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What one thing do you want to improve?

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Shopcat Community Regular

Shopcat

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What is the single one stand out thing you want to improve at your shop? Is it ARO, car count, G.P. %, Branding your company, Hiring better people, or what?

Whats the most important thing you want to accomplish this year?

Whats is you action plan to make it happen?

Just curious what's on the collective ASO mind!

Shopcat Community Regular

Shopcat

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Thanks mspecperformance. I see the loaded question thing your getting at. Every goal, like car count has a process to get it done. What appears to be a fairly simple goal has quite a few steps involved. In my experience I must have a written plan with sub-steps to get it done.

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cdhowell Enthusiast

cdhowell

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A new location. My current location is at the end of a little strip mall surrounded by Mini storage. Unless you walk thru the door you would never know what we do.I also manage the mini storage for a portion of my rent. But the time doing so takes me away from my business.

I talked to a guy about 3 years ago that has a perfect building for me. I need retail space as well for the aftermarket stuff we do. It was vacant for a long time and I approached him. It is tied up in a trust with 14 family members. At the time he wanted a 2 year lease and a Million dollar buy out at the end of 2 years. Worth about $350,000. So it sat vacant another 6 months till another shop opened in there. 3 years later the other guy is folding but the family is also being reasonable now. Just waiting to hear when he is pulling out to start negotiations.

Edited by cdhowell
mspecperformance Mentor

mspecperformance

Posted
Posted

I agree! As may have read I am serious looking into getting a full line of hunter equipment. My current tire and alignment sales are abysmal however with my clientele I do see a market opportunity. For me to pull the trigger I must have a plan in place with the right sales strategy to increase my tire and alignment sales tremendously. I guess you can say that is another BIG goal of mine.

 

As for car count, my shop operates on a high ARO low car count basis while keeping correct margins. If I keep my ARO high and increase my car count I will be sitting pretty.

cdhowell Enthusiast

cdhowell

Posted
Posted

A new location. My current location is at the end of a little strip mall surrounded by Mini storage. Unless you walk thru the door you would never know what we do.I also manage the mini storage for a portion of my rent. But the time doing so takes me away from my business.

 

I talked to a guy about 3 years ago that has a perfect building for me. I need retail space as well for the aftermarket stuff we do. It was vacant for a long time and I approached him. It is tied up in a trust with 14 family members. At the time he wanted a 2 year lease and a Million dollar buy out at the end of 2 years. Worth about $350,000. So it sat vacant another 6 months till another shop opened in there. 3 years later the other guy is folding but the family is also being reasonable now. Just waiting to hear when he is pulling out to start negotiations.

Bob K Enthusiast

Bob K

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Posted

We have a shop that employs 2 techs. Used to be 3 when i worked in the shop. I want to identify why our younger techs never seem to stay more than one year.I always hire them part time while they are in trade school and they are always are happy to come on full time after graduation. Our latest tech who we have mentored for about 2 years has made significant strides in his hands on abilities. He has helped us with great ideas to streamline our processes that make his and other jobs easier and other nice contributions. I have been flexible in giving vacation time earlier than i have in the past, and every other saturday off..I have purchased new work boots of his choice as needed as i do for our other employees, paid for time off to attend ASE testing to help with his professional development. I feel i pay him well for an entry level tech with 2 years trade school and only 8 month's full time experience since graduation. Typical pay 6 to 7 gross per week. Plus Monthly incentive bonuses for team goals if met. Also 250 Xmas bonus. We have upgraded many pieces of equipment this year as a shop should as they grow making our work more enjoyable.I always make the effort to thank our employees for their hard work at the end of the day. I'm doi ng my best to be a good employer and just wish i could identify why this position is not held for long by these younger techs. They cant expect top pay at such a young age. This tech has told me he is taking a flat rate position with a chain store at .50 c per hour over his current pay with us with a a 30 hour guarantee. I took the time to show him samples over several weeks where he averages only about 20 hours in a 40 hour week. We did the math together and he will be losing about 200 per week going there. He has been given inflated expectations of turning 60 plus hours per week. I would appreciate any feedback from this group. Thank you Bob Keene

  • Like 1
Tires Too Collaborator

Tires Too

Posted
Posted

Bob,

We usually have someone from either the local High School or Vo-tech working here. I just plan on them moving on after they finish the program. They don't know what they don't know, and the lure of 60 to 80 flat rate hours a week is very strong at that point in their life. Once they have experienced the reality of flat rate they are often looking to move to another shop. We see many of these National and Regional chains churning and burning these young techs. You did what you could by going over his production with him. If you would be willing to have him back, let him know that the door is open to return when he sees the grass is not greener over there.

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

    • Joe Marconi
      The Toolbox is Last to Leave, First is the Heart
      By Joe Marconi in Joe's Blog
         0 comments
      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.

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