Troy: An Inconvenient Truth
In the seven years that I’ve been in the automotive repair business, I’ve learned many lessons. One that really hit home concerns inspections. When I opened my shop in 2011, our inspections were not…
Features
Greenwood: TAP into your future
Progressive shops employ a special business-building process. They possess a positive culture that will create the top 10 percent of shops in the industry and provide careers for the owners and staff that are second to none in the automotive…
WWYD: Customer demands cash in amount of factory list price
A customer comes in with a 2003 Chevy Suburban for some routine service work and rear shocks. The following Monday, the customer calls to complain about holes being cut into the plastic inner fender shrouds to gain access to the…
Serviceability Report: Nissan Rogue
You, the technician, need a voice. I write these articles several times a year, and they also substitute for my therapist. After working on motor vehicles for decades, you start to question your perceptions. Did Nissan make the redesigned Rouge…
Schnepper: A seat at the table
When I find myself talking to fellow shop owners about joining the Automotive Service Association, I’ve noticed that the conversation has changed a bit over time. It used to be that the benefits your association offers were front-and-center. Since taking…
Washington, D.C., auto show highlights new vehicle technology policy
The federal government and numerous organizations did not waste an opportunity of a major auto show to talk about new vehicle technologies and public policy. The U.S Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee held a hearing, titled “Driving Automotive Innovation…
Redefining Diagnostics
Not only are long-term employees retiring faster than young ones are being hired, but the technological advances on newer vehicles become standard so rapidly that current techs are struggling to stay on top of them.
When the industry goes all-electric
It is 30 years from now, 2048, and most vehicles are battery-powered electric cars. The fuel cell was tried, but the infrastructure was never built out. So the few fuel-cell cars from the 2020s are sitting behind repair shops, and…
The Remote-Control Owner: Can your business operate without you?
Can your business operate without you? As I began investigating how shop owners felt about this topic, I discovered that not everyone thinks the same. The answers I received ranged from “Yes” to “No” to “Wouldn’t that be nice!” One…
The Boss’s Kids
In a perfect world, as owners, we all dream of running a successful business. We strive to work hard, hire great employees, provide the best benefits possible, have great customers, make a profit, give back to the community, enjoy family…
Greenwood: Supplier vs. Partner?
It’s critical today, in measuring shop finances, to break down the revenue and examine the type of revenue coming through the door. But most shops just measure parts and labor, and then look at their bank balance to see what…
WWYD: Employee manual prohibits it, but employees request 'overlapping' vacation days
A shop owner from Chicago writes: How do you balance what is written in your employee manual vs. the needs of your customers and your employees? My employee manual states that no employee can take more than five days of…
Sweating the Details: How working on the business & treating customers right drive Colorado shop’s success
ASA-member shop owners always…
Electrical malfunctions give diagnostic detective learning opportunities for repair possibilities
Early on in my youth, I began wondering why things didn’t work as intended: my bike’s chain derailleur, our lawn mower, mom and dad’s Rambler wagon. Decades…
Redding: What’s next with AV policy?
Recent congresses have not been known for bipartisan initiatives. Unique to this analysis has been this fall’s autonomous vehicle (AV) legislation. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a package of 14 separate bills, titled the SELF DRIVE Act…
A Brave New Mindset
Every industry needs to prepare for its next generation of employees, which, ideally, continually flows in. The collision repair industry currently faces an aging population in several ways.
Peevy: Drive your success with not-so-obvious ways to create sustainable competitive advantage
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