If Old Man Winter had an axe to grind, this past winter was certainly the year he decided to do it … and boy did he make that sucker sharp! With more than 60 inches of the white stuff and 13 separate storms, we had the third highest snowfall ever in the Philadelphia area. Without question, this winter was a collaboration of perfect “storms.”
The Wikipedia definition of a job description is “a list that a person might use for general tasks, or functions and responsibilities of a position. It may often include to whom the position reports, specifications such as the qualifications or skills needed by the person in the job, or a salary range.”
Are you working on your business or in it? This is a question that I challenge every automotive service center owner and manager to seriously consider. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a repair shop only to find the manager on duty in the service bays, tools in hand, working on a customer’s car.
Over the last 15 years, since we started helping shop owners in 1999, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every pay plan known to man. I’m also pretty sure that I’ve heard every possible variation of the same question: “How can I pay my team in a way that motivates them without eating all of my profits?”
Have you taken a look around our industry lately and made the same observation that I have? We are getting pretty old. From the parts house counterman to the shop owner, we are seeing a lot more grey hair and maybe a few more comb overs. In fact, statistics indicate that the average age of a shop owner is 55!
Over the years, I have had the pleasure of watching hundreds of shop owners go to the top, and truly become industry leaders. I have also seen thousands of shop owners who struggle from day to day until they finally either try to find someone who is willing to take over their business at any price, or they simply close their doors and walk away. There are many reasons why shops fail, including lack of business skills and the unwillingness to reach out for help before it’s too late, but there is one silent killer that I have seen take even the best shops down.
The other day, one of my service adviser’s came to my office to discuss the past week. We made an agreement that we would meet in private at least once a week to discuss his successes and challenges, and also discuss ways to improve our service. After telling me all the good stuff, he informed me of a situation where he dropped the ball, which resulted in a very upset customer.
Car count is a key performance indicator (KPI) that shows you the health of your business. But before we blame low car counts for why we are not achieving our sales goals, we need to take the time to look at all the numbers and analyze labor and part margins, average repair order (ARO), production issues, other critical KPIs, customer retention and workflow processes. Only after a thorough analysis can we begin to work on the issue of car counts.