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The Gearbox Podcast brings on industry professionals to explore the day-to-day operations of owning and operating a shop. From common frustrations to industry-wide shifts, this podcast covers it with fun and insightful conversations.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:13]:
Welcome to the Gearbox podcast, where we dive deep into the dynamic world of automotive repair and ownership. I'm your host, Jimmy Purdy, an experienced technician turned shop owner with a passion for sharing insights, stories, and conversations with industry leaders. This is the Gearbox podcast. Well, yeah, I think the last time was. That was when we were at SEMA apex, right? In November.
Ashley Kaul [00:00:38]:
Yep.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:38]:
And we're like, oh, man. Next week, we should jump on a podcast and talk about this.
Ashley Kaul [00:00:43]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:00:44]:
It's like, what is it, August of 2024 now?
Ashley Kaul [00:00:49]:
I tell you. And that's why you're like, oh, it's okay if you can cancel. Like, no, it's already been as long as this. I mean, they've probably come out with how many new marketing initiatives since last time we talked?
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:00]:
Oh, my.
Ashley Kaul [00:01:01]:
Yeah, it's.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:03]:
Chris. It's crazy. We just went to one, and I say, I just went there. It was in March. I don't know how that went by so fast, but it was in Utah, and it was all about marketing, and it was about trying to get the year started right, you know? And I'm like. And I'm going through the stuff that went over, and I'm like, wait, it's august, and I haven't done any of that. Like, I did most of it, but I'm like, I didn't even. You know, it's like, you're going through the stuff.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:30]:
It's like, holy moly. How did that just happen? And then you start implementing the stuff. It's like, oh, that's changed, bro. Like, that's not the same anymore. Like, really? I was just there in March, 5 months ago. It's like, oh, that stuff doesn't work anymore. That's not what you want to do. Like, oh, okay, well, that.
Jimmy Purdy [00:01:48]:
Shame on me for not doing it soon enough, but.
Ashley Kaul [00:01:51]:
Yeah, yeah, no, I totally get it. It's. It happens so fast. But I. I mean, I'm down to talk about marketing, if you want.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:02]:
Yeah, I think that's the stuff. I mean, we start with an introduction. The sister from another mister.
Ashley Kaul [00:02:08]:
That's me.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:12]:
And you had some. Some. Some big life changes. So congratulations. That's awesome.
Ashley Kaul [00:02:17]:
Thank you.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:18]:
Exciting. Exhausting.
Ashley Kaul [00:02:20]:
At the same time, it's not as exhausting as I thought. She's a good baby. She sleeps longer than I do, so bless her. She. I mean, she sleeps through the whole night. We don't have to visit one time, and she wakes up when we wake up, so it's very nice in that aspect. She's about to be six months, so I can't believe I have a six month year old.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:48]:
You're not counting in weeks?
Ashley Kaul [00:02:50]:
No.
Jimmy Purdy [00:02:51]:
That's too many weeks, huh? Yeah, it's a lot of math.
Ashley Kaul [00:02:54]:
A lot of math. Because then when you count in weeks and you tell someone in weeks, they go, how many months is that? It's like, I got to do double the math. Like, we're sticking to two months, and you could do the math on the week.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:05]:
That's fine.
Ashley Kaul [00:03:06]:
Oh, you know, multiplication is a lot easier than, like, wait, 24. Divide that. Like, let's.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:13]:
Times way better that way. Yeah, I like it.
Ashley Kaul [00:03:16]:
Yes.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:17]:
Not big on that.
Ashley Kaul [00:03:19]:
It's been good. It's been good coming back to work and getting into the swing of thing for, you know, being off for three and a half months. Longest. I call it the longest vacation I've ever had since I started working. And it's. There's been a lot of movement in my industry and initiatives in my industry for 2025. So it was a. It was a shock coming back and seeing, like, wow, things move fast even when you're gone.
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:51]:
Yeah.
Ashley Kaul [00:03:51]:
You know?
Jimmy Purdy [00:03:52]:
Well, even when you're in part of it, but.
Ashley Kaul [00:03:54]:
Well, it seems like it goes slower when you're part of it, I guess, you know, maybe.
Jimmy Purdy [00:04:00]:
Well, you have add like me, so. Yeah, you need a lot of movement quickly to make it make sense, or we're going. We're going a little outside the box on this one because we're not talking on the auto industry. But when we were having the conversation, wherever we were, what hotel was, pretty.
Ashley Kaul [00:04:17]:
Sure it was the win.
Jimmy Purdy [00:04:19]:
The win. Oh, yeah. You got hike. Yeah, you're high class.
Ashley Kaul [00:04:23]:
That was the, you know, first time, you know, I went. I had to be a nice hotel for a baby girl, you know, that was gonna be her first time going to the Vegas. It had to be the win, you know?
Jimmy Purdy [00:04:38]:
You know, you got to continue that now. Right?
Ashley Kaul [00:04:40]:
And just, like listeners know, she was in my belly. So.
Jimmy Purdy [00:04:44]:
Yeah.
Ashley Kaul [00:04:44]:
To clarify, my newborn to the casino.
Jimmy Purdy [00:04:48]:
The win. Yeah. Let's say that when you start a relationship, you're not supposed to go straight to the top like that, because then it's like, what do you do next year? Now? You can't. You always, you know, you go somewhere like. Like Treasure island or something like that and kind of work your way up, you know?
Ashley Kaul [00:05:04]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:04]:
It's better every year you don't go straight to the top, because then what do you do next year to make it better?
Ashley Kaul [00:05:09]:
Hey, what's your excuse?
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:12]:
Moving on next year?
Ashley Kaul [00:05:14]:
Good luck, buddy.
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:16]:
Good luck. Yeah, I'm done trying. It's like, it is what it is at this point. Just be happy we're out of the house. How about that, huh?
Ashley Kaul [00:05:23]:
Yeah. Yeah. The small wins. I guess you can circle back to those little wins.
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:28]:
That's right. But it was, it was interesting we were talking because, and I think this is parallels in a lot of other industries, right, where there's a lot of struggles. You feel like it's only in, like, your world or in our world or whatever, right. And it's not like we're all struggling with trying to find talented help, right. We're all trying to, I mean, struggling just to find someone that'll show up. Right. For the interview just to begin with. Right.
Jimmy Purdy [00:05:52]:
And, and then you're head of the marketing side of it. Right. And so it's, it's kind of the same thing. We're all just selling ourselves. Right. And it's like the marketing doesn't really go too far outside of the lines, I think, for most industries. And it was, it was like finding those correlations is interesting and, and finding those tactics that other industries use can really, I think, help. Cause it puts you outside of the box of everybody else, right.
Jimmy Purdy [00:06:16]:
Like, when you're looking through ads like nobody wants to get sold, everyone's just seeing ads all day long for the same thing over and over. But if you see something different, that's what catches your attention. So that was pretty interesting.
Ashley Kaul [00:06:28]:
Yeah. And I, and I think another thing, too, is in the industries that we are currently in, you know, there's such diverse perspectives. So we really challenge ourselves with, you know, with enhancing this problem solving, in taking, for example, retention, you know, retention of employees and how do we market to keep good people is something that I know my industry has struggled in. And I do see a correlation within others because everyone's just hopping for the next dollar, right? We're in California and it's expensive, and everybody has their motives. And, you know, I think motive number one is money for a lot of people, and then motive number two is fulfillment in the role that they're in. Is there growth? Is there, you know, are they goal driven? Is there good morals, values, missions, all that, all that kind of stuff that kind of correlate with retention to that. And, you know, when you market your business, I'm sure you market it with a value of family and this mission that you have. And same thing that we try to do, we're huge national company, and we really try really hard to, even though we are a big national company, to localize our marketing selection and even with our personnel.
Ashley Kaul [00:08:00]:
So it kind of comes full circle because when you hire good people, the output is what is what you're really hiring them for is that output and can they grow. You know, you don't want people to come and then leave the next, you know, six months, and then you're stuck circling back again trying to get more help. So, you know, investing that time into people. And I know that's one thing we talked about. It's been a really big, big challenge. And one of the things we really focus on is having an attitude of gratitude and really focus on how can we invite people into our industry and be leaders while also encouraging them to be successful. And I think, I think it's a challenge that we have every day because if we provide all these great benefits to working for a specific person or company, if another company comes in with a higher dollar but also has some of those, they may switch really fast.
Jimmy Purdy [00:09:20]:
Or even a totally different industry. And I think a lot miss that, too. We have a huge exodus going into the h vac industry, right, because it's, it's mechanical and, yeah, we can do ac, and it's like, that's all you do. And they find this, these big companies, these corporations that have a little bit more figured out, and they take care of their people and they're like, yeah, I just, that's all I want. Like, I just want someone to tell me I did a good job, right. But then there's the other side of the coin where you can't really give that gratitude without seeing the production, right? Like, they got to work and they got to be making the company money, and that's the bottom line. And I think right now, I mean, in our generation, that's like, that's that, that line, right, where everyone's just looking for the information online and they're like, oh, yeah, my boss treats me like that, too. It's like, well, maybe.
Jimmy Purdy [00:10:05]:
Maybe you're the problem, right? Like, maybe, you know, so trying to make sure that they understand you will be taken care of if you do a, b, and c, if you keep these standards, if you meet our expectations. But that's the toughest part because it's like, how do you enforce that and still show that they'll be rewarded, I guess, is the right word at the end of that, like, because you're expecting them to know how to do their job and you don't really want to micromanage them, but at the same time, you kind of have to. And then do you reward them to hate? So this is what's on the table if you do what I'm telling you to do. But it's such a weird, you know, dichotomy. Like, how do I. How do I show them that they'll be appreciated if they. If they do what I need them to do? You know what I mean?
