For The Record - Archive

Ben Johnson, Director, Project Management, Mitchell 1

Key Talking Points:

• Some companies challenges is its own success
• Business start with a vision and a why
• Over time we tend to not focus on your why but our what
• If you look at your competition and feel you have to duplicate or mimic what they are ding and it doesn’t fit into your why then don’t do it.
• If you live your WHY then the money will come

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Buy Carm a Cup of Coffee 

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable. FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners. Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

With nearly 50 years’ experience in the automotive field, Jerry Holcom is an ASE Certified Master Auto Technician with the Advanced Engine Performance (L1) certification, a former Certified Master Machinist, and is also an Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) through the Automotive Management Institute.

Jerry Holcom owns S & S Service Center in Kansas City, MO, is a co-founder of Vision and is the past President of the Midwest Auto Care Alliance (MWACA).

Talking Points:

• Getting and keeping technicians continues to be a big problem
• Scholarships are an answer for the training of our upcoming technicians
• Dave DeCourcey and Harvey Chan are two outstanding trainers worthy of having scholarships in their names.
• The Ed Schaeffer Management Scholarship honors a shop owner, manager or service advisor to honor Ed’s contribution to our industry
• Our legacy aftermarket trainers who have passed is an important reason to build scholarships in their names and keep their legacy going for a perfect cause.
• MWACA is committed to providing scholarships for technicians and your help is needed
• Write a check to the TTEF fund: Mail it to MWACA, 5950 N. Oak Trafficway, Suite 201, Gladstone, MO 64118You can specify a certain scholarship or it will go into the general fund
• This is a 501 c (3) non-for profit corp
• Donate items to TTEF silent auction in conjunction with Vision 
• You can personalize a student scholarship for $1,000 and get recognized at Vision
• You can endow a scholarship for years with a $20,000 check to make the scholarship self-sufficient
• Make TTEF a beneficiary in your Will

Important links below

Message from Jerry:

Happy New Year everyone. Here’s to growth and success in all we do in 2020. Although I have served my 4 years as president, I have a few things to talk about and Sheri Hamilton, Executive Director, told me she would make it happen.

One of my prime goals is to find ways to continue funding scholarships for students, current technicians, and managers. These are close to my heart as Dave DeCourcey, Harvey Chan, and Ed Schaeffer were all good friends, and I feel it is not only appropriate but necessary, to honor their memories with scholarships. In addition, I have followed the careers of several of our previous student scholarship recipients and am overjoyed by the success that many of them have experienced.

This is the reason we created the Technicians of Tomorrow Educational Foundation (TTEF). Our eventual goal is to have several self-sustaining scholarships funded by you. Typically, $20,000 to $25,000 is needed to endow a scholarship that pays out $1,000 every year, so you can see that we will need to raise the stakes if we want to continue awarding four $1000 student scholarships, the Ed Schaeffer Memorial Scholarship, the Dave DeCourcey Scholarship, and the Harvey Chan Memorial Scholarship each year.

The TTEF is a 501(c)(3) organization, so any contributions should be tax-deductible. I urge you to write a check to TTEF for whatever amount you can afford (and a little more). We also have the silent auction in cooperation with VISION, so if you have an item that may have value to anyone else, please donate it to the silent auction to benefit the scholarship fund.

I mentioned an endowment above, and that is a fantastic method of funding the foundation. If you would like to have one of our student scholarships sponsored by your company, you can send a check for $1,000 and note that you would like to help present the “XYZ Company TTEF Scholarship” at our Celebration of Independents on Saturday evening of VISION. If you send a check for $20,000 made out to TTEF, we’ll let you help present the award for several years!

Our industry needs young people that want to be in the auto repair business, and this is one of the best ways for you to help get some people in the door. Please consider writing a check to TTEF for $1,000 or $20,000 or whatever amount you can contribute. Also, make a donation to the silent auction. You’ll actually be helping to solve the technician shortage and you will feel good about helping your industry by helping attract more competent people into the schools and shops.

Thank You,

Jerry Holcom

S & S Service

Past President MWACA

Vision Co-Founder

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

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Buy Carm a Cup of Coffee 

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable. FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners. Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

Steve Finzel, Finzel’s Master Tech, Terre Haute, IN is not a happy camper as it relates to transmission fluid. You may just relate to his rant or maybe even offer some advice. Listen to the frustration Steve has over transmission fluids. Find Steve's previous episodes HERE.

