On the season finale of The Brake Room, host Lucinda is joined by Mark Yamauchi, Sustainability Strategy Manager at Toyota Motor North America. The two discuss the importance of sustainability across all industries but in particular the automotive repair industry.

Mark discusses what measures that can be implemented to improve energy efficiency, tips on cost effectiveness,, and the increasingly vital role that water use plays in sustainability. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Mark Yamauchi

1:10 - Why is sustainability important in the automotive repair industry?

4:10 - What measures can be implemented to improve energy efficiency?

9:45 - Tips from Mark on the cost effectiveness of sustainability

13:25 - How does water use play a role in sustainability moving forward?

19:50 - Final thoughts from Mark

On this week's episode of The Brake Room, host Lucinda Underwood is joined by Brian Griffin of Absolute Air and Auto Repair and Rob Brouwer of Precision Automotive. The three discuss their experience in the auto repair shop industry and what it takes to bring your shop from good to great!

Topics include how to identify and diagnose issues within the shop, leveraging customer feedback to identify opportunities of growth as well as effective cost strategies and lessons learned along the way for Brian and Rob. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction

00:40 - How to identify issues within a shop and diagnose the root of the problems

4:45 - What role does customer feedback play in identifying opportunities for growth

8:10 - What steps can be taken to effectively manage costs

16:10 - Success stories, lessons learned, and tips from Brian and Rob

23:30 - Final thought from Brian and Rob

Find Brian on:

Website: https://absoluteairautorepair.com/

Find Rob on:

Website: https://precisionautomotive.ca/

On today's episode of The Brake Room, host Lucinda is joined for a second time by Bogi Lateiner, Auto Technician and Owner of Girl Gang Garage.

The two chat about how shop owners can maintain effective pricing strategies, the best ways to track and improve profitability, as well as Bogi's thoughts on how to properly communicate and justify pricing to customers. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Bogi Lateiner

00:55 - How to analyze profitability of different areas of the shop and how to improve that profitability

6:20 - How to properly communicate pricing to customers

9:30 - How often should shop owners be reviewing their pricing?

17:05 - How to properly price complex jobs

31:10 - Bogi's final thoughts on pricing strategies

FIND BOGI LATEINER ON:

Website: https://www.bogisgarage.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogisgarage/?hl=en

Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/withhertwohands/?hl=en

FIND SHOPPROS ON:

Website: www.shoppros.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoppros1

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopprosco/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/shoppros

On today's episode of The Brake Room, host Lucinda is joined by Hunt Demarest, Senior Accountant at Paar, Melis, & Associates who specializes in automotive repair shops.

Lucinda and Hunt discuss how to properly budget, systems and tools that Hunt recommends for managing and tracking financials and how to maintain accuracy, as well as how a shop owner can analyze and improve their profitability and the financial risks often associated with the auto repair shop industry. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Hunt Demarest

00:35 - Budgeting advice for shop owners

4:15 - What types of systems and/or tools does Hunt recommend to manage financials

5:50 - Tips from Hunt on how to maintain accuracy and efficiency when managing financials

8:10 - How can a shop owner analyze and improve their profitability?

18:50 - What types of financial risks does Hunt see in the auto repair shop industry and how can shop owners mitigate those risks?

28:55 - Final thoughts from Hunt

Find Hunt Demarest on:

Website: https://paarmelis.com/

Podcast: https://paarmelis.com/business-by-the-numbers/

FIND SHOPPROS ON:

Website: www.shoppros.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoppros1

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopprosco/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/shoppros

On today's episode of The Brake Room, host Lucinda is joined by David Anderson, Owner of Anderson Automotive and Edgar Leon, Founder of Aurora AutoPros.

David and Edgar chat about the success of their auto shop, how ShopPros has played a role in that success, as well as the other key decisions they made that has led to the continued success of Anderson Automotive and Auroro AutoPros. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to David and Edgar

5:30 - Common signs that a shop is not meeting his full potential and how do you diagnose the root cause?

10:45 - How important is customer feedback is identifying issues within the shop

18:00 - Effective strategies in cost management for your shop

24:50 - Final tips and advice for shop owners who might be struggling to become more successful

Find Anderson Automotive on:

Website: https://www.andersonautomotive.ca/

Find Aurora AutoPros on:

Website: https://auroraautopros.com/

FIND SHOPPROS ON:

Website: www.shoppros.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoppros1

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopprosco/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/shoppros

On today's episode of The Brake Room, host Lucinda is joined by Amber Wright, Director of Partnerships at AutoLeap.

