Ratchet+Wrench - May 2021

05.21

STRATEGIES & INSPIRATION FOR AUTO CARE SUCCESS

TRAIN FOR FINANCIAL GAIN PAGE 36

FIND YOUR IDEAL BUSINESS PARTNER PAGE 24

HOW TO INVEST FOR TOWING SUCCESS PAGE 38

Career Crossover Alan “Ollie” Gelfand's roots as a skateboard star laid the groundwork for a new career as the repair shop pro behind German Car Depot.

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The Art of the

PIVOT Channel career experience into a second act PAGE 30

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®

. ed services d n e m m o c e ur r f behind yo o o r p e th to winning ing our awardmers’ eyes to s u age of 39% us c er r av u an o by y s O AR Open increase their helped shops e from s ded, in real-tim u can, too.

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business.

05.21 VO L . 0 9 N O. 0 5

M A Y

Tightknit Team At AutoStream Car Care, a hands-on approach has helped keep co-owner Doug Grills (center) and director of operations David Askwith (right) in sync.

F E AT U R E

P R O F I L E

C A S E

24

30

38

It’s one thing to launch a business all on your own, but successful entrepreneurs rarely grow the business solo. What do you need in a solid No. 2? Three top shops share how they found their ideal seconds in command.

Former skateboard star Alan “Ollie” Gelfand shares the key lessons that have served him well in his second act as the owner of German Car Depot.

How do you build an in-house towing program that can actually turn a profit?

Bill Rate of Bob's Main Street Auto & Towing made a commitment to invest.

B Y PA UL HOD O WA NIC

BY MEGAN GOSCH

FIND YOUR COPILOT

CAREER CHANGE-UP

S T U DY

MAKE TOWING WORK

JAMES MCLEAN

BY MEGAN GOSCH

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. COPYRIGHT ©2021 BY 10 MISSIONS MEDIA LLC. All rights reserved. Ratchet+Wrench (ISSN 2167-0056) is published monthly by 10 Missions Media, LLC, 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104. Ratchet+Wrench content may not be photocopied, reproduced or redistributed without the consent of the publisher. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS Send address changes to: Ratchet+Wrench, 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104.

ON THE COVER: ALAN GELFAND PHOTOGRAPHED BY RODNEY HUSBANDS

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

T O O L B OX

S H O P

G O O D S

SPONSORED CONTENT

You can't catch what you don't track

14 EDITOR'S LETTER Building the future

J U M P

34 LEADERSHIP

44 AUTOZONE

How to address uncomfortable conversations

Professional edge

47 KUKUI

36 EDUCATION+ TRAINING Help your employees prep for financial success

60 THE FIXER

S TA R T

17 BREAKDOWN

A closer look at the Biden administration's EV plan

When it comes to equipment, the right timing is just as important as what you buy A ARON STOKES

One less task creates opportunities for more

49 LEADS NEAR ME

Maximum marketing.

Minimal managing.

51 MITCHELL 1

Revolutionize your shop software

53 OEC

OEM part information at your fingertips

19 ADAPT

Can sensor fusion lead to flawless decision-making?

55 NAPA TRACS

Expanding the NAPA TRACS platform with PartsTech

20 SHOP VIEW

Kearney Tire & Auto Service in Kearney, Neb.

57 TECHNET

Find peace of mind with TechNet

23 STRAIGHT TALK

Money can't replace mentoring

36

JOE MARCONI

59 UPSWELL

The power of direct mail

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Education & Training

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See our full range of fast, flexible and reliable products at rotarylift.com/rw.

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EDITORIAL VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT AND EVENTS Bryce Evans EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Anna Zeck ASSOCIATE EDITOR Megan Gosch STAFF WRITER Paul Hodowanic SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Nora Johnson SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Jordan Wiklund CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Joe Marconi, Aaron Stokes, Rissy Sutherland, Caleb Brooks, Ryan McCanna PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR Zach Pate GRAPHIC DESIGNER Nicole Olson GRAPHIC DESIGNER Morgan Glisczinski PRODUCTION ARTIST Lauren Coleman SALES VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Chris Messer 651.846.9462 / cmesser@10missions.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Andrew Johnson 651.846.9459 / ajohnson@10missions.com MARKETING STRATEGIST (NATIONAL ACCOUNTS) Matt Walz 651.846.9463 / mwalz@10missions.com REGIONAL SALES MANAGER Matt Harper 651.846.9551 / mharper@10missions.com SENIOR MARKETING STRATEGIST (REGIONAL ACCOUNTS) Melody Todd 651.846.9468 / mtodd@10missions.com CUSTOMER SUCCESS REPRESENTATIVE Shayna Smith 651.846.9460 / ssmith@10missions.com CLIENT SERVICE SPECIALIST Jen George 651.846.9465 / jgeorge@10missions.com 10 MISSIONS MEDIA PRESIDENT Jay DeWitt GENERAL MANAGER AND PRODUCTION MANAGER Mariah Straub BOOKKEEPER AND CLIENT SERVICE SPECIALIST Meghann Moore EVENT PRODUCER Kate Fahlen COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE Meghan Horan SENIOR DIGITAL MEDIA STRATEGIST Tiffany Fowler DIGITAL MEDIA ASSISTANT Nina Kayfes MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST Kasey Lanenberg ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Corey Steinhoff

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ONLINE 05.21 COMMENTS, DISCUSSIONS, FEEDBACK AND MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB

DATA DIVE

IT PAYS TO DIG DEEPER

—

This year, the Ratchet+Wrench Industry Survey looked into how much work is actually being found on a vehicle. Then, it looked at whether or not finding more work actually led to more sales.

For those that took the time to find as many opportunities as possible, the effort paid off. Of those that found $2,000 and above for average work opportunity, 45 percent have an ARO over $1,000 and 16 percent have a closing ratio of 90 percent or more.

Looking for more ideas to grow this crucial KPI? Head to ratchetandwrench.com/boost-aro AVERAGE OPPORTUNITY* PER VEHICLE

RADIO

*AVER AGE AMOUNT OF WORK FOUND ON A CAR, SOLD AND UNSOLD

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Percentage of shops TUNE IN:

PODCASTS

Does not measure

—

Does not know what this is

What exactly is geofencing and how can repair shops use the tool to target new customers?

Digital marketing pro and co-founder of 3P Marketing Solutions Megan Williams breaks down the details of this powerful marketing tool in this beginner’s guide episode of Ratchet+Wrench Radio over at ratchetandwrench.com/ geofencing

Below $800 $800–$999 $1,000–$1,199 $1,200–$1,499 $1,500–$1,999 $2,000 and above

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

SENATORS PUSH FOR NATIONAL BAN OF GAS CAR SALES

California's Senators recently wrote to President Biden to call for an end date on the national sale of new gas-powered cars, reports CNN Business.

Sen. Diane Feinstein and Sen. Alex Padilla urged the Biden administration to “follow California's lead and set a date by which all new cars and passenger trucks sold be zeroemission vehicles.”

An executive order was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom last September to require that all new passenger cars and trucks sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

“The automobile industry has shown it has the ingenuity and resources to reimagine our transportation systems in consumer-friendly ways,” the senators wrote in their letter to Biden. “We urge your administration to take advantage of this effort and make real progress in coordination with states, like California, that share your goals to aggressively fight climate change by eliminating harmful pollution from the transportation sector.”

SMALL BUSINESSES ADDED 174,000 JOBS THIS SPRING

Small businesses added 174,000 jobs in March, a positive signal that the economy is starting to pick up, Small Biz Trends reported.

According to a monthly ADP Small business report, very small businesses, classified as businesses with less than 19

employees, accounted for a majority of the rise with the addition of 100,000 jobs. Most of the increase came as the service sector, which includes the automotive industry, continued to see growth.

Overall, the U.S. saw its largest increase in jobs than at any point over the previous five months. Counting all private-sector businesses, more than 500,000 jobs were added in March.

SHOPMONKEY TEAMS UP WITH ATI

Shopmonkey and the Automotive Training Institute (ATI), have formally announced a new partnership.

With the new partnership, ATI members now have access to cloud-based services like automated scheduling, inventory, payment processing, and customer communications from a single streamlined platform.

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EDITOR'S LETTER

Future Leaders

A LOOK AT THE TEAMS BEHIND SOME OF THE INDUSTRY’S NOTABLE SUCCESS STORIES Sometimes, it’s simply better to lean on others to describe some-

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BRYCE E VA NS, VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT A ND E VENT S BE VA NS@10MISSIONS.COM

to Phil, Philip and David, specifically. They’re rock stars—all six of them, and that’s where the premise for this story originated. It also will spill over into our Ratchet+Wrench Management Conference this fall, where we are offering a brand-new track of content called the Future Leaders Program. That full-day session is designed to offer up-and-coming shop and industry leaders the opportunity to learn high-level leadership, management, financial and operational strategies from the best young leaders in the industry—yes, you guessed it, it will be led by Phil, Philip and David.

Read the story, check out the rest of this month’s issue, and I hope it all helps you to identify future leaders in your operations.

LEAH QUINTO

thing for you. So, let’s do this a little differently than normal. The following are three quick excerpts from Associate Editor Megan Gosch’s feature story (p. 24) about three second-to-none “secondin-command” leaders of some of the country’s best-run operations.

First, here’s a quote from Brian Sump, owner of Avalon Motorsports and Urban Autocare, about his director of operations, Phil Carpenter: “There’s this concept that the person who got you to $1 million isn’t going to be the same person that gets you to $5 [million] or $10 million. Phil looks at that and says, ‘Maybe I’m not supposed to be the guy that gets us there, but I’m going to prove that wrong.’ He doesn’t see a ceiling.”

Now, Bryan Gossel, owner of BG Automotive, on his company president, Phil Christensen: “He’s going to run toward the fire, rather than watch it burn and that was exactly what we needed.”

And Doug Grills, co-owner of AutoStream Car Care, on the company’s director of operations David Askwith: “When David sets his mind to something, he’s going to seize the opportunity and do whatever is required to learn and grow to meet the challenge head on.”

Seizes the opportunity.

Runs toward the fire.

Doesn’t see a ceiling.

What more do you want from a leader?

Megan’s piece aims to emphasize the importance—and eventual impact—of grooming future leaders within your organization.

In profiling Phil, Philip and David, the hope is two-fold: Leaders like yourselves can see the example set by Brian, Bryan, Doug and fellow co-owner Rick Levitan in putting their trust and faith in others to help them maximize their businesses’ true potential; and, hopefully, hearing about (and from) Phil, Philip and David can inspire the next generation of leaders in this industry to stand up and make an impact.

I feel fortunate to know all seven of them very well. In fact, it’s through that dynamic with our team here at Ratchet+Wrench that this story came about. If you’re a regular reader, I hope you recognize Brian, Bryan, Doug and Rick from past stories (and our conference). They’ve been cover subjects, award winners, and featured in different ways. And all three—true best-of-the-best leaders—have always been quick to pass the credit to their teams, and

Every business needs some extra attention now and then.

When you join the NAPA AutoCare network, you get access to 70+ support programs to help your business grow.

Speak with your NAPA Sales Representative to learn more or visit www.Member.NAPAAutoCare.com 0 5 . 21 / R + W / 15

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J U M P S TA R T

Breaking Down Biden’s EV Plan The proposed infrastructure plan would allocate $174 billion to electric vehicles. But where is that money actually going?

BY PAUL HODOWANIC

Over the last several months, major

developments have further shifted manufacturers’ focus away from internal combustion engines (ICEs) and toward electric vehicles (EVs).

Although the market share of electric vehicles is just two percent of all vehicles on the road, growth is expected rapidly.

Major automakers like General Motors, Volkswagen, and Toyota have all pledged to electrify their entire fleet within the next 15 years. Others, like Ford, have announced significant investment in EVs. But without proper infrastructure, these automakers feared the country wouldn’t be able to maintain that growth.

Just several days after urging President Joe Biden to include EV investment in his infrastructure plan, he did.

So what is in President Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan? What effect would that have on repair shops? And what is the likelihood of the plan making it through Congress? Ratchet+ Wrench spoke with Morgan Folger, the director of Clean Car Communities, an initiative from environmental advocacy group Environment America to reach net-zero emissions in transportation, to find out.

