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What are Your Predications For 2023?


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29 minutes ago, DUFRESNES said:

Hiring employees has become brutal..    I have a B tech stole away for a guarantee of $35.00 not depending on work.  Also A tech being promising $50 guarantee. What do  you guys think?

Indeed it is brutal.   I'm swinging hard for good candidates.   I was looking for an A Tech and one came in that we liked.    We hired him at $130K.  My other A tech is over $50/hr too.  We're in the Dallas area, with an overall medium cost of living, so these guys are doing well.  They are our revenue producers, so we need them.   The opportunity cost of going without someone for 2 months is higher than paying someone more.   I have an offer out to a B tech for $30/hr + $7/flag hour.  He should make $35 or more.   My previous A tech quit and says he's going to buy, fix and sell cars from his house.  My B tech moved to NC to be with his family.    So, hiring became critical all of a sudden.

I just raised my labor rate to $170/hr (from $150/hr), but I may need to bump it again soon.   My main focus for improvement this year is correctly billing for labor hours.   We are slowly getting better, but still not great.   

We're definitely going to see a downturn in the economy.   With the rising prices of rent, groceries, gas and everything, it's tapping people out.    I don't know how it will play out, but we'll likely see more cars get fixed than traded in.

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Long time no see! I wish everyone a smooth and successful year in 2023!
As a manufacturer of replacement switches, I also want to share my thoughts on this topic.
From my perspective, 2023 is a challenging year for both the manufacturing and service industries. The shortage of labor caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the escalating tensions between the United States and China and the war between Ukraine and Russia, have directly caused a rise in costs by impacting the supply chain. The downturn of the stock and housing markets has also indirectly led to a reduction in consumer spending.
As Asia is currently the main manufacturing center, we are facing a severe round of layoffs, with the exception of Vietnam and India which have benefited from supply chain shift.
Our factory is facing a situation where customer orders are expected to decrease by 20%, and our production capacity has already been reduced by 40% in 2022. I feel that, as an Asian manufacturing center, we are facing a severe round of layoffs. I also have the idea of moving the factory to Mexico.
Anyway, we have to move forward bravely in the future. This year may be a difficult one, but let's cheer up together!
And, since a large part of our products are classic car parts, if you have spare time, fix up an old car! Think about the road trips of the past, and make your classic car great again!
I am currently studying AI-related applications, this article is basically translated by openai, and the picture below is generated by Midjourney by inputting text.
image.png.2e2de205f5d7846e596d0d1b70ea643d.png

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On 1/12/2023 at 9:58 PM, Joe Marconi said:

And sad to admit I worked on those cars

Bah-humbug.  Those cars were great money makers for your shop, but maybe before you truly figured out that 4-letter word:  Profit.   We all work on piles of junk from time to time.  Like that hunk-o-junk in my shop right now:  2015 Range Rover with a blown head-gasket.  Customer says that we blew her head gasket, not here driving it while overheating!  LOL   Besides, all the folks in that picture are happy with their cars.  Now, don't call their babies ugly!  😁

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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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