Keep Turning the Wrenches

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“You guys are crazy.” 

It just slipped out of my mouth, one of those uncontrollable moments you realize you can’t take back. I’d taken the feathers out of the pillow.

All eyes were on me, the entire room staring like I was out of mind. 

Someone—I don’t remember who—went, “What in the world did you just do?”

In 1991, life was going great. I was working for a Honda dealership in Colorado and had become a master Honda technician, one of the first trained technicians for Acura vehicles.

I was even on my way to the next level, a Gold Wrench Master Technician. I was gonna do every bit of training, all their online courses, to hit these levels and get that Golden Wrench.

I was committed to it. I went to the training center on my days off, got with the trainer whenever I could. I asked if I could finish it, all my online testing. If I turned everything in, I’d get a plaque, a ring, and a jacket. That’s what made you a Gold Wrench Master Technician.

I was on the dealership career path and well on my way to that recognition, and figured I’d stay there—until the day management at my dealership called me and my colleagues into a meeting to give us an important message. 

The message they had for us? 

“We need sales and we need dollars on tickets, no matter how you get ‘em.”

Immediately, my internal alarm went off. 

I didn’t feel it was right to lie to get more money out of customers. There are all these perceptions about the automotive industry, you know, people associating auto shop owners with being crooks. And I had a father who was, like, beyond ethical.

He worked as an interpreter for Spanish-speaking countries at the United Nations’ General Assembly. He used to say, “If you don’t lie, you never need to remember what you said” and “A liar, a crook, and a thief are all in the same place.” 

I had a mother who was a businesswoman. She ran her own beauty salon, Lucy's Hair Stylist in New York. She knew what it meant to work hard and do honest business.

My parents had worked hard, and raised me and my siblings with a strong sense of right and wrong. I couldn’t get on board with what these guys were telling us.

And so it came out: “You guys are crazy.”

The room was silent. Guys were still looking at me, you know, like, “What did you do?”

So I kept talking.

“You’re asking people who have been with you for years to be unethical.” 

Management didn’t like that.

“No, we didn’t ask that.”

“Yeah, you did,” I said. “You pretty much did.” 

They didn’t like that either.

“You can excuse yourself from this meeting,” they said. 

And so I did. 

I went back and packed my stuff, and I walked out of there.

Out of the 14 technicians in the room, I was the only technician without a wife and kids, but I was still leaving a lot on the line—my friends and the stability of a Honda paycheck. 

Getting fired was a shock—when isn’t it? But it was also the happiest day of my life, a blessing in disguise, as they say. It’s what propelled me to become a shop owner. I didn’t have two, three years to twiddle my thumbs and weigh the pros and cons of starting my own shop. 

front of pro auto care shop

It was one of those “now or never” moments, and I just went for it. 

In March of 1992, I opened the doors of my first location. Nowadays, I run two locations with a wonderful team, which includes my kids. My twin daughters and two boys are really involved. 

Family or not, I teach my staff to run an honest shop. It’s one thing for me to run the shop and be honest, but it’s not just about me running the shop. It’s about ingraining that in everything we do, and hiring honest people to keep that up.

Everyone in our shops always has somebody available to give them a second opinion. If anyone is ever wondering if they did something right at the shop, there’s always someone to turn to. We're going to do this right or we're not going to do it at all, and that’s everyone, from the lube guys to the service writers in the front end of the shop. They all hold themselves accountable. 

That’s how we do things. It's a cultural thing, and we talk about it. It's important to us. 

Whenever I look at my shop’s logo, I remember that I’ve come a long way since getting fired in October 1991. I never got to be a Gold Wrench Master Technician. When I got fired, they told me I couldn’t get my awards, even though I’d earned them by doing all the work. No plaque. No ring. No jacket.

I could have gotten bitter and upset about it, but I decided not to. In life, you just have to keep turning the wrenches. I added wrenches to my shop’s logo, my own reward for doing the right thing and building a shop people can count on. They’re not golden. But they’re mine.

