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My name is Jeff, and I'd like to welcome you on a journey of reflection and insight into the tolls and triumphs of a career in automotive repair.
After more than 20 years of skinned knuckles and tool debt, I want to share my perspective and hear other people's thoughts about our industry.
So pour yourself a strong coffee or grab a cold Canadian beer and get ready for some great conversation.
[00:00:00] Josh Coomes: Nobody is perfect. As long as you're willing to listen and absorb knowledge, then you're an asset. As soon as you have, uh, someone that is shut down and, like, doesn't wanna listen to anything, you're now a liability. Yeah. And you're not necessarily worthless, but you're nowhere near as worth to the company as what you think you are.
[00:00:35] Jeff Compton: Welcome back to another exciting episode of the Jaded Mechanic Podcast. Um, this time we're coming live from... Well, we're not coming live. We're coming from Tools in, uh, Hershey, Pennsylvania. We're sitting here in the Hershey Lodge. Um, this place, if you've never been, has the most glorious smell coming through the HVAC system.
[00:00:53] Jeff Compton: It kind of smells like chocolate, and everybody is very, um, uh, happy. Uh, summer, the kids are really hyper. Uh, they're making a lot of noise down in the lobby, so we had to get away from that. So, um, we came up here, and we're gonna record with, uh, a really good friend of mine, Joshua Combs, who some people have seen his, um, Auto Shop Therapy channel on YouTube as of recent.
[00:01:13] Jeff Compton: I'm a huge fan. Um, I blow up his comments with either, you know, opinions or corrections. Um, and he's brought his technician with me today. Uh, Brian, I, I... Pardon me, I don't know your last name, Brian.
[00:01:25] Brian Ramsburg: It's Ramsburg.
[00:01:25] Jeff Compton: Ramsburg, nice to meet you. So how's, how you guys feeling today?
[00:01:29] Brian Ramsburg: Honestly, it's been pretty great so far.
[00:01:31] Jeff Compton: This is your first event like this?
[00:01:32] Brian Ramsburg: It is. Um, a little out of my comfort zone. Josh had kind of drug me- Sure ... North Carolina up here.
[00:01:38] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:01:38] Brian Ramsburg: And said, "No choice, you gotta go."
[00:01:39] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:01:40] Brian Ramsburg: And so far it's been great.
[00:01:41] Jeff Compton: But once you're here, you're liking this.
[00:01:43] Brian Ramsburg: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:01:44] Jeff Compton: Yeah. 'Cause Josh and I met last year for the first time at Tools, and I don't know, we just clicked, right?
[00:01:52] Jeff Compton: And we got talking about, like, um, mud- not mud pies.
[00:01:56] Josh Coomes: Uh- Whoopie pies ...
[00:01:57] Jeff Compton: whoopie pies. And then he brought me some whoopie pies, and 'cause we were in Lancaster, right? Heart of the Amish, and, and, uh, Josh kind of had a little more insight into that than I did, so I was fascinated by it. And then as we've come away from that, we're still probably talking probably every week about his shop and my job as an auto shop.
[00:02:17] Jeff Compton: And, um, we just started sharing them when he came out with his YouTube channel. He shared a bunch more, right? And then of course, me being the guy that never keeps my mouth shut, um, I'm sounding off in it all the time, and he's talking to me about what's going on in the shop and what you're facing and what he's facing, and different diagnostic challenges and processes and stuff like that.
[00:02:37] Jeff Compton: So kind of share with me, you know, 'cause we know Josh's kind of backstory a little bit, and we'll touch on that too, but kind of share your just a condensed version of you in the industry and how you got there and how you wound up here.
[00:02:49] Brian Ramsburg: Well, honestly, it's kind of been a, uh, family trade on my side. I've been doing it for a little over 18 years now, uh, professionally.
[00:02:57] Brian Ramsburg: It's kind of one of those you grow up young, you wind up taking everything apart and getting in trouble for it. Mm-hmm. So eventually you gotta learn how to put it back together.
[00:03:04] Jeff Compton: Right. Right. And how old are you now?
[00:03:07] Brian Ramsburg: Just turned 39.
[00:03:08] Jeff Compton: Geez. You look good for 39. Really? Like you don't look all, uh... How did I look at 39?
[00:03:15] Jeff Compton: Well, I was still losing my hair, and I was, like, fat. I'm still fat. Um, so you're doing okay. You don't look all worn down, so that's good. Um, that's what I mean when I say you're looking well. Like, you don't look like you've had 39 years in the trenches, so that's good.
