Joe Marconi

40 minutes ago, newport5 said:

So you're going to recommend the oil service while they are in there for the free tire rotation?

Why not just convince/educate them on the real-world oil change schedule? 

And the value of inspections every 7500 miles instead of ??? miles ...

I would  not recommend a free tire rotation, unless that is the shop's marketing strategy.  I like to sell the rotation with a balance, and of course the multipoint is included. 

And I do agree that we need something to educate the customer and get them back into the shops, due to so many people extending their oil services. 

3 minutes ago, CTC said:

Be careful with bonuses….had my hand slapped by federal labor board! She said we should never have a bonus plan that says if you do this you get this. Only applies to bonus, not flat rate, they consider that piece meal pay, which is entirely different. Take or leave the advice, will just tell you that it cost me a lot of money!  My suggestion is to ask your local labor board, if you have questions prior to them checking in on you.

Good point.  Before anyone implements any pay plan with bonuses or commissions, check with a labor law attorney.  Even flat rate in some states is not legal.  Good advise. 

This tip actually comes from a fellow Elite Business Coach; The Tire Rotation is the New Oil Change Service! 

I agree!  With extended oil changes and people waiting until the oil change maintenance light to tell them when they need an oil change, rather than your Windshield Oil Sticker, shops need a way to get people back into the bays.  Also, let's face it, the average consumer DOES NOT change their oil as often as they should. 

One of the best ways to get your customer to return to you is to schedule a tire rotation every six months. Wrap the tire rotation around a vehicle multipoint inspection and you now have a new powerful sales strategy and customer retention plan.  

5 hours ago, Andre R said:

We have 3 techs all on hourly. One  at $22.00 one  at $28.00 and one at $35.00. The performance 

bonus starts at 35 flagged hours $2.00 at 35 thru 39 hours bumps to $4.00 at 40 hours $6.00 at 45 hours and $8 at 50 hours.

 

 

 

I think that a performance-based program works well.  It gives the tech a good base pay, plus the opportunity to earn more.  Very good!

57 minutes ago, jfuhrmad said:

I went up $5 2 months ago.  I’m higher than the chains right now.  Nobody blinks.

I’m going up another $5 this fall and another $5 in late winter.

I like doing it slowly.  The Euro shop right by me is $8 ahead of me and all the dealers are $40 higher than I am.

 

 

That is great news!  And the strategy to move slowly is a good stratgey.  Catch up to the dealers...have faith....you are worth it! 

2 hours ago, Jeffrey said:

We raised ours over the weekend from $89 to $110.  The big tire shops around are $120.

Independents are mostly still under the $100 mark. Looks like I may lead the way.

The tire shops are using mechanics. We employee ASE Certified Master Tech.

Lead the way!  Many shops fear raising prices, but the truth is we are still way behind.  We need to build for the future, attract new people to our industry and keep the ones we have right now. All this means we need to raise our labor rate. 

Great job leading the way.  I hope more shops take your lead! 

From what I am hearing around the country, some shops are doing away with flat rate and paying an hourly wage plus some sort of performance-based bonus after the tech hits a certain amount of efficiency or productivity.  

58 minutes ago, bantar said:

I just hired a new C tech at $15.   He finished tech school and is overall a good C Tech and limited tools.    My old B ($22) and C ($18) techs both left to take a job paying $1300/week with 50 hours required.  Given this, it would seem we have a local market range for C Techs of $15-$24/hr.  

I hear this a lot.  I think it's time that we all look at our pay plans and our labor rates, and do what is needed to keep our current employees. I know that's it's not all about money, but it is a factor. Get your workplace and your culture in place, and make sure your pay plans are competitive. 

By the way, employee pay is going up in many other industries too. 

14 hours ago, dfrisby said:

Just got my accounting caught up and first year ever I've been running at a loss, even though gross sales are up.  Just raised shop rate from $90/hr to $100/hr with plan to raise monthly to $120 an hour by October 1st.  Cost of labor is up 30% from last year and it's been everything I can do to attract and retain employees.  I've known for years that techs were not making what they should, but I'm nervous about pricing myself out of the market around here as other shops in the area are at a much lower hourly rate still.  Anyways, I'm going to pay my techs what they deserve and keep afloat or I'm going to go under trying.  All their expenses have gone up as well and it's time.

