Transmission Repair

Another way to get into the minds of EV owners is to have dedicated EV parking with a charger. What better way to stay in Top Of Mind Awareness (TOMA) for your shop? I would classify any money spent on this as Marketing/Promotional. ChargePoint makes a great case for this in their booklet below. The ChargePoint charging system can take payments through your phone or card. According to the information ChargePoint provides, a 3-hour charging session runs around $1.00 or .33 cents an hour.

The EV market will change what we do for a living, but servicing vehicles will never go away. Many of the services we perform on ICE vehicles will hold true for the EVs as well. Conversely, there will be new services and new opportunities that the EV market will bring. I believe that it’s too early to gear-up for many EV-specific services such as battery pack replacement. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a way to get our “foot in the door” with new EV owners. We need to heavily market and advertise residential EV charger installation. This will require, of course, an electrician license. However, there are many levels of electrician licenses and will vary state to state. In my state of Utah, there are 5 different levels of an electrical licenses: Apprentice Journeyman Electrician Master Electrician Residential Journeyman Electrician Residential Master Electrician There are strict requirements at every level of licensing. To apply for the lowest level of residential license, you need: Completion of a 2-year (288 classroom hours) electrical apprenticeship education program. 4,000 hours as a licensed Apprentice Electrican working under the supervision of a licensed Journeyman or Master Electrician. Pass the Residential Journeyman Electrician Code, Theory, and Practice exams. It simply wouldn’t be feasible to have a current employee get a Residential Journeyman Electrician license. A better way would be to enter into an agreement with a local residential electrical company to wire and install the EV charger. At an average union wage of $69/hr. for a typical 8-hour install would work out to $552. A shop could calculate the markup (if any) needed. $1,000, to the customer, wouldn’t be unreasonable. This way, a shop would be getting their “foot in the door” in the mind of the new EV owner’s vehicle. A shop’s information could be put on a sticker for the charger and/or charging cable end to keep the shop at TOMA. What would you suggest to start to “gear up” in the mind of the new EV owners?

To follow up what Joe is saying, here's NAPA's AutoCare Apprentice Program Handbook. This handbook codifies NAPA's apprentice program which can be used as a starting point for shops who wish to have their own Apprentice Program. 1-AutoCare-Apprentice-Program-Handbooks (1).pdf

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The unemployment rate in the U.S. is a misleading figure. A more accurate indicator of the American workforce would be the labor force participation rate. The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older that is working or actively looking for work. It is an important labor market measure because it represents the relative amount of labor resources available for the production of goods and services. Currently, that number is at 62.3%. Translated, that means more than one-third of the American work force is either not working or looking for work. Mike Rowe sheds some light on what this means for the services industries in the following 7-minute video.

Great article, Joe. The biggest problem I see in lack of productivity is improperly written estimates. Transmission estimates are very difficult to write. The main reason for that is a lot of transmission shop owners and managers try to quote a price with the transmission still in the car/truck. That's a guessing game at best. Before we give an estimate we do a Removal, Disassembly and Inspection (RDI) on every transmission we gave an estimate for. The fee we charged for that was $477 which we would waive if the customer approved the estimate. We prided our estimates as being written stone. (see below) With the rising prices do the inflation it's sometimes difficult for shop owners and/or managers to ask a PROFITABLE price. It sometimes it just simply takes courage. That's what it takes for sufficient productivity/profit. Under-bidding a job is the fastest way to lose productivity, and eventually, profitability. Most shops I know don't have a problem with tools, shop layout, or a productive workflow. I know my shop didn't. My crew started referring to me as "a tool junkie". Most good shops are that way. We did sometimes have one or 2 comebacks, but that tended to happen in waves. A labor guide is just that, a guide, and many times just flat-out wrong.

