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My name is Jeff, and I'd like to welcome you on a journey of reflection and insight into the tolls and triumphs of a career in automotive repair.
After more than 20 years of skinned knuckles and tool debt, I want to share my perspective and hear other people's thoughts about our industry.
So pour yourself a strong coffee or grab a cold Canadian beer and get ready for some great conversation.
Bob Leonard [00:00:06]:
You got to be willing to take direction because you, you do not know this industry. I don't know how Jeff's gonna feel at this point of his life and coming in and having Bob tell him what to do and how to do it.
Jeff Compton [00:00:16]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:00:17]:
Because when I was doing training I used to say like, guys, we only do things this way. It shouldn't look any different if I do it, you do it, he does it, I don't care. The only difference is hand controls. They have to meet requirements. Everything else, it's cookie cutter once you know how.
Jeff Compton [00:00:40]:
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another exciting episode of the Jaded Mechanic podcast. We're at Raleigh, North Carolina, ASTA 2025. It's beautiful Saturday day and I'm sitting here with a good friend of mine, Bob Leonard. Bob, how are you?
Bob Leonard [00:00:56]:
I am living the dream. I'm doing good.
Jeff Compton [00:00:58]:
This is a great show, isn't it?
Bob Leonard [00:00:59]:
It's great show.
Jeff Compton [00:01:00]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:01:00]:
I've, I am very tired. Yes, it's non stop.
Jeff Compton [00:01:05]:
I know it is. And like this morning I woke up and I'm like, Jeff, you don't have a very good voice today. So I then had to proceed to find caffeine and a little bit extra water to get my voice back because it's, it's a lot of talking. Eh.
Bob Leonard [00:01:17]:
Like, oh yeah, it's. All the classes are, they want to be interactive.
Jeff Compton [00:01:22]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:01:22]:
They don't want to just stand there and be the sage. So that's really been great.
Jeff Compton [00:01:27]:
Yeah. And then for me, like it's, I'm not, this is not me bragging, but I mean, every time I try to, you know, kind of move about from the venue to the back to the hotel and back and forth, you run into somebody that you know or you haven't seen or you've just talked to online and then it becomes a. Before you know it, it's a 15 minute conversation. Right. So that's all. You're flexing that voice voice muscle again and you're like, crap. By the end of day you're like, wow. You know, it's a little dry in there, so yeah, no big deal.
Jeff Compton [00:01:53]:
Good coffee.
Bob Leonard [00:01:53]:
I've learned bring throw loss.
Jeff Compton [00:01:55]:
Yes. Yeah, for sure. So Bob, you work for a company called Mobility Works.
Bob Leonard [00:01:59]:
Yes.
Jeff Compton [00:01:59]:
Yeah. What's that like? I mean, I kind of know, but share it with the, the audience because I think it's absolutely really cool.
Bob Leonard [00:02:06]:
Okay. So we're a company that sells and services vehicles for the physically disabled.
Jeff Compton [00:02:12]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:02:13]:
So everybody sees the big list for wheelchair school buses, retirement homes, whatever yeah. Actually the bigger. We don't really install those as much. We do a lot of service.
Jeff Compton [00:02:24]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:02:25]:
But the bigger part of our work is what they refer to as lowered floor minivans. And they're all Pacific is some Dodge Grand. Cameras are still being done. The Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna. And also a lot of equipment that allows them to drive. Hand controls. People drive from their wheelchairs. They'll go lock in.
Jeff Compton [00:02:48]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:02:49]:
Some transfer to special seats that come way back. I mean, all the way down. I like to say, as simple as a spinner knob, which we. Everyone in this place has seen.
Jeff Compton [00:03:00]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:03:01]:
To high tech controls which are fly by wire and can be a joystick.
Jeff Compton [00:03:06]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:03:07]:
And to this day install a pucker factor.
Jeff Compton [00:03:11]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:03:11]:
When. When I drive.
Jeff Compton [00:03:13]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:03:13]:
I really have to think a lot because there's no physical feedback.
Jeff Compton [00:03:18]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:03:18]:
Hand controls. A lot of times I drive better than my. With my feet.
Jeff Compton [00:03:23]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:03:24]:
But high tech, it's weird. Yeah. So. And everything in between. And basically one of our concepts is we never say no. Now we don't determine what equipment. There are certified evaluators that basically write a prescription.
Jeff Compton [00:03:42]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:03:42]:
Here you go.
Jeff Compton [00:03:43]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:03:44]:
And now we only do what that says.
Jeff Compton [00:03:45]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:03:46]:
So if the customer says, well, what about call the evaluator, have them add a line. Don't care.
Jeff Compton [00:03:53]:
Has laid it.
Bob Leonard [00:03:54]:
Email it.
Jeff Compton [00:03:55]:
Exactly.
Bob Leonard [00:03:55]:
As long as it's in our records.
Jeff Compton [00:03:57]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:03:58]:
Because we have to operate under certain rules by Namita and that's the organization we answer to.
Jeff Compton [00:04:06]:
Now. What's Namita?
Bob Leonard [00:04:07]:
Namita is the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association.
Jeff Compton [00:04:12]:
Gotcha.
Bob Leonard [00:04:13]:
I always mess that up. I always tell guys like if you. Everyone knows nhtsa, so if you just think of down a step and over to the.
Jeff Compton [00:04:20]:
Right. Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:04:21]:
Except that it's voluntary. But you have to play by the rules.
Jeff Compton [00:04:25]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:04:25]:
So the sum of the rules, all the techs in our company are certified. Anything they install in that store, you have to be certified by the company. And a lot of that is on the web.
Jeff Compton [00:04:36]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:04:37]:
Whatever. Yeah. It's every two years you recertify.
Jeff Compton [00:04:40]:
Wow.
Bob Leonard [00:04:41]:
We are audited. Every year they will come in and pull 3 to 10 installs blindly out of the file cabinet.
Jeff Compton [00:04:52]:
Right. And look at them.
Bob Leonard [00:04:55]:
They will look at them. And every T has to be crossed. Every I.it they do have the power to shut you down or take away that certification approval for whatever. Now there's really no reason for that. Okay. Every store, and I'm. I'm only speaking for mobility works.
Jeff Compton [00:05:16]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:05:16]:
There's other companies, but every store knows that they know the deal.
Jeff Compton [00:05:21]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:05:22]:
You know, this is what you have to do. So if you follow, you know, and a lot of it might be basic automotive service stuff that some guys know. But if I walk up to a guy and say, hey, I'm going to install something, how close does the fuser circuit breaker have to be to the power source? They'll get a blank stare. Yeah, well, SAE says 18 inches.
Jeff Compton [00:05:48]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:05:49]:
So we say 18 inches.
Jeff Compton [00:05:51]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:05:52]:
And things like that you don't really think about. We have to live by now in.
Jeff Compton [00:05:59]:
Your like, because I know you talk about. You do a lot of, like, installs on. On new pieces of the. The new. I'll say a new piece of equipment for. For a customer. But do you occasionally get something that's been like, touched by other hands and you guys have to go back in and fix it?
Bob Leonard [00:06:13]:
Yeah.
Jeff Compton [00:06:14]:
How is that?
Bob Leonard [00:06:15]:
Oh, yeah. You can come to the talk to say after anyone. We can have that talk. You'll see a real example of it. But do people. Do mechanics make mistakes? Yes.
Jeff Compton [00:06:30]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:06:30]:
If humans weren't involved in the automotive industry, I would not have a job.
Jeff Compton [00:06:35]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:06:35]:
Okay. I'll be selling insurance. It's fine. But you, if you don't. Look, the old rules, if you don't know what you're doing, maybe you should touch it. Shouldn't be touching it. Taking bolts out. Stop, walk away.
Bob Leonard [00:06:50]:
And in our industry, it's a bigger thing. Look, I understand there's things under the dash that Jeff may have to get to, but if there's hand controls in the way, you need to call somebody and just say, what should I do? Or, oh, you're. You're 15 minutes away. Can you come over? Can I bring it up before you take it out? Because once you've taken it out, it's like we're putting it in from the beginning again.
Jeff Compton [00:07:16]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:07:17]:
Okay. That's the other one. I just heard about a guy, we were going back and forth. He found that all Chrysler products on the conversions. So the important thing is that the conversion module has to see the door fully open on that passenger side. Sliding door.
Jeff Compton [00:07:36]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:07:37]:
Now Toyota and Honda put switches in.
Jeff Compton [00:07:39]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:07:41]:
Chrysler products never have. They've always looked at the Linbus single wire. It knows the door counts.
Jeff Compton [00:07:49]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:07:50]:
So obviously they teach it new door counts. So our vans are closer to 49 on the Grand Caravans, I think. And the idea is because it's wider, they want it open more for the ramp. Well, somebody called. They was going crazy until he found out somebody decided to bypass the module and put Switches in to start, stop, and this and that. I'm like. I mean, when I was training, that was one of my trick questions. How do you adjust door full open, switch on a Chrysler product.
