Excluservice has the Formula for Growing Your Shop

The multi-shop operator brought 16 shops onto one standardized system in nine months and cut estimate build time from about 15 minutes to about four

Mark Sullivan didn't set out to run multiple auto repair shops. He set out to fix cars the right way, at one location in Plymouth, Michigan. But as Auto-Lab's COO, Sullivan has spent the past year proving that growth and consistency don't have to be at odds, as long as the technology behind every shop works the same way, every time.

Auto-Lab migrated to Tekmetric a year ago, moving away from an aging, limited system. Since then, the company has scaled from two active Tekmetric locations to 16 in nine months, with additional shops preparing to come online as the brand continues to expand.

"Tekmetric has made things so much easier, not only at the store level, but even the reporting stuff with the multi-shop has helped tremendously," Sullivan said.

Starting with a Fragmented System

Before Tekmetric, Auto-Lab ran on a system Sullivan describes as feature-heavy but inconsistent.

"It had a lot of features, but none of them were great," Sullivan said.

Marketing tracking was unreliable. Integrations broke. Advisors pieced together workflows shop by shop with no easy way to compare performance or spot which locations needed help.

"A lot of times we put an integration in there and there's all kinds of bugs," Sullivan said. "Now we deal with a company that ties right into the back end of our point of sale, and we get our ROI down to the penny. We know it's accurate."

Standardization Built for Scale

Every time Auto-Lab opens a new location, the setup is already done. Canned jobs, labor rates, and DVI workflows are in place before the doors open.

"I walk in there, I turn the computer on, and all my canned jobs are already there," Sullivan said. "All I've got to do is plug the credit card machine in, and we're ready to do business."

That consistency extends to training. Rather than building a new inspection process at every shop, Sullivan's team teaches the same standardized workflow everywhere.

"We're not coming up with a new one every time," Sullivan said. "It just made the learning curve shorter, and it makes us look more professional and a lot faster than the old way."

Sullivan's goal is for every customer to have the same experience at any Auto-Lab location, no matter the state.

"I want the McDonald's experience," Sullivan said. "I don't care where you go in the country. I know what to expect and how the whole situation is going to go. When I'm dealing with one of the most expensive things I own, I want to feel comfortable. I want transparency. With Tekmetric, it allows us to do that in a repeatable way."

Store-by-Store Accountability

Tekmetric Multi-Shop reporting changed how quickly Sullivan could act. Instead of building spreadsheets from store-by-store profit and loss statements, he can now pull real-time data on digital vehicle inspections (DVIs) and gross profit per store and directly support the shops that need help.

"It just makes the whole system a lot easier and a lot simpler to navigate," Sullivan said. "You can pivot and help stores way quicker than we could in the past."

That side-by-side view of every location's performance replaced what used to be a manual spreadsheet exercise.

"Now I can simply go into the multi-shop, print it out, and have a store-to-store comparison," Sullivan said. "It's not me coming to them saying, 'Hey, you need to do this.' It's, 'These guys are doing this proven system, so which result do you want?'"

That visibility also surfaces gaps that would have gone unnoticed before, including service advisors who weren't presenting full estimates to customers, and by extension, weren't feeding those declined jobs into automated reminders.

"You can hold your staff accountable," Sullivan said. "Before, there was no easy way to track that stuff."

The same transparency helped Auto-Lab catch billing inconsistencies across a few locations, an issue Sullivan said would have gone undetected under the old system.

"If it wasn't on the multi-shop, I would never even know," Sullivan said. "The value-add on the franchisee's end, and us being able to see what's going on, is very important."

Faster Estimates, Lighter Workload

The shift to Tekmetric changed how long it takes advisors to build an estimate, cutting the process from about 15 minutes to about four.

"Now I can just click one button from the technician's checkout, and it builds the whole ticket," Sullivan said. "So now in four minutes, I'm texting it to the customer and moving on to the rest of the things I've got going on."

Sullivan estimates the time savings functions like adding another team member at every location, freeing advisors to focus on customer follow-up instead of paperwork.

"It's almost like adding another employee," Sullivan said.

Transparency That Builds Trust and Reviews

Tekmetric Payments met early resistance from Auto-Lab's team. A year later, Sullivan said that resistance evaporated.