The specifics In total, Biden’s infrastructure plan includes $174 billion for electric vehicles.

But how will that be divided up?

A majority, $100 billion, will be allocated to rebates for consumers buying EVs. The rebates, expected to be $7,500, would greatly help lessen the gap between the price of EVs and ICEs, which is currently one of the largest

deterers for consumers to make the switch, Folger says.

Another headline of the Biden plan is the planned creation of 500,000 EV charging stations, with $15 billion allocated for that rollout, Reuters reported.

Jeff Hudnut, EV expert and product manager at Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, sees charging stations as one opportunity for repair shops to get in on the action.

Hudnut says adding EV chargers on property is a great customer acquisition tool, and is relatively inexpensive, costing just cents every time a customer plugs.

“You’re capturing a customer for an hour of two, if you can sell one item to them, you’re out front,” he says.

The final $59 billion will be divided into three areas: $20 billion for electric school buses, $25 billion for zero-emission transfit vehicles and $14 billion for other tax incentives.

“Certainly now that we have political leaders that recognize the urgency of the climate crisis, EVs are a large part of the solution,” Folger says.

Will it pass?

As of mid-April, Biden’s infrastructure plan had not passed in the Senate or the House of Representatives. An April 12 CNBC report stated the legislation is still several months from passage. That’s because many parts of the bill are expected to be scrutinized, but EV infrastructure may not be one of them. Folger says there is large bipartisan support for EV funding and that the bill is “more modest” than other democrats have proposed.

Momentum was already building for EV funding prior to Biden’s announcement.

A separate bipartisan bill, the Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act, was introduced in the Senate in March that worked towards several tax credits.

“One of exciting things about EVs is there is broad support on both sides of the aisle,” she says. “I would certainly say the move toward electrical vehicles is picking up speed.”

However, even if the full funding is approved, Folger says this is just a first step toward net-zero emissions in transportation, which is the No. 1 source of global warming pollution in America. Folger points toward the need for more interoperability between charging stations being at the forefront of that.

“It’s going to take a lot of proposals, not just this one, to get there,” she says.

“It’s certainly a step in the right direction and will be a great investment in helping to move the electric vehicle market forward, but there’s always more we can do to make a bigger difference.”

Additional aid Biden’s infrastructure plan also hopes to help another ailing part of the auto industry, the semiconductor shortage. An estimated $50 billion will be used to build up domestic semiconductor production and lessen the dependence on other countries.

Another $46 billion will be invested into clean energy manufacturing, which will help provide additional jobs to build things like EV chargers, which will help address a major point of worry from union groups that believe the plan will disproportionately affect auto workers.

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K E Y I N S I G H T S , T R E N D S A N D S T R AT E G I E S F O R T O M O R R O W ’ S I N D U S T R Y—T O D AY A D A P TA U T O M O T I V E . C O M

A D A P TA U T O M O T I V E . C O M / FA C E B O O K

T W I T T E R .C O M /A DA P T_ AU TO

FIND OUT EVEN MORE

HOW SENSORS WORK AS A SYSTEM Think about all the different decisions you make, actively or passively, as you drive. Your brain takes in visual, tactile, and sound cues, all providing input for your brain to analyze and make a driving decision.

How quickly can you merge? Is it safe to make this turn on a crowded block? What lane do I need to be in for an exit? The individual data points that contribute to these decisions can be complex.

That's a difficult task for computers to replicate in autonomous vehicles. Moreover, it's not the goal of autonomous technology developers to just replicate human perception.

The key to a successful autonomous vehicle environment is to make them better than human perception—flawless in decision-making.

The function of multiple sensors working together is called “sensor fusion,” and it’s a key element to both functional ADAS and full autonomy.

These challenges were covered as part of a recent webinar hosted by Partners for Automated Vehicle Education. The goal, ultimately, is safe driving no matter what the road throws at a vehicle.

“You want to handle these harsh cases and be able to not only infuse redundancy, but ensure that you’re building a superhuman driver that goes much beyond the capabilities of what we have today," said Felix Heide, chief technology officer and cofounder of Algolux, an AI software company for automotive solutions.

To read the entire story and learn all about sensor fusion, head to adaptautomotive.com/SensorFusion.

ADAPT TREND REPORT Want the latest automotive technology stories sent right to your inbox? Get the newsletter that will help you prepare for the future of automotive service.

Sign up at adaptautomotive. com/newsletter.

Registration and hotel accommodations are now open for The ADAPT: Automotive Technology Summit. The full two-and-ahalf-day schedule is available at adaptsummit.com.

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ADAPT is tracking new technologies that might soon end up in the vehicles at your shop.

Adaptive cruise control is now a common part of ADAS features released in new vehicles. But does it contribute to more speeding?

Head to adaptautomotive. com/cruisecontrol to learn about the research behind this new feature.

0 5 . 21 / R + W / 19

J U M P S TA R T

Kearney Tire & Auto Service

BY MEGAN GOSCH PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY KEARNEY TIRE & AUTO SERVICE

SHOP S TAT S Owner: Don and Ronda Jaeschke Location: Kearney, Neb. Staff Size: 11 (5 full-time technicians, 2 parttime technicians, 3 service advisors, 1 sales manager) Shop Size: 12,000 square feet Number of Lifts/ Bays: 12 Average Monthly Car Count: 400 Annual Revenue: $2.2 million

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1 / From the Ground Up At Kearney Tire & Auto Service, a lobby renovation was overdue.

Don and Ronda Jaeschke have made regular updates since buying the shop in 2013, but the building, which was originally built in the 1950s, had operated as a repair shop since 1995 and its age was starting to show—especially the tile floor.

Tiles had begun to come loose. Pieces flaked away, and the flooring was so old that the Jaeschkes had trouble finding matching replacements.

“We got to a point where the small fixes weren’t cutting it and we figured if we need to upend the lobby, why stop there?” says Ronda.

“Like most renovations it started with one project and grew from there.”

2 / Designed With the Customer In Mind “When you come to work every day, you’re not seeing things the way your customers do, so we really thought through the customer experience to prioritize the changes we knew they’d appreciate,” says Ronda.

While installing new slip resistant flooring, the Jaeschkes also removed the shop’s original service counters and replaced them with rolling stations, updated the restrooms, and converted one of the shop’s two seating areas into a designated family-friendly waiting area.

A wall was also closed off behind the service stations to eliminate any distracting noise coming from the shop’s workfloor, while partial walls were built to section off the remaining customer seating and prevent drafts from the shop’s front door traffic.

2

1 HAVE AN OUTSTANDING SHOP? Send a few photos and a brief description to submissions@ratchetandwrench.com and we might feature it here.

3 / A Retro Fit

3

Originally built as a distinct, curved brick Dodge dealership alongside the historic Lincoln Highway, the Jaeschkes wove nostalgic nods to the shop’s legacy through the lobby’s new look.

“The business has had such a strong image and presence in the Kearney community for decades so we wanted to keep that legacy intact and honor that in at least some small way,” says Don. A vintage gas pump from the original Mobile gas station that once stood next door adds a retro feel, while custom and vintage neon signs and photos of the building’s past lives as a dealership, bus station, and diner are proudly displayed throughout.

Literal and repair-inspired accents were also added in the redesign. A toolbox was cleverly repurposed to serve as a customer coffee station on its surface and storage within its drawers, and corrugated steel was used to create a toolbox-inspired look for the service advisor’s rolling stations (a design feature that is also much easier to keep clean, Ronda notes).

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Byron Kruse is one of the owners of Import Specialty Service LLC (Nashville, TN). His father learned auto repair from his father before him, and Byron joined the shop in 1999 and ran the business by 2002. Though the shop began as a Volvoonly business, Kruse has now expanded it to Euros and Asian vehicles, drawing the line at the super exotics.

“Porsche is as expensive as we get,” Kruse says. “We’re so busy and we don’t have room to keep exotics.”

With limited space and slim margins, Kruse uses every tool imaginable to keep his customers happy, healthy and safe (and his shop in the black).

“We’ve established a good business in town about how we treat customers and how we like to be treated as customers,” he says. And because most customers—most people, really— rely on their mobile phones for swift communication, Kruse has embraced the technology in order to keep appointments snappy and AROs high.

To help do that, he relies upon KUKUI. FIND YOUR CUSTOMERS “We’re in a good niche,” Kruse says.

“We work on things that no one else likes to work on, knows how to work on, or can fix. We have a great track record of fixing tough repairs, even that dealers can’t fix.”

Kruse employs nine total people and nets about $2 million revenue every year. Despite the pandemic, March 2021 was his shop’s best month yet, breaking several sales records, promising a bright summer and the need to maximize his shop’s CRM capabilities.

Kruse did not have an ideal situation with his previous CRM software provider. “They cost me so much money,” he says, “that I finally pulled the plug and called KUKUI. I heard about them from several members of a 20 group I’m in, and the experience has been phenomenal.”

Kruse is astounded at the sheer volume of data KUKUI is able to pull out of his shop management system that the system itself can’t extract. He says reviewing the data and adjusting shop procedures accordingly has helped increase daily average RO, keep revenue up and—most importantly— help usher new customers through the doors of Import Specialty Service.

GALVANIZE YOUR OUTREACH AND EXPOSURE “We’ve been working with KUKUI for almost two years now and they’ve really increased our exposure to new customers,” he says.

“Traditionally, my biggest problem has been finding reliable technicians; I was short in 2019 and 2020. Now, we’re mentoring apprentices from within and banging on all cylinders just to keep up with the volume of work.”

Kruse uses KUKUI’s reporting functions the most. He tracks new car count, what makes and models pepper the shop the most, and always the average order of the day. He also sees the percentage of new customers per month, and the ability to tweak the marketing on a moment’s notice has helped convert more leads and first-time customers into lifelong relationships.

“The whole team uses the software,” he says, “because it’s that easy. We conduct swift follow-ups and the service advisors are really good about tracking leads from our dashboard to a phone call and finally to entice them through the door.”

Looking ahead, Kruse hopes to expand. “I wish I could get bigger,” he says, “We’re an eight-bay shop. I wouldn’t mind adding another technician or two and a service advisor after that.”

For Kruse, success begets success and it starts with sound customer service, plain talk and fair treatment. Underneath it all is KUKUI, providing data and services Kruse couldn’t anticipate when he first took over the shop almost twenty years ago.

“KUKUI has made it easier for us to achieve success,” he says. It can for you too.

If you would like to learn more about KUKUI, visit kukui.com/rw or call 877.695.6008

Columns

STRAIGHT TALK Joe Marconi

MONEY ISN’T THE MOTIVATOR We need to see that the toolbox is always the last to leave

MICHAEL HOEWELER

Roughly six months ago, Tom, an

equipment sales rep, suggested that I speak with his friend Matt (not his real name) who works at a BMW dealership.

Matt is a Master-level tech with 18 years of experience and not happy at the dealership. As a general rule, I make it a point to build a network with people in the industry, but with COVID-19 and because Matt lived quite a distance from me, I put the conversation on the back burner.

Whenever Tom came to the shop, he’d put in a reminder. But I kept procrastinating. Finally, Tom cornered me in my office, dialed Matt’s number, and handed me his phone. After a minute speaking with Matt, it became obvious why Tom wanted me to meet him. Just by the way he spoke, it was clear he was someone with whom I needed to sit down.

Matt and I met the following Saturday. I gave him a tour of my shop and we headed to my office to chat. This was a casual meeting with no intentions of hiring—networking in its truest form.

The more he spoke, the more I listened.

There was not a bit of arrogance in his demeanor, only confidence and modesty, accompanied by a wealth of knowledge.

After an hour, I said, “I hear you are not happy at the dealership. Can I ask you why?” Matt hesitated for a second, then told me why he was not only unhappy, but also disappointed with the auto industry.

“Joe, with all due respect, I don’t know if this industry is for me anymore.

I have devoted my life to becoming the best auto tech I can be. I don’t just

want a job. I want a career. I bring that attitude to every place I have ever worked. Too many bosses have made promises to me that they never delivered on. From my perspective, the owners of the companies I’ve worked for have no vision of the future, and if they do, they don’t communicate that vision to their employees. The work atmosphere is horrible, with everyone at odds with each other. There’s no unity, only friction.

