Auto Repair Shop Management Software
Team Incentives: How To Keep Employees Engaged, Optimistic

Over the last 15 years, since we started helping shop owners in 1999, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every pay plan known to man. I’m also pretty sure that I’ve heard every possible variation of the same question: “How can I pay my team in a way that motivates them without eating all of my profits?”

incentivizing employees
Earning The Continued Trust Of Your Internal Customers

Many years ago, I read an article that featured an interview with Herb Kelleher, the co-founder of Southwest Airlines. In the article, he stated that he and his mother (who was a Harvard graduate) would often debate who was more important. He argued that it was the employees of a company, and his mom argued that it was the customers. With all due respect, I would argue, why does it need to be one or the other?

shop management award
A Step-By-Step Guide To Learning From Your Customers

As business owners, our best teachers will always be our employees and our customers. They understand many components of our businesses, and, in most cases, they really do care about our success. Learning from our employees is relatively simple. All we need to do is pay attention to their passing comments and engage them during our employee meetings and reviews. Learning from our customers, on the other hand, may take some extra effort.

Working Smarter To Increase Shop Efficiency And Productivity

How many hours have service writers everywhere lost because of a missing wheel lock? How many frustrating hours have been wasted on getting the wrong parts because of incorrect VIN numbers? Little stuff like this really adds up!

time clock
The Path To Shop Growth Is Adaptable Leadership, Service

The NACE | CARS 2014 Conference wasn’t just about the next great tool or the latest technical information, it was also about running a better shop. Key to running a better shop is improving customer service and employing a motivated, professional team. These issues were the focus of Kim Trochlil, national account manager for Leadership

Auto Shop Leadership Advice
Is Your Shop A Good Place To Work?

I recently got an email from a reader who made me think a little bit. His question was: Do you have any good ideas on how to keep technicians? In my 35-plus years in the industry, I’ve counseled hundreds of shops and have had the good fortune of meeting thousands of techs. Not that this makes

The Expectations Of Generation Y: What To Know When Hiring New Employees

Companies can’t continue to recruit, retain and manage their workforce with the mindset that was commonplace 20 years ago, and that includes your shop. Millennials grew up with advanced technology, mobile technology, real-time data and social networking, so that’s what they know and therefore expect to see from their employer. Here’s an overview of some of those expectations.

Goal Setting For 2012: Combine A Well-Cast Vision With A Charted Course

On June 6, 1944, the Allied Invasion Forces landed across 60 miles of French coastline beginning one of the bloodiest battles in history, and resulting in the liberation of Europe that ultimately occurred on May 8, 1945, also known as V.E. Day. As Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Dwight D. Eisenhower had to set the objective first – European liberation from Nazi Germany.