You’ve probably seen it on a repair estimate. Shop Supplies.
Maybe it’s $20. Maybe it’s $50. Maybe it’s even more.
But have you ever stopped and asked, what you’re actually paying for?
In this episode of the Flat Rate Tech Podcast, we take a closer look at one of the most overlooked charges on a repair order.
Gloves. Brake cleaner. Shop towels. Chemicals. Electricity. Waste disposal. Equipment. Those things cost money. There’s no question about that. But how much should a customer actually be charged for them? How is that number calculated? Where does the money go? And if a shop is collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in shop supply fees, should some of that money be making its way back into the shop?
Better equipment.
Working lifts.
Updated diagnostic equipment.
Properly maintained tools.
Better working conditions.
We also look at the customer side of the equation. Because when you see a repair estimate with labor, parts, diagnostics, shop supplies and other charges stacked together, do you actually understand what you're paying for?
And if the charge is legitimate, shouldn't the industry be able to explain it? This isn't about saying shops shouldn't make money.
It's about asking questions.
It's about transparency.
And it's about the disconnect between what customers are charged and what technicians actually experience in the shop.

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

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Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
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Tech

Why do good technicians stop caring?
The automotive industry loves to talk about the technician shortage, but nobody seems to ask why experienced technicians are becoming burned out, frustrated, and ready to walk away.
After 25 years in the dealership world, I've seen what happens when technicians lose trust in the system. Training, flat rate pay, master technician programs, production numbers, management pressure, difficult jobs, and a culture that can reward the wrong behavior all play a role.
This isn't about saying every dealership or every manager is bad. It's about looking at what happens when technicians stop believing that their hard work, experience, and honesty actually matter.
When good technicians stop caring, everybody pays the price, the technician, the shop, the customer, and ultimately the entire industry.
This is a conversation about why that happens, what causes it, and what the industry needs to start looking at if it actually wants to keep good people.

Flat Rate Tech Podcast is brought to you by:

Flat Rate Life Media™ Real Conversations about the Automotive industry from the people who live it. 

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech

Ever picked up your car from the dealership service drive, only to have the check engine light pop back on before you even made it home? You’re not alone and it’s not an accident.

Here’s the truth: most mechanics out there actually give a damn. They want to fix your car right the first time. The problem is, under the current dealership model, doing the job right means taking a financial hit. Between 0.4 warranty diagnostic limits, insane management quotas, and flat-rate pressure, the system actively punishes techs who refuse to take shortcuts.

In this episode, we expose how corporate bean counters turned service bays into assembly lines, why master techs are walking away, and why you need to respect the mechanics who still take pride in their craft because they’re literally paying out of their own pockets to fix your car right.

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech

One of my favorite episodes is back. Recorded back in 24, How to play the game. 

Thats all the shop is, a GAME. Play it. The manager plays all day same with the owners and everyone in the building. Play them cause they are playing you. 

This was a fun episode I was turning into a video episode for YouTube. I decided to reupload it back onto here again. Subscribe to the YouTube channel.

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech

Mechanics are in demand everywhere, so why are recruiters and hiring platforms making money off the technician shortage?
In this episode, we expose how third-party recruiters, placement fees, and hiring apps profit from the automotive industry while technicians take all the risk. Before you jump to another shop, watch this first.

NEW MERCH available on Fourthwall link on my website

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech

Managers feeding good work to the new techs to keep them from quitting, even when they are on a guarantee! 
ZERO respect for loyalty. When managers do this they are basically feeding the new techs the good work so they think thats the work they will be getting so they will stay. 
Series coming soon. 

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech

Should you become a mechanic?
Everybody online makes this industry sound like a six-figure dream. Trade schools sell it. Managers sell it. Influencers sell it.
I’m here to tell you what it actually looks like.
Flat rate. Working for free. Buying thousands of dollars in tools. Broken lifts. Shady pay plans. Shop politics. Managers promising the world and delivering bullshit. Watching other industries move ahead while you're fighting every week just to make hours.
This episode is the raw truth about dealership life from someone who’s spent 25 years living it.
If you're thinking about becoming a mechanic, listen to this episode first.
If you're already a mechanic, you're probably going to be nodding your head the entire time.
Managers are probably thumbs-downing this video already.
Good.

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech

Has your shop manager ever hired in a real scumbag tech? They say "We are a teacher" yet they hire in anyone off the street to join. 

And all we have is HOPE.

Everybody talks about technician productivity. 

Nobody talks about what happens when there is no work.

When management fails the techs pay the price.

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech

Everybody talks about the technician shortage.

But what if there isn't one?

What if the real problem is an industry that burns through skilled technicians faster than it can replace them?

In this episode, I take a look at the automotive industry's favorite talking point and ask the question nobody seems willing to answer: If the technician shortage is so bad, why does nothing ever change?

We talk about flat rate pay, warranty labor times, dealership culture, technician turnover, corporate pressure, and the organizations that continue to defend a system that leaves many techs frustrated, exhausted, and eventually walking away from the trade.

This isn't an attack on the technicians still fighting every day in the bays.

It's a challenge to the people at the top who keep saying they care about the shortage while refusing to address the reasons experienced techs leave.

The truth is simple:

The system isn't broken.

The system works exactly as designed.

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech

Is being a mobile mechanic the way out of this BS and work for yourself?

Support the show

SPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICS

You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.

Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.

Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours, repair orders, and profit.

Truth from the bays. Solutions for the shop.

Dealership managers: Want to find out what's really happening in your shop?

Email: [email protected]

THE BOOK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57

Follow the Facebook page
Follow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcast
Check out the website 
Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.com
[email protected]
Don't Forget To Rate And Review!

Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!
Tech