I 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!”
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5 Star Auto Spa
Thanks for the replies Joe and Harry.
To answer Joe's questions: The vehicle was a new vehicle with low mileage. The customer suspected that it might be covered under warranty and wanted to take it to the dealer to verify. It was a first time customer who had no previous work history with our shop. The job was sold with the assumption that it was the bulb but upon further investigation by the technician, the socket had been damaged due to rain intrusion. We charged for the bulb service labor but did not charge for the part/bulb itself as this would not have resolved the customer's issue.
To Harry: How do you typically sell/price a light that has gone out on a vehicle from an oil change/state inspection? Typically customers want a price before committing to a service and the price could vary based off of all of the different reasons why a light could be out. We typically sell with the assumption that the bulb itself has gone out unless we can see obvious damage.
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HarrytheCarGeek
5 Star, I don't have to tell you, everything is about communication. Know your customer is not only good policy for the banking industry, it is the same with us. For example, the cashier girl is more price sensitive than the IT engineer guy. So, when you offer a service, leave it open to additional work that may be needed. We do this all the time, " Joe, you have a light out, could be the bulb, but sometimes the connector melts or corrodes, we will check it out, ok." My point is to always manage expectations to provide the best customer experience.
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5 Star Auto Spa
Thanks for the reply Harry. In that scenario you just mentioned, what do you charge the customer to "check it out"? Is that service complimentary? Do you charge for "checking it out" if the customer declines the service once you have told him what he/she needs to fix the issue?
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HarrytheCarGeek
Hmm, I don't follow the question. Are you setting me up?
Well, I have to know what's it I am selling, so yeah complementary to check it out. But if I have to diagnose an electrical issue, I give the customer a preliminary estimate before we teardown. Again, know your customer. Keep in mind, there are opportunistic people that will not buy from you, but get anything you give them for free. ( I am sure you know this, but I am being verbose for the young guys that are learning the ropes.)
Edited by HarrytheCarGeeka word
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Joe Marconi
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