Bob Leonard [00:08:22]:
And I'd see a hand come halfway up. I go, stop, just wait a minute. And somebody else will go, well, there isn't one.
Jeff Compton [00:08:29]:
Yeah, right, right.
Bob Leonard [00:08:31]:
So you. That's when the scandal. If you need to find out where the problem is, get the scan tool out. You need to see if the door has the problem and go from there. But yeah, yeah. Unfortunately, there are times.
Jeff Compton [00:08:46]:
No. So mobility works when. When you guys are. Is it a situation of like, okay, somebody has got a Sienna van and they need a particular modification done? Is it like you're able to go to a website of a manufacturer of that necessarily, or are you building a lot and wiring a lot from almost scratch?
Bob Leonard [00:09:05]:
Well, the vans themselves, let's just. The lowered floor minivans, they will come from one of the major conversion companies.
Jeff Compton [00:09:12]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:09:13]:
So. And I do this in the presentation, but I am not promoting anybody.
Jeff Compton [00:09:20]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:09:21]:
Okay. I say things, but I'm just more familiar. So they. It may come in from Braun or vmi, comes off the truck. So it is. The floor's been lowered and the passenger sliding door opens. There's a ramp that comes out and the right rear corner kneels so that the angle is lower.
Jeff Compton [00:09:38]:
So they can get.
Bob Leonard [00:09:39]:
So that's there.
Jeff Compton [00:09:40]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:09:40]:
Now, anything after that, as far as, say, hand controls, lockdown. Even a spinner knob has to come with that prescription.
Jeff Compton [00:09:51]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:09:52]:
They have to come. Unless it's someone who has had it for several years. They have picked. They have the car show you. They just want to buy a new car. So they want to update. Whatever.
Jeff Compton [00:10:04]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:10:05]:
After so many years and please, I think it's 10. They have to get another script or just get it renewed from the evaluator.
Jeff Compton [00:10:11]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:10:13]:
But if there's like. Okay, so there's three kinds of hand controls. There's mostly push, pull, push. 90 of them. Push rock. They don't get a choice. It'll come in saying which kind and all that when we get it. So we're putting in what was prescribed.
Jeff Compton [00:10:33]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:10:33]:
Most of after that, which is unique, is the person where, you know how they fit, where they fit. You know, I fitted six, seven people in wheelchairs. My mother was four, 11.
Jeff Compton [00:10:48]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:10:49]:
It would not be the same placement of the steering wheel, the control, whatever.
Jeff Compton [00:10:54]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:10:54]:
So that's where the differences are. But we don't actually do conversions.
Jeff Compton [00:11:01]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:11:01]:
Now we do install full Size lists.
Jeff Compton [00:11:04]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:11:04]:
Not as much as. I mean I've done it. But not as much as it's kind of rare. They seem to be coming from companies that do it all the time.
Jeff Compton [00:11:13]:
So when. When it's at Mobility Works. If. If people have the van and it doesn't need. It needs servicing. Done. Not related at all to their. Their modifications.
Jeff Compton [00:11:22]:
They just want a brake job. Do they still come back to Mobility Works for that?
Bob Leonard [00:11:26]:
Okay. You know, some people are like the dealer sold me the vehicle.
Jeff Compton [00:11:30]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:11:30]:
That's the only people that can work on the vehicle.
Jeff Compton [00:11:33]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:11:33]:
We have this.
Jeff Compton [00:11:34]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:11:35]:
Now we have enough mobility work.
Jeff Compton [00:11:38]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:11:38]:
To do.
Jeff Compton [00:11:39]:
Right. That it's hard to.
Bob Leonard [00:11:41]:
Oh, God. I know the senior leadership will catch us when that is one. They're gonna yell and scream, you know, because you know how it is. More, more, more. But we're happy that. That good year or whatever or whoever's around the corner. Just don't touch the conversion stuff.
Jeff Compton [00:11:59]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:11:59]:
And the way I explain it is where your heel is.
Jeff Compton [00:12:03]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:12:04]:
At the gas. When you have your foot on the gas and you're heel from there forward and the dash and right at the back seat of a minivan. The floor.
Jeff Compton [00:12:12]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:12:14]:
Either end is fine.
Jeff Compton [00:12:15]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:12:16]:
Air conditioning is fine.
Jeff Compton [00:12:17]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:12:17]:
Okay. Brakes, tires, alignment, Knock yourself out. You know, it's great. Some of the suspension you should double check before you put a McPherson strut or shot. It might have been modified. Not it might have been model or might be a different part number.
Jeff Compton [00:12:33]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:12:33]:
Because they've lowered the frame or whatever to get around this lower body.
Jeff Compton [00:12:40]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:12:41]:
And you can usually just look at the part number. It's stamped in it. Call the parts house, have them double check Right. Before they send you that. Monroe or.
Jeff Compton [00:12:49]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:12:50]:
Whoever.
Jeff Compton [00:12:50]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:12:51]:
Does this cross reference to the vehicle? A lot of it does now. So yeah, we're happy to see that.
Jeff Compton [00:13:00]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:13:02]:
But the other thing is if we get a. If we trade something straight it in or we. Wherever they get it, we have what's known as the NFS process. It's 160 points. If you buy something from us used. I'm gonna tell you, I'd stand behind it.
Jeff Compton [00:13:19]:
Right. Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:13:20]:
I'm not gonna say, oh, it's used car lot or whatever pushed it or it's, you know, came from the auction. No, no, no. If we don't think it's reasonably to fix and it could be just cost. It's not cost effective. All the money it needs will wholesale. It's now it's outside of our zone of being responsible.
Jeff Compton [00:13:42]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:13:43]:
But we do a lot of that in house where we go bumper to bumper. So if somebody buys it, we, we're confident.
Jeff Compton [00:13:50]:
Now what about a customer brings a journey or a caravan in and it's a no start issue. And there's maybe been some modifications made to the starting system. Like because, you know, like the key used to look like this, but now maybe the. I don't know and you pardon my lack of familiarity, but maybe there's a button on top of the joystick that makes the car start. How would they approach that? If it's brought into a shop, should they immediately say, I mean we can do our tests underneath and it's like maybe test the starter.
Bob Leonard [00:14:19]:
Sure.
Jeff Compton [00:14:20]:
Right. But if it's safe, it's got a theft light on. Bob, how would you recommend to the. Our listeners how will this proceed from there?
Bob Leonard [00:14:27]:
Well, I can go back to the starting issue.
Jeff Compton [00:14:29]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:14:30]:
Because on some of the high tech vans there's like this simple procedure. You know, there's usually a red button on a screen, but on the side there'll be a red button. You push that and now the screen will light up and it'll usually it'll be lit up stop. And you'll. You pushed one next to it says start.
Jeff Compton [00:14:53]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:14:53]:
And that's how the person's going to normally.
Jeff Compton [00:14:56]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:14:56]:
Engage the starter.
Jeff Compton [00:14:57]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:14:59]:
If that doesn't work, back up, get out.
Jeff Compton [00:15:03]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:15:03]:
And Google mobility vehicle repair.
Jeff Compton [00:15:07]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:15:07]:
Find somebody nearby.
Jeff Compton [00:15:08]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:15:09]:
And I'll tell you that not every store does high tech installs.
Jeff Compton [00:15:14]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:15:14]:
Okay. Now something, let's say along the. Any theft, we're not getting involved. It's factory.
Jeff Compton [00:15:24]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:15:25]:
We're only, we want, we're only going to modify. There's some systems that will remove this transmission shifter.
Jeff Compton [00:15:33]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:15:33]:
It'll make it a solenoid.
Jeff Compton [00:15:34]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:15:35]:
And there'll be a touch button.
Jeff Compton [00:15:36]:
Yep.
Bob Leonard [00:15:37]:
Part, reverse, whatever. Okay. But it's still a transmission out front. Okay. So if it leaks. Leaks.
Jeff Compton [00:15:46]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:15:46]:
If it's a Dodge Grand Caravan, it's going to leak. The hoses are going to leak and you got to take the bumper cover off. Okay. So that is never going to change.
Jeff Compton [00:15:54]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:15:55]:
But they try to stay away from really getting involved with factory stuff.
Jeff Compton [00:16:02]:
Yeah. Seamless integration of it.
Bob Leonard [00:16:05]:
Yeah. I mean more and more through with the Dodge and the Chrysler. They've always been involved with the Linbus, the. That part of it. Because they're watching the door fall open.
Jeff Compton [00:16:16]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:16:17]:
Okay. But the rest of it they don't care about. Can't see.
Jeff Compton [00:16:24]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:16:24]:
You know, I mean they're just not interested. It's not, you know. Oh, the injectors are doing that. That's nice. It's. They don't care. They don't want to know.
Jeff Compton [00:16:35]:
Yeah, yeah. And I can see that. But I'm always thinking of, like, I can remember back in the dealership days at Chrysler, we did have one customer with one van and we would work on it. And I remember a. Again, because a modified floor pan wasn't my. I wasn't my ticket, it was somebody else's. But modified floor pan had moved the fuel pump ground.