[00:03:28] Brian Ramsburg: Luckily, it hasn't beat me up too bad this far.
[00:03:30] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Now what does, um... When you decided you kinda wanted to do this for a career, what did that trajectory look like? Did you... Was it, um... Did, did you know when you got in, you kinda had a feeling of what it was gonna be like, or did you get a big, bunch of big surprises when you started working for different people?
[00:03:49] Brian Ramsburg: So it was one of those, um, it's kind of a, been a family occupation. Okay. Uh, uh, my dad, my grandfather, the whole nine, all the way through the years. So I kinda had a good inclination what it was gonna be like to a degree.
[00:04:00] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:04:01] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, just spending time in the shop as is.
[00:04:03] Jeff Compton: Now were they shop owners, or did they work for other people as techs?
[00:04:06] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, a little bit of both.
[00:04:07] Jeff Compton: Okay. All right.
[00:04:09] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, in the end, we realized it was a lot easier to work for someone else- Right ... than try to do it on your own.
[00:04:14] Josh Coomes: Hopefully.
[00:04:15] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:04:16] Brian Ramsburg: Usually.
[00:04:17] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Oh, well, and that's, that's funny because... I don't mean it's funny, like funny haha, but it's, um... There's a lot of people that have done that.
[00:04:25] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? That they had a business, and they decided, "I'm not running the shop to..." It's not worth it, right? Josh and I have talked about that. And then they, they go back and get themselves a job, and, and... 'Cause you and I have talked lots, and we s- we, we could show you so many examples of shop owners that all they did was buy themselves a job.
[00:04:45] Jeff Compton: So when we talk about that, I think maybe, is that what your parent, your, your grandfather and father just kind of ever did, was buy themselves a- Like have a business but don't really have the ... What's the, what's the word I'm thinking of, Josh? Like the, the profit-
[00:05:02] Josh Coomes: They
[00:05:02] Jeff Compton: own a
[00:05:02] Josh Coomes: job. Yeah, they own a job and not a shop.
[00:05:04] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Exactly. The profits don't come along with the-
[00:05:06] Brian Ramsburg: They were good with what they were working on. They weren't really good with people.
[00:05:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah. That's tough too, eh? Yeah. I share that. Let's ... When he talks about me and he's like, um, you know, everybody, 'cause they'll ask me like, "Well, why don't, why aren't you a shop owner?"
[00:05:21] Jeff Compton: Well, and I'll say 'cause I'm 50 and I don't think I have enough time left. But the reality is, is like I struggle with listening to too many of people's concerns or complaints in one day. I have like, I think I could do it from about 8:00 to 8:21, and then I would be filled up with like my, my give a damn.
[00:05:41] Jeff Compton: And, um, and it's not that I don't care. It's just like I would just wanna get, hand me the keys, you know? Um, don't wait. Give me a, a little bit of an idea about what it's here for, and then I will have somebody that's better at talking to you call you. That's how I approach it, right? So I've always been, if I was to start my own shop, who would I hire to do that?
[00:06:04] Jeff Compton: Because like it's, it's as hard a job as, as the technician role, I think, 100%. Um, service writers are pivotal for actually success in this, and I keep, sometimes I beat on them really hard. Josh has heard me. But other times, like if you don't have it that they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, it does not matter how effective a technician any of us are, you're not gonna make any money, and I think that's what a lot of the people that have started shops don't narrow that down and they don't realize it, right?
[00:06:39] Jeff Compton: So is what happened, like you said, they just weren't good with dealing with people. Like, give me, kind of build on that. What do you mean by that?
[00:06:47] Brian Ramsburg: Well, um, I guess the best way to put it is they were really good with machines and mechanical apparatus. Uh, their active listening wasn't that great.
[00:06:59] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:07:00] Brian Ramsburg: So- Just maybe similar to what you deal with.
[00:07:04] Brian Ramsburg: Someone starts talking, you lose interest, and you just kinda zone out. And when that happens, you tend to lose a lot of those critical details that you really needed.
[00:07:12] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. And Josh, you're... When I watch you, you're better at that than a lot of other mechanics I've known that step into that role of, of laying out what the customer's here for and all that kind of stuff.
