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Confessions of a Shop Owner is hosted by Mike Allen, a third-generation shop owner, perpetual pot-stirrer, and brutally honest opinion sharer. In this weekly podcast, Mike shares his missteps so you don’t have to repeat them. Along the way, he chats with other industry personalities who’ve messed up, too, pulling back the curtain on the realities of running an independent auto repair shop. But this podcast isn’t just about Mike’s journey. It’s about confronting the divisive and questionable tactics many shop owners and managers use. Mike is here to stir the pot and address the painful truths while offering a way forward. Together, we’ll tackle the frustrations, shake things up, and help create a better future for the auto repair industry.
[Avern Collins] (0:00 - 0:02)
Aftermarket parts are filled.
[Bryan Pollock] (0:02 - 0:04)
Stuff that used to work doesn't work anymore.
[Avern Collins] (0:05 - 0:05)
Yes, sir.
[Bryan Pollock] (0:05 - 0:20)
You used to buy parts from Brand X for a certain repair and now all of a sudden you've done three warranties in the last two months of that exact repair. That was never a problem for like six years. You just can't trust Dorman to be what Dorman used to be, you know.
[Mike Allen] (0:25 - 0:56)
The following program features a bunch of doofuses talking about the automotive aftermarket. The stuff we or our guests may say do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of our peers, our sponsors, or any other associations we may have. There may be some spicy language in this show, so if you get your feelings hurt easily, you should probably just move along.
So without further ado, here's your host, Mike Allen, with Confessions of a Shop Owner, presented by TechMetric. The best software in the history of ever.
[Bryan Pollock] (0:57 - 1:08)
You know, ultimately it feels like you should just go ahead and embrace it and just go straight polish. Just I've shaved my head before. Yeah, I've done that before.
Pollock's hair polish. There you go.
[Mike Allen] (1:08 - 1:08)
It's a new product.
[Bryan Pollock] (1:10 - 1:47)
I don't know about that. It's just for chrome dome. Just make sure that it's got a nice shiny chrome dome.
I'll tell you what, when you're standing, when you're under a car and like the cat's hot and your head is shaved, like you know the exhaust is hot. It's like it's weird. The skin on your head.
It's weird. It's like it's always like got a sunburn, it feels like. So anytime if the sun's shining on it, it's like you really feel it.
I start to thin out at the top. Am I thinning at all? You probably shouldn't shave yours off.
It might not come back. Yeah, I gotta start getting some of that. Yeah, the widow's picks are getting kind of.
Yeah, it's probably time.
[Avern Collins] (1:47 - 1:58)
Listen, I told my wife the other day, I said, I'm gonna have to stop wearing hats because I'm usually wearing hats, right? And I said, yeah, I feel like starting. It looks like it's going further and further back.
[Bryan Pollock] (1:59 - 2:03)
Is that a thing? Does the hat, does it like crush the follicle in and make it worse or something?
[Avern Collins] (2:04 - 2:26)
I feel like when I went last night, I was looking, I got my haircut today, right? I was looking real close in the mirror and I could see like little tiny hairs right there, right? But I usually have my hat, you know, pulled down pretty tight.
And I'm wondering if that's actually a real thing. You always hear people say, oh, you know, hats, you know, it'll cause you to lose your hair. And I'm starting to wonder.
[Bryan Pollock] (2:27 - 3:06)
I think it's all repair. I've got a service advisor who for the first year and a half that he worked for us, he always had a hat on. And I did not know that Homie has a significantly receding hairline.
And then one day I came in without a hat on. I was like, what the fuck? Vert to vert?
Like four miles of forehead. Yeah, he's got like a six head. Oh my God.
Six head, what's that? So anyway, welcome to the show. Is it Averin or Averin?
Averin. Yes, sir. Averin Collins.
Squat up again like that. I want to see your shirt. All right.
[Mike Allen] (3:06 - 3:07)
Nice.
[Bryan Pollock] (3:08 - 3:29)
I like it. I've been creeping his Instagram. He's got branded fender covers.
That is some next level mobile marketing type stuff. I was creeping the Instagram into it. How many trucks you got?
I see two. I see the Sprinter and you got two. Okay.
Very cool. How long have you been doing this, man?
[Avern Collins] (3:30 - 3:33)
Oh, Lordy. Dating back to late 2012, early 2013.
[Bryan Pollock] (3:35 - 3:42)
So am I the only one who feels like 2012 was three years ago? Yeah. You're not.
You're not.
[Avern Collins] (3:42 - 3:45)
The time is flying. It's like that. Yeah.
[Bryan Pollock] (3:46 - 3:51)
A 10-year-old pickup truck is a 98 Chevy with a 5.7. An S10.
[Avern Collins] (3:51 - 3:51)
Yeah.
[Bryan Pollock] (3:54 - 5:23)
I seen a Dodge Neon the other day. They've been extinct up here for over 10 years. Yeah.
I'm going to Google a picture of a 20-year-old Silverado right now. Well, it's a 06, which is last year of the cat eye, right? Yeah.
I guess early 07s were cat eyes. That's not an old truck. That's a recent truck.
That's bullshit, man. I do have antique tags on the Miata. So.
Oh, my gosh. Super, super manly car. It's so ESO.
The only reason you have antique tags on there, so you don't have to carry as much insurance and pay as much registration. Correct. Correct.
Well, I mean, it's getting like a thousand miles a year at this point. I mean. Correct.
So it's like that. So I can just put fire and theft on it in the wintertime. So I apologize, Abram.
If you haven't consumed much of the show, this is pretty much how it goes. So sorry. But Josh Coombs in Fayetteville told us that we had to have you on, that you were an awesome dude.
And we know that he is a very poor judge of character. So we figured what could go wrong. Yeah.
If he likes you, we thought, what? I mean, we got to have you on. So introduce yourself.
Tell us a little bit about your business and we'll go from there.
[Avern Collins] (5:24 - 6:54)
Cool. Hey, guys, I'm Abram Collins. I am a mobile mechanic out of the Fayetteville, North Carolina area.
I've been at this since late 2012, 2013, providing on-site mobile services at my client's location. I take pride in the work that we do as mobile mechanics. My ultimate goal is to provide my customers a level of service that they can't get anywhere else.
As I see a lot of mobile mechanics come and go in this business, a lot will last six months to a year. They don't have these systems in place, pricing their jobs correctly. A lot of these guys go out of business rather quickly.
But my ultimate goal is to eventually take my brand nationwide. So I knew early on that I wanted to have a brand that could potentially go nationwide. So I really honed in and focused on that early on.
But preventative maintenance, battery starters, shocks, struts, radiators, water pumps, thermostats, fan clutches, quick services, two, three hours max. I do feel like there is a line for mobile mechanics. I stick in my lane.
