Free Auto Repair Management Tips Blog

If you are looking to expand your team and grow your business, you must put your systems and processes in place, so new hires can learn them. Otherwise, you’re in for a surprise with people winning stupid prizes by playing stupid people games.

What?! Yes, that’s right. Let me explain.

How many times have you hired someone who you thought was a promising candidate? Someone who interviewed well, passed your criteria, and looked like a winner on paper. Then, you hired that individual and found later that they were poor performers. Or worse, you thought they just weren’t smart.

Do you really think they were airheads? Seriously, after all that vetting, do you think you hired a foolish person? I would argue that you didn’t hire a foolish person. Instead, you had non-existent or poorly defined systems and procedures in place (if any at all) — and that “ignorant” person was thrown into the fire with no procedural support system. 

After all, we don’t hire unintelligent folks. Instead, we have lacking systems and processes that make them look reckless, forcing them to underperform. 

In short, it’s not their fault. It’s ours. We failed them because no one is inherently careless. But too many business owners don’t recognize this, and they continue pretending. They’re winning stupid prizes by playing stupid people games. Here’s what I’m talking about:

Nicole Mason on Unsplash

Are the people stupid…or are the business practices?

I was talking with a shop owner recently. During the course of our conversation, he told me everyone he hired was unintelligent, and they never did what he told them to do. I asked him who hired them? There was silence on the phone. Was it the owner or the people? What prize do you think he won?

Quite frankly, it’s a foolish way to run a business.

Let’s rid ourselves of this “stupid” label and take a different approach.

If you were to build a house and laid the foundation before meeting the architect, you have a failed and expensive home-building process. Your systems and processes dictate your success, and we have seen too many small business owners jump into action without having a solid plan called systems and processes in place. That is why Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs are critical to the success of any business.

McDonald’s and other major fast-food chains have learned how to streamline SOPs in such a way that the average 16-year-old high school student can train in one or two days and become highly productive within their first week of employment. 

So here’s the question: What is preventing you from hiring intelligent and talented people who prove to you over time that they are worthy? What’s stopping your new hires from reaching success is your lack of Standard Operating Procedures guiding them steadily toward that success.

When our own Brian Gillis recently appeared on Remarkable Results Radio, he discussed his involvement in the group CAMP (Coalition of Automotive Management Professionals). The host Carm Capriotto quizzed Brian about this professional alliance of auto repair industry coaches.

Business Coach Discussion – Key Talking Points

• CAMP (Coalition of Automotive Management Professionals) started with a brainstorm two years ago. It was a casual get together with trainers at the Vision 2019 event.
• Auto repair shops should spend time with like-minded people, and peer network with each other. Business coaches also need to practice this.
• As of March 2021, CAMP became a legal entity.
• CAMP is a group of like minded individuals that want to move the industry forward. They aim to find the auto shops that need help. Then, they make sure that they receive that help.
• Always maintain the consistency of their message in the auto industry.
• Automotive repair business coaches also need to continue adapting and improving.

Important Takeaways

• Multi-shop ownership vs single shop ownership: You don’t need to own multiple shops in order to be successful, to stay relevant, or become a victim of consolidation.
• Have a life outside of the automotive business!
• An average five bay shop is missing between $25-30,000K net profit per bay, per year.
• Having a coach doesn’t mean you’re out of the business; Owners want to be able to enjoy working on their business and still being a part of it.
• Why are we afraid to help others? There is no secret! It’s time to help people move forward.

Are you an automotive repair shop owner who is completely lost? Need help organizing your workflow and writing systems in order to guide your staff? You Net Results has the tool for you to write your own auto repair business systems – Action Flow Charts! This is a series of over 50 templates and documents that will help you, your technicians, your service advisors, and your customers, get the the best experience from your repair shop.

In this video, some of our members discuss how You Net Results’ coaching has benefited them. They then share their initial thoughts after taking time to review our new Action Flow Charts.

Shop Owners Tell Their Stories – Auto Repair Business Systems Testimonials

Auto Repair Team celebrating success

Joe Evans begins the discussion by reviewing many of the skills his team has learned from Brian’s coaching methods. He then notes all of the useful documents in the Action Flow Charts folder, which correspond to those skills. The sheer volume of useful information is impressive.

Afterward, other shop owners talk about how easy the documents are to access anywhere online via Dropbox. The customizable templates are easy to use, so repair shops can continue growing their bottom line. Instantly, shop owners and managers see the possibilities, both in the pre-written flow charts, and the templates, which enable owners to come up with their own systems. From hiring and recruiting to service advisor training, it’s all there.

Many shop owners are not tech savvy, nor do they have much time to sit down and figure out complex solutions. However, Action Flow Charts are designed to be easy to use for anyone in the industry, regardless of computer knowledge.

Photo courtesy Ben White on Unsplash

Have you ever played the game “Telephone”? You start by lining up a group. Then, you whisper a sentence into the first person’s ear. They then whisper the message to the next person. The game continues until the message gets to the final person in line, who announces out loud what sentence they heard. It is often much different from the original sentence. Quite the exercise in communication!

At You Net Results, we know this game shows what happens when messages, systems, and processes are undocumented. Just like in the game of “Telephone,” something can get lost in the telling. When you don’t write down instructions, client comments, or repair orders, this is inevitable.

Communication breakdown

In auto repair businesses, it happens like this:

The Customer tells the Service Advisor something. Time is short. The Service Advisor doesn’t write it down, but they repeat it verbally to the Technician. The Technician may also skip documenting it, so they present the Service Advisor with new information.

The Service Advisor then reports to the Customer via phone. More back and forth happens, and then the Customer picks up their vehicle. Later, the Service Advisor is surprised to read the Customer’s one-star review. Why? Communication was not clear. They lost something in the telling.

How can you avoid losing something in the telling?

Do you see how simply repeating verbal information can lose accuracy? It is obvious how the customer felt wronged. How can your team reduce miscommunication? How can they improve clarity?

The answer? Use transparent systems and processes to document all communication. Enter repair issues through DVI reports, notes in your CRM, text messages, recorded phone calls, and other exchanges. When you do, you will reduce your chance of poor reviews.