Ashley Kaul [00:10:50]:
Yeah, yeah, no, no, definitely. I think it's harder to retain good people, and I think it all stems from management and really having good management, which I see that you have within your company. And I think, you know, I always, I always look at it if someone's leaving, I always look at the manager to, hey, how'd you fail them? Like, what are you learning from this? And I think there's always a lesson to be learned. And that lesson to be learned isn't always the path traveled. It's kind of like the path least traveled, essentially. And a lot of it has to do with, I don't feel appreciated. I can make more doing less over here. I can do this.
Jimmy Purdy [00:11:45]:
And it's that the grass is always greener.
Ashley Kaul [00:11:48]:
Yeah. Yeah, it's that. It's that mentality. And I feel like with the younger generation, there isn't. There isn't that emotional connection. Like, they don't owe loyalty to anyone and they're just, like, looking out for me, myself, and I, which has great qualities in that. But at the same time, you know, every company wants to hire somebody with the morals and values of what our parents had, where they would have one job for their whole life. That just isn't the economy and the job market that we're in now, which has pros and cons, right? Like, there's jobs here that were never even available before.
Ashley Kaul [00:12:29]:
You know, when we were growing up as kids, you know, like. Like, you know, Apple came around, what, early? Like, they've been around for a while, but successful Apple came around when we were in, like, 6th grade, you know.
Jimmy Purdy [00:12:45]:
Like, so, yeah, we were the generation that had no Internet, saw the Internet, and then saw the Internet take off. And remember talking 1990, you're talking 1990s, the early nineties.
Ashley Kaul [00:12:56]:
I remember when Apple donated all their, their first laptops, you know, and they donated it to our school and we all got a laptop, and it was just insane because we had these big, monstrous computers at home. And then we have these, like, slim, you know, little.
Jimmy Purdy [00:13:16]:
Little laptops or computer class, right? Like, there's actually a class with. That was the only classroom with computers in it. And now they all go to high school with laptops I, it's insane.
Ashley Kaul [00:13:27]:
It's insane. And so I think, I, I think now that, you know, there's more information, it's more readily available where people can get their resources. It provides more opportunity and with that, provides, you know, a different outlook to look at, you know, marketing to employees to keep them to stay, marketing to customers to get them to, you know, be loyal to you and your brand or your services.
Jimmy Purdy [00:13:54]:
You know, double edged short a little bit, isn't it?
Ashley Kaul [00:13:57]:
It is.
Jimmy Purdy [00:13:57]:
You can take advantage of it, but also it's very easy if you're not taking advantage it to lose it. It's like the people that haven't, don't have a website, right? There's plenty companies, plenty of shops that I know don't have a website. And like, I don't need it. What?
Ashley Kaul [00:14:10]:
And you're like, what, you need it? Hundred percent.
Jimmy Purdy [00:14:14]:
I mean, well, if you're gonna market it all, cuz it's like, what, where's all your marketing dollars going? Like, if you don't have a website, then why are you even spending money on marketing? Because you just, are you just promoting your, your phone number? And then how, like, how do you even know that they're calling you based on that ad? So there's no ad tracking at all. Right. And so what's the point of even marketing if you don't have some sort of funnel to funnel them through? Doesn't make any sense to me.
Ashley Kaul [00:14:38]:
So industry, industry thing. Okay, so back before I started in the industry, I am, I'm in the manufacturing industry of concrete products, building materials. The company I, I work for is the biggest company you've never heard of. That's the inside joke. Because a lot of our infrastructure side of the business, it's the roads you drive on, it's the infrastructure down below in the grounds, the sewer, the pipes, all that fun stuff. And one of the things that they used to do back in the day for marketing, which I'm sure you kind of remember this was they, like you said, how are they even tracking this? So what they would do is they'd have a number on their vehicle that was really popular, the vehicle that they drive around every day. And the vehicle on their number was an 800 number of some sort. And that 800 number would be tracked by the amount of leads.
Ashley Kaul [00:15:36]:
But these leads would only be justified by the person who answered the phone and closed that deal. And that's how these leads would come. But how would you know if it wasn't? You know, some people would use that number as, like, the number to call you if they had a question.
Jimmy Purdy [00:15:54]:
Yeah. They'd write it down or save it in their phone.
Ashley Kaul [00:15:56]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, there wasn't phones back then. It was like, pay phones or, like, landlines. Right. Like, these were all landline situations. Right? Like, I mean, that's how far marketing evolved where, like, you. You'd have to ask them or you'd know, hey, every phone number that calls from this, they got it from the truck, you know? Cause that number was only the truck. And then they had a different landline for their main business.
Ashley Kaul [00:16:22]:
And a lot of the times, it was print and newspaper, you know, that's the phone. That's the. Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:16:31]:
Phone book in the days of having a's in your name. Right. Aaa, triple a, whatever, for sure.
Ashley Kaul [00:16:42]:
So I think we've come a long way, and with all the tools and the Internet being kind of an ever, like, the only thing constant on the Internet is change. I mean, I don't know if you saw Google Analytics even change their platform.
Jimmy Purdy [00:17:00]:
Yeah. With a Google trend recently.
Ashley Kaul [00:17:02]:
Yep. So it's like everything is evolving and more information is being exposed. But being in California, there's a lot of privacy laws that we have to look at, and there's even more information being spread in other states that, legally, that we're not privy to here in California. But, I mean, the way that it has evolved, I find it fascinating when I hear that people don't have a website. You know, I just think it's the easiest free tool, you know?
Jimmy Purdy [00:17:38]:
Yeah, it's tough because, I don't know, it's almost like you don't, like, need it. Right. It's one of those things where it's like, I'm just on the fence as far as, like, if you actually, like, need it, like, you got to have it. But as far as, like, marketing, it is kind of like an older style, but it's that funnel, right? Like, you have to have something that you're funneling all to, so, you know, so you can track it on the analytics. You can track it on the, you know, what's going on. And it helps with Google trends across the country to know who's searching for what. Because without a valid website, Google doesn't even look at you. And it's just.
Jimmy Purdy [00:18:13]:
Yeah, it just blows me away. I don't understand it. And they'll do Facebook ads or the. Oh, what about Google Ads? Like, you doing Google Ads with a. Without a website? What's the point? Like, that's. That's not, like, a plan, right?
Ashley Kaul [00:18:26]:
Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think a website is definitely mandatory for any business. It's a visibility and reach kind of situation like the website, especially in the auto business, it provides that visibility online and makes sure it's easier for potential customers to find you when they search for whatever they're searching for, whether that be repair, they have questions they need, you know, anything, right? Like emergency services, whatever. It also helps as far as a place that you can provide information and education. You know, like maybe, you know, there's certain things that people come into that you're like, this could be an easy diy situation or DYI diy situation where they can come in and, you know, you can do this yourself. You don't need me. And that builds, that circles back to educating people while also providing them information where they, they can form a connection with you to trust you.
Jimmy Purdy [00:19:28]:
And just on that note too, like with blog posts, right? So if someone's googling something or even on YouTube and they're, and they're looking, hey, how do I, in your situation, put down pavers. How do I, how do I, you know, whatever the landscape thing they're doing or if they're looking, hey, how do I replace the u joints in my drive shaft? If you have a blog post on your website that pulls up, right, that ranks you super high and then you click on it and they send you right to the website and they're like, oh, cool, and they can read the little blog post and, and move on with their day. And the same with, I've had a lot of YouTube shorts, a lot of YouTube videos, a lot of social media stuff where it's like just putting that relevant information out that people are looking for, you know, then, then they find you and that, like, well, they might get their answer, but they're probably going to get stuck in the middle of it and not want to have to deal with it anyway. So they're going to call you to have it do it anyway, right? I mean, we all get curious and we're all like, I can do that myself. And, and that just eventually evolves into finding out that it's a little bit more than you really want to do because you still have a full time job and a family and everything else going like, ah, I'm just going to let these guys do it that way.
Ashley Kaul [00:20:31]:
No, I completely understand. So it's all about credibility, right? And providing that customer engagement and convenience, you know, side of whatever they're looking for, you know, when, when I go and search for things if they don't have a website or it looks sketch, I'm like, they don't have a website. I'm not gonna. I'm out. You know? Like, I'm automatically out. Like, that's just a major red flag to me. Like, you know, I want to be able to see who, like, connect in some sort, you know? And I. I feel like a story.
Ashley Kaul [00:21:08]:
Story. It's a great place to place your story of how you were created. What's your mo, you know, so that you can build that trust amongst, you know, people. Because I feel like there's this negative condentation of the auto industry, and especially being a woman who knows Zelch about cars. I mean, I know how to change a tire.
Jimmy Purdy [00:21:31]:
I know how to change a Toyota Corolla that's been on the road for, like, 100 years, so.
Ashley Kaul [00:21:36]:
Yes. Yeah. Keep this. I'm part of the 200,000 miles high club. Okay, thank you. Round of applause. You do, like, clapping.
Jimmy Purdy [00:21:45]:
Like, golf clap, for sure. Yeah, golf clap for that 2025 years that cars went on the road. So you gotta be doing something right.
Ashley Kaul [00:21:52]:
It's. And honestly, it's been as easy as just simple maintenance. Like, I know nothing about cars, and I have based it on going to people I trust, asking questions to people I can trust, and, you know, like, you're the only family I have in the car industry, and you're nowhere near me. I'm in Las Vegas. You're in a Tuscaderoscadero.
Jimmy Purdy [00:22:15]:
Paso robos.
Ashley Kaul [00:22:16]:
Paso robos. Okay. Paso robos.
Jimmy Purdy [00:22:19]:
Robles.
Ashley Kaul [00:22:20]:
Robles.
Jimmy Purdy [00:22:21]:
Yeah. Like, roll.
Ashley Kaul [00:22:22]:
Roll.
Jimmy Purdy [00:22:22]:
Robowls. Some say. Some might. Some might say Robles. But that's not how you say it. We're not. No, no, it's not robless. No, no, it's Robles.
Jimmy Purdy [00:22:32]:
Like, with a w. Okay.