[00:07:24] Jeff Compton: Like, I can tell when I watch you, you're genuinely interested and, and, uh, empathetic to what it is that they're concerned about. You know what I mean? And I'm not. Like, I've just... There's something wired in my head that it's just strictly, like, business, and I... What, what gives you that power? How did you learn that or...?
[00:07:42] Josh Coomes: So my driving force... So I had a shop years ago, right? Mm-hmm. So I grew up, I went to UTI in '99, worked for Volkswagen until, like, uh, '07. Started my own shop in '06- Yeah ... like moonlighting, right? And then the reason I started the shop was not to make more money, I guess. It was really because I was tired of service advisors taking advantage of customers, absolutely selling things- That's not needed, yeah
[00:08:07] Josh Coomes: that weren't needed, overcharging on time on purpose, like, 'cause they get, you know, spiffs on everything, right? And for me, the driving force was customer experience and fixing the cars right. Mm. So, like, I'm empathetic to that. I want their car fixed. Just like what Brian Pollock says, "Just fix the f-ing car."
[00:08:26] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:08:26] Josh Coomes: Right? And it's like, yeah, we can do that. And I genuinely care about people, regardless if they're my customer or not. If I get a customer that I know is not gonna be a good fit for them, if I have the time, which usually I spend too much time on the phone with them- Mm-hmm ... even if they're not gonna come in here and I don't want them in my shop- Right
[00:08:43] Josh Coomes: I still wanna see them get their car fixed or their problem solved.
[00:08:47] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:08:47] Josh Coomes: So yeah, it's a fault of mine to probably care too much about people that aren't lining my pockets, but I still want them to get fixed.
[00:08:55] Jeff Compton: Right. And that helps the, that helps the image of the industry, right? 'Cause even if you're politely telling them, like, "We're not the shop for what you're driving"- They, they go away going, "Wow, that's the first time somebody's talked to me in that way of level of explanation and level of professionalism," and all that kind of stuff.
[00:09:13] Jeff Compton: And maybe, you know, they get a car that you're more suited to work on brand-wise, age-wise, whatever they might need. Then you become the better fit for them, right? But at the time we just can't, you know... Let's throw something like a, your, your BMW that was on the hoist, the, your project car. Like, if that came in as a customer's car, you probably wouldn't touch it, would you?
[00:09:32] Josh Coomes: No.
[00:09:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:09:33] Josh Coomes: No.
[00:09:33] Jeff Compton: Right? But that same customer that has that car, maybe eventually after you've been able to help them, they bring you something in the more modern realm that you would wanna have in your shop, right? And you're pretty particular. Like, you were talking about even, like, your Chevy truck that you were doing over...
[00:09:50] Jeff Compton: Well, you're fixing it up to sell or to keep or whatever you're trying to do. You were sh- talking in the one video how, like, if that was to come in as a customer's you wouldn't touch it either. But yet it's in pretty good shape, isn't it?
[00:10:00] Josh Coomes: Yeah. And it's like, and I had that conversation. Somebody wanted to do brakes on a '97 Chevy truck.
[00:10:06] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. And I'm like, "No, I don't wanna bring that in the shop." Yeah. And it's just brakes. Right. Who, who cares, right? It's easy money. And but I told them, I said, "And you need to find a shop that will... I want you to form a relationship with the shop that you're in that can take care of this car from soup to nuts," as Keith Perkins- Yeah
[00:10:22] Josh Coomes: would say. Yeah. And that's more important to me to have a relationship with your mechanic. And, uh, I don't want... When somebody talks about me, I don't want someone to say, "Well, take it over here," when they're asking for a referral. Like, "Take it over here. This is where I take my car." It's like, no, my mechanic is A-OK Auto Repair.
[00:10:40] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:10:40] Josh Coomes: There's a, there's a difference in those two things, and I want them to form that relationship with somebody else. And if they don't want that and they're just looking for a guy to fix this and fix that and fix that, that's completely transactional and it's not the client that I want.
[00:10:51] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:10:52] Josh Coomes: And it's like, "So it's better in your best interest, or if that's what you want, that's fine.
[00:10:56] Josh Coomes: It's not what I want."
[00:10:57] Jeff Compton: And, see, you and I know there's lots of shops out there that would preach that if it's just a brake job, it doesn't matter what, bring it in, get it on the hoist, get it apart, get your parts ordered. But that same car may turn around and come back in next month, three months later, say, because they feel like all of a sudden, "I really liked how you handled my brakes, but now this thing is not running right," or, uh, I sh- you know, I walk away for three days on my '97 anything and the battery goes dead.