The short answer is no. Reduced work volume yes. But it never goes away entirely. Simple repairs and/or maintenance will drop in volume. I can't speak for general repair shops but I can speak for what I do for a living . I own a transmission shop and business never goes away entirely. Selective items like a transmission service or fixing a leak goes down volume during tough economic times. When you're mode to work effects getting to work and back home those repairs are not a deal breaker. I would like to think that general repair shops experience the same thing, but I don't know, I'm not in that business. In a nutshell, any repair that affects somebody's ability to make a living is a definite yes. Minor jobs that are elective will go down in tough economic times, major jobs will not.

Great news to hear! To find an SMS that integrates with QB is like having the best of both worlds. Did you know QB can be your total payroll solution? Over the years, QB has bought out several software companies and integrated those apps into their QB offering. Keep up the great work and keep us posted!

First, let me clarify something, I was using QuickBooks Desktop Pro which is not cloud based. Cloud based QuickBooks, in my opinion, is lame and very limited. QuickBooks Desktop has many more features that are helpful to the business. I was able to configure QuickBooks to the way I ran the business, not conforming how our business is run to some SMS system. Estimates and invoicing were 2 templates I designed. (shown below)Neil Gause.pdf I was also able to create various fields in our vendor list and customer lists. The front counter ran seamlessly with our accounting. I could print out a P&L or balance sheet with only a few mouse clicks. I have to confess that the way I configured QB bordered on programing because it included knowing QB code. I can't honestly recommend QB Desktop to the average shop, but it is one hellava better app than the cloud-based QB. I don't know any tips to avoid a cheap SMS other than to ask other shops. Whatever they recommend will likely involve configuring the way your shop is ran to the software. 2011P&L.pdf

After using three different SMS I finally migrated over to QuickBooks in 2000. It was difficult to configure to our business, but once it was configured properly, I loved it. My wife is an accountant and it had a lot to do with my decision.

I think what you plan to do as being an excellent idea, Juli. Take a lesson from my experience... First, make sure the people you sell your business to doesn't go out of business. That happened to us. Secondly, have an early pay off penalty clause for the real estate. The guy we sold the shop real estate to (different from who we sold the business to) paid off the mortgage totally off only 9 months in. We ended up paying $400K to the IRS. And... our $9,100/mo. payments for 30 years simply evaporated. Our retirement plans went out with the shitter. However, overall we came out OK even with the challenges. Like you, our home and new car are paid for and we have no debt. We'll make due with what we have to work with. Don't let my mistakes happen to you!!!

Can you elaborate what scared you off? The franchise or that particular franchisee? We all can learn a lesson from your experience.

bi0h4z4rd: How did he get your name and phone number if you live out of state?

I believe the following article will have great relevance to our industry in the coming years, especially to transmission shops and other classic big-ticket repairs. We are headed to an industry of maintenance and small-ticket repairs. That in of itself is not a bad thing. Like all technology, the price of EVs will come down to where it is much easier for the average consumer to buy a new vehicle albeit an EV. The factory building boom is indicative of the shift to lower-cost transportation for the average consumer. This shift won't happen overnight, but it will happen. Currently, Tesla wants to produce a $25K EV that would put EVs within reach of the average consumer. However, that could possibly be negated by the substantial increase in insurance premiums. EVs are simply a lot more to repair collision damage which will result in more total losses for insurance companies, hence higher premiums. Additionally, EVs will be largely made domestically. Foreign vehicles will become a smaller portion of the overall vehicle population. While ICE vehicles won't go away in our lifetime, they will become an increasingly smaller portion of the vehicle population. Currently, the best our industry can do is to keep an eye out for the coming changes and change our repair shop strategies accordingly.

SCT = Sound Comfort Technology. https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/eagle-touring-sct

I started using Gallup not only as a hiring tool, but as a management tool as well. Gallup Shop Talents

This is Todd Hayes' signature line he closes all correspondence with... Unlimited Cars Unlimited Technician! Now Hiring SuperStar Service Writers & Technicians Call or Email Todd Hayes 386-547-3682 [email protected]

Yep, EV tires are different. Watch the video I Emailed you. ICE tires on an EV is a costly solution. 11:42

We had 3 different SMS products from 1985 till 2000 at which time I couldn't find something that ran like I run the business. In 2001 we went to QuickBooks Pro Desktop and I could tailor the software to the way I ran the business. Problem solved for $750 every other year.