I don’t even think my service manager knows my name.”

He told me his service manager would come out of his office once or twice a month, and when he’d approach Matt, he’d gaze at the name on Matt’s uniform and say something like, “Matt, great job. keep it up. Thanks,” then walk away.

One day, when Matt saw the manager out on the shop floor, he removed his uniform shirt and when his manager approached and said, “Hey, ah, great job today. Thanks,” Matt instantly knew his manager didn’t know his name.

Matt has worked at five different dealerships over the course of his career, not because he wanted to change jobs, but because he was recruited. Each employer made promises and painted a perfect image of the ideal workplace, but Matt was let down each time.

As he spoke, I could sense the emotions and the toll his experiences have had, and to think he’s not sure he wants to stay in this industry anymore really bothers me. Here we have a Masterlevel tech, dedicated to his profession, a family man with two kids, in the prime of his career. He has every certification for BMW, Porsche, Audi, and Mercedes

Joe Marconi has more than three decades of experience in the automotive repair industry. He is the owner of Osceola Garage in Baldwin Place, N.Y., a business development coach for Elite Worldwide and co-founder of autoshopowner.com. j.marconi@eliteworldwide.com ratchetandwrench.com/marconi

and is also an ASE Master-level tech.

Sadly, his experiences and the actions of certain superiors have caused deep emotional scars.

We hear these stories all too often.

How many times have you heard, “He left to work somewhere else for ... less money?” That’s because people don’t work for companies, they work for people.

And throwing money at people is not the motivator we think it is.

While Matt’s is a dealership perspective, the lessons here are many.

There’s a lot of talk these days about finding quality people. To be successful, we need the best of the best employed at our shops. But once we hire them, our job just begins. We must take care of them, mentor them, coach them and help map out their future. We also need to create a healthy workplace. Shop owners have an obligation to everyone employed at their business. We must fulfill this obligation each and every day. If we don’t, trust me, once the heart is gone, it won’t be long before the toolbox is out the door.

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TOPICAL

Find Your No. 2 Three top shops share how they found their ideal partners to take their businesses to the next level

ALYSON MCCLARAN

BY MEGAN GOSCH

24 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

Launching a business solo is no easy feat,

A Partnership With Potential Brian Sump (left) and Phil Carpenter (right) have built a five-location operation through a true tag-team effort.

but finding a talented and trusted partner who can help you grow and expand that business is an odyssey all its own.

As Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters outline in Rocket Fuel, some of the most successful ventures in modern history have stemmed from collaboration between two key complementary roles: the visionary (those who concept big picture ideas and solutions) and the integrator (those who organize and execute the tasks needed to carry out those ideas). Titans like Walt Disney and Ray Kroc each had a copilot by their side to help guide the company’s vision to new heights, and the same can be said for the teams behind Avalon Motorsports, AutoStream Car Care, and BG Automotive.

While the owners of each have graced the pages of Ratchet+Wrench for their savvy strategies and notable growth, they’ll be the first to tell you they didn’t get there on their own. Each has found a passionate, dedicated and hardworking No. 2 that’s been instrumental in growing the shop’s operations and helping bring the company’s vision to life.

Ratchet+Wrench checked in to learn how those dynamic partnerships came to be and what shop owners should keep in mind when searching for their own No. 2.

0 5 . 21 / R + W / 2 5

TOPICAL F I N D YO U R N O . 2

As director of operations, Carpenter works to develop short-term deployment tactics, oversees each shop’s performance, supports each location’s staff through dayto-day issues, and looks for process and infrastructure improvements, while Sump plans for the company’s future growth.

“Phil’s excellent at creating a vision for a one-week to six-month strategy that will help us accomplish whatever we’re trying to do in the near term, and my vision generally applies to that six- to 12-month range,” says Sump.

Shop: Avalon Motorsports and Urban Autocare Dynamic Duo: Owner Brian Sump and Director of Operations Phil Carpenter

2 6 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

“He was committed. He jumped in, took ownership of everything he worked on, and hustled hard,” Sump says. “It was just the two of us for those first few years and he stepped up to every challenge along the way.”

Non-negotiable: Stay in your lane.

"As you grow the business, everyone's going to be wearing multiple hats. Defining your lanes and sticking to them cuts out confusion and gives that No. 2 the autonomy they need to actually get things done."

—Phil Carpenter, director of operations, Avalon Motorsports and Urban Autocare

Divide and Conquer In the early days, Sump learned to write service on the fly while Carpenter tackled repairs, organized the shop, and handled parts inventory and ordering. Today, their complementary skillsets have helped them to naturally fill those integrator and visionary roles.

“You need to have someone in that No. 2 spot who’s a lifelong learner and won’t crumble taking criticism,” says Carpenter.

“Certainly hustle and drive are important, but to see the business grow you need to have someone in that spot that’s continuously trying to improve themselves.”

ALYSON MCCLARAN

A Leap of Faith In 2007 Brian Sump, now the owner of Avalon Motorsports and four Urban Autocare locations in Denver, was a solo entrepreneur looking for a skilled technician.

“I knew nothing about the industry and I really needed someone I could rely on to be ethical and precise,” Sump says.

Dealership tech Phil Carpenter, now his director of operations, was his very first hire—taking a 30 percent pay cut to join Sump. Why? “His energy and his ethics aligned with mine, but he was also upfront about his plans for the company,” says Carpenter. “He cast a vision from day one and explained how I’d be treated as a partner so I could see a career trajectory for myself.”

Between the financial leap of faith Carpenter took in joining the fledgling venture and his dogged performance on the job, Sump knew he’d made the right choice.

Embrace Evolution Since taking on his first role as the shop’s sole technician, Carpenter has reinvented himself five times—and he’s fully prepared to pivot again.

While trust and clear communication have been critical in their partnership, both agree Carpenter’s desire and ability to adapt in new roles has been key to the partnership’s sustainability.

“There’s this concept that the person who got you to $1 million isn’t going to be the same person that gets you to $5 or $10 million,” says Sump. “Phil looks at that and says, ‘Maybe I’m not supposed to be the guy that gets us there, but I’m going to prove that wrong.’ He doesn’t see a ceiling.”

That transformation hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The duo both note a moment where Carpenter was confronted with critical feedback from the team he oversaw.

Carpenter reflected, committed to changing his leadership style, and later that year when the team launched its first Urban Autocare location, they broke the store’s 20-year sales record under his leadership.

Shop: BG Automotive Dynamic Duo: Owner Bryan Gossel and President Philip Christensen

Prioritize best fit.

When BG Automotive owner Bryan Gossel met Discount Tire Company manager Philip Christensen when he began buying through the vendor, it was “love at first sight,” he jokes.

“If you crack a door open I’m going to kick it down to get at that opportunity and Phil’s the same way,” he says. “He’s going to run toward the fire, rather than watch it burn and that was exactly what we needed.”

The pair discussed a BG position for Christensen for nearly two years before he officially signed on. Though Gossel feared he couldn’t afford Christensen’s salary, he believed the growth they could achieve with Christensen by his side would be worth the risk.

Since joining the team in 2012, BG has opened three new locations and grown to 21 lifts and 33 employees.

Find your flow.

Through nearly a decade of partnership, Gossel and Christensen have honed their roles as integrator and visionary by embracing each other's quirks.

Gossel manages the company’s marketing, technology-focused decisions, and research of future acquisitions, while Christensen oversees day-to-day operations.

“Being an integrator is one of the toughest jobs out there. And it has to be the right person in the right seat, or those ideas will fall flat on the page,” says Gossel.

As Gossel crafts new concepts for the company, he talks through his ideas out loud while Christensen, a detail-oriented logistics pro, organizes those ideas to find an anchor for each strategy.

“We’ve come to call it the ‘shotgun effect,’” says Christensen. “We’ve learned how to play off each other so we can brainstorm as a team.”

Adapt to the balancing act.

While both bring a unified attitude, describing each other as positive and high-energy,

Gossel’s quick to note their differences have moved the company forward.

“I’m very much a people-pleasing person at heart and I’m making progress on that, but having someone like Phil who isn’t afraid to make the unpopular decision and counterbalances me like that is critical,” says Gossel.

As Gossel works to become more comfortable with conflict and holding others accountable, he knows he can trust Christensen to address issues head-on in real time.

“Of course, you need a No. 2 you can get along with, but I’d say finding someone who fills those gaps and complements your weaknesses is most important.”

Christensen notes a strong No. 2 needs to approach the role with a focus on what’s best for the shop, even when it can lead to conflict.

“In anything I put my mind to I’m focused to win, and in this role if there’s something I don’t think will help us in the long run, I’m going to speak up about it,” says Christensen. “At the end of the day it’s about the success of the shop and you’re going to have disagreements, but you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable to work through it.”

Through the years, Gossel and Christensen have worked to confront disagreements and tough conversations head on.

“There were times where we had the

Non-negotiable: Define your vision.

“That No. 2 person can really be held back if the owner doesn’t know what they’re hoping to accomplish or the timeframe they want to do it in. You need a vision to work off.”

—Philip Christensen, president, BG Automotive

Welcome a challenge.

Gossel also stresses finding a partner who will challenge you.

“It can be intimidating, but you need someone that’s going to push you, and disagree with you, and poke holes in your plans,” he says.

same vision but it was like we were speaking different languages,” says Christensen. “The more we sat down together to throw ideas around and explain how they fit with the larger goal, the easier it’s been to push each other without running each other over and stay on track.”

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TOPICAL F I N D YO U R N O . 2

to come in and create processes, procedures and make an impact.”

Today Levitan oversees the company’s financing and acquisitions, while Grills develops the company’s long-term strategic goals and participates in a variety of associations and 20 Groups, and Askwith manages day-to-day operations for all locations.

Through the years, as tasks have been divided across each role, the trio has become disciplined in their communication, making sure the correct person is consulted and looped in.

That structure and clear divide has helped Askwith take ownership and execute in his role as an integrator.

“From there I have the freedom and autonomy to go out and deliver results in the ways that make most sense to me,” Askwith says.

Shop: AutoStream Car Care Dynamic Trio: Owners Doug Grills and Rick Levitan and Director of Operations David Askwith

2 8 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

grow to meet the challenge head on,” says Grills. “When you combine those traits, you get a powerful outcome and that ended up being what we were really looking for in that second in command.”

The trio now run six AutoStream Car Care Centers with a total of 37 bays and an annual revenue over $7 million.

Non-negotiable: Get results on the board.

"You can work hard, but at the end of the day this job is about results and you are what your record says you are. Ultimately if you're not putting points on the board, it's not a match."

—Doug Grills, co-owner, AutoStream Car Care

Set clear expectations.

With two shop owners, one director of operations, six shops and more on the horizon, Grills, Levitan, and Askwith all stress the importance of defining clear responsibilities for each role.

“Doug and Rick made it clear from day one that their goal was to work on the business,” says Askwith. “They needed me

a feel for each other’s mindsets and where each of us is coming from,” says Askwith.

They may not agree on everything, but like any serious relationship, they know compromise comes with the territory.

“It’s like a marriage and you’ve got to be on the same page and willing to work through the hard times or it’s going to be brutal,” says Levitan.

JAMES MCLEAN

Trust your gut.

When Doug Grills and Rick Levitan, then the owners of multiple gas stations, stopped into an ExxonMobil convenience store to scope out the merchandise, they were caught off guard by a genuinely friendly David Askwith.

“You’d think a store manager might be more suspicious or standoffish in that scenario, but David was sincere and professional and really wanted to help,” says Grills.

They exchanged business cards with Askwith and two weeks later they called to offer him an interview.

Grills and Levitan hired Askwith as a retail C-store manager and had always planned to hire a No. 2 with years of industry experience, but when the existing manager of service bay operations failed to pan out, Askwith was tapped for his confidence and work ethic to run both the retail and service sides of the business.

“When David sets his mind to something, he’s going to seize the opportunity and do whatever is required to learn and

Make a serious commitment.

After working as a tight-knit group for 14 years, Levitan, Grills and Askwith can finish each other’s sentences—a dynamic they’ve worked hard to earn.

