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Help! New to shop management

uniqueauto

By uniqueauto
in Human Resources, Employees

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uniqueauto Newbie

uniqueauto

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Hello guys,

 

First I want to say thanks to all that post such great thoughts and ideas! I just recently(within the last few months) took over my dads shop. He started a dealership about ten years ago and started the shop mainly to service his vehicles. We have had several people run the shop with absolutely no success. I am very new to the shop business. I currently farm with my brother and also buy cars for the dealership so I can't put all my time into the shop. I just have a few questions and would appreciate any and all advice!

 

First off, what is decent pay for a tech? I have two flag hour techs that I think I pay very well. One gets 22.50 and the other gets

$25 per hour, plus they get a 15% raise if they flag so many hours. What do you think? I also have an hourly guy (who is the best bang for the buck!) and a service writer/ shop manager who takes care of the daily shop business.

 

Secondly, I've been reading about policies and procedures, which this shop has never had, and I was wondering where would be a good place to start.

 

I guess I'll leave it at that for now. Thanks

flacvabeach Community Regular

flacvabeach

Posted
Posted

Sounds like you are well grounded in the business. We went the other way and started a shop them added the car lot. I would strongly advise getting some business coaching. You can learn the fine points the hard way or have a coach tell you what is working well for other shops. Attending training with other shop owners is a real eye-opener.

 

For technicians' pay, you need a system that lets you retain your labor margin if they go into overtime. This has been by far the most complex issue we have faced in our ongoing education.

uniqueauto Newbie

uniqueauto

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I appreciate the response. Does anyone have any recommendations on some good shop training? I've also been thinking about some training for my service advisor/ manager. Any recommendations on a program that would work well for both of us? Thanks for any and all input!

Tires Too Collaborator

Tires Too

Posted
Posted

AVI out of Ft Meyers Florida has a number of DVD and/or on-line training courses for both techs and service advisers. Check with the local parts suppliers for training they might have available locally. NAPA provides a very comprehensive on line library for their Auto Care Centers.

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