[00:11:26] Jeff Compton: And you all of a sudden, those shops will go, "Hmm, we kind of have a rule, you know, like, uh, 10 years or older on diag, we don't touch it." And all of a sudden that customer's like, because they don't understand the difference between a '97 and a 2027, so they think it can't be all that hard, and then they go, "You just seemed like you were the greatest thing since sliced bread last month, and now you're telling me to kick rocks?"
[00:11:48] Jeff Compton: Like, that's where that, that balancing act comes in, right? 'Cause I sit there and see if I was strictly money motivated as a technician, and you told me that, like, I hung up the phone on a '97 Chevy brake job, I'd be like, "What are you crazy?" But then if you turned around like I was in his shoes working for you and you brought in a, a '97 for some weird misfire or check engine light that won't go away after it's been...
[00:12:10] Jeff Compton: I'm gonna be like, "Josh, what are we doing here? Like, we're not a restoration shop." So that's the struggle, right? Of always just trying to figure out, like, how do we make enough profit at the end of the month Or week, day, whatever. How do we service the community, right? And how do we not alienate certain people that are gonna go and say, "Oh, they don't wanna touch anything over a certain age."
[00:12:30] Josh Coomes: So we did... You know, there's a few... We had just one recently. We brought in a- Mm-hmm ... an '89 Chevy truck for AC work.
[00:12:36] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:12:37] Josh Coomes: And it's... He was, uh, expecting it to be a bad evaporator 'cause another shop told him that, and it's like, where's the evidence that the evaporator's bad? Yeah. Now, I already ordered one pre...
[00:12:46] Josh Coomes: I had it sitting on the shelf 'cause it was in stock, so when we did our, our evaluation than he got charged for, if it had, if it needed one, we have it. Yeah. We couldn't find it. The only thing we found was a leak in the high side line. Right. Well, he called me, um, you know, that, that car did not get a DVI.
[00:13:00] Josh Coomes: I'm just being honest, right? Just like the channel. It did not get a DVI, fixed their main concern. Well, he, he sent a message, "It lasted a week and it's dead. It's flat again." Now, when we got it done, it's short cycling. Yeah. It's got the right amount of refrigerant in it. Right. And it's like, so now I have to get into an AC, a real AC problem that's short cycling and, you know, like I'm trying to up, you know, my game with superheat and- Yeah
[00:13:22] Josh Coomes: subcooling and all these other things, like, you know, 'cause now we're trying to be the best, you know? And it's, "Well, I'm not the best shop for this, and this is why I didn't wanna work on these things," and it's like, so now I'm, I'm kinda opening a can of worms. Yeah. Now, we did it before where we had an AC problem on an old Chevy Caprice.
[00:13:38] Josh Coomes: It was a donk car, right? Yeah. I'm like, "This is not my client. It's not the car that I wanna work on." And we had very clear-cut expectations. It was, uh... It wasn't an AC car. It... Yeah, it was an AC car, and the driver inside the PCM was bad. It wasn't turning the compressor on. Brian freakin' superstar nailed the diag right off the bat, and it's like we get the thing done.
[00:13:58] Josh Coomes: It was missing half the den- dash vents and all kinds of other stuff in it. Now it was blowing cold now, and then he called back a week later and talked to the service writer. He's like, "Can he look at this or that?" And right away, like the service advisor knows the rules- Yeah ... and said, "He told you that we're only fixing this AC problem.
[00:14:15] Josh Coomes: We're not touching this car. Again, no DVI. I don't care." Yeah. "You're not... I got your AC working that no one else would fix." Mm-hmm. Right? So it's like... And he said, "Well, that's valid. He told me he wouldn't do that." There you go. Yeah. So clear expectations, but again, it's like, it's the same thing you just said.
[00:14:32] Josh Coomes: "Well, he fixed this and now I'm like, my car's not good enough?" Y- yes, it is. Right? Yeah. So, but, you know, tread lightly when you talk to them about their piece of junk car. Mm-hmm. But, you know, it's just like now we're dealing with an '89 that we're gonna have to get into probably.
[00:14:48] Jeff Compton: And what do you really enjoy?
[00:14:49] Jeff Compton: Like, if he could book just one type of work over and over again for you, what do you really enjoy or what would you most wanna be- working on?
