There are tons of daily and long-term decisions you have to make to continue growing your business. That means there's a lot of information to keep track of to stay organized.
With the right tools, like real-time reports in your shop management system, it's easier to organize and track everything happening in your shop and to use all of that data at your disposal. In this case, that tool is a modern shop management system.
With every aspect of your shop managed and tracked with a cloud-based SMS, shop owners can use real-time reports to forecast the health of their business and gain a sense of how much money their garage is expected to make before the end of a week, month, or year.
Here are the most important auto repair shop metrics to track in a cloud-based shop management system.
1. Realtime Productivity
It’s good practice for business owners to have a strong understanding of not only their team's performance overall but also the clarity they need to drill down to look at individual performance as well.
While the exact metrics might differ, both technicians' and service advisor productivity output can be measured. Then armed with the right information, owners can identify and celebrate the wins, while also identifying and working towards areas of improvement.
How Realtime Productivity Reports Power Decisions
With your finger on the pulse of your team's productivity, you can better invest in their growth.
For example, you'll understand which technicians or advisors might be in need of more training. You can then work together to create a plan to help them reach their maximum potential, and measure their progress over time.
Another idea could be leveraging your team's performance data to gamify your shop management.
2. Profit Details
The Profit Details Report gets into the nitty-gritty of the profits you’ve made across all repair orders during a given time period, as well as within individual repair orders.
How Profit Detail Data Powers Decisions
Understanding where your profits are coming from, and the ratio of your profits, over time, enables you to adjust your pricing for parts, labor, sublets, and fees so you can strike better profit margins and investigate anything that looks off.
For example, you might see that your total parts profit was only a couple hundred dollars during a particular month. If this number is lower than what you’re used to seeing, you can start reviewing individual repair order details to try pinpointing the reason behind the lower number.
3. Declined Jobs
It’s an understatement to say that customers don’t always approve every line item on their estimates.
There are some repairs that they want to save for later. The Declined Jobs Report helps service advisors keep track of each “no” so they can reach out to that customer later and get a “yes.”
How Declined Jobs Data Powers Decisions
It’s easier to sell work to existing customers than to sell work to new customers. When a customer declines a job that’s not pressing, service advisors gain a natural conversation opener.
So, when the time for that repair rolls around, a service advisor can contact that customer, say the time has come around for that repair, and ask them if they’d like to come into the shop. Bam, that’s a sale!
4. Sales Details
Understanding your shop's data not only enables you to maximize your profit margins, but also see exactly what brings in the largest profit, and even helps you identify where your biggest losses might be coming from.
How much have you sold in parts and labor over a given time range?
How much money have you collected from sublets, fees, and taxes?
What’s the dollar amount of the discounts you’ve given customers?
How Sales Details Data Powers Decisions
Of course, profit will always give you a more accurate understanding of how your business is doing financially since it reflects your business’s bottom line.
But your sales (revenue) numbers will give you a picture of your top line: exactly how much money is coming in.
You might see, for example, that you have high revenue, but in comparison, your profits are low. That gives you a clue that your business expenses might be too high.
You might end up ordering more parts than you end up using, you might lose a part in a deep dark corner of your shop, a part might get stolen, or a part might just accidentally get left out of a repair estimate.
When used together, Tekmetric’s Parts Purchased Report and Parts Usage Report can help you and your team keep track of the parts in your shop. You can see if you’ve actually been using what you’ve been buying and make adjustments as needed.
How Parts Purchased and Usage Data Power Business Decisions
Used together, the data in each parts report will help you identify any discrepancies with your parts that show up during the accounting and repair process.
For example, if the Parts Purchased Report indicates that your shop purchased 50 units of a particular part last quarter, but only five of those units were used, you have a starting point to figure out if your shop can scale back.
6. End of Day Metrics
Think of the End of Day Report as a holistic overview of how effectively your shop has been selling repair work during a given time range (you’re not limited to just viewing your shop’s stats on a day-to-day basis!).
In other words, the End of Day Report breaks down your shop’s overall shop metrics for the time range of your choosing.
How Real-Time Data Powers Decisions
The data found in your End of Day report can power various short-term and long-term business decisions that help you maintain a profitable shop over time.
For example, if you see that your gross profit dipped over the previous month, you can check a few other data sources to find the root of the problem, like how many new customers your marketing efforts have yielded and your current parts and labor rates.
Make Decisions Backed by Data
Sometimes we start with the “blank page” problem. Or put another way, you don’t know what you don’t know. Without clarity into exactly what’s happening in your shop, it can be difficult to identify the best opportunities to simplify, maximize, or even grow your business.
But when you make business decisions based on real-time data, you have peace of mind that the numbers are backing you up—that yes, it’s time to hire three new technicians or install another bay.
Let’s start off by laying down the foundational launching points for starting your original shop: you found your niche, you got the right advice, you started with the right branding, and you impressed your customers by providing exceptional customer service. But there are four key factors that become extremely important as you go from being a single shop owner to a multi-shop owner.
You’ll want to:
Stay organized as you scale
Create consistency across your locations
Test the performance of each of your locations
Leverage an automotive repair software that will support your team as you grow across multiple locations
To select the management tools that will catapult your multi-shop owner journey, you’ll first need to weigh the pros and cons of each of your shop’s processes and procedures.
