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WrenchWay

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Tom Wood Porsche

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less than a minute ago

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Happy Birthday to our Service Advisor Shane!
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Fields Jaguar Land Rover Jacksonville

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about 12 hours ago

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Fields Land Rover had a Casino Event Celebration for the the Service Department for successfully breaking the service record!!! The top 3 employees each received a $200 gift card.
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0:06

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Belton High School

Belton, TX

about 14 hours ago

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ASE certs

Our Auto Tech students earned a total of 58 entry level ASE certs this school year!
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Hot Rod High School

Lake Stevens, WA

about 15 hours ago

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Basic Class Lesson of the Day: Tire Inspection
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3:51

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Richland Community College (Automotive Technology)

Decatur, IL

about 15 hours ago

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Finishing up the Year

We are finishing up are Spring semester and have successfully completed out first full year for out EV/Hybrid Courses.
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WrenchWay

about 16 hours ago

1

Happy Mother’s Day to All, Shop Moms Included

Whether you're a mom or just bring those mom vibes to work, which “mom move” have you caught yourself doing in the shop?
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Comments will be visible after you submit an answer to the question above
Lunghamer Ford of Owosso

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about 16 hours ago

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Happy Birthday Jim!!
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Tom Wood Porsche

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1 day ago

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Happy Birthday to our Gold Meister Tech Dan!
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Tom Wood Volkswagen

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1 day ago

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Jr certified technician working on a intake manifold on a Jetta.
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Tom Wood Subaru

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1 day ago

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💐 Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Tom Wood Subaru! 💐
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Toyota of Corvallis

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1 day ago

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Detail Spotlight: Zach + This Toyota Supra = Perfection!
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0:13

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Tom Wood Subaru

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1 day ago

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Happy, Happy Birthday Dan!!!
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Tom Wood Subaru

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1 day ago

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Way to go guys!
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Toyota of Corvallis

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1 day ago

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We're Hiring – All Departments, All Levels!
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Wendle Ford

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1 day ago

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Big shoutout to our Nissan Service and Parts team for clinching the win in Nissan’s Steak & Beans competition against other dealers!
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Jay Goninen

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.

1 year ago Like

Russell Wickham

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)

Paul Garcia

"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.

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.

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.

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.

Filter the Posts You See

Filter the Posts You See

Shop Talk
Online Community to Promote Auto & Diesel Careers

Share your thoughts on industry topics

Tom Wood Porsche

Fields Jaguar Land Rover Jacksonville

Belton High School

ASE certs

Hot Rod High School

Richland Community College (Automotive Technology)

Finishing up the Year

WrenchWay

Happy Mother’s Day to All, Shop Moms Included

Lunghamer Ford of Owosso

Tom Wood Porsche

Tom Wood Volkswagen

Tom Wood Subaru

Toyota of Corvallis

Tom Wood Subaru

Tom Wood Subaru

Toyota of Corvallis

Wendle Ford

Sorry

Success

Paul Garcia

Jay Goninen

Jay Goninen

Russell Wickham

Russell Wickham

Paul Garcia

Paul Garcia

Russell Wickham

Russell Wickham

Paul Garcia

Paul Garcia

Russell Wickham

Russell Wickham

Shop Talk Online Community to Promote Auto & Diesel Careers

Shop talk polls and posts

Share your thoughts on industry topics

Tom Wood Porsche

Fields Jaguar Land Rover Jacksonville

Belton High School

ASE certs

Hot Rod High School

Richland Community College (Automotive Technology)

Finishing up the Year

WrenchWay

Happy Mother’s Day to All, Shop Moms Included

Lunghamer Ford of Owosso

Tom Wood Porsche

Tom Wood Volkswagen

Tom Wood Subaru

Toyota of Corvallis

Tom Wood Subaru

Tom Wood Subaru

Toyota of Corvallis

Wendle Ford

Jay Goninen

Russell Wickham

Paul Garcia

Russell Wickham

Paul Garcia

Russell Wickham

Shop Talk
Online Community to Promote Auto & Diesel Careers