When looking for a new position or job, what is the most important factor that you look for?
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When looking for a new position or job, what is the most important factor that you look for?
View full poll questionHey Technicians! What’s your favorite vehicle to work on?
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Great review for Sales & Leasing Consultant; Nick Wade.
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What are some fun activities you like to do in the fall?
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Food Truck time to celebrate some special events! One tech celebrated 36 years of being here at Tom Wood Toyota. Another tech reported a first known issue found to Toyota and was awarded a special medallion.
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Air Tools or Electric tools?
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Minnesota roads can be unbearable in the snow, but this winter car workshop could be a game-changer for new drivers
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Happy anniversary to our Shipping & Receiving Clerk; Sam Lynch
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Great review for Service Advisor; Michael Manns!
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🎉 C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S 🎉 Congratulations to Garrett for being our BEAST of the week.
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If you could work on cars from any era, which would you choose?
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What's the most satisfying part of being an automotive technician?
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Thank you to everyone that joined us for the PenFed Racing Simulator Challenge on August 30-31. It was a pleasure to host Sabré Cook and showcase the Porsche GT3 Cup racecar while enjoying time with our amazing community and team. We hope you had a great time meeting Sabré, testing your skills in the racing simulator, and joining the scenic rally drive.
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Junior Technician, James, replacing a drive shaft on a 2022 Tiguan.
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So.. general conversation here. As a tech I was wondering, what do you(other techs) and management do at your location to deal with other techs that like to play petty games in the shop? General back and forth is a normal part of the work life.. after all if you(techs) can't joke and banter with the people you spend such a high amount of time with, it makes for a stale environment. Just generally wondering how "that one" person in your shop would/could be handled, be it a tech or service writer, that doesn't understand(or care about) boundaries.
This is a great question, Paul. I am very curious to hear how others answer this question. For me, it typically starts by sitting down with the Tech that is going over the line to understand what might be driving behavior. Obviously, some personalities are more inclined to act out that way than others. I think a more formal chat allows you to listen to them and lay out expectations. From there, if it continues to push the boundaries, the conversation gets a bit more serious. Formal write ups or even dismissal aren't out of the question. My expectation is that we have fun but do it in a way that is professional. We all want our industry to be in a better place. More profitable shops with better pay and benefits for our people. To get there, we need to be a bit more polished.
Technician
How do shops deal with it in my experience? They ignore it. 90% of the time the trouble maker is the top producer in the shop and when their behavior is brought up, the excuse is, "But he sells lots of parts and turns lots of hours." I attempt to address them personally and directly first. "When you do X, it makes me feel Y." If they keep at it or worse, double down (had that happen), let them know, "If you continue said behavior, I will redress it by legal means." (In this case the harassment was sexual in nature.) In my case, it stopped. Other option that I've heard of but not been part of is for all the techs to band together, go to the service manager, and tell him/her, "If you don't address the behavior of X, we all quit." If the SM won't address it, load your boxes. There's no point in enduring an abusive work place, and a leader that is too weak to address a problem employee will be too weak to address any other issue. There's a time to be nice and a time to be hard. A good leader will know which. (edited)
Technician
"How do shops deal with it in my experience? They ignore it. 90% of the time the trouble maker is the top producer in the shop and when their behavior is brought up, the excuse is, "But he sells lots of parts and turns lots of hours."? ----- This rings very on the button, both the tech and service writer in mention, are exactly that, the top producers. When it comes to a group poising in unison against, its a null point when they are too afraid of change, or losing the known, to risk the unknown. -"There's a time to be nice and a time to be hard. A good leader will know which" --- That is a rare thing in todays world. I see shops on here and here testimonials that entertain the idea of relocation, but Im not a fan of moving, and when the house and property is paid for completely, it really makes it hard.
Technician
When the place is paid for, I understand not wanting to move, especially in today's market. What are you going to replace it with? Anyhow, do you have space where you could open your own place? You'll have no harder boss than yourself if you have the drive to be successful (and a good flat rate tech does), but there's also no one out there who knows better than you what's right for you. Listen to the Changing the Industry Podcast for the take by a couple shop owners about all things shop.
Technician
I have been listening to Lucas and David for quite some time. There is a lot about their podcast that I agree with, and things that I do not. I have side work and customers that arent related to the shop I am at whatsoever. I just do not wish to start my own thing at this time, in this area, due to how the market is right now. To do it correctly requires start up capital that doesnt come quick. I think that I made this post more so to get the conversation moving, and to also vent a little bit and see how others would handle the situation.
Technician
Yeah, it would be interesting to see what others say, but this isn't as active as something like LinkedIn. Hope that'll change. I can only testify to what I would do, but I have nothing to tie me down to any place and I live in an RV, so for me ditching a bad situation is easy. However, I'm so burned I'll never work in another dealership and I have a hard time with the idea of working at an independent. Only route I have left in this industry is to build my own shop, any other way I go is out. I try to be careful about what I say, I don't want to poison the well for everyone else.
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