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Is a 4- Day Work Week Really an Option?

Joe Marconi

By Joe Marconi
in Running The Shop

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tomkatv10 Apprentice

tomkatv10

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The consumer drives the market. People need their cars. So the shop has to be open at least five days a week. We are not open weekends, so the crew gets those two days to spend with family and friends. My crew likes to work. Most of them don’t take their full vacations or PTO. They would rather take the buyout at the end of the year. I think you need to know your people, your culture and most importantly your finances before making that type of decision. 

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JimO

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I own a gas station with service bays and we are open for gas/diesel seven days a week. For the first forty years we were in business our shop was open six days a week but ten years ago we reduced our shop hours to five days a week. We were very concerned that we would lose customers by closing our bays on Saturday’s but that failed to happen. Have we possibly lost some customers over the last ten years to other shops that are open on Saturday? I am sure we have. I am also sure that if our shop was open 364 days a year that we would lose some customer because we were closed that one day a year when he or she needed help. I have answered our phone on Labor Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Thanksgiving with requests for oil changes, tire repairs, brake work.... and had to explain to the caller that we are open for gas/diesel but closed for repairs. The caller was home, not at work, it is a holiday, they were aware it was a holiday and yet they expected me to say “sure, bring it over, I just need to call my family and tell them not to expect me home late for Thanksgiving dinner because you have been nursing a slow leak in your right front tire for the last two weeks but now, on Thanksgiving, you have decided that you need it repaired”.  I guess I am trying to say that it is impossible to satisfy the needs of all our customers 100% of the time, we will disappoint people. Life is short, our job is demanding, we are all all probably working too many hours, away from our family and loved ones. If you think your customer base will tolerate a four day work week - Go for it! Unfortunately I am old fashioned, I still worry about being closed for repairs on Saturdays so for right now I will continue with the five day work week.

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JimO

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On 8/15/2022 at 7:53 AM, Joe Marconi said:

Wow, I can empathize and sympathize with you!

I grew up in the gas station business, and we worked every day, rain or shine. We had to be there. I tip my hat to you for putting things in perspective and having the guts to make changes that affect you and your employees' lives. 

AND I CAN RELATE TO YOUR STATEMENT, "I still worry about being closed for repairs on Saturdays..."  When I went into business, my father told me, "You will feel guilty when you take a Saturday off."

Funny how so many shop owners think and feel alike! 

 

Joe, I can relate to you statement “When I went into business, my father told me, "You will feel guilty when you take a Saturday off."

My father passed away years before I took the step to shut down service on Saturdays. A big hurdle for me was overcoming the thought of what my father would say to me if he was alive at that time. He was a machinist by trade and eventually managed large manufacturing factories for numerous companies unrelated to the automotive industry. From a very young age he instilled a work ethic that has served me well and I thank him for that. Maybe I am just older and  cynical but it seems that most of today’s young males fail to have that drive. The pandemic and paying people to stay home seemed to squash whatever small amount of work ethic that was left. I am sure there are young people in the work force with more drive than I can imagine but I routinely deal with young, male gas island attendants that can’t sleep at night so they look at their computers or play video games. They can’t work any mornings because they are unable to wake up since they go to bed at 3am or later. They don’t want to work Friday, Saturday, or Sunday because they want to go out at night with their friends. They don’t want to work more than 4-6 hours a day because they are tired. Many are taking some type of prescription medication for anxiety, depression or to help them sleep. Unfortunately this is becoming the norm for young men in my area and it worries me. 

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

    • Joe Marconi
      Want to End Your Technician Shortage? Focus on Retention!
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      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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