Ashley Kaul [00:22:35]:
And so with that being said, I mean, I. I just see that if I can do it, anyone can do it, you know? And that's just based off, like, doing research, not putting yourself in a position to where you have to make a decision you're not comfortable with. You know, there's always time, even in emergencies, you know? And. Yeah, I just. I know. Even though I don't know anything, I do know something because I got Google, and that helps. Has not let me down thus far. And you trust your instincts.
Jimmy Purdy [00:23:20]:
Do you know, do you think part of it is, like, the way we were raised for, like, consumerism? Like, we're really. We're really been trained as consumers to just spend way more time researching stuff than I think any other generation or any, anything before us, right, where you, like, look on something on Amazon and then you're, like, eBay, and then you're googling it, and then you're checking, like, it's just like one thing, right? Like, you just need one thing for the house and you're checking, like, 6789 different sources before you eventually just, oh, I saved $5 getting it from eBay instead of Amazon or vice versa or whatever, right? And so we're just like, in this trained mentality that everything is price based and we'll just spend so much time trying to negotiate for that extra $0.80. Cause it, like, just gives us that little win, right? And I feel like that really, I feel like that really translates over to, like, the service industries, which doesn't work the same way, right, but we're, like, trained that way to try to, like, find that, oh, we got Google, right? Like, I'm gonna find out how much this is supposed to be and I'm going to make sure I get the best deal I can. And not to say, like, what you said was negative by any ways, but it just, it breeds over into the service industries. And you don't realize if you pay, you know, if you pay for a good service, you won't have to worry about it, right? Like, you got to do your research, make sure they're legit, make sure they're not ripping you off. But if you go somewhere that's maybe not the most expensive, but definitely don't go to the cheapest, right? Like, you find that middle ground. Or even if you go to the most expensive one with the highest warranty, and it's like, you go back there and it's like, they take care of you. Hey, I had x, y, z done, and now it's, hey, no problem.
Jimmy Purdy [00:24:56]:
Give me the keys. We got it taken care of for you. I'll have it done back to you by the end of the day, right? You go to the lube shop that's the cheapest in town. Something goes wrong, it's like, I'll get you back in two weeks, right? Like, and it's like, where's my service? Like, well, you didn't pay for service. You paid for the cheapest price. You paid for the economy.
Ashley Kaul [00:25:11]:
Right, right. And that's why I have refused to go there. And look, my car has shown test of time, you know? Like, I don't, I don't take it. Just a Joe schmo to take. To take my car and trust that, you know, like, I still haven't found a mechanic here in Las Vegas, not because I'm pricing around. It has nothing to do with price, but everything to do with what you just said about service. And that honestly is the most important thing to me. And same with same with consumer products, I shout out to my dad, I feel like my dad spends a lot of time doing exactly what you said, shopping around, trying to get that same price.
Ashley Kaul [00:25:50]:
I mean, it'll take him a year to buy a tv. And I'm like, dad, just buy the tv, you know. But when it comes to consumer goods, I look for fast, reliable service with a, if something's not working or I get something that's sent to me that isn't right, like, I need to be able to get the right product in a timely manner. Right. And I feel like Amazon really has changed that on the consumer side of things, the way that they deal with their customer service. I think everyone else expects that and that's where that trickle comes down. But when it comes to service, I, by any means, I don't go to the cheapest nail salon, I don't go to the cheapest hair salon. I don't go, you know, all my services where like, it's more than just like, hereby, someone coming to your house to fix something.
Ashley Kaul [00:26:42]:
Yeah, yeah. Someone coming in the house, like, it isn't. It's more like I need the best service. And I went, speaking of service, coming into the house, I had, you know, h vac plumbing and heater company come in. I chose the best in Las Vegas, the ones that deal with a lot of really, really high end commercial products. They were the most expensive out there, but I chose them based on a campaign that they were going. And I appreciate good marketing. So that reeled me in and they were responsive and receptive and they were great, great, great.
Ashley Kaul [00:27:20]:
And when they came out, I wasn't hyped on the service, the service aspect of it, there were some aspects that fell apart and being in the marketing side of things, you know, I think I have a higher expectation when I look at things, but also an understanding as well on how to provide constructive feedback that doesn't bash or ruin a company, but really helps to encourage them. Like, hey, you didn't do this great, you're losing me as a customer, but maybe you can learn so you don't do this to another residential homeowner.
Jimmy Purdy [00:27:55]:
You know, I think that's a big lesson for everyone to really take in. And everyone hates Google reviews, everyone hates the one stars, and everyone hates the people that come back and. But, like, you got to realize for everyone that actually tells you there's probably five or six or maybe even ten others that just don't want to deal with that and they just move on. Right. And you're wondering how come my retention low? How come I'm not getting anybody coming back, right. What am I doing wrong? It's like, well, you're not listening, and.
Ashley Kaul [00:28:24]:
Listening is very challenging. Right. Like, it. It is case by case. It is. You know, you have to. You have to take that in. But I strongly feel like people capitalize on those opportunities.
Ashley Kaul [00:28:39]:
Especially. I tend to go more of a passive way. I won't publicize it. I reach out to the manager. I provide the feedback, and I just hope that it gets solved moving forward. And it's never an individual, like, based. It's always a system with me. Like, people are so kind most of the time, right.
Ashley Kaul [00:29:06]:
It's never the individual themselves. It's always the system. And what I mean by that is there's processes that happen that I feel like are a little clunky and can be worked out or fixed or changed and to make the experience better. And so that's where I really kind of draw line. And I really don't like when people are late, that, that, that's what really gets me when I have to wait, you know, three weeks to have somebody come out. I mean, this is obviously just like a checkup. So that's why it's a three week timeline. It isn't like it just has to be done within a certain season, you know?
Jimmy Purdy [00:29:48]:
Yeah. There's just conveniences that need to be, and it's an internal thing. Like, you got to take those, those things and take those situations and think internally as a business, like, how. What can we make more convenient? Right. And so, like, I want to ask you on that, like, what do you. What do you look for when you are shopping around for, like, an auto shop? What are things that really attract you? Because that's the hard thing to do. Right. As an auto shop, you figure it's all the same, and everyone thinks the prices are the same.
Jimmy Purdy [00:30:14]:
Price for a break job is going to be a price for a break job, but it's not. Right. Like, it's all different. So what is it that you're looking for?
Ashley Kaul [00:30:20]:
I'm looking for a story. I'm looking for who they are, who they are to the community. What do they represent? Those are some aspects that are important to me. I don't want to just go to.
Jimmy Purdy [00:30:32]:
Any, you mean, you don't want to know that they're AAC certified master technicians and they do the best, best breaks in the whole world. You mean that's not how we market really, like. And all our guys go to training at least four times a year, and they all have huge toolboxes with $100,000 worth of tools in them. Isn't that. Isn't that the best thing in the world?
Ashley Kaul [00:30:53]:
I think those are already expectations.
Jimmy Purdy [00:30:56]:
That's like shots fired right there, huh?
Ashley Kaul [00:30:59]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:31:00]:
I think I just got half the listeners to, like, cringe a little bit.
Ashley Kaul [00:31:04]:
I mean, honestly, I don't know what tools cost. I don't know what.
Jimmy Purdy [00:31:08]:
You don't care either.
Ashley Kaul [00:31:09]:
Provide and I don't care. I. I'm hiring your services to fix my car, and I want to be able to trust you so I can bring it back and I don't have to ever shop around again. Shopping around for this, for services is not something you want to do every time something goes wrong with your car, your tires. I have been a loyal customer to America tires, which is now discount tires here in Las Vegas, but I've been loyal to them because I've never, since the moment, 16. I am now 34. For everyone listening, I have been going to America tires and which discount tire, whatever their entity, and I've never once had an issue. And, yeah, sometimes you have to wait a little bit, but that's the service that you pay for, you know, that's why it is, you know, the price the way that it is.
Ashley Kaul [00:32:07]:
And I've never had an issue. They've always done a phenomenal job. They've always been really kind and transparent. I mean, even to the point where, like, I couldn't bring in my car, and the guy's like, don't worry about it. Just, you got someone to help you. Can you take your tire off? And I'm like, yeah, actually, I can take the tire off. I can just bring in the tire. And he's like, yeah, bring in the tire.
Ashley Kaul [00:32:29]:
We got it. We'll take care of it. And then you can drop it off and pick it up after work. Like, they have been great. And so, like, that type of stuff is kind of.
Jimmy Purdy [00:32:37]:
They make it easy to do business.
Ashley Kaul [00:32:39]:
Yes, yes.
Jimmy Purdy [00:32:40]:
Give you the solutions to your problems, even though it might just seem common sense to the rest of us. Right?
Ashley Kaul [00:32:46]:
Yes.
Jimmy Purdy [00:32:47]:
And it's like you said, the systems and processes, all they do is tires, right?
Ashley Kaul [00:32:51]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:32:51]:
And so they don't go outside the lines. This is what we do. We do it well. And they have it down. They. The expectations are there. Right. There's no, there's nothing that changes, which makes it easy for them.
Jimmy Purdy [00:33:01]:
So in the service industry, in the auto industry, like, not a whole lot to go wrong with tires. You price tires. They come in, they buy the tires, and that the price isn't really going to change. Right. But that's important. Like, with all services, like, if you quote something, make sure the processes are in place to make sure that if there's a change, you're notified as the consumer. Well, before, like, the fires started. Right.
Jimmy Purdy [00:33:21]:
Like, we're running into a little bit of a snag right now. Just wanted to know, notify you before things go sideways might be a little, and then, you know, we'll get back to you with the difference. But that's all it takes, right?
Ashley Kaul [00:33:31]:
Mm hmm. Mm hmm. And you mentioned something earlier that sticks, which is really circling back to, you hired them for a service. And so, like, if I was to hire your company for a service, I'm going in knowing that, and it's like, what else can you offer? Like, I'm hiring you for that. Okay. Is it just that, or is it, you know, like, hey, on your fifth time in, we'll give you a free evaluation or whatever, you know, it may be, or, like, we can look at whatever those rewards. So I think, like, marketing wise, like, it's always cool to see, like, what extra can I get by you after we've already kind of built that trust.
