ATI/Chris "Chubby" Frederick

[xrac]

I have the chance to attend a shop owners class taught by ATI/"Chubby" Frederick. Has anyone been in any of his classes and what is your opinion? Are they worth it?

 

 

http://www.autotraining.net/about_management.htm

[CARMandP]

I have done two of his 1 day classes in the last 4 months. Both of them the same class. I learned so much the first time, I went again to a different location to get the same class again. I absolutely loved it. Of course, they have a 30 month mentoring program that would be awesome but its not something this one man band can afford right now. I strongly recommend these classes. The last class I took was free. They reimbursed me the class cost after the teacher came and visited me at my shop and gave me some great advice.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Craig

 

 

 

 

I have the chance to attend a shop owners class taught by ATI/"Chubby" Frederick. Has anyone been in any of his classes and what is your opinion? Are they worth it?

 

 

http://www.autotraining.net/about_management.htm

[xrac]

I have done two of his 1 day classes in the last 4 months. Both of them the same class. I learned so much the first time, I went again to a different location to get the same class again. I absolutely loved it. Of course, they have a 30 month mentoring program that would be awesome but its not something this one man band can afford right now. I strongly recommend these classes. The last class I took was free. They reimbursed me the class cost after the teacher came and visited me at my shop and gave me some great advice.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Craig

 

I will attend this meeting but I could not afford their long term program. I have heard that it is in the $30-40,000 range. That is too rich for my blood. I know of one shop here in Evansville that adopted some type of program and made a lot of money but eventually destroyed their customer base.

[CARMandP]

Its like $1500 a month for the actual program which isn't bad with the 2-1 return they guarrentee. They won't even sign you up if they dont' think they could do that for you. But the 1 day was very, very valuable to me. Well worth the money.

[Joe Marconi]

Yes, go to one day seminar, but proceed with caution.

[xrac]

Yes, go to one day seminar, but proceed with caution.

 

The weather here is too nasty and the meeting is 4 hours away so we are postponing attending for the present.

[Joe Marconi]

I don't blame you. There's always another one.

[kate2009]

IF you are a small shop, they will eat you alive. They make you go to this bootcamp and then sign you up for a commitment of 28 months for so much a month say for $2000 per month. You could also end up up paying another consultant $2000 which mean you are commiting $4000 a month for 28 months. Then they make you fire all your employees so you end up working ALL the time to run your business. The basic concept is to pad your bills 40% and you end up chasing even good customers out of your business that you have had for years and the customer will tell you on the street, they will never return. Telling you to get rid of your riff raff customers. NEVER sign with a company like this. You can have a consultant come it once a month a few hours a month to help make your business better. Remember lawyers get any where from $150 an hour and up. They are clearly not even worth $25 an hour. When these are not even educated, look for their degrees on their website. They market them selves as a school and education center. They all went to the same high school in maryland and never went any further. They are a 'hype' and brain washing 'marketing group' to get you all keyed up so you too can own a fishing boat like chubby. Check out ATI chubby and ripoffreport.com see what others have to say about them. Many other people have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau in Maryland against these people, however that information is not 'made' public. Do your homework before signing anthing. Know your own shop area demographics and what people can afford.

[xrac]

IF you are a small shop, they will eat you alive. They make you go to this bootcamp and then sign you up for a commitment of 28 months for so much a month say for $2000 per month. You could also end up up paying another consultant $2000 which mean you are commiting $4000 a month for 28 months. Then they make you fire all your employees so you end up working ALL the time to run your business. The basic concept is to pad your bills 40% and you end up chasing even good customers out of your business that you have had for years and the customer will tell you on the street, they will never return. Telling you to get rid of your riff raff customers. NEVER sign with a company like this. You can have a consultant come it once a month a few hours a month to help make your business better. Remember lawyers get any where from $150 an hour and up. They are clearly not even worth $25 an hour. When these are not even educated, look for their degrees on their website. They market them selves as a school and education center. They all went to the same high school in maryland and never went any further. They are a 'hype' and brain washing 'marketing group' to get you all keyed up so you too can own a fishing boat like chubby. Check out ATI chubby and ripoffreport.com see what others have to say about them. Many other people have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau in Maryland against these people, however that information is not 'made' public. Do your homework before signing anthing. Know your own shop area demographics and what people can afford.