Bob Leonard [00:16:52]:
Yeah, yeah. So if you and I have a slide that shows you the inside of a Pacifica from the factory. Yeah. And this is big, all this black sheet metal and then there's this trough with wires and. Yeah. There's nothing in the middle. So. Okay, so all your Chryslers, your airbag modules, where? Center console.
Jeff Compton [00:17:11]:
Center console.
Bob Leonard [00:17:12]:
Well, there's no more center console. Okay, let's get that right.
Jeff Compton [00:17:15]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:17:16]:
So Prawn puts it. So you like where your coffee cups, we call that the center stack.
Jeff Compton [00:17:21]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:17:21]:
Well, they put in a fuse box back there and they have a little shelf where that module is. Okay. And the new thing is that the wiring harnesses on the Pacific line, they have built plug and play harnesses. They are not cutting and splicing those wires anymore.
Jeff Compton [00:17:43]:
Very nice.
Bob Leonard [00:17:44]:
Which is.
Jeff Compton [00:17:44]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:17:45]:
Now the only problem is guess what color they all are.
Jeff Compton [00:17:48]:
White, I bet.
Bob Leonard [00:17:49]:
Yeah, yeah. And the little identifiers which they give it to you in the wiring dagger. I never knew how to use the snippet thing on a computer.
Jeff Compton [00:17:56]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:17:57]:
To make it bigger. Because if you print it, there's not no amount of magnification. Okay. So I learned how to do that and now I have a magnifying glass in my toolbox. But okay, they're there, they're labeled.
Jeff Compton [00:18:10]:
So essentially they went to the Freightliner school of wiring, which you've never worked on one, but they used to be all a white wire with a number on it that after it was three or four years old and you touch it with your finger, you'd wipe the number right off the wire.
Bob Leonard [00:18:19]:
Oh, yeah, These are better printed and they are about every foot down the line. They're good about that. But like half the BCM on a Pacifica, you're looking at the plugs and, well, that one's factory. Oops, that one isn't. Yeah. And you know, and now like a lot of times we need the 12 volt brake signal going out for like a certain hand control. Lock.
Jeff Compton [00:18:44]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:18:45]:
Well, it's not at the switch anymore. That's can.
Jeff Compton [00:18:48]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:18:48]:
So you got to go to the bcm. Oh, yes. That's a plug with white wires. So you got to go find that. Now you end up taking all the plugs out so you have enough movement to cut and solder wires together.
Jeff Compton [00:19:01]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:19:02]:
And it's like. Okay. It's just. You learn that and you move on.
Jeff Compton [00:19:06]:
Now, what led you to this path? I mean, I kind of know some of the backstory, but like, you haven't always worked for Mobility Works in your career.
Bob Leonard [00:19:15]:
I've been. I'm in my 14th year as a tech as Immobilize.
Jeff Compton [00:19:19]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:19:20]:
And Mobility Works. I was always a tech before that. Actually found it through Craigslist.
Jeff Compton [00:19:28]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:19:29]:
I knew there was a shop. I didn't. The culture's going. Yeah, not where I want it.
Jeff Compton [00:19:33]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:19:34]:
It wasn't that bad. But you know what? There's got to be something.
Jeff Compton [00:19:37]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:19:37]:
So I'm looking at. What the. What is this? So I had PTL take a day.
Jeff Compton [00:19:44]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:19:44]:
I go in there, get the inter. What? Fill the form out, get an interview, and it's the service manager, store manager. They're asking all the usual questions. Da, da, da, da.
Jeff Compton [00:19:54]:
Whatever.
Bob Leonard [00:19:56]:
I'll never forget at the end what the two questions. 11 was how are you working with instructions and also when you have to work outside the box, well within. I read very well. Okay. Yeah. Outside the box. I think I'm fine. But I guess somebody's going to say I can't, but I think I'm fine.
Bob Leonard [00:20:19]:
The question that got me was, well, do you have any problem working with the disabled? And I smirked. I didn't have the poker face ready. I had to explain. My younger brother had down syndrome. My mother created was part of a group families that created a summer day camp for kids with disabilities. But it grew into a 50 million dollar a year nonprofit in Philadelphia. So the deal is this is not anything unusual.
Jeff Compton [00:20:51]:
Very used to that realm.
Bob Leonard [00:20:52]:
Yeah. Yes. Dad just knocked Jim Morton. So I kind of like, like you don't understand. They're not different.
Jeff Compton [00:21:06]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:21:06]:
This. My brother's my brother. I can throw snowballs at him. You can.
Jeff Compton [00:21:11]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:21:12]:
But that's the way you feel about your brother. Yeah, that's how it is.
Jeff Compton [00:21:15]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:21:16]:
So I. I'm like real quick. I had to walk back out of this. And it was funny. There was a guy, the other boy was. They took me on a tour of the shop and I stepped into the service department and I just stopped. I Looked up, and I'm watching the ventilator, and there's a big pan. Move it.
Bob Leonard [00:21:33]:
And I'm going, this is in August. And his serviceman goes, yeah, it's air conditioned. I said, I'm in.
Jeff Compton [00:21:41]:
I'm in.
Bob Leonard [00:21:42]:
You know, like, I got my vote. So I learned that the guy had been working there. I was watching him one time. And we do what's known as fittings. So sometimes we have to do them before we put the work in. Sometimes. Almost always when they. When it's done to make sure it works for them and whatever.
Bob Leonard [00:22:04]:
Yeah. You and me can adjust a lot of things in a car.
Jeff Compton [00:22:07]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:22:08]:
And move on. So I'm watching him, and I can just see that he's the tension a little bit. But I see him every day, so that was the difference.
Jeff Compton [00:22:16]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:22:17]:
Like, Chris, you and I had to explain. He goes, yeah. Sometimes I don't know how to get that comfort. I say, well, next fitting, if you want. I'm maybe no expert, but I've been around all my life. Let me do the fitting. We'll ask if you can observe, and we'll go from there. I'll never forget the woman, of course, had to be this Ellen.
Bob Leonard [00:22:43]:
I'll never forget Ellen. I'm fitting in lockdown, which is. It's a box that resembles your door latch.
Jeff Compton [00:22:50]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:22:50]:
It locks around a pen.
Jeff Compton [00:22:51]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:22:52]:
But it's under the wheelchair.
Jeff Compton [00:22:54]:
Yep.
Bob Leonard [00:22:54]:
So the first thing is they get in, they find their spot. Just mirrors, whatever. Okay. Everything good. Turn your chair off. Okay. We slide the box in. We're getting it right, and we're gonna mark it before we drill holes.
Jeff Compton [00:23:09]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:23:10]:
I see the chair move, and I'm like, ellen, oh, I'm just getting comfortable. And I'm like, okay. I go back to it now, the whole time, her husband and the evaluator sitting in the back seat. And I know this guy Tom.
Jeff Compton [00:23:31]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:23:33]:
And my hands go back because I'm trying to put masking tape and use a marker without really climbing in.
Jeff Compton [00:23:39]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:23:39]:
And I see the chair move, and I'm like, okay. I reach behind it where every power chair has a circuit breaker. Click. Well, Tom's hysterical. He keeps it in my. I look back, he's turning red. The husband, on the other hand, doesn't know where to go next.
Jeff Compton [00:23:58]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:23:59]:
And I'm like. I go back, and all of a sudden she goes to turn it on and ain't working. I said, ellen, I turned it off. And I finished up. And I was. And she said, you turned it off? I said, Ellen, I need these.
Jeff Compton [00:24:17]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:24:17]:
That 275 pound chair runs over them in that box. You don't get the box, you don't get the van.
Jeff Compton [00:24:24]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:24:25]:
I said, sorry, but I was just adjusting the seat. I don't care if you bump the joystick. Game's over.
Jeff Compton [00:24:33]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:24:34]:
So it, you know, sometimes you gotta be very direct. I found that you treat them like I treat Jeff.
Jeff Compton [00:24:42]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:24:43]:
Or anybody else. Just like other people.
Jeff Compton [00:24:45]:
She was happy with the final placement.
Bob Leonard [00:24:47]:
Oh, yeah. Just felt she still was. She was a customer. She comes in. Matter of fact, she followed me. That was it. The one store. And she followed me to the store I'm at now.
Bob Leonard [00:24:56]:
I'm in Cinnamon, New Jersey. That was Nordstown.
Jeff Compton [00:24:58]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:24:58]:
She's like, she rolled in. She goes, where's Pop? Well, just tell me. Yeah, yeah.
Jeff Compton [00:25:06]:
He went to the other.
Bob Leonard [00:25:07]:
Some people do that.
Jeff Compton [00:25:08]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:25:08]:
Follow you. And that's. Makes me feel good. But I really do believe that across the company, the. The level of service stays there, you know? Yes, I do know there's problems in the world.
