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Are New Car Dealers Chasing Away Technicians?


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  • 2 weeks later...

Joe everything you posted is the exact reason I quit the dealership and started my own shop at the age of 21. I was sent to all of the training for the dealer I worked for and got their Master status. (Which I found out later was just so they could process warranty repairs. Manufacturer requires a manufacturer trained tech perform the repairs in order to get reimbursed) Well I would perform all of the warranty work and get paid almost nothing for doing it while my counterparts did PAID work. Never broke 40 paid hours in two weeks. LESS than 50% of my time was paid. Couldn't make a living and was promised it will get better for the longest time. Their loss, as my shop has become known for correctly diagnosing vehicles when other shops couldn't. (Sounds conceited but this is what I have been told by many customers, vendors and other shop techs)

 

I wanted a career that I could be proud of and make an honest living. I couldn't find it and most of the people I have known who are WONDERFUL techs, service advisors, service managers etc have all left the field. Some things need to change or consumers could find themselves in quite the pickle. My fiancee and I have worked to make our shop an exception and be a place that people want to work for and can make an honest living. We work at it everyday and when I have 30 years in, we'll see if I have any regrets. I may, but leaving the dealership world WILL NOT be one of them.

 

Andrew

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Andrew that is a great story and with a personal desire to be great, like it sounds like you have, will take you farther than you can imagine.

 

I too left the Dealership world for the same reasons and I really loved to fix cars and was/are still really good at it. I see the problem is that a lot of Dealers are so money hungry and they want Techs that Hang High Dollar parts and also charge high Labor. Unfortunately I see a lot of Greed out there from that side of the business and also not much loyalty to the people that make it happen.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I worked at a dealer for 2 weeks. Buddy system pay meant my buddy got paid for my extra work and I lost because my buddy was slow. That was enough for me, most stressful 2 weeks of my life. Plus the dealer work was bs for the new guy, warranty crank shaft jobs for like 6.2 on an Acura Integra yea right good luck beating the warranty time...at least the senior guys didn't have to do that nonsense.

 

The only good thing was a guy cleaned the floor every night.

Edited by alfredauto
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I worked at a dealer for 2 weeks. Buddy system pay meant my buddy got paid for my extra work and I lost because my buddy was slow. That was enough for me, most stressful 2 weeks of my life. Plus the dealer work was bs for the new guy, warranty crank shaft jobs for like 6.2 on an Acura Integra yea right good luck beating the warranty time...at least the senior guys didn't have to do that nonsense.

 

The only good thing was a guy cleaned the floor every night.

 

I was let go from the dealer because they thought I was cutting corners, after 1 year of doing the BS new guy work I was flagging as much as the old timers I was also working 3 hours more a day but nobody noticed that. Keep doing the same job over and over and your get fast and good at it.

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AI have been on both sides of the counter at a dealership. I was a technician and a service advisor manager. I have seen technicians get pushed out because of their wages. It's ridiculous! This has been going on the past decade to reduce the cost, and raise profit. Dealers / Manufacturers want you to do more work these days and want to pay you less for it. The whole dealership framework is flawed. It's nice to see other people out there with a similar experience. Dealerships suck!

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         3 comments
      Got your attention? Good. The truth is, there is no such thing as the perfect technician pay plan. There are countless ways to create any pay plan. I’ve heard all the claims and opinions, and to be honest, it’s getting a little frustrating. Claims that an hourly paid pay plan cannot motivate. That flat rate is the only way to truly get the most production from your technicians. And then there’s the hybrid performance-based pay plan that many claim is the best.
      At a recent industry event, a shop owner from the Midwest boasted about his flat-rate techs and insisted that this pay plan should be adopted by all shops across the country. When I informed him that in states like New York, you cannot pay flat-rate, he was shocked. “Then how do you motivate your techs” he asked me.
      I remember the day in 1986 when I hired the best technician who ever worked for me in my 41 years as an automotive shop owner. We’ll call him Hal. When Hal reviewed my pay plan for him, and the incentive bonus document, he stared at it for a minute, looked up, and said, “Joe, this looks good, but here’s what I want.” He then wrote on top of the document the weekly salary he wanted. It was a BIG number. He went on to say, “Joe, I need to take home a certain amount of money. I have a home, a wife, two kids, and my Harly Davidson. I will work hard and produce for you. I don’t need an incentive bonus to do my work.” And he did, for the next 30 years, until the day he retired.
      Everyone is entitled to their opinion. So, here’s mine. Money is a motivator, but not the only motivator, and not the best motivator either. We have all heard this scenario, “She quit ABC Auto Center, to get a job at XYZ Auto Repair, and she’s making less money now at XYZ!” We all know that people don’t leave companies, they leave the people they work for or work with.
      With all this said, I do believe that an incentive-based pay plan can work. However, I also believe that a technician must be paid a very good base wage that is commensurate with their ability, experience, and certifications. I also believe that in addition to money, there needs to be a great benefits package. But the icing on the cake in any pay plan is the culture, mission, and vision of the company, which takes strong leadership. And let’s not forget that motivation also comes from praise, recognition, respect, and when technicians know that their work matters.
      Rather than looking for that elusive perfect pay plan, sit down with your technician. Find out what motivates them. What their goals are. Why do they get out of bed in the morning? When you tie their goals with your goals, you will have one powerful pay plan.
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