“Mike” is a shop owner who works in instead of on his business. His business has him in bondage to the point, that when he needs to speak with his ‘A’ tech, he doesn’t look out in the bays, he looks in the mirror! I suggested that he contact a certain “headhunter” recruitment company that sources, screens, and…
The next few months of 2020 is a time to maintain your focus in your personal and professional life. Energy is running low; momentum slows and a shift in gears starts to appear. You must keep an eye on the ball to achieve the goals set forth for your personal and professional lives in 2020….
The biggest challenge shop owners face isn’t car count, or margins, or even sales. The biggest challenge shop owners face is staffing and keeping employees. The shortage of skilled technicians is already a challenge, but many owners make the hiring process harder on themselves than it should be. By avoiding the following top 5 hiring…
What’s the biggest gamble you can take as a shop owner? Since Las Vegas is the mecca of gambling, I decided to study two famous Vegas acts, to get the answer. First, there’s Siegfried and Roy. They were stage magicians who were known for performing with lions and tigers. They decided not to hire other…
I was all in, on-board, and “drinking the Kool-Aid!” As a new district manager of automotive service, I had just returned from a national meeting where our president clearly communicated the company direction. What he said was good for the car, the customer, and the corporation. My next step was to have a meeting with…
What do the shops who made the Top 12 at the ATI SuperConference have in common? I pondered this question over the weekend as I visited “Joe’s Hardware Store” looking for a special drill to complete a home project. After several minutes of searching, I approached the counter to ask “Joe” the store owner for help….
Struggling to get enough hours billed out each week? Your first thought might be that you have a problem with your technicians. As a shop owner, you need to be aware of how your shop is doing at all times and where the weak spots are; making sure plenty of billable hours get completed each…
There’s a story of a traveler who was on a journey from one village to another. As he was walking, he noticed a monk tilling the ground. He asked the monk the following question: “I’m traveling from the village in the mountains to the village in the valley and I was wondering if you knew…
Think back on all your extended vacations. How many times did you take the rental car to the car wash? I conducted an official survey of a select group of leaders who have high attention to detail. I added their combined total of lifetime rental car washes and placed their numbers into my special spreadsheet. The total…
In 1995, Mike Tyson was released from prison after serving a three-year sentence. His promoter Don King was eager to help him regain his title as boxing’s Heavy Weight Champion of the World. For his first fight, King arranged for Tyson to fight an unranked, lowly regarded boxer, named Peter McNeely. It took “Iron Mike”…