"A year later, they're like, 'I don't even know how we dealt with not having this,'" Sullivan said. "The guys can pay from their phone. We can text them right through the software. It makes the customer experience better."

That transparency, paired with DVIs, has translated directly into online reputation. Auto-Lab's Google reviews have climbed from roughly one five-star review a month under the old system to eight to 10 per month today.

"Before, they were almost nonexistent," Sullivan said. "Now, our Google reviews are through the roof."

Sullivan credits the simplicity of the review request process, not just the technology, for the shift.

"It takes them about 30 seconds," Sullivan said. "That piece alone pays for the customer retention piece of the software."

For declined service follow-up, Sullivan's team layers in a personal touch rather than leaning only on automation.

"I have my advisors actually message customers directly," Sullivan said.

Room to Grow

Sullivan estimates Auto-Lab is using about half of what Tekmetric offers today, and he's not slowing down.

"At 50%, I'm over the moon happy with the results," Sullivan said. "We're just scratching the surface on what we can do."

Auto-Lab's average repair order has already climbed since adopting Tekmetric, and Sullivan is targeting the Michigan state average of around $700. If you're curious how your shop stacks up, benchmark your performance against thousands of shops nationwide with the free Tekmetric Shop Index.

"Now we have a benchmark to hit," Sullivan said. "The information I get from Tekmetric on industry standards gives me a road map to get to where everybody else is. I'm not just making up numbers."

Looking Ahead

Auto-Lab is on track to double in size over the next three years, and Sullivan sees every new location as a chance to launch at full strength from day one.

"With new stores, you don't have to deal with legacy habits," Sullivan said. "We're coming in with a fresh new software, a fresh new look, and a whole different set of rules on how we run shops."

For other multi-shop operators evaluating a switch, Sullivan's advice centers on standardization.

"All the successful shops I know use Tekmetric," he said. "That affirms for me that this is best practice. I don't need to reinvent the wheel."

Frequently Asked Questions

What results has Auto-Lab seen since switching to Tekmetric?
Auto-Lab brought 16 shops onto Tekmetric in nine months, cut estimate build time from about 15 minutes to about four, and grew its monthly five-star Google reviews from roughly one to eight to 10. Its average repair order has climbed since adoption, and the company is targeting the Michigan state average of around $700.

How does Tekmetric help multi-shop operators open new locations faster?
Canned jobs, labor rates, and digital vehicle inspection workflows are configured before a new shop opens, so the location launches on the same standardized setup as every other store. Auto-Lab's team also teaches one inspection workflow across all locations rather than building a new process at each shop.

How does Tekmetric Multi-Shop reporting support accountability across locations?
Multi-Shop reporting gives operators a real-time, store-to-store comparison of digital vehicle inspection completion and gross profit, replacing manual spreadsheets built from individual profit and loss statements. Auto-Lab used that visibility to identify service advisors who weren't presenting full estimates and to catch billing inconsistencies across locations.

How did Auto-Lab increase its Google reviews?
Auto-Lab pairs digital vehicle inspections with Tekmetric's review request process, which takes a customer about 30 seconds to complete. Monthly five-star reviews grew from roughly one under the shop's previous system to eight to 10 today.

About Auto-Lab

Auto-Lab is a multi-shop auto repair operator with 16 locations across Michigan, Indiana, Connecticut, and Florida, and continues to grow its footprint. Auto-Lab uses Tekmetric to standardize operations, strengthen customer trust, and scale its brand experience across every location.

About Tekmetric

Tekmetric is the all-in-one auto repair platform. About 16,000 shops use Tekmetric to increase revenue, improve efficiency, and deliver better customer experiences through digital vehicle inspections, streamlined workflows, and real-time reporting. Learn more at tekmetric.com.

The Washington, D.C.-area chain used cloud-based visibility and real-time coaching to bring consistency to a multi-location operation

Metro Motor took an ambitious approach when scaling to 19 shops across the Washington, D.C. metro area. For COO Faisal Abu-Taa, the growth came from a simple formula: the right people, consistent execution, and the willingness to seize opportunities as they came, whether that meant adding a towing division, a collision department, an auto supply delivery business, or a new neighborhood shop.

