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How Changing Location, Changed My Life


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4 hours ago, Transmission Repair said:

"Expensive rent is the cheapest advertising you can buy." 

While I mostly agree with this and have such a location, I find myself doubting it at times.   I'm next to a very busy Walgreen's location.  Their customers drive thru my firelane to get to them.   I've had people, who frequent that location, come in and say that I've been going here for years, and I've just now noticed you!     This frustrates me, because why wouldn't they notice MY building?  I notice MY building.    Shouldn't they?

However, when I'm driving, I don't pay attention to the things in-between my house and work.   I'm on a mission to go somewhere and looking at the scenery just slows me down.   

In spite of this, it does help. 

However, I do believe that the Auto Repair business is largely a trust/destination business.  People will drive far to reach a place that they WANT TO VISIT.  My Quick Lube is a Convenience Business.   Limited people will drive past others businesses to reach us, but most are happy that we are close.  (This is another thing that drives me crazy.  Close is your reason for choosing us?  I'd rather it be because we are doing great work and they like us).   Wrapping this up, if you don't have a great location, all of your focus is on your reputation.   It will drive traffic too.

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         4 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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