[00:14:57] Brian Ramsburg: Well, that's probably one of the oddities for me. Um, I enjoy a plethora of everything.
[00:15:03] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:15:04] Brian Ramsburg: Um, if I wanna do one job on repetition, I'd get a factory job. I'd go sit in a cubicle somewhere.
[00:15:11] Brian Ramsburg: I would rather see 20 different cars, 20 different lines, 20 different problems.
[00:15:15] Jeff Compton: Really, eh?
[00:15:16] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, yes, I'm not gonna be the quickest tech on all 20 lines all the way across the board, but it's gonna expand my knowledge- Mm-hmm ... drastically, making me ultimately more valuable.
[00:15:27] Jeff Compton: See, and that's an unusual answer, eh?
[00:15:29] Jeff Compton: Because, like, if you were to ask me, and Josh knows me, it'd be like, well, you could give me diag on just about anything, as long as it didn't involve having to then go in and diag AC, 'cause I don't like air conditioning from the sense that I'm not good at it. And then no European cars, just the domestic stuff, right?
[00:15:45] Jeff Compton: America. Like, give me that kind of crap, and if it's not running right or check engine light, that's what all I wa- really wanted to do. Like, I don't want to, I don't wanna go looking for wind noises, water leaks, squeaks and rattles. I don't wanna go looking for, you know, your AM/FM Bluetooth blah blah. Like, like, you know, who cares?
[00:16:03] Jeff Compton: Like, lunch your phone in, put your earbuds in there. It's fixed for you. Have a nice day. Like, that's how my brain works from a simplistic bre- s- situation of there are other stuff that's can really be legit concerns for customers. I just don't get all up in it because I'm just like, eh, your s- you dr- it drives well, drives good, it's safe.
[00:16:20] Jeff Compton: I wouldn't... My own, I wouldn't spend a ton of time. Like, my Jeep, I lent my Jeep to Christie and, and Benji yesterday, and, um, they're gonna hear this and it'll be the laughin'. Two months ago, intermittently would throw a, an ABS and a traction control light on the dash, and you cycle the key and it would go away.
[00:16:37] Jeff Compton: And I never scanned it until last week, and when I scanned it looking at the Jeep just to set up my new launch tool, um, there was no code in there for ABS or, or traction control. No big deal. Drove it all the way down here yesterday. No, excuse me, Wednesday. Um, give it to Benji and, and Christie. They've got it one morning.
[00:16:56] Jeff Compton: They break the damn thing. Now it's got a code in it. So when I get done recording today, I'll go out and, uh, Bra- uh, Brax and I are gonna film a video showing the new launch tool, and at least finally know what code's in my Jeep for an ABS. But it's like other people, you know, they're like, they would be immediately Okay, I gotta drive in and get that fixed, right?
[00:17:15] Jeff Compton: And me, not just because I'm a technician that I panic, but I'm like, I know that it's like this thing still starts, drives great. I can safely drive it back home another 600 miles. I'm not stressing, you know? And that's where I, I, I just- when I wanna be a technician, I wanna do the, what sounds like the really essential things.
[00:17:35] Jeff Compton: And that's why I've never been good at getting into too many of the other things that, you know, people want addressed or fixed. So that's another reason why I've never really been... Why don't I jump into shop ownership realm is 'cause I would be... I think I would specialize myself so far into, like, obscurity that nobody would know who I was or bring me anything, so.
[00:17:54] Jeff Compton: Um, what about you? Like, in a perfect world, then what do you wanna see coming into your shop?
[00:18:00] Josh Coomes: Hmm. '
[00:18:02] Jeff Compton: Cause you have a l- you have a European background, like you wanna work on them, you like working on them?
[00:18:06] Josh Coomes: I don't like working on them.
[00:18:08] Jeff Compton: Oh, no, not at all.
[00:18:08] Josh Coomes: So I do have a European background, but I left Volkswagen in '07, right?
[00:18:12] Josh Coomes: Right. So there's, like, been three platforms now, that there's some familiarity. Like, I can still get into my ALL-Tell and, or my VCDS- Right ... and I can still go into measuring value blocks that are drilled into my brain, and I can pull those same measured value blocks up, know that I can force readiness monitors and that kind of stuff.
[00:18:28] Josh Coomes: Yeah. So that's nice, but I told... When I hired Brian, Brian had a lot of Euro background, and I told him, I said, "We can continue doing Euro. It doesn't matter to me, but don't expect me to put air in the tires. Don't expect me to drive it. I don't wanna change the oil. I don't wanna touch any more European cars."