Jimmy Purdy [00:34:14]:
Yeah. Like, rewards programs.
Ashley Kaul [00:34:15]:
Rewards programs. Loyalty. Like, to kind of retain, you know, that retention, you know, like, I don't know if discount. I haven't priced tires out ever, to be honest. I've been going to american tire my whole life. Don't know. But I've never had to price out. Like, I never felt like.
Ashley Kaul [00:34:33]:
I. I felt like, hey, this is an expense. I if it goes up, I just, you know, write off that, hey, tires are now this price instead of this price. And that's just what I budget for. And, you know, I don't have a reason. And they kind of circle back. They check in. I get reminders for, hey, your service is due.
Ashley Kaul [00:34:51]:
Whatever, whatever, right. And so stuff like that, like, providing those services to retain them, to make them, hey, just a reminder, you know, we did this service for you. You know, did you want to look back at anything else or. I don't know. Like, I don't know much about cars, as you can probably tell, but you.
Jimmy Purdy [00:35:10]:
Know how to find yourself some good tires, though.
Ashley Kaul [00:35:12]:
I guess so.
Jimmy Purdy [00:35:13]:
I can find good tires.
Ashley Kaul [00:35:16]:
But. But you know what I mean? Like, I didn't price around for tires.
Jimmy Purdy [00:35:19]:
I. Yeah, retention.
Ashley Kaul [00:35:21]:
I got service.
Jimmy Purdy [00:35:22]:
You know, retention is obviously. I mean, that's topic I wanted to get into because that's. That's a big one, and it has everything to do with marketing, right. Because what's the point of spending money if you can't have a client that's. That comes back. Now, in your industry, is that something that you market for? I mean, I feel like. And that's the same thing. We had that same parallel.
Jimmy Purdy [00:35:43]:
Right. Like. And I just assumed, like, with a lot of, like, home services, that there is no retention programs, right? Like h vac or. Or plumbing. Like, if someone's got a leak, they call a plumber, and then hopefully, you don't have a leak for, like, ten years. Right? So what's the point of doing retention, right? But then what if. What if the toilet gets plugged? Right? What if the sink gets plugged? What if the garbage disposal goes out? Like, there's so many other things that I think you were mentioning. There's, like, there's a lot of other things that pop up that we want to make sure we're always front of the mind.
Jimmy Purdy [00:36:12]:
So it's like, even with landscape, I want to redo my whole front yard. And I'm like, well, what else would they possibly need? They did the landscape, and they're. And now you're on to the next new acquisition customer, but you're like, no, no, no. We. Like. We got to retain them, too, right?
Ashley Kaul [00:36:24]:
Yeah. Oh, yeah. So, like, for. For your industry, you know, if you look at the customers that you get, you know, like, you do a great job, and someone goes, hey, who helped you with that problem you had last week? Or, hey, do you know a good guy? That's how you pretend to. That's how you retain your customers is really off of word of mouth and making sure you do that follow up. Hey, were you satisfied? You know, can you help provide any feedback on how to make your experience better? You know, those little things, they may not ever tell you. They may never. There's something that I like to call silent marketing, and we do a lot of.
Ashley Kaul [00:37:05]:
It happens a lot in our industry because we deal with a lot of, you know, partners and dealers and vendors and contractors and architects and designers and engineers and building designers, and a lot of the time, they don't ever respond, but they read it. And so you just have to have that one sentence hook to hook them in to read the rest. And they don't have to respond by them just reading it. They've read your service, and that they know if they ever have a problem, that they could reach out, that the door will always be open. And so sometimes, and that's that silent part of marketing. You're silently marketing to them that, hey, how was your service? We'd love to hear your feedback. Your opinion matters to us, and everybody likes to be heard, even though they don't maybe shy or may not want to say or have the time. Right.
Ashley Kaul [00:37:57]:
To respond back and say, hey, this is how I feel. Whatever, whatever. But the fact that you asked and just planted that seed, like, oh, they care. You know, like, okay, that's. That's great. I'm glad they asked.
Jimmy Purdy [00:38:09]:
As long as it's. As long as it's genuine, though, right?
Ashley Kaul [00:38:12]:
Correct, correct.
Jimmy Purdy [00:38:13]:
Yeah, yeah.
Ashley Kaul [00:38:14]:
And it has to be the right situation. So, like you said about, you know, our industry, where we have, you know, typically a lot of our clients are one time use. Right. They have you. Maybe you'll get a second time you. So we have. Our bread and butter is our, you know, hardscaping in the front yard. You got driveway, walkway, stairways, all that fun stuff, retaining walls, fencing, stuff of that nature.
Ashley Kaul [00:38:40]:
But then we hope to win the backyard eventually when they have, you know, maybe money, time, resources, you know, all of that jazz. So that's kind of why we always, you know, try to focus on that retention. And also, too, is we want the expansion to be a positive experience. So our goal is really to let. Our main purpose is so that everybody can live outside well, and our goal is to be the whole backyard. So. And that means if you're not just looking for hardscape, if you're looking for soft scapes, like landscaping or, you know, if you're looking for decking, providing that as an option, or fencing or lighting, you know, it's. It's really encompasses everything.
Ashley Kaul [00:39:29]:
Hey, you need pool work. Hey, reach out to us. We got. We got a company for you, you know, and so encompassing all that, we have a lot to be to retain with our customers that they may not know that we offer, and so. And we don't know how they came to know about us, you know? Right. That's the thing about marketing, is you do a lot of marketing, and sometimes you don't know every customer and how they came your way, especially because we sell through distribution where, you know, we're a b, two b business. And so it makes kind of finding those analytics a little more challenging. Whereas for you, it's a little easier because you're dealing, you know, b, two, c, you got straight to that consumer and you can ask them any question you want, which is very valuable information at your fingertips and it's just how you use it and that's how, you know, with marketing, it's just how you use that valuable in that valuable information that you're getting, you know, through capturing these generating leads.
Ashley Kaul [00:40:29]:
Right? Or I guess it starts with branding, then you generate leads which turn into sales, which then gives you insights to your analytics. You know, it's just like it comes full circle and then once it comes to that analytics, that's not all. Where's that retention to bring you right back up to that next branding lead, you know? And so I just think it's really, really important that I think a lot of companies miss is that follow up. One thing that we do a lot of is surveying. We do a lot of surveys and we just say, hey, you got anywhere from one to three minutes. We'd love to hear how we could have made your experience better. And it's super important to make it as easy as possible and as transparent as possible so they don't feel like they got to go through a lot of questions. And you never make anything mandatory or else people will be like, ah, I didn't want to fill that out.
Ashley Kaul [00:41:20]:
Forget it, I'm out. You know, so you always make it. Just whatever you're willing to share will take. And I've seen a lot of success among that, you know, but, yeah, those are just some of the ways that we've seen.
Jimmy Purdy [00:41:36]:
The one thing you keep bringing up is the experience. And I think that's what's really missed a lot of. And, and that's what we want. That's what you want. That's what I mean, whether you think so or not, you, when you go somewhere, you want an experience. When you buy something online, when you open that box up, you want an experience. Like, it's just like this psychological thing, right? And it's, it's like, how do I give a better experience? And then you brought up the fact that we have the consumers in our office, right, like, at our disposal to ask these questions and we don't like, it's, it's, it's not a fun conversation and it's almost like cold calling. Like, I don't want to, like, call people all day.
Jimmy Purdy [00:42:20]:
That's like, terrible. Right? But it's true. When you, when you deal from the aspect, when you're b, two b or business to business, you don't get to see the final end product, and you don't get that feedback that could be so critical in helping marketing. And for you, just doing the marketing aspect, you're like, man, I want to get my teeth into that, right? As the owner of the shop, it's like, I'm busy this week, so I think I'm doing all right, right? Like, and I put my marketing hat on 2 hours or 3 hours a week, and I'm like, okay, I'll do my thing. And then all right back. Now put my next hat on, right? And so I don't really spend a lot of time, and I don't really see that, that aspect of it. So it's interesting because it's like, I do have the exact person that I'm marketing towards. Literally in my office right now, I could ask all the questions to, and I just don't.
Jimmy Purdy [00:43:08]:
And I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering, how do I get the next one right? And it's like, well, the answer could be right there if you go ask the right questions.
Ashley Kaul [00:43:16]:
Correct, correct. And, you know, obviously, you can automate a lot of that, too. You know, after everyone comes, you swipe their card, it's completed, and then, boom, in 24 hours, they get a follow up email or whatever that may look at, you know, and then, and then depending on, you know, how much foot traffic you got, if you feel like, you know, sometimes there's customers that, you know, like, hey, I probably need to see you again within a certain amount of time. Like, you know, setting up that follow up and just making them a priority, I think is important. And, you know, unfortunately, you know, that's what, that's what salespeople are for, not the owner. But prior to me working for the company, I work now, I worked for a family owned business, and in that family owned business, same industry, hardscape building products. And in this family owned business, the president would answer phone calls, would run outside to help a customer. If there was a customer out there, he's like, no, no, no, I got it.
Ashley Kaul [00:44:23]:
Let me, let me do this. Like, he wanted to go talk to people. And, you know, he was the first person to help me with marketing initiatives. You know, he believed in me. They never had marketing within their company, you know, because they were smaller, small, small business with big dollars. Right? And, and I convinced him, I'm saying, look, please, let me help you. Let me help you. Like, I can do this.
Ashley Kaul [00:44:50]:
Like, I went to school for this. Like I know I can. And he was the first person to help me, you know, get to where I needed to be while also getting the company to where they needed to be. And I think it was the first time I really opened his eyes that, like, hey, we don't need to have a budget. Like, our budget was nothing compared to our competitors. We were competing with national businesses that, you know, were multi, were, you know, that their income was, you know, tons and tons greater than ours, you know, but we owned our market, and we owned our market for a reason. We were not the most or the cheapest product on the shelves. We were actually the most expensive by a lot, you know? And so with that, it just shows how important service is.
