dstremski

In my opinion for a male (last I understood male's don't actually have the baby) one week is generous. I understand as hard as it is to cultivate solid employees having more give then in the past I am also guilty. Though I'm finding same tried principles to be true, when I make exceptions , bend over backwards etc... it only seems to raise the expectation for the next issue. I have always operated as employment being a 2-way street. I take care of my employees and in return my employee does his part for the company. Review FMLA and I think you will find this 3 month employee does not qualify. I enjoy your posts and would suggest you may not be able to "break that horse" before he causes discourse among other employees. It may be time to put him out to pasture. Of course then he collects unemployment and gets a maternity leave. Best of luck

I used a local industrial / commercial broker with 6 month contract and no local MLS listings or signs on property. They had a good track record in type sales and networking. They will list on sites like loop net. So its possible an internet search of address would show listing. I listed in Aug 21' , signed contract Jan 22', closing set April 1st. In my case 52 years in business enjoy the shop, done with large blue city. I was able to tell my employees after signing contract. The buyers have interest in retaining employees which makes the process a bit easier. Though heads up, two of my techs have been there 43 and 31 years it was tough to have the conversation.

Getting your techs to maintain a consistency in work flow is always a battle and probably has much to do with individual habits. My approach has been to create a good work environment with employee communication. ( Taking time to talk with employees about their interests / family. Compensation: I have chosen to use a lower hourly rate with a higher commission based on book hours. Shop hours are M-F , 8-5pm (40 hours) This gives techs a full weekend / family time. Shop worked many years 6 days per week and longer hours. In today's environment I found it better to totally end overtime.

Zeus, Snap-on has said they will remain with the windows 7 platform on Zeus after the end of life 1/2020. No upgrades to Win 10. Any insight on tool impact, If any?

wiTech ,Micropod ll / Tech Authority : Shop focuses heavily on Computer/ Electrical work diagnostic and repair. Just received notice from AE Tools that I must upgrade in Jan. to a Micropod ll with serial # over WSP-31560. Hardware cost of 1,850.00 with license and subscription a special deal of 4,809.00. ($500 discount with bundle) The Question: What are others doing with wiTECH ? The yearly cost after equipment seems way too high IDS, MDI ll have much better program cost. Are you using wiTech? Seems essential for solid diagnostic and programming on Chrysler vehicles. Does anyone have a source recommendation for wiTECH / Micropod ll offering a more reasonable cost? I did look for discussions on diagnostic equipment, please point me in that direction if I've missed the topic. Thanks,

Interesting to hear other shops compensation plans. ( Always a head scratcher ) I do agree there's a time to re-evaluate and find a balanced that rewards techs and maintains shop margins. That said, Our compensation plan we pay an hourly rate plus book hour (Mitchell). Most jobs are plus .5 - 1 book hour over mitchell to account for older cars and we work largely with computer / electrical issues, Cleaning up the attempted repair damage from other shops/customers many times. As I understand it: Being independant and not entitled to dealership rules, over 40 hours is 1.5 x hourly rate. This seems to work well in shop my two lead techs are solid with many years onboard . Techs 3-4 are not as consistent and becoming harder to find. What experiences do others have with this compensation approach? What compensation approach do you find works better with a younger generation? I welcome insights, Thanks