AutoLeap is a cloud-based auto repair software that helps you turbocharge your auto shop. The two chat about the history of AutoLeap, what factors shop owners should consider when choosing software for their shop, as well as the main benefits of what AutoLeap can provide for shop owners and what the software looks like in action. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Amber Wright

1:25 - A brief history of AutoLeap

6:10 - What factors should shop owners consider when looking at auto repair software for the business

12:05 - How does AutoLeap ensure that integration happens properly with businesses they work with

21:35 - What type of support should shop owners expect from Auto Leap or other similar companies

25:20 - Final thoughts from Amber

Find AutoLeap on:

Website: https://autoleap.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/autoleap/?originalSubdomain=ca

FIND SHOPPROS ON:

Website: www.shoppros.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoppros1

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopprosco/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/shoppros

On today's episode, host Lucinda is joined by Alex Vaillancourt, third generation Owner of True Centre Auto Service in North Bay, Ontario.

Lucinda and Alex chat about Alex's transition to ownership of True Centre as well as the importance of customer reviews, the types of best practices to encourage said reviews, as well as what Alex and his staff does at True Centre to increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Alex Vaillancourt

3:00 - The importance of customer reviews in the auto repair industry

4:45 - How to encourage customers to leave positive reviews

7:00 - How do you address negative reviews properly?

10:15 - Best practices when interacting with customers

14:30 - How Alex leverages technology to increase the customer experience

16:15 - Hiring practices when looking at potential employees that will help increase the customer experience

Find Alex and True Centre at:

Website: https://truecentreauto.ca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecentreautoservice/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/truecentre/

FIND SHOPPROS ON:

Website: www.shoppros.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoppros1

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopprosco/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/shoppros

On today's episode, host Lucinda sits down with Bill Haas, President and Owner of Haas Performance Consulting. Using his over 40 years experience in the automotive service and repair industry, Bill specializes in identifying a shop's areas of inefficiency and helping shop owners make the necessary adjustments.

The two chat about what Haas Performance Consulting does for their clients, the primary factors that drive efficiency, as well as what he thinks is the leading cause of a shop's inefficiency. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Bill Haas and how he started Haas Performance Consulting

3:40 - What does Haas Performance Consulting do for their clients

6:35 - Primary factors that drive efficiency in an auto repair shop

13:00 - How do you manage time efficiently for employees

19:20 - Leveraging technology and innovation to boost efficiency

25:00 - "Every distraction disrupts production"

30:45 - Final thoughts from Bill

Find Haas Performance Consulting on:

Website: https://www.haasperformanceconsulting.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haas_performance/

FIND SHOPPROS ON:

Website: www.shoppros.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoppros1

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopprosco/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/shoppros

On today's episode, host Lucinda is joined by Donny Seyfer, Executive Officer at the National Automotive Security Task Force. Donny is an expert in cybersecurity for auto repair shop owners and the two of them discuss some of the current cybersecurity issues that shops face, how Donny got involved in the cybersecurity world, what shop owners need to be aware of and how they can protect themselves, as well as tips for shop owners who feel like their cybersecurity measures may be lacking. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Donny Seyfer and

1:50 - What are some of the issues we're currently seeing with cybersecurity and how do they affect auto repair shops?

3:50 - How Donny got involved in cybersecurity for auto repair shops

6:10 - What do shop owners need to be aware of and how do they protect themselves?

15:10 - Using a VPN

17:15 - Top tips for shop owners to get up to speed with their cybersecurity measures

20:20 - Cybersecurity damage control

24:15 - As a shop owner, you need to be aware of the risks!

27:10 - Final thoughts from Donny

Find Donny on:

Website: https://wp.nastf.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donny-seyfer/

FIND SHOPPROS ON:

Website: www.shoppros.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoppros1

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopprosco/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/shoppros

On today's episode, father and son duo Bruce and Scott Eccles join host Lucinda to discuss the changing trends and new technology in the auto repair shop industry. They chat about the emergence of EVs and whether or not every car on the road will eventually be an EV, as well as how new technology has changed the customer experience, and the importance of educating customers on products and cars that are new to the market. Tune in now!

Show notes:

00:00 - Introduction to Scott and Bruce Eccles

00:55 - What are the key industry trends that shop owners should be aware of?

4:30 - Examples of new technology that's becoming essential in the industry

7:15 - How have new tools and technology impacted the customer experience?

10:10 - New technology that Scott and Bruce are excited about

13:25 - How do you keep up with the trends and new technologies?

15:30 - The importance of educating customers

23:50 - Example of time when Scott and Bruce's business had to adapt to a significant change

28:15 - Final thoughts

FIND SCOTT AND BRUCE ON:

Website: https://ecclesautoservice.ca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eccles_auto/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eccles-auto-service-inc./

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecclesautoservice.ca/

FIND SHOPPROS ON:

Website: www.shoppros.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/shoppros1

Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopprosco/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/shoppros