Ashley Kaul [00:45:44]:
And that was what we pride ourselves on, is service, and how can we capitalize on other people's marketing? So for the shops out there that don't have a big marketing spend or in your case, you know, a lot of time and hours to be putting in, it's, you know, I kind of ask yourself is how can you capitalize on other auto, you know, shops and what they do and how you can kind of bring that to the table. And that's what I did is I looked at what they were doing because I knew we can never spend what they could, right? Like, they had millions of dollars for their budget and I had my salary and maybe, you know, 50,000 for the year. You know, that's nothing. When I'm printing catalogs two times a year and, you know, we're printing 50,000 catalogs and, you know, it's in all the marketing material to even make sure we stay relevant and our names are.
Jimmy Purdy [00:46:40]:
On the shelves, the thousands of products that are on the shelves that you have to.
Ashley Kaul [00:46:44]:
Exactly. So it's, it's kind of like I had to really sit down and analyze, okay, we're never going to have that. So I can't compete with that. But what I can do is when people, when consumers and customers see their ads and see their marketing campaigns, where are they going to buy the products? And I saw that they were going to distribution because that's what we do. And we had mutual distribution centers where a distribution center would sell multiple brands. So I looked at that and I said, okay, I know what we're going to do. We're going to invest a lot of time having our sales reps meet all the dealers needs, Beck and call, whatever they needed. They had basically their one on one sales rep to be in there at their door to provide this service that I know this national company could not maintain.
Ashley Kaul [00:47:44]:
And. But we could.
Jimmy Purdy [00:47:46]:
So a more personalized service. Direct.
Ashley Kaul [00:47:49]:
Yes. And that's what we did and the relationships that we built. I mean, we were the preferred dealer in the top three largest dealers in northern California. And, you know, we made it very difficult for a lot of our competitors to come into our market. Granted, we were a small, you know, northern California, 200 miles radius ish. We tried to stay within the territory that we could service. You know, if somebody in Oregon called us and said, hey, you know, and this is where integrity and honesty is so important in the all lines of work and personal life is really making sure that, hey, can I give them the same service in Oregon as I can the guy in San Jose? No. So I need to do what's right.
Ashley Kaul [00:48:47]:
And what's right is to be like, hey, let me give you some contacts in Oregon. There's some great products out there. Unfortunately, that's out of our sales sales territory. If you really want our product, you know, you can purchase through one of our dealers down here. But unfortunately, we're unable to service you. So I want you to be able to have, you know, what you deserve for what you pay for by purchasing a good product that is, you know, that is in your territory, and we're.
Jimmy Purdy [00:49:17]:
Stepping out of your lane. Right. Like, yeah, just do what you do and don't over complicate yourself.
Ashley Kaul [00:49:23]:
And we would do that with SoCal, you know, like, we. We would do that many times with. With, you know, La, Orange county. There's plenty of, you know, building material manufacturers that down that way, and we never stepped in that territory. We always, you know, direct competitors, but always gave them the business because that's without. We wanted to excel in one thing, and that is service. And ultimately that circled back to. To have to being successful based off a family owned and operated business, you know, where we had to provide a value since we knew we weren't the cheapest, we weren't the cheapest product out there.
Jimmy Purdy [00:50:04]:
So value add. We had to create a value add. And that's. That's. That is so. It's just crazy how much that resonates and relates to all services, but specifically the auto industry as well. Because your door rate. Right.
Jimmy Purdy [00:50:23]:
Everyone wants to raise your rates. Everyone wants to have a higher hourly rate. So then you can pay your technicians more. Right. We're starting guys at 45, $50 an hour. If your door rates $150 an hour, what, you had 15 on top for the government. Right. You're almost splitting your door rate with your top guy.
Jimmy Purdy [00:50:42]:
Right. And you can't do that. You can't be sustainable. So you need to raise your rates. Well, if you raise your rates and you have the same services you did before, most, most of your clients are going to come in and expect a price and expect a service, and it's not going to be there anymore. Right. Because now the price has gone up, but the service hasn't gone up either. But if they walk in and it smells a little nicer, it's a little bit cleaner.
Jimmy Purdy [00:51:03]:
They got Fiji water and the refrigerator. Right? Like, that's all it takes. Like, oh, it's a little bit nicer in here. And they get the bill. It's a little bit higher. Oh, well, I guess that makes sense, right? And just like, value add, like, yep. Answer your phone call. Like, they call you a couple times a day, let you know what the progress is going.
Jimmy Purdy [00:51:21]:
So if you add a little bit more of a price, how do you value add? How do we, how do we match that price to make sure people are still comfortable with it?
Ashley Kaul [00:51:30]:
What are you currently doing now to be a value add to your I customers?
Jimmy Purdy [00:51:35]:
Lots. I mean, it's, it's, it's ever evolving. Right? And, like, as the marketing goes on and as we continue to fine tune the numbers, it's adding. It's adding communication. Right. Having two service advisors making sure that we're doing calls the day of, the day before the appointment. Right. Making sure that during, yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:51:56]:
Hey, hey, just so you let you know, you made an appointment and it's tomorrow, so don't forget. And then, and then we shoot them a text and shoot them an email. Like that alone. Like, it's, like, that's part of the SOP, part of our procedures for the advisors in the office to go through. Right. During the day if we don't have an update, if we're working through this project and we all know, like, hey, so this is a ten hour job. We're gonna have it for a couple days. Just want to let you know we're starting it tomorrow.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:20]:
Right. Well, at the end of tomorrow, you're gonna get a phone call. Hey, I know we've discussed that you're not getting your car back today, but just wanna let you know we're making good progress on it and I'll let you be in contact tomorrow. Another big one. It's a no no update. Update is what we call it. Right when they come in, make sure it's clean. Make sure, like, you answer the phone with a smile.
Jimmy Purdy [00:52:40]:
Like it. It's important. Little things that like, make sure that the phone calls are always answered, that there's always communication, that we're calling before they call us. And that's a big one. Right? And using text, email, we just added a new scheduler where you can click, you know, on Google, it'll, you can schedule and it's, it pops up and actually you can schedule online without having to call anybody. I mean, in the auto industry, it is just crazy. You'd be blown away. How many, how many new technologies are being put out there to try to make the experience better, for one.
Jimmy Purdy [00:53:12]:
So part of our experience is like having the digital vehicle inspection. When we look at your car, we take pictures of everything. We write everything down, but then you have access to that repair order at the live while we're going through it. So you can actually see, hey, they took four pictures of my car. They took a picture of what's broken. Oh, that component sees broken. There's three pictures. This is what it's supposed to look like.
Jimmy Purdy [00:53:33]:
This is how much to fix that, to make it look like that. And that's what you see on your phone in real time. And then you can approve that service, or you can say, no, I'll wait for later. And you don't talk to anybody. You can just approve it right there on the phone.
Ashley Kaul [00:53:44]:
Yeah. And that circles back to what I said about the trust. And finding a place that you can trust is having that transparency, you know, while also not having the pressure. You're, I guess you'd say you're fostering the transparency. Right, and the trust. And by allowing your customer to make that decision without feeling the pressure of, like, someone literally standing there and they're just like, okay, you know, like that. That's an important factor in the fact that you're adding that value add. I see that being very, very successful in your industry.
Jimmy Purdy [00:54:22]:
Now, one, one big thing, too with marketing is like, you can make the phone ring, right? But if you're not able to capture that lead. So if you don't have someone that's answering the phone after you do that marketing the correct way, that's another big problem, too. Right? And just like you said, with the pressure, we do this. I mean, you know, we run through 20 cars a day, so it's just a process over and over and over and over. But for you coming in, this is the first time you've been in a year. First time you've been in maybe two years. Right. So it's all new.
Ashley Kaul [00:54:53]:
Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:54:53]:
And that's where a lot of disconnect I think happens too. Do you see that as a problem as well? When you're marketing and then you, like, you get these leads, but then they don't convert. Is that, is that an issue?
Ashley Kaul [00:55:04]:
Oh, yes. I mean, there's all that's always going to be, that's always going to be a challenge. And I think the best way to overcome that is to continue evolving and changing your approaches, whether that's in your case, it would be extending service hours, finding ways to engage with these people to convert that lead. Okay, give me an example so that I can.
Jimmy Purdy [00:55:39]:
No, it's interesting. It's interesting you said that because that's, that's a, that is one, like extending the hours being open on Saturday. It's a lot of things like that. And just like you said, like, you nailed it. How do I make it easier or how do I capture those leads? Because you can be marketing to them, but they don't get off till 530 or they, they need an early drop off. Like, I go to work at seven. How am I supposed to get my car there? Go make it easy. Have loaner cars, have ways of shuttle services open every other Saturday maybe.
Jimmy Purdy [00:56:09]:
And I think that's a big one that's lost, too, because, you know, we want to be open. We want our weekends. Right. But then you're also looking at marketing. How do I capture more leads? We'll be open a Saturday and see how that works out. And that's an interesting thing that you said that because that's one of the things that, you know, in this industry we're talking about as well. A lot of guys are going to 410s. That's a big one.
Jimmy Purdy [00:56:29]:
Right. We talked about that. The schedule to retain more employees. Well, what about the clients, though? Like, so if you're only open four days a week and you're missing Friday and Saturday, there's a lot of opportunity you're missing there. So maybe rotate that schedule. Right. So you're open eight days a week, but, but you're, you have crews that are there for four days, things like that. Outside of the box.
Ashley Kaul [00:56:49]:
It's like, when's, when's your most busy day?
Jimmy Purdy [00:56:53]:
Oh, through the week. Mondays would probably be by far. I mean, usually the weekend kills a lot of cars.
