On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy returns from his medical leave to a lot of new faces - who have never been in the business before. So this being a podcast for the auto industry, we look at how to set these new guys up for success because no one else has thought to do that - as seen in the atrocious 2 year attrition numbers for new mechanic hires. The first real goal is to have them have tangible touchstones where you can sort them out. If they are struggling to understan...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 234
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy dives into the things that we love about cars. To be clear, you don’t have to love cars to be a mechanic, but it definitely helps when the job is hard. From some of the noises they make to the memories made in them, cars have been an integral part of the human experience for the last 100 years. Cars occupy every space of the sensory field- from how they touch and feel to how they interact with the road or off road environments. We also tal...
Feb 16, 2023•47 min•Ep. 233
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we lighten the mood by talking about what the internet thinks is wrong with their cars and how they are going to diagnose them. This article from Family Handy Man is very erroneously titled “15 Car Problems that You Can Diagnose (and Fix!) Yourself”. We go over the difference between the “low Oil Pressure” Light and the oil change interval light - because apparently this article thinks they are the same thing and makes the bold assumption that every c...
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 232
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we get into the heavy side of our listener demographic. This is clearly not a job for everyone, especially considering that some of the lug nuts you guys take off weigh several pounds. Uncle Jimmy has some diesel training in the brand that he works for, but typically they don’t weigh 15,000 lbs or require frame in rebuilds. Becoming a diesel tech can be an incredibly lucrative career choice, and if you’re a night owl you will find a surprising amount ...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 231
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about some of the sobering mental health aspects of the job. Seriously, a lot of us commit suicide, which is not the first thought you have when you think of technician mortality (insert Rolls Royce video here, we’re not going there). Because of Uncle Jimmy’s staunch “you’re not allowed to die before me” rule, if you are having these thoughts, please reach out! This article is interesting because it gets right to the heart of the issue - a lac...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 230
On this week’s Episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy does some old school comparing and contrasting between government figures and figures compiled by some of the brightest people in the industry over at WrenchWay. The government thinks that there is going to be little to no change in the need for auto technicians in the next 10 odd years, but we know as well as the folks over at WrenchWay - that is complete B.S. This week we dive into, “The Technician Shortage - Why it Exists and What Needs...
Jan 19, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 229
In this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy puts service advisors in his sights with some basic communications sciences. The Service Advisors who are able to effortlessly convey their commitment to solving their customers problems, pre-sell work down the line, and set themselves up for major financial success are very rare. So rare, that when you get a good one you really have to take notes. So we have! The biggest thing here is to always be asking for the sale, if you at least do t...
Jan 12, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 228
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we talk about some of the things that can kill you in your shop in both the long term and very short term as Uncle Jimmy is on the mend from going 2 for 2 against cancer. On the longer term side of things, brakes - especially from countries with less than scrupulous manufacturing policies, can still contain harmful amounts of asbestos because the US can't regulate everything. Couple this with smoking as many technicians are known to do and you can have...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 227
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy takes aim at the horizon and talks “Cox Automotive’s 10 Trends That Will Shape the Auto Business in 2023”. Being that this is Cox, it is mostly sales oriented, but what they are talking about effects the entire industry as a whole - and there's a lot of upside for us! The economy- probably not going to get that much better, hopefully it doesn’t get much worse. But in countercyclical economies, the service side of the businesses typically s...
Dec 29, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 226
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we take the lead from SurfWrench for some end of year statistics about technician satisfaction. One of the things that shocked us was just how many technicians at independent shops find the variety of work as an advantage- whereas Uncle Jimmy sees it as a major disadvantage. Typically franchise dealerships have better equipment and climate controls, and that can be a huge pull factor for technicians. We almost all agree that the manufactures are stiffi...
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 225
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we round out the year with reflection in the form of the much-dreaded self evaluation. Being able to quantify your work will give you a unique perspective when you go to ask for a raise, but also have a plan on what you want to improve upon in the next calendar year if you're going to make your move now. The holidays are also a great time to tune up the resume with a few extra days off and time with the family to put your career into perspective. Bein...
Dec 15, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 224
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we take a look at how to deal with difficult employees in your shop. Right off the bat, Uncle Jimmy completely admits to being a difficult employee, but when you weigh it against EVERYTHING else, he genuinely comes out ahead. We get into the optics of a manager calling their shop a “s***show”, when they are in fact responsible for it being in such a state. Additionally, keeping an even hand with your disciplinary practices will help you gain the respe...
Dec 08, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 223
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we go into the weeds on how employers can show their employees appreciation. Right off the bat it is never going to be a bad idea to feed your employees regularly, especially when you want their attention. Showing your appreciation can be a matter of shop morale, but even more importantly it can be an important tool to reduce turnover- which is a massive problem in this industry. Happy employees can also do things to your brand reputation that you can...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 222
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we break down the myriad of wanted ads that face technicians of every ilk every single day. Turns out they have a lot of ideas about what they want from you, but when it comes to what they are going to provide for your services - that bit is a bit lacking in the keyword count. The worst thing that you can do if you’re hiring a technician for your shop or dealership is not list any sort of range. Obviously everyone already knows that the wage is going ...
Nov 24, 2022•2 hr•Ep. 221
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we return to form by dissecting some of the insane things that our customers say. When a customer genuinely understands what is going wrong with their car they are usually pretty capable of communicating it effectively. When they don’t, chaos can ensure with lines that would make the guys from “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” proud. Apologies for how poorly this article is written, but it illustrates just how little people outside of the service side of the...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 220
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we get into the weeds of what makes businesses tick and examine the keys to their success and failure. There are a whole lot of ways that your auto repair business could be leaking cash. One of the major ones that we are going to focus on here is not selling repairs; where there are systemic failures to sell, there can be thousands in lost profits - simply because the Service advisor made an incorrect judgment call. We also go into “6 ways to Increase...