[00:18:44] Josh Coomes: Yeah. I'm just so over it. Um- Okay ... it's, everything's complicated- Yeah ... right? It's like, you know, I just hate not having dipsticks. Yeah. Like, dude, come on, man. It's, you know, yeah, it's different. I'm not saying it's better, but they break a whole lot more often, and there's a lot more stuff to break. Yeah. And, you know, I don't wanna deal with the clientele a lot of times either, right?
[00:19:06] Josh Coomes: So just like what Mike Allen said before, if you're a third or fourth owner, you're a car- European car owner, you're probably not in the right shop. Yeah. Right? 'Cause I don't wanna work on it, and I'm just... You know, we had Jags come in with, you know, the supercharged motors with needs like $5,000 worth of coolant repairs.
[00:19:24] Josh Coomes: Yeah. And the first time they ever owned a European car, and it's like, "Yeah, I'll see you in a couple more months with another couple thousand dollars worth of repairs needed." And that's a hard conversation. I don't really wanna get into that, right? Mm. So it's like I'd much rather work on the more normal stuff.
[00:19:40] Josh Coomes: And it's not that... I mean, I don't mind doing some of the hard diag stuff, 'cause, like, I wanna work my brain and get those things, but a lot of times what will happen is that, yeah, we charge for, for diag for sure, and what we normally do is, like, we'll get a baseline, and then that'll get us into, like, further testing- Yeah
[00:20:01] Josh Coomes: and then the customer can afford once we have a baseline. But then we don't know when it's... So the schedule's already built out five days. We don't know that the next check engine light or next ABS concern, so now y- the shop gets backed up with three hard diags at once, and now the shop's n- not making any money until- Yeah
[00:20:16] Josh Coomes: their stuff's closed out. Yeah, we charge for it, and we have an elevated labor rate for diag and that kind of stuff, but it's still, for, like, productivity and stuff, that's where it gets kind of jammed up. So, I mean, we, we balance that out as much as we can with the schedule, but it still can still bite us.
[00:20:32] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:20:32] Josh Coomes: You know? And then when you get stuck on one, it- You know, it sets you back three days, and then the next one's already here, and it's like, okay. You know, so I mean, some people realize that. Like now if we get like an electrical problem that's already calling for the schedule, I'm gonna tell them it's two weeks out- Yeah
[00:20:47] Josh Coomes: because I wanna make sure that all the other stuff I have in the shop's gone. So if I had my choice, I would love to do like tires and brakes. I know a lot of independent shops don't wanna get into tires, but I'm telling you right now, tires are your highest gross profit per hour job that you are doing in your shop- Yeah
[00:21:01] Josh Coomes: if you're doing them right. And it's like you don't need a crazy expense- You don't need $75,000 worth of tire equipment to do it. Yeah. Yeah, you can, but, um... So I would like to do the low-hanging fruit, the gross profit stuff, but at the same time, not... People need their other cars fixed- Mm-hmm ... that are broken.
[00:21:18] Josh Coomes: Yeah. And a lot of other shops, they're not getting into it. I've just interviewed a guy, um, who is coming in on Monday for a working interview, and he's been out of shop for three years now, and he didn't know that you could test for a catalytic converter. He just automatically assumed a PO420, 430 fault, it needs a cat.
[00:21:34] Josh Coomes: And it's like, dude, there's some like... Y- you have to do some basic level testing. Yeah. It only takes a few minutes with a scan tool, or maybe you might have to smoke an exhaust, right? But, like, it's just there are shops still out there that I couldn't believe it 'cause I'm like I've n- You know, I've- Yeah ... I don't believe it-
[00:21:48] Jeff Compton: Yeah
[00:21:48] Josh Coomes: that fault, fault code, part number, and you're like, "Oh my gosh," you know? And so those, those cars still need to get fixed.
[00:21:55] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Now what... So what's the challenges then when you see working in the shop because do you think sometimes, like, he turns away a job that you would've really enjoyed getting your teeth into, or do you kind of trust him to, to pick the right decisions?
[00:22:13] Brian Ramsburg: Honestly, we've had it both ways. Um, it's not uncommon for me to be in the office in between jobs or waiting for him to ch- hopefully finish up with a customer sooner than later.
