Shopcat, I have benefited from them. Some of what they've taught me has helped. Parts margin and labor margin have improved. My leadership abilities have improved, my customer experience has improved. Now the bad. I am in rural upstate NY and because my shop is now the highest priced option of 15 independent shops and 3 small new car dealers in a 10 mile radius , I have noticed my customer base slip away to the cheaper options. I used to service 40-50 cars a week and now I see 25 to 35 cars. This forces us to sell so much more per car. Coach says a higher ARO is all I need to worry about not the cars. He says I am not estimating high enough. Im at about 300 aro. My small town with an average income of 35k cannot afford to support a 93 per hr shop. Btw. Shops in my market are 55-75 per. Im confident none of my competitors are using a parts matrix like I am. Asked my parts supplier and he said nobody in town charges like I do. It's not a level paying field because the other shops in my market are not educating themselves to charge more. So with sales and car count shrinking, im thrilled to be done paying them almost 2 k per month. They're the reason I have to work so hard. Again, their answer is that I don't estimate and sell high enough. I've been a tech for almost 30 years and my lead tech for 35 years. I think I'm qualified to determine what my customer's need and estimate /recommend properly and honestly. Lesson- Take advice but adapt it to your market. What works in big cities with higher incomes don't work the same in small towns.