Ashley Kaul [00:57:00]:
Okay. Okay. So then it seems like it wouldn't hurt to not be open on the weekend, you know, and, and maybe take an approach of, you know, vocalizing, surveying, you know, like why you have the hours you have, you know, like nobody really knows. They just assume, oh, they're not open. That's weird. But, you know, it's like, no, we take pride in our employees, and, you know, we want to support our employees initiatives to having a personal life while at work, while also, you know, for their mental health as well. And I'm sure it's very relatable to your community that, you know, knowing why you do certain things is also important, you know?
Jimmy Purdy [00:57:49]:
Yeah. So instead of having just your hours posted, you would put a message, we're closed on the weekends. Because x, y, and z. Yeah, yeah. And that would. That would resonate. That would resonate with you, right. As a consumer, if you're looking around and then you're like, oh, they're closed on Saturday.
Jimmy Purdy [00:58:05]:
That's my only day. But if you're like, oh, we're closed on Saturdays. Cause our. Our employees like to take their kids to the soccer game.
Ashley Kaul [00:58:11]:
Exactly. And then they're like, oh, wow, this company cares about their employees. Like that shit, I wish mine did. You know, like, stuff like that.
Jimmy Purdy [00:58:20]:
I mean, you know, maybe I'll wait till Monday.
Ashley Kaul [00:58:22]:
Sorry.
Jimmy Purdy [00:58:23]:
Maybe. Maybe I'll wait. Maybe I'll wait till Monday.
Ashley Kaul [00:58:25]:
Maybe I'll wait till Monday. Or, you know, like, you have, like.
Jimmy Purdy [00:58:30]:
That'S that silent marketing you're talking about, because you don't have no idea that that that just worked. Yeah.
Ashley Kaul [00:58:35]:
Yes. And it's. And it's. But it's impactful, you know? And. And it's like. It's like, hey, I called you on Saturday, but I guess you guys aren't open for, you know, because your employees want to take their kids. I like.
Jimmy Purdy [00:58:48]:
That's interesting. You put that as your message on the weekends.
Ashley Kaul [00:58:51]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [00:58:52]:
Like, that's interesting. I think I'm actually gonna use that.
Ashley Kaul [00:58:56]:
There's a way.
Jimmy Purdy [00:58:57]:
I just learned something.
Ashley Kaul [00:58:58]:
We gotta humanize all these businesses. You know, like, they're all up, but at the end of the day, they're just everyday people like you and me not knowing shit about cars and meeting someone who does know everything about cars and who is the expert. I always tell my boyfriend. I always go, I can't be good at everything. Okay. So there's some things that I'm just gonna have to outsource. And the car is one thing. And so it's like, when you outsource, you just want to know that you have that relationship that you can trust whoever you're with, that.
Ashley Kaul [00:59:32]:
That they're good people, you know? Like, everyone likes to give back to their community. I know you guys do a lot of work within your community. I think that is awesome. I think it's important. And people got to always. It's hard because we get lost in time and being busy. I mean, everybody says, busy, busy, busy. I use that excuse with you all the time.
Ashley Kaul [00:59:53]:
I'm so busy. Right? But it's like, at the end of the day, it's like we're all just people, and we're trying to live the best life we can. And how can we do that together? By recognizing that there's more to life than always working. You know, eight to six, maintain job just to pay your bills and wake up and do it all over again. And I think bringing it down to that community level is so important, and that's something I try so hard, considering we are such a big national company. I try so hard to relate it to that homeowner, relate it to even the homeowner, but even to our customers, you know, like, how it's like we're all people, you know? And whenever someone gets upset, it's like, you know, it's just concrete, you know?
Jimmy Purdy [01:00:50]:
Well, just like anything, it's just the car. It's just.
Ashley Kaul [01:00:53]:
Just.
Jimmy Purdy [01:00:53]:
It's just a meal.
Ashley Kaul [01:00:54]:
Like, you have your health. You have, you know, you have the six senses, like being pregnant, you know, I really realized I was very appreciative of my mobility, that I promised myself I would never take that for granted, you know, being able to wake up. And at that point, I was rolling out of bed, barely, but. But now getting up and getting out of bed, I'm like, wow, this is so easy compared to before. Like, I'm so grateful for those little things that you just wake up every day, just assuming you're gonna have. I just. I think it's always important to bring marketing back to just being honest and truthful and transparent. And sometimes you get lost in the foo foo and the.
Ashley Kaul [01:01:37]:
This is where. Who we want to be, but it's like, just be who you got to be. Like, who you are. Yeah, that's huge, you know, because you.
Jimmy Purdy [01:01:46]:
Can'T get away with that forever.
Ashley Kaul [01:01:47]:
No, no, no. And not only success, like, you, I'm sure, you know, like, eventually, at some point, that's. And that's where I feel like a lot of turnover happens, too, is like, you know, you lose faith in the people that are working for you. They lose faith into you. Then, you know, what does that look like to other people? Like, oh, what happened to. What happened to John? He's been. Where did he go? Or what happened to, you know, Rose? Like, where is she? Like, and when you're like, oh, she's no longer here. Like, they don't want to hear that.
Ashley Kaul [01:02:20]:
Yeah, they want to hear that she's on vacation with her. With her daughter, who just got married, you know? Like, they want.
Jimmy Purdy [01:02:27]:
It goes back, like you said, like, we. We all want to work, and we all want to outwork each other, and so it's. So I had a hard time just taking lunch for a long time. Right? Like, I've said this multiple times on the show. Like, I just can't. Like, I'd go out and eat my lunch real quick in the car, or I'd go hide in the corner and, like, eat as fast as I can. So no one saw me stopping. Like, I work 10 hours a day.
Jimmy Purdy [01:02:46]:
I'm here before anybody else. I leave after everybody else, and, like, I. Like, a badge of honor. Right? Like, I'm the hardest working one here. Right? And if I go on vacation. Yeah, exactly. And it's like, if I go on vacation, it was like, oh, I'm going to a technical seminar. I'm going to go learn.
Jimmy Purdy [01:03:01]:
I'm not going on vacation. Like, so it was like this weird thing, and it's. I still do it. Like, it's. And I feel like a lot of people do it. Like, they want that badge of honor to let everyone know I'm working all the time. I'm never taking a break. Right.
Jimmy Purdy [01:03:14]:
And it's just interesting because more often than not, the people that you're trying to project that to would actually be happier for you if you were like, actually, I'm going to Fiji for a week to go enjoy myself, right? I had a really good year, and I'm going to vacation. Like, that's awesome, man. Like, we don't. Like, it's so weird because I would be happy if I heard that from a business that I did business with. Like, right on, dude. You're taking all your guys to go to vacation. And meanwhile, he's thinking, well, I got to make sure I tell him it's a technical seminar. I'm like, oh, that sucks.
Jimmy Purdy [01:03:42]:
You're just going all the way to features just to work again. Like, it's just weird, isn't it? Like, it's so strange.
Ashley Kaul [01:03:48]:
Yes. And I feel like. I feel like maybe that's an opportunity, like, what I do with my employees, it's an opportunity for empowerment. Hey, I'm going to go to lunch. Like, this is. This is your turn. You know, you empower employees to take leads, you know, be leaders, you know, especially when you're gone and on vacation, you know, like, hey, I'm going to take a vacation. Like, do you want an opportunity? Like, I feel like you're ready.
Ashley Kaul [01:04:17]:
Do you feel like you're ready? I want to empower you in a leadership role, you know, and pass that. And when people see that, you know, they're like, wow, like, cool, you know, like, it's not just all about, like, him being the boss or, you know, whatever. I always tell my employees that this is a partnership. If you fail, I fail. And so if you're ever not feeling empowered, I'm not feeling empowered. You know, like, it's my job to make sure that my employees are happy and that obviously mental health is a big thing for me. Like, I want to make sure the pressures of life and everything, like, we are a team, and some people are, like yourself, are afraid to ask for help. They'll just do it themselves.
Ashley Kaul [01:05:02]:
They have something to prove, you know, that. You know, that's how I think I was in the beginning. But then once I got my marketing role, I was like, I got this. I hooked them. Now I just have to prove it. And how can I do this? I had to. I had to really focus on empowering the people around me to support me because I can't do it alone. You can never do it alone.
Ashley Kaul [01:05:22]:
And I think so much in tech is so segued and siloed that, like, you get hired to do one job and you are not looking at anybody else and you're like, oh, you're not my boss. Like, I don't work with you. Like, I'm told to do this and only this. Like, whereas there's these other services and businesses where they offer a little more, where you're not going to just do one thing, you're going to do x, y and z. And if you want more, let me know, and I'll empower you to. To be that leader of, you know, more responsibility. And it's important to me to make sure everyone feels heard. And I.
Ashley Kaul [01:06:00]:
And part of my marketing plan, and I make a point is an IDP, which is, you know, individual development plans. And I, since I've been back from maternity leave, I've already done two, and I've only been back since June, but because I was out, I owed it to my employees that they heard from me twice. You know, I was out for some time. I needed to catch up. We caught up, and then I had to circle back with adjustments and, and make sure that we were both on the same page as far as where they see themselves, where they want to be in the company, you know, it's really, really important. And just in life, like, it doesn't even have to be about the company, you know? Like, in life, where do you see yourself? Where do you want to be, you know? And I know in a smaller business like yours, it makes growth a little more challenging. Right. And I come from that.
Ashley Kaul [01:06:57]:
Right. So there's a soft spot in my heart for that. Like, I accepted that I probably would never move up in any way from being a marketing manager, you know? And it wasn't that I accepted it. It was more that there were other opportunities that I know I can learn and apply myself to, that maybe I won't have the title that other people may get at these bigger companies, but that experience and that empowerment and knowing that, like, I owned this project, I owned, you know, this initiative, I think, is honestly means more to me than any title ever would. And so I always find that important to circle that back and pay it forward to any employees that are under my management. So with that being said, how do you, you know, encourage and. And really ultimately empower your employer, employers to, you know, want to do more and want to grow with you and your company?
