Generationally SpeakingJanuary 2014
See what makes us different … and the same!
About 90 percent of ASA member-shops are family-owned businesses, according to our 2013 “How’s Your Business?” survey results. Learn what different generations from the same shop are thinking and how they are relating in a customer-driven industry fueled by technology. In this month’s Generationally Speaking department, meet Roy M. Lanham, service director, at Rick’s Automotive, Springfield, Mo., and Bill Murcko, technician.
Roy M. Lanham, Baby Boomer
Who do you trust the most?
My wife.
What is the best decision you have ever made?
To go to work for Rick Hughlett.
Best book you have ever read?
The Bible.
How did you get into the automotive service business?
Have always had an interest in cars and my older brother was a mechanic; went to vo-tech and learned auto mechanics.
Is there a professional goal that you’re striving for that you’d like to share with us?
To learn auto mechanics.
What do you drive?
2010 Camaro SS, 2008 Silverado, 1965 Chevy II Nova SS.
If you had a free weekend by yourself, what would you do?
Take a car trip and visit some people I don’t get to see very often.
What piece of advice would you give a young person who is graduating from high school today?
Start planning for retirement. Stay away from drugs.
If you could change one thing about the field in which you work – either automotive, collision repair (or both), what would it be?
Make all cars more repair friendly.
What is one electronic gadget that you cannot live without?
Personal computer.
Speaking on behalf of your generation, how do you see the future of the industry?
There is always going to be some sort of mode of transportation, and no matter what it is, it will need to be repaired.
Bill Murcko, Generation X
Who do you trust the most?
My grandmother.
What is the best decision you have ever made?
To work full time at the shop I’m at.
Best book you have ever read?
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.
How did you get into the automotive service business?
I had a broken car and took vo-tech classes to learn how to fix it.
Is there a professional goal that you’re striving for that you’d like to share with us?
To be the best I can be.
What do you drive?
2011 F-150.
If you had a free weekend by yourself, what would you do?
Tinker in my garage.
What piece of advice would you give a young person who is graduating from high school today?
Fix cars right not fast.
If you could change one thing about the field in which you work – either automotive, collision repair (or both), what would it be?
The image of a crooked mechanic.
What is one electronic gadget that you cannot live without?
A laptop.
Speaking on behalf of your generation, how do you see the future of the industry?
Moving to less mechanical work and more electrical.
