Should Techs Have to Provide their Own Scanners and Diagnostic Tools?
We have previously discussed the necessity for techs to buy their own tools in order to do their jobs and remain competitive in the automotive…
Category: Auto Repair Life Blog
Real people – technicians, advisors, owners, managers, support. Beyond the cars, the numbers, the tools, and equipment, there are personal issues. Examples include financial, substances, marriage, family, time off, depression, firing and hiring, driving records, criminal history, nepotism, benefits, immigration. Here is where we talk about such things. Here is where you can comment and tell us your story or thoughts. What issues should we cover or cover more in-depth? Bringing these issues to light is our small attempt to make the lives of those in our industry just a little bit better.
How Hard Is It to Find Techs after COVID?
We have just passed the one-year anniversary of the beginning of COVID lockdowns in America. It’s been quite a year. Businesses have had to be…
How Often Does Your Auto Shop Have Employee Meetings?
The Automotive Management Network currently has a survey asking our members about their employee meetings. We would appreciate it if you could take a few…
Hiring and Training Beginners in Your Auto Shop
Finding and hiring good auto techs is one of the biggest challenges that auto repair shop owners and managers have. We discussed numerous options they…
Which Are the Best Job Boards for Recruiting?
In one of our more recent polls, we asked our members to weigh in on which methods they use to find and hire auto repair…
Hiring Based on Personality
Hiring is a complex process, and right now in the auto repair industry everyone is focused on it. Every owner or hiring manager wants to…
Using a Recruiter to Find Technicians
One of the biggest challenges that auto repair shops face is staffing: finding and hiring enough technicians. On one of our most recent surveys we…
Survey: Finding and Hiring Technicians
The Automotive Management Network currently has a poll about finding and hiring technicians. If you have not yet taken it, please go here and share…
Recruiting Service Advisors in a Down Economy
The economic news is bad. There’s no sugarcoating that the United States is in a severe recession as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The…
Recruiting Techs to Your Auto Shop
As everyone in the automotive industry knows, there is currently a desperate shortage of auto techs. Currently the outflow of techs from the industry is…
Encouraging Staff To Take Vacation Days Now
In our last blog we talked about the effects of the Paycheck Protection Program and how it has allowed many auto shops to remain open…
Why Technicial Training Often Does Not Work
There is a shortage of techs in the auto repair industry. This is undeniable. America needs good skilled workers to repair cars, and there aren’t…
Tool Junkies: How Many Tools Does a Tech Really Need?
In a previous blog we discussed how auto techs’ purchasing of tools leads to increased stress levels within the industry. Many techs will go heavily…
Auto Repair Tools – Do They Increase Your Stress?
In discussing some of the stresses that auto techs must live with working in the auto repair industry, one topic that regularly comes up is…
How Can Auto Shops Help Workers Cope with Substance Abuse?
In our last blog we discussed how negative life outcomes like depression and suicide affect auto repair workers. Another common problem in auto shops is…
Is Stress and Depression Increasing for Auto Repair Workers?
Recent research has revealed a distressing trend of members of certain professions. The Centers for Disease Control stated that over the past twenty years the…
Transition Planning in Family Owned Auto Repair Shops
In our last blog, we talked about the importance of exit planning and making sure that owners give themselves enough time to fix any problems…
Confronting Management about Favoritism
Previously we’ve discussed the dangers of nepotism in auto repair shops. Unfortunately, nepotism is not the only type of favoritism that happens in the workplace.…
What Is Your Employees’ First Day Like?
“Begin as you mean to go on.” That’s an old saying but a true one, especially as it concerns leadership roles at work. If you…
Does Your Auto Shop Have a No Smoking Policy?
Ideas about smoking have changed dramatically in the past decades, so the feedback AMN has received may also help other owners and managers to deal wi…