Data In the Bays: How Metrics Can Elevate a Technician’s Performance

August 1, 2024

Read time: 3 min

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Concern: Ensure accuracy with data to identify the problem

When a vehicle is brought in with an initial concern, data can help you better respond to the customer’s needs communicated by the service advisor. By intentionally reviewing the data collected by the service advisor, you can better understand the reason the customer has brought the vehicle in for repair and ensure your diagnosis can uncover the true cause of the problem.

With Tekmetric, your job board and all the data it includes is your key to success. In fact, you can consider it your “digital clipboard,” as it includes all the details you need in one place. The job board shows approved estimates as well as completed work – so it’s your window into how efficiently you are addressing customer concerns, bottlenecks in the repair process and more. This tool enables you to follow up on questions or additional details so your service advisor can communicate with the customer. This in turn drives efficiency within the shop as you can ensure the customer’s concern is addressed promptly and correctly.

‍Cause: Utilize digital tools to make the correct diagnosis

Once a problem has been identified, you can also leverage data via digital vehicle inspections (DVIs) to document diagnoses and show the exact cause of the problem. This includes making thorough notes, including photos and videos and showcasing other issues you find that could need additional repairs. By leveraging digital tools to complete thorough inspections, you can become a diagnostic wizard, solving problems faster and more efficiently. This not only translates to happier customers who get their cars back sooner, but also lets you sell more work, boosting your productivity and earning potential.

The most important part of the digital vehicle inspection is clear photos and videos. By including the right number of photos in your inspection, you can educate your customer on their vehicle’s performance. However, be sure not to overwhelm the customer with information. Tekmetric has found that 6-8 photos on average is the sweet spot, although this may change with your customer base.

A detailed DVI complete with photos allows the customer to review and approve the jobs they need the most, while planning for repairs that may come up in the future. As a result, you can educate the customer on the cause of their concern, share additional details if needed and simplify the communication process for you and the service advisor – ultimately increasing the average repair order (ARO).

Correction: Control the tempo of the shop’s workflow during repairs

Now that you have identified the problem, it’s time to complete the repair. As you work through your repair list, you can also use key metrics and information available on your job board to ensure you – and the shop overall – are working efficiently. For example, you can follow up with your service advisor on jobs you have inspected but are not approved for repairs. This helps drive the shop’s efficiency, so you can complete the work and get the car out of the shop to move onto the next one.

The other important aspect of the repair phase is collaborating with other technicians to better leverage each technician’s unique strengths and weaknesses. For example, if your specialty is brake replacements, you can work with your team to ensure you work on brake-related repairs. This helps streamline those repairs to you – the expert – so you can complete them faster and at a higher quality. In turn, the shop streamlines its overall processes, leading to more profit for the shop and for you.

Technicians are a critical part of a shop’s operations – but your role is not just limited to the actual repair. You can become even better in your role by using data throughout the customer experience: from the initial problem and diagnosis until the customer walks out with a fixed vehicle. In fact, utilizing data from the minute the customer walks into the shop leads to better diagnoses and more successful repairs. Learning how to use data correctly can help you perform at a higher level, ultimately increasing the profitability of the shop and growing your own paycheck.

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FAQ

Although our goal is to help you determine the best ways you can enhance your auto repair shop profit margin, we’re still going to shoot straight with you: opening a shop isn’t easy. You’re going to have to put in some hard work, but exceeding your goals will be well worth it. Along the way you’ll learn new things through trial and error and encounter some unexpected challenges, but who doesn’t when they step outside of their comfort zone, pursuing something they’re passionate about?

One question you may have is, "Is it even a good time to start an auto repair business?" That's a tricky question to answer. Coming off the heels of a pandemic in an economy that has seen better times might scare any new business owner. But remember, some of the most long-standing businesses were started during economic recessions.

Although there’s been better times to start an auto repair business, your shop can still be successful. And it’s clear that the demand for automotive repairs isn't going anywhere.

Take a look at these statistics on the latest automotive repair trends:

In 2022, there will be an estimated 76 million vehicles aged 16 years or older in the United States.
It’s estimated that by 2022, 18% of American households will use an auto repair service at least once a year.
The number of vehicles on the road that are 12 years or older is anticipated to increase by 15%.
In the past decade, the average length of time that drivers own their automobiles has increased by 60%.

As you can see, the need for vehicle repairs will likely increase due to the fact that drivers are choosing to stick to their trusty ol’ vehicles rather than opting for a shinier new ride. But regardless of whether the auto repair industry’s profit trends are growing or plateauing, making smart business decisions will not only prepare your shop for future transformation but also help your shop survive disruptive trends in the future.

Let’s get to boosting your shop’s short and long-term profits.

We’ve listed each of these tactics in the order you should take during each of your business growth phases: the seed stage, the start-up stage, the established stage, or the expansion stage. The order of these 10 tactics does not determine their importance; each tactic complements one another to put your shop in the fast lane to success.

Fast Facts

‍Industry size and past growth: The U.S. auto mechanics industry is worth more than $68 billion in 2022 and has seen steady growth the past five years. ‍
Growth forecast: The U.S. auto mechanics industry is projected to experience continued growth in the coming years and expand by more than 10% by 2026.
‍Number of businesses: As of early 2022, 264,121 auto mechanic businesses operated in the US.
‍Number of people employed: As of early 2022, the United States auto repair industry employed about 561,359 workers.

Thought Leadership

10 Tactics to Run a Profitable Auto Repair Shop

May 22, 2023

Read time: 3 min

“Receipts.” We all know the literal meaning of this term—those pieces of paper or emails/texts a retailer sends you as proof of purchase, in case you want to exchange or return an item down the road.

In a casual sense, “receipts” also mean “proof” in the event of a dispute. For example, if your dog could talk and claimed he definitely did not steal the pizza from the picnic table, you could show him “receipts,” which could be a photo your astonished friend snapped of him while he was dragging the pizza away. Busted!

Ok, but in all seriousness, as a business owner, you interact with receipts in two ways:

You give receipts to your customers once their repair work is finished
You get receipts when you purchase items for your shop (like parts)

Even though receipts exist in practically every industry, there’s a huge difference between the receipts customers get from an auto repair shop versus the receipts they’d get from a restaurant or clothing store.

Look at it this way: you don’t go to a restaurant and get an estimate for how much your food will cost. You see the prices on the menu, order, and then pay at the end. But in the auto repair world, we have to scope out the work with an inspection and estimate. That’s where the shop and the customer come to an understanding of the repair work that will occur, and get a preview of the cost, before any work gets done.

Without a solid inspection and estimate process, there can be a higher risk of misunderstandings and miscommunications, which can diminish customer loyalty and lead to credit card chargebacks. For example, a customer could misunderstand the severity of the need for a repair and decline it when they get their estimate, and leave a negative online review that their car still has issues. Or, a customer could say they don’t want a particular repair, but a service advisor misunderstands them. The repair happens, and the customer is upset when they get the final bill because they’d communicated that they didn’t want the repair.

That’s why estimates and receipts are extra important in our industry—they protect shops and customers. They give your customers peace of mind; they have a record of what repair work they got done on which day, and how much they paid. And in the event of a customer claiming a certain repair didn’t happen on a particular day, you could pull up your copy of the estimate and the receipt and set the record straight. You won’t have to deal with a frustrating back-and-forth process that can stretch out for days.

But beyond literal receipts, there are other elements of safeguarding your business. After all, protecting your business isn’t just about protecting it from financial and legal standpoints, although those are two important areas. You also have to think about things like your team’s productivity, employee management, healthy margins, and more. Auto shop management software is a great core tool that can help you safeguard your shop from multiple angles.