 

We need to avoid thinking about pricing ourselves out of the market. Why? Because if we are not profitable we will "underprice" ourselves out of business. I know it's not easy, but more and more shops are raising their labor rates for the same reasons you are. As an industry we have been too cheap too long.  Believe in yourself and what you are doing. I have done the same exact thing and not looking back.  Don't hold yourself back either worrying about the other shops around you. Be the market leader! 

Entry level, and apprenticeship techs, 15 to 18 per hour, depending on ability, tech school, etc.

1 minute ago, Old and Tired said:

I raised ours $23/hr 4 months ago and gave the techs an $8 an hour raise. I think I was late to the party adjusting prices but we've gone up $50 an hour over the last year and a half. Customers haven't even noticed unless they are price shopping and those people will always find something cheaper anyway.  

Wow! Go for you! I hear this more and more across the country as an Elite business coach. 

It's no secret that prices are going up around us. From food, gas, insurance, taxes, etc.  This is another reason to sit down and crunch your numbers.  Review your expenses line by line and see what increases you have had in the past few months, and the past year or so. 

Then,  make price increases in labor and other areas to ensure you are profitable. The long-term success of your business depends on it. 

What have you seen in your area with regard to increase in expenses? 

16 hours ago, xrac said:

We have raised our rates by $10 in the last year but I may still be too low. 

Frank, $10.00 is a great start!  Just do the math to make sure, and if it is too low, raise slowly. There are shops that are adding a few dollars per month until they reach their desired labor rate goal.

By the way, it's different around the country. In areas of New York, we I am from, we are seeing labor rates above $150 and higher, because of how much they are paying their techs. 

Good luck! 

16 hours ago, bantar said:

I've increased my labor rate by $20/hr yesterday.   The main reason for doing this is to pay the best technicians what they are worth and maybe a bit more than that.   

Related, but a whole different beast is that I'm about to significantly increase my Quick Lube pricing.  This one will be harder to implement as it's somewhat of a commodity with many other nearby competitors that may or may not follow.   I've absorbed many COGS price increases without increasing the oil pricing in 4 years.   My strategy is to let gasoline pricing hit $3/gallon (not there yet here in Texas... about $2.75/gal).   Once it hits $3/gallon, we can commiserate with our customers about those high gas prices...   "it's the reason" that we had to raise our prices.  My goal will be a big enough bump to last 1-2 years (but with this rampant inflation, it might be short lived).   I'm somewhat nervous about this move, but it has to be done and it will be done.

With any increase in prices, move slow and incrementally. This gives your customers and employees time to adjust. And of course, where possible be competitive, but I totally agree with you, we cannot keep absorbing price increases on our end.  More and more shop owners are thinking like you, and it's time for a change among our industry. 

And I applaud your increase of $20 per hour! We need to see more of this around the country.

Think you're too young to start planning for retirement? Think again! 

How many times have we heard about a shop owner that had an unfortunate accident, serious illness or even worse, death?

Make it one of your goals to starting planning for your exit, and for life after auto repair, no matter how young you are. Create your exit strategy. Speak with an attorney, a financial advisor, a business coach.  Make sure that not only you, but your family, will be taken care of should something catastrophic happens. 

Life sometimes throughs us a curve ball. Be prepared! 

One of the thing that has been brought to the forefront during this employee-shortage era, is the fact that we need to increase the pay salaries of the average technician and service advisor.  In my opinion, we need to increase the pay for entry level people also. Other industries have done, we must also. 

If we are to attract quality people and retain who we have employed, we need to address this issue now. 

For the first time in a VERY LONG time, I see a lot of positive news with regard to labor rates.  More and more shop owners and managers are crunching their numbers and increasing their labor rates to better ensure their companies achieves a profit and also to be able to pay their employees what they deserve. 

Profit is needed in order to build for the future and to be able to attract quality people. 

I really think that this is perhaps the best time in our recent history to revisit your labor rates and bottom line and adjust your rates accordingly.  

Have you adjusted your labor rates recently, or plan on it? 

