Digital Shop Talk Radio

On this episode of The Digital Shop® Talk Radio, we met with Jay Goninen from WrenchWay and Fred Gestwicki from Fix-it With Fred about how to build and All-Star team for your Digital Shop. We’ll talk winning strategies to succeed in today’s tough climate and give some insights to help you prepare for the future, as digital technology redefines traditional auto shop roles. - Hear best practices for recruiting the right people for your operation - Learn how to build a bench of talent - Discover how The Digital Shop® is enabling innovative shops to re-imagine traditional roles

Have you ever wished you had a magic button that you could push and fill your bays with the type of work you want to do? Well, guess what? You have it! On this episode we hear from shop owner Russ Crosby (Russ’s Wrench in Clinton, NJ) and his service advisor Becky Hoffman as they discuss how they used AutoVitals' Campaign Manager to increase new appointments from marketing campaigns by 25%!

As Digital Shops continue to discover innovative ways of running their shops by focusing on performance metrics, putting the paper-based shop to shame, new opportunities through Digital Inspections and Workflow Management arise that challenge the industry status quo. On this week’s episode of the Digital Shop Talk Radio, Host Tom Dorsey is joined by Bruce Nation, owner of Westlake Independent in Westlake Village, Cali., and Neil Daly, owner of Oceanside Motorsports in beautiful Oceanside, Cali. to compare the benefits and challenges of Techs and Service Writers taking on different roles in the Digital Shop, and how each of these successful operators are applying digital best practices to crush goals that would be impossible to reach in a paper based shop.

By nature, the job of a service advisor is incredibly hectic, making it hard to streamline processes in a day that's constantly filled with interruptions. On this week's episode of The Digital Shop Talk Radio we teamed up with the crew at DRIVE to bring you Mike Button (Owner of Affordable Automotive, DRIVE client) and David Saline (VP of Sales, DRIVE) who will help us explore: - How integrating your PoS can not only save time, but dramatically increase the value of your inspections - Techniques and tools to better manage tasks throughout the day, so your service team can stay laser-focused on sales - Ways to prep your staff for changes in the shop, getting them to buy in from the get-go

No matter how much you plan, prep and market, there are certain circumstances (not caused by you or your staff) where business can be slow. Check out this episode if you share the belief that every problem is an opportunity. Join Dave DeRosier (Freddie Kish's Complete Car Care Center) as we discover what creative (and productive) ideas that slow times can create.

On yesterday’s episode of DSTR, we welcomed shop owner Frank Scandura (Frank's European Service, Las Vegas) and Carlos Contreras (Northtown Auto Service, McHenry, Ill.) to figure out which drop-off approach creates the best customer experience. We discussed: - COVID-induced solutions to greet customers and make them feel taken care of - Ways to best educate the customer and lead them down a path to buy - The importance of scripts and a well-defined process when managing your shop's first impression with the customer

Service Advisors can't work remotely, right? Of course they can! On this week’s episode, we welcome Russ Crosby (Russ's Wrench, Clinton, NJ) who has used COVID-era constraints and shop expansion as a catalyst to explore the opportunities that a remote staff will allow - and the results speak for themselves. What we covered: - How to manage multiple shops from one location - A staff that's able to work from anywhere helps both shops to strive - What types of work you can manage remotely, and the tools necessary to set yourself up for success - The type of challenges to be tackled

Are Trends Educating Motorists Better Than Strictly Providing the Current Conditions? On today’s episode of DSTR, we welcome shop owner Fred Haynes (multiple Honest-1 locations in MN) and his store manager Brandon Polhemus who provide thorough inspections with the most current info. Well what if there's more to it than that? We'll discuss: - How to use digital media in new ways to educate the motorist - Techniques more effective (and less interruption-driven) than using the phone - The ability to track trends is easy, and beneficial to the shop and the motorist

Should production management in my shop be owned by the whole team or one person? Today’s episode of DSTR will feature a debate between three shop owners with strong opinions about how production and task management should be handled in the shop. What we covered: -The pro's & con's of a Production Manager vs. Pool Management -Which method makes sense for your shop? -Groundbreaking tools that will make production management easier, no matter which process you choose - Compensating your team, no matter which way you choose For more info on our podcast, go to www.autovitals.com/radio

Today we're working with Protractor (and a couple of high-performing shops) to discuss how inefficiencies in the shop add up in time, and dollars, tempting Service Advisors to take shortcuts. So let's make it easier for them to build the estimate. We'll explore the integration with Protractor and AutoVitals, and how it allows our shops to simplify the RO writing process and how to identify opportunities to get to the best possible use of your SA’s time.