And the larger repairs, I've got guys like Josh that I just recommend work to. The type of services we provide is just something to keep people from sitting in an automotive repair shop on a Saturday. They could be getting their oil changed, or they could get the alternator replaced, starter, whatever, battery, things like that.
It's bringing a convenience to the customer's location.
[Bryan Pollock] (6:56 - 7:41)
So in my very limited experience with mobile technicians, there are mobile techs who want to do roadside flight tires and batteries and lockout service. And those seem to be the ones that they don't know. It's a business, right?
It's not just fixing cars. It's a business. And they seem to be the ones that kind of burn hot and then run out of steam.
And then they start handing out resumes at shops. There seems to be the guys that build their business and build their bank account to the point that they can get their own brick and mortar. And they go that route.
We've had some guys on the show in the past that started that way before they got to brick and mortar. A lot of guys have done that.
[Avern Collins] (7:41 - 7:43)
Yeah, they really do.
[Bryan Pollock] (7:43 - 8:13)
And then there are guys like you who grow the business and go to multiple trucks. And then they have employees and all the stresses that come with employees and having HR needs and benefits and things of that nature. So what made you decide to go to wanting to build a brand and wanting to branch out across the country, as you said, versus wanting to build up to a brick and mortar and then kind of plant yourself in the community like that?
[Avern Collins] (8:15 - 9:13)
So I like dealing with different customers every day, different issues every day, different types of vehicles every day. I do not like being in one set location. I guess you could say I'm a Roman gnome.
I like to go around different parts of the city every day. Every day is something different. So I enjoy that.
Now, like you mentioned, Mr. Mike, a lot of guys come into this business and they build up some customers, build up some cash, and then they want to go get a brick and mortar shop. And then they expect those same customers who use them initially as a mobile mechanic to follow them. And it's like, OK, you've got those customers because you were providing a level of convenience that they appreciated.
What makes you think that they're going to follow you to an automotive repair shop? And a lot of times these guys get fooled. A lot of times they don't follow you.
They go find another mobile mechanic. Right. Yes, sir.
Yeah.
[Bryan Pollock] (9:16 - 10:04)
So again, I'm coming from a place of great ignorance, right? This is like me trying to talk to a dealership service department manager or something, right? Because it's just a different world that they operate in.
It's adjacent but different. In my mind's eye, other than the mobile diagnostic guys, the programmers, and most of their work is sublet to other shops that can't do it, right? And that's a big part of my world is I sub out programming work that we don't have the equipment or the knowledge how to do because we want to be able to do it all for our customer.
So how do you combat the... It seems to me that customers that call mobile mechanics are either in a pinch or looking for the lowest common denominator price-wise. How do you combat against that?
[Avern Collins] (10:05 - 10:37)
So you are absolutely right. A lot of times when people are looking for a mobile mechanic, they're looking for a cost effective option. But a lot of times, nowadays in the last, I'd say, 5, 6, 7 years, I don't really have those issues.
When people go online, they see the name, they see the brand, they see the reputation. I don't have to fight with prices as much anymore because they know we're a legitimate company. We've got the reputations.
[Bryan Pollock] (10:38 - 11:27)
They see the van, they see the branding, they see that you're not working out of the trunk of a 1985 Buick Riviera, and they're like, all right, this is a legit company. Which is a 20-year-old car. A 20-year-old car.
See, this is a legit company. This guy has branded fender covers. This is legit.
225 reviews, 4.8 stars on average, posted hours, owns his Google My Business listing, uses it, has a website. This is a real business. This is not a dude advertising on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.
I mean, maybe you are also doing that. Fuck, I don't know. He's like the rest of us.
He has a target clientele. Marketplace isn't where his target clientele is. Tell me your stance on free diag.
[Avern Collins] (11:29 - 12:23)
I don't do free diagnostics. No, sir. So, especially with us being mobile, I feel like it's different.
Because if we get out there and do a diagnostic on a vehicle, and a customer's like, you know what? Abram, I appreciate you coming out, but my brother Johnny over here is going to fix it for me. Have a great day.
We lost an hour and a half, two hours of our day, our life, wear and tear on the vehicle. It's just a waste at that point. But now here's something that I do, and other mobile mechanics who may be watching this, this is a little tip right here.
So, what I do is I charge my diagnostic. Customers go online, book and prepay for that service with a debit or credit card before they even see me. So, once I go out there, diagnose it, verify the concern, I get a written estimate.
If they allow us to fix the issue at hand, I apply half of that back towards the bill as a credit.
[Bryan Pollock] (12:25 - 12:27)
What's your minimum diagnostic fee?
[Avern Collins] (12:28 - 12:29)
$249.99 plus tax.
[Bryan Pollock] (12:30 - 12:36)
All right. So, if they move forward with the repair, they get $125 off the repair? Yes, sir.
Gotcha.
[Avern Collins] (12:36 - 12:44)
So, what that does, it really weeds out those customers who are not serious. The ones who are just looking for the cheapest option.
[Bryan Pollock] (12:44 - 12:45)
Kicking tires.
[Avern Collins] (12:45 - 13:43)
Yeah. When I tell them, you know, the diagnostic costs or they go online and see it and they're like, oh, $250. And then, I mean, automatically, we set expectations early on.
And that's one thing about me is I'm big on setting expectations. I like to lay everything out in the beginning before we're even in bed together. I mean, there's no harm, no foul.
Here's what it is. And I feel that's another thing that really sets us aside from everybody else is I would rather lay everything out on the table before you spend a dime with me. There's no pigeonholing.
There's no numbers games like this is it. This is the service we're going to perform for you. So, we come out there, diagnose it as a bad starter.
Okay. Here's a written estimate. This is exactly what you're paying for.
Your diagnostic credit is on the bottom. Your warranty information is at the bottom. If they decide to move forward, they sign it with the tip of their finger and it's an approved estimate.
Then, I move forward with ordering parts, going to pick up parts, whatever we need to do.
[Bryan Pollock] (13:44 - 14:10)
ISKRA, you guys are all working off of a tablet? Are they working off of a laptop or what? PHELPS, phones.
ISKRA, phones. Okay, super. Are they sourcing parts and building estimates on their phone also?
PHELPS, I handle that. ISKRA, okay. So, you've got, they call into the office with the VIN code and what you're dealing with and okay.
Are you sourcing parts online through the supplier's websites or are you using parts tech or what are you using to build your estimates?
[Avern Collins] (14:10 - 14:22)
So, typically, I would say 80% of the time we're using dealer parts now. So, for some reason, I've just been noticing a lot of aftermarket parts are failing.