Jeff Compton [00:25:21]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:25:22]:
Okay. I'm the guy. They will. Bob, do you think for a week or two you could go to this store because they're having issues with either installations being backed up or they had this problem and.
Jeff Compton [00:25:35]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:25:35]:
And I'm like, okay, go ahead. No, I just did it two weeks ago. Like, I'm coming back. I'm never going to do this again. I'm never going to.
Jeff Compton [00:25:48]:
So is it even harder in that kind of realm of mobility works to find a technician? Because you know how we talk, Bob. You know, I talked about, like, there is such a, you know, the stat that somebody shared with me. And it's like for every five technicians that are leaving, only one's coming in. Right. And we all talk about the technician shortage, but I have to think it's even harder in mobility works to try and get somebody. Because the level of. You can't just be a nuts and bolts kind of thing. You got to be able to think outside the box.
Jeff Compton [00:26:14]:
Gotta have an understanding about electrical and programming and. Or not necessarily program boom. But you know how. Have to know how it makes it work. So when you put it in, it's. It still works.
Bob Leonard [00:26:23]:
So you. Okay, so the nuts and bolt guy who we would let do our brakes and tires and whatever else, and we're like, okay, that's the starting point.
Jeff Compton [00:26:33]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:26:34]:
So you come in. Great. You got to be willing to take direction because you. You do not know this industry.
Jeff Compton [00:26:42]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:26:42]:
I don't know how Jeff's Gonna feel at this point of his life and coming in and having Bob tell him what to do and how to do it.
Jeff Compton [00:26:48]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:26:48]:
Because when I was doing training, I used to say, like, guys, we only do things this way, one way. It should look any different if I do it, you do it. He does it. I don't care. The only difference is hand controls. They have to meet requirements. Everything else, it's cookie cutter once you know how. But there's still right ways.
Bob Leonard [00:27:11]:
Like example. So these lockdown boxes, we're gonna drill through the Florida van, and we're gonna put big displacement washers. So the company converts the Sienna from 21 up. Okay. They move the battery.
Jeff Compton [00:27:26]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:27:27]:
In the back.
Jeff Compton [00:27:28]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:27:28]:
Underwear. The luggage is. They do very good work. But now on the inside of that frame rail, there's a big, shiny silver tube with an orange kind of a Chinese finger sleeve over it that goes to the back. So when you do that lockdown for a driver, there's three bolts and three bolts. Guess where these bolts. I'm telling you, the first, I was down training at the cob, and they.
Jeff Compton [00:27:56]:
Had their first one drilled into the battery.
Bob Leonard [00:27:58]:
No, no, you. The. The lines are there.
Jeff Compton [00:28:01]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:28:01]:
Okay. So I'm like. They were asking me, and I'm like, hey, let's put it up on a lift. Let's look. So I would like measuring. Okay. So we just did a pilot tiny hole, like, on the left side. We were pretty sure that side was clear, so they actually made a state a plate that kind of mocked it.
Bob Leonard [00:28:20]:
I said, cool. It was just too close. It could be. It could. But here's the thing. That tube was only mounted with, like, 12 peak lamps.
Jeff Compton [00:28:33]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:28:33]:
So we took those out, unclipped some wire ties from the wire harness, Took a ratchet strap and just pulled it over 8 inches. It had slack.
Jeff Compton [00:28:41]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:28:42]:
You're not yanking the hell out of these high voltage cords. Moved it over. Now go drill away. Have a good time. And the last thing you do is put it back. Unlike another company does the all wheel drive. And they run the cables under the vehicle conversion. And you know the test, they tell you the megameter, and it should be like, yeah, yeah, I failed one.
Bob Leonard [00:29:09]:
That's a real moment when you see 550. Yeah. 550. Yeah. 1.3.
Jeff Compton [00:29:15]:
Oh.
Bob Leonard [00:29:16]:
I'm like. And it's just because you don't stuff an elephant.
Jeff Compton [00:29:20]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:29:20]:
In the refrigerator.
Jeff Compton [00:29:22]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:29:22]:
And they sent another one out, sent that one back, and fast as they could. And I actually modified how it was in there. The guy Was doing it. But here's the problem. It's on a lift.
Jeff Compton [00:29:34]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:29:35]:
Can't do anything. Can't push hot HP vehicles around. Not that we had a lot of places to push, but this thing's. We didn't have to go jacks. Whatever. So this thing's now stranded a lift.
Jeff Compton [00:29:48]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:29:49]:
And it's not like a dealership where there's a bunch of lifts. We had two.
Jeff Compton [00:29:53]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:29:53]:
So now it's like. Oh, you know, waiting for it to come in. But we do the Siennas.
Jeff Compton [00:30:01]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:30:02]:
So very cool.
Jeff Compton [00:30:03]:
Yeah, I know. It's. It's that. That tech shortage thing right now.
Bob Leonard [00:30:07]:
Yeah. It's. We have. We have big problems in some of the stores. I am telling you. They could literally have me travel constantly. Yeah. Well, except our store would throw a hissy fit because I'm kind of after all this time to go to.
Jeff Compton [00:30:27]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:30:28]:
You know, who can do this, do that, whatever. They don't want to give that up.
Jeff Compton [00:30:31]:
Yeah. Yeah. Because it would be. To somebody unfamiliar with the realm. It'd be very intimidating, I think, to look at some of those because, like, I mean, I. I've looked at enough conversion bands at the day of the dealer, and they might have only been there just for no change. Like, I didn't have touch anything. You know, like, they.
Jeff Compton [00:30:47]:
They still had some working controls that, you know, you could. I could drive it in, you know, hand controls. I could drive hand controls.
Bob Leonard [00:30:52]:
Yeah.
Jeff Compton [00:30:53]:
But man, like, when I would see some of the wiring modifications.
Bob Leonard [00:30:57]:
Yes.
Jeff Compton [00:30:57]:
I was like, oh, thank God. I'm not touching that.
Bob Leonard [00:31:01]:
One of the rules. And there's. I think that. I don't even know if that company's used anymore. But almost every mobility vehicle, whatever equipment can be driven by enabled body. Even that high tech that I talked about.
Jeff Compton [00:31:13]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:31:13]:
When it starts up, one of the first screen has a white bar. Do you wish to use the OEM controls?
Jeff Compton [00:31:20]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:31:21]:
And then as you're driving, that same bar says, stop looking at the screen traffic. Like, don't keep looking back at the pretty picture.
Jeff Compton [00:31:31]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:31:31]:
And there's really none out there that can't be right. You can't drive and drive with regular. Your feet steer. They're always the disable.
Jeff Compton [00:31:43]:
So. Yeah. What's the. What's the cost factor? Like, a lot of money.
Bob Leonard [00:31:49]:
It can be. I. I don't know. A lot of the cost of the products that we install.
Jeff Compton [00:31:54]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:31:54]:
I've always tried to stay. You know.
Jeff Compton [00:31:57]:
You know what?
Bob Leonard [00:31:57]:
It's like, you got enough to keep in your head. Don't really need that. But I can tell you that one of the conversions, if you take a Toyota Sienna with all the goodies in it and it gets converted, it rolls off the truck currently at 115. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a little bit more than at the Toyota dealer.
Jeff Compton [00:32:17]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:32:17]:
I mean they, they used to be like $22,000 more. Now it's gotten to be more because. And it's, it's not just inflation and all that. It's the cost of the vehicles originally. And now what you're trying to get around what you have to encompass in your conversion, you know, especially Sienna.
Jeff Compton [00:32:38]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:32:39]:
The two companies that are doing those are moving the battery.
Jeff Compton [00:32:43]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:32:43]:
One moves to the back, one moves it from under the front seats to under the front floor. That's a cost. It just. It is.
Jeff Compton [00:32:52]:
Now, I gotta ask, going forward with the more and more and more of the EV coming into the market, from a mobility standpoint at ev, do you, do you welcome that or does it. The fact that you're going to have a giant battery in the floor pan of a lot of cars, does it add another obstacle to your line of business?
Bob Leonard [00:33:11]:
It's. I don't know. You were around with carburetors.
Jeff Compton [00:33:16]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:33:17]:
Then they said fuel injectors. Yep. Just another thing.
Jeff Compton [00:33:20]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:33:20]:
Oh, you're going to put them under the intake. Okay. Just another thing. You know the spider web from gm? I don't think that's good. It doesn't matter there. Okay. Nobody. My line is.
Bob Leonard [00:33:30]:
They didn't ask me. You just kind of adapt. Adapt. You keep an eye on what's coming out. You look that. Most of the companies are pretty good about sharing information. We're doing this next year. I mean if, look, I are the.
Bob Leonard [00:33:53]:
The Pacific is that are converted, lowered floor. None of those are hybrid. We've had a hybrid in. No, it was. I think it was the gas end plug in that got hand controls and a special seat that came kind of board came out, took him up, he transferred. And then a mechanical lift on the sliding driver's door that would grab his manual chair and bring it in. So. But I put plenty hand controls and left foot gas bottles in hybrid vehicles.
