Creating A Road Map Of A Technician’s Career
Almost everywhere that you find a group of automotive service professionals, you will also find a discussion of how there are not enough new folks entering the industry. This is an area I have been interested in and involved with for decades. Rather than provide a list of reasons why this is happening, I want to focus on what you can do for your business to change your shop’s employment future. But, be forewarned that you may not like some of the answers, because they require work that is not traditionally in your job description.
CES Technology: The Big, The Bold And The Survivors
Do you remember the internet “bubble” in 1999 that caused financial ruin for many due to business plans that never had a plan to make money? Right now investors in autonomous vehicle technology are many; the money involved is breathtaking; and the risk is enormous for all but the few who will survive.
Piercing And Probing Wires With The Least Damage Possible
The Hippocratic Oath states a doctor shall “do no harm.” The technician’s oath is the same, but we “do no harm” to a vehicle we are trying to diagnose or repair.
Mega Online Parts Providers Seek To Negate The Human Factor Upon Which Our Business Was Built
Relationships are what make this industry what it is today. For decades, the parts industry was virtually unchanged in how the repair shop and the parts supplier relationship functioned. That is, until the late ’80s when computers became an integral part of many repair shops, making parts ordering simpler with less interaction between the parts store employee and the repairer.
Where’s That Machine?
Code numbers and definitions are a strategic direction for the repair. These tools allow a trained mechanic to know which pathway to take. The real “machine” that finds out what is wrong with a car is the brain of the very guy or gal working in the bay.
Using A Scope To Diagnose Prevents Parts Swapping
Being able to use a scope allows you to make a more accurate diagnosis faster. It is a tool that can prevent that second call to a customer advising them the initial estimate did not work. It can also be a triage tool that can save you from having to remove plugs to perform a compression test or give additional evidence if a misfire is electrical or mechanical.
Hearing Is Believing
I love technology and completely understand the value of this technology and the vital investment in scan tools, scopes and telematics, but I also value watching a trained maestro wave his wrench and use his God-given ears to lean in to diagnose a problem.
Training Your Techs Reduces Turnover And Will Help Take Our Industry To The Next Level
How do we train our employees, increase their capabilities and retain them after we have invested our precious resources? In order to do that, we need to understand why we train and define how to make it work for us for the long-term.
New Year’s Resolution: Stop Smoking In The Shop
I once worked with a tech that the only time he was not smoking was when he was test-driving a customer’s vehicle. He smoked unfiltered Pall Malls, which had a distinctive smell. He was one of the best techs I ever worked with – he had talent and “the touch.”
Monitoring Employees: Staying Within Legal Boundaries
The digital age has made it possible to monitor nearly every aspect of an employee’s life, from reading email messages to tracking an employee’s physical location. Companies have many legitimate reasons for monitoring customer telephone calls or checking employee computers, which range from ensuring good customer service to addressing workplace theft to confirming compliance with
Second-Hand Information: When Critical Details Get Lost In Translation
Do you remember when you played the game of “telephone” as a child, and the original information being conveyed was often totally different by the time the last kid commented? The same thing can happen with a vehicle problem when more than one person is involved in getting the information to the person at the end of the line. And who’s usually at the end of the line? The tech.
Rental Car Evolution Presents Service Opportunities & Can Extend Your Shop’s Car Count
There are a growing number of privately owned rental fleets. These fleets are not big businesses, but rather small ones that are run by private individuals. You can find them with mobile apps and websites like Turo and Uber.