And I’ve been turning wrenches my own way ever since.

Read more about Al’s leadership principles and his philosophy on giving back. For more information on Al’s shop and his team, check out Pro Auto Care.

👉 Ready to grow your automotive business? [Book a personalized Tekmetric Demo Here]

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A Note from Sunil: Why We Built Tektonic 2026

Over the years, I’ve had thousands of conversations with shop owners, advisors, and technicians across the country. No matter the size of the shop or how long you’ve been using Tekmetric, I keep hearing the same two things:

You want a place to learn from each other.
And you want deeper, hands-on Tekmetric training.

That’s exactly why we built Tektonic 2026.

If you’ve already found this page, you probably know the basics: three days in Houston, April 9-11, built for owners, advisors, and technicians from every kind of shop and every kind of system. Tektonic is about one thing — helping you get better results, faster, with practical education, shop-tested playbooks, and product training you can actually use.

Here’s a sneak peek at what we have in store, at what that really means for you and your team.

For Owners: Stop Profit from Slipping Through the Cracks

You already work hard. The question is whether every hour and every RO is actually paying you back.

Breakout: Unlock Hidden Profits Without Blowing Up What Already Works — Alex Saladna, CEO, WickedFile

Even well-run shops leak profit in the back office: unclaimed credits, fees that never get billed, vendor mistakes that never get caught. This session is about tightening all of that up without burning everything down and starting over.

You’ll walk away with:

  • Simple audits you can run regularly to spot hidden losses
  • A clear view of where profit usually disappears — and how to plug those holes
  • Ways to automate repetitive tasks so more dollars stay in the business

If you’ve ever felt like your top line looks good but the bottom line doesn’t match the grind, this one’s worth circling.

Breakout: ADAS & Required Calibrations: Protect Your Shop and Your Customers — Joel Adcock, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Revv

Late-model vehicles roll in, ADAS is everywhere, and the liability is real. Missed calibrations aren’t just a line item you forgot to bill — they’re a safety issue and a trust issue.

You’ll walk away with:

  • Clarity on when calibrations are required and how to identify them
  • How to bake calibrations into your SOPs and ROs so they don’t get missed
  • Practical ways to educate your team and your customers on why this matters

The goal: fix vehicles right the first time, protect your reputation, and make sure you’re charging appropriately for the work you’re already responsible for.

Breakout: Scale on Purpose, Not by Accident — Jesse Jackson & Brian Walden, Mango Automotive

If you’ve ever wondered how some shops jump to eight figures while you’re fighting for steady month-over-month growth, Jesse and Brian are going to walk you through the playbook they actually used.

For managers: Master the Maelstrom — Aaron Blair, Director of Operations, Alloy Automotive Partners

In the fast lane of auto service, chaos is inevitable—but profit isn’t. Aaron Blair, systems architect behind Blair and Alloy Automotive, shows how to turn daily disorder into precision workflow with tactical frameworks to control every moving part, from dispatching ROs to winning buy-in from techs and advisors.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Use systems to get ahead: Build smarter workflows with dispatch boards, SOPs, and tech scoreboards to spot bottlenecks early.
  • Maximize your day: Treat your calendar as a tool with time blocks for RO triage, tech coaching, and margin reviews.
  • Create team consistency: Rely on huddles, checklists, and incentives so every team member stays aligned and executes to standard.

Also in the owner-focused track at Tektonic:

  • Reporting Deep Dive: Making Sense of Tekmetric’s Dashboards
  • From Invoice to Insights: Using Tekmetric to Master Shop Financials
  • Love the Shop Again: Mindset Shifts to Lead, Inspire, and Grow
  • Build It and They Will Come: How to Open a Shop That Stands Out, Attracts Talent, and Builds Loyalty Fast
  • Powering Growth with Tekmetric Payments: From Faster Cash Flow to Customer Financing
  • Running MSOs: Tools and Best Practices

For Service Advisors: Turn Conversations into Trust and Revenue

Advisors are the heartbeat of the shop. When they’re trained, supported, and set up well in the system, everything feels smoother…for you and your customers.

