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The other side of the Counter


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Hey guys, I haven't posted in a year or two since I sold my 39 year old tire store/repair shop. Life is wonderful [if a bit boring], and I haven't regretted my decision to sell for one second. Every month I go to the shop, say hi to all my old employees and collect the rent. Anyway, today I experienced the other side of the counter and it wasn't pleasant. I still have my vehicles serviced at my old place when back in Ohio and they treat me like part of their team. But when at my condo in Florida I don't have that luxury. I have my 2002 Mini Cooper down here and it was due for an oil change. Additionally, the check engine light had come on last weekend and there was a belt chirp. I called the shop my friend had suggested [they specialize in BMWs] to make an appointment. I asked for a morning appointment and explained that my friend would pick me up and we would find something to do for a few hours. When I dropped the car off I explained that the check engine light had gone off but I still wanted them to pull the codes. So I left thinking oil change, pull codes, change belt ....... figured they'd call me by 10;30? to get authorization for the belt. Well at 1:52 I hadn't heard from them so I called them to see what was up. They said the oil change was done, and the tech was pulling the codes. I asked about the belt chirp and she said she didn't know so she put me on hold and went to check. When she came back on the phone she said they hadn't looked at the belt issue yet. I voiced my displeasure explaining that when I ran my shop if a customer had a 9AM appointment for the services I requested we would be calling them with a report within an hour or two. Her reply was "we don't do things that way here". She said she would call me when they knew more. I finally got a call at 3:48PM. She explained the codes they had pulled and then said they agreed it needed a new belt and they thought they should also have a tensioner on hand in case they needed that as well. She said they could order the parts and I could make another appointment to have them installed. REALLY? I had a 9AM appointment for an oil change, codes pulled, and most likely a new belt installed and they couldn't get that done in 7 hours, 6 if you take an hour out for lunch? The shop is 35 minutes away and they don't have loaners so another appointment is a pain. I don't think I will be going back. I nearly broke my long standing rule of never posting a bad review about a business but I just can't do that. I'm getting rid of some of my frustration by telling you guys about it.

If any of you guys are in my area I'm looking for someone to service my Mini. I am in Fort Myers Beach and would to like to find someone in the Naples area.

Edited by tyrguy
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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         5 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
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