[Bryan Pollock] (14:22 - 15:15)
Stuff that used to work doesn't work anymore. Yes, sir. You used to buy parts from Brand X for a certain repair and now all of a sudden, you've done three warranties in the last two months of that exact repair.
That was never a problem for like six years. I mean, you just can't trust Dorman to be what Dorman used to be, you know? It's not, you know, it's not even the wings, man.
It's the stuff that is reputable. But it's crazy, the amount of parts. And then once you start looking at, you know, there's been a lot of price increases in aftermarket parts.
So, now you start looking at sometimes you're like, oh, I got to get this. Yeah, you're like, you're always assuming like, oh, man, I got to get this thing from the dealer. It's going to be a gazillion dollars.
I'm seeing a lot of Chrysler OEM stuff a lot of times is cheaper than the aftermarket.
[Mike Allen] (15:15 - 15:15)
Less.
[Bryan Pollock] (15:16 - 15:32)
And it works. Yes, sir. It's like double bonus.
Yeah. Not only is it less expensive, it works. It fits.
Yeah, it fits. It fits, yeah. Yeah, electronic parts are impossible aftermarket right now.
[Avern Collins] (15:32 - 15:36)
I mean, I've had reputable from the dealer.
[Bryan Pollock] (15:36 - 16:08)
Yeah, I've had like reputable ignition components failing. And you're like, well, I must have misdiagnosed that. When you get it in, you're like, nope, things burn up already.
Perfect. So, Sancio. What percentage of your customers?
I love this idea. See your truck in their driveway or their parking lot or wherever it is. Park next to their problem vehicle before they have already paid you 250 bucks.
[Avern Collins] (16:09 - 16:12)
So say that again now. I want to go.
[Bryan Pollock] (16:12 - 16:19)
How often is your service truck parked next to a service client before they've sent you a payment for $250 just to get started?
[Avern Collins] (16:21 - 16:25)
Virtually never. I love that. Unless it's a repeat customer.
It's fantastic.
[Bryan Pollock] (16:25 - 17:17)
Look at how you got Mike interested. He's going full ESO. His eyes are all lit up.
He's like, wait a second. Wait a second. I can make these people lock in.
Well, so I think it makes a ton of sense, right? Because like you said, it weeds out all of the problem customers that are typically associated with mobile technician services because they don't want any of that smoke, you know? Yeah, and he's got expense.
He had to drive there. Yeah, right. It's not like the customer came to that.
I mean, obviously, brick and mortars, we have expensive too, but like the time it's a time and a right. It's arguably, arguably a larger expense front loaded. I don't know.
It all depends on how you weigh it out. It's expensive. It's just a different business model.
Yeah, it's a different expense, but I like it.
[Avern Collins] (17:18 - 18:07)
I like it now. Now, if it's a repeat customer, so say it's Mrs. Jones and she's used me two or three times. I can go right in my app.
She calls me. Hey, Avery, you know, my car won't start. What day can you fit me in?
I've already got her in my system. Click, click, click, click, click. I've got an appointment.
Boom, right there. She gets a text and an email immediately about her appointment. Now, 24 hours before the appointment, she's going to get another notification.
One hour before the appointment, she gets another text and email. Whenever I'm in route or one of my texts is in route, she's going to get a link and she can follow us along. So if we stop at Walmart on the way there, what are they doing at Walmart, right?
So she can actually track us along the way. So one thing about it is we keep our customers in the loop every step of the way, and they absolutely love it. They love that.
[Bryan Pollock] (18:07 - 18:10)
It's like people watching the Amazon truck coming to their house, man.
[Avern Collins] (18:10 - 18:11)
Door dash.
[Bryan Pollock] (18:11 - 18:19)
Like, my wife loves that. It's the Papa John's pizza tracker for me. I've never wanted a pizza.
[Mike Allen] (18:19 - 18:19)
Is that what it does?
[Bryan Pollock] (18:19 - 19:15)
It would be pizza for you. Hey, totally relevant to our conversation. I am seven days into working out every day, and this is as high as I can lift my arms right now.
Everything is terrible. Is it just as terrible as you thought it would be? My 13, now 14 year old spent all summer hanging out of the house.
He didn't play any sports. He didn't go to any camps. He's just been eating bags of chips and slowly trying to morph his body into my body.
And I thought, you know what? That's not healthy for a 14 year old. You know what?
I probably have super high cholesterol. I confirmed this. And so now we get up at 5 15 in the morning every morning.
We go to the gym. That's what I'm talking about, baby. I'm down 68 pounds, and I hate every minute of it because I like food and I like sleeping in.
But here we are. This is the next step for me is cutting this back.
[Avern Collins] (19:15 - 19:27)
So I need to get back in the gym myself. But I swear, like right now, with it being almost 100 degrees out, I think I lose like three or four pounds throughout the day, just sweating it out.
[Bryan Pollock] (19:27 - 21:34)
It doesn't get that hot here. We would shut everything down. I tried to record a reel for Braxton last week in the truck.
He wanted me to do one. I sent him the first one. He was like, dude, the AC vents too fucking loud.
You got to turn the AC off. I fucking can't turn the AC off in like 10 seconds. And my moves are sweating like 97 degrees.
There was, like, no residual coolness in there whatsoever. I'm sorry. We were having a substantive conversation, and I don't know how I got off on this tangent.
I apologize. Something about working out, lifting your arms. Well, I was going to pizza.
Yeah, about his Papa John. That is incredible levels of customer communication. That level of constant drip of communication and transparency.
The first company that I saw trying to do that really hard in the brick and mortar space back in the day was Auto Text Me, and they would text the customer at each step of the process. Would they have the tracker on the tech in the bathroom scrolling TikTok? Your technician has been in the restroom for 19 minutes.
Your technician is now searching four wheelers on marketplace. He's now scrolling Craigslist wanted ads for technicians. He may not complete your job because he just got an offer.
Oh, my gosh. Anyway, I love that level of communication. Customers love that level of communication.
We're just joking about how much we love it with Amazon and Papa John's or DoorDash or why not bring that level of I don't want to call it transparency, but that's how it's pitched as transparency to the customers, right? Because if you can give them a steady drip of constant updates and communication, the other thing that happens with that is they don't fucking call you every eight minutes. And I guess in your position, it's even worse.
They just walk outside and be like, hey, what's going on? How often do you have customers that just want to stand there and watch?
[Avern Collins] (21:34 - 22:08)
Oh, man, that happens a lot. But I'm going to be honest with you. I love my customers.
I love talking to my customers. If they have any questions while they're working, I will walk them through the whole process. So I guess I'm just a people person and I enjoy talking to my customers.