Breakout: Is Your Advisor Making You 100K or Losing You 100K? — Greg Bunch, Chief Officer, Transformers Institute

Owners and advisors will both get a lot out of this one. Greg walks through how a single advisor can swing six figures either way — and what to do about it. 

You’ll walk away with:

  • A ready-to-use hiring funnel with a job ad, screening script, and one-hour audition plan
  • A 90-day onboarding and training plan with daily drills and talk tracks
  • A simple scorecard to track call conversion, ARO, and appointment close ratio

If you’ve ever hired an advisor on “gut feel” and hoped for the best, this session will give you a better way.

Breakout: High Impact Sales: The Words That Build Long-Term Customers — Sabrina Wilkerson, Business Performance Analyst, Elite Worldwide

Advisors, this one is built for you. Customers don’t just buy the work — they buy the way you explain it. Sabrina breaks down what to say, how to say it, and how to stay ethical and honest while still driving approvals.

You’ll walk away with:

  • Practical ways to generate higher profits through better conversations at the counter
  • Tools to build long-term trust so people come back and send their friends
  • Confidence to show up as the credible expert instead of “just another shop”

These are skills you can practice in the room and use on your very next phone call.

Breakout Bundle: Tekmetric Tools That Make Every Day at the Counter Less Chaotic

On top of the coaching and hiring sessions, we’re going deep on the actual tools advisors live in all day. The focus is simple: fewer dropped balls, clearer priorities, better follow-up, and a system that supports your advisors instead of slowing them down.

You’ll walk away with:

  • Cleaner workflows from first call to follow-up
  • Better visibility into which jobs to prioritize and when
  • Fewer “I thought you had it” moments between the front counter and the bay

Advisor-focused Tekmetric sessions include:

  • Tekmetric Service Workflow Deep Dive
  • Advisor Dashboard Training: Prioritizing the Right Jobs, Every Time
  • Advisor Toolkit Jam: Quotes, Smart Jobs, Templates & Follow-Up
  • Shaping the Future of Service Advisor Tools in Tekmetric

For Technicians: Build Skills, Confidence, and a Real Path Forward

Great techs want two things: the right tools and a future.

Breakout: How to Run Monster Hours — Ryan Blair, CEO and Co-Founder, Alloy Automotive Partners

As a dealer technician turned one man band shop owner, Ryan Blair averaged 500 hours a month in production. In this session, you will get a breakdown of the mindset, systems, tips, and tricks to increase your production no matter what kind of shop you are working in.

Takeaways:

  • How to play the game: maximizing the relationship with the front of house
  • The surprising math behind the things you didn't realize are holding your production back
  • Master the mindsets and beliefs to become the number one producer in your shop

Owners: this is a great session to send your high-potential techs to if you want them thinking bigger.

Breakout: Profit in the Bay: How Techs Win with DVIs and Efficiency Tracking

Being a great technician isn’t just about fixing cars. It’s about seeing the payoff from the work you do. In this Tekmetric training session, we’ll connect the dots between the work in the bay and the numbers on the screen.

You’ll walk away with:

  • How solid DVIs drive higher approval rates
  • How photos, notes, and videos make it easy for customers to say “yes”
  • How efficiency tracking shows your impact — on the shop and on your paycheck

The goal is to give techs a clear line of sight from “I turned this wrench” to “I made this much difference.”

Breakout: ON-TRACK with DIN Diagrams + VCDS 101 — Travis Ruiz, Technical Support Consultant, German Car Support

If VW/Audi work feels like it takes twice as long as it should, these sessions are for you.

You’ll walk away with:

  • Practice finding the correct wiring diagrams and navigating service info
  • A walkthrough of the VCDS interface: scans, fault codes, live data, and basic functions
  • Real-world tips for using VCDS to diagnose and fix problems faster

For techs who want to sharpen their skills on European cars, this is time well spent.