“There’s a million good reasons to send it, and 0 to not”“It’s just about staying the course”Resistance to change - adoption but only half adoptionUntil it becomes muscle memory - easier to overcome in the beginningSend the inspection out as soon as you edit it, don’t wait on the estimate. The more they look at it before a cost is attached, the better. They sold themselvesGuys half committed are worse than uncommitted at allYou can’t properly inspect a car in 6 minutes, paper or not, so commit to the better processSpeech to text was most rapidly adopted featureSAs pushed outside of their comfort zone, but time and consistency takes care of itChanges the selling procedure - you’re educating, they’re buyingIt’s so much nicer to schedule the work out - bigger chunks of work, easier to plan their day, etc

Post-It notes? Mental checklists? A pen and paper? How are you managing your shop’s tasks? On this episode of The Digital Shop Talk Radio, Mike Holmes (Holmes Auto Repair) tells us how the Task Manager on the new AutoVitals’ TVP.X has turned his service team into efficient, error-free Task Masters. Not to mention the $200 ARO increase he saw after implementation. Here’s what you’ll learn: Why it’s much harder to put out fires vs. preventing them in the first place How the Task Manager helps shops stay organized and focused on production Real life examples from a shop owner who is using it

Producing consistent Digital Vehicle Inspections (DVI) is pivotal to generating the maximum benefit of going digital. In the past, reaching that level of consistency look a lot of time and effort. Join us to learn how the new features in AutoVitals' Guided mode enables this shop to deliver high-quality, consistent inspections at a rate faster than ever before. Here’s what you can learn: - How shop owner Neil Daly (Oceanside Motorsports, Oceanside, CA), a seasoned DVI veteran, used AutoVitals' Guided mode to increase his ARO by over $100 - The simplicity of the new tools, features and techniques that make DVI easier, and more profitable, than ever before - Why consistent DVIs can have long-term benefits in your shop - Data showing just how impactful and simple Guided can be to use

What can an auto repair shop learn from the Moneyball method? It turns out a lot, actually. Join us to learn how Adam Bendzick of Pro Service Auto Repair uses the Business Control Panel (BCP) by AutoVitals to set goals, track profit-driving metrics and motivate his staff in the bays and at the service counter. Here’s what you can learn: - The revenue-driving metrics top shops use to measure success and the actions that drive them, like Billy Beane in the movie Moneyball - How to set goals, track progress and use data to motivate shop staff - Ways you can use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to make decisions based on data, not emotions - Why the motorist benefits from a data-driven shop Here's the link to the clip from Moneyball: https://youtu.be/DtumWOsgFXc AutoVitals empowers automotive repair shops to increase profitability and revenue, improve inspection quantity and quality, and drive motorist satisfaction and retention. AutoVitals delivers The Digital Shop® software suite to help shops reach their

Production management is crucial in a repair shop. Join us to learn how two shop owners found the right combination of staff and systems to get more work down in less time, and grow their business by millions along the way. Here’s what you can learn: - Why specializing roles in the shop not only increases productivity, but enables staff to work on tasks they enjoy and are good at - How shop owners John Long (Schertz Auto Service, Schertz, Tex.) and Adam Bendzick (Pro Service Automotive, Prior Lake, MN) use task management strategies to streamline shop operations - Digital tools and techniques shops like theirs use to generate and perform more work than ever before - The story behind two incredibly successful shops and how they were able to turn their shops into multi-million dollar operations in just a few years

Your service team could start to pack on a few pounds by eliminating the never-ending stream of back and forth trips to the bays. That is if they optimize digital communication and workflow management. Here’s what you'll learn: - Workflow management tools and strategies that keeps your techs busy and your SA focused on selling more work - Best practices on digital communication, both internal and with customers, to eliminate confusion and wasted time - The financial results (and potential weight gain) that can come as a result of a highly-efficient SA - Real life examples and experiences from shop owner Thomas Richardson (Master Tech Automotive, Richland, Wash.)

This week's episode of The Digital Shop Talk Radio focused on how to maximize selling potential in the shop by alleviating constraints put on your service team. Here are some things we learned: - Workflow management tools and strategies to make selling easier on your service team - Best practices on pre-selling, canned jobs and exit scheduling. - The positive impact that a digitally-efficient Service Advisor can have on a shop’s ARO and weekly revenue - Real life examples and experiences from shop owners Don Stewart (Cookeville Tire & Auto) and Eric Sevim (A+ Japanese Auto Repair) To register for future episodes, visit www.AutoVitals.com/DSTR

Would you agree that an increase in revenue is as good of a reason as any to implement process change? On this week’s episode of The Digital Shop Talk Radio, we have owner Brett Spaulding (Sage Creek Repair) and Sr. Service Advisor Jeff Mead (American Import Auto) on to discover: - The key ARO-increasing practices that are impossible in paper-based shops - Workflow management techniques saving time for both Techs and SAs - How digital shops manage and monitor data to expose flaws in the process

So many businesses are built upon the foundation of expectations that have been delivered on time and time again. Why should an auto repair business be any different? The challenging part is adapting to the motorists' evolving needs, dictated mainly by smartphone use. In this episode of The Digital Shop Talk Radio show, our guest Greg Buckley (Buckley's Auto Care, Wilmington, DE) walks us through his journey to discover what the customer is looking for, and how to give it to them time and time again.

There is a direct positive correlation between how much his shop is able to educate customers and the amount of work they approve. We are breaking down motorist education on today's episode of The Digital Shop Radio, specifically: - Taking sales pressure off the SA - Improving credibility and transparency to your customers - The metrics behind it - Making more $$$$ (higher approval)