Why Much? How Much? Exploring Value Proposition in Auto Repair [AW 162]
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By Joe Marconi in Joe's Blog0 commentsAuto shop owners are always looking for ways to improve production levels. They focus their attention on their technicians and require certain expectations of performance in billable labor hours. While technicians must know what is expected of them, they have a limited amount of control over production levels. When all factors are considered, the only thing a well-trained technician has control over is his or her actual efficiency.
As a review, technician efficiency is the amount of labor time it takes a technician to complete a job compared to the labor time being billed to the customer. Productivity is the time the technician is billing labor hours compared to the time the technician is physically at the shop. The reality is that a technician can be very efficient, but not productive if the technician has a lot of downtime waiting for parts, waiting too long between jobs, or poor workflow systems.
But let’s go deeper into what affects production in the typical auto repair shop. As a business coach, one of the biggest reasons for low shop production is not charging the correct labor time. Labor for extensive jobs is often not being billed accurately. Rust, seized bolts, and wrong published labor times are just a few reasons for lost labor dollars.
Another common problem is not understanding how to bill for jobs that require extensive diagnostic testing, and complicated procedures to arrive at the root cause for an onboard computer problem, electrical issue, or drivability issue. These jobs usually take time to analyze, using sophisticated tools, and by the shop’s top technician. Typically, these jobs are billed at a standard menu labor charge, instead of at a higher labor rate. This results in less billed labor hours than the actual labor time spent. The amount of lost labor hours here can cripple a shop’s overall profit.
Many shop owners do a great job at calculating their labor rate but may not understand what their true effective labor is, which is their labor sales divided by the total labor hours sold. In many cases, I have seen a shop that has a shop labor rate of over $150.00 per hour, but the actual effective labor rate is around $100. Not good.
Lastly, technician production can suffer when the service advisors are too busy or not motivated to build relationships with customers, which results in a low sales closing ratio. And let’s not forget that to be productive, a shop needs to have the right systems, the right tools and equipment, an extensive information system, and of course, great leadership.
The bottom line is this; many factors need to be considered when looking to increase production levels. While it does start with the technician, it doesn’t end there. Consider all the factors above when looking for ways to improve your shop’s labor production.
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By Joe Marconi
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By carmcapriotto
Thank you to RepairPal for sponsoring The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast. Learn more about RepairPal at https://repairpal.com/shops
How To Get In Touch
Group - Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind
Website - shopmarketingpros.com
Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros
Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/book
Instagram - @shopmarketingpros
Questions/Ideas - [email protected]
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The Ripple Effect of Recognition: Lessons from Bill Hader [E111] - Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to ZBy carmcapriotto
The trend of giving credit (00:02:36) Bill Hader's interviews and his habit of giving credit where it's due, discussing the importance of acknowledging others' contributions. The struggle with giving credit in management (00:05:04) The difficulty that managers and owners face in giving credit to their personnel, emphasizing the inconsistency and negative impact of not recognizing others' efforts. The benefits of giving credit (00:07:29) The positive outcomes of acknowledging individuals by name for their work, such as increased customer satisfaction, confidence, and word-of-mouth recommendations. The importance of technician training (00:09:46) The need for technicians to continuously update their skills and knowledge in order to diagnose and repair complex vehicles. Positive interactions with clients (00:10:55) The significance of positive interactions with clients and how it can lead to customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth recommendations. Recognizing the contributions of the team (00:13:20) The importance of acknowledging and appreciating the contributions of all team members in a shop, including service advisors, managers, and owners.