This topic has been addressed before, but it's timeless in its importance.

Doctors, dentists, nail spas, hair dressers, pet groomers, boiler service companies,  and chimney cleaning service companies all have one thing in common. They all book the next visit or service. 

Want to increase future sales and smooth out the highs and lows in your schedule?  Then remind each customer at care delivery of their next Oil Service and any other services that are coming due soon.  Put the customer's visit in your calendar and have a process that reaches out to them when their visit is due. 

REMEMBER: Every vehicle in your shop TODAY will need future services. The question is: Are they returning to you?  

With all the talk these days about finding and hiring employees, it's so important that you hold on to the employees you have right now.  

You may not know it, but there are probably dealers and other repair shops recruiting your employees right now as your read this post! 

Set up time to sit down with all your employees, as a group and one-on-one. Find out more about them,  their needs, their goals and what's important to them. 

Make sure you pay program is in line with their needs and provides for their family. It's not all about money, but we need to take care of the basic needs of life first.

It's hard enough to find employees these days, make sure you keep the ones you have now! 

Your thoughts? 

Labor rates are going up across many industries, not just automotive repair.  Most shop owners and managers realize that being profitable and being able to afford to pay employees decent salary is key to the long-term health of the business.  

In my opinion, we still need to move the needle up with regard to labor rates, but we are finally seeing a move in the right direction. 

With that said, a business is strongest and has the greatest potential when it's foundation is built with the right people, the right leadership and the right culture. 

Great comments everyone! 

3 hours ago, BoulderHybrids said:

I don't have room for a 4 post lift or even a scissor lift but am tired of subbing alignments to a shop on the other side of town.

Has anyone used something like this 2 post alignment system?  Do any of these portable systems work well enough to be worthwhile?

https://www.ravamerica.com/wheel-alignment-equipment/rav-td2-0-wifi/

Have you contacted lift companies such as Hunter, Rotary, to see if they have any options?  Alignments should be done on a drive-on rack.  I don't think a drive on scissor lift takes up more space than a conventional above ground.  Good luck, and I like your thinking.  In house alignments are more productive, reduces over-head costs and keeps the quality under your control.

2 minutes ago, newport5 said:

I don’t think we deliver an expectation, we deliver the experience. The customer has the expectation. I would think their expectations would be: fix their car, at a fair price, a good warranty, with a good explanation of what was done, and kept up to date on the repair and it’s cost. A bonus would be a nice, friendly (maybe fun) interaction with the staff, whether service advisor, owner, manager or receptionist.

Too many people “expect” or are afraid of being ripped off, probably more for first time customers. I can’t remember a customer EVER telling me their expectations.

I’m not a fan of “exceed expectations.” What is that: coffee, donuts, toys for the kids as mom waits? A ride? A rental car? And then, how do you exceed exceeded expectations the next time??? I’ve even read “shatter expectations,” with no hint as to what that would be.

What goes a long way are great 5 Star reviews to put (first time) customers at ease.

I answer the phone cheerfully every time. I had a lady customer say: “When you answer the phone, I know everything is in good hands.” A good start on the customer experience.

Great point and great perspective! 

Do customers really have clear expectations when they arrive at your shop?  Think about it.  Who is responsible for setting clear expectations?  Consumers may have a preconceived idea about what to expect, but when it comes down to what or who sets the expectation, it's the shop's responsibility. 

Great customer service is created by the shop and its people. The consumer will judge that experience, but they don't create it, you do. 

We may think that the consumer will tell us what they expect from us.  I think it's the opposite. 

Henry Ford once said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

On 5/9/2021 at 1:22 PM, Hands On said:

I always try to keep a tech on hand that can repair anything. When I do not have one I step into that role myself to deal with the difficult ones. I have a dealer around d the corner from me that sends cars to me. The key to staying profitable is explaining the diag fees up front and billing for your time accordingly. 

I agree.  All too often diag testing fees are not adequate enough for the time, the training and the equipment needed in today's world. 

20 minutes ago, xrac said:

I hope we are about done with masks. None required in the restaraunt today. Ya!

Me too!  It's time.  We really need to get back to normal.  The mental health of the country is important too.