Talking Points

• So many transmission fluids
• Low viscosity and High viscosity are the major difference in the man fluids
• Getting information has been tough. LV MV are the codes. What can be used
• If we can’t stock all the different fluids why can’t we get information on what to use
• CVT fluid is green. Honda says to use the blueWhen you order it you’ll find it is yellow
• All too confusing

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

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Listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spreaker, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Podchaser and many more. Mobile Listening APP's HERE

Join the Ecosystem - Subscribe to the INSIDER NEWSLETTER HERE.

Buy Carm a Cup of Coffee 

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable. FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners. Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

FTR 081 Brian Sump - Never Let Your Foot Off The Pedal

Multi-shop operator Brian Sump from Avalon Motorsports and Ubran AutoCare brings a whole lot of passion to this episode as he shares some self-reflection on a rocky time he experienced and what he learned. He says that you’ve got to review what works and keep the pedal to the metal. This is a great lesson in making small changes and pay attention to the results.

Brian Sump is not your typical shop owner. A former professional athlete, Sump had never turned a wrench in a shop before starting Denver-based Avalon Motorsports in 2007. But in the years since, he has used his business acumen and detailed, process-based management philosophy to grow the German-specialty shop into what a number of industry consultants consider to be an industry leader. Brian now has four locations. Listen to Brian’s previous episodes HERE

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

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Listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spreaker, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Podchaser and many more. Mobile Listening APP's HERE

Join the Ecosystem - Subscribe to the INSIDER NEWSLETTER HERE.

Buy Carm a Cup of Coffee 

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable. FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners. Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

Matt Fanslow is the diagnostic tech/shop manager at Riverside Automotive in Red Wing, MN. His primary responsibilities are to diagnose driveability and electrical/electronic issues, and perform most all programming, coding, initializing, adoptions, etc. Basically, if it needs to be figured out or has wires, it goes to Matt. He’s been a tech since 1996.

Matt is also a subject matter expert for ASE and has instructed at Vision Hi-Tech Training and Expo.

Matt has participated on 18 ASE technical committees for the ASE Practice Test, A6, A7, A8, and L1 tests. He’s also done case studies for Standard Motor Products.

Fanslow’s goal is to do everything in his power to improve the overall level of professionalism within the automotive and light truck repair trade and also raise the level of its public image. Matt Fanslow’s Previous Episodes HERE.

• At Matt's shop they create a three-fold flyer on any new equipment the shop buys and get it to the local shops
• Shops do take advantage
• Matt has shops take advantage of diagnostics and programming
• He does not loan the tool but does the work that the tool is used for
• He gives free adviceOn what tools he would use or area to look at
• Potential for referrals
• Some problems are very basic and that means there is a training/knowledge gap
• Sometimes young techs are thrust into a situation without the knowledge and proper equipment

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

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Listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spreaker, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Podchaser and many more. Mobile Listening APP's HERE

Join the Ecosystem - Subscribe to the INSIDER NEWSLETTER HERE.

Buy Carm a Cup of Coffee 

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable. FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners. Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

Andy Bizub from Midwest Performance Cars in Chicago is also a native of Chicago. His first career was 25 years as a commodity trader. He entered the professional auto industry in 2014 by acquiring a failing shop in downtown Chicago that he was a customer of and started a turnaround. Andy now has two locations. He bought his first car at age 19, a 1972 Triumph Spitfire, which was the start of his gas, oil, and automobile obsession. Listen to Andy’s previous episodes HERE.

• We attack each other based on emotions and not facts
• Does the supply industry know what they have to do to support the service professional?
• Found a youtube video on comparing spark plugs from two different sourcesThe reviewer checked with the supplier and discovered that the Amazon plugs were counterfeit
• Andy posted on a social media groupThe rub is how someone stood up for a product’s quality especially if the national manufacturer said it was counterfeit. Why would a national company stake its reputation on a false claim
• We are helping each other more and more.
• Too many still are critiquing and criticizing each other and this doesn’t help in a positive way
• Andy is not going to respond to negative commentary anymore
• We need to move ahead and be more progressive

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

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Subscribe to a free mobile listening app HERE.

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable.

FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners.

Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

Carm Capriotto, AAP, is a career automotive aftermarket professional. He hosts and produces the automotive aftermarket's premier podcasts. They include Remarkable Results Radio, the Town Hall Academy and For The Record.

Carm is an influencer and connector of people and speaks to the industry about what he learns each day from the essential voices of the aftermarket.