Thanks to our Partner, NAPA Autotech napaautotech.com
Email Matt: [email protected]
Diagnosing the Aftermarket A - Z YouTube Channel HERE
Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com/
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By carmcapriotto
Meg Lewis, BJ’s Automotive Diagnostic Center, Belfast, ME, NAPA Auto Care Technician of the Year 2022. Carm and Meg discuss the shop's transition to a four-day workweek to promote work-life balance, the challenges of finding and retaining skilled technicians. Meg shares her experience as a female technician. They also discuss the need to change the perception of the automotive industry and attract more women. The episode concludes with a discussion on succession planning and the shop's community involvement
The decision to move to a four-day workweek (00:03:14) Meg discusses the idea of transitioning to a four-day workweek and the process of deciding which day to take off. The role of a diagnostician as a technology specialist (00:07:55) Carm suggests renaming the role of a diagnostician to a technology specialist, highlighting the importance of technology in automotive diagnostics. The collaboration between a technology specialist and a mechanical specialist (00:08:48) Carm and Meg discuss the complementary roles of a technology specialist and a mechanical specialist in automotive repair and the importance of their collaboration. Challenges with staffing during COVID-19 (00:10:02) The impact of COVID-19 on staffing, including layoffs, struggles to find new technicians, and the use of apprenticeship programs. The decision to pursue automotive technology (00:17:36) Meg discusses her early interest in working with cars and her decision to pursue automotive technology in high school and college. The importance of attracting more women to the automotive industry (00:18:09) Carm suggests changing the perception of the industry and highlights the unique traits that women can bring to the workplace. Overcoming physical challenges as a female technician (00:19:31) Meg talks about how she adapts and finds creative solutions to overcome physical challenges in her work as a female technician. Importance of communication in internal succession (00:27:14) The significance of regular and effective communication between the owner and the successor in a business's internal succession process. Thanks to our Partner, Dorman Products.
Dorman gives people greater freedom to fix vehicles by constantly developing new repair solutions that put owners and technicians first. Take the Dorman Virtual Tour at www.DormanProducts.com/Tour
Connect with the Podcast:
-Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/ -Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/ -Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/ -Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz
-Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider
-All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books
-Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom
-Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm
-The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com
-Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections
Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
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By carmcapriotto
How can different personality types impact leadership and success in business? Murray Voth discusses the importance of understanding personality types in business. He introduces a new acronym, CASE, which stands for Controller, Analyzer, Socializer, and Entrepreneur. The conversation also covers the role of human motivation, clear expectations and accountability in managing employees, and the importance of giving space to your partner in a marriage and how it applies to business relationships. Find out how you can create a harmonious and productive team dynamic, where individuals can play to their strengths and contribute effectively to the business. Murray Voth, RPM Training. Listen to Murray’s previous episodes HERE Show Notes
CASE: Controller, Analyzer, Socializer, Entrepreneur Defaulting to Personality Types Under Stress (00:08:42) Discussion on how individuals default to certain personality types under moments of stress, fear, and overwhelm. Understanding and Utilizing Different Personality Types in Leadership (00:09:45) Exploring how different personality types, such as controllers, analyzers, socializers, and entrepreneurs, can contribute to effective leadership and business success. Using the SOAR Acronym for Problem-Solving (00:16:19) Introduction of the SOAR acronym (Situation, Outcome, Action, Results) as a tool for problem-solving and decision-making in coaching and personal development. The Outcome and Visualization (00:17:08) Discussing the importance of imagining the desired outcome and visualizing the qualities and skills of a potential service advisor. Taking Actions (00:17:57) Exploring the necessary actions to achieve the desired outcome, such as creating an advertisement, conducting interviews, and ultimately hiring a service advisor. Dopamine and Accountability (00:18:51) Highlighting the role of dopamine in motivating and rewarding oneself throughout the process, as well as redefining accountability as providing clear expectations and tools for employees. The technician who is a serial or the visionary (00:25:22) Discusses the different types of technicians and how to effectively utilize their skills and strengths in a shop environment. The analyzer technician who spends excessive time diagnosing (00:26:17) Explores the reasons behind why some technicians feel the need to overanalyze and prove themselves, and shares a personal story about an apprentice. The importance of decision making and understanding personal strengths (00:30:46) Highlights the impact of decision making on business and personal life, and emphasizes the importance of making decisions based on strengths rather than getting stuck in analysis paralysis. The Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset (00:35:20) The concept of growth mindset vs fixed mindset and how it affects learning and personal development. Fear of Regret (00:37:43) The fear of regret and how it holds people back from making decisions and taking risks. The Check Engine Lights of Your Business (00:41:46) Teaching business owners to diagnose their business using KPI technology and scanning tools. Learning How to Learn (00:42:31) Beta testing the idea of using personality assessments to understand team dynamics and improve business performance. Playing to Strengths in the Shop (00:43:36) Positioning team members based on their strengths, such as having analyzers in the background and socializers at the front counter. Thanks to our Partners, AAPEX and NAPA TRACS Set your sights on Las Vegas in 2024. Mark your calendar now … November 5th-7th, 2024. AAPEX - Now more than ever. And don’t miss the next free AAPEX webinar. Register now at http://AAPEXSHOW.COM/WEBINAR NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/ Connect with the Podcast: -Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/ -Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/ -Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/ -Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz -Visit the Website: https://remarkableresults.biz/ -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections
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