“You’ve got to dedicate the face time to learn about each other inside and out,” says Grills. “You have to think of it as something you’re planning to stick with for the long haul. This is a long-term relationship.”

When Askwith officially became director of operations, Grills and Levitan were intentional on training him, and made a point of spending time together to get to know each other away from the business.

“We’ll have a two- or three-day offsite to develop those relationships and get

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0 5 . 21 / R + W / 2 9

Complete Career Crossover After early success as a skateboard star, Alan "Ollie" Gelfand has taken the helm of his own repair shop.

Ollie’s Second Act

From skateboarding to shop repair, Alan Gelfand has found success at every stop RODNEY HUSBANDS

BY PAUL HODOWANIC

3 0 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

Living Legend Gelfand earned skate world fame as the inventor of the "ollie" trick in the 1970s.

No Quick Fixes Ollie Gelfand and his team are diligent in their diagnostic process to ensure a thorough repair.

© JIM GOODRICH

A

lan “Ollie” Gelfand will live on forever. Or at least his name will.

Listed in The Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “ollie,” Gelfand created the patented skateboarding jump in 1977, a famous maneuver in which a skater kicks the tail of the board down while jumping in order to make the board pop into the air.

But Gelfand prefers to think of himself as “the most famous skateboarder nobody knows.”

He didn’t transcend the sport. He doesn’t have 10-plus million followers on social media or a video game created in his name like Tony Hawk.

Over 40 years later, Gelfand lives a quiet life in Hollywood— Hollywood, Fla., that is—and owns his own repair shop, the German Car Depot. Even that doesn’t have his name on it.

Most customers have no idea who he is until they see the memorabilia inside the shop. But make no mistake, his roots as a skateboarder can be seen on more than just the walls of his shop. In every aspect of Gelfand’s business, his past shines through. His roots as a skateboarder laid the groundwork for his successful second act.

GERMAN CAR DEPOT Location: Hollywood, Fla. Size: 5,000 square feet Staff: 8 Bays: 8 Average Monthly Car Count: 220 Annual Revenue: $1.3 million

Always Learning Gelfand is used to getting help from experts. In his early days as a skater he worked with Stacy Peralta, a prominent skater in the ’80s turned coach/entrepreneur. Peralta coached famous skaters like Hawk and Mike McGill. He was one of the first people that saw Gelfand pull off the ‘ollie’ and helped him become one of the top athletes in the sport.

As a shop owner, that desire to learn hasn’t left. Gelfand is adamant about the need to surround yourself with smarter people. He says nowadays, “you better be super intelligent or special to run an automotive shop without having proper support.”

Gelfand has a mentor, Tom Ham, who has been in the auto industry over 50 years and has helped Gelfand’s shop achieve its most profitable times. He also has a coach, Bill Haas, who has 40 years of experience in the business and operates his own consulting firm. And the expert guidance isn’t just for Gelfand.

“I think it’s really important for everyone to have coaches. You can’t have too many of them.”

For his service providers, Gelfand brings in Jeremy O’Neal, a renowned trainer in the Los Angeles area, who helps train his employees all the technical skills they need. He also employs an efficiency expert, who works with the providers to make sure everything runs smoothly. Gelfand likens it to Formula One and NASCAR, which have analysts watching the moves of every person on the pit crew, finding ways to make them faster. Gelfand hopes he can bring that, on a much smaller scale, to his shop.

0 5 . 21 / R + W / 31

Always Adapting Ollie Gelfand’s start in the auto repair business wasn’t planned. After he ended his career as a skater, he needed a new path. He grew fixing things, cars were his favorite to fix. And he wanted to keep the adrenaline he had from skateboarding. So he turned to racing.

Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, Gelfand was working full-time fixing, building and successfully racing Volkswagens in professional competition. But when the main source of financial banking pulled out, Gelfand suddenly had a team of fulltime employees working in a shop designed for racing cars without a direction. So the team began buying and selling Volkswagens. That went on for several years before he adapted it to a repair shop and VW Depot was born.

“It was an accident,” he says about the starting of the shop. “But I’ve always been about solving problems. That was a solution to a problem.”

In 2007, he was forced to adapt again when Volkswagen and Audi sued the shop for its name, VW Depot. So Gelfand changed it to what is now, German Car Depot, and was ordered to pay a substantial fine, roughly $100,000 for the infringement.

To recuperate the cash, Gelfand wrangled up spare tools, parts and anything he could find in the 15-year-old shop and went to 3 2 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

eBay. For a few months, they made $60,000 per month selling equipment online.

“That’s how I paid off all the fines,” he says. “Always find a way to get it done.”

A year earlier, following an incident with a Shell Motiva refinery that mistakenly put too much sulfur in the gasoline and caused mass fuel system failure in the area, Gelfand quickly reacted and dubbed his shop “the official Shell Motiva repair facility.” He subcontracted out the work for non-Volkswagen vehicles and made thousands of dollars a day fixing fuel systems.

The money he made from that went into the building of his newest shop.

Always Working Gelfand remembers his skateboarding days fondly. He'd be the first to arrive in the morning at Skateboard USA, a park in his hometown of Hollywood, Fla., and would only leave when his mother forced him to come home for dinner. It was there he would perfect the “ollie” and develop a work ethic that has stuck with him to this day.

Knee injuries and burnout pushed Gelfand away from skating in 1980 and towards his racing days, but his “all-in” habits stayed with him. Gelfand estimates he competed in between 10-15 24-hour races during his time as a professional, finishing first or second in all of them. He remembers not sleeping for several days

before every race to ensure the car would be ready. Gelfand and his crew built the cars from the ground up and often faced cars with much bigger engines and firepower. To compensate, Gelfand and a close friend from his skating days, who happened to have a PhD in mathematics, calculated the most efficient way to run the car to maximize its power. They brought their car parts to a facility that tested aircrafts to make sure they’d hold up during the course of the race and they constantly tried new strategies to help them keep up.

“We methodically went through everything,” Gelfand says. “And somehow we pulled it off.”

As a shop owner, Gelfand’s self-described “OCD” tendencies are still present. Gelfand is obsessed with understanding how customers find his shop and how he can increase the shop's digital footprint. He’s constantly parsing through his Google Analytics and advertisements, searching different terms to make sure his SEO is performing exactly to plan.

He often gets up in the middle of the night to research the shop’s online presence and track its performance, much to the chagrin of Gelfand’s girlfriend.

“She didn’t like it too much,” Gelfand says with a chuckle, reminiscing a night when he was on the computer from 3 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Inside the shop, the goal for his team is to make sure every customer's problem is not only fixed, but will also never happen again. It’s what Gelfand likes to call “forensic auto repair.” There are no quick fixes for his team as they often spend more time diagnosing the underlying issues of malfunction than actually fixing it.

And much like the ollie, which marries athleticism, balance and grace, Gelfand and his shop’s persona are perfectly synchronized.

Hardworking, under-the-radar, but undeniably confident.

RODNEY HUSBANDS

Roll With the Punches Ollie Gelfand's resiliency has prepared him for the twists and turns that come with running a business.

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0 5 . 21 / R + W / 3 3

T O O L B OX / L E A D E R S H I P

Tackling the Tough Conversations A guide to addressing uncomfortable topics with your employees

BY PAUL HODOWANIC

comfortable and no matter how wellversed we are at it, we often fail to get our message right.

As a shop owner, having uncomfortable conversations is required, whether you like it or not. Everyone has had an employee that’s shown up late one too many times, isn’t following the sales script, or likes to turn a 30-minute lunch break into an afternoon off.

But for many owners, broaching that conversation is anxiety-inducing, says Maylan Newton, the founder of 3 4 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

Educational Seminars Institute, which provides management and personnel coaching to the automotive industry.

They’re trying to avoid the situation getting worse or they’re worried if they fire the employee, they’ll hire someone worse.

For Matt Overbeck, owner of Overbeck Auto Services in Cincinnati, Ohio, the process of letting go of a long-term employee was filled with indecision and fear.

A relationship with one of his top employees turned sour after starting out as a major success. Overbeck grappled with the decision for a long time and it hurt his

business. It took a lot of coaxing before he finally let the employee go.

So how can you avoid these long, drawnout, painful scenarios? Ratchet+Wrench has your guide to addressing uncomfortable topics with employees that will stop problems in their tracks.

Start small, immediately.

It took Overbeck a long time to finally confront his employee. For much of the employee’s six-year run, things were fine.

Overbeck took over the day-to-day operations of the shop in 2013 after his father’s health took a turn for the worse. He

GETTY

Communication can be one of the hardest things we do. It’s often un-

faltering, but Overbeck was struggling personally. He was mentally and physically drained. He was gaining weight and he couldn’t sleep.

Don’t let the situation get out of hand like it did for Overbeck.

“Start with lots of little, easy conversations before you ever have to have a big, difficult discussion,” he says reflecting on his situation. It’s what he didn’t do and felt was one of the biggest reasons the situation spiraled.

Overbeck didn’t initially confront the employee about any of the issues that bothered him. That allowed the employee to believe his pattern of behavior was acceptable. He could take off from work early and criticize the shop’s strategies without any thought of repercussions.

Newton sees situations like Overbeck’s all the time. “Most people don’t have that first conversation,” he says. That leads to a pattern of behavior that is hard to break later on.

Newton recommends having a conversation immediately after the first subordinate action. If an employee comes in late, talk to him or her upon arrival. Ask why he or she is late and reiterate your expectations.

If it happens a second time, follow the same process. Ask how you can help him or her be on time. Work with the employee, but don’t change expectations. If you allow him or her to come in 30 minutes late, chances are that in a month, that start time will be missed, too.

“Don’t put your blinders on. When you see stuff you don’t like, talk about it.

Don’t let it go,” Overbeck says.

was never the type of person who liked to be at the front counter working with the customers, so he hired this employee to do it for him.

Immediately revenue climbed and the new employee was a big reason why, Overbeck says.

But as the years passed, Overbeck slowly learned how to run a shop and started to see the limitations of his business. It needed to become more modern, but the employee wasn’t willing.

Slowly the shop’s success dwindled.

Then COVID hit and things took a turn for the worse. Not only was the shop

Prioritize consistent conversation.

After Overbeck let the employee go, he brought the rest of his team together to share the news.

“Thank you,” Overbeck recalls his best technician saying.

As a shop owner, if you are feeling the effects of one employee’s actions, there’s a great chance other employees feel the same way. And if the employees are feeling it, the customers are too.

Overbeck thought he had an open line of communication with all of his employees, but this incident made him question it. Nobody said anything. They didn’t feel it was their place.

Newton suggests meeting with every employee once per month for a check-in.

Employees can voice their concerns about how things are going and this gives you a natural opportunity to remind them of what they’re doing well and not doing well. Be clear and concise. Make yourself accountable, as well. Create a space where they can be constructive about how you can do better.

It also helps develop a connection between you and your employees. If they feel comfortable with you, they’ll be more likely to bring up issues happening throughout the shop and will feel a greater sense of responsibility to meet all the requirements you set out for them.

“Employees are like relationships,” Newton says. “You need to nurture them with good communication or they'll deteriorate. It has to be consistent.”

Don’t be fearful.

We tolerate missed behavior because of fear, Newton says.

Whether we’re worried about escalating the situation or that we could hire someone worse than what we currently have, that fear holds us back.

Overbeck could barely make it through a day at the shop in the months leading up to the firing. But even as his personal and professional life deteriorated, he was petrified to have an uncomfortable conversation.

It took a webinar call with Shop Fix Academy’s Aaron Stokes, in which another shop owner brought up a similar situation for something to change. That shop owner let go of his employee and saw everything change for the better.

That flipped a switch in Overbeck’s mind. The next day he sat the employee down and let him go.

When Newton is working with clients, the first thing he tells them is that the success of their business does not hinge on one person. Their business is more important than their relationship with one employee or the potential awkwardness that an uncomfortable conversation might induce.

Don’t let the shortcomings of one employee create an environment where others are discouraged or see it as acceptable behavior.

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T O O L B OX / E D U C AT I O N + T R A I N I N G

Training for Financial Success Tips to help your techs save

For many of your employees, invest-

ing in a 401(k) may be an afterthought.