Bob Leonard [00:34:27]:
Yeah. And full EV. EVs. I did a Volvo on it and I wasn't sure where the cables were going. Like I'm looking at the plug by the front eight pillar and I'm going, this could be a problem. I called the Volvo. I called Volvo. Matter of fact, the customer got me the service guy.
Bob Leonard [00:34:49]:
Look, takes another day or two. It takes another day or two.
Jeff Compton [00:34:52]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:34:52]:
That drill bit, you know the old line about can't put the bullet in the barrel, can't put the drill bit back out of the hole.
Jeff Compton [00:34:59]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:35:00]:
And it would bite. It'd be ugly. And I've heard horror stories outside the company that so clad I no experience with.
Jeff Compton [00:35:11]:
So you're teaching this afternoon?
Bob Leonard [00:35:14]:
Yeah, I'm doing the tech talk presentation and I'm going to kind of do half and half talking about my industry and please don't do this like we've been discussing here.
Jeff Compton [00:35:25]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:35:26]:
And then I have a couple case studies involving converted vans. But if you would call me and say, Bob, I'm. I'm losing. I got. I'm losing all my 12 volts when I do this. I'd be like, okay, this is. I can send you the locations where it is to go look. So you're not tearing a van apart.
Jeff Compton [00:35:49]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:35:49]:
Because my last one case study shows what happens when Bob, six months in, had to tear a floor out because the can network wires had been gotten dissolved by water that was laying in there.
Jeff Compton [00:36:04]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:36:04]:
But unfortunately, that was after he put a Honda door operator in because the test. And I did them twice and wrote them down, said it was bad.
Jeff Compton [00:36:14]:
Yeah, Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:36:15]:
I never thought about load testing things because not really thinking about where the wires were.
Jeff Compton [00:36:21]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:36:21]:
And now I know better.
Jeff Compton [00:36:24]:
So that goes back to just a fundamental, you know, lesson that we, most technicians eventually learn. You know, the difference. Right. Between. Yeah. 12 volts on a meter and a loaded test. Yeah, yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:36:36]:
But, you know, like I was there and I'm like, I'm not thinking about. Those wires are under the floor.
Jeff Compton [00:36:41]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:36:42]:
And then we find out over time that that particular year had a water intrusion problem.
Jeff Compton [00:36:50]:
So you see things come from body shops that cause issues. He's laughing like he knew I was gonna ask that question as soon as.
Bob Leonard [00:36:58]:
He said body shop. That's funny. So recently there's some agency and I don't know why they keep taking their vehicles when they have a problem. Well, I know why they started taking it to a body shop. But it came in on a flatbed, no passenger, sliding door and the sliding door separate. Okay. It had fallen off. Fallen off.
Bob Leonard [00:37:23]:
Let's go down that road is Pacific. So, okay, so we see that. We see things where after the repair now things don't work. You may, you know, and it's. The other thing is. So these lowered floor pans, they used to be available from the conversion companies. So they get damaged to some extent.
Jeff Compton [00:37:45]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:37:46]:
So if you think of the regular sliding door, they extend it and there's a metal extension, then the plastic flare. So that's all available. They won't sell those floor pants anymore because they're crash tested.
Jeff Compton [00:37:58]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:37:59]:
So they can't really trust, you know. Now I know there's I core certification for body shops and that's pretty much up there. And I've seen body shops because it's, it's basic sheet metal. I've seen them fix certain things and I don't have a problem. But yeah, I've seen some things come from body shops and because I must.
Jeff Compton [00:38:24]:
Think that have to be even a harder vehicle from an estimator standpoint of whether they write it off or not. Because the value of the car now becomes much higher than just a stock Sienna and the, and the damage that would sustain would be like off. That's a total loss. Whereas one of these cars now.
Bob Leonard [00:38:41]:
Yes, you're absolutely right. And the other part of that is. Okay, so your insurance is going to cover a rental car. Thank you. There's the look I was waiting for.
Jeff Compton [00:38:52]:
That work for your customer?
Bob Leonard [00:38:54]:
Oh, guess what it covers a rental mobility van. Now we, we rent vans, but I will tell you that the guy up front that does that, he usually doesn't have many sitting around. If I see one sitting around, he's probably holding it for the day for service. Right. It's gotten over. He wants to get it done today out. Yeah, the insurance companies have to be. And the customers will be like, sometimes they'll bring the van and go.
Bob Leonard [00:39:21]:
We want you to double check the estimate because it wasn't in the air.
Jeff Compton [00:39:26]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:39:26]:
Or this or that. And you do it and you get talking and they'll say, yeah, they, they only want to give me $50 a day for rental. And you're right. I'm just using a number. And your rentals, 150. I'll do that for a month. Yeah, I don't want to put that bill. But one person had over coverage because of the van and guess what? I don't care if he had the coverage.
Bob Leonard [00:39:53]:
When they took on that insurance, they knew what the vehicle was.
Jeff Compton [00:39:56]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:39:56]:
So they knew what was coming. You know, they didn't insure, you know, a huge dump truck at the rate of a Chevy. Okay.
Jeff Compton [00:40:04]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:40:04]:
They knew what was coming next. So I said, no, you gotta, you gotta go fight and tell them they have to pay for the rental.
Jeff Compton [00:40:11]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:40:12]:
Okay. And then the body shop, that particular one, the body shop, I didn't like the estimate I was like, you're gonna drive home past this other one that we've used quite a bit. Yeah, yeah, I would. We'll go ahead. I would like you. I'll put my notes and I would like you to stop there because if you don't get covered, supplementing is a big problem.
Jeff Compton [00:40:33]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:40:35]:
With us. Because now the parts delay. It can take a couple weeks to get something.
Jeff Compton [00:40:43]:
There's so many ripples to this, this kind of section of our industry that I've never even even thought of. You know what I mean? I just don't think, like, from the technician standpoint, you might see one parked in a parking spot.
Bob Leonard [00:40:56]:
Yeah.
Jeff Compton [00:40:56]:
Or you might have one come into your shop. But I mean, there's so much more to it than just. Just that. Right, right. Like, what's kind of. Other than the don't touch kind of thing? What advice can you give the listeners to when you see these kind of cars?
Bob Leonard [00:41:12]:
Treat them like anything else right up until something you've never seen before.
Jeff Compton [00:41:19]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:41:20]:
And if you haven't seen. I'm not saying you shouldn't. I'm not saying panic up.
Jeff Compton [00:41:24]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:41:24]:
Like, great example, Dodge Grand Caravan. There's a zillion of them out there whether they're converted or not. But if they're converted, the door module is just like the one you could buy from Chrysler.
Jeff Compton [00:41:37]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:41:39]:
But the motor and the track are not right because they're extended.
Jeff Compton [00:41:44]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:41:45]:
So it looks the same. Right until the moment you can't get it in there.
Jeff Compton [00:41:50]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:41:51]:
Now you're in a bad place. You know, that's when you got to say, just call somebody. Just. I'm telling you. We both know how easy Google is. Just do it, zip it, whatever it. And there. Ask.
Bob Leonard [00:42:07]:
Now, if you don't get your answer, call the next one.
Jeff Compton [00:42:11]:
Now this company, Mobility Works, is it all the way across the U.S. yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:42:15]:
Yeah, it started. The original company I worked with was Rodaway.
Jeff Compton [00:42:18]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:42:19]:
Then they were bought, became part of Mobility Works. Very, very strong presence east coast from the northeast down to Florida and South. But I know there's like four or five in Texas, four or five in California, and we go up to Washington state. So I think we're 100, 500. I look, executive branch doesn't call and tell me when they buy something.
Jeff Compton [00:42:43]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:42:43]:
You know, but they're basically just assimilating in the smaller two or three branch companies and moving on.
Jeff Compton [00:42:51]:
I wish I knew how it worked in Canada. I can remember seeing way back. This is going back almost 20 years ago. I Can remember somebody telling me that they thought a bunch of the conversion bands were built in Quebec. But I can't. Like I've never, you know, I can't. Couldn't tell you. I remember a name of the conversion vans or something.
Jeff Compton [00:43:10]:
The, the two names you mentioned that were already like the, the floor pan conversion.
Bob Leonard [00:43:13]:
Braun and vmi.
Jeff Compton [00:43:14]:
I've seen both of those a lot. Braun, Braun especially even in Canada.
Bob Leonard [00:43:16]:
I've seen Braun's in Winneback.
Jeff Compton [00:43:18]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:43:18]:
So they're literally driving around the corner north and you're there.
Jeff Compton [00:43:21]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:43:22]:
VMI is actually in Phoenix. But they're a big company. I know the only two Canadian companies I know, it's Sugar Pain Control. And I want to get it right. Adapt Solutions. They make seats and other things that we install.
Jeff Compton [00:43:43]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:43:44]:
But neither one of those are. They don't modify.
