flat rate

Learn the importance of valuing your technicians, discover effective strategies on how to transition out of flat rate, and explore ways the auto industry can improve technicians’ career paths. Immerse yourself in Aleck's passion for the automotive industry in this week's episode!

View the video podcast on YouTube

About Our Guest:
Aleck Brownstein
Regional Vice President, Volvo Car USA
aleck.brownstein@volvocars.com

Sponsor:
Wind River Payments

About Our Host:
Jay Goninen
Co-Founder & President, WrenchWay
jayg@wrenchway.com | 608.716.2122

WrenchWay Resources:
Technicians & Students - Looking for the best shops to work at? Check out wrenchway.com/shops

Shops & Dealerships - Want to find quality technicians and support the industry? Learn about WrenchWay Shop Memberships.

Instructors - Need help getting resources and connecting with industry? We have free resources for your program. 

Connect with us on social:

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• YouTube
• TikTok

Don't get to the end of this year wishing you had taken action to change your business and your life.
Click here to schedule a free discovery call for your business: https://geni.us/IFORABE

Shop-Ware gives you the tools to provide your customer with a unique and immersive buying experience.
Click here to schedule a free demo: https://geni.us/Shop-Ware

Utilize the fastest and easiest way to look up and order parts and tires with PartsTech absolutely free.
Click here to get started: https://geni.us/PartsTech

Transform your shop's marketing with the best in the automotive industry, Shop Marketing Pros!
Get a free audit of your shop's current marketing by clicking here: https://geni.us/ShopMarketingPros 

David and Lucas sit down with Jake Fruth, Product Technical Specialist for Diagnostics at Matco Tools at ETI Tool Tech 2023.

Topics Discussed:

The start of the podcast. (0:00)

How did you get started in the industry? (2:21)

Sharing your thoughts on the pay. (7:20)

The cost of running the business. (11:56)

How we’ve devalued the diagnostic process. (14:47)

Giving away diagnostic time devalues time. (19:28)

Looking around for a shop to work for. (25:19)

The importance of having a long-term customer. (26:44)

Short-term vs long-term savings. (32:08)

The hybrid system. (39:19)

Paying your employees well enough to make good choices. (40:39)

Paying hourly vs flat rate. (43:19)

Pitching the idea to the shop. (51:03)

The mindset of the technician. (54:57)

How to improve the image of the industry? (57:54)

The problem with people who teach this model. (1:04:35)

The power of forgiveness. (1:08:11)

Like the Beyond the Wrench podcast? Be sure to follow & rate us — whether on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

In this week’s episode of Beyond the Wrench, Tully Williams, Fixed Operations Director, The Niello Company joins us for an exciting episode. Tully shows his passion for the automotive industry by discussing ways shops can keep their technicians happy. He talks about why flat rate gets a bad name, how shops can care for their technicians, and how to improve the manager and technician relationship.

Resources:

Learn more about WrenchWay Top Shops

Download the free WrenchWay app in the App Store or on Google Play:

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1534587616
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wrenchway.insiders

About Our Host:

Jay Goninen
Co-Founder & President, WrenchWay
jayg@wrenchway.com | 608.716.2122

About Our Guest:

Tully Williams
Fixed Operations Director, The Niello Company
twilliams@niello.com

Sponsor:

Collabtic gives your technicians the confidence and insight they need to service their customers. Collabtic’s A.I.-driven knowledge base builds organization intelligence as the system is used to provide proactive recommendations to technicians. To learn more about if Collabtic would be a solution you would like to add to your shop, check out collabtic.com.

Connect with us on social:

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Figuring out how much to charge for shipping is almost as hard as figuring out out how much to charge for your woodworking products. Here are four strategies that will help.

Recommendations

Shipping Strategy:  https://www.shopify.com/blog/shipping-strategy
How to Sell Furniture on Etsy - https://arayofsunlight.com/how-to-ship-furniture-on-etsy/

Support The Show On:
    Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/workatwoodwork

Affiliate Links:
Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking: Three Book Set: https://amzn.to/3anhzrY

Taylor Tools: https://lddy.no/19h9v

SKILLSHARE  - EXCLUSIVE: 30% OFF ANNUAL SKILLSHARE PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP WITH CODE:  Annual30aff

Unitel Voice VOIP- https://unitelvoice.grsm.io/2nio74g7myc5

Working At Woodworking Podcast hopes to encourage and provide information to amateur woodworkers who dream about turning their hobby into a full-time or part-time business, and to help current business owners succeed. Business coaching is available at reasonable rates. 

