technician job experiences

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OL DODGE

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This is a generic question in nature -I've been a tech at a mom and pop shop for a long time (I am a non-family employee with the most seniority)and am thinking of going to a tire chain or dealership job-vastly different enviroments -so have any of you done a similar thing. I've thought this thing from so many angles that I'd like to get other peoples thoughts......
 
You might keep in mind that "tech" and "shop" cover a LOT of ground...........

You fix two way radios?

Appliances?

Computers?

??

Yeh I know, you are a mechanic. But juz' sayin. I know two guys who left a BIG (for Spokane) dealership because it was a cutthroat pressure cooker.......and the owners used the employees to make money by cutting them
 
Big chains ain’t so good, whatever you do get in writing!
 
I was Service management for 13 years. Dealer tech work is not what you may think. Warranty pay and time allowances suck. Everybody complains. Talked to a dealer tech friend of mine the other night. He is ready to open a shop on his own. I would go there and he can earn $80/hour for the work he does.
 
I have did both. I will say the mom and pop was better for the most part. But all of them say they have or will get the proper special tools to do the job, but believe me , that never happens. U sometimes cam make do as the owners say, but it ends up costing more time on that job. That is where the dealerships have mom and pop beat as the have to have most of the special tools. I have almost $100 grand (Canadian) in tools and still don’t have all the tools to work on the newer stuff. Kim
 
Dealerships used to be the places to work. Now, most of what they take in is warranty repair. Pays nothing like customer pay. I got to where I hated it.
 
And the favoritism is out of control sometimes.
 
All of the above. And then some.
Small shop is where i started.
I did 75% of the work.
Owner and myself. No vacation in 3 years. Shop was terribly cold in the winter.
Next shop i was lead hand and owner was a drunk.
Went to a dealership from there,although ford wasnt my thing i enjoyed my time there. It true that it is a cutthroat business and they do play favorites. Service writer did me no favours screwed me on time.
Management was big on training, and if you kept up with it, the wages would get better.

The drive was the biggest deal breaker,50 miles to and from work took its toll.

Im working at home now,24x32 garage with a hoist. Self employed and in control of how things are done. 70/hour and creeping up to equal local shop rates.
 
There is a technician shortage in our area -literally -the dealers,tire chains,used car shops -they all have help wanted signs. I have never seen it like this , so after 40 years of the same place , decided to fill out some applications. They all claim "better" so I was wondering.....that's all. A person spends his life taking care of priorities like feeding the family , and keeping a roof over their head and once that is accomplished and the child is grown up and moved away you say to yourself "should I be still driving this 90 Ram to work everyday or do I owe it to myself to try and see how the other half lives". I have 10 good working years left , God willing........
 
OL DODGE said:
There is a technician shortage in our area -literally -the dealers,tire chains,used car shops -they all have help wanted signs. I have never seen it like this , so after 40 years of the same place , decided to fill out some applications. They all claim "better" so I was wondering.....that's all. A person spends his life taking care of priorities like feeding the family , and keeping a roof over their head and once that is accomplished and the child is grown up and moved away you say to yourself "should I be still driving this 90 Ram to work everyday or do I owe it to myself to try and see how the other half lives". I have 10 good working years left , God willing........
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What I did when we moved to AZ was went around to all the local places talked to the owners and checked out the shops, equipment, general temperament on peoples faces along with how busy they were and how they handled it and picked the place with the best of everything.
Then bugged the hell out of them even though they told me they didn't need help, until they hired me. (at a higher rate that I made in CA) which was near unheard of in this area.

You have the advantage of them needing help.
Go around and check them out and tell them that you are just looking at the moment because you don't want to get stuck in a low paying slave position.
If they make you an offer right then tell them that you are just looking around right now and not quite ready to move yet.
Keep conversation quick and light, as in don't get into any conversations about how good they are or what the pay is or anything if you can help it.
They need to realize that you realize you have tons of choices.