[00:22:24] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:24] Brian Ramsburg: Um, we've had some that kinda slipped through, things that I've dealt with in the past. Okay. And you're just used to kind of pattern failures.
[00:22:32] Brian Ramsburg: Right. But it's not quite the right customer for our shop given our current dynamic. Uh, when it's just me and him, uh, having the ability to bring in something as simple as a Jag or a Land Rover with cooling issues, very easy to do if you know what you're working with.
[00:22:47] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:22:48] Brian Ramsburg: But we also know that we're always one day away, one broken hose from that car is now in bay for two, three days.
[00:22:56] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:22:57] Brian Ramsburg: So while it's easy, low-hanging fruit for me-
[00:23:00] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm ...
[00:23:00] Brian Ramsburg: he's looking more towards the tires, the brakes, things of that nature.
[00:23:05] Jeff Compton: Yeah, and the liability, like you and I talked about it, those high-end cars, right? Like, well, even we can take the, we can take the, the high-end car away. Brian M- Pawlik just shared with me yesterday a situation that they had in their shop, and the customer came in with a Silverado transmission problem, right?
[00:23:21] Jeff Compton: Shocking. I mean- ... how do they not? And, um, the guy was red flags right from the beginning, right? Um, in the, in the vibe that he was putting down and with the advisors and all that kind of stuff. Now, they have a strict policy. Like, they, they diagnose the transmission issue, um- They charge for the diagnosis, and then they sublet the transmission.
[00:23:40] Jeff Compton: It goes to another shop. They rebuild it, replace it, whatever they have to do, will warranty it, and all Brian then does is collect a small charge for the diag, the sublet, and they stand behind it, right? So the other shop, they... And they, the customer's all red flags and they're telling them like, "We don't really want to even touch this truck by the vibe that he's giving out."
[00:24:01] Jeff Compton: Well, they decide, "Okay, we're gonna do it anyway." Well, the guy has the truck in no time. So after he gets the tranny done, just like a Silverado would, camshaft goes flat, and then this guy proceeds to go around their little neighborhood telling all the other shops, "Don't take anything to that shop. They screwed me.
[00:24:19] Jeff Compton: They don't know what they're doing. They can't fix it." So I can understand from the standpoint of, like, what you look at as it's, it's a real easy repair on a Land Rover for you. He's thinking about, what can happen to my business if we do that easy repair on the Land Rover, and then six months later, three months later, the check engine light comes on completely unrelated, but they can go around and just completely throw your shop's name right into the mud.
[00:24:45] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:45] Jeff Compton: So that's where me, I get to sit here sometimes a- and hear both sides, and it really helps me because, like, I've been on you and I've been like, "That seems really simple, Josh. Like, what, what..." And then, you know, I always think back to, what's he trying to do? What's the end goal? So it's tough, man, from the technician standpoint, 'cause especially if you just wanna...
[00:25:04] Jeff Compton: Like I, he knows me, I hate to not have work in the shop, which you hate to have not work in the shop, too. But I mean, it drives me crazy if the shop is kinda slow, then I'm like bored and I get... My brain goes do, do, do, do and goes into overdrive and sometimes goes negative. Um, but you have to pick the right type of cars, period, or else you're, you're, you're gonna wind up, I don't...
[00:25:28] Jeff Compton: And no shade. You could wind up where your dad and father were, where it was just like eventually this isn't worth the time to deal with these people. Yep. So yeah. What do you... What's some challenges working together? Is it, can I ask that between you two? Yeah. What's the challenge to working together?
[00:25:49] Josh Coomes: One of yous go first. Brian's thinking. He'll go first.
[00:25:51] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:25:52] Brian Ramsburg: Sure. Uh, I think a lot of the challenges between us are just personality differences.
[00:25:58] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:25:59] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, usually I show up, I'm ready to go. I don't like to talk.
[00:26:03] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:26:04] Brian Ramsburg: So I like to grab those keys. I want everything on my work sheet ready to go, and I'm gonna start running and start throwing the cars back to you as quick as I can.
[00:26:12] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:26:13] Brian Ramsburg: Josh is a social butterfly- Uh-huh ... as you've seen on his, on his channels, even maybe visiting with you guys. Oh, yeah. Yeah. He loves to talk. So I can be in the middle of something, and I've got a very one-track mind. If I'm working on something, I'm focused on right here in front of me. Josh likes to come out and try to talk about six other things, and half of it I'm not even listening to.
