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How’s Your Shop Morale? Not Good? Look in the Mirror!


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  • 2 weeks later...
You can learn a lot about a shop’s spirit from a simple phone call. As chairman of a local automotive shop-owners business council, I call members to remind them about future meetings. This one call in particular, to a local shop, really got me thinking. I decided to write about it because it relates to our role as leaders and how our actions trickle down to every member of our company.

 

So, here’s a replay of the phone call to XYZ Auto…

 

In a flat, monotone voice the service advisor picked up the phone and said, “XYZ Auto, this is Tom”. I responded by saying, “Good Morning Tom, this is Joe from Osceola Garage, how are things going today?” He replied by saying, “Going today? How do you think things are going? I’m stuck working in this place.” To avoid any further confrontation I quickly asked if I could speak to Jim, the owner. After 5 minutes on hold and with a huff as he picked up the phone, I hear, “This is Jim”. I said, “Jim, good morning, this is Joe from Osceola Garage, how are things today?” Jim replied, Ok, I guess. I’m alive. If you call being stuck in this place, alive”. In an instant it hit me, the service writer’s emotions and actions mimicked the emotions and actions of the owner.

 

Jim went on to tell me that business stinks, his employees don’t care, the customers don’t want to spend any money, his overhead is too high, he works too hard, he can’t take any time off, the weather is lousy, and his kids and wife are driving him crazy. I was tempted to drive over to his shop to take away his shoe laces and belt, in fear he might hang himself.

 

After listening to his depressing statements, I couldn’t help thinking that his negative attitude IS the reason why his life stinks. His focus on everything negative is not only killing his life, but also killing his business. And, every person in his company probably has a negative attitude because of Jim. In fact, I have no doubt that the air of negativity is also affecting his customer’s actions.

 

Remember, you are the leader of your company. How you act and feel will trickle down to every member of your team. If you are upbeat and positive, your people will follow the same. If you walk around with your head down, drowning yourself in sorrow over all the things that can go wrong, things will go wrong. Your people will follow you as you head down that slippery slope to depression. People don’t like to work in a place that’s depressing. Productivity will suffer as a result.

 

We all know the state of the economy and that this may not be the best of times. But trust me, things will get better. History has proven that this recession will not last. Plus, shop owners are among the most resilient business people. Our ability to solve complex problems puts us in a class of our own. There may be some casualties along the way, as some people will give up. But the majority of you will make it through, and you’ll be stronger because of what you endured. So keep your head up and give your people a reason to go on. Shop owners that maintain a positive attitude and find ways to stay alive will thrive when the economy bounces back. The next time someone asks you, “How are things going?” You respond by saying, “Great! I can’t wait for what the future has to offer me!”

 

Employee perception is very important. If you let out a negative vibe, others will pick it up.

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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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