There is also nothing wrong with standing back a ways and just watching the flow of the place for a little while, as this can give you some great insight as to how the place runs and what the general attitude is.
"The job might be gone" is what I heard a lot and your response should be "That's ok, I'm not ready to move yet, but thank you".
Go back again in a few days and ask a few questions like what the vacation time and money is like. (like you are giving them a second consideration.)
Believe me, they will appreciate you taking the time to make sure where you want to be, even though they probably won't mention it.
The idea is to get them to offer what you want, and not have to ask them for it.

When someone told me what they paid, I would respond with something like "Well, that might be ok to start with. (no matter how much it was)

Just so you know I have some experience with this, I have worked as Service Manager/fill in tech for Goodyear in Santa Barbara, Midas, Aamco as Forman/trans builder of automatics and manuals both, ATRA and ASE certified bumper to bumper in rear wheel, front wheel and 4x4.
Been out there quite a bit. :D

Retired from that and have owned/operated a computer service business for the last 20 years doing onsite setup, service and training.
I also get to deduct my Mopar as a work vehicle and drive it every day.
The main point here is, make your life what you want it to be.
 
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OL DODGE said:
This is a generic question in nature -I've been a tech at a mom and pop shop for a long time (I am a non-family employee with the most seniority)and am thinking of going to a tire chain or dealership job-vastly different enviroments -so have any of you done a similar thing. I've thought this thing from so many angles that I'd like to get other peoples thoughts......
Click to expand...
Check with your local VMF that services the postal service. Great pay, good retirement and they provide all tools. Go to the USPS website and click on careers at the bottom of the page. If considered you will be required to take a computerized test and also a shop test. Shop test usually consist of brakes, timing of distributor and some troubleshooting. Pm me for more info.
 
Gone back and forth, learned from each.

I went from being the second go to tech at a flat rate Ford shop to a locally family owned and operated tire shop that paid straight hours, plus commission on the job.

Loved the dealership. Most of my time was spent with the IDS in hand, using nothing more than my 1/4" drive set and a my soldering iron. Unless it was go to on brakes and suspension, I never touched my impact.

My wallet hated it. I worked two weeks for five hours a week. The service writer kept trying to convince the boss to take me straight time since I did so much heavy diagnostics. The boss wouldn't do it.

If the dealership is team flat rate, take a pass. Team flat rate makes for a lot of bad feelings. This guy nails brakes out all day, beating time and banks hours, this guy does nothing but warranty work, gets paid half and the brake guys time is taken to make up the short fall on the warranty guy.

Warranty guy thinks it sucks the other guy does brakes all day long and makes time, brake thinks warranty guy is shafting him because he doesn't do as much work and gets the hours anyway. Been there, done that in a team flat rate body shop.

I left the mom and pop after they sold to corporate. Been there, done that, warmed others to get out while the getting was good. They did away with both service departments and have since closed shop, thinking they could make money of fleet tires.

Opened my own shop and closed it two or three years later, due to my late wife's illness.

Next job I had was building trains in prototype. Put all my skills to use. Made more money than I ever did working on cars. And was a blast to do. Best stinking job I ever had not working for myself.

If you have a solid factory that will put your skills to use, sign up. Usually better hours, solid pay, benefits, and not having to deal with customer work.

Have a buddy who just left a Ford dealership as is working fleet for Bimbo bread. He loves it. Direct repair, solid hours without worrying about flat rate and customers, the truck needs something it gets fixed, no arguing with service writers, no miscommunication with a service writer trying to explain to the customer what the car needs, and no customers.

Lots of options out there if you're open minded enough to explore them.
 
Lots of fleet type shops are unionized up here. Would be a good way to go. I will stick with my home shop for now.
 
I will say that one thing being mentioned here is very true, being self employed in the field you like (or love) best is hardly going to work and the money is the best as long as the need for your service is there.

Having been the neighborhood car fix it guy for a few years, it was good. The hours were tough and complicated by being Mr. Mom to my daughter until day care could take her. Which helped but also cut a window of hours out to pick her up and cook dinner and such, but busy I was! Money I made.

As long as you stay busy, you can do well. Once your reputation gets out, there should be no shortage of work, just hours in the day to get it done.
 