Jeff Compton [00:43:46]:
Right. And I remember, I remember talking years ago, I had a job where I worked on a company fleet of ambulances. And so I kind of had dabbled and touched on the modified vehicle thing. Right. For a while. And then in my local town there is a whole other separate bus fleet for the city Transit that is all mobility equipped vans. They're older, E450 style. Like they look like school buses.
Jeff Compton [00:44:11]:
Right. But they got the side door and the lift that goes in and all that jazz.
Bob Leonard [00:44:14]:
Right.
Jeff Compton [00:44:14]:
I've never had a chance to do anything on them other than like a front end inspection. You know what I mean? Brake job. Like I've never been able to touch it. I know that for a long time they were using. It was funny again, the city, these very expensive, very, you know, vital vans and they were going to one of the like cheapest shops in the city that touch them because all their like a way it works up here, Bob is like the city fleet is. Is handled by a hired staff of mechanics all under the city employee union. Right.
Bob Leonard [00:44:45]:
Okay.
Jeff Compton [00:44:46]:
So they, they didn't even want to touch these things. So they sublet them all out to this little. I remember going in it because I was looking for a technician. I walked over, walked in and saw the facility. I'm going you service vans like that here? Oh yeah. Like I don't think it had all dirt floors by then, Bob. But it was like. And I'm thinking.
Bob Leonard [00:45:07]:
And yeah, so yeah, some. Yeah. I mean and you talk about the lifts, they, they pretty much, especially from Braun, they haven't changed.
Jeff Compton [00:45:17]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:45:17]:
You. Once you know the system, they, they kind of work the same over and over. And like disc brakes, they work the same way. And they just, you know, once you get it down. The biggest problem I have with new guys is it's called the interlock. So it's got to be in park. Got the parking brake on. It sounds silly, but the doors have to be open for the lift.
Bob Leonard [00:45:42]:
Actually the doors have to be closed. So it'll come out of park later.
Jeff Compton [00:45:46]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:45:47]:
They'll chase electrical gremlins inside the pump container box and I'll walk up. Unfortunately, they're using a Tesla and I don't really don't care. And I back probe the one wire. I'm like, it's. You gotta have that, you gotta. That, that. That should have lit up.
Jeff Compton [00:46:05]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:46:05]:
And it's, you know the pretty lights under the dash right there, one of them is missing. You got to go fix that, you know. So yeah, it's. It's like everybody says, it's the simple stuff that gets guys. Yeah. It really is just silly stuff that.
Jeff Compton [00:46:22]:
So what's kind of. Let's move towards that.
Bob Leonard [00:46:25]:
Where.
Jeff Compton [00:46:25]:
What do you see when you, when you see a young technician come into the industry or even somebody that walks into your shop that, that starts and maybe doesn't make it. Where's the weaknesses? I know, it's a good question.
Bob Leonard [00:46:39]:
It is a good question.
Jeff Compton [00:46:40]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:46:40]:
I will say that you have to, you first off, you have to follow the instructions. We don't get. It's not up to us to say, well, no, we're. No, I'm going to do it this way. Oh, no you're not. Okay. You're not going to do it that way. We don't, we are not engineers.
Bob Leonard [00:47:02]:
The moment we skip outside of. When I say outside the line, that's what we have to fabricate. Like you might have to build a box for someone who's very short or certain like that. But as far as the vendor sending you something to put in, you will do it the way they say. Yeah, we don't get an option.
Jeff Compton [00:47:21]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:47:22]:
So that's. I don't know if it's just reading comprehension or the. They just read it. They just think, oh, okay, I saw them once and they move on.
Jeff Compton [00:47:32]:
That's a flat rate mentality bomb coming up.
Bob Leonard [00:47:34]:
Yeah, but we don't look.
Jeff Compton [00:47:36]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:47:36]:
There's nobody in any service department. Well, okay, I'm sure there's. We're not there. Yeah, we're hourly. It gets done right. Oh, by the way, after you installed it, something you should know, somebody else is inspecting. We work on a tablet. So the vehicle's here.
Bob Leonard [00:47:56]:
We'd weigh it Way it. After we take pictures of what we did, according to what it says we did it. And then you're done. You hand it to somebody. It's a secondary inspection. So someone else who's been. Who knows what they're doing.
Jeff Compton [00:48:09]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:48:10]:
Is going to check it. Don't take it personal.
Jeff Compton [00:48:14]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:48:14]:
By the way, they do it on all the professional race teams. Okay.
Jeff Compton [00:48:17]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:48:18]:
And that's what some guy finally told me says why would they bother them? You know, and it's one of those things like we always get into the habit of if we're doing hand controls. We have like the dash down before you put the dash up, leave the wrenches and say, hey, you want to double check it now? No reason he should have to climb the hard way.
Jeff Compton [00:48:37]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:48:38]:
You know that ain't right. The other thing is probably basic electric. Okay. It's. And that's the industry.
Jeff Compton [00:48:46]:
Yeah. You know, I just finished talking to the people from promotive and I said, so what's the point one, what's the one request that when you're. When they're talking to a shop, what kind of technician do you need? Right now resounding 95% are asking for a diagnostic tech. Right. Bob, like it's just.
Bob Leonard [00:49:01]:
And when you say diagnostic tech, what is that? In our world, we're not under the hood.
Jeff Compton [00:49:08]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:49:08]:
I don't need a, I don't need to put an amp clamp on injector or this or that or what or. I know, yeah. I'm talking about basic 12 volts.
Jeff Compton [00:49:18]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:49:18]:
Okay. I'm talking about basic scan tool functions where. Okay. Even if there isn't a code. Let me go into the data and get to that. Okay. Here's a great one for the Chrysler tech. You love this one.
Bob Leonard [00:49:33]:
I'm trained in a group and I got the Y tech and I show them that on the passenger side they've gone from door counts 2 inches. Because from the B pillar to the door on our vans, it's 36 inches. Okay. I. I'm good with that. So I go around the driver's side. I said, now so one of you guys find that. I want you to be able to find it.
Bob Leonard [00:49:56]:
I'm waiting. I'm waiting, drinking my coffee. I'm like, come on guys. You have to know that it says inches. If you're in the right module somewhere down the line there's nothing here. I go over, I'm like, well, I know what it says. I know what pin I'm looking for. I double click it.
Bob Leonard [00:50:17]:
The driver's side's in percentage. That's Chrysler. The conversion company can't do that. I'm like, they can't rewrite Chrysler. Yeah, this is the wide thing. I'm like, are you kidding me? You change it from door counts. I. I get it to new van.
Jeff Compton [00:50:37]:
Why is it different on one side versus the other?
Bob Leonard [00:50:40]:
The other side. I get enough trouble teaching these guys right now. So basic scan tool usage. Yeah, basic. You know, dvom. If I could get every shop to get check engine chucks.
Jeff Compton [00:50:54]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:50:55]:
And like break in case of everyday use. Put it there. They don't understand it well.
Jeff Compton [00:51:02]:
And I've said that for so many years and people I can remember back before I ever had a podcast, back before there was ever any of these groups, like I would just talk in the, in the, in the forums on Facebook. Oh, I got, I checked it. I got power and ground. How'd you check it? What do you mean?
Bob Leonard [00:51:17]:
Stupid.
Jeff Compton [00:51:17]:
What do you mean how did I check it? I unplugged it and I put a meter there. Okay. So just try this. Why would I do that? Test lights are going to cause the car to burn down. I'm like, okay, never mind. And then. You know what I mean? You're trying to teach somebody a lesson, Bob, and all of a sudden it ends up in an argument and it ends up in a completely. You just took the thing and drove it right off the tracks of what was going to be a really good learning method.
Bob Leonard [00:51:38]:
Yeah.
Jeff Compton [00:51:39]:
Opportunity. Somebody's like, no, I don't want to hear it.
Bob Leonard [00:51:42]:
And you're like, okay, yeah, bye. Have a good day. I'll give you a great one. Right out of a factory module. Manual fuel pump module.
Jeff Compton [00:51:51]:
Yeah, you.
Bob Leonard [00:51:52]:
They tell you you got your scan tool right there so you can run the damn thing. You can turn this thing on, unplug it, check for power and ground.
Jeff Compton [00:52:02]:
Yep.
Bob Leonard [00:52:04]:
Go right across it. Check your 12 volts.
Jeff Compton [00:52:06]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:52:09]:
I'm like, I got better idea.
Jeff Compton [00:52:11]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:52:12]:
I leave it plugged in and I back probe it and run this thing. Sure. And I'm going to see if there's a problem. And it's like, are you kidding me? This is the factory manual. And I. Someone didn't believe me. Matter of fact, it was Jim Morton. He really was like, no way.
Bob Leonard [00:52:27]:
And I printed it out next time I saw it. There it is. And there's a little letterhead right on top. I don't make this stuff. No, look, I'm not saying everyone's should be perfect, but come on, by this day and age Things like voltage drop using an amp clamp. They. They should be routine. Yeah, they should be every.
