Good's Auto Repair

All right, I'm the Flight Rate Master. Today, we're going to talk about ways you can verify you're going to work for a good shop. You've had the interview, they've sent you the offer, Let's talk about ways you can verify whether or not it's a good option to go to work for that shop. First and foremost, w Do they have it? I mean, that's a big red flag if they don't have service information. If they don't have all that, a Mitchell or a Denefix, that's going to be a problem. Service information is critically important when looking for a shop. How clean is the shop? The shop is dark, nasty, there's junk everywhere. It's probably not going to be a pleasant experience working there. If you've ever worked in a shop where you had an overhead light, flashlight, and another light just to be able to see what you're doing, You need to make sure it's well lit, kept clean, kneeling down on the concrete and coming up with a black knee that you then put on a customer's car because, well, nasty. Now, there are some they're there to put the best light forward so you want to come work for them. So they might do t One, after-hours interviews. Now, that's not inherently bad. After-hours interviews might help you facilitate actually getting in for an interview because it's after hours, you don't have to take time off from your regular job. But when you go into the shop and look around and you see empty bays, empty bays shouldn't be a concern to you during the interview because, well, you can't know what exactly was going on during the course of the day. So that's not really a red flag. We're going to get into why you need to verify other t If you interview during the workday and you can see the workflow in the shop and how busy it is, that also may not be a good indicator of how busy the shop is. Remember, they pick the day or you pick the day, they might have pushed scheduling to make it look Remember, they're trying to get you to come to work for them. A good shop wants good tax. Not a good indicator of how busy the shop really is day to day. Best t Also, take note of the parking lot. Now, t If there's a ton of cars that are just sitting there week after week, there are abandoned cars, there's cars that the customers haven't approved, repairs, there are broken cars that aren't getting fixed. So you need to be aware of that. If you see a bunch of cars that don't move, that's a huge red flag. If their parking lot is slaps full, but you see car after car that's been sitting there for weeks, means those cars aren't getting fixed. What's that tell you about the shop? It's a red flag. Now they may be, But it'still somet A busy parking lot may not necessarily mean a really busy shop. It might literally mean their customers can't afford to fix their cars. So it's a big red flag. But watch, see what kind of repairs are being done. I know it sounds kind of stalkery, but it's your living that you're about to change jobs to. So you've got to be very diligent to observe for a little while, They get parked. Is it a lot of little work? Because we know little work doesn't pay that well. You need to watch for that as well. If you see a car in a bay and a technician working on it, and he's working on it, it's been there a w And t An hourly with commission is not going to be happy either. Keep those t Online reviews, in my opinion, are some of the most manipulated the companies that host them, the companies that are reviewed, the people that review them. They all have their own angles. Review sites want you to pay for ultra premi Shop owners, business owners, and t It's just the way of the world where they'll literally buy off bad reviews to get them revised. Yes, I know that violates certain t Instead of responding and trying to fix the situation, they will get that customer to remove said bad review. And obviously, people that review t Some of them are trying to get stuff out of companies deliberately. So, yeah, I mean, t It's not a good metric to really see a shop. The only time reviews are really relevant for me is when it's universally bad. When it's universally bad, they're probably not a place you want to go to. 5. 0, 4. 9, chances are it's being manipulated to some point. So, I don't I know that was kind of ranty, but on the side of the technician, look at their reviews. Look at, try to find the negative ones. The glowing ones are going to be the glowing ones. But look at the negative reviews. See what they actually say about the business, because you'll probably get a truer sense of actually how they treat their customers. Now, obviously, the random, oh, You can count and discount some of that kind of stuff as, Usually they're diagnostic feedback, but as a technician, it does give you an idea of how they treat their customers. Wanting to do a good job and there's complaints about warranty, there's complaints about how they got their car back or stuff like that, or, That might be some red flags. Now, obviously, you got to be careful about some of that stuff. Three year old review on a service rider that's no longer there probably isn'that relevant. But if it's a recent review and they've got very negative reviews, it'somet T Ask if they're in any coac Certain coaching programs have certain ways that they If you're not familiar with a management group that they're with, search them out, find some of the details about that management group. It may say whether or not you want to go work for them depending on what management group they work with. Maybe a factor, it may not be a factor. If they don't work for the management group, maybe a non-issue. You may find some management groups are a little more sketchy than others. Some management groups aren'that good, honestly. Just somet All you got to do is talk to shop owners and they're all touting their favorite management group that they're vividly involved with, etc. They don't disclose it. That might be another red flag. So as always, I am the Flatrate Master.