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#241 Pay Systems

If I ask your technicians and advisors to explain their pay system to me could they do so accurately in less than a minute? Or would they need several minutes...

Updated

July 9, 2018

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#240 How to attract Techs in a Way Almost No One Does

Among the top 5 benefits that technicians want is a “generous tool allowance”. Less than 20% of shops offer any tool allowance at all. If we consider “generous” to be...

Updated

June 19, 2018

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#239 Stock Orders – The 21st Century Method

First, all parts should always be entered into your shop management system software and all stock orders should be determined solely by your software once you have it fully set...

Updated

June 5, 2018

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#238 Simplify and Increase Maintenance Sales

Ask ten independent shops for maintenance recommendations on a certain car and you will normally get ten different answers. No wonder customers get confused. So, why do we do that?...

Updated

May 15, 2018

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#237 Imprinted Advertising Items – Yes or No?

The point with any of these items is to have your name seen over and over – ideally for years to come. Think carefully about what typically happens with an...

Updated

May 8, 2018

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#236 Designing your Sign

Ask yourself how often do you write down a phone number or website or other information off a sign that you see (other than for the used boat for sale...

Updated

April 30, 2018

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#235 What Happened at the Other Shop?

Whenever a question arises about what occurred or may have occurred with a repair at another shop the correct answer is: "I don't know. I wasn't there." Because you weren't...

Updated

April 19, 2018

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#234 A Must Ask Job Interview Question

Add this question to your interviews and make it mandatory - "Are you concerned that this job will interfere with your life?"

Updated

April 12, 2018

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#233 How to Reduce Paying Unemployment

Don’t hire them in the first place. With the increasing amount of information available today you can predict with a great deal of accuracy whether someone fits the profile. Make...

Updated

April 6, 2018

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#232 Pain from Working at a Computer

Sooner or later you will likely get back or wrist pain among other issues from keyboarding all day. If you haven't done so already, put a first-class chair or stool...

Updated

March 28, 2018

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#231 Technician Back Health

Lifting various items during a repair has always been an issue for technicians. As wheels and tires became larger and heavier the issue has become more significant. The good news...

Updated

March 13, 2018

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#230 Pricing Diagnostics Differently

Have you ever thought of menu pricing your testing and diagnostics? This would prevent the need to call for additional authorization in many cases and allow you to quote quickly...

Updated

February 26, 2018

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#229 Reduce Sick Days

You know how much money is lost when a tech or advisor is home sick. Before flu season each year hire someone from the local medical center or doctor office...

Updated

February 6, 2018

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​#228 When Should You Add a Parts Person? (The answer might surprise you)

In many shops advisors spend much of their time dealing with parts. It has been established that parts acquisition has a very large effect on technician production. See survey on...

Updated

January 3, 2018

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#227 Make the Most Out of Not Charging for Shop Supplies

There’s certainly nothing wrong with not having a shop supply charge at the end of your invoice. Instead, some shops itemize every little thing. In some areas a supply charge...

Updated

December 3, 2017

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#226 Creating a Hiring Database for Technicians

Whenever the contact information for a technician - or possible future technician – is made available to you in any way, record it. Include the following: Name Email Phone Date...

Updated

October 30, 2017

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#225 Sending Birthday Cards or Gifts to Customers Without Ever Asking for Their Birth Date

You’d like to send customers something, but asking for their birth date just doesn’t work for you. Our service advisor was thinking about this one day and thought: “We have...

Updated

September 22, 2017

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#224 Your Labor Rate to Technician Pay Ratio Must Work

How much should you pay your techs? What should your labor rate be? Many variables can affect each of them individually. But, the relationship between them is a bit clearer....

Updated

August 7, 2017

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#223 Do You Find Accounting Statements Confusing?

Lots of people do. The one from the accountant. The one that the software produces. Sure, the numbers are all there, but in a different layout than how your mind...

Updated

July 19, 2017

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#222 Pre-Qualify Your Job Applicants Online

One huge time saver that is available when hiring technicians and service advisors is an online assessment test – often available as a subscription allowing unlimited use over a certain...

Updated

June 19, 2017

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#221 Reducing Interruptions

Interruptions eat away at productivity. Some interruptions are major, but many are minor and accepted as normal in most shops. While interruptions can hinder anyone in the shop, they are...

Updated

May 18, 2017

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#220 Exit Plans, Selling the Business, Retirement

Sooner or later someone will ask you what you won't miss - what you will be happy to leave behind once your days of business ownership are over.  It might...

Updated

April 19, 2017

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#219 Got Wings?

A down side of many jobs is lifting things. For technicians, it’s often the constant lifting of wheels on and off the floor – something that has become much worse...

Updated

March 16, 2017

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#218 You are Using Paper for What?

Hopefully, not much.  If your shop has not yet gone paperless for estimates, RO's, inspections, and most other things that were once common to print, your shop has fallen behind....

Updated

February 5, 2017

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#217 Fewer Loaner Cars, Faster Parts Deliveries

If you haven’t been using some type of ride and delivery service, it’s time to try it. There are lots of players, big and small. We’ll use Uber as an...

Updated

December 12, 2016

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