pfseeley442

I would say yes, but my issue was I kept a tech to long because I liked him, he was a nice personable guy, just took advantage. I had several talks with him but he continued his non productive ways. Issues that arise from that are: the other guys in the shop think that they can do the same because he got away with it and they did not see me doing anything about it. So you could say this is a culture issue from poor management.

My thoughts on this is low productivity is a result of time loss: two killers in my shop: late waiters and time between jobs. So it comes down to management, and communication. If you have a tech that does the job in timely fashion but takes 30 minutes between jobs or a 25 minute road test for an alignment this brings productivity down. So this is on management. The tech will take thier time if allowed and they are paid hourly. Set expectations from the start and stay on top of it or you have to make changes.

The learning curve is short, they have great videos and help section. My new service writer was doing pretty well after a week.

Good afternoon, I am using Tekmetric right now, I have used NAPA and Alldata in the past. I like what I have but... always a but, the cost is out of control for these monthly subscriptions. I am paying around $400. with the tire add on. Then you add on CRM and it another $300 per month. I am very happy with the program and all of the features. It flows well, easy to train new employees. It is just the cost of these things is crazy.

Business has slowed a bit for us, so I decided to look at me. I have gotten lax in making sure our processes are being followed. The techs have slowed a bit in getting their next jobs, they got a little lazy in the vehicle inspections and documentation. (A missed low brake measurement is a big deal.) So I wrote a new SOP for documentation while working on a vehicle, it includes road test expectations, post job discussion with the front office, etc. We just need to get better at finding and selling work. It was all on me, the boss.

Years ago I figured out what cards cost and added the proper amount to my labor rate. Very easy. I have a friend who owns a shop and did the cash discount or pay a fee on the credit card. His first month he had three bounced checks. I asked him how did that work out for you ? LOL Customers just want the bottom line. All the extra fees agravate me, IE: $10 fuel charge to deliver oil.

I have to tell you this last year has been tough, never in my life did I think that I would have to pay a state inspector so much. never mind technicians. I have been thinking about this topic and we may have to specialize just to stay in business. The lack of skilled help avaliable is unnerving. I think the days of a technician being able to do it all are coming to a close. I had a technician working for me for six years, I had a shop owner steal him away by talking to him through one of his freinds, he promised him the world. My pointt to saying that is that is whet we have become. We will need to find technicians with the skill sets we need to perform work that is profitable and may be very specialized. The problem occurs when you are lacking in work for that tech and only have work that they cannot do. so proffits will drop. Small shops will end up with the biggest challenges in this area. No easy answers, no easy solutions.

As a shop owner I understand the need for growth and keeping up with new technologies. My biggest struggle is getting employees that have the capabilities to meet these challenges. I am finding that techs seem to be staying put , the last one that I spoke with told me that he feels secure in his current job and did not want to take a chance right now in moving jobs with the current economy. I have a young crew that relies to much on me for diagnostic issues. I have been in looking for the right employee but have been unable to fill to void. So that makes me put the brakes on incorporating new tech here and adding services such as EV work. I really want to invest in these areas, but afraid that there will be no ROI with out the right team in place. Maybe putting the cart before the horse will be the way to go.

My shop is air conditioned. It adds approximately $250 per month in the summer to the electric bill. When the heating system was replaced it added about $6500 to the cost. My previous shops were not air conditioned, we did try the swamp coolers, fans etc. When it gets hot like it has been some days we saw a 50% loss in productivity, normal hot days maybe 15 to 20% loss. Now we have no loss in productivity, we have happy employees, a happy boss and a happy wallet. To see the employees happy not complaining and productive really is priceless.

For me the most difficult one is Failure to Adapt to Market Changes , While running the shop day to day it is difficult to look down the road 3 months, 6 months or longer. We tend to make adjustments reactionary not proactive, : OMG its busy lets hire a tech, OMG were dead, lay off a tech. So I have learned to have about 30k in the bank for winter just to be safe. Proper planning is the key. I will always remember a story about a toy store that would have a line of credit to make it through the summer, then pay it off during the holiday season. The problem was a couple of slow holiday seasons and they could not repay the loans and lost their business. so save money for the slow times and it helps to keep the cash flowing.

If you are on any social media you see the trend today is to move jobs. Watch and listen as they explain why, todays employee feel the only way to advance is to constantly seek out new employment, pit employer against employer and leverage the best deals. They talk constant about how employers do not value the employee, there are sights where employees go to rate the employer and share pay rates. Our trade is no different. We don't provide clear career paths, pay increase, benefits etc. Long gone are the days when employees stayed at one place for their career. They take 401k and head for the door. No easy answer, make your little part of the world the best you can and carry on.

I bought the smart aligner by RAV America, Had my last one for about 12 years, this one also will work on a two post lift. Check alternatives before spending 85K.

I had a boss that had a Christmas Tree in the front room. He warned those that owed him money that their bills would be hanging on the tree, and if they wanted them off just come down and pay. It worked for most.

Did it once years ago, worst thing ever, if you can't hide the money you end up claiming the money as income. Lose, Lose, The most I have ever done resently is given an employee cash for doing some week end work for me.

I can tell you how I solved my issue with technicians. I was always looking to pay as low as possible. If I could get a guy in for $20 per hour I was happy. That happiness was always short lived. I finally sat down to figure out why I had big time turn over of help. The problem was me and how I thought about the value of a tech and the service writer. I know the value of these rolls but never put the right dollar amount on them. Also a $20 an hour tech is just that. When I finaly ran my business corectly, priced my labor rate and parts where they needed to be, hired qualified techs and service writers: holy crap what a differance. I went from an average of 600K per year to now averaging 1.6million per year (the last four years, out of thirteen) I also have pay of 250K per year for myself. My techs get about 70K plus per year. . Front room gets about 65K per year. All salary, no pay plans, no games, just pay. With health care, 401k ect. I have four bays, one of them is an inspection bay. Good AC good heat, and very little turn over of help. So as an industry we know why there is a tech shortage, and the reasons for it. We just need to fix us first.