 

Nothing like a satisfied customer! I have also received warnings from other owners. Thanks for the post and welcome to the forum.

[xrac]

On the subject of training but with a different provider how are the webinars provided by AMI (Automotive Management Institute)? Anyone participate in those?

 

http://amionline.org/

[kate2009]

They are the same group of people. ATI only started as a business in 2000. They mave have been in the auto industry, but they are not teachers. They call themselves a 'coach'. I will let you know if I find legitmate schoolings to help.

At AMI this week...

Jan. 9 Efficient Shop Management Tom Ham | Grand Rapids, MI

Jan. 9 Relationship Marketing Matt Winslow | Indianapolis, IN

Jan. 9 Relationship Marketing Chris Frederick | Savage, MD

Everything Chubby has to say is in downloadable PDF format on his website. No need to pay. You could also try to locate legitmate business consultant in your area with a real 'consulting firm' that charge by the hour.

[CARMandP]

The "problem" is most auto "tech" schools are taught by people that are/were technicians not those based in the training of running a business. You can easily find those that will train you in running a business but every business type is different. You can get business training for free at www.score.org.

 

I attended two of ATI's training classes and was not pressured to "join" their coaching system. Their boot camps were very good for me going from a technician to a business owner. I am not near big enough of a company to afford their training classes so it was an easy decision for me and them to make.

 

I also took one class from Matt Winslow and he was at the other class that I took. He knows his stuff and he has a long background in the automotive field. So I guess it depends upon what you are looking for in a training class and what you need. I will probably take their bootcamp again when they come back to my area.

[Carguy]

Great post kate2009, great information.

 

The auto business has drastically changed in the last ten years and the shops that truly understand business will thrive in the future. Too many shop owners were formed techs. This is not bad; it's just that the skills of repairing cars are not the same skills needed to run a business.

 

Speaking for myself, I spent too many years thinking of myself as a tech. When I finally woke up and started to think like a businessman, I made great strides in my business, growing to a 2 facility company. If I could do it all over again, I would do things a lot different.

[roboutlaw]

I did the ATI program, I am a small shop and was convinced that this was the answer to all my troubles I made it through most of the program before we had a fire in my old building and were out of business for about a year. The gaurentee of your money back if you dont increase your bottom line by a certain % I found to be not true. In hind sight they have very good ideas and procedures but not worth the money and the scolding you get from the coaches.

Rob Ostrom

Ostrom's sales and service

Minong Wi

715-466-2377

[Joe Marconi]

I did the ATI program, I am a small shop and was convinced that this was the answer to all my troubles I made it through most of the program before we had a fire in my old building and were out of business for about a year. The gaurentee of your money back if you dont increase your bottom line by a certain % I found to be not true. In hind sight they have very good ideas and procedures but not worth the money and the scolding you get from the coaches.

Rob Ostrom

Ostrom's sales and service

Minong Wi

715-466-2377

 

That's too bad. I hate to hear these things. We have enough tough times running our business. Plus, dealing with a fire is horrible.

[Robbie]

I've been to one of their seminars, and the advice they gave me was spot on. I didn't sign up for their coaching program after I went, but I did implement a lot of the strategies they teach on my own and I have seen huge gains in just one year. I'm pondering signing up for their coaching program after sending my Dad to another class last weekend, and I would love to hear the specifics of why people were unhappy or happy with their program.

[Tires Too]

I'll give you my biased opinion. I signed up with ATI 5 years ago. I went through their 30 month re-engineering program. I've stayed involved with their 20 group program. I have been very happy with ATI and the results we have achieved. My gut feeling is that most of the people who have had bad results from management training fall into two categories;

First are the folks that do not really want to change their business practices, but want better financial results. It is hard work and scary to implement the changes that are going to be recommended.

