminars: https://www.tstseminars.org/ NAPA Auto Care Gold status (00:01:24) Tom Petty discusses NAPA AutoCare Gold status and its significance. Technical training and progression (00:03:13) Tom Petty's technical training and progression through the years. Family business and technical training (00:04:22) Tom Petty's decision to start a family business and his involvement in technical training. Engaging technicians and setting shop culture (00:05:44) Discussion on setting the culture for a shop and engaging technicians in training. Apprenticeship and mentoring (00:08:13) Tom Petty's approach to apprenticeship and mentoring young technicians. Automotive vocational education (00:11:10) Discussion on the need for a specialized automotive charter program in vocational education. Challenges in the automotive industry (00:13:03) Challenges faced by young technicians in the automotive industry and the need for development and support. Starting wage and labor margin (00:14:36) Discussion on starting wage for technicians and the importance of labor margin for business sustainability. Post-education career advice (00:15:31) Tom Petty's advice for students coming out of a two-year automotive program regarding starting wage expectations. Structured Raises (00:15:37) Discussion about implementing structured raises for technicians to prevent wage suppression. Setting Technician Wages (00:19:06) Discussion on the importance of setting technician wages based on experience and productivity. Communication and Customer Service (00:23:53) Importance of effective communication, especially through digital inspections, and its impact on customer service. Training Alliance (00:28:00) Formation of an independent training alliance to improve technical training in the local area of New Jersey. Kidney Donation (00:30:44) Tom Petty's kidney donation. Life Post-Surgery (00:33:14) Tom Petty shares his experiences after kidney surgery and discusses the minimal impact on his daily life. Avoiding NSAIDs (00:33:53) The importance of avoiding certain pain medications for kidney health, with a cautionary example. Recovery and Kidney Function (00:34:31) Insights into the recovery period after kidney surgery and the remarkable adaptability of the kidney.
Thanks to our Partner, NAPA Auto Care Learn more about NAPA Auto Care and the benefits of being part of the NAPA family by visiting https://www.napaonline.com/en/auto-care Connect with the Podcast: -Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/ -Join Our Private Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1734687266778976 -Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/carmcapriotto -Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/ -Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/ -Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz -Visit the Website: https://remarkableresults.biz/ -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections
Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
-
By Changing The Industry
Episode 162 - Lauralee Schmidt on Repair Shop Economics and Social Media Slips
-
-
-
Our Sponsors
Recommended Posts
SMMotors
I don't cave. I've told the warranty companies that I'll let the customer know that you've refused to honor the warranty.
I do have a work around that hasn't failed yet. When the warranty companies want to send us parts, I tell them that my insurance won't cover any parts that aren't sold on the work order. Doesn't matter if they are OES or AM. I politely ask if the warranty company if they would like to underwrite my insurance policy and cover the million dollar liability I have.
This is a huge thing that I don't think ESO's take seriously. If the part you install isn't supplied and sold by you, you will not be covered if there is any problems ( at least on my policy and other shops that I've worked at, I've seen it in the contract as well as asked the adjuster). You all have read the posts " times were slow so I went ahead and took the job and used the customer supplied brake pads cause some money is better than no money". That never ends well.
I encourage everyone to review and ask your adjuster about it. I was told by 2 different companies that if I put customer supplied parts on, there is an accident, I have no protection. No insurance coverage, no company lawyer, no financial protection.
With extended warranty companies, I make my money. I know how to play their game and charge for stuff that I wouldn't charge for with regular customers ( ie hose clamps, total freon in the system not what was evaced minus what I put in, list price on coolant and filters, book time for LOFs, full diag time at a higher per hour charge). I make good money on the extended warranties most of the time. I don't let them dictate how to perform my job, what I make, or what parts I use.
Good on you Joe!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Marksas
We don't negotiate with the A/M Warranty companies and we let the customer know up front. We inform the customer that many times the warranty company does not pay for all the procedures required for us to properly repair their vehicle and provide them with our warranty. We will be happy to submit the claim and speak to the adjuster but we don't argue with them. We will let you know what your total out of pocket fees are before we do the job and we will need their authorization once we know what the warranty company is paying for.
We also increase our labor rate by $15.50 per hour just because we have to deal with them. I don't think I have had a company ask to send us parts but I am going to check with my service writers. I like the idea of "our insurance policy will not cover parts not sold by us." I will also check with my agent on this.
Link to comment
Share on other sites