That's one thing about being a mobile mechanic. You have to wear so many hats. You can't just be a mechanic and like, don't talk to me like when I'm work.
Because, you know, some takes like being a babe and don't like they don't want to deal with that's why I'll be here. I'll never be mobile.
[Bryan Pollock] (22:09 - 22:38)
I'm sorry. Sorry, sir. Were you talking at the side of my head while I was trying to read this wiring diagram?
Brian's not allowed in the same room with customers. So, but you know what? I have a lot of our customers that I really do enjoy talking to.
It's just I have weapons grade ADHD. So if I'm doing something else, like I'm not going to talk to you, even if you're talking at the side of my head. Does a customer wanting to watch and talk to you not destroy your productivity and efficiency?
[Avern Collins] (22:39 - 23:05)
No, sir. Usually not. Now, I would say now if something's kind of going left field and I'm like, oh crap, what in the world, you know, then maybe like then I'll be in my mind.
But I still the customer will never know that customer will never know something's going left field or, you know, I'm racking my brain about what's going on. I would never like I got a good poker face. It's funny.
[Bryan Pollock] (23:05 - 24:37)
No, he goes to get drillzilla out of the van. They still don't realize when he grabs a drill that you hold like a chainsaw. It's totally normal.
I have to get out the fire extinguisher every time we do one of these. It's totally normal for me to fire up this other generator to run this huge ass drill. No, we use the torch every day, ma'am.
Gas axe, baby. Actually, in New York, you probably do use the torch every day. But in North Carolina, yeah.
Um, my son started his 11th grade trade school program in welding, and today was his first day in welding class where they got all the different ways that you can die or be horribly maimed in a machine shop. They're talking about how on certain pieces of equipment you don't because you'd rather have your skin pulled off your finger than your hand pulled into the machine. Like in a welding shop, what do they have this rotary that's going to pull your hand in?
But, uh, whatever. Well, you know, a lot of welding and brazing they put, I can see where that would happen. Like when they put bushings in giant pieces of equipment, that's a welder's job typically.
And they do have like big boring bars that are on stands that could do that. So I can see why they would have to teach that because there's a good chance that that, you know, that's more of a welder's job than a mechanic's job. They're doing metal fabrication and cutting.
And I mean, I think they're actually starting with plasma cutting before they do welding. So, um, very cool. Whatever.
So I just bought a new plasma cutter. It was exciting.
[Avern Collins] (24:37 - 25:11)
My dad actually teaches welding at a trade school in West Virginia. Nice. My little brother graduated from not his program, but the, uh, another county's program because my dad was teaching in McDowell County, but now he's teaching in Wyoming County.
So my little brother went through the program and he's in, um, he just left Ohio. He was up there like three years, but he is somewhere in West Virginia now. The dude is in like mid thirties, 23, 24 year old kid, $107 a day per DM.
He's knocking it out the park.
[Bryan Pollock] (25:11 - 25:11)
Oh yeah.
[Avern Collins] (25:12 - 25:13)
Oh yeah.
[Bryan Pollock] (25:13 - 25:47)
They will pay you all the money to go weld on the pipeline. They will go look and then they will pay you all the money. Well, it was cool meeting a teacher.
You know, you have a picture in your mind of what you're going to meet when you go to a welding shop to meet the instructor. And it was not a 30 year old five foot two woman. Uh, but she looked like she would put up with absolutely zero bullshit and she would run that place with an iron hand and you figure for her to be in that role, she probably does.
You know? Yeah. There's a lot of really good women welders.
They typically have better motor skills.
[Avern Collins] (25:47 - 25:56)
That's what I was going to say. My dad's always said every female who came through his program, hands down, he knew they were going to be my, uh, my snap on dealer.
[Bryan Pollock] (25:56 - 26:20)
I, I love the guy and he, um, his, his daughter wanted to be a veterinarian and he did very well for himself so he could afford to send her to vet school. But he said in high school, you can go to this tech prep center and you can learn a trade for free and you have to go do that. I'll send you to vet school.
You're going to go learn a trade center into welding. She never went to vet school welder. Does all sorts of crazy pay the vet for all of her pets.
[Mike Allen] (26:21 - 26:21)
Yeah.
[Bryan Pollock] (26:22 - 27:41)
All the, all the crazy welding that you see on like custom pipe jobs on like these scenes, like she does that kind of custom work where it's like the super duper fancy stainless that gets rainbowed out and all that crap stacking the dimes, the whole deal. She's really good at it. So, so, um, again, I, we've just met tonight, so I've been creeping your socials a little bit.
Me too. Okay. We both were just a couple of creepy old dudes who are rolling around.
Um, I think that might be the first time I've logged into Instagram in six months. It's because I Googled you and it came up Instagram first. He's got a Facebook page.
Looks like he's got some general sales chicken up here. Oh yeah. What is that?
I need some of that. Um, I'm sorry. Sesame chicken.
I love coaching for small business. And, um, and I think every entrepreneur should get a coach to help you along the pathway because just because you're a great technician or a great welder or a great baker or whatever it might be, it doesn't mean that you're going to be great owning a shop or a bakery. And so, uh, it looks like you're putting your toe in the coaching pool as well for mobile technicians.
Is that right? Yes, sir. Tell me about that path.
[Avern Collins] (27:42 - 28:53)
So honestly, it's been, it's been pretty good so far. Um, it's about a year, almost a year in now. Um, it's called mobile mechanic coach.
Um, my goal is to help other technicians who are getting into the industry hit the ground running. Um, so when I got started, I was a 20 year old kid, right? So I didn't have house payments.
I wasn't married. I didn't have kids. I did not have any of that huge overhead, right?
And the thing is, is I feel like that was one of the reasons why I've been able to get to the point of where I am today because I didn't have those things weighing me down at the moment, right? Whereas a lot of these men getting now, and I'm saying men now, right? I was 20.
I was young. I would consider myself a kid at that moment, right? But these men nowadays going mobile, these are grown men.
Like, I mean, thirties, forties, they got houses, they got cars, they got wives, they got kids. And, you know, even though women get into the field too, but, you know, they got responsibilities.
[Bryan Pollock] (28:53 - 28:54)
They're just tired of working for assholes like me.
[Avern Collins] (28:56 - 29:09)
So, you know, I wanted to keep them from making the same mistakes that I made in the last 13, 14 years, because if they make those same mistakes that I made, it would, it possibly could crush them.
[Bryan Pollock] (29:09 - 29:11)
Like not charging for DAG.
[Avern Collins] (29:11 - 30:14)
Yes. So not charging DAG, not having systems in place, not charging correctly, not having standard operating procedures, not having software to quote jobs correctly, all these things. And, you know, of course, so I go on there and I make, you know, some videos, just throw a few things here and there.