Bob Leonard [00:52:46]:
Is the battery good? The store I'm at now, when I first got there, they had a Pacific is shutting off. Weird times. They actually bought it back, gave me another one. It was doing weird. I mean, come to a lake, it was always when it was never stopped. Okay, so I'm gonna start at the beginning. Goblin burn.
Jeff Compton [00:53:09]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:53:09]:
Pop the hood, put my negative lead. And you know how the Pacific's got that big block, so I get on the end and it just goes wee. It's going everywhere. I'm going, are you kidding me? You're really kidding me with this? Is this like a setup? I'm looking around for a camera. Yeah. You know, I tightened it up. We gave it to the. Our driver that.
Bob Leonard [00:53:34]:
I said, let me know if it ever, ever breaks down. Yeah, that van is still at our store because that's our chase vehicle. But it's like it was all over 10 millimeter, not being tightened from the convert some. It was Friday afternoon, Monday morning. I don't really care. I'm a human.
Jeff Compton [00:53:50]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:53:51]:
I've made plenty of mistakes. Usually when I get out of bed.
Jeff Compton [00:53:54]:
I can still remember an older Chrysler Caravan. I don't remember if it's town and country or what I want to say around 2006 vintage. Right. And there was all kinds of problems with the BCM kind of circuits in the. In the van. Intermittently, though. Intermittently. And I remember, I finally.
Jeff Compton [00:54:11]:
I'm like, well, where's that ground? Well, it's on the. A pillar behind all the, you know, things and all that kind of jazz. And I get looking at it, and it's like this. This van had been driving the shop nuts for like a year and a half for this intermittent complaint because it would take a while and then all of a sudden happen. I'm like, where's the bloody ground? Ground? And I pull it off, and it's literally like I could reach in and never been in a wreck, never been a body shop. And I could reach in and touch the nut and just kind of spin it with my fingers. Yeah, on the ground.
Bob Leonard [00:54:37]:
I've seen it. There was a case, matter of fact, the guy was down here with me from the Raleigh store. He. We were going. He was getting his butt handed to him on a traverse that had been out of the store. Converted for, like, nine months. It had some modified steering shifter. Well, now, you love this.
Bob Leonard [00:54:56]:
If you hit the washer pump, it shuts off.
Jeff Compton [00:54:59]:
Oh, man.
Bob Leonard [00:55:00]:
You want to talk about, like, you're making stuff up.
Jeff Compton [00:55:03]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:55:03]:
And it. It'll be unable to start anywhere from two minutes to two hours with no reason. So we're going back and forth, and, like, we get to the point of. Disconnect that washer pump and see what happens. Let's just. And it doesn't do it. Okay. Put 11th December across this thing.
Jeff Compton [00:55:23]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:55:24]:
And it happens. What the hell? So it was near the end of the day. I'm like, just, let's go home. Whatever. I'm on the phone. Let's go. So, of course, what do I do? I got all the printouts. I'm home.
Bob Leonard [00:55:38]:
And all of a sudden I realize the washer pump, the bcm.
Jeff Compton [00:55:42]:
Yes.
Bob Leonard [00:55:43]:
And the starter are at a ground in the engine compartment.
Jeff Compton [00:55:47]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:55:48]:
And I'm going, there's no way this thing is starting normally till you do that. And then it's. So I left, like, two voice messages overnight on his phone. I had his cell phone. I'm like, no, I'm not gonna bother, but like, 8:01. I'm on the phone.
Jeff Compton [00:56:08]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:56:08]:
I'm like, dude, you gotta go out. I said, in the shop. He goes, yeah, I. You got to go out and find this T301. It says it's here. Why? Just please go there. Get a socket wrench. I don't care.
Bob Leonard [00:56:21]:
And tighten was loose. It was all but ready to come off. But I couldn't figure out how it got. How it was good all that time, and why the washer was the load. That was the end of it.
Jeff Compton [00:56:35]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:56:35]:
And it was. It must have been making the customer. Customer. They. They have this new vehicle with all this stuff, and now they can finally get out on the road. They have that freedom again. And God forbid they have to wash the windshield.
Jeff Compton [00:56:49]:
Yeah. Do you feel good at the end of the day, not just from the standpoint that you're helping people, but, like, I want to think, like, where the world has gone in the last 10 years, 20 years. Right. You see a lot of veterans.
Bob Leonard [00:57:01]:
Oh, yes.
Jeff Compton [00:57:03]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:57:04]:
That's a really interesting subject. We see a lot of veterans. And. Okay, so the va, let's say active duty, injured, things like it. They're great.
Jeff Compton [00:57:16]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:57:18]:
There's a. They can roll over every three or four years. That'll keep. You're getting a lot of your equity back in the vehicle. And they will buy new equipment to put it in. Yeah, we don't transfer the equipment.
Jeff Compton [00:57:27]:
Right.
Bob Leonard [00:57:28]:
Okay. At. That part is. That's great. Older vets, what we see is a Lot of wheel power, chairs and scooters. But they need a way to transport. So they're getting those outside lifts.
Jeff Compton [00:57:43]:
Okay.
Bob Leonard [00:57:44]:
Yeah. Sometimes. First off, God, I shouldn't say this. I really should not go down this road. So think of flat rate. Think of flat rate warranty and cut it down to a third of that. And that's what we're getting.
Jeff Compton [00:58:03]:
Put an outside lift on and.
Bob Leonard [00:58:05]:
Or receiver. It just if two of us that really know our game and had the tools laid out like a search and we were. We're still not going to get it done. In what they allot.
Jeff Compton [00:58:15]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:58:16]:
Okay. It is what it is. It's part of what we do. But some of the devices and setups. We turned away two of them. We knew right away. I'm like, no way that vehicle for me, please. And I'm like, no, we had that wait.
Bob Leonard [00:58:36]:
No, I can't lead a seat. I can't take a seat out. Because they get like 150 pounds per person, 275 for a wheelchair in our vans. It's gonna be over the cargo. I said, no, we can't do that. So some guy did it in the driveway. I'm like, as long as it wasn't done here, I really don't care. But they.
Bob Leonard [00:58:59]:
That part. They take care of them. Yes, we do see a lot.
Jeff Compton [00:59:01]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:59:03]:
It's funny. I. For summer, I guess four years now, I was down in back and forth to Norfolk from like the Philadelphia.
Jeff Compton [00:59:11]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:59:12]:
Because the service department was gone for whatever reason. Who cares. Saw a lot of vets there because they're right down there. Virginia Beach, Norfolk. I was like, like, is that the only people. Then it dawned on me and all the things were kind of geared to what the veterans needed.
Jeff Compton [00:59:33]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [00:59:33]:
But yeah, we see a good amount. We see there's a lot of agents. You talked about price earlier. Yeah. I wouldn't want to cut the check. I'll be honest. That's. It's.
Bob Leonard [00:59:45]:
But now you get. The finance companies will go 10 in 12 years. You know, so it's bearable. There's a lot of, I'll say funding agencies that are out there. And there's CMC as we refer to them. But salesperson I've known forever, Stacy, who knows where they all are.
Jeff Compton [01:00:05]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:00:05]:
She's like, just give me a minute. And she'll. I'll call you back in a couple days. And she knows where to go.
Jeff Compton [01:00:10]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:00:10]:
That works for them. It's always been like active duty VA that it's full funding work. Work was comp. Car accidents, they're. They're paid and they pay forever because that's.
Jeff Compton [01:00:27]:
Yeah, that's how it works.
Bob Leonard [01:00:29]:
And then you get to different levels of whatever and that's its own section of this industry. I. I'm so glad I ain't doing it. It's just.
Jeff Compton [01:00:43]:
Do you see this kind of mobility, like, as a growing facet of the industry?
Bob Leonard [01:00:51]:
I think it's. I definitely think it's here to stay.
Jeff Compton [01:00:56]:
Yeah. Oh, definitely.
Bob Leonard [01:00:57]:
Okay. I don't think it's going to drop. Growing. I think some of the equipment. Yes. Because more and more people are realizing they're growing into the equipment. Like what we used to only do electronic left with gas battles one on one every other month. And we were like, no bring vehicle.
Bob Leonard [01:01:17]:
And we want to see how we can. What structures there we were. Now we're doing two, three, three, four months. It's become a lot more casual to the guys doing it. The way hand controls are first. Yeah. We're like, okay, we know what we're doing. Here we go.
Bob Leonard [01:01:34]:
I think more of that, I think, I think that would depend more on where the money's coming from. If there is the funding, if there's the insurance or whatever, that will kind of like everything else.
Jeff Compton [01:01:48]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:01:49]:
That will determine, you know, if someone goes to the dealer, buys a new car, the money is going to determine how long they're going to keep the car.