Second are the folks that will "Drink the Kool Aid" to the point where they change the culture of their business and alienate all their customers, employees, suppliers etc.

 

The really hard part is walking the fine line between implementing the changes and not alienating your good customers and good employees. I've had many heated discussions with my Coach from ATI about the changes they've recommended, but that is the benefit of having a 1 on 1 coach to work with through the re-engineering program. I have not implemented everything that ATI has recommended, but my results are still well above their guaranteed rate of return.

[ATSAutomotive]

Well said ^

 

I am currently enrolled with ATI and I have found it to be one of the best things for ME and MY business. This is not for everyone but being a technician with NO management background this program has really helped understand what I need to charge in order to pay all of my overhead and still make money. This honestly has equated to a college degree in Business Administration for me. XRAC is this the best thing for you? Probably not, I believe you have had enough experience in the field to understand most concepts. Their 1 day courses are really good and really light that fire under your butt too. If you ever have questions feel free to contact me or Tires Too. I believe I am about 18 months in to the program. I have seen some very close minded guys walk out of the classroom. They believed that they were being told to just raise your prices and fire everyone in the shop. You are most certainly not being told that. These guys have helped me tremendously not only with my financials but also with my leadership ability. It has been well worth it in my opinion. Of course it does cost quite a bit but like I said, I equate it to going to college.

 

Edit: Just now noticed this is originally from 2009! Talk about brought back from the dead....

Edited March 18, 2014 by ATSAutomotive

[DukeCardwell]

Has anybody done the program with out traveling to the ATI headquarters in Maryland? I'm in California and breaking away from my business is pretty hard. Also a little worried about the monthy fee, has anybody sucsessfully canceled the ATI contract mid-term? Or do they just send you to collections? Any ideas?

[Robbie]

I have no idea about cancelling mid-term, but I'm pretty sure they wont let you do the shop "Re-engineering" program without attending their classes in Maryland. I believe most of the classes are designed so you can fly out on tues/wednesday and be back home by friday afternoon.

[Tires Too]

You will have a very hard time getting out of the program(Payments anyways) once you have signed up. I know there were some classes out west in the past, but I'm not sure now. If you would like I can check with ATI about Cali classes.

[Gary A]

Sorry I didn't know how to use the quote function from my phone so here's how my post should have went

 

Has anybody done the program with out traveling to the ATI headquarters in Maryland? I'm in California and breaking away from my business is pretty hard. Also a little worried about the monthy fee, has anybody sucsessfully canceled the ATI contract mid-term? Or do they just send you to collections? Any ideas?

 

If I were from the West Coast I would definitely look into the programs that Elite has to offer. Are you currently enrolled in ATI or just inquiring about the process?

Edited March 26, 2014 by Gary A

[Tires Too]

Gary,

Very good suggestion. I am involved with ATI and have had good results, but Elite also has some great training available. My involvement with Elite has limited to online videos and I have purchased their sales training package online. I don't know the cost of their full package. Joe may have some info on that.

[xrac]

I have decided that I am not going to get involved with ATI due to the negative things I have heard about cost. However, they continue to keep calling the shop. I have told them everything except get lost and I am about to reach that point.

[ATSAutomotive]

xrac, I don't really see any reason for you to start ATI really. You are already very involved in this forum which has members in the ATI program. I have loved the program for what it has helped me with but I am also excited to keep that money I have been paying them every month once I am done with the program.

[Robbie]

We signed the papers with ATI earlier this week and will start working with their coach over the next few weeks. I'll try to keep you guys posted on how things go. We've taken the plunge financially, so hopefully it will pay off.

[Tires Too]

Robbie,

Make the most out of it. Like many things in life you will get out of the process what you put into it. Do you know who your coach is going to be? If you have questions, need to vent, want another opinion from someone who has been though the process call or email me.