I do have a couple of guys that I'm coaching right now, and they are set to double their revenue this year. They're on track to double their revenue. Now, of course, my platform's not huge, but the guys that we have in this platform, if you go through and look at their stuff, they're elevating, they're growing.
And a lot of these things, they don't really require a whole lot of money. It's the brand. When you show up on site, I mean, having a shirt, a polo, tucked in, wear a belt, have a hat, look professional, right?
A lot of these things don't cost a lot of money. They don't cost a lot of money.
[Bryan Pollock] (30:15 - 30:17)
Pants or shorts. I have to know pants or shorts.
[Avern Collins] (30:18 - 30:19)
I wear pants.
[Bryan Pollock] (30:20 - 30:21)
Are any of the guys allowed to wear shorts?
[Avern Collins] (30:22 - 30:32)
So now if they want to wear shorts, they can. Personally, I wear pants because at the end of the day, we're usually on our knees doing break jobs and stuff like that.
[Bryan Pollock] (30:33 - 30:52)
I know a guy that owns a pretty significant mobile diagnostic and programming operation, and it's always a joke. He doesn't let his guys wear shorts. Not allowed.
It's professionalism. I'll tell you what, his mobile diagnostic and programming operation does very well. So there you go.
Professionalism.
[Avern Collins] (30:52 - 31:11)
Another thing is, too, if you're on your knees and whatnot throughout the day, for one, you're scraping your knees on the ground unless you got knee pads, and two, your knees from the bottom down, you're going to be nasty, and you have to take three times as long to wash. Wait, you guys bathe on a regular basis? Say it again now?
[Bryan Pollock] (31:12 - 32:44)
You guys bathe on a regular basis? Oh, yeah, yeah. I got to hit the shower now.
Hey, so we were talking earlier. There's a ton of private equity money coming into the automotive space, and they're buying up all the mom and pop shops and consolidating into these large groups, and I didn't know that there's also private equity money coming into the mobile world, and Brian, can we name names that you were just talking about? Is that okay?
Yeah, I think like Eric Ziegler, he got bought out by a larger corporation. Mobile Auto Solutions. Yep, Mobile Auto Solutions has bought out a lot of, these are more mobile diagnostic and programming operations, but larger companies have bought out, and they're going to do, once they see something with a system like he has, private equity doesn't care what you do.
They care that it makes money, right? Yeah, that's true. So it doesn't matter.
Back up. This is my weapons grade ADHD. I apologize.
We were talking about coaching, and I went off on an equity tangent. If there's a mobile technician who's listening to this and is interested in more professional, professionalizing their business and making it a business rather than a job that they own, where can they seek you out or how can they best seek you out and what you're trying to build for other mobile technicians?
[Avern Collins] (32:44 - 32:48)
Yes, sir. So they can check us out on TikTok, Mobile Mechanic Coach.
[Bryan Pollock] (32:49 - 33:01)
TikTok. Oh, my God. I'm so old.
And also, How do you spell that? T-I-K-A-T-A-W-K. That's how you go?
TikTok. How do you even log on to this thing?
[Avern Collins] (33:01 - 33:02)
I'm not sure.
[Bryan Pollock] (33:02 - 33:37)
There's someone with the music mode, right? Yeah. TikTok makes wherever to get on TikTok, y'all.
Oh, this is the one with all the funny stuff on it. I remember this one. I'm trying to log in right now.
I don't know if my computer knows my password. I can get in. I don't know if I'm logged in under my own account or...
Oh, I'm definitely... Oh, no, that's a friend. I'm in my own account.
I've got to do two. I was going to go follow you right now, but I've got to do two-factor authentication. That's just a bridge too far.
Okay. I'm going to do it right now. Watch this.
Did you say the Mobile Mechanic Coach?
[Avern Collins] (33:38 - 33:40)
It's Mobile Mechanic Coach.
[Bryan Pollock] (33:40 - 33:41)
Oh, without the...
[Avern Collins] (33:41 - 33:45)
The actual handle is your Mobile Mechanic Coach, but it'll be listed as Mobile Mechanic Coach.
[Bryan Pollock] (33:49 - 34:20)
Mechanic Coach. Oh, I got you. Found you.
Followed. If you're listening to this, you go follow him. I haven't looked at any of his TikTok content, but I'm sure it's incredible.
I'm just so impressed with the fender covers. I like lots of those. Where'd you get those from?
Why am I asking you? I know how to figure stuff out. I'll just search custom-branded fender covers.
I figure stuff out for a living. I'm trying to take the shortcut.
[Avern Collins] (34:21 - 34:48)
You know, the funny thing is I had a lot of guys who have kind of given slack because of some of the things like that that I do, right? The fender covers, the branded shirts, things like that. But imagine this.
When I go somewhere and if I were to see somebody using fender covers or somebody going the extra mile to make sure that my property was taken care of.
[Bryan Pollock] (34:48 - 34:50)
Oh, yeah. Nobody uses them anymore.
[Avern Collins] (34:51 - 34:51)
Yeah.
[Bryan Pollock] (34:52 - 35:11)
You should see people when you send them a picture. If I'm doing something, I don't do a ton of mechanical work anymore. But when I do, my go-to is the crash wrap, the blue crash wrap.
Wrap the whole front of the car, right? That's my go-to. And people are so impressed when you do that.
They're like, I can't believe you do that.
[Avern Collins] (35:11 - 35:15)
And I'm like, I'm freaking out. Like you take care of my car. You value my position.
[Bryan Pollock] (35:15 - 36:58)
I'm trying not to pay to get your fender painted. Right. Like, you know what I mean?
Well, just like there's bad stereotypes for shops, there's bad stereotypes for mobile guys. And so how do you differentiate yourself? You have a presentable, clean shop with clean restrooms and a nice lobby and waiting area.
And dudes who are in polos and they greet you politely and have phone skills. Well, how do you differentiate yourself from the bad stereotype of the mobile guys? You have a branded professional vehicle and you show up in uniform and you take care of the vehicle and you're clean.
Right. So it's the same thing. It's just a different vertical of the industry, I guess.
So I'm super impressed with this. Now, I got to get into the numbers because I'm a numbers nerd like this. It's fascinating to me to think about, I go the opposite end of the spectrum on diagnostics.
Like, you have to get a deposit to have one of your guys show up on site for the work until you know that they're an unknown quantity customer that is a spender. I go the other way. It's like Oprah.
Everybody gets time. Yeah. I do the first hour for free.
You get free time. And I pay the technician and I don't charge the customer. And there's a whole lot of conversation that goes into that.