Jeff Compton [01:01:57]:
Yeah. You know, I can, I can say this. I've seen a lot of the older vans that I'm still seeing around in my area are all of our conversions. And I always equated that to like the investment that had been made into that man, Right. From the thing made that the customer was not going to just flip it in five years and it'd be crushed into a cube. That becomes a very viable vehicle for either continuing repair or resale. Again and again, to some, still see.
Bob Leonard [01:02:24]:
The big four 250E 350S.
Jeff Compton [01:02:28]:
I saw a 2003 converted caravan back home last week. Right. And you're like, we don't see many other 2003 caravans on the road. If they are, they are absolutely rot boxes. This was not a rot box. You know what I mean? It's because again, that person who still has it, they're probably not the original owner of that van, but it's still somebody that needs that van for that reason. And it's like, oh, it needs another transmission. So, I mean, lots of O3 caravans by now are probably on their fifth transmission.
Bob Leonard [01:02:55]:
Yeah. You know, if They're. If they're lucky.
Jeff Compton [01:02:58]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:02:59]:
You know what I mean?
Jeff Compton [01:02:59]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:03:00]:
Like. Like one of my. When I talk in public and one of my key things I'll say into a group, I'll say, okay, I want you, everybody to picture the car keys that are in your pocket. Now, if your car didn't start but you had to get to work, you're gonna go back and take the wife, the daughter, the kids. I don't care. You can get a cab, Uber, whatever. Worst case, you're actually going to get on public transit. I know we never do that as mechanics.
Bob Leonard [01:03:28]:
Yeah, but you have a way, guys. If. And then I'll do my whole spiel and at the very end I'll be like, hey, y' all remember them car keys? I want you to think about, I just took them all. And your wife's out, she can't come and get you. Let's just add in the fact that the power wheelchair weighs 275 pounds and you weigh 225 pounds. I want you to tell me how you're getting into your Chevy Silverado. So when I tell you, don't break these things. Take your time, ask questions, make the phone call.
Bob Leonard [01:04:03]:
It's the only way.
Jeff Compton [01:04:04]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:04:04]:
And I got a lot of customers go to work every day like me and you. They go to work, they go food shopping, they take the kids, whatever. So they need the vehicle. It's. To them, it's everyday normal.
Jeff Compton [01:04:15]:
The, the. The reality of like a person's vehicle is their freedom.
Bob Leonard [01:04:19]:
Yes.
Jeff Compton [01:04:20]:
Is amplified hugely with your demo, with your, with your customer demographic.
Bob Leonard [01:04:25]:
Oh, yeah. When my customer picks up a vehicle after they get whatever installed or that, it's just whatever it is, they say thank you. You can wish. You could wish Hallmark get that kind of genuine genuineness and guard because there's. I can't tell you the amount of hugs I get. Yeah. The amount of times people try to tip me, which is like, no. And my.
Bob Leonard [01:04:50]:
I had to learn a line and it was. Oh, do you tip your dentist?
Jeff Compton [01:04:53]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:04:54]:
When you get done, you can smile brightly. Or. Or. And I'll pick some other things. I say you said thank you one couple. And was done wrong by another agency down South Carolina. And whatever. They had to drive up to Jersey and they called ahead and so we had to replace the hand controls.
Bob Leonard [01:05:15]:
And while I'm doing it, the transfer seat has a foot rest. Well, it has these height adjust. They never cut them for height. Well, it only went back 3 inches instead of going back 2ft for him to Jump in.
Jeff Compton [01:05:27]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:05:28]:
So I'm like, I fixed that. I got the hand controls where they belong. Everything's good. She tried to hand me money. They. They drove back down on a Sunday. On Monday, our conference table was filled with lunch for the store, like, and. And they called, like, a couple times.
Bob Leonard [01:05:48]:
That makes. That's it. You know, because, you know, if somebody complains about you, they know how to go above you.
Jeff Compton [01:05:54]:
Oh, yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:05:54]:
They know the chain. They look when I go up, I always say, you find that same chain of command and say how happy you are. If you will do that. You don't have. You don't have that kind of money to make me happy. Yeah. If you do that. Because that's the good news.
Bob Leonard [01:06:11]:
And you're right. That freedom. And it's funny that we use that word and it's in our mission statement kind of thing, but when you say it, then you see people going, yeah, yeah. Even if you're just transporting a child.
Jeff Compton [01:06:28]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:06:28]:
Like, I. My wife had the kid in school. She has brittle bone syndrome. Don't ask me to say the medical term. Literally. Been to the hospital 200 times being picked up by a parent who knew better by the age of 16 or 17. Okay. 200x rays and whatever.
Bob Leonard [01:06:57]:
They finally. My wife didn't. They didn't know.
Jeff Compton [01:07:01]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:07:01]:
About the mobility vans. Sent them to me. I sent a salespeople. You want to talk about ear to ear, hurt the ear. Smile. I. We still hear from that.
Jeff Compton [01:07:12]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:07:13]:
And it's just like, she hasn't broken a bone since. And it's like, okay, that makes a difference. There you go. Quality of life. That's a. That's a vowel. Valuable. Quality living.
Bob Leonard [01:07:25]:
That's not just saying. Okay.
Jeff Compton [01:07:27]:
It's changing people's lives versus just fixing the car. Which. In the. In the thing. We empower people through fixing the vehicle.
Bob Leonard [01:07:33]:
Right.
Jeff Compton [01:07:33]:
But this is next level. This is changing somebody's life.
Bob Leonard [01:07:36]:
If you're working at a good shop and the customers know, they have a confidence. They know they can drive on vacation. They know they Going back and forth, taking the kids with. It's safe, it's dependable because they're following your recommendations. We're. We're a step or two along that and going like it's the only way they're going.
Jeff Compton [01:07:59]:
Yeah. So. So will we see more of you at these events, teaching?
Bob Leonard [01:08:04]:
I hope so. Or at least kind of giving an exposure presentation. Yeah, I don't think I'm. I don't think I want guys, the technicians to come here and learn how to do it. That's not gonna do them.
Jeff Compton [01:08:17]:
Yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:08:17]:
Any favors. There's just not gonna be enough guys who want to know how. I really want people to know the dangers, what to do, what not to do. You know, I don't want to make it a big stop sign.
Jeff Compton [01:08:30]:
Yeah, yeah.
Bob Leonard [01:08:31]:
You know, I also want them to know, like, I know the one slide I'm gonna show, and my wife is like, you're gonna show that? I'm like, I'm gonna show that. It's the one that every white life once installed. It's the driver's evaluator, passenger side brake pedal. I could just see guys going like, no, you're not gonna offer. Yeah. And yeah, we. We do hand controls that go in and out for driver evaluators. Matter of fact, that one's for the va.
Bob Leonard [01:09:02]:
Different ones go in and out, plug in, whatever. But yeah, they love that bracelet pedal. Oh, yeah, that's. And I get it. I get it.
Jeff Compton [01:09:10]:
Yeah. For sure.
Bob Leonard [01:09:11]:
So, yeah, I hope to be awesome.
Jeff Compton [01:09:14]:
Well, I hope that we get to see you again. I think it's pretty cool. Thank you for coming here and doing this with me.
Bob Leonard [01:09:19]:
Thank you.
Jeff Compton [01:09:19]:
I'm trying to, you know, talk about doing it, but it's. You're a busy man, and I'm busy man, and it's hard to. It's hard to nail everything down.
Bob Leonard [01:09:26]:
I know. It's always.
Jeff Compton [01:09:28]:
I wish I could be in a class. I think it'd be very cool. But I'll be down here recording. Okay, but try it. Another event. I will try to. If you can come to Tools.
Bob Leonard [01:09:36]:
Oh, I wasn't.
Jeff Compton [01:09:37]:
Yeah, yeah. But if you're up, I'll go to Tools.
Bob Leonard [01:09:39]:
I drive there. Yeah, that's like two, not even a two hour drive.
Jeff Compton [01:09:42]:
So if you can present it Tools, I'd love to sit through the.
Bob Leonard [01:09:45]:
Yeah. Did they. Do I have to get. I'll just try to get a hold of the people.
Jeff Compton [01:09:49]:
We'll get a hold of Brett. We'll get a hold of Brett.
Bob Leonard [01:09:50]:
Yeah.
Jeff Compton [01:09:51]:
Yeah. All right, man.
Bob Leonard [01:09:52]:
Okay.
Jeff Compton [01:09:52]:
Thank you very much, brother.
Bob Leonard [01:09:54]:
Take care. Thank you, guys.
Jeff Compton [01:09:56]:
Hey, if you could do me a favor real quick and, like, comment on and share this episode, I'd really appreciate it. And please, most importantly, set the podcast to automatically download every Tuesday morning. As always, I'd like to thank our amazing guests for their perspectives and expertise, and I hope that you'll please join us again next week on this journey of change. Thank you to my partners in the ASA group and to the Changing the Industry podcast. Remember what I always say in this industry, you get what you pay for. Here's hoping everyone finds their missing 10 millimeter and we'll see you all again. Next time.
Bob Leonard [01:10:29]:
It.