Sound effects from: http://www.freesfx.co.uk

Contact:
For more information or to support WAW, visit the website at https://www.workingatwoodworking.com

Questions, comments, and complaints can be sent to roger@workingatwoodworking.com or call 812-325-9823.

HAVE A GREAT WOODWORKING DAY!

Contact Me: https://www.workingatwoodworking.com
Support This Podcast: Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/workatwoodwork

Don't get to the end of this year wishing you had taken action to change your business and your life.
Click here to schedule a free discovery call for your business: https://geni.us/IFORABE

Shop-Ware gives you the tools to provide your customer with a unique and immersive buying experience.
Click here to schedule a free demo: https://geni.us/Shop-Ware

Utilize the fastest and easiest way to look up and order parts and tires with PartsTech absolutely free.
Click here to get started: https://geni.us/PartsTech

Transform your shop's marketing with the best in the automotive industry, Shop Marketing Pros!
Get a free audit of your shop's current marketing by clicking here: https://geni.us/ShopMarketingPros 

In this episode, Lucas and David sit down with Daniel Clodfelter.

Daniel is currently a technician with Legendary Automotive And Truck Repair Service (http://legendaryfl.com) in Fort Meyers Florida. Before making the jump to an independent repair facility, he spent time working at GM and Ford dealerships.

He also helps manage a FB group with over 5200 automotive professionals in it and has a pulse on the current mindset of professional automotive technicians everywhere.

Are you spending your nights at the shop or worrying about the shop? Get the numbers you need to see what’s going on with each tech and each profit center, thanks to advanced analytics. Get Shop-Ware.com and get some sleep.

Click Here: Get Shop-Ware.com

Like the Beyond the Wrench podcast? Be sure to follow & rate us — whether on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

In this week’s episode of Beyond the Wrench, we are joined by Zach Espinosa, Automotive Technician, Honda. We are discussing the main reason Zach left his former shop, the opportunities presented to him by his new employer, the different pay structures between the two shops, and more!

About Our Host:

Jay Goninen
Co- Founder & President, WrenchWay
jayg@wrenchway.com | 608.716.2122

About Our Guest:

Zach Espinosa
Automotive Technician, Honda

Resources:

Download the free WrenchWay app in the App Store or on Google Play:

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1534587616
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wrenchway.insiders

Connect with us on social:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• TikTok

Don't get to the end of this year wishing you had taken action to change your business and your life.
Click here to schedule a free discovery call for your business: https://geni.us/IFORABE

Shop-Ware gives you the tools to provide your customer with a unique and immersive buying experience.
Click here to schedule a free demo: https://geni.us/Shop-Ware

Utilize the fastest and easiest way to look up and order parts and tires with PartsTech absolutely free.
Click here to get started: https://geni.us/PartsTech

Transform your shop's marketing with the best in the automotive industry, Shop Marketing Pros!
Get a free audit of your shop's current marketing by clicking here: https://geni.us/ShopMarketingPros 

This is part two of our conversation with Sean Tipping of the Automotive Diagnostic Podcast which you can check out at autodiagpodcast.com and former shop owner and now diagnostician Adrian Lowes.

Explicit Language Warning: Lucas decided to drop a whole mess of F-bombs halfway through the episode.

Are you spending your nights at the shop or worrying about the shop? Get the numbers you need to see what’s going on with each tech and each profit center, thanks to advanced analytics. Get Shop-Ware.com and get some sleep.

Click Here: Get Shop-Ware.com

Don't get to the end of this year wishing you had taken action to change your business and your life.
Click here to schedule a free discovery call for your business: https://geni.us/IFORABE

Shop-Ware gives you the tools to provide your customer with a unique and immersive buying experience.
Click here to schedule a free demo: https://geni.us/Shop-Ware

Utilize the fastest and easiest way to look up and order parts and tires with PartsTech absolutely free.
Click here to get started: https://geni.us/PartsTech

Transform your shop's marketing with the best in the automotive industry, Shop Marketing Pros!
Get a free audit of your shop's current marketing by clicking here: https://geni.us/ShopMarketingPros 

When David and Lucas started this podcast, one of their goals was to capture the conversations you tend to have in between sessions at events like ASTE, Vision, or AAPEX.

These conversations are usually candid, unfiltered, and almost always eye-opening.

No single episode more encapsulates what they wanted to capture than this conversation with Sean Tipping of the Automotive Diagnostic Podcast and former shop owner and now automotive diagnostician extraordinaire Adrian Lowes.