They may have never created a budget, or invested in the stock market, or even checked their credit score.

As shop owners, it can be a valueadded bonus to be a resource to your employees when it comes to their personal finances.

For Brandon Harrell, co-owner of Harrell’s Automotive in Fayetteville, N.C., being an outlet for his employees and their finances has always been important to him. He went to college to 3 6 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

become a financial planner and only after he graduated did he decide to come back home and run a shop.

Harrell not only sees it as the right thing to do, but also as an asset for the business.

“I don’t want to be like everybody else. I want a waiting list of people who want to come work for us,” Harrell says.

“So we have to create that environment.

It’s not just about a place where you can come turn wrenches, it’s got to be the total picture.”

So, what can you do to become a financial resource to your employees?

Provide ample education.

The most important thing you can do to help is educate them, says John Waters, president of Water Business Consulting.

Make your employees aware of the benefits that saving or investing can have.

Many of your employees aren’t going to come with backgrounds in money management. So the first step in the right direction is making them aware of what is possible.

Harrell has used that financial background to benefit his shop, but also to benefit his employees. Educating them on

GETTY

BY PAUL HODOWANIC

how to manage their finances is a big part of his job and one he doesn’t take lightly.

Harrell tries to be a buffer for their success, pushing them in the right direction and getting them in contact with the professionals that will best know how to assist them.

Harrell regularly brings in a representative from a local bank to talk to his employees about different strategies for managing their money.

He encourages the employees to ask any questions they have, whether it’s refinancing a mortgage, planning for retirement or how to pay off loans.

He also sets up online informational classes through their local bank that his employees can take.

While Harrell admits many of his employees think financial planning is “for the birds,” at the very least it plants a seed in their heads that hopefully they will come back to later on. And for the employees that do use the resources, Harrell has seen the positive impact it has had on them.

Waters finds the “for the birds” mentality to be one of the biggest barriers to overcome with young people in the industry. The idea that they always have time later in life to save is one he tries to crack down on.

Saving, in any amount, should be done as early as possible. The earlier you start, the more time you allow the money to grow interest. It also helps establish a mindset, Waters says. If employees allow themselves to think that there will always be time to save later, the likelihood of them continuing to put it off until it is too late is very high. If they start early, it will become a routine.

It all comes down to education.

Commit the energy and time that is needed to teach your employees the basics of personal finance. That will increase the chances that they start saving in their 20s and not their 50s.

Start simple.

There are quick and easy habits to help get your employees up to speed, Waters says. The first is helping them create a budget. This can be a fast and simple way to help employees understand how they are spending their money. It can also show them the small expenses they can cut from their lives that can help them save.

One of the biggest mistakes Waters sees in young employees, in the auto industry and in every industry, is thinking they don't have enough money to start saving. But Waters says practically everyone can find something to save, even if it’s just $50 per month. Creating a budget and tracking expenses is the easiest way to understand that there is room for saving.

Another tip is to support automatic deposits. Whether that’s setting up their 401(k) or simply setting aside money that will go directly into a savings account, if it goes directly into an account rather than manually, it decreases the temptation to spend the money on something else.

Finally, encourage your employees to be curious. There are so many free tools available online to help educate about savings and how to start, Waters says.

Don’t cross a line.

Harrell is quick to sit down with his

employees and talk with them about any financial questions they have. With his background coming in finance he’s got lots of knowledge to share, but he’s careful about the ways he does it. Because the last thing he wants is to have it turn back on himself.

“We don’t want to end up with fiduciary responsibility if we give them bad advice. So it’s a fine line you have to walk.”

If the employee needs help creating a budget for his or her family, Harrell is there to help. If they need advice on how to boost their credit score, he’s ready to share his expertise. But if they want advice on different mortgages or what stocks to invest in, that’s when he steps away.

That’s a big reason why Harrell brings in the local bank. He’s a conduit between his employees and bigger financial institutions.

Help with accountability.

Creating a plan is easy. Following through is where it gets hard. That’s why Waters recommends checking up with your employees to see how they are doing with their finances. If you helped create a budget with an employee six months ago, have a follow-up meeting to see if he or she has followed it. If he or she was saving up to buy new tools, check and see his or her progress.

With any goal or plan in life, having someone close to you that you know will hold you accountable is important.

It minimizes the temptation to quit because someone will be checking on you. Be that resource for your employees. Help them stay committed to their financial goals.

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T O O L B OX / C A S E S T U DY

MAKE TOWIN G WORK A 20 -year towing pro shares how he’s kept his program growing and profitable

BY MEGAN GOSCH

3 8 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

BOB’S MAIN STREET AUTO & TOWING INC. Owners: Bill and Laurie Rate Location: 2 locations in West Bend, Wis. Size: 12,500 square feet (combined) Staff: 54 employees (33 fulltime and 21 part-time) (35 are towing employees—16 full-time drivers and 19 part-time drivers) Average Monthly Car Count: 500 (combined) Annual Revenue: $3.6 million (combined)

Take Bill Rate’s word for it: “A tow truck is not a toy, and it’s not a side gig, and it’s not a hobby.”

He sees it time and time again—shop owners who invest in their own truck, only to leave it parked at the shop as they continue to get swept up in day to day shop operations and decline tow calls.

“Those are actually calls we end up taking,” says Rate, coowner of two Bob’s Main Street Auto & Towing locations in West Bend, Wis. He finds many shop owners will add towing programs to their services thinking the move will be a convenient add-on to boost shop profits, but won’t ultimately commit the manpower or strategy to see it through.

“Towing is a scenario where putting more eggs in your basket isn’t a safe bet,” he says. “If you’re going to let your trucks sit, it’s just not worth it, but figuring out how to keep those trucks busy without overwhelming your team is a real Rubik’s cube.”

After more than 20 years in the towing business, Rate has learned what it takes to not only make a towing program work, but turn a profit. How? Strategic staffing and tracking.

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T O O L B OX / C A S E S T U DY

THE BACKSTORY

When Rate and his wife Laurie bought their shop in 1980, the business already had a towing program and several functioning, albeit depleted, tow trucks.

With more than 35 repair shops in the area, their customer service helped set them apart from competition and they knew the ability to tow would give them another chance to win customers over.

The Rates traded in their dilapidated models for one reliable truck and slowly grew their fleet—no small investment, considering the trucks can run anywhere from $100,000-$130,000—as well as relationships with independent shops and dealerships, and contracts with local police and club car programs like Geico and AAA.

THE PROBLEM

While there’s no shortage of challenges facing towing programs today—heavy industry regulation, insurance and liability responsibilities, gas mileage, costly equipment and maintenance investments, a shortage of skilled drivers, and a large drop in miles driven are all daily concerns—Rate’s biggest problem was organizing workflow.

Strong client relationships and stable accounts brought in steady business, but the f lux and unpredictable nature of the service made it difficult to staff accordingly and avoid passing up profitable calls.

“You can try to make predictions based on the weather, but you don’t know when you’re going to get a call so you’re completely at the mercy of the phone ringing without as many options to shuffle and schedule workflow like you can on the repair side,” says Rate.

THE SOLUTION

Rate invested in new tools and hired dedicated staff to create a more strategic workflow.

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“In order to keep your trucks busy at all times, you have to know where they are, their ETA, and have a queue ready to go, with a dedicated scout to keep things on track and a crew of drivers at the ready,” says Rate. “It’s all about running an organized shift. ” As the shop has built up its fleet of trucks, Rate’s worked diligently to build a deep bench of drivers. He interviews year-round, hands out cards to those he meets with impressive customer service skills, and keeps a constant file of potential new hires at the ready.

He’s also dedicated a member of the team to serve as a dispatcher for all of the shop’s towing calls, and most recently, Rate brought on a designated manager for the towing program to oversee the day to day operations, manage and repair the trucks, and help troubleshoot problems on the go.

Rate has also hired part-time drivers to have at the ready, and restructured the towing staff ’s scheduling to allow for staggered starts and give each full time driver one weekday off each week.

Homebase, an employee scheduling mobile app, is used now to keep hours and shifts straight.

The team has also streamlined its dispatch and call logging method and cut down their time spent on the phone with a pivot to Beacon Towing software. With the program, the team can receive, accept, manage, and track a tow request digitally through its entire cycle and record the net profit of each call. All of the shop’s trucks are equipped with the software to provide the dispatcher with live updates on their location and status of a tow.

THE AF TERMATH

Today Rate’s trucks are rarely at the shop.

“We’ll talk about taking a truck out of rotation and all of a sudden it’s gone.

They’re in nearly nonstop motion. I don’t have a spare truck yet,” he says.

Rate now has 16 full-time drivers to operate the shop’s 18 tow trucks and a total of 19 part-time staff ready to jump in and fill gaps when needed.

Real-time tracking through the shop’s software has helped Rate determine if incoming requests can be accepted or will be worth the trip, based on where his trucks are currently located out in the field.

With those tracking tools, the team has honed its workflow for maximum profit. Each morning the drivers depart from the shop and split up to cover a 20-25-mile radius in each direction while the dispatcher accepts and assigns calls to each driver. Rate’s drivers receive assignment alerts and can send notifications to the shop’s team to note when they are enroute, when they’ve arrived at a call and when they have completed a call.

The software has also helped them track the potential profitability of their partnerships with data on the shop’s net gain from each tow, helping Rate and his team set priorities for calls as they come in—a strategy that’s helped boost the shop’s towing profits to nearly $1.2 million (roughly one-third of the shop’s total gross profit).

THE TAKEAWAY

Rate advises approaching every tow truck like you would a bay—owners should be constantly strategizing how to keep them full and in motion.

“Overall you have to be willing to invest the time, money and staff to build a solid program the way you would any other part of the business, because running out on the occasional call is going to bleed you dry fast,” says Rate.

“There are plenty of X-factors, but you have to be ready to commit to those key investments if you want to see a profit.”

Nominate Today Let us know who is deserving of industry-wide recognition with this year’s All-Star Award program.

For more information and to submit nominations, visit ratchetandwrench.com/awards

s p o n s o r e d

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SPONSORED CONTENT

TOOLS, TECHNOLOGY & MORE

TABLE OF CONTENTS It’s been a tough year. Since we last published Shop Goods, vehicular repair services were declared essential businesses and a little virus called COVID-19 ravaged the globe.

Some shops persevered. Others folded or faced unimaginable challenges. No matter how successful your business, there are always services and products that can be improved upon that will take your shop to the next level and to help face new challenges with confidence and resolve.

Whether that’s marketing more effectively in your front office, communicating more directly with your customers or making use of the most cutting-edge tools on the shop floor, there’s always an opportunity to improve your bottom line. Ratchet+Wrench’s Shop Goods section has compiled several products to help foster relationships with your vendors, increase clarity with your customers and bolster efficiency, productivity and revenue.

Inside, you’ll find companies that have found strategies to better the industry through their goods and services.

Take a look for the tools and technology deemed essential—there’s that word again—for your shop and for your future.

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AUTOZONE

53

OEC

PROFESSIONAL EDGE

OEM PART INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

47

55

KUKUI

N A PA TR ACS

ONE LESS TASK CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE

EXPANDING THE NAPA TRACS PLATFORM WITH PARTSTECH

49

57

L E A DS NE A R ME

TECHNE T

MAXIMUM MARKETING. MINIMAL MANAGING.

FIND PEACE OF MIND WITH TECHNET

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MITCHEL L 1

CUSTOMIZE, CATEGORIZE & REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR SHOP SOFTWARE

UPS WEL L

THE POWER OF DIRECT MAIL 0 5 . 21 / R + W / 4 3

SPONSORED CONTENT

AUTOZONE

PROFESSIONAL EDGE PARTS BUYING INNOVATION GEARS TOWARD YOUR SUCCESS

Since its inception, AutoZone has worked towards one singular goal throughout the years: to help people who take care of cars. AutoZone knows that time is money and that turning bays, maximizing tech time and increasing efficiency, means more repairs and more profits.

AutoZone’s commitment to the professional customer is why they have invested their time and money into building revolutionary technologies to provide a better customer experience—and help you achieve your business goals.

