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Is Your Shop Air Conditioned? Considering It?
I have an offer for $6 more an hour at an independent with no air conditioning. No thanks. I didn't get a degree and master certified to be miserable all day. That said, heat affects some more than others.
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I installed a 2 ton mini split in my shop last August and it couldn't quite keep up so installed a second one a month ago and now it's awesome. I also use them for heat in the winter so it's a win all the way around. My shop stays cleaner as well with no wind blowing leaves etc in. I think I get more done with the AC and am not as tired at the end of the day. I'm just a one man 2 bay shop.
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I have had a/c in our shop and offices for over 25 years and it was the best thing we ever did. I am in NJ and it gets very hot and humid here in the summer, the a/c makes life bearable. I have been in business for 50 years and my two techs have both been with me for over 40 years each and maybe that is one of the reasons they have stayed with me. The last 3-4 weeks have been very hot and our a/c does struggle to keep the shop area comfortable. Opening bay doors frequently and bringing in vehicles that have been baking in the sun only adds to the heat load. My guys are very good about quickly moving vehicles in and out of the bays which helps. They will also complete small jobs (that don’t require a lift) outside rather than bringing the vehicle into the shop which also helps minimize heat gain. I try to fill every bay at the end of the day so we start off the next morning with bays and cars cold. The a/c runs day and night otherwise we would start the day with a hot building that is unable to catch up during a hot day. With everything we do to minimize heat gain there are some days that the shop does get uncomfortable for a few hours in the afternoon but it is always better than not having a/c.
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On 8/14/2022 at 10:39 AM, Joe Marconi said:Wow, thanks for sharing that! Could you expand on what is important to you in the workplace? It would great to get your perspective.
Individual computer and 2 lifts for your masters.
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No AC. The shop is a wind tunnel when there is wind blowing, but on those days when it is still, it was bad. Last month, I just installed a 12' Big Ass Fan along with two 24' Spot Big Ass Fans. The guys like these.
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11 minutes ago, xrac said:One of the reasons we do not have air conditioning is our shop is well insulated so the exterior sun doesn't heat us up very quickly. We have no exterior windows so basically only our overhead doors. The way our shop is laid out it is positioned east to west with one large overhead door on each end. 90 percent of the time we have a prevailing southwesterly wind. Consequent;y we have great air flow through the shop. Our shop is amazingly comfortable except during days of high humidity and temperatures above 85 degrees. Fortunately that is usually only 40-60 days during the year. We do have large fans to move air as needed. Most of the time we are fairly comfortable.
Must be nice. We just exited quite a heat wave. We were at 103-105 for about 2 weeks straight. We installed the fans during this heat wave. I've been telling people that it's made a big difference. We went from being in an Oven to being in a Convection Oven!!! 😁 Once it dropped back to under a 100, it was pretty nice.
The way our shop is laid out, our work takes place away from the sun. I have heavy insulation on the roof, so the shop stays at the outside ambient temp. We really appreciate the wind tunnel effect until it gets cold, such as 70F.
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Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?
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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!”
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Thanks to our partners, NAPA TRACS and Promotive
Did you know that NAPA TRACS has onsite training plus six days a week support?
It all starts when a local representative meets with you to learn about your business and how you run it. After all, it's your shop, so it's your choice.
Let us prove to you that Tracs is the single best shop management system in the business. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at NAPATRACS.com
It’s time to hire a superstar for your business; what a grind you have in front of you. Great news, you don’t have to go it alone. Introducing Promotive, a full-service staffing solution for your shop. Promotive has over 40 years of recruiting and automotive experience. If you need qualified technicians and service advisors and want to offload the heavy lifting, visit www.gopromotive.com.
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