Russ

[ATSAutomotive]

Agreed, you definitely need to have an open mind. If you go in stubborn and not wanting to listen. You are not going to learn a thing.

[cmc]

We signed the papers with ATI earlier this week and will start working with their coach over the next few weeks. I'll try to keep you guys posted on how things go. We've taken the plunge financially, so hopefully it will pay off.

 

 

Hi Robbie, can you give us an update on how it's going?

 

We just attended another of the one day seminars and we got a lot out of it. We've attended 3 other of the ATI one day seminars in the last few years. After each one we implemented some the things we learned and it has helped our bottom line considerably. From the descriptions of the program and training in the 30-month program it sounds really good but the steep price is pretty scary.

[mspecperformance]

There are other options in case you didn't explore them. Elite, RLO etc etc.

[Robbie]

 

 

Hi Robbie, can you give us an update on how it's going?

 

We just attended another of the one day seminars and we got a lot out of it. We've attended 3 other of the ATI one day seminars in the last few years. After each one we implemented some the things we learned and it has helped our bottom line considerably. From the descriptions of the program and training in the 30-month program it sounds really good but the steep price is pretty scary.

 

Things are going pretty well so far. Our coach has been very helpful, but the ATI training classes have been the biggest benefit so far. Their shop owner class is amazing and should be required coursework for anybody that wants to run a shop. The guys at ATI are extremely good at debunking industry myths and using the numbers to prove which practices are best. They talk a lot about "charging correctly" for your work. I'm glad we made the decision to join, and I expect to get a lot more from the program in terms of operational and organization help. If you have any specific questions or would like to discuss it, feel free to shoot me a message.

 

Robbie

[KMS]

We have gone through the entire program (service advisors to ownership) with excellant results. I was always afraid of change, and thought my way was the correct way. WOW, was I wrong. As long as you are willing to listen and make changes, you will see results. The return that we have seen since we first started with them has been outstanding. They will help you change for todays market. It is way different than even 10 years ago.

[FROGFINDER]

Information is free, knowledge is for sale but Wisdom is what i search for.

[Wes]

I took a boot camp from ATI and I gained a lot of information that helped. I could not see spending the amount of money they want for the full program. I also took a class from Vin Waterhouse thru NAPA, and that was a great class too. One thing that rings true, no matter what or who gives the class, is that you have to know your business inside and out. Numbers do not lie. Another thing, this is a process that takes time and changes should be made slowly so the results can be measured. It takes time to know what will work in your business and your market area. Everyone wants the silver bullet, but the fact of the matter is, you already have the answers, you just have to take the time to know where you stand and where you want to go so you can plan how you want to get there. I recommend going to a variety of classes and take the pieces and parts that you can use to develop your own key to success. You also have to be brave enough to believe in yourself and your decisions to lead with your mind and not your heart. This is a hard thing to do when you care about people, but good employees will work hard for a goal if they know what your expectations are. Know your numbers, set goals for minor improvements until your objective is met. Let everyone know what you expect. coach and counsel your employees, reward good behavior and celebrate milestone achievements.

[xrac]

............You also have to be brave enough to believe in yourself and your decisions to lead with your mind and not your heart. This is a hard thing to do when you care about people.................

 

I love the way you state that and it is so true.

[FROGFINDER]

In the last several decades, I would get calls from Chubby folks at work. Many times i had a monster migraine headache. I would state that they were now talking to the highest paid car washer in the entire state of Texas, Now how may i help you?. I offered to do stand in Automotive related comedy before their program but i never getted called.

[xrac]

I signed up once for ATI and then they allowed me to cancel due to a family emergency. Afterwards having heard about how expensive the program is I have never signed up since although they have bugged the life out of me. They don't take hints and they know I am not the highest paid car washer in Indiana.

[KMS]

It is a lot of money, but well worth it. I see all aspects of running a business differently. It definitely takes the fear out of what you think may be over-charging. Charge what you want. We are in business to make money, not just pay bills!