From there, you can find a system that will uphold and scale the processes that made your shop so successful in the first place, but now across multiple locations. Later in this article, we’ll specifically dive into automotive repair software like Tekmetric and discuss how it supports you, your team, and your customers as you go from a single shop owner to a multi-shop mastermind.
Here’s how to choose an automotive repair software that makes it possible to grow and easily manage multiple shops.
Mechanic interviews are challenging for both the employer and candidate because the right candidate has to be a fit in personality and technical ability. Plus, the numerous certification types, manufacturer nuances, and shop needs make it even more challenging to become a mechanic.
This guide can be used to help repair shops/dealerships ask the right questions and also help technicians be prepared for questions they will likely encounter. Below you will find the most common car mechanic interview questions broken down by mechanic and service advisor level plus tips to ace your next interview.
Top mechanic job interview questions
While every auto repair shop differs in how they run their job interview process, these are some of the most common questions you can expect. Ranging from technical questions to customer service, be prepared to answer these common questions before your next interview.
General interview questions for car mechanics
These common questions cover basic automotive repair experience and relevant work history.
Tell me about yourself and your experience as an automotive technician.
Why do you want to work for our company/shop?
How do you stay up to date with new automotive technologies and repair techniques?
What certifications do you currently hold (ASE, manufacturer-specific, etc.)?
Are you comfortable working weekends, evenings, or overtime if needed?
Technical interview questions for mechanics
These technical interview questions cover more specific hand-on experience and tools/equipment.
Which repairs are you best at?
How much would you estimate your tool inventory to be worth?
What steps do you take when diagnosing a check engine light?
What tools and diagnostic equipment are you most familiar with?
Have you worked with hybrid or electric vehicles?
Do you believe in factory recommended vehicle maintenance intervals?
How comfortable are you with OEM scan/diagnostic tools?
Experience & situational questions for mechanics
These questions help employers understand how you would handle various shop situations and also helps them understand your communication skills.
Can you describe a time when you had to work under a tight deadline?
How do you deal with angry customers?
How do you prioritize tasks when you have multiple vehicles to work on?
What would you do if you made a mistake on a repair? How do you handle accountability?
What do you do if you encounter a vehicle with an issue you've never seen before?
Additional questions to expect
Are you comfortable serving those in need once a month?
Are you comfortable doing a DVI on the majority of vehicles you touch?
How do you handle a high-pressure environment when the shop is busy?
How do you handle a situation where you're unsure about how to fix a problem?
Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer?
Top interview questions for service advisors
While the interview questions for service advisors will be similar to mechanics, there will be small differences. Typically, service advisors will be more customer facing and shops will tailor their questions to focus more on customer service and communication style.
General interview questions for service advisors
Are you comfortable selling repair services?
Are you comfortable working on a commission based salary structure?
Who do you believe has the best after market products?
How do you deal with a customer saying that you are more expensive than their last shop?
How do you win back angry customers?
How do you handle over the phone quotes?
Technical interview questions for service advisors
What are your greatest strengths as a service advisor?
Who do you trust for moving electrical parts?
How do you handle working in a fast-paced environment?
Are you comfortable meeting sales goals and upselling services?
How do you stay up to date with new automotive technology and service trends?
How do you handle stress during busy hours?
Experience & situational questions for service advisors
How do you explain complex vehicle repairs to a customer who doesn’t understand cars?
What steps do you take to build trust with customers?
Have you ever had to deal with a miscommunication between a technician and a customer? How did you resolve it?
Can you describe a time when you turned a dissatisfied customer into a repeat customer?
How do you handle multiple customers needing assistance at the same time?
Additional questions to expect
How do you explain the importance of routine maintenance to a customer?
What experience do you have with automotive service software or point-of-sale systems?
How do you prioritize repair orders and schedule work efficiently?
How do you explain repair estimates to customers?
How would you respond to 1-star reviews?
Job interview tips for mechanics
Research: Not all shops are created equal so make sure to research before applying to make sure they are a good fit. You can also look at online reviews to see what their customers are saying.
Preparation: Use the commonly used questions above to help you prepare for the interview. Practice how you would answer each question and ways you can present yourself well.
Attire: You have 7 seconds to make your first impression and attire is a big part of that. Dress to showcase your professionalism and experience.
Highlight your experience/certifications: Showcasing your certifications and experience can go a long way to in making sure you land the job.
Ask thoughtful questions: Some interviewers will allow you to ask questions during the conversation. Make sure you have a few questions to ask that help you learn more about the shop.
Follow up: if you haven’t heard back from the shop and you are still interested, give them a call and remind them of your interest in the position.
Final thoughts
Interviews are challenging in any industry but mechanic interviews can be even more challenging with the shortage of talent available. This guide will help you either prepare for your next interview or provide you with common questions to ask your next hire. Lastly, always hire for culture fit and talent second. Culture problems are a lot harder to correct than technical car knowledge.
Considered the “gold standard” in security compliance, this certification is awarded in accordance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) standards for SOC for Service Organizations, also known as SSAE 18.
As one of the first auto repair shop management systems to achieve SOC 2 compliance, Tekmetric is well-positioned to continue safeguarding sensitive information for both auto repair shops and their valued customers.
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