But scaling fast created a familiar problem to any multi-shop operator: keeping every location running in a consistent way when you can't be everywhere at once. That's when Tekmetric entered the picture and made all the difference for Metro Motor.

From Paper Job Boards to Full Visibility

Before Tekmetric, checking on a shop meant physically being there. Abu-Taa had to be on-site just to see what was on the job board. That process worked when Metro Motor had a handful of locations but couldn't scale to 19.

Since moving the entire network onto Tekmetric, that changed. The platform's cloud-based access gives Abu-Taa and his operations team visibility into every shop from any location.

"Tekmetric gives us full visibility compared to before, when it was a struggle. I needed to visit each shop to even see what was on the job board," Abu-Taa said. "Now, with the cloud-based ease of Tekmetric, I have complete insight into everything going on. I can shoot a quick text: 'Hey, let's clean this up,' without the drive across town."

The rollout itself moved very fast. Metro Motor started onboarding its locations in November, and every shop was live by February, with teams fully trained by mid-March.

Consistency Across a Transient Market

Running 19 shops in the Washington, D.C. metro area means navigating distinct neighborhoods, each just minutes apart but with a different customer base and different expectations. Abu-Taa's team leans into that, treating each location like a neighborhood shop first.

Tekmetric Multi-Shop capabilities help make that possible without sacrificing consistency. When a customer visits any Metro Motor location, their service history travels with them.

"When a driver pulls into our bays, they become part of the Metro Motor family, with data synced in real-time across three states," Abu-Taa said. "Whether they first become a customer of ours in Old Town, Arlington, Bethesda, Georgetown, or any one of our neighborhood locations, they're entered in the system and can be recognized and greeted on their next visit, even if it's to a different shop. Being able to greet a customer by name with, 'Welcome back! I see you've been with us before,' goes a long way to building loyal and long-term relationships."

In a market as transient as Washington, D.C., where customers move among neighborhoods regularly, that builds trust fast.

Turning Inspections Into Revenue

Metro Motor's average repair order has climbed from about $450 to $800 per ticket, growth Abu-Taa credits to digital vehicle inspections (DVIs) paired with clear customer communication.

"Getting the car in, looking it over, and being able to present it with pictures and videos has really helped," Abu-Taa said. "It makes it an easier sale. We're showing, and seeing is believing."

Tekmetric Payments gave the team another lever to close large jobs. With financing options available directly through the platform, service advisors offer customers a way to say yes to larger repairs, like an engine or transmission job, without the sale stalling out at the estimate.

"It's given our guys the opportunity to send those videos, send different documentation, and to feel comfortable landing a sale. We also have access to Carfax so you're able to do better on the maintenance side," Abu-Taa said. "Our maintenance sales have gone up."

Metro Motor also uses Tekmetric to text customers directly from the shop's own number, sending inspection results and even a welcome message when a car comes in. Abu-Taa calls it an auto hospitality approach: every customer gets the same digital experience, tied to the shop, not to whichever advisor happens to be working that day.

Coaching in Real Time, Not the Day After

For a chain Metro Motor's size, consistency depends on catching problems before they reach the customer, not after. Tekmetric's real-time activity feed lets Abu-Taa's managers review inspections and estimates while a repair order is still open.

"Right now, we could open Tekmetric, see a customer go through, and look at the inspection report. We can say things like, 'Hey, before you send that, real quick, make sure we fix this, or look at the estimate. Hey, we missed this on it,'" Abu-Taa said. "Being able to coach in real time has been crucial."

That visibility now anchors a standing weekly review. Every week, managers and service advisors from across all 19 locations join a video call to walk through a handful of estimates together, line by line, comparing how each shop wrote up the same kind of job.

"We'll go over three estimates as a team on a Google Meet, going over the inspection report, the estimate, to try to get to that level of consistency across the board," Abu-Taa said.

It's a small ritual, repeated weekly, that keeps all shops writing repair orders the same way.

Onboarding a Workforce, Not Just a Software

Metro Motor hires from both inside and outside the automotive industry, and Tekmetric's sandbox environment gives every new hire, regardless of experience level, a place to train before they ever touch a live repair order.

"Usually within three weeks, even someone who has no experience within the industry, they're able to pick it up," Abu-Taa said.

New locations follow the same playbook: Metro Motor activates its Tekmetric subscription two weeks ahead of a shop's opening to build out test repair orders and get the team comfortable before day one.

