Did You Know That Training is the Responsibility of the Technician?

A hard-hitting interview on technician training with trainer, writer, and mobile diagnostic tech Edwin Hazzard, Owner of Southeast Mobile Tech who has a lot to say about the responsibility of training in the aftermarket.

Edwin Hazzard owns a mobile diagnostic company in South Carolina. He contributes articles to Motor Age and has instructed in many different capacities over the years. Edwin has been a dealership technician and taught at the high school level.

He enjoys what he does for a living and sees diverse age group in classes. He says investing in training is important just to be relevant and up to date with the recent technology. If you don’t update, you evaporate.

Technician Talk: Retention, Aftermarket Training vs. Dealership Training And How To Handle And Fix Mistakes In The Shop.

The panel consists of Mike Reynolds, Mobile Automotive Service Solutions in Charleston, SC, Shane Steele, Hoover Dodge located in Summerville, South Carolina, and Robert Griffin, Owner and technician at Griffin Transmissions, North Charleston, SC.

Treating Company Culture and Customer Retention Alike!

Darren Garlock along with his brother Dan are the owners of Silver Lake Auto & Tire Center a multi-shop organization headquartered in Oconomowoc, WI. Like so many Darren started his career in the shop pushing brooms, pumping gas and washing cars.

An early adopter of DVI, Darren explains how he and Dan split their responsibilities and how family, values, culture, and customer all intercede to form a cohesive unit that exemplifies their success. It’s a win-win strategy that needs to be applied to all aftermarket shops.

Learn how they are investing in their people, customers and giving back to their community.

Patrick McHugh. Using a Scoreboard to Manage Shop Performance.

In this episode, Patrick shows us an interesting way of tracking progress and goals in his shop with his new scoreboard. It actually came from a discussion he had with his techs and his disciplines as a former pilot. The board is located in the bays of his shop and has sections for workflow and numbers.

The scoreboard is meant to be in technician speak. It has a grid that flows from top to bottom with customer name/car, incoming work, in diagnosis, ready for work and more. This entire system came from the drive to engage his technicians and ultimately provide stronger earnings for his team.

Patrick says there is a quick way to see hold-ups and to improve communication between the sales counter, office and the back of the shop. He also talks about a feedback loop using the logic of a PID Controller. (Like Cruise control for the shop)

Gaining New Customers Through Marketing Automation

Shop Talk 4 brings Doug Callaghan from Vic’s Service Centre, David Roman Done With Care Auto Repair, and Bill DeBoer Jr, AAM from DeBoer’s Auto Sales and Service together for an open discussion.

The big storyline here is Gaining New Customers Through Marketing Automation. We're talking lead generation, email automation, sales funnels and creating fresh organic content. And so much more.

These owners are looking to find their new customers before they need their services. is what propels them to be better at service.

Mike Tatich. John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach

Mike Tatich, President of Tatich’s TMT Automotive Inc., Bremen, Indiana made a major decision after reading many of John Maxwell’s Books on Leadership to become a Maxell Certified Leadership Coach.

Mike went through the certification program in Florida and discovered that not one person in the program was from the automotive industry. He says leadership training is one of the most valuable commitments you need to make.

He is very keen on stressing that Leadership makes a huge difference for the owner and service advisor alike. He wants to get rid of the self-limiting and fearful belief of shop owners who think that they can’t move their shop forward.

Defend Our Marketplace - Keeping Up With Connected Cars

Our ASCCA Connected Cars Panel; Carolyn Coquillette of Luscious Garage, San Francisco, CA, Dave Kusa of Autotrend Diagnostic, San Francisco, CA, and Niko Sougias of Charlie's Foreign Car Service, Encinitas CA help us better understand the impact of the connected car.

The Panel discusses how the committee defends our ability to do business in the automotive aftermarket, current outlook on Connected trends, and Why is ASCCA focused on Connected Cars.

Learning and understanding this episode grants us the wisdom to either adapt or become obsolete. Continuous learning and being prepared for autonomous cars are one of the few things we need to do as we look to stay ahead of the curve.

Shop Owner Sold His Business and Became an E-Myth Business Coach

Reto Filli came from Switzerland and is a trained mechanic. He and his wife ran a successful Auto Repair business for over 26 years that he sold and retired from.

His business took off when he read the E-Myth Revisited from Michael Gerber. He never looked back and he is now enjoying his next career as a E-Myth Business Coach.

We cover concepts of the E-Myth, preparing your business to sell, stop being a know it all, and apprentice programs that are needed to move our industry forward to recruit your youth into our trade.

ASCCA Degree Program. First of Its Kind to Channel Students to Independents.

The ASCCA Degree Program at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, CA was forged by a small group of independent shop owners and a dedicated educator. Kicked off by Dara Bakhshandeh of CD Auto Care, in La Mesa, CA with support from John Epstein of John’s Automotive Care, San Diego, and Brad McCombs, instructor, Cuyamaca Community College.

The program was started to find qualified technicians and ASCCA (Automotive Service Councils of California) will be involved through their membership. One of their goals is to grow the program from an associate’s degree to a bachelor’s degree which can appeal to a student who dream of owning own business one day and want to work and learn from shopowner.

This program could be developed in other states but will need an association like ASCCA to oversee it. ASCCA also offers out-of-state memberships.

ASCCA Degree Program. First of Its Kind to Channel Students to Independents.

The ASCCA Degree Program at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, CA was forged by a small group of independent shop owners and a dedicated educator. Kicked off by Dara Bakhshandeh of CD Auto Care, in La Mesa, CA with support from John Epstein of John’s Automotive Care, San Diego, and Brad McCombs, instructor, Cuyamaca Community College.

The program was started to find qualified technicians and ASCCA (Automotive Service Councils of California) will be involved through their membership. One of their goals is to grow the program from an associate’s degree to a bachelor’s degree which can appeal to a student who dream of owning own business one day and want to work and learn from shopowner.

This program could be developed in other states but will need an association like ASCCA to oversee it. ASCCA also offers out-of-state memberships.