Sheppard Motors - Technician Jobs in Eugene, OR

Top Shop for Technician Jobs in Eugene, OR

Photos

  • Future home of our Audi, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Volvo Dealership. And our giant new shop!
  • Our new shop! Doors will be installed by the end of the month.
  • Our new shop has a car wash. Our detail crew is jumping for joy!
  • Our beautiful new work home.
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo
  • Sheppard Motors shop photo

Under The Hood

Is the shop heated? Air conditioned?

Shop is heated with large zonal heaters allowing technicians who run hot to turn down the heat and technicians running cool to turn up the zone.

What is the size of the team I’d be working with?

We house four Brands, Volvo, Audi, VW, and Hyundai, under two roofs until our new auto mall is completed Estimate to be moved and starting is 01/01/2024 in the new facilities. Each brand varies in size from Seven Team members to Less than 20 with some shared responsibilities such as warranty admin handles all four brands; Service Manager works with all four brands. Each facility has a shuttle driver who is backed by Lyft and Uber services.

What are the shop hours and what are the shift timeframes?

For Parts and Service, we are open from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm Monday to Friday, with a mix of start times depending on the individual's needs outside of work. Most of our technicians work 8:00 am -5:00 pm, with various start times at 7:30 and 8:30 am. No weekends or nights helps create a balance that is needed in our industry, and we strive to maintain that for our team.

What tools does the shop provide that are available for all technicians to use?

We have the complete set of specialty tools for each brand and have focused on organization by purchasing and sorting our specialty tools into large work draws. Our Volvo department has sorted and organized all the tools as of 01/06/2023, with the purchase of VW, Hyundai, and Audi tools storage just arriving. We plan to move to our new Auto Mall at the end of 2023 and are prepping for organization currently (but it is a work in progress)

What type of break room facility is provided?

Both Locations have an employee break room, and the primary location currently has a locker room for the technicians. We converted part of our special tool room for uniforms at our secondary location. We have a new MEGA shop in the works that will incorporate a locker room, lunchroom, and breakroom for all technicians and fixed operations employees on the second floor of the facility

How many bays does your shop have?

Fifteen current bays with lifts and three flats. The new facility will be 36 bays in the main shop with six additional bays at our Hyundai facility

How many repair orders do you average per month?

1200

What is your parts ordering process?

Currently, we use CDK Service to follow the repair order through the process. Technicians request parts for the quote, and once the repair is approved, it is marked as such in CDK service. Then the Advisors Notify Parts and the Tech of the following information. The job is approved if the car stays or leaves if the repair is under warranty, extended warranty, or customer pay. This allows the Technician, Parts advisor, and Service advisor to be on the same page. On more extensive repairs we see technicians touching base with parts to ensure all parts and correct parts are ordered.

What is your policy on side work?

We allow employees to use the shop for side work when pertaining to their personal cars and Friends/Families' vehicles upon management approval. We actually had an Audi tech want to do a major repair on his personal car. We worked together and settled on the idea that he takes a paid day off on a Friday to allow him to start and complete the repair before the following Monday.

Are there any other unique features of the work environment worth noting?

We are part of a growing family of dealerships and have prioritized manufacture training.

Do you offer any skills training or continuing education opportunities?

We are focused on both professional and personal development of our staff. We focus the first 40-80 hours of a new to us or new technician focusing on the web base training our manufactures provided as well as the company culture and process. We then focus on getting our technicians hands on training we realize that the short-term cost of sending technicians off sight is far less than not. We focus on growing our teams' abilities (even when they know everything...) we find value in improving our Technicians and Advisors. We are part of GiANT worldwide and provide monthly training for future leaders in our companies and currently have several technicians learning leadership skills to help prepare our team for future opportunity. We also have Monthly all store GiANT training shutting down all aspects of our business once per month for two hours to help develop a common language. It is then management's goal to train weekly with GiANT tools furthering the employee's development

Can you describe opportunities for career growth at your business?

We have Vision to grow 14 times or current size. We have started by building brand new larger buildings for our three seasoned brands VW, Volvo, and Hyundai as well as bringing on a new brand in Audi. As we are building the new Auto mall, we have ability to expand even further. We are looking to provide career growth in all brands and have the ability to get creative in career paths.

Can you describe your performance review process?

Currently we have different levels of reviews but find that may times we focus on attendance, production and fixed right the first time during our review process. We have monthly reviews for apprentice technicians made up for the weekly items like attendance, professionalize, ability to learn and perform a new process etc.

What type of safety training is required?

We focus on all OSHA rules and have a team dedicated to the training and continued monitoring of such items.

Can you describe how Techs work with and mentor younger techs?

We are in the beginning stage of creating a Mentorship academy. We team 1-4 technicians with our mentor technician. We start with one apprentice per mentor, we have weekly tracking of Attendance, Ability, Willingness to work as a team, and competence that is completed each week by the mentor and reviewed with the apprentice. The next step is monthly the Apprentice, Mentor, and Service manager review the last months progress and set goals for the next month. between 6-12 months based on progression of ability a second apprentice is introduced and the process starts again. at four apprentices the mentor tech focused on the four apprentices and production is not reviewed of his or her flagged hours but as a team growth in efficiency.

How does your shop get involved with the local community?

