Student Memberships Now Available On iATN -

Student Memberships Now Available On iATN

The International Automotive Technicians' Network (iATN) has developed a way for automotive students to join iATN through a new "student membership" program. Students are eligible for this type of membership if they are 18+ years of age, attending automotive educational training courses (college, vocational, or similar) and referred by an educator or instructor who is an existing member of iATN.

The International Automotive Technicians’ Network (iATN) has developed a way for automotive students to join iATN, www.iatn.net, through a new “student membership” program. Students are eligible for this type of membership if they are 18+ years of age, attending automotive educational training courses (college, vocational, or similar) and referred by an educator or instructor who is an existing member of iATN.

Student memberships are offered at no cost and have almost the same privileges as standard membership accounts, with one exception: they are “read-only.” Students will be able to login to iATN, read through the hundreds of thousands of forum discussions, including all of the waveforms and other files found therein, TechHelp requests and fixes, OEM information, and the rest of the information found on iATN. They can even upgrade to a premium membership and search the iATN Knowledge Base to assist in their studies of real-world repair cases.

Students will not be able to post to iATN until they “graduate” to a full membership. Once a student member meets the full membership requirements of iATN, which includes four years of work experience in the automotive industry, and/or ASE certification, they will be able to transition easily to a full membership.

“One of the longest-running requests from educators and instructors on iATN has been, ‘How can we get our students on here?’ We’re very happy that we now have an answer,” said Scott Brown, iATN president. “This is just the beginning, and over time, we look forward to more ways we will be able to work with educators to make iATN more useful and accessible to up-and-coming automotive professionals.”

iATN was founded in 1995 and is the largest online community of automotive technicians, repair shop owners and other allied service professionals in the world with more than 74,300 active members from 155 countries. iATN members exchange technical knowledge with their peers around the globe, collectively sharing approximately 1.7 million years of experience.

The iATN Mission of Excellence: To promote the continued growth, success and image of the professional automotive technician by providing a forum for the exchange of knowledge and the promotion of education, professionalism and integrity. For additional information about iATN or to join, visit www.iatn.net.

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By Joe Marconi of Elite
Comebacks are a hot topic today. You need to track
all comebacks, determine the reason (tech error, part error, training issue,
other) and then calculate the true cost of the comeback.
Here are a few things to consider:
• The loss of time when performing the comeback; time that the tech can use to
perform other work and generate profit;
• The misc costs, such as overhead costs, supplies, cleaners, etc.;
• Towing costs, rental, etc.;
• Cost to morale;
• Reputation damage; and
• Reduction to your profit margin.
For every part issue, you need to
inform your supplier. Sit down with suppliers on a regular basis. Don’t return defective
parts until you have listed the parts, and maintain a report. Document
everything.
Part issues are increasing. Every shop
owner I speak to is frustrated over this.
Remember, comebacks kill your bottom
line. The more comebacks you have, the more they’re killing your profits.
This article was contributed by Joe Marconi.
Joe is one of the 1-on-1 business coaches who helps shop owners through
the Elite Coaching Program, and is the
co-founder of autoshopowner.com.

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