For techs who want even more time in the tools:

  • Tekmetric Mobile App Deep Dive: Workflow at Your Fingertips
  • DVI + Mobile App End-to-End Training: Photos, Video, Notes & Approvals
  • Unlocking Smarter Repairs in Tekmetric

Big-Room Moments That Shift How You Lead

On top of 50+ breakout sessions, Tektonic’s general sessions are built to stretch how you think about your business and your role in it:

  • Keynote: From Mainstreet to Millionaire — Codie Sanchez, Contrarian Thinking
    Why “boring” businesses like auto repair can be the foundation of serious wealth if you build them right — and what that means for how you think about profit, risk, and opportunity in your own shop.
  • Keynote: Entrepreneurship Simplified — Mike Michalowicz, Profit First
    Practical, straight-talking frameworks for building a healthier business: profit baked in from the start, cleaner cash flow, and systems that don’t fall apart every time you step away from the shop.
  • Keynote: Effort Matters, Character Counts — General Robert Neller, USMC (Ret.)
    What effort and character look like on high-trust teams — and how those same principles apply when you’re leading a crew through nonstop cars, parts delays, and the pressure to deliver every day.
  • Coaching Power Hour Panel: The Great Shop Coaching Showdown
    Leaders from top coaching groups tackling real shop challenges, side by side, so you can hear different approaches in one fast-paced session.
  • Shop Owner Panel: What It Really Takes to Win
    From hiring and training to navigating daily chaos, this panel pulls back the curtain on what different types of high-performing shops are doing to scale, stay profitable, and keep both teams and customers thriving. You’ll hear real talk and real strategies from leaders who are living it every day, not just talking theory from a stage.

Three days in those rooms can change how you lead for the rest of the year.

Bring Your Whole Shop to Houston

Tektonic is built for your whole team:

  • Owners getting clear on growth, profit, and where the business is really headed
  • Advisors sharpening the conversations that build trust and drive revenue
  • Technicians building skills, confidence, and a real path forward in their careers

It’s every shop, every role, under one roof, with zero gatekeeping. Wherever your shop is today — overwhelmed, growing, rebuilding, thriving — Tektonic delivers clarity, community, and practical tools to get to your next result.

Learn more about Tektonic 2026 and register your team HERE.

Inside Tektonic 2026: Breakout and General Session Sneak Peek

November 19, 2025

Read time: 3 min

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Running a repair shop takes more than turning wrenches. It’s booking appointments, reminding customers to show up, following up on declined jobs – all while keeping bays full and the front office running smoothly.

But for most shops, staying connected with customers feels like a second job. Some rely on a patchwork of booking tools, texting apps, and review platforms. Others don’t follow up at all. Either way, things slip through the cracks. The result? Missed appointments, lost revenue, and customers who never return.

That’s why we built Tekmetric Marketing.

Not another system to learn. Not another login to juggle. It’s built right into Tekmetric, the platform you already trust to run your shop. With online booking, reminders, campaigns, follow-ups, reviews, and even a professional website all in one place, Tekmetric Marketing helps you keep customers engaged and loyal automatically – without piling more work on your plate. And it’s designed so anyone on your team can use it. No marketing expertise required.

More Cars. Higher ARO. Steady Repeat Business.

Every repair order holds untapped potential. A declined brake job today can turn into tomorrow’s revenue. A routine oil change can become the start of a long-term relationship.

Tekmetric Marketing makes sure those opportunities don’t slip away. Customers can book online 24/7, filling bays while you sleep. Automated reminders cut down on no-shows and keep the calendar steady. Follow-ups on declined jobs and maintenance turn “not today” into approved work. Seasonal campaigns help you bring customers back when business slows.

And if your shop doesn’t have a website, Tekmetric can build one for you, giving customers one more way to find you, book online, and keep your bays full.

As Ryan Froats of Yorktown Auto Care put it:
“As an independently-owned shop, dedicating resources towards outreach and follow-up can be challenging. Tekmetric Marketing allows me to communicate with my customer base in a variety of ways, without tying up hours of my work week.”