Turning an Internal Parts Division Into a New Revenue Line

As Metro Motor grew, it launched Metro Motor Auto Supply, an internal division that supplies its shops with oil, filters, and other shop products. Tekmetric's SmartJobs ties directly into that operation, tracking product usage in real time as technicians complete jobs, rather than relying on manual inventory counts.

That real-time tracking turned into an unexpected growth opportunity. Metro Motor now supplies parts and products to shops outside its own network, using its Tekmetric integration as part of the pitch to win that business.

"Now it's growing and we're starting to supply repair facilities beyond our own shops," Abu-Taa said.

What started as a way to manage internal inventory has become its own line of business.

What's Next

As the network grows, Abu-Taa's focus stays the same: standardize the operation so every customer, at every location, gets the same experience.

"It's helped standardize our operation and helped us be more consistent across the board, to build a brand name that's recognizable throughout the DMV area," Abu-Taa said.

His advice to other multi-shop operators considering Tekmetric is direct.

"You don't lose anything by trying it," he said. "Once you make the change, you look back and you're like, 'I wish we would have done that a year ago.'"

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Metro Motor's average repair order grow after switching to Tekmetric?
Metro Motor's average repair order grew from about $450 to $800 per ticket, growth the company attributes to Tekmetric DVIs, clear customer communication, and financing options through Tekmetric Payments.

How does Tekmetric help multi-shop operators stay consistent across locations?
Tekmetric's cloud-based platform gives operators full visibility into every location's job board, inspections, and estimates in real time, without requiring an operator to be on-site. Its multi-shop capabilities also connect customer history across locations, so a customer is recognized no matter which shop they visit.

How long does it take to onboard a new location or a new hire on Tekmetric?
Metro Motor typically activates Tekmetric two weeks before a new shop opens to prepare the team. New hires, including those without automotive industry experience, are generally comfortable running the platform within three weeks using Tekmetric's sandbox training environment.

About Metro Motor

Metro Motor is a multi-location automotive repair, collision, and towing chain based in Washington, D.C., operating 19 locations across the Washington, D.C. metro area. Metro Motor uses Tekmetric to standardize operations, strengthen customer trust, and scale a consistent, neighborhood-shop experience across its network.

About Tekmetric

Tekmetric is a cloud-based shop management platform built for independent auto repair shops. More than 15,000 shops use Tekmetric to increase revenue, improve efficiency, and deliver better customer experiences through digital vehicle inspections, streamlined workflows, and real-time reporting.

It grew ARO from $399 to $699 while cutting operating hours and boosting morale

Keith Kingston and his brother Jack Kingston opened The KAR Shop in Rogers, Arkansas, in June 2006 with one goal: build a family owned repair facility where customers could trust the work and technicians could be proud to show up every day.

Twenty years later, that goal hasn't changed. What has changed is the system behind it.

Before switching to Tekmetric, the shop was getting by, but growth was stalled. The team couldn't see technician capacity. They missed upsell opportunities. The workflow was clunky, and the software wasn't getting better.

Shortly after Kevin Braker joined as general manager, he and Keith began looking for a platform that could keep up with the original vision for the shop. They wanted something cloud-based, cutting-edge, and built by someone who understood the auto repair industry from the inside.

That’s when they discovered Tekmetric.

Starting with a Problem

Before switching to Tekmetric, The KAR Shop faced the kind of operational friction that slows down even the best shops. Job boards required manual management. Advisers couldn't see where vehicles were in the workflow without physically walking the shop to find cars and paper tickets. Parts ordering meant juggling 10 browser windows to compare prices across suppliers. And when the previous shop management system pushed a software update, it wasn't a quiet background process — it was a full shutdown. 

Every workstation had to be updated individually while the shop sat idle. 

"We felt like the software just wasn't going to get better," Braker said. "Updating it meant closing down operations." 

Tekmetric works differently. Updates roll out automatically, in the background, with no interruptions to the workday. The shop never has to choose between staying current and staying open.

"We spent a lot more time than we should have fighting the former shop operating system," Braker said.

One of the biggest issues was visibility. Braker couldn't see how much work each technician had lined up or whether the shop could handle more cars. The team was making decisions based on how things felt, not what the numbers said.

