[Tom]

[postquote quote=121108]

Joe,

My advice was not on how to treat anyone. My advice was strictly on whether or not to hire him. I will stick with what I said. Hiring him would be a bad decision.

Now, should I have sat down with him, briefly mentioned his tardiness wrapped in love and understanding? No. That would be silly. A reasonably responsible adult can show up on time, or call, or apologize. A reasonable person should expect to get a less than cuddly response when he performs so poorly.

Will he tell his buddies what a rotten S.O.B. I am? Probably. Won’t be the first time! Eventually, I may hire one of his buddies. The one who heard his story and said to himself: “What kind of idiot shows up half an hour late for a serious, high-paying job interview?”

[Tom]

[postquote quote=121106]

Joe,

Someone, maybe you, will hire this guy and the games will commence. 101 excuses why he is late this time. Finally, ways will be parted and he will move on to the next place. I’ve given the benefit of the doubt on the late crap one too many times. I’m done. It never works.

Now, if he had walked in profusely apologizing, I may have interviewed him. 1 Late – no – very late. 2 No call to say running late. 3 No immediate mention of it when he walked in. Three strikes, you’re out! 🙂

[Tom]

Not always.

But you have better odds of winning Powerball than having an employee show up promptly for work after showing up half-hour late for an interview with no call, text, or email. No apology when he sauntered in, either.

I sent you his resume. As they say, good luck with that.

[Tom]

I would tell him to hop on his bike, stop at every automotive business in his area, and tell them he is looking for a summer and after-school job.

Since that happens at most shops roughly….let me think….oh…NEVER…I’d say his odds are very good. 🙂

[Tom]

Up 41%

Two record months in a row.

[Tom]

Up 32%

[Tom]

2020   +206 %

2019   +12 %

[Tom]

Of course, last year was terrible – 2021 up 84%

Compared to April 2019, down 8%

YTD, nearly even with 2019 and looking better each week.

[Tom]

Many shop owners start out like that. You have a lot of knowledge of the shop that others do not. Have you thought of contacting a shop management coach/trainer/consultant? What are your specific concerns? Many of the smartest shop owners in the business are members of this site and are happy to answer questions. Here is the link to the directory for shop management coach/trainer/consultants: Management Trainers & Coaches – Automotive Management Network

 

[Tom]

Up 30% – best since Dec 2019.

Looking like the COVID curse is weakening.

[Tom]

I like the idea. I’ve looked into it a bit in the past. I’ve classified it as one of those sublet services that just doesn’t work financially for us. We don’t sublet much because I like the control, but there are a few things where it just makes more sense for us to have an expert with all the resources do it and be done with it. 🙂

[Tom]

Nope. Just say it politely. It’s not like he is unaware.

I’d be asking my local church to help (that is what they are supposed to do).

[Tom]

+26% (Michigan)

[Tom]

Down 35%. I think that will be the last bad one for quite a while. Last January was a record and our best month of the year. Feb 2021 will be an UP month. 🙂

[Tom]

Down 14%

Last 4 months down 10% vs. 2019 – not too bad for a locked down state. 🙂

[Tom]

Nov -30%

(Sep and Oct were both up)

[Tom]

CHECKLIST  – TECH

Symptoms serviced corrected

Warning lights on after service

New information after service

Wheel mounting surface corrosion cleaned or OK if wheels were removed

Lug nuts hand torqued to specification if they were removed

Clock reset as needed

Radio reset as needed

Parts quantity changes

Parts not used noted

Parts additional noted

Parts replaced in bin

Door sill plate clean

Spills and debris cleaned

Under hood label installed

Lug nuts hand torqued again after test drive

O/H door remote removed

CHECKLIST  – FOREMAN / MANAGER

Inside vehicle clean where work performed

Outside vehicle clean where work performed

Floor mat removed

Add any new information

Warning lights

Photo of dash

Seat position return

Out miles

Assigned techs correct

Keys in front lock box

O/H door remote removed

[Tom]

You will probably get some of the best advice from the members here.

Do you have some specific questions?

I’ll be happy to comment where I can!

One general comment is that the ratio of NON shop square feet to shop square feet often leaves the shop with insufficient NON shop square feet. Customer, office, storage, parts, lunch, training, etc. are some examples of areas that are often missing or too small.

 

[Tom]

All of those look like good options. Some may be low – I think the mechanic one is low. I would recommend a mechanic career to someone who has a solid interest in cars. Then, I would caution them to shop carefully for an employer and look for one who is forward looking in all they do. If I were a tech today, I would not consider working in most shops. Too dirty, too cold, poorly equipped, too hot, too loud, disorganized, poor ergonomics, low tech, etc. I believe these are key reasons why so many have left and are leaving. I think there is nowhere near enough focus on improving the workplace for techs today.

[Tom]

Jim, all I can tell you is about our experience. We have never had much success with newcomer direct mail. As far as specific makes vs. general, we did better with makes. Having said that, there are so many variables from one area to another that you almost have to do some trial and error to see what works best in your town. Good luck!

[Tom]

The laws on things like this vary from one area to another.

In most cases, you could just “sell” the car to them for $1.00 if you wanted to be done with it.

Check with the government in your area that handles titles.

 

[Tom]

If they are on incentive based pay, and if you are having them do basically the same list of tasks, then encourage friendly competition. Service advisor is a sales position and that is how sales positions work best.

An alternative method is to split up the advisor tasks and have each of them do different things. Example: One does all the estimating and parts ordering. The other one handles all the customer interactions. Each serves as a backup to the other so they are both capable and familiar with all tasks.

Hope this helps! 🙂

[Tom]

Joe, can you give us a bit more detail about what you are considering, the building, where it is, type of work you will be doing in the shop, etc.

That would help us give you the best ideas. 🙂

[Tom]

Stop in at local parts stores – not so much the DIY chains – but the stores that mostly service independent shops. See if you can get a minute with the manager, or better yet, the outside sales person who visits the shops. Another source would be tool truck operators. These people know the owners and know who might be ready go get out. They probably won’t tell you, but if you come off as credible, they will pass your name on and sooner or later you will get contacted.

[Tom]

Most fluid margins 40% to 50% (to be clear, NOT mark-up)

[Tom]

We treat them the same as we do parts. Selling price is based on cost and a multiplier. Margins are a bit lower.

[Tom]

I like to keep it simple. Pick a time during the day where you walk through the shop (the entire building in and out), take a photo (or video) of something – anything. Oil change. Smiling service advisor. Customer waiting. Brake job. Putting away inventory. Pretty much anything. Post it and add a brief description. We see this stuff every day, but most people do not and many find it interesting. They get more comfortable with you as they see more and more of your shop. 🙂

[Tom]

4 to 6 hours depending on amount of rust. 🙂

[Tom]

Bobby, I hope that you stop by here regularly and give us your opinion on topics that you see posted on this website.

I’m not sure how many people in our industry today know that you were one of the first nationally well known shop owners working to make our industry better for everyone.

I hope to hear from you often! 🙂

[Tom]

Oliver, we moved locations about ten years ago, and one thing we noticed is that we get less of those types of questions from customers in our new location. I completely understand your point. Having said that, I believe that the best approach to this issue is to try to get better customers to replace the ones that would do as you described. When I hire a company to do some work on my shop or home, I do not get online after the service and attempt to price check the materials I was billed for. Most people don’t do that. Most people are looking at the big picture of the whole service, from pricing to convenience to results. Those are the customers we try to get to our shop. ????