Md65

Seems like this has been the topic of discussion at dinner many nights around here. We've owned our family business over 25 years and I struggle more with this than any other issue at work, basically MY day is diagnosing, test driving w/customers, figuring out noises yada yada yada basically for free just so I can set my techs up with parts replacement the rest of the day, sad but true. My adage is always 'if we are not putting parts in cars, we are not making money!' And so it is in our very blue collar community, now if I pull codes and know it needs smoking or much further diag time then I will def get a set amount for said time and because of the time I have already put into their car, usually there is no resistance. I can't help but constantly go back to licensing, and yes ASE has done a formidable job but let's face it when their light is on or it's misfiring it's always 'how much' not 'are you ASE certified?'.... I've just made peace with it all

I've always felt like it's an absolute travesty what I pay my techs compared to what they're worth, the unfortunate thing is as an industry we come nowhere close to getting paid what we're worth. When I look at (and I mean ZERO disrepect here) what local Plumbers, Electricians and HVAC guys are making with a fraction of the tools an Auto tech has, I ask myself 'if I were to start over again, which trade would I pick...?' and I figure most young soon to be tradesmen ask themselves the same question. I've always felt the lack of licensing in our trade has been part of the issue as to why the trade as a whole is underpaid. Just my $.02