You need to get the right parts the first time and manage customer expectations while reducing mistakes because your reputation is on the line every minute of every repair. AutoZone offers shops a “Professional Edge” with enhanced search tools and extended catalogs and delivery networks to get you parts faster, with notifications on orders so you and your customers stay up to date. Efficiency is everything in the chaos of the shop, and AutoZone has dedicated their resources into modern “Professional Edge Solutions” not only geared towards your business success, but also to take the worry and work off of you!

E A S I E R PARTS ORDE RI NG: Get the exac t par t s you need even fas ter with the mos t advanced 24/ 7 online search tools and intelligence.

• Search Multiple Terms at Once: The improved search functionality allows you to search multiple terms together, such as “brake pads rotor hub assembly.” All the results are returned to help speed up your parts selection.

• Search by Job or Create & Save Your Own: Get everything you need faster and search by preset jobs like “brakes – complete front” and the search results will include front calipers, pads, rotors, and the hardware kit. You may also create your own part lists that you typically buy together; for example, if you have a common recon list, create “Recon Level 1” and put battery, wipers, front brake pads, rear brake pads, front rotors, and rear rotors in the list. All of

4 4 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

these part types will be pulled when you click that job.

• Search the Extended Parts Catalog: Now you can search more parts including OE dealer brands and non-stocked parts from the AutoZone vendor network so you have access to nearly everything right from your own desktop and save time calling and searching elsewhere.

• Search Results Images: All search results have accurate, multi-view images to verify you get the right part the first time.

• Create Estimates on the Site: Save time by creating professional, printable estimates right on the website when selecting parts, and include services and terms of service plus labor via ALLDATA labor. Store customers’ names and information within the platform.

PROFESSIONAL EDGE

• Mobile App with VIN Scanner and License Plate Lookups: Find parts and prices from anywhere with the improved AutoZonePro mobile app.

Whether in the bay, outside the office or on the road, vehicles and parts scanned are automatically added to your desktop account.

PARTS BUYING INNOVATION GEARED TOWARD YOUR SUCCESS EASIER PARTS ORDERING

STREAMLINED ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT

FASTER DELIVERY

EXCLUSIVE PRICING

FA STE R DE LIVE RY: Maximize your profit potential with less waiting, less idle tech time, and more bays turning.

• Expanded Late-Model Stocked Coverage: AutoZone increased its store stock of late model coverage across product lines for more availability and faster delivery.

• Direct-to-Shop Efficient Delivery: We’ve modified our fulfillment model to leverage our entire network to get you the part you need directly from the available location; no more shipping from store to store, or hub to store • Easily Track Orders Online: Now via GPS technology, AutoZone can digitally track your orders and our drivers, ensuring the most efficient drive times and mapping the fastest routes to your shop. Pus, now you can also track your part orders progress online.

COURTESY OF AUTOZONE

STRE AM LI N E D ACCOUNT MANAG E M E NT: Intuitive single-login site for all of your business needs • Paperless Deliveries & Returns: When the driver arrives, just sign their digital device and your invoices are instantly available online. Returns also generate a text or email and your account is immediately credited.

• Full Transaction Access: Whether created online or from your

phone, the entire transaction is available online and you may easily search through invoices, returns, payments, credits or rebates whenever you need them without having to call the store. Print or download right from the site, no separate login required.

• Secure Online Bill Payment: No more writing checks or calling with credit card info. Your balance and credit information are available in real time and your credit limit is adjusted instantly when paid, which means you can keep your business moving. Pick your payment type, load a credit card or direct from your bank and all your info is securely saved for your next transaction.

E XCLUS IVE PRICI NG: Worry-free pricing means you can order with ease • No Need to Shop Around: There’s no need to price shop as AutoZone took the hassle out of the mix by looking at your business and surrounding suppliers and competitors to see what prices can best drive your success.

• Custom Competitive Pricing: Order with ease and rest assured that AutoZone did the shopping for you with competitive pricing on the parts you need most.

Ready to maximize ef ficiency at your shop?

Demo these features on the PRO Tip Widget or visit AutoZonePro.com.

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KUKUI ARE YOU DRIVING THE RIGHT BUSINESS TO YOUR SHOP? KUKUI Shops do. With KUKUI’s All-in-One Success Platform®, you get the data you need and the tools to manage it.

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The 10 ways KUKUI will change the way you do business...

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(877) 695-6008 www.KUKUI.com

Scan me

KUKUI

ONE LESS TASK CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE

COURTESY OF KUKUI

MART Y ROSS USES KUKUI TO HELP AUTOMATE HIS SHOP (AND KEEP CUSTOMERS ROLLING THROUGH HIS DOORS)

What do you do when a local Ford Motor Co. dealership sues you for copyright infringement for being known as “The Ford Guy?” You remain The Ford Guy and change your name. No matter what you call it, quality work endures.

That’s part of the story of Marty Ross and TFG Automotive, Ross’ Ford-focused repair shop outside Nashville, TN. Though Ross also works primarily with Lincoln, Nissan, Honda, Kia, Hyundai and Saturn vehicles, his commitment to quality began with Ford and the same holds true today. Trained at a dealership in California and soon striking out on his own, Ross is a veteran and self-described machinist by trade and analytical thinker who sees, “All six sides of the cube; two sides of the coin never tells the whole story.”

To help him see all six sides of his business, his clients, and his goals, he relies upon KUKUI and its suite of communication services.

“Everyone still calls us the Ford Guys,” Ross reflects on his decade-plus experience as a business owner and Ford certified master technician.

“Being my own boss suits me,” he says. “The way the dealership I worked at treated customers was not anything with which I wanted my name associated. (After taking his talent with him, the dealership had to fire three other employees it couldn’t afford to keep without Ross’ skills and efficiency.)

Today, TFG Automotive sits on two acres, roughly 5,500 square feet, six bays and enjoys a robust and loyal clientele.

Ross knows his market and is focused on getting the shop to run seamlessly.

He says he faces the same challenges all

owners face, and though he’s not interested in expansion, he is interested in maximum efficiency. To help achieve those goals, he started working with KUKUI in 2013 and hasn’t looked back.

“My main focus was to fill in the gap in our CRM software,” he says, “and we weren’t getting the one-on-one attention we needed. KUKUI designed and built our website and I was using them as our primary customer retention tool, mostly focusing on reviews at the time.”

As time went on, Ross became more comfortable with the suite of options and started using them as both a marketing platform to solicit new customers and to strengthen relationships with old ones.

He sent postcards around the holidays, and as more data (and customers) became available, he was able to see and manipulate the shop marketing numbers more and more.

“I’m a data guy; I like to see the numbers, and KUKUI was very customizable for what we needed,” he says. “We eventually got into DVI; I had used it more for internal training to see where I needed help in my own assessment abilities, and we’ll continue to use more of its features as we become more familiar with it.”

Automate for Simple Solutions Since the onset of the pandemic, Ross has utilized KUKUI’s texting features more and more. “It’s such a new way of communicating as an owner that I’m taking it cautiously and don’t want to go too fast and make mistakes,” he says.

To help further avoid mistakes, Ross speaks with his dedicated KUKUI account manager fairly regularly. “I like having an account manager who assists me,” he says, “and I like that anyone can go to my site and

set appointments. It integrates well with our other shop software, auto populating all the right fields and keeping us on pace for the day.”

Ross says that as an owner, any tool that reliably eliminates steps is a tool he can get behind. “I also like the ease of approving customers’ appointments with optional times for them if the primary one doesn’t work,” he continues.

“Automated rating asks are also great; as an owner, that’s one less thing to worry about.”

Ross knows his customers receive automatic appointment reminders and gentle nudges inquiring about regular maintenance appointments, “and that’s been effective,” he says.

“Overall, KUKUI is hands-down doing what we expect them to do and even a little more,” he says. This year, Ross expects to make a little more as well— his shop is on pace to make 2021 their best ever.

Since I use them for retention marketing, my customers are getting the emails and the “haven’t seen you in a while” notes, and that’s been effective.

Right now, KUKUI is hands-down doing what we expect them to do and a little bit more.

A little bit more is a great mantra for TFG Automotive, and Ross plans to add an additional employee and continue to familiarize himself with KUKUI’s tools.

“Utilizing the text platform will greatly increase our communication with customers and is faster than leaving a message,” he says, “and we embrace anything that makes our lives easier.”

To see how KUKUI can help make your shop life easier, check out kukui.com.

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LEADS NEAR ME

MAXIMUM MARKETING. MINIMAL MANAGING. ACHIE V E SUPERIOR SHOP E XP OSURE WITH L E A DS NE A R ME

COURTESY OF LEADS NEAR ME

As a shop owner, Ryan Bennett walks about twelve miles per day. From the desk to the bays to the lot of United Auto Care and back again, Bennett is as busy as they come. He took over from his father in 2015 and the company’s best year up until then had been about $294,000.

“If I don’t do that in two months, I’m ready to pull my hair out,” he says.

Success is stressful. Averaging about $2 million revenue per year with four technicians and a pair of service advisors, Bennett is bursting with work and hungry for more. But it wasn’t always that way—his hectic schedule is a result of good work coupled with incredible marketing. To that end, he credits Leads Near Me. Local Focus for Maximum Exposure Leads Near Me is not your typical marketing company. They don’t just cast a digital net and troll the easiest SEO waters hoping for bites; rather, they focus on one client per category per area.

“We’ve turned down other shops in the area to focus on Ryan Bennett,” says Ryan Burton, founder and CEO of Leads Near Me. “It’s not a perfect system but we do our best to focus on one per area.”

“Overall, we deal with hundreds of shops in 37 states and two countries,” he says. Burton is a media and marketing veteran of 30+ years and uses his extensive knowledge to help the best of the best, focusing mostly on Google ads, local SEO and shop website integration.

In his words, “we are the people who make the phone ring from Google.”

And ring it does. It wasn’t always as

robust, though—when Bennett took over, the shop was on its last legs.

“My old man is really old school and believed in word-of-mouth,” Bennett says, “and that’s how things were done and that’s how it went. I knew there had to be a better way.”

Bennett describes just how much Leads Near Me was able to help his business. They rebuilt the website and then suggested more websites and three different company brands. Bennett now has three side-by-side shops— general auto, Euro and diesel—with ad campaigns targeting each specific market. United Auto Care enjoys great success with all.

“Leads Near Me and Burton’s team built my phenomenal websites, manage my Google Ads, SEO, call tracking and analytics, and they do my social media.

We meet regularly and have very indepth discussions about where our business is coming from and we adjust as needed. Over the past four or five years, I’ve seen a direct 20 percent gain from working with LNM. It’s a factual difference I can see with my own eyes.”

Burton says it is critical for Leads Near Me that clients get great service and communication. Bennett can track his ad spend and ROI “dollar for dollar, customer for customer,” and see how they’re spending. He says it took about three months to really see a difference, but by the second quarter with Leads Near Me he could see where things were going.

“And by year’s end we were dialed in,” Bennett says.

“Every shop around me is slow while I’m on a three-week backlog. Looking ahead, we have beyond busted capacity.

We’re full. We would love to hire more technicians but we have no more bays to put them in and the average car count is insane.”

Thankfully, Bennett’s lot has space to build and that’s exactly his plan.

He sees no end to how busy his shop is and he accounts for that growth directly to Leads Near Me. “I trust them so much with my advertising that I call monthly and ask, ‘Do I need to up my spend?’ It’s their job to generate leads—and they’re extremely effective at it—and then the onus is on us to repair the vehicles and get them back in the shop.

This business marriage is amazing; Leads Near Me does an amazing job getting visibility and we do our job to make sure our customers never go anywhere else.”

Bennett was at first skeptical. He says he had seen the dog and pony show from other companies before, but everything about his experience with Leads Near Me has no precedent.

“I can remember Ryan Burton’s words the first time I talked to him—he said, word for word verbatim, ‘your troubles are over. You’ve called the right place.’ As a business owner, I thought that was crazy. We kept them on a really short leash but soon handed the complete marketing over to Leads Near Me. “They take care of literally everything. I can focus on running my business.”

To see how Leads Near Me can galvanize your marketing and let you focus on your business, check out LeadsNearMe.com.

0 5 . 21 / R + W / 4 9

DRIVE REPAIR EFFICIENCY AT EVERY STEP Save time, money and headaches with the industry’s most complete line of auto repair software & services for your professional repair shop.

