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Veterans Day Remembered

Joe Marconi

By Joe Marconi
in AutoShopOwner Announcements

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Gonzo Grand Master

Gonzo

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My wife has something she does for our veterans that needs to be mentioned.

She works with an organization called. Quilts of Valor... or QOV for short.

 

QOV was started by a house wife from San Diego. She wanted to do something for the injured soldiers coming home to her area of the country. The concept became a national organization. QOV now has chapters all over the country. Here in Oklahoma my wife is in charge of their local branch.

 

Here's how this works.

You're on duty, in the war zone... you're hit by a road side bomb. You're rushed to a military hospital where your put back together. Before you leave you're given a quilt as a gift from these little old ladies (and men) from somewhere in the United States. It's not important what part of the country the quilt comes from, it's not important who made it. It's yours... it's something from home... it's something that lets you know... WE CARE.

 

From a lot of the doctors and nurses we get cards and letters from the guys and gals that recieved quilts. They tell us the very first thing that every soldier does when they get their quilt... they smell it... I guess it reminds them of home... or the fact it doesn't smell like a hospital.

 

It's a great way to show how valuable and how much we care about their efforts. I'm a supporter of QOV. If you want more info... read up on it here at my wifes website. http://www.persimmonquilts.com/QuiltsofValor.html they do except donations... shipping is a big cost. (Check around and see if there is a chapter in your area) We have quilts come to our house from all over the world (Korea, Japan, Australia, and from all over the USA). My wife will quilt them on her machine and then package them. Most of the quilts the ladies put together are sent to a hospital in Germany. Everything from the postage, thread, material, and time is all donated.

On some weekends there are 10/20 ladies at my house sewing, packaging, and quilting. It's something... I think they are all special. Especially my wife.

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

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      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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