"You'd look out in the parking lot and think, 'Oh man, we're way behind,' and you'd turn away work because you went by how you felt, not by the facts," Braker said.

Finding the Right Platform

The KAR Shop evaluated about four software platforms before choosing Tekmetric in 2019. The decision came down to three factors: cloud-based infrastructure, modern features, and leadership from someone with auto repair experience.

"We liked the fact that Tekmetric was run by a shop owner," Keith said. "Sunil knew the industry. He wasn't just a software guy taking advantage of a market that he saw was open. He was trying to help his people."

The transition to Tekmetric was extremely smooth.

"This was the least disruptive of any software change we've ever had to do," Braker said. "You guys were so helpful at making the transition and moving our customer files over."

The 75% ARO Jump

The KAR Shop's average repair order sat at $399 before implementing Tekmetric. Today, it's $699, a 75% increase.

Braker attributes the growth to two Tekmetric features: maintenance-based recommendations and streamlined workflows that allow the shop to process more work without adding chaos.

"Being able to just interact with the maintenance schedules, having canned jobs — it's a mixture of us just doing a better job and being educated, and Tekmetric giving us the ability to do a better job," Braker said. 

The tech board feature gives The KAR Shop real-time visibility into how many hours of work each technician has lined up. That clarity eliminates guesswork about capacity and helps the team make smarter scheduling decisions.

"I can see how many hours of work each tech has lined up," Braker said. "That was missing before."

Parts ordering accelerated after The KAR Shop integrated Parts Tech through Tekmetric. Instead of opening 10 browser windows to check supplier inventory and pricing, advisers can now search multiple suppliers at once and place orders in minutes.

"It's all automated now," Braker said.

Digital Vehicle Inspections Build Trust

Before Tekmetric, The KAR Shop presented repair recommendations over the phone. Advisers called customers and explained what the vehicle needed. There were no photos. No videos. Just a voice on the other end of the line explaining problems the customer couldn't see.

That changed when the shop started using Tekmetric's digital vehicle inspections (DVIs).

"How we present the work is completely different now," Braker said. "The pictures and the movies — you almost don't even have to talk. They see it. You explain it a little bit."

The DVI process gives customers transparency into the condition of their vehicles. Advisers document both good and bad components, then send an inspection link via text or email. Customers can review the inspection before discussing repairs, which builds trust and reduces skepticism.

"The industry has a trust issue," Braker said. "When you bring in a new customer, they're super impressed when we send them a digital inspection and they see the pictures and see the red, green, yellows. It kind of sells itself."

The shop trains advisers to address the primary customer concern first, then discuss overall vehicle health before jumping to pricing. The strategy prevents sticker shock and keeps customers engaged in the conversation.

"If you tell someone it's going to be $2,000 for the repair they came in for, they stop hearing anything else you say," Braker said. "We talk about the general health of the truck first, then we can discuss what needs to be done now and what can wait."

The biggest challenge wasn't getting customers to trust the process — it was getting technicians to take the photos. Once the team saw the ARO start climbing, buy-in followed quickly.

"Once they saw the ARO going up, it just started working," Braker said.

Text-to-Pay Enables After-Hours Operations

The KAR Shop runs on an unusual schedule for an auto repair facility: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The shift started as a necessity. Last summer, temperatures inside the shop reached sweltering heights. The KAR Shop let technicians come in at 6 a.m. and leave between noon and 2 p.m. to avoid the worst heat. One technician suggested working straight through lunch with two 15-minute breaks instead of taking a full hour off. The shop tried it, and nobody complained.

"We weren't hearing complaints from customers," Braker said. "We weren't having any problem with anything."

The team leaned into the model. They added key boxes for after-hours pickup and trained advisers to ask customers to drop off vehicles the night before. They started streamlining in-store customers when possible and pushed digital payments through Tekmetric's Text-to-Pay feature.

Today, about 80% of The KAR Shop's jobs are dropped off the night before and picked up after hours. Customers pay online, retrieve their keys from a secure key box, and drive away without ever stepping inside.

"Without Text-to-Pay, we could have never changed like this," Braker said.

The compressed schedule delivered a massive morale boost. Two technicians' spouses were able to take jobs that start at 4 p.m. because their husbands are home by 2:30 p.m. Other employees can attend their kids' after-school activities, cook dinner with their families, and make medical appointments without missing work.

