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Joe Marconi

Management
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Everything posted by Joe Marconi

  1. Thank you for your post. This should hit home with every shop owner. It's not always about money, as we think too often. It's about the workplace and having an effective leader. People want to have a purpose, be respected, and feel that their hard work and contributions are recognized by management. Let's hope, and work hard, that we continue to understand the business from the employee's view and also work to become better leaders.
  2. You bring up great points! And to your point, that's why I believe shop owners need to sit down with each employee and review their ENTIRE pay package. A shop paying $35 per hour, plus all the benefits, retirement plan, etc., may add up to another flat-rate paying $40 per hour that has little to no benefits.
  3. One of the things that came out of COVID was the expansion of virtual training. Before I sold my business we started a monthly virtual training session. We held it in the middle of the day from one hour to an hour and a half. There is so much available to us these days, like CTI Training, World Pac, NAPA, and a lot more. There are pros and cons to virtual training, but with the amount of information that is needed today, I feel virtual has a place in today's repair shops. Thoughts and comments?
  4. The traditional vacation season is almost here. It's also when many repair shops are the busiest. How do you balance employee vacation time with the need to have a full staff during the busiest time?
  5. The life of a shop owner is often filled with a never-ending list of tasks and responsibilities. This can lead to burnout if we are not careful. What do you do, or should do, in order to have the right balance between business and life?
  6. Larry, this is a well-done video. And a great tip for everyone! I didn't know that a TV station would do this. Video is a great way to promote a business. Was the video available to you to use on your website, or social media, etc.?
  7. HA! This is the power of Auto Shop Owner. We all share and exchange ideas, opinions, and knowledge. Everyone has something to contribute. I respect your honesty! Keep posting!
  8. ADAS will be incorporated within the safety systems in every car. I don't know where we are headed, but right now on many cars, you have to recalibrate ADAS for bumper cover replacements, rearview mirrors, alignments, and a lot more. Technically, wherever ADAS has sensors, you need to check to see if an ADAS recalibrate needs to be done if the sensors were affected by a particular repair. So, I don't think it's the same if your cruise control fails or your CD player fails, and you opted not to repair it.
  9. This has happened to nearly everyone and has happened to me. Contact Google ASAP. If that person was truly not in your shop, Google knows. And always reply, as you did, in a professional manner. People understand, don't go nuts about this. Start asking some of your great customers to post good reviews, and get that pushed down the list. And contact Google. Good luck! And relax! I have been there too.
  10. That is a tough question to answer without being too general in nature. However, here's my opinion. I am in New York, and it's not uncommon for top techs to ask for 40 to 50 an hour. BUT, the bigger question is how to pay that salary. A lot goes into it: Production, the type of work you sell, your labor rate, are you charging more for labor with jobs that don't include parts; such as complicated computer-related problems? I am going to state a disclaimer before I continue: THE FOLLOWING IS GENERIC IN NATURE, AND YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN MATH TO DETERMINE YOUR LABOR RATE. Now with that said, to pay a tech $45.00 your labor rate for that tech (at 100% productive) needs to be around $180.00 per hour.
  11. The liability issue is a big one. Training and the right equipment are key.
  12. I should have asked that question, and wanted to. And, I agree. Most of the time, the heart is gone long before the toolbox is. Shop owners need to become more engaging, sit down with their employees, find out what's important to them, are there any issues, and do all they can to retain the people they have now.
  13. Yesterday, I spoke to a fellow shop owner, who wants to remain anonymous, but wants to share this story. In the past few months, he lost two top techs to a local dealership. This shop owner runs a EURO shop, and these two techs are highly trained and well-known for their expertise. The dealer was willing to pay them each $10.00 more per hour than they were earning, around $40.00 per hour. NOW, there are many factors with why employees leave, and it's not only for money. HOWEVER, we need to be very careful and stay engaged with our employees now more than ever. It's hard enough finding good people these days, we don't want to lose the ones we have! Thoughts? Comments?
  14. ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) is the buzz these days, and many shop owners are uncertain about investing in this technology. There is a lot to consider: The space required, the liability concern, the cost, the training, and will this technology change dramatically in the next few years. Are you considering investing in an ADAS system? If you have an ADAS system, can you share the pros and cons?
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