Are you spending your nights at the shop or worrying about the shop? Get the numbers you need to see what’s going on with each tech and each profit center, thanks to advanced analytics. Get Shop-Ware.com and get some sleep.

Click Here: Get Shop-Ware.com

Don't get to the end of this year wishing you had taken action to change your business and your life.
Click here to schedule a free discovery call for your business: https://geni.us/IFORABE

Shop-Ware gives you the tools to provide your customer with a unique and immersive buying experience.
Click here to schedule a free demo: https://geni.us/Shop-Ware

Utilize the fastest and easiest way to look up and order parts and tires with PartsTech absolutely free.
Click here to get started: https://geni.us/PartsTech

Transform your shop's marketing with the best in the automotive industry, Shop Marketing Pros!
Get a free audit of your shop's current marketing by clicking here: https://geni.us/ShopMarketingPros 

In this episode, Lucas and David sit down with Jeff Compton, a 23 year veteran of the automotive industry. 

Jeff has worked on everything from Caterpillar D9 Bulldozers to light-duty automotive, and everywhere from tractor-trailers on the side of the road, to 2 bay independent repair shops, to 20 bay Chrysler dealerships.

Jeff is extremely opinionated and brings his experience and perspective to the table on what is plaguing the industry and what he sees as solutions to these problems. 

Although his opinions didn't go completely unchallenged, you’ll likely find his thoughts to be eye-opening as to what may be the prevailing opinion of a lot of experienced technicians in the field today. 

Are you spending your nights at the shop or worrying about the shop? Get the numbers you need to see what’s going on with each tech and each profit center, thanks to advanced analytics. Get Shop-Ware.com and get some sleep.

Click Here: Get Shop-Ware.com

Don't get to the end of this year wishing you had taken action to change your business and your life.
Click here to schedule a free discovery call for your business: https://geni.us/IFORABE

Shop-Ware gives you the tools to provide your customer with a unique and immersive buying experience.
Click here to schedule a free demo: https://geni.us/Shop-Ware

Utilize the fastest and easiest way to look up and order parts and tires with PartsTech absolutely free.
Click here to get started: https://geni.us/PartsTech

Transform your shop's marketing with the best in the automotive industry, Shop Marketing Pros!
Get a free audit of your shop's current marketing by clicking here: https://geni.us/ShopMarketingPros 

Lucas & David are joined by Mike Allen, President of CarFix located in both Garner and Raleigh, NC. He is also a Director with the Independent Garage Owners of North Carolina. 

They discuss who has tried to kill flat-rate plans, why you probably shouldn't be paying flat-rate, and why they're the best way to pay the techs for certain shop owners.  

After listening to this episode, you'll understand why pay plans should be deliberate and unique. 

Lucas also disparages an entire group of people that will never actually get to hear this podcast. 

Enjoy!

Are you spending your nights at the shop or worrying about the shop? Get the numbers you need to see what’s going on with each tech and each profit center, thanks to advanced analytics. Get Shop-Ware.com and get some sleep.

Click Here: Get Shop-Ware.com

Anja Smith, managing partner of All Clear Plumbing, shares her experiences working with family, how her plumbing company made it through the early days of  COVID-19, and why her business decided to build both its own flate rate price book and apprenticeship program! 

Like the Beyond the Wrench podcast? Be sure to follow & rate us — whether on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

We recently put out a poll on whether or not warranty repayment rates for technicians are fair for an episode of WrenchWay Weekly. We generated a lot of conversation around the topic, so we wanted to extend the discussion on this week’s episode of Beyond the Wrench.

Today, we welcome Squire Pettis, Regional Aftersales Manager, Alfa Romeo, to the show. With 12 years of experience with OEMs, Squire offers some great insight on warranty repayment rates from how they are calculated to how manufacturers work with parts suppliers, and more. 

About Our Host:
Jay Goninen
Co-Founder & President, WrenchWay
jayg@wrenchway.com | 608.716.2122

About Our Guest:
Squire Pettis
Regional Aftersales Manager, Alfa Romeo

Connect with us on social:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• TikTok

Ralph and Lou discuss how Technicians get paid and how that affects your estimates. We explain how an estimate comes to be and what questions you should be asking.
Always inquire about the following,

• How much is labor and how did you come to that conclusion?
• How much are parts, what are the parts, what is the part warranty?
• How much is tax?
• Are there any additional shop fees or delivery or shipping fees?

We discuss road testing customers cars and how treating the customers personal possessions will affect not only your personal relationship with the customer but also your integrity and credibility. 
Communication on all fronts is truly what creates a great foundation for good service center to customer interactions.