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Call us: 800-275-4417 | Visit us: www.mitchell1.com Or find your local Mitchell 1 sales representative: www.mitchellrep.com repair information | shop management | shop marketing © 2020 Mitchell Repair Information Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Mitchell 1® is a registered trademark used herein under license.

MITCHELL 1

CUSTOMIZE, CATEGORIZE & REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR SHOP SOFTWARE THE MITCHEL L 1 SUITE OF TOOL S EN A BL E S S WIF T ACCE SS A ND 100% RO TR A NSPA RENCY

Q: What does a top three f inisher in the World Skills Olympics in diagnosis do with his spare time?

COURTESY OF MITCHELL 1

A: Open a repair shop, of course.

“I need a ton of stimulation,” says Fred Gestwicki, Jr., owner of Fix It With Fred (Canton, OH), “like, mindblown stimulation.” For tunately, there’s no end to that in the automotive af termarket and repair industries. Before owning his own shop, Gestwicki worked at a Hyundai dealership and became bored when he had reached the top of his craf t.

“I didn’t want to work as somebody’s employee,” he says, “I wanted more. I wanted to control the business myself, and I really like helping people; that’s my motivator, and you can only help so many as a technician at a dealer. As a shop owner, you can help a lot more.”

And despite the pandemic, Gestwicki is expanding; his shop set an all-time sales record in April and expects to break it again this May. So much stimulation (ie, business) requires a way to control and manage the chaos.

To that end, he relies upon the Manager SE shop management system from Mitchell 1.

Welcome to Mitchell 1 Land

“Mitchell is one of my main tools in the shop,” he says. Gestwicki has been using Mitchell 1 sof tware for over ten years—a technological eternity for today’s shop owner.

“The nice thing about Mitchell is the many spots to categorize customers; what that means is instead of just your basic info as a customer, I can put you in groups, use remarks, jot down notes, mark items with flags—I can do whatever I need to do so that when I intersect with you I know who I’m dealing with.”

Gest wicki cites vehicle memos as a favorite example. The memos automatically appear on the repair order, so when the shop has the vehicle histor y from another shop or notes from in-person encounters, “It’s all there,” Gest wicki says, “so af ter I see your car once, ever y thing auto -populates on the RO for me.

That helps give a personalized experience for the customer. If the customer tells me this car is how they haul their kids, that’s good to know. That way my SA , for example, can mention that and help the customer keep the car safe.”

He also enjoys the inventor ying aspects of Manager SE. He has it set up for many of the shop’s most common vehicular component sales: oil filters, wipers, etc. When any sales reps show up, it’s the work of a few seconds to see what he needs.

“Other POS systems I’ve used lacked in inventor y, ser vice procedures, estimators and par ts catalogs, and Mitchell is the most rounded product in the automotive ser vice industr y.”

He also enjoys the searchability of vehicle histor y. “Two customers have

brought the same VIN numbers and vehicles for ten years, for example; they still own the same car from when I opened. When they come in, I know instantly when I repaired the brakes last; I know they lasted 65,000 miles; and knowing the histor y of the car, I can recommend better ser vice.” “ We also use repor ting a lot,” he continues. “I don’t mean repor ts in general; there’s a specif ic database tool that no one knows is there (the far lef t tab). You can set up criteria for what you want to know, and it will spit out a huge CSV f ile for you to analyze. I’m a data junkie and I need to know; how many new customers last month, last three months, last six, last t welve; in a recent update they added Favorites, and now I know where those repor ts are and I can easily train staf f to get the data I need.”

G es t w ick i also ci tes t he cus tomer ser v ice as top notch. “ W hen you c all M i tchell, you’re get t ing a f i x right now. I t ’s a ver y organized company.

The sof t ware is also dependable — you go in and i t ’s never broke. I love work ing w i t h M i tchell; i f t here’s a problem or a ques t ion, you jus t make a phone c all. I f somet hing does break in M i tchell Land, t hey change t heir voicemail to let client s k now t hat somet hing is dow n.

They ’re ver y proac t i ve.”

“Huge, huge fan,” he says, en route to another sales record. To learn how Mitchell 1 can help you succeed, check out bit.ly/M1_ ShopGoods.

0 5 . 21 / R + W / 51

YOU NEED

OEM PARTS. Which means you need

RepairLinkShop.com

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When it comes to ordering OEM parts, access to accurate information is everything. Having a way to view correct OEM part diagrams and details can mean the difference between a vehicle leaving a shop in a timely manner, or not.

RepairLink Shop, from OEC, is an all-in-one online parts ordering system that allows independent repair shop owners access to not only a quick and easy way to order OEM parts, but also the needed illustrations and diagrams to do so accurately.

Dwayne Myers, CEO of Dynamic Automotive in west Maryland, says they were early adopters of RepairLink Shop, and the online parts ordering system is now a staple in his business.

“I definitely attribute part of our growth to RepairLink Shop because of our ability to get the information we need, and then to actually get the right part in a timely manner,” he says.

“All of those things help us get better, and when we get better, we get faster and are able to more efficiently get cars in and out of the shop.”

COURTESY OF OEC

Vast and Complete Part Selection

Because of availability and reliability, around 40 percent of the parts used at Dynamic Automotive are OEM. And for Myers and his business, the fastest, most reliable and cost-effective way to obtain those parts is through RepairLink Shop.

“The selection of parts through the system is so broad and across so many different makes—it’s not just one supply chain,” he says.

The all-encompassing catalog is easily accessible to all members of the Dynamic Automotive staff who may need to locate parts, aiding in each team getting vehicles back on the road as quickly as possible. RepairLink Shop also supplies information on specific part numbers and quantity of parts in stock at customer-specific pricing.

“Not only is the system easy to click through to get to what we need,” Myers explains, “what it provides us is beyond valuable to help us fix these cars.”

The free parts ordering system is accessible on computers, tablets, as well as smartphones, putting RepairLink Shop in every technician and staff member’s hands.

Access to Comprehensive Diagrams

“One of the features we enjoy most about RepairLink Shop is the ability to pull part diagrams right from the OEMs,” Myers explains. “The diagrams allow technicians to pick and choose exactly what parts they need for the repair.”

The illustrations are filed within the parts ordering system and are quickly searchable, making it easy to access for any parts manager or technician.

“The nice thing about the part diagrams is that we’re able to download them and then print them out,” Myers says. “We can then go to the technician with the papers, and they are able to circle which parts they need and the corresponding numbers.”

Overall, the detailed diagrams guarantee efficiency by ensuring accuracy—taking away any guessing

that could result in part errors and lengthened repair times.

“When you have a diagram, there’s a higher percentage that you’re going to be able to get the car fixed the first time without delays of additional parts ordering,” he says, “which definitely increases the efficiency and productivity of our team.”

The technical illustrations also save time by removing steps of potential phone calls and excessive communication between the shop and the dealership, which is especially important with busy businesses like Dynamic Automotive.

Close Company Connection

Throughout the five years that Dynamic Automotive has been using RepairLink Shop, Myers and his staff have formed a great relationship with the team at OEC. “If there’s an update on something or a new feature or function, they’re always open to input and trying to give us what we’re looking for,” he says.

The parts ordering system is simple to use for all members of the shop, Myers explains, but if there are ever any questions, someone at OEC is easy to get in contact with and happy to help.

“I would definitely recommend RepairLink Shop to all shops,” he says. “If someone has never tried it, I think they’ll be surprisingly amazed at the quality of the information available on the system, and how easy it is to access.”

For more information on RepairLink Shop, visit RepairLinkShop.com.

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N A PA T R A C S

EXPANDING THE NAPA TRACS PLATFORM WITH PARTSTECH THE NEW PARTNERSHIP HELPS TO SPEED UP SHOP EFFICIENCY BY INTEGR ATING QUICK AND E ASY PARTS ORDERING INTO THE TRUSTED NAPA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The shop management system is the only tool that is used for every single car that comes into a shop. The system aids in communication, efficiency, tracking, and overall sales—day in and day out. Set up correctly, the shop management system is critical to managing your efficiency, overall effectiveness, and profitability.

Since 1989, NAPA TRACS has grown to be a trusted shop management favorite for shop owners across the country, but for some, there was only one detail the system was missing.

“The lack of ordering from other systems outside of NAPA has always been the top reason customers have said ‘no’ to NAPA TRACS,” Jon Luttrell, GM of NAPA TRACS sales, explains.

But in the next generational change of NAPA TRACS, that reason will be completely taken off the table. The top shop management system is now partnering with PartsTech to offer shops a central spot to manage their shops and order parts however they choose.

COURTESY OF NAPA TRACS

Access a Full Catalog at No Added Cost

The partnership allows PartsTech to be used through NAPA TRACS Enterprise at no extra cost to users.

“For us, it’s a big departure from where we’ve been in the past,” Luttrell says. “Up until around 2016, NAPA TRACS was solely NAPA-centric for electronic ordering.”

Over four years ago, NAPA TRACS added the Epicor industry catalog to its system at an additional fee to customers as a way to expand beyond a directory of exclusively NAPA parts. Now, starting in late May, users can access PartsTech’s live inventory of millions of parts directly through the Enterprise management system at no added cost.

This partnership will create a one-stop shop for NAPA TRACS users.

“We’re now giving our customers the ability to buy from who they want,” he explains. “This allows our system to essentially purchase from any vendor electronically in the network.”

The partnership between NAPA TRACS and PartsTech has been in the works for years, says Luttrell, and felt like a natural progression for the company.

“Putting PartsTech into our Enterprise solution will really help our customers find everything they could possibly need, from parts, to body parts to tires” he says.

Speed Up Your Shop Efficiency

The partnership is particularly exciting for current users of both NAPA TRACS and PartsTech. Tom Piippo, owner of TriCounty Motors in Rudyard, Mich., and his service advisor, Troy Wilde, have utilized both systems to aid in the shop’s success and speed up efficiency.

NAPA TRACS quickly became the “doall” system at Tri-County Motors, says Piippo, but in order to purchase parts outside of NAPA, and without an added fee, they began also using PartsTech.

“With PartsTech, all of the vendors are right there in one spot,” Wilde explains.

“Especially being in a smaller town here, it’s nice to have the availability to just quick search without calling, or looking at each individual website.”

Piippo says seeing the initial integration of the Epicor system into NAPA TRACS was great because of the added efficiency.

“When I saw that you could just add all these other businesses, and fill them right into the NAPA TRACS system, I was just in awe,” he says.

Now, with the PartsTech partnership, this ease of parts ordering is faster and accessible to all NAPA TRACS Enterprise users at no additional cost.

“This really gives owners the

opportunity to find the part they need, bring it back, and not have to go through the hassle of rekeying data into the system,” Luttrell says.

Find Tires and Parts with Ease

To become even more essential to shop owners, the NAPA TRACS partnership with PartsTech is also offering PartsTech Tires to users.

PartsTech Tires is powered by TireConnect, and includes dozens of national tire distributors, allowing advisors a fast and efficient way to find the right tires from suppliers at wholesale prices at an additional cost.

“It’s essentially almost the same thing as PartsTech but for the tire industry, and they were able to bring it to us as a combined solution,” Luttrell says. “It is a natural fit for our customers.”

Just like the partnership between NAPA TRACS and PartsTech, this integration helps shops build jobs faster without having to jump in and out of multiple supplier systems. Making it easier to manage the shop, as well as buy and sell parts and tires.

“We feel this makes NAPA TRACS customers better,” Luttrell explains.

“They can now look at ever y thing ver y quickly and ef ficiently and find what they need. It doesn’t change the purchase process, NAPA par ts or not, they hit the same buttons and follow the same processes.”

Current Legacy TRACS customers can move to Enterprise now, and get the update to PartsTech when it’s released in late May at no additional charge. The addition of PartsTech Tires is available to NAPA TRACS customers as a paid add-on. For more information on the partnership, please visit napatracs.com and partstech.com/tracs.

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“I’M A TECHNET

SHOP BECAUSE...

It makes my shop stronger by helping me stand out in a competitive marketplace and helps cultivate a lifetime relationship with my customers.