Has anybody used a written personality survey like StrengthsFinder 2.0 or something similar to find out the applicants fit for the shop? https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/254033/strengthsfinder.aspx

Virtually everything you say is true. Reprogramming will be largely Over-The-Air updates. Most EVs and some ICE vehicles will require a subscription of some type. Our RAV4 Hybrid has a subscription to enable some options. My prediction is that the dollar cost for maintenance and repair for EVs may possibly be less than a ICE vehicle, but never go away. The reports I've read said Tesla vehicles are hard tire wear. Why, I don't know. One thing is for sure, EVs in general are all Version 1.0 vehicles and like everything else that is Version 1.0, expect the unexpected.

Lots of good advice and tips. Carm's podcasts are always interesting. I've talked about this before: Concerning SWAG, or specialty advertising, I learned to always put a call tracking number on such items (in addition to our name, logo and/or branding) to see if there was an actual return on investment. After the first year I tried it, I quit doing pens and calendars. Who needs to call a transmission shop after they visit us? I feel each type of shop needs to measure the ROI of ALL advertising and decide what works and doesn't work for them. Each type of shop is often unique. In my opinion, there is no better of a measurement tool for advertisements and branding than call tracking. You end up only investing only in advertising that has a measurable ROI. https://www.convirza.com/free-trial/ https://www.convirza.com/call-tracking-pricing/

Yes, I've hired the wrong tech before. Somebody in our organization (usually me, but not always) will "shadow" the new hire for a few days to a week to get an idea of what they are like as well as train them to the "ways" of the shop. This is the best new employee acid test I've could come up with. Within 1 to 2 weeks everybody in the shop can form a good idea of their work ethic, attitude, and perhaps comebacks. Bad hires will be identified and let go within a few weeks or less. Recently, I've observed a new idea along the lines of "always be recruiting". Another multi-shop owner always has a short recruitment ad in his signature copy in all written correspondence. I thought it was a great idea.

Read further up in the thread. I posted an image.

All great tips I never had until I met my wife, an accountant, as I've said before. Prior to that, my bookkeeping and accounting was lame at best. I just sort of "winged it." Not a good business practice. I was also guilty of skimming cash and underreporting income. I did everything worse than wrong, what I was doing was illegal to say the least. I was lucky and never had my personal income tax or sales tax returns audited. I was the type of tax payer the Biden administration IRS would be looking for today. From 2006-on, I was above board and I was a legal eagle. Women, by nature, are security-seeking and she is above-board in all her dealings. My wife used another lesser-known Intuit product to do only tax returns called ProSeries. Boy was it expensive. It was $2K EVERY year. She just spread the cost over her 70 or so clients each year. You can check it out here: https://proconnect.intuit.com/proseries/pricing/ The software can intake most popular bookkeeping's P&Ls and Balance Sheets and populates all the necessary IRS forms while leaving very little for the user to fill out. It's almost automatic. I sure wish I would have had Joe's advice when I was younger. I only met with my bookkeeper (I didn't have an accountant or CPA) once a year, usually in April. She would file an extension every time, but I still had to pay the taxes due by April 15th, which I usually didn't have. I was a shop owner who could have been a poster child for HOW NOT TO DO YOUR BOOKS OR TAXES. But that was back then. Things are much better today especially since I've fully retired. Neither one of us have a side job in retirement. I feel very lucky to say that and I owe it in a huge part to Joe. He said you'll never make enough on the sale of your business to retire; you'll only make enough to retire by selling the real estate your shop is in. I tried to lease the building to the person I sold the business to, but it didn't work out. Once I heard Joe's advice, I felt and did much better selling the real estate vs leasing it for $11K/mo. Thanks Joe!