We have a community outreach person who is employed by the company for Beach Clean ups and Charity activity. The fixed Operations Director has a long-standing history working within the education system at the high school and college level.

Do you do anything with local high schools or tech schools to encourage more students to enter the profession?

We are currently looking into creating high school articulation agreements where a student can spend part of the school day Onsight learning jobs skills and getting high school credit. The fixed operations director was brought into the dealership the beginning of 2023 with a focus on supporting the local high school and community college programs but is just starting this journey

Where do you see the shop in five years?

We will be in a state-of-the-art facility that is currently under construction (2023).

Do you have an application form and how long does it typically take to complete?

Yes we have a simple application form that is either emailed or filled out in person. It takes a couple minutes to complete

Do you phone screen applicants before doing in-person interviews?

No, We do not have a requirement for a phone screening but also have no issues with talking on the phone before spending time to meet. We are a firm believer that hiring process should be fast and have spent time eliminating steps to allow us to hire quickly.

What do your in-person interviews entail?

Depending on the position we are hiring for we have a couple different paths to take. But in general we try to first and foremost allow who we are the good and the challenges to shine through and if the candidate thinks we are a fit for their life and career we will get into who they are and find if they seem like a fit for the company.

Do you perform background checks, drug screening, or personality tests before hiring an applicant?

We have a standard background and DMV check and drug screen process before hiring an employee.

Do you perform a skill assessment before hiring an applicant? If yes, what does it entail?

No but we are embracing this concept and working with lead technicians and Advisor trainers use a informal conversation to better asses skills sets.

After an in-person interview, approximately how long should I expect to wait for a rejection or an offer?

With in 48 hours. Again no reason to not be transparent and allow both parties to move forward quickly.

Approximately how long does the full hiring process take from submitting the application to the time of the hiring decision?

On average 5-7 days depending on the background and DMV service.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention about your hiring process?

We are able to be flexible and adapt quickly to our market allowing us to be creative in execution of hiring

A Level Technician
A Level Technicians are highly skilled technicians that have strengths in their diagnostic and mechanical ability. This level of technician typically has many years of experience and education. We view an A Level Technician as the highest skilled technician in a shop
Pay Range: $70,000.00 - $140,000.00/year ($33.65 - $67.31/hr)

We are a flat rate shop but have become progressive in how we pay.

B Level Technician
B Level Technicians are skilled in mechanical repair and, while not their specialty, have some diagnostic skills. B Level Technicians generally have a fair amount of experience and can be trusted to handle most repairs.
Pay Range: $41,000.00 - $80,000.00/year ($19.71 - $38.46/hr)

We are largely a flat rate shop with production bonuses.

C Level Technician
C Level Technicians are more of entry level technicians. C Level Technicians’ responsibilities typically include basic maintenance, alignments, brake and suspension work, along with other base level repairs.
Pay Range: $37,430.00 - $50,000.00/year ($18.00 - $24.04/hr)

That this level we are hourly with an focus on production and fixed right the first time. Depend on what stage of the progression a technician is at could be hourly or flat rate.

Lube Technician
Lube Technicians are entry level technicians that focus on routine maintenance such as oil changes, changing tires, and inspections.
Pay Range: $33,000.00 - $45,000.00/year ($15.87 - $21.63/hr)

With the focus on mentor technician program we have been steadily focused on using the express services model to start the mentors but progress into career training so we do not use the Lube Technician model much

Service Advisor
Service Advisors are primarily customer focused and, as one of the faces of the shop, they are critical in keeping customers happy. Service Advisors are frequently focused on taking customer calls, relaying information to technicians, and selling repair jobs. Both technical and sales experience are helpful for this position.
Pay Range: $36,000.00 - $144,000.00/year ($17.31 - $69.23/hr)

This is a base plus commission position with CSI bonuses that reward customer first focus

Student Tech / Apprentice
Student technicians work on entry level tasks while completing their school programs.
Pay Range: $35,000.00 - $41,600.00/year ($16.83 - $20.00/hr)

This position is paid hourly with a monthly review from the mentor technician.

Health Insurance Offered
We have options under the Cigna Insurance plans HSA, PPO base and PPO Buy up plan. You may search network providers at www.Cigna.com
Dental Insurance Offered
Our Dental Insurance is provided by Cigna. For the insurance year 2023 coverages are below Covered Services: Preventative Services (exams, cleanings, x-rays) Insured pays 0% Basic Services (extractions, routine fillings, periodontics, endodontic) Insured pays 20% Major Services (Crowns, bridges, dentures) Insured pays 50%
Vision Insurance Offered
Vision Insurance is provided by VSP You may Search for network providers at www.vsp.com
Retirement Plan Offered
Nationwide is the provider of our retirement we have ROTH and 401K options
Sick Leave Offered
January first company wide 40 hours sick pay that is separate from vacation pay
Vacation Offered
Vacation Pay starts one year from hire date. 1st year = 40 hours 2-4 year = 80 hours 5-8 years = 96 hours 8+ years =120 hours
Paid Holidays Offered
We are closed 8 major holidays pay is dependent on the holiday falling on a scheduled working day
ST / LT Disability Offered
We have both short term and long term options
Life Insurance Offered
We have several options for life insurance
Uniforms Offered
For technicians uniforms are provided Advisors are provided Specific Brand Polo's
Other Not Offered

Shop Talk