• Let 2020 be your breakout year
• Be a business person and not a fix-it person
• The ‘Knowing-Doing Gap’ is real. Stop talking and start doing
• “If you aren’t sitting on the edge then you are taking up too much room”
• You have big responsibilities to your team and your customers. But most importantly to you and your family. You’ve invested heavily in time and money and need to start showing something for it
• Check our a Harvard Business Review IdeaCast titled ‘The Art of Asking For and Getting Help” http://bit.ly/2EU6ont It is their episode 714
• Start off the new year by reading Mitch Schneiders book MISFIRE: What to Do When Things Aren’t Running on All Cylinders
• Implement Profit First. Find episodes HERE. Fix your cash management
• Review your labor rate
• Want to retire and sell the business? Tough task and you may not get anywhere near what you expect and worked so hard for. Start here and listen to the many episodes that discuss succession planning HERE.
• Purposely plan for the new year and involve your team.Assign responsibilities (tasks) to individuals and a due date
• Monitor the accomplishments.
• Engage, and delegate

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

Facebook  Twitter  Linked In  Email   Events  Instagram  Speaking

Subscribe to a free mobile listening app HERE. 

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable.

FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners.

Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

Matt Fanslow is the diagnostic tech/shop manager at Riverside Automotive in Red Wing, MN. His primary responsibilities are to diagnose driveability and electrical/electronic issues, and perform most all programming, coding, initializing, adoptions, etc. Basically, if it needs to be figured out or has wires, it goes to Matt. He’s been a tech since 1996.

Matt is also a subject matter expert for ASE and has instructed at Vision Hi-Tech Training and Expo.

Matt has participated on 18 ASE technical committees for the ASE Practice Test, A6, A7, A8, and L1 tests. He’s also done case studies for Standard Motor Products.

Fanslow’s goal is to do everything in his power to improve the overall level of professionalism within the automotive and light truck repair trade and also raise the level of its public image. Matt Fanslow’s Previous Episodes HERE.

The Kobayashi Maru is a training exercise in the fictional Star Trek universe designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets in a no-win scenario.

• There was one Starfleet cadet that beat the ‘no-win’ Kobayashi Maru
• Do you have a Kobayashi Maru (no-win situation) in your shop or in your bays
• Are your supporting systems so broken that your people are designed to fail (unwittingly) and they cheat the game to win
• Do you get upset because your equipment, systems, and processes do not support anything but gamesmanship to win?

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

Facebook  Twitter  Linked In  Email   Events  Instagram  Speaking

Subscribe to a free mobile listening app HERE. 

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable.

FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners.

Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

Josh McFarlin is an industry veteran, and a highly-regarded member of the automotive industry. Josh serves as VP of Strategic Business Operations for AirPro Diagnostics. In his position, Josh is responsible for all daily service operations including multiple technician service centers and all field personnel. Josh is ASE Master certified and holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin. 

 Formerly Director of Curriculum and Product Development for I-CAR, Josh is known for his ability to form and mold strong collaborative teams, solve difficult problems and manage others with a leadership style that tackles challenges head-on. Josh’s career includes stops at Raytheon, Audi AG, Ford Motor Company, and Greenway Ford. Outside of office hours, Josh still remains connected to the industry. Among other endeavors, he currently serves as a board member for the Automotive Training Managers Council.

Key Talking Points

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

Subscribe to a free mobile listening app HERE.

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable.

FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners.

Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.

Bill Hill owner of Mighty Auto Pro from Medina, OH has owned the 19 bay 10,000 sq ft shop for 21 years.  He believes that processes and procedures are very important to a successful shop along with having FUN. He says that you need to make FUN an important part of your day because this business can be challenging. (we all know that).

Hear Bill’s previous episodes HERE.

Key Talking Points

Be socially involved and in touch with the show:

Subscribe to a free mobile listening app HERE.

Savvy shop owners use vehicle inspections to find additional work on a vehicle that the vehicle owner may not know is needed. The most successful shop owners fully inspect every car, every time. It benefits the vehicle owner more than the shop because most vehicle owners want their autos to be reliable.

FlexCheck Auto takes the power of a shop’s inspection process and puts it in the palm of your technician’s hand so that pictures, video, and vehicle-specific notes about a vehicle’s condition can be shared quickly with vehicle owners. It improves technician efficiency in the bays, service writer efficiency at the counter, increases average repair order and builds trust with vehicle owners.

Today’s vehicle owners want to receive their vehicle’s health status electronically, this makes FlexCheck Auto the most transparent way to do sell auto repair. Try it for free for 30 days! Go to FlexCheckAuto.com to learn more.