I was having a bad day! I made my first coaching call in the morning to “Joe” who says he can’t find an “A” Technician. I asked him: “What are you doing to find a tech?” Joe replied: “I am doing everything I can to find help. I ran an ad on Craigslist but nobody…
Mickey Mouse threw me a curveball! It happened last week while visiting Disney’s “Magic Kingdom” theme park. On a normal day, the park closes at 10pm. However, on this fateful day, they closed at 6pm. When I asked the Disney “cast member” why they closed so early, she responded with both good and bad news. The…
The story is told of a billionaire businessman with two sons. He met with them one day and told them his fortune would be left to the first son who could create a successful business! Success was defined as generating one million dollars in annual net profit. The oldest son, “Sam” went straight into activity…
Empty bays are not what an automotive repair shop owner wants to see. To keep great automotive technicians, your shop needs to stay busy and profitable. Here are 5 strategies you can put in place immediately to drive car count higher and get those bays productive again: 1. Schedule Future Services Do you schedule your…
Are you holding your people accountable? When I was a district manager for a national automotive chain back in 2001, I would have answered this question with a definite “YES!” After all, I always “preached” the right things. During team meetings, I preached about the habit of filling out a courtesy check for every customer. I preached…
What’s keeping you from achieving your goals? The following scenario may reveal the answer. If you were to speak into your phone and ask “Alexa,” “Who’s the best technician at my shop?” An image of YOU holding a wrench would appear! Finding and hiring a qualified replacement would free you up to focus on the…
“How do I put more profit in my pocket?” asked “Jason,” a shop owner who heard about our upcoming webinar on the topic. I responded as follows: “Jason, you’re averaging a 32% parts margin over the last four weeks, so using the parts matrix would be helpful.” To which he replied, “Yeah, but it’s a…
I’m with the “Twiggs Publishers Clearing House,” and I have a one-million-dollar prize just for you. I will show up at your shop to present your winnings with my selfie stick in hand so we can take a photo with the symbolic, super-sized, check that has one million dollars written across the front. (BTW, don’t try…
Join me as we journey through a typical morning in my life. I make my first call to a new client named “Richard.” I notice he’s had the same labor rate for the past three years. “Richard, it’s time to increase your labor rate,” I suggest. “I can’t do that, coach. My customers are on…
“I don’t understand how I can be so busy and not make any money.” If you’ve caught yourself thinking this, you are not alone. A lot of auto repair shop owners find themselves working harder than they ever did for someone else – and making far less money! Here are the top profit eaters that…