And it gets a lot of people rankled up, whatever. But are you $250 an hour across the board? Or is it $250 an hour for a Diag and then a different number for repair?
You have a dozen different labor rates depending upon what type of car it is. How do you do that?
[Avern Collins] (36:58 - 37:04)
Yes, sir. So it's $250 light car, light truck, and it's $300 an hour foreign car diesel.
[Bryan Pollock] (37:05 - 37:10)
Just if it's a starter and it's an hour, it's $250.
[Avern Collins] (37:11 - 37:26)
Mm-hmm. So once it's diagnosed, we'll give the written estimate. And very rarely is a repair just one hour.
Being mobile, you have to count in drive time and all that good stuff. So it's usually two hours, minimum, usually.
[Bryan Pollock] (37:26 - 37:31)
So what I'm hearing from you is you're not competing on price. You're competing on convenience.
[Avern Collins] (37:31 - 37:32)
Exactly.
[Bryan Pollock] (37:32 - 37:32)
Service.
[Avern Collins] (37:33 - 37:37)
Yes, sir. Service and convenience. And going above and beyond and just providing the level of service they can't get anywhere.
[Bryan Pollock] (37:37 - 37:58)
You're doing it better than most brick and mortars can possibly do this. Who in your organization communicates with the customer and delivers the estimate? Is it the technician on site or you on the phone?
It's me. Okay. So you're hanging out at the office, kind of flying the ship from afar and dispatching and building estimates and selling.
[Avern Collins] (37:58 - 37:59)
I'm still out and about as well.
[Bryan Pollock] (38:00 - 38:00)
Okay.
[Avern Collins] (38:00 - 38:36)
All right. I'm ready to get out of the van. But it's so hard to find good mobile technicians.
Oh my Lord. Oh, that part's not different. Listen, if I could find a great mobile tech, I mean one.
Okay. So here's what I say. You have to be able to wear so many hats, right?
They have to be a great technician. They have to be able to communicate with the customer. They have to work clean on site at the customer's house.
When you're pulling the drain pipe- Yeah, you can't have crap running all over their driveway.
[Bryan Pollock] (38:37 - 38:38)
You don't have time to go wash driveways, man.
[Avern Collins] (38:40 - 38:54)
It's the little things. It's the little things being mobile that people don't think about, but until after it's over and then it's a big deal. So it's very, very tough finding good mobile techs.
[Bryan Pollock] (38:55 - 39:18)
That's awesome. So what is a good mobile tech worth to you? If you could find a dude, I don't know what the metrics that you trace are, the number of calls per day or revenue per day or what it might be, but if you found a mobile tech who checks all the right boxes, what is that individual worth to you per year?
[Avern Collins] (39:18 - 39:28)
If I could put them in a van and I could say, here's your four jobs for the day. Go do the diagnostics, verify the- And you don't have to babysit.
[Bryan Pollock] (39:28 - 39:32)
It'd be like you being in the van. Like it just gets taken care of.
[Avern Collins] (39:32 - 39:35)
Yes, I know. I could probably do between 35 and 40 an hour.
[Bryan Pollock] (39:36 - 39:52)
And in your market, that's very competitive for sure. You're in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which is other than the base is rural eastern North Carolina, right? So how often do you have to go strapped in Fayetteville?
[Avern Collins] (39:54 - 40:12)
So here's the tough part about that. So sometimes we have to go on the military base. Of course, we're usually scheduled out and all that good stuff three to four days in advance.
But if you're strapped and you forget and you go on base- It's a big problem. It's a big, big problem.
[Bryan Pollock] (40:13 - 40:16)
So I- Way worse than spilling antifreeze in somebody's driveway. Definitely.
[Avern Collins] (40:18 - 40:20)
Yeah, a lot more.
[Bryan Pollock] (40:21 - 40:27)
Have you noticed with so many of the troops deployed right now, has it had a negative impact in business?
[Avern Collins] (40:29 - 40:30)
No, sir. Okay.
[Bryan Pollock] (40:30 - 43:13)
I hear from some of the bigger players in your market that have multiple locations that when the troops leave town, business goes down. And I was like, well, I mean, wife's still around, driving around and going to visit whoever. So I don't know.
Interesting. I guess, you know, if you're trying to get eight to 10 appointments a day to fill the schedule for two trucks, you're not going to feel that impact quite as quickly. Whereas if, you know, the guy I'm thinking about- Somebody's got a five bay and they're trying to do- The guy I'm talking about's got five stores in Fayetteville, right?
And he's seen it down. You know who I'm talking about, but I don't want to name names on the episode. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But I don't know, man. It would make me nervous to be in a market that's so tied to the big earners in town. Every time we go to war, they leave town, right?
But I guess that's the case for any military-based community. Brian, do you got any military up your way? Niagara Falls Air Force Base.
Oh yeah, in case the Canadians invade. Gotta go blow those fuckers up. I think they do some refueling.
They're about five minutes from the shop. They probably fly over the top and drop nukes on the Russians. That's why they're there.
It is so loud sometimes. They're a stop because they're a refueling wing. They have a lot of fuel on site as any Air Force- I'm sure every Air Force base has a ton of fuel.
But their deal is KC-135 Stratotankers. So they have even more fuel probably than the average base, right? And so a lot of jets, they're on their way through.
A lot of fighters, you know, fighters aren't really made to fly far. So they got to like stop here, stop there, you know, on their way. And they stop there a lot of times.
And like, you know- And then just refuel three times flying across the country. Yeah. And you know the difference.
It's super loud. And then we were camping near the Thousand Islands this weekend. And that's Fort Drum is up there.
And that's actually where Chris Ganey was stationed for a while. Fort Drum's pretty big, right? Yeah, there was a ton of activity.
I mean, there's helicopters every day. I had Aria convinced that it was PAW Patrol. Every single day, I'm like, all right, PAW Patrol.
So my kids like put Flight Radar 24 on their phone. They're like watching. They're like, Dad, Dad, they're coming.
They're coming. I'm like, yeah, they're flying all the time, man. It's a big area.
So. All right. Averyn, do you have any kids?
Got a little girl on the way. Oh, congratulations. 24 weeks.
Thank you.
[Avern Collins] (43:13 - 43:14)
We're excited.
[Bryan Pollock] (43:14 - 43:22)
It'll never be the same, man. Your whole world changes. At what age does your daughter get her first phone?
[Avern Collins] (43:25 - 44:11)
So that's kind of funny you say that. Those are tough questions. Nowadays, I would say 13, 14 when she starts to go to high school.
But back in the day, let me tell you something funny. Like my dad was super strict growing up, right? Like I was, I think, a freshman in high school and I bought my first phone by myself.