"It's a plus," Keith said. "They make doctor's appointments in the afternoon. They're not missing any pay. We don't have to go without an employee for half a day."

Reducing Daily Chaos for Technicians

Tekmetric's digital job board gives technicians visibility into what's coming and what's already in the shop. That visibility reduces chaos and gives technicians input on dispatching decisions.

"They look ahead and will ask the dispatcher, 'Hey, why don't you let me diagnose this one before I do that one?'" Braker said. "That's definitely streamlining it — having their input on the dispatching of the work."

The parts notification feature prevents wasted movement. Technicians receive a notification on their phones when parts arrive, which keeps them from pushing vehicles in and out of bays unnecessarily.

"They get the little ding on their phone, and 'Hey, my parts are here,'" Braker said. "That kept us from wasting time pushing a car in and out because they know the parts are up front."

The KAR Shop is also training technicians to handle their own estimating on primary concerns. In the past, that would have created chaos. With Tekmetric's integrated labor guides and Parts Tech, technicians can look up parts and build estimates without slowing down the shop.

"In the past, we couldn't have done that either," Braker said. "Tekmetric helped a lot there, too."

Building a Culture That Keeps People

The KAR Shop recently won Tekmetric's 2026 Shop Excellence Award for Best Shop to Work For. This recognition reflects a deliberate culture designed before the shop even opened.

"When Jack and I originally planned this back in 2002 and 2003, we spent two or three years planning it, designing the culture we wanted, and what we wanted to do," Keith said. "We've always stuck with that. We wanted to be a family place."

The shop also has a focus on benefits that money can't buy. When a technician needed time off for a family tragedy, the shop paid him to stay home until he was ready to return.

"He'll be a better employee when he comes back," Keith said. "And his wife will probably never forget it."

The hiring process reflects the same priorities. When The KAR Shop interviews a candidate, they send the person to lunch with the entire team without the owners present. If the team says the candidate won't fit, the shop doesn't hire them, even if the resume looks good.

"We've hired people that were turning 50 or 60 hours a week, but everyone else was mad," Braker said. "Not because of the hours — it was the attitude, the drama they caused. It's just not worth it."

The strategy works. One technician just hit 15 years with The KAR Shop. When dealerships try to poach technicians, employees don't ask about pay anymore. They ask whether the dealership offers a 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. schedule, time off for trick-or-treating with their kids, and support during family emergencies.

Maintaining a 4.8-Star Reputation

The KAR Shop has almost 1,000 Google reviews and a 4.8-star rating. That reputation didn't happen by accident.

The shop uses Tekmetric Marketing to request reviews. The platform links customers directly to their Google accounts, which makes leaving feedback fast and easy.

"That really helps when they get a request for a review that links them directly to the Google account they're already logged into," Braker said.

Advisers ask for reviews at pickup, and some go further. One adviser tells customers, "Now, I can count on you leaving us a five-star review, right? I'm going to look in the morning and make sure you leave me a review."

The reviews keep coming because the shop delivers accurate estimates and transparent communication. Customers rarely get surprise calls asking for more money because the labor guide integration ensures estimates are accurate from the start.

"Having the labor guide integrated, giving us accurate estimates, and being able to automatically ask for a review — I think that helped a lot," Braker said.

Looking Ahead

The KAR Shop is planning to grow. The area within five miles of the shop is adding 250 residents per month, and it is an opportunity to scale the business without losing the culture they've built.

They expect Tekmetric to keep up with that growth.

"We're expecting you guys to keep up with technology," Braker said. "We're expecting you to keep up with AI, keep up with any new technology, keep watching the suggestion board."

Braker wants to see Tekmetric continue consolidating tools into one platform. The shop already uses Tekmetric for shop management, payments, and marketing. The goal is to eliminate the need for multiple subscriptions and keep everything under one roof.

"You guys are consolidating it all into one package, which makes it really handy," Braker said. "Everything is consolidated, and we don't need to do anything else."

The shop's message to other independent operators is clear: if you're not on Tekmetric, you're falling behind.

"This is the future for an independent auto shop," Braker said. "Everybody else is light-years behind where Tekmetric is."

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