Jimmy Purdy [01:08:08]:
Yeah, that's. That's the question, right. That's, like, day one leadership, right? Every day. Every. Every day is day one to be the leader that you want to be. Right. But, like, what is that? What is that? And that's. And that's hard.
Jimmy Purdy [01:08:22]:
And it's really hard. As. As, like, owner operator. Most. Most are technicians, turn shop owners. Right. So we know how to fix the cars. And you hire someone that doesn't do it as good as you, and you just want to step in and do it.
Jimmy Purdy [01:08:35]:
Right. Um, and I feel like it's almost easier to not be automotively automotive inclined. Like, have no experience fixing cars and run the business. Like, that's kind of like, where my eyes are opening now, right? To the point where, like, man, if I didn't really know how to fix cars, I could really just focus on building systems and getting the right employees to make sure things move smoothly. Right. But on the flip side of that, I wouldn't be where I am if I didn't know how to fix cars, right. Because I can step in and I can fix them if something goes sideways. So it's like, it's a super sharp, double edged sword, right? Like, oh, man.
Jimmy Purdy [01:09:09]:
So what is the leadership role I want to be? Well, it's always about how. How you were raised or how I was raised. Right. And. And you're, you know, we grew up together, so it was a little hard nose. Right? Like, yep. And you just retrained. Like, if you didn't do it right, you got smacked around a little bit, and then you did it.
Jimmy Purdy [01:09:28]:
Right, you know? And it's like, that doesn't work anymore. And so there's no base. Like, I have no foundation to, like, build off of, which is really difficult to, like. Well, honestly, I want to be in the position where they feel comfortable talking to me. Yeah, but it's very awkward, and you don't want to force that conversation either. Right. And you nailed it on the head with, like, it's way more about just day to day work. Right.
Jimmy Purdy [01:09:53]:
For a long time, it was like, hey, when you're here, it's work. Then I give you your paycheck, and our relationship is. That's our transaction. Right? Like, you're here to work, I give you a paycheck, and that's. That's the end of the line. Right. And it's like, holy, I was wrong. Like, yeah, that's.
Jimmy Purdy [01:10:08]:
That's way, way, way. Like, not who I should be or want to be, but it's like, when you're stressed and you're trying to run a business and you're trying to do all these other things, and it's like, you hire someone to do a job and you treat your employee as if. Like we were talking about with the service industry coming to your house to fix a plumbing, like something. You. You treat. You treat your employees as that transactional, like, service professional. You're like, hey, I hired you to do a job, so you're gonna fix this car, right? And then I pay you, and it's like, it's totally 180 degrees different than, like, your employee. Does that make sense? Like, yeah.
Jimmy Purdy [01:10:40]:
So it's, like, had it all wrong, right? And I've. And I've realized, luckily, years ago, that I had it wrong. And that's important because that's, like, step one, realizing I'm doing it wrong. So how do I do it differently, right? And, like, just like you said, finding out who they are, you know, with what's going on with their kids and all that other stuff, is, like, that's what's really important moving forward, you know, and learning about them and their dreams and ambitions, getting them to tell you that is a completely different, you know, ballgame.
Ashley Kaul [01:11:14]:
Yes. Not everybody is going to be. I feel like people struggle vocalizing because they don't know if it's a safe space. And. And I get it, because, like, you. You have. You can only say so much to your boss, right? Like, yeah, your boss is cool, your friends, but then at the same time, it's like, he is my boss. There are certain things I can say, certain things I can't, you know, and.
Ashley Kaul [01:11:44]:
And it's like, where's that line, right? Like, where's that line of comfortability?
Jimmy Purdy [01:11:48]:
But does there really even need to be a line? Right? And I think it comes down to the people, right? Like, if you have the right people there really, you shouldn't have to draw the line. It should be a mutual understanding, right? Like, there's got to be a level of respect. Like, yeah, you're not going to have a six pack in the fridge and just drink a beer whenever you want throughout the day. Like, yeah, I know we hang out, we have a good time, but that's. That's not. That's not cool. Like, how. How did you think.
Jimmy Purdy [01:12:12]:
How did we get there? Like, why is this. You know what I mean? No, you're not going to, like, call me in the middle of the night and, like. Like weird stuff like that, right? And it's like, that's. That's that PTSD or those. Those problems that you happen in your life and then you just get jaded and you. And you're like, nope, I'm not letting that ever happen again. So now I'm going to draw this metaphorical line and I'm not. We're going to cross that.
Jimmy Purdy [01:12:32]:
We're never going to talk further than inside the business. Like, we're not going to go hang out because I don't want to build that relationship and have someone do that to me again. And it's like, well, that was just that one person, maybe, you know?
Ashley Kaul [01:12:43]:
Exactly. Yeah. You can't put every. Every situation needs to be in its own box, right? And you take. You know, you take the lessons learned from that one situation and you try to make it better. Like, hmm, maybe my approach was too friendly, you know? Like, maybe I. There was a better way for me to handle it. You know, there has to be some ownership on both.
Ashley Kaul [01:13:07]:
On both sides. But the one thing I find. I find really important to this, that circles back to marketing, is your employees are a representation of your business and your reputation. And so one thing I always, always, always tell my team, whenever I hire anyone new, I always tell them that it, you know, it's a famous quote from Warren Buffett. And I guess I'll leave on this note. We can chat a little bit, but it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. And if you think about that, you know things differently. And I'm a strong believer that, I mean, every single employee that ended up leaving or going on to better opportunities or having, you know, retirement or, you know, all the exciting life changes.
Ashley Kaul [01:14:17]:
And when they end up moving away from the business, I always want to make sure that there is a good relationship there that they know. They can always call, they can always come visit, and that was really, really important to, to my. To the old business that I worked for and keep the emotions out of it all. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry. But it's important because, like, from a sales perspective and a marketing perspective.
Jimmy Purdy [01:14:51]:
Yeah.
Ashley Kaul [01:14:52]:
And a pissed off employee can do just as much damage as a pissed off customer.
Jimmy Purdy [01:14:57]:
Yeah.
Ashley Kaul [01:14:57]:
Especially with the Internet. And so it's never an intention to ruin a relationship or to make somebody unhappy, but sometimes it happens, and it's all about your approach. That's where I find it important, is that it's important to make sure that you take the time to think before you speak while also keeping in mind.
Jimmy Purdy [01:15:26]:
While also speaking your mind. Think before you speak.
Ashley Kaul [01:15:29]:
I didn't say that.
Jimmy Purdy [01:15:30]:
But. But speak. Speak from the heart. Maybe not. Well, then they got the shame, too. Like, if they leave and they think the grass is greener and it's not, and you're not in good terms, they're definitely not coming back to you. Right. Like, because what are you gonna do? Shove it in their face? Told you you weren't gonna like it.
Jimmy Purdy [01:15:46]:
Right. So, like, get past your ego, leave.
Ashley Kaul [01:15:49]:
And come right back.
Jimmy Purdy [01:15:50]:
Yeah. Well, if you set it up. Right, right. Like, a lot of people leave, and then they're shameful because they. That wasn't what they thought it was going to be, and now they feel like they can't go back. Right. Because that opportunity wasn't there, that that ego was on the table. Like, you're leaving me for what? You know, you're not going to like it there.
Jimmy Purdy [01:16:08]:
You say that they leave and they don't like it there. Well, they're definitely not coming back. Oh, yes, master, you were right. I hate it over there. Can you please take me back? Like, nobody's going to do that. Right? Like, that's crazy. So that's an important note for sure.
Ashley Kaul [01:16:21]:
No, definitely. And it. It helps, too, with knowing, you know, it, how you treat your employees is how you ultimately end up treating your customers, you know? And so it's like, I. You know, I hate to say it, because, you know, the customer is always right, but it's. It's used to a different definition. It's not a literal, it's a favorite figurative way of speech that it's like, no, just listen to them. And most of the time, they're running on high emotion. You're not.
Ashley Kaul [01:16:57]:
So it's a perfect opportunity to listen to what they have to say and create solutions. Start running solutions in your head instead of pointing. Well, sorry, we don't do that. Well, no, there's gray areas, and there has to be a little bit in business because, you know, like, hey, you delivered this and they're all broken. Oh, well, that's not our problem. It's. It's probably because the truck didn't have proper airbags. You know, like, that's not going to.
Jimmy Purdy [01:17:25]:
Go over very well, huh?
Ashley Kaul [01:17:26]:
No. So it's like, yeah, we don't really replace material, but in this case, like, if everything showed up damaged, like, we need to investigate this. But first we need to take care of the customer. Do we like it? No, but this is just a cost of doing business. And same, same with you, you know, like, someone probably doesn't show up to work and, you know, they had a job to do. I'm sure you're stepping in and people are covering, and y'all are trying to get it done so that the customer doesn't feel it. Right?
Jimmy Purdy [01:17:59]:
Well, I had an example today where someone came in, and this was a couple weeks back, where we had an assessment and a diagnosis that the transmission was bad. And so they took it upon themselves to replace the transmission, didn't fix their problem. So they went to another shop, and they found the exhaust was plugged up, replaced the catalytic converter, fixed the car, and now he's on the road. Well, obviously, he's upset because we were wrong. Right. And, of course, the first thoughts in the head is like, well, why don't you bring it back to us, you know, after. Or, like, how do I know that the transmission didn't fix part of the problem? Was there two different problems going on, right? And so as the technician and as the ego starts coming in, like, wait a second here, like, we know what we're doing. And so the conversation is in my head going along like that, right? And at the end of the day, it's like, it doesn't matter.
Jimmy Purdy [01:18:47]:
Like, it doesn't matter, like, what I think or what really happened. The most important things he came back to tell us. And that was the first thing, like, dude, thanks for coming. Like, letting us know. Right? Like, step one. Like, dude, this is like, like, super valuable information. Like, I appreciate you coming back and at least telling us how do we make it right. Well, I want my money back for the assessment.
