Some natural disasters are more common in the summer. But major events such as hurricanes, tornadoes and fires can strike at any time, so it’s a good idea to plan for what to do in case of a disaster. You can help make your recovery easier by keeping your tax and financial records safe. Here are some basic steps you can take now to prepare.

You’d probably agree that your most valuable assets walk out of the door every evening. You’d likely also agree that every one of your employees is unique, bringing a varying level of skills to your shop, but also each displaying different personality traits that can affect the harmony within your business.

I got a call the other day from a fellow shop owner who needed to vent. He runs a big shop and gives his techs a lunch break every day from noon until 1:00 p.m. His techs got into the habit of going to the local mall and hanging out in the parking lot, smoking cigarettes and often getting a little too loud. They were not causing any real trouble, but it just didn’t look good.

Merry Christmas! What? Christmas? Yup, it’s not that far away, and if you haven’t looked at the calendar it falls on Thursday this year. So what? Well, if you’re a shop owner you will probably give little thought about the Friday after Christmas until sometime late in December when an employee asks, “Hey boss, are

What do doctors, dentists, eye doctors and hairdressers all have in common? That’s right; they all book the next appointment. So why don’t we do it? Oh, I know many of you do, and that’s great. But most shops don’t, and I have heard every excuse under the sun why booking the next appointment does not work.

The NACE | CARS 2014 Conference wasn’t just about the next great tool or the latest technical information, it was also about running a better shop. Key to running a better shop is improving customer service and employing a motivated, professional team. These issues were the focus of Kim Trochlil, national account manager for Leadership

Your roadmap begins with collecting all the labor dollars for your technicians’ time. Through measuring and managing, you can determine whether or not you are collecting all the labor dollars that are available to you, or if you are leaving money on the table. Once you start measuring a few important metrics, especially effective labor

Is your shop a hotbed of employee conflict? Even if we look only at generational differences, it’s not hard to see why employees can butt heads and morale can suffer. Millennials are replacing Gen Xers, who displaced the Baby Boomers before them. Each group grew up in a vastly different world, and each has their

No customer likes surprises when it comes to doing business with any type of service provider. When customers can count on consistently great service each time they do business with you, their confidence increases and they are far less likely to shop around for their vehicle service needs. But when the customer’s experience is inconsistent