My dad was mad. He did not want me having a cell phone. But it's just crazy how times have changed.
But nowadays, I do feel around that 13, 14 age, they should probably need a phone, especially if they got to stay after school for sport events and stuff like that, practice. It's just a different world.
[Bryan Pollock] (44:12 - 46:27)
Yeah. When we went to the gym to get our membership, my son and I, I'm a very, I don't know. I think I'm a cool dad, but I'm also a strict dad about certain things.
And we're signing up membership and it's free for the summer for teenagers. 14 to 16 is free for the summer. So he just turned 14 and I got all signed up.
And then I scan the QR code and you use your QR code on your phone to check in. And I was like, okay, I need to get him signed up. And they're like, well, we need his email address and his phone number.
And I was like, you ain't got him. And they're like, what do you mean you didn't have him? He doesn't have a phone.
I'm that guy. I'm that guy. And my son, like I'm sitting here having a conversation with a dude behind the counter and my son's standing right here, just staring at me.
And the guy goes, I've never seen a 14 year old that doesn't have a phone. And I look over at my son and he's just. He's got like, see, you're the weirdo look on his face.
Yeah, he's like, see, dad, you're the asshole dad. You're the weirdo. So that's a hot topic of conversation.
He's going into eighth grade. And I had thought that he would get one at the end of this school year, going into the summer before high school. Because, I mean, 14 for one kid and 14 for the next kid are not the same age, right?
In maturity level. And so my oldest child got his when he turned 13. And my middle child just turned 14.
He hasn't gotten one. And he feels a certain kind of way about it. But impulse control, temperament, maturity levels, they vary.
We have that in this household. The oldest child is responsible beyond the average at that age. I feel like anyways.
So, yeah, there's we have a similar thing in this household where some of the younger siblings don't get the same privilege at the same age because, well, your sister's got her crap together. You guys are animals. So the more appropriate question for Averyn is, Averyn, at what age does your daughter get her first iPad?
[Avern Collins] (46:28 - 47:00)
Now, it's kind of funny you say that because people tell me that. No tablets. I don't really want to give her a tablet until she.
I want to say 10, 11, 12. Because and this is just my opinion. I could be wrong.
I'm a first time parent here. So don't go too hard on me. But I feel like kids should be kids, right?
You know, I feel like kids should be kids. You should go outside.
[Bryan Pollock] (47:00 - 47:13)
That's right. Go play outside. They should have to stare out the window for four hours while dad pulls the RV.
They should have to hold the flashlight and go get the other wrench. That's right.
[Avern Collins] (47:13 - 47:18)
We got chickens. We got guineas. You got chores.
Go out there and feed them.
[Bryan Pollock] (47:18 - 47:21)
Oh, he's got a funny farm. He's fine. They don't need no tablet over there.
[Avern Collins] (47:21 - 47:27)
Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I'm just kind of old school, I guess.
And I feel like kids should be kids.
[Bryan Pollock] (47:28 - 47:29)
And there's nothing wrong with that.
[Avern Collins] (47:29 - 47:40)
You know, I feel like a lot of these tablets and stuff nowadays kind of. There's nothing wrong with that. Take away from their childhood and just keep them like this.
And then they wonder why, you know, all these kids.
[Bryan Pollock] (47:40 - 49:49)
Just get ready to be judged, man. It is ready to be judged. People will judge you.
It is the ultimate pacifier of a generation. You give a baby trying to pacifier and it calms them down and they're quiet. Right.
The problem is that we give them a screen and it calms them down. They're quiet. And it trains us as parents to pacify them with technology.
We go to the restaurant. Oh, well, I don't want Junior to be loud. I'm going to give him a tablet.
You know what you teach Junior not to be fucking loud. And if Junior is loud, you go home. You go home and Junior doesn't get to go out again.
And it trains them with an unrealistic an unrealistic idea that everything is instant gratification. I just had this conversation with somebody else in the automotive industry. And when we talk to each other, we're never talk.
No, no, not never. A lot of times it's like what's going on in our personal lives. It's almost never cars.
And him and I were just having this conversation. And I'm like, freaking all this on demand television and all these tablets with all these apps have wrecked a whole generation of kids that, like, chill out and wait. They don't know how to wait for anything.
Right. Like when you were a kid and you want to play the new video game, you had to freaking wait. And hopefully, if you're a good kid that week, you run a little jerk.
Your parents would take you to the video store and you could go rent the thing if somebody didn't get there before you to rent it. Now, you can hit the button and it downloads on the thing and you got the video game. The instant gratification thing is insane.
It's insane. We've gone out into old men shouting at clouds territory. Yeah, get off my lawn.
I'm going to draw us back in. I want to talk about revenue related to a successful mobile mechanic business. If you've got a dude in a truck who is a high quality dude and he's banging out four or five appointments a day, how much revenue can you expect from him in a year?
In a year, second year. Is that a $600,000 guy? Is that a $750,000 guy?
Is it $250,000? I have no concept.
[Avern Collins] (49:49 - 49:53)
I'm about to say it's usually between $220,000 and $230,000.
[Bryan Pollock] (49:54 - 50:00)
Okay, okay. And you want him to see four customers a day?
[Avern Collins] (50:02 - 50:14)
Usually three to four. You have a pretty good closing budget, Michael. Our average ticket for the last three months is almost $600,000.
[Bryan Pollock] (50:17 - 50:30)
Okay, that's more than I would have guessed for a mobile guy. And you don't want to get into the super heavy weed stuff. Like you said, you want to be a couple hours in and out.
Yes, sir. And it's super complex. You're going to ship it to Josh Coombs or some other guy down the street, right?
[Avern Collins] (50:30 - 50:53)
And the thing is, I feel like when a lot of mobile mechanics are getting started, they want to do any and everything. They're like, they want to be a yes man. But in all actuality, there's places for shops and there's places for mobile mechanics.
Just because you're a really good mechanic does not mean you should pull Mrs. Jones' engine on site or her transmission or pull the head.
[Bryan Pollock] (50:54 - 50:58)
Or do an evaporator core in somebody's driveway or whatever, right? Yeah.
[Avern Collins] (50:58 - 51:27)
And the funny thing is, is a lot of these guys learn this in about two, year and a half, two years in. And they're like, oh my God, like my body's beat up. Like, you know, I'm laying up underneath a car like this for seven, eight hours.
My neck's kinked. You know, that's why, that's another reason why I created a coaching platform. So these guys can get this information.
Like as soon as you get started, you get this information. You don't have to learn the hard way. You don't have to learn the hard way.