Nov 10, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 219
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we annihilate an article about the pros and cons of being an automotive technician. Right off the bat, if you think that $36-48k/year is “an exceptional salary” you are categorically wrong. Being able to work in a variety of environments isn’t always a good thing - because some of those environments will remind you of the third world. Fast paced workdays, being fast paced and chaotic is a bad combination especially when peoples safety is involved. The...
Nov 03, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 218
On this week’s pre-hallows eve episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy lays out the Malleus Maleficarum for bad technicians instead of witches. Embracing your co-workers incompetence isn’t really on the table if they are sending unsafe cars out the door, so here are the broadstroke points and you'll fill in the blanks when you look around your shop. 1. They never seem to do any work. 2. Listening to others is not essential to them. 3. Taking the initiative is not something that they do. 4. The...
Oct 27, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 217
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy actually does his homework and brings us some in depth analysis on an article called, “The Five Most Common Hiring Mistakes for Shops.” Right off the bat, we like the title because it really does transcend whether you are working for a manufacturer brand dealership or an indy shop. So in that case, here are the five most common hiring mistakes for shops: 1. “They are afraid to pay top buck” Top performers straight up produce, that’s why th...
Oct 20, 2022•41 min•Ep. 216
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy dies of the plague live on air. JK, he’s fine. But clearly with a bit of NyQuil influence, he found an article called “How Mechanics can Build Relationships with their Managers/Owners”. Overall, there is some pretty good stuff in here, but it needs to be reciprocated back with said managers and owners for it to really work in harmony. Taking initiative and being innovative - how much do your managers love it when you make a tool to do a jo...
Oct 13, 2022•41 min•Ep. 215
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we take a more thoughtful look at the idea of techs being paid $100 dollars an hour. Some of the ramifications of this could be profound, especially in taking this job deeper into the skilled trade territory in terms of paycheck heft. Obviously this wouldn’t work for a lot of shops - but if the employee retention is that much of a problem and they could afford it it might just be the way to keep the best and motivate/replace the rest. This is completel...
Oct 06, 2022•51 min•Ep. 214
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy quickly grenades the article that he found for this week and then moves on to a hypothetical that could be a model for how to completely disrupt the industry on a local level. The article is about the average price of repairs, which is something that varies so drastically that the calculus to quantify it hasn’t been thoroughly done. Add to this the unyielding variables of make, model, year, and the problems that are actually going on and y...
Sep 29, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 213
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we get to the nuts and bolts of all of the stuff nobody covered when they asked us to start doing Service Walk-around Videos. In this episode, we cover Uncle Jimmy’s transformation from complete neophyte to honest to god master of the Service Video Walk-around. Right off the bat, we were not in favor of them in the beginning because there was just no information out there on how to do this. Most of this research was based on feedback from customers as...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 212
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we look at some of the post-mechanic career options for mechanics. In the wake of last week’s episode about Electric Cars, we have noted that the rise of Electric cars could be the push factor that causes the technician shortage to spiral out of control. Simply put, electrification is going to mean the end of a lot of shops and dealerships- with Buick going so far as to offer franchise buyouts to dealers that don’t want to go electric. Bottom Line: pr...
Sep 15, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 211
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we discuss the fence between the forces of the government advocating and (in the case of California) insisting on banning the sale of ICE vehicles, and the general buying public that prefers said ICE vehicles. On the topic of California, we have a weird feeling that this 2035 ICE ban is about to make any tech in that state that knows how to work on EV’s worth roughly their weight in palladium. Because no one is moving in, they all seem to be coming to...
Sep 08, 2022•58 min•Ep. 210
On this week’s (correctly uploaded) episode of Grease the Wheels, we dive into improving the work environment in the shop. At the top of all mechanics lists: having working equipment - lifts, tire machines, alignment racks, that stuff! The first article we examine is “20 ways to improve your work environment from Indeed, and in reality only about 4 of them work for us as Auto Mechanics. Obviously climate controls matter way more when you are up and moving, so where you shop is and what climate c...
Sep 01, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 209
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about one of the major discrepancies in the automotive industry: the difference between managers and leaders. Managers are appointed, Leaders are ordained by the people they work with. When they are the same person, things can be great - when they are one or the other it can lead to conflict. We also do a deep dive on intergenerational differences in work, management, and even leadership that we see on a daily basis and some of the ramificatio...
Aug 25, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 208
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we take aim at another one of the omniscient themes that runs through our industry; conflict. Anytime you have people with broken things, you are going to get a level of conflict. This week’s butchered white collar article is “How to Handle Workplace Conflict”, and buddy there isn’t enough space in the margin for even the expletives involved when it comes to conflict in a repair shop. One of the main differences between conflict in an office and confl...
Aug 18, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 207
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we dive into one of the hallmarks of dysfunction when it comes to the automotive industry: communication. Whether it is customers being extremely vague when it comes to explaining their problems to Service Advisors, to Service Advisors telling customers the wrong thing (or even worse a promise time), to how the parts departments get parts to technicians, communication in our industry is vital and most places aren’t good at it. We also take a look at t...
Aug 11, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 206
On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, it’s time for some good old fashioned rants as we take a look at all of the stupid things that are going on in the automotive industry. From people in a tizzy about BMW’s heated seat subscription, to the customers in general- there is a genuine lack of understanding between consumers, companies, and the middlemen. We also take a very real world look into the manufacturing process and the dubious claims of some that are betting the country on an electr...
Aug 04, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 205