That’s the difference between a full schedule and an empty bay. Between a one-time job and a loyal customer.

Turn Great Service Into Lasting Loyalty

Great service doesn’t stop when the car leaves the bay. Tekmetric Marketing makes it really easy to keep the relationship going. Post-visit follow-ups that check in with customers after service, showing you care and helping you catch issues early. Review requests that boost your reputation on Google, making it easier for new customers to find and trust you. Private feedback that gives you valuable insights to improve service and address concerns before they go public

Together, these touchpoints build trust, strengthen relationships, and turn satisfied customers into loyal advocates.

One Platform. No Missed Messages.

Because Tekmetric Marketing lives inside Tekmetric, all customer communication flows through one platform – from estimates and approvals to reminders, follow-ups, and promotions. No more bouncing between systems or wondering what’s been sent. Everything is tied to the customer profile, making communication clear, consistent, and professional.

Tekmetric Marketing also works in sync with your shop’s calendar, repair orders, and payments. Bookings instantly block off availability. Reminders align with scheduled work. Everything just works without syncing headaches or double entry.

And here’s the best part: Tekmetric Marketing is designed for busy shop owners and front office staff. It’s easy to set up, runs automatically in the background, and helps you grow your business without adding more to your to-do list – or requiring a marketing degree.

As Corey Hansen of Hansen Auto Repair shared:
“It’s so convenient having everything in one place, right inside Tekmetric. I already have Tekmetric open for managing the shop and invoicing, so I don’t have to switch tabs or log into something else to engage with my customers. Having it all together just makes things faster—and for me, saving time is huge.”

Auto Repair. Done Right.

Tekmetric has always been the all-in-one platform that helps shops run better — from managing repairs to taking payments. Now, with Tekmetric Marketing, it’s also the platform that helps you grow faster, keep customers loyal, and deliver a better experience at every turn.

Turn every visit into the next one. With Tekmetric Marketing, it happens automatically.

Introducing Tekmetric Marketing: Keep Customers Coming Back, Automatically

September 30, 2025

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We’re proud to share that the Tekmetric Mobile App has been named a winner of the 2025 MOTOR Top 20 Award, an honor that recognizes the 20 most innovative and impactful tools and technologies shaping the automotive industry.

For decades, the MOTOR Top 20 Awards have been a benchmark for excellence, celebrating advancements that help technicians work more efficiently and shop owners operate more profitably. To be included on this list is a powerful acknowledgment of our team’s commitment to solving real challenges for repair shops

The Tekmetric Mobile App was designed to make shop management easier and more effective. By streamlining workflows, enhancing communication, and providing shop owners with the real-time insights, the app equips teams to deliver a better customer experience while running a more profitable business..

Tek-Tip: Learn more about the Tekmetric Mobile App. Now available in the Apple and Google App stores.

This recognition wouldn’t be possible without the thousands of shop owners, service advisors, and technicians who share their feedback with us every day. Your trust pushes us to keep improving, and this award reflects both your partnership and our team’s dedication to moving the industry forward.

As we look ahead, we are more motivated than ever to build solutions that give repair shops the horsepower to grow, the efficiency to scale, and the tools to deliver service with confidence. 

To learn more about the MOTOR Awards and view the 2025 Top 20 Awards, visit https://www.motor.com/2025/09/motor-announces-2025-top-20-awards-winners/

About Tekmetric

Tekmetric, the leading auto repair technology company, improves auto repair shops through the relentless pursuit of innovation. Tekmetric’s all-in-one cloud-based auto repair platform, including shop management, payments, marketing, technology integrations, and real-time data, empowers auto repair shops nationwide. With Tekmetric, shop owners can create transparency, enhance productivity, increase profitability, and deliver a superior customer experience for vehicle owners.

Tekmetric Mobile App Wins 2025 MOTOR Top 20 Award

September 4, 2025

Read time: 3 min

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