”

JOHN PERRY Perry Automotive, Ekhart & Mishawaka, IN

TechNet Member Since November 2017

NATIONWIDE WARRANTY

ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE

ROAD HAZARD TIRE PROTECTION

LOCAL SHOPS, NATIONWIDE NETWORK TechNet shops get access to exclusive business and marketing solutions, including motorist programs like Nationwide Warranty, Roadside Assistance and Road Hazard Tire Protection.

Learn more at technetprofessional.com/membership Follow Us @TechNetPros

TECHNET

FIND PEACE OF MIND WITH TECHNET JOIN A NET WORK THAT PROVIDES YOU AND YOUR CUSTOMERS PROTECTION AND A SENSE OF EASE

In early 2010, at the tail of the recession, John Perry took a chance and opened his shop, Perry Automotive (Elkhart and Mishawaka Ind.). He grew up in the industry, and wanted to start his business to truly help people.

“I opened my shop with the basis of being able to bring the idea of service back to our industry,” he explains.

For support, he joined the network of shops that he grew up around without doing too much further research.

Soon, he began to see the service of the network slide, and started to look around for other options. He then discovered TechNet Professional Automotive Service, and delved into learning more about the network.

“What I really started to see with TechNet, was that we shared the same building foundations of what I had in my company, like taking care of the customer first,” he says.

The reliability, connection to shops, national coverage, and marketing assistance aided in Perry’s choice to join the strong network TechNet provides.

“TechNet has been phenomenal for us,” Perr y explains. “I’m a TechNet shop because it makes Perr y Automotive stronger.”

COURTESY OF TECHNET

Peace of Mind Warranty

When Perry explains the 36 month/36,000 mile warranty and roadside assistance coverage to customers, he’ll sometimes get a response of, “I get all of that for free?”

The nationwide warranty allows customers to visit any TechNet shop in the country with issues that may arise on their vehicle while on the road—giving them, and the shop, a sense of ease.

“It’s not just a three year warranty, it’s a peace of mind warranty,” he explains.

The coverage that Perry is able to give

his customers through TechNet is what makes his shop stand apart from others in his surrounding area. And the high level of work Perry Automotive provides, plus the added protection, attracts the right type of clientele for the business, aiding in high customer retention.

“We’re cultivating lifetime relationships with our customers,” Perry explains.

“We’re bringing things to the table, not just as an independent company but also the company we work with (TechNet).”

A Network of Support

Something that was missing for Perry when he was involved in his previous network was a feeling of camaraderie with the other shops and owners. He says that there was almost a sense of competition between the shops in the network. Now, with TechNet, he’s experienced a world of difference.

“What I’m noticing with the TechNet brand is that other shops are willing to cultivate a relationship to help each other succeed,” he explains. “And we are all working to be a part of a larger movement to change our industry.”

Perry has been able to form relationships with other owners in the network through phone calls and online groups, and can lean on them for support when needed.

“It blows me away because I could get on the phone right now and call another TechNet shop for something, and not feel like they are looking at me as competition,” he says. “We’re also all par t of a TechNet Facebook page where we can answer each other’s questions and share experiences, it’s such a cool camaraderie.”

Individualized Branding

Like all independent repair shops, it’s impor tant for Perr y that his business

is recognizable and stands out from the rest. TechNet allows for the Perr y Automotive name to shine through in their branding—contrar y to his previous network who would place their branding at the forefront.

“They were tr ying to create a cookie-cutter look by making ever y shop in the network look the same,” he explains. “But what I love about my branding now, is that it was never about making TechNet stand out, and instead about making my shop stand out in a ver y competitive marketplace.”

Working with TechNet feels like a par tnership, says Perr y, and allows him to be involved in the marketing decisions to grow his business.

Access to Training

To better serve their customers, Perry says that as a company they enforce training for each employee at Perry Automotive. TechNet offers access to a plethora of virtual classes from Carquest Technical Institute and Worldpac Training Institute (CTI+WTI) for all positions within the shop.

“The training helps our employees stay up to date in the marketplace,” he says, “and those teachers are phenomenal.”

The virtual classes include timely and relevant topics throughout the shop, including sales management, customer service, technical training, and more.

“The technical training is really geared towards taking a mechanic and making them a technician,” Perry says. “I’m a master certified technician with over 30 years of experience, and even when I watch one, I learn something every time.”

For more information on the benef its that TechNet Professional Automotive Ser vice provides, visit technetprofessional.com.

0 5 . 21 / R + W / 57

More customers. Period.

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UPSWELL

THE POWER OF DIRECT MAIL RELY ON UPSWELL MARKETING’S EXPERTISE AND PROVEN DATA TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN

Ben Thorington, owner of a Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Center in St. Johns Fla. and another in Grand Haven. Mich., first turned to UpSwell Marketing fairly early in his career as a shop owner. He read a few articles about the company and began to notice that some of the more successful owners in the industry were customers. After doing research of his own, he took what he calls a leap of faith and began to create a direct mail campaign with UpSwell.

Like he does with all new business ventures, Thorington gave UpSwell six months to see if the partnership was worth the investment. Those six months have turned into six years, and he is now currently mailing around 12,000 direct mail pieces a month—helping to grow his 8-bay shop in Florida to an impressive $3.5 million in annual revenue.

Thorington now sees UpSwell as a close business partner, expanding his shop by attracting more loyal customers with higher repair orders, as well as aiding in him successfully navigating the uncertain times of the pandemic.

COURTESY OF UPSWELL

Attract Loyal Customers and Higher AROs

When Thorington first began working with UpSwell, he started off by sending around 1,000 direct mail pieces a month. In just 12 weeks, he immediately started seeing growing results, and amped up his campaign by doubling the amount of mailers. At the six-month mark, the direct mail pieces were performing so well that he completely halted every other marketing avenue, and began to rely solely on UpSwell.

“As we got into the campaign, I discovered exactly what others were saying, and we began to see far more loyal customers,” Thorington says.

Direct mail helps to separate Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Center from

its direct competitors and pulls in individuals looking for more than just a cheap oil change.

“I started getting customers who were not just searching for the best coupon they could find,” he explains.

“The ticket average became three times that of the other marketing I was using, and proved to me that I was getting better, more loyal shoppers.”

Utilize Data to Market Effectively

For each individual piece of mail to be as effective as possible, Thorington leans on the UpSwell team to dig into surrounding data for him by facilitating and providing penetration reports.

“The reports drill into every single road that I’m mailing on,” he explains.

“The UpSwell team will then crossreference that information with my point of sale system, and really dive into the data.”

By looking at the penetration reports provided by UpSwell, Thorington is able to decide where to best invest his direct mail marketing dollars. Utilizing the report data, he has pulled back sending out pieces to areas where his shop already owns the market—as to not flood the mail boxes of already loyal customers—and then used those dollars to invest greater in areas with less current customers.

“Great data allows you to make good decisions,” he says. “UpSwell has really become what I see as a true business par tner.”

Lean on UpSwell’s Industry Expertise Thorington not only looks to UpSwell for assistance on his direct mail content and design, but also for budgeting and marketing direction.

And there hasn’t been a time more prone to needing direction and advice than the past 14 months. Thorington

says he went from talking to his UpSwell sales representative a few times a year, to almost daily when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit.

“You can go pick up the phone whenever and talk to someone at UpSwell, they’re always there to help,” he says. “UpSwell was one of my first calls when the pandemic hit.”

Contrary to what other businesses were doing, Thorington decided to actually increase his marketing budget during the first few months of the pandemic. He says he made this decision with the help of the UpSwell team, mainly because he trusts their insight as a marketing company with specific auto repair knowledge.

“They’re not necessarily going to be shy to tell me if I’m about to do something that they think may not help my business, and I think that’s because of their automotive background,” he explains. “They can understand emotionally how owners are feeling, but have the data to prove that something may not be the best decision.”

Turns out, the decision to increase his direc t mail pieces during the beginning of the pandemic proved to pay of f for Thorington and his shop. He was able to work closely with the UpSwell team to set up a cohesive campaign and create proofs quickly. The direc t mail marketing helped Tuf f y Tire & Auto Ser vice Center to stay af loat and bring in new customers during the dif f icult year.

Thorington has now sent out over 495,000 cards since he’s star ted working with UpSwell.

“Doing business with UpSwell has been, and will continue to be, a huge part of my success,” he says.

For more information on UpSwell Marketing, visit upswellmarketing.com.

0 5 . 21 / R + W / 5 9

Columns

THE FIXER Aaron Stokes

A SOUND INVESTMENT That next big splurge isn’t exactly a safe bet

new alignment rack you’ve been eyeing?

You probably don’t need it. And even if you think you might need it, you’re probably not ready to make the investment.

See, just because you lost out on a couple of sales that required a piece of equipment you don’t have doesn’t mean now’s the time to make your move.

Investing in new equipment is just as much about the right timing as it is about what you buy.

First and foremost, the right timing shouldn’t have anything to do with something new and shiny that just hit the market. I’ve mentioned it before, but I don’t think shop owners can hear it enough—your shop is not a toybox.

Your equipment is a tool, not a toy, and the minute you start to look into a major purchase because it’s been marketed as the latest and greatest, it’s time to reevaluate why you’re actually looking to buy.

One of the biggest mistakes I see when it comes to equipment is shop owners who want to invest before their business is ready. If you’re looking to buy a brand new alignment rack and you’re not even hitting $30,000 per month, you don’t need that rack. Plenty of guys will buy the nicest tire machine they can find and then won’t push tires. You’ve got to be selling tires to need that machine. You’ve got to be bringing cars in to need that rack.

Same thing goes for scan tools and any other equipment that attracts major buzz.

And, chances are, if you’re not ready to take full advantage of those new tools, your finances probably aren’t ready either.

I know there are plenty of financial 6 0 / R + W / 0 5 . 21

gurus out there who will tell shop owners to pay cash for their equipment in order to stay out of debt and I 100 percent agree.

Staying out of debt is a good thing. But I try to limit debt load by keeping my commitments small, short, and avoiding any overlap on those debts (i.e. I’m going to pay off that new alignment rack completely before I invest in another machine). If you’ve got half a million dollars sitting in the bank, sure, you can afford to pay cash on that new rack. But if you have less than $200,000, I’d opt for financing with a plan to pay it off as fast as possible—and by that I mean financing for five years, but paying it off in a year or two.

My rule of thumb goes like this: whatever the investment is, the moment you’ve decided you’re going to take the plunge, you need to set aside one third of the total cost in a savings account. Once you’ve got that third saved up, you can start financing the entire expense, and as soon as you’ve got your debt down to the final third you can pull your savings to pay it off in full. The reasoning? If I ever get into a situation where I need to sell that equipment and pay off that note fast, I’ll already have that third in the bank.

When shop owners tell me they don’t have time to save up or don’t think they can secure that one-third, what I’m really hearing is they haven’t taken the time to do their due diligence. They haven’t prepared their businesses for the risk they’re taking on.

I know a lot of owners have this silver bullet mentality about equipment, like that next big investment is a safe bet that’ll pay for itself, but what happens

Aaron Stokes grew his business, AutoFix, into a six-shop operation that is widely regarded as one of the top repair businesses in the country. He is also the founder of Shop Fix Academy. aaron@shopfixacademy.com ratchetandwrench.com/stokes

when they spend $10,000 of the $15,000 they have in savings? Suddenly cash is dangerously low and should something go wrong (as it always seems to), now the bank doesn’t want to loan you money because your business isn’t doing well and you don’t have that $10,000 when you really needed it.

The key to that one-third rule is it forces you to fully think through your investment and keeps you cash-heavy.

Murphy’s Law only moves in when you build a spare bedroom, and when you’re a business owner you could lose half of your revenue overnight. Take it from me.

It pays to slow down, show restraint and zero in on your ultimate strategy. That shiny new lift will do you no good if the waiting room’s sitting empty.

FUE VANG, GETTY

I’ve got bad news for a lot of you. That

Technical Training

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Whether you need help with your shop’s business, OEM service information or continuing education for your team, Advance Professional has you covered. Explore industry-leading business and technology solutions at my.advancepro.com/techsolutions.

0 5 . 21 / R + W / 61

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6 2 / R + W / 0 5 . 21