Jimmy Purdy [01:19:07]:
And I think we did a trans service or something to try to help. I'm like, you know what? That's fair. Like, that's absolutely fair. Like, and we may. Who knows? Like, it's all. Who knows? Who knows if what we said was right. But the main thing, and you didn't give us the opportunity to come back or to reassess it or you just took it upon yourself. And it's not like you have all these, all these things, right? Like, yep.
Jimmy Purdy [01:19:29]:
Well, you didn't get. We didn't diagnose it because you didn't give us enough time. It doesn't matter. He's back here. He's mildly upset, which he should be because he was told something. He did what he should have told to fix it. Right. As, like, a non car person.
Jimmy Purdy [01:19:42]:
That's how you see it, right? Well, you told me it was this part. I had that part replaced. It didn't fix it, and that's it. And I got to look at it that way, and it's like, all right, well, here's your money back. And, you know, I was thinking about with that, too, is reaching back out to him and saying, you know what? Whatever the cost of that transmission was, I want to split it with you, and I want to give you that as a credit. Credit to come back to the shop, you know, and, like, use that as a creative opportunity instead of getting pissed off at the guys. Like, how did you misdiagnose this? Right? Like, and you have all these things, like, in your head, and you want to go, like, you know, rip someone's head off. Like, what do you talk? You know, I'll go to the other shop.
Jimmy Purdy [01:20:15]:
Like, how come you didn't call me, right? There's all these things that it's, like, you instantly want to do because you're upset because something went wrong, and it says, like, you know what? Let's get him taken care of. You got how much you want. Here you go. Done. Let's credit it back. And now how do I. How do I make a creative solution out of this? Like, can I give you a $1000 voucher to come back to the shop as a credit? Right. Something like that to help that.
Jimmy Purdy [01:20:38]:
Because it's like, that information was so valuable. Like, if I didn't know, I would have known that we misdiagnosed something. Right? Or we. We had this internal problem going on, and it's gonna happen. Like, I don't care. Like, I'll say it. Like, it happens. Like, we're not perfect.
Ashley Kaul [01:20:52]:
No, for sure. And that kind of circles back with that retention and, you know, how do I retain him even though he's mad and he probably is going to walk out of here never wanting to come back in the shop. And, you know, I think that's a great solution to not only retain him, but there's this stereotype, or there's this stereotypical view on the auto mechanic industry, and it's that they're all slimy and, you know, you can't. They can't be trusted. And I think by doing things like this, it helps build that brand trust.
Jimmy Purdy [01:21:34]:
And integrity, you know, standing behind what.
Ashley Kaul [01:21:36]:
You say, standing behind what you say and. And really making them say, hey, you know, like, I've had all these bad experiences. Like, this is a good one. If he ends up coming back and becomes your loyal customer moving forward, what a hell of a story he gets to tell.
Jimmy Purdy [01:21:53]:
Yeah.
Ashley Kaul [01:21:54]:
To all his family, friends.
Jimmy Purdy [01:21:56]:
Well, we can all. We can all do it good, right? Like, but what do you do when it goes bad? And that's what's important. Everyone's always waiting for the other part. Everyone's always waiting for the other foot to drop. Right? Like, you can deliver truckloads and truckloads of landscape material, right? But what happens when that one truckload shows up and it's all broken? Right? That's where you shine. Right? And that's where that, hey, this all came broken. And it's like, oh, man, we screwed up. Like, no, no, no.
Jimmy Purdy [01:22:20]:
This is a great opportunity to show what happens when something goes wrong and that we stand behind what we do to provide a better service than anybody else, because you know what that happens the next time they're looking for landscape materials, they're thinking in the back of the head, man, what if that truckload, you know, what if it comes broken? Well, I know this company will take care of it, no questions asked. So that's the worst case scenario. They took care of it, made it easy for me. I'm calling them.
Ashley Kaul [01:22:45]:
You nailed it. And that's exactly our mo, and that is the sales marketing that we do is how we service our customers is a big part of how we retain. You know, how we retain clients, really? Because our client is the installer. Right? Or. Well, I guess our client is the dealer who's selling it, but our client is also the installer because that's the approach that we have taken. I don't know if you know, many, you know, manufacturers that step in and they're on a job site while it's being installed because the homeowner had a question. You know, that's where we're at, and that's what sets us apart from the.
Jimmy Purdy [01:23:28]:
Thing no one else is doing and.
Ashley Kaul [01:23:31]:
The things that matter. Right? Like, there's a lot of things you could do that maybe not, may not be as impactful, but, but in this case, it's like we pay a lot of money for, you know, the time spent out in the field and that's not going anywhere, you know, like, that's an initiative that is very important and, and is one of our goals for next year as well as it was for this year is making sure that we're the best advocate for ourself and that it doesn't just because a sale is over. It's never over. Like, you know, who's the next person? Who's your sister, who's your brother? Like, have they seen this? Have they heard about it? Here, let me send you some samples. Let's do this. And if you're not ready, no big deal. When you're ready, we're here for you. Just give me a call.
Ashley Kaul [01:24:27]:
Here's my card. You know, like, no pressure. You got a question, call me. You know, like, you have a concern, call me. You know, and providing that, that friendship to the purchase is important, you know, it makes you feel like you have someone that you, you have an expert at your fingertips, you know, and, and that's one area of automation that I don't think I'll ever be on board. On board with is the fact that you don't have someone answering phone. I know in our industry we deal with so many distributors that it can be very frustrating if you're calling and you need an answer and it takes you a minute and, you know, 1 minute and 20 seconds to get someone to say hello, you know, thank you for calling. How can I help you? You know, and so it adds a frustration part that I'll never be a fan of that out of all the marketing initiatives, automating voice.
Ashley Kaul [01:25:31]:
And I think it's because there's a negative connotation around it, right? Like, if I'm calling, if I'm calling and going through automation, it's because I got fraud on my credit cardinal. I got to get through to a doctor's office. Like, it's always like a hassle. It's not a fun experience. And so why would you want to do that when you're shopping around for a service or, you know, you want someone to answer right away and not be like, press one for customer service. Like, no, sorry. You should have answered my call.
Jimmy Purdy [01:26:02]:
It's nice. It's nice when you call someone that seems like a big company and they answer the phone in the second or third ring, you're like, oh, what? Are you really there? Oh, that's cool. And I'm guilty of it. We have a call forwarding service, and you have to prompt numbers through, and, yeah, it's a fine line. Right? Like, I don't want to spend money paying them to answer phones, a bunch of spam callers and telemarketers. Right. But I also want that experience where they call and they can get it right away. So I use my voice.
Jimmy Purdy [01:26:29]:
Right. And I record my. Hey, this is Jimmy. Just, I want. But, like you said, like, I should make it a little more personalized. Hey, I'm letting you know, like, we're just blocking a few of the spam callers, so go ahead and press one, and it'll take you. Right. Just.
Jimmy Purdy [01:26:39]:
Just like, a quick message, and I've. It's funny you said that, because I've tried to keep it. Well. Well, under 8 seconds as a prompt. Like, I want a quick little intro.
Ashley Kaul [01:26:48]:
I'm talking about these one. And I say 1 minute in 20 seconds because I have it. Experience.
Jimmy Purdy [01:26:53]:
Yeah, yeah.
Ashley Kaul [01:26:54]:
And so. So, yeah. I mean, and that's something that, you know, just. It's. It's a lot of resources, so I understand.
Jimmy Purdy [01:27:02]:
It's a gray area, too. Right? Like, don't not do voip. Right? Like. Like, don't. Like, it's not one or the other. It's like, making sure that you're doing it right. Like, keep it short and sweet. Yeah, yeah.
Ashley Kaul [01:27:14]:
No. Hundred percent. 100%.
Jimmy Purdy [01:27:17]:
Well, this has been awesome.
Ashley Kaul [01:27:18]:
I appreciate I can keep talking, but, you know, I got a baby to take care of.
Jimmy Purdy [01:27:22]:
Yeah, you gotta get back to the baby.
Ashley Kaul [01:27:24]:
I do. I do.
Jimmy Purdy [01:27:27]:
This has all been really good. We got. Yeah. We could just keep going forever with this stuff, huh?
Ashley Kaul [01:27:32]:
We can. I know there was a topic that we didn't get to, but it's okay. Next time.
Jimmy Purdy [01:27:36]:
There's always the next one. We'll have to wait a year. We'll have to wait a year for the next one.
Ashley Kaul [01:27:41]:
I do want to follow up. I want to hold you accountable for that customer. I want you to reach back out.
Jimmy Purdy [01:27:45]:
Okay.
Ashley Kaul [01:27:46]:
And I want. Next time we talk. We'll give that to the listeners and see how that ended up happening.
Jimmy Purdy [01:27:52]:
We'll see how long it will. They'll know because we'll see how long it takes between the two episodes. So hopefully it's not a year.
Ashley Kaul [01:27:59]:
They'll believe us if it's a year. We have to.
Jimmy Purdy [01:28:02]:
It's gonna be August of 2025.
Ashley Kaul [01:28:04]:
No, no, when. When you have some. Some feedback, reach out to me and. And I'll schedule it sooner than later and so that we can provide some.
Jimmy Purdy [01:28:15]:
We'll be back and we'll be back in Vegas in October again. So maybe we'll hook up and do a live one.
Ashley Kaul [01:28:19]:
Okay. Yeah, let's do it. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Cuz you haven't been to my house, so you have to come, like, see the house, you know.
Jimmy Purdy [01:28:27]:
Yeah. And see the baby. Yeah.
Ashley Kaul [01:28:29]:
Oh, my God, I love that. And we can do a little setup in the living room. Oh, my God. I'm excited. Yes. Well, let's plan for that. But if it happens sooner, we gotta let your fans know sooner, so. Yeah, you know.
Jimmy Purdy [01:28:40]:
Well, there's one or. Yeah, I think there's one or two listeners, so we'll let the two. We'll let them both know.
Ashley Kaul [01:28:48]:
Oh, my gosh. Hi. Hopefully you'll have more after this.