Biggest thing about opening your own shop is you have to know the business end of it.

I've seen a lot of guys who've opened their own shop and are good at wrenching close in less than a year because they didn't know how to bill, how to run accounting, how to schedule, how to inventory, or they were just plain lousy in dealing with customers.

I've seen a lot bury themselves in thirty day open ended accounts who go hog wild on supplies, tools, and other things you don't need. And your part's guy's goal is to hit his numbers. That buy six cases of oil get the next six cases for half price may look like a smoking deal, but do you really have the business to move a dozen cases of oil in the next month when the bill comes due.

I can tell you two shops right now, one abused his thirty day accounts and is strictly COD with all parts and material coming from, three different parts stores. He's selling used cars to make ends meet. Another shop who purposely keeps himself COD and he's turning away business because he's so busy.

Remember, too, a lot of it comes with selling yourself. You have to prove how good you are as opposed to the competition, you have to sell the job to the customer, and everything else with making it work.

It's not for the feint of heart and knowing the business end of it helps the most. Wrenching will prove itself. Knowing the business is a lot of on the job training.

Personally, I kept the best of what the Mom and Pop's, the dealerships, and the corporate stores taught me about the business, and chucked what I didn't like and what I knew didn't work.
 
I know this is gonna sound hokey but here goes; I go where God takes me. As a Covenant Keeper, He promises to take care of me.And He always has.
I never made a ton of money, but I've never been out of work, and all my needs have always been met. I have been one of the highest,if not the highest paid local worker in my field. And I have been taken advantage of a couple of times. No matter; the bills got paid.
Funny thing, some to a few of the places I have worked, went out of business after I left,or I jumped ship as they were dying.lol.
 
AJ/FormS said:
I know this is gonna sound hokey but here goes; I go where God takes me. As a Covenant Keeper, He promises to take care of me.And He always has.
I never made a ton of money, but I've never been out of work, and all my needs have always been met. I have been one of the highest,if not the highest paid local worker in my field. And I have been taken advantage of a couple of times. No matter; the bills got paid.
Funny thing, some to a few of the places I have worked, went out of business after I left,or I jumped ship as they were dying.lol.
Click to expand...

cant remember who, but one of our annual guest speakers often says "I have never missed a meal, serving God. sometimes i got my Sunday dinner on Wednesday, but i always got it"
 
RustyRatRod said:
Because a lot of them are.
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i guess what i meant was, he has 40 years seniority at a job where you get to do about anything car related, why would you want to trade that for being the rookie and only get to balance tires and round off lugnuts?

if a lot of the tirechain job are better, how?
better hours, pay, insurance, ?
 
diymirage said:
i guess what i meant was, he has 40 years seniority at a job where you get to do about anything car related, why would you want to trade that for being the rookie and only get to balance tires and round off lugnuts?

if a lot of the tirechain job are better, how?
better hours, pay, insurance, ?
Click to expand...

I don't know......I can think of lots of reasons to "trade down" now that I am older. My last full year I worked before I got hurt on the job, I made almost 71K that year. No way I'll ever see 30K with what I am doing now, but it's a LOT less stress free. Money ain't everything.
 
Going self employed was a big leap of faith.
Managing the parts and paying for them isnt an issue.
I have dealt with the same supplier for many years, and i can say i have never missed paying my parts bill.
The wife does the books, but not as i would expect. Parts vs inventory vs tools vs shop supplies. Even though i mark every bill, it still doesent make it to the correct column.


For many i can understand why they just want a job.
Moving up,down or laterally to some is just for a change.
A change is as good as a rest.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I don't know......I can think of lots of reasons to "trade down" now that I am older. My last full year I worked before I got hurt on the job, I made almost 71K that year. No way I'll ever see 30K with what I am doing now, but it's a LOT less stress free. Money ain't everything.
Click to expand...

I would consider doing nothing but busting tires and changing oil a working retirement.

No such thing around here except Wally World. Every tire shop here wants you do to brakes, suspension, alignments. All cake work, but still more than I wanna do as far as working on cars go.
 
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