[Bryan Pollock] (51:27 - 54:05)
You're talking about scope of work. So basically, you're doing like control arms, struts, anything past that, you're really not trying to get into that. You're trying to do brakes, wheel bearings, starters, alternators, control arms, struts, tune ups, you know, a little bit of diag.
Maybe if it needs an injector or something, put an injector in a car or something like that. Maybe an axle seal if you're in there or whatever. But you're not trying to go anything past that.
It sounds like actually is really smart for being mobile because you're, you can stay in that scope and never get to, I mean, stuff's going to break. Things are going to happen every once in a while, but you're never going to get way out into the weeds where you just get absolutely freaking killed. When you're only in that far, right?
So it sounds like what I've heard over and over and over is, you know, so many brick and mortar shops that are technicians turned shop owners want to be the hero shop that the dealership sends cars to that they can't fix. And that's an ego thing talking. That's not business and profit, right?
And I think years ago it was Dutch Silverstein, Stein, Stein, Berg, whatever. He, I love you Dutch. He said, Mike, you need to find the 10 most profitable things that you do that are just, every time you do it, you make money and focus 80 or 90% of what you do on those 10 services.
And you can do some of the other shit if you want, right? But stop trying to be a hero to everybody on everything and focus on what you're good at and just get really fucking good at that. And, uh, I never think part of the, cause I'm stupid.
Part of the hero problem too, is that nobody's, nobody will just freaking whip the F you pay me number out off the top of their head for the hero stuff. Like I told a guy for a BMW issue the other day where it's got the wrong VIN here and blah, blah, blah, technical stuff, blah, blah, blah. For a, I told him, Hey man, probably, I don't know.
You know, if you want, it was another shop. I go, you want to give me freaking two or three grand. I can probably get through it for you.
And he said, he chuckled a little. I go, I'm not laughing. Like, don't bring it here unless you want to drop two or three grand for me to on F your car that you got going here.
The problem with F you quotes. Is it like half the time they say yes. And it's so much money that, you know, you know, okay.
So I'll have to work on it for six hours and freaking, you know, 500 per hour, whatever. Who cares?
[Mike Allen] (54:05 - 54:05)
Right.
[Bryan Pollock] (54:06 - 54:45)
Whatever, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. Right. But, um, I think part of the problem is that everybody treats those situations like every other situation.
They're like, well, it starts in an hour dag to look at it when they already know the history on the deal. And I'm like, why would you start in an hour? The thing's been on somebody else's in somebody else's shop for 120 days.
Why are you talking about a three figure number to get going? Like, what is going on here? If four people have already looked at it and miss Jones has already spent eight grand and it hasn't been fixed, you shouldn't touch.
Why do you think, do you really think you're that special that you're going to solve it in the first 37 minutes?
[Avern Collins] (54:46 - 55:37)
Unlikely. Any, that's one of my first, you know, qualifying questions. Has anybody been working on it?
You know, they're like, Oh yeah, you know, I had it here or my brother, Johnny's been working on it. My sister, cousin, unfortunately, Mrs. Jones, you know, it's an insurance liability. We cannot work behind other shops or other people.
So especially if it's torn down. So if it's torn down and like, Oh, I broke a bolt, I deny it immediately. And people don't know how to respond when somebody says, you know, unfortunately, Mrs. Jones, I can't lay hands on it. You know, it's a liability for me. They're like, aren't you a mechanic? You know, that, that's always the first thing, right?
Aren't you a mechanic? And I'm like, well, here's the thing. Mrs. John always put it on the insurance company, right?
It's an insurance liability for me, but really, truly, I don't want to touch y'all's mess.
[Bryan Pollock] (55:41 - 57:11)
Making your own headache. You don't need other people's headaches. Is that what you're saying?
Yeah, that's where I'm at in life. So I don't need help. Mrs. Jones calls and she says, Hey, I had a check engine light on. It was running well, but the shop has had it for four months now and the heads are off, but they towed it back to me with the heads in the trunk. You're like, let me give you the phone number for all. Okay.
Auto repair. I had a guy told me a truck one time, a six, a six old power stroke years ago. And the whole top end of the engine was in five different recycle bins in the bed of the truck.
And I put it all back. I did a lot of six old power strokes. I put it all back together for him.
I said, Hey, man. And I knew the guy had graduated high school. I said, Hey, these things love to die, right?
All those O rings and everything can blow out. Everything's been sitting out. I said, just drive the thing around town for a week or two.
Let me know if we got to do some follow up work or whatever, because the thing was tore down to the engine block, right? And I put it back together. I didn't take it apart.
I told him that. And two days later, I see a picture of a 36 foot camper, 400 miles away that he dragged with this truck that I told him, like, just tool it around town. And like, that was the last one.
I'm like, you know what these you can't trust these people. You do a favor for him. You put something back together.
You tell him, Hey, man, just take it easy. You know, we're going to have to see how this goes or whatever. And they put 12,000 pounds behind it and drive 400 miles.
[Avern Collins] (57:13 - 57:31)
Anytime, anytime. In my experience, anytime you try to help or stick your neck out and do just something that you normally wouldn't do, because they cut you right immediately. Every time.
Yeah, every time you almost see it coming now.
[Bryan Pollock] (57:31 - 57:36)
Yeah, you can almost see it coming. Like when you do it, like before you're like, yeah, this is going to not be good.
[Avern Collins] (57:37 - 57:37)
Yes, sir.
[Bryan Pollock] (57:37 - 57:39)
You already know what's going to happen.
[Avern Collins] (57:39 - 57:54)
You know, you genuinely do want to help people. Like that's my ultimate goal is to help people. Right.
But if I foresee it causing a problem with my name, my brand, my reputation, a callback, it's just, I would just rather not.
[Bryan Pollock] (57:54 - 58:01)
Not worth it. Yes, sir. It sounds like you've got a healthy understanding of what boundaries are and the ability to say no.
[Avern Collins] (58:01 - 58:02)
I love that.
[Bryan Pollock] (58:02 - 58:53)
My faith is restored in mobile mechanics. That's a big thing for me to say, because I've made a lot of money fixing mobile mechanics stuff. I'm like, man, this guy's got it together.
I kind of like him. Thanks for listening to Confessions of a Shop Owner, where we lay it all out. The good, the bad, and sometimes the super messed up.
I'm your host, Mike Allen, here to remind you that even the pros screw it up sometimes. So why not laugh a little bit, learn a little bit, and maybe have another drink. You got a confession of your own or a topic you'd like me to cover, or do you just want to let me know what an idiot I am?
Email mike at confessionsofashopowner.com or call and leave a message. The number is 704-CONFESS. That's 704-266-3377.
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, or follow. Join us on this crazy journey that is shop ownership. I'll see you on the next episode.