[00:26:35] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. Now, those six other things, are they related to other cars? Or, like, do you kind of start in the morning, and you kind of drink your coffee, and you plan the day, and think about the day, and get a feel for, you know, the mood you're in, the mood everybody else is in, and you kind of think about how you're gonna navigate that?
[00:26:51] Josh Coomes: It's, it's almost always- Very rarely do I s- bring up conversation that's not business related- Okay ... somehow or another. Now I'll, I might ask about, like, what he did the night before 'cause I knew he was going out with his kids or picking them up or whatever the case is- Yeah ... or over the weekend. But for the most part it's, it's always something to do with work.
[00:27:12] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. Whether it's what do you think of this le- next guy that I'm, I'm interviewing, Hey, I got this on the horizon, this car is coming in. Like, so it's always business related.
[00:27:21] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:27:22] Josh Coomes: And it's definitely a defect in me to bother him while he's working.
[00:27:27] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:27:28] Josh Coomes: Right? And I catch it sometimes. Sometimes I need to be reminded.
[00:27:33] Josh Coomes: Yeah. You know?
[00:27:34] Jeff Compton: He... Uh, and I'm not defending him.
[00:27:37] Brian Ramsburg: No.
[00:27:37] Jeff Compton: Or, you know what I mean? But it's a situation of, like, where he is right now, he needs, he needs your input on those, some of those decisions 'cause in a way he's asking you, like, how do you feel comfort- comfort wise with this particular job that we might bring in here?
[00:27:52] Jeff Compton: Or what do you feel comfort wise about this next person that we're gonna hire? Because him and I talk a lot about the scenes behind that, right? That's kinda where, like, as crazy as it is, people always wanna talk to me about how do I find a technician or what kind of technician do I hire, and I'm like, "Oh, geez."
[00:28:09] Jeff Compton: Like, here we go. Because I don't know why people necessarily think that I'm the, the insight as to what you should hire, but I do talk to a lot of technicians, right? Mm-hmm. So I think that's where that comes from. So, you know, why, why do you feel, where does that come from for you that you just wanna be, like, focused on the car?
[00:28:27] Jeff Compton: Where does that come from?
[00:28:28] Brian Ramsburg: So we'll back up just a tad.
[00:28:30] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:28:31] Brian Ramsburg: So, like, he comes to me and he's like, "Hey, we've got this guy. He's gonna interview. We're gonna have this working interview." And after the first five or six and we're just cycling through and cycling through and there's not really a r- a good fit.
[00:28:47] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:28:48] Brian Ramsburg: So it gets to a point where Josh would come out and it's like, "All right. I'm looking at these three resumes. What do you think?" It's like, well, we've learned from history our parameters that we've already got set here. All right, this guy's like 60, 70 years old, he's probably not gonna be a very good fit for very long.
[00:29:07] Brian Ramsburg: I, I know you're in love with old guys. They, they bring a lot to the table, but, uh, longevity wise, is this gonna be something where he shows up, shares a little bit of knowledge, and then he's, he's gone in the next year or two, retired?
[00:29:20] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:21] Brian Ramsburg: Or now we've got, like our scenario right now, we've got these two applicants side by side.
[00:29:29] Brian Ramsburg: Applicant A's got this experience. Applicant B's got this experience. What do you think?
[00:29:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:29:36] Brian Ramsburg: You then provide your opinion as far as, "Well, this looks the most promising for these reasons," and then he goes the opposite direction.
[00:29:44] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:46] Josh Coomes: It's a problem.
[00:29:47] Brian Ramsburg: Yeah?
[00:29:48] Josh Coomes: Like, it's, it's a problem. The, uh... You know, we had...
[00:29:53] Josh Coomes: If you go back to my channel, Episode 37, right? Like- Yeah ... that we had a, a blowout of our standards. Like, no one's yelling at each other, no one's throwing any tools- No ... right? Right. So it's like we're both more mature than that. But I definitely... You know, people watch that episode and they're like, "Can you imagine going on YouTube and telling the world that your technician sucks?"
[00:30:13] Josh Coomes: Yeah. It's like, if that's what you got from that-
[00:30:15] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[00:30:16] Josh Coomes: then I'm like-
[00:30:16] Jeff Compton: You, you didn't listen, no ...
[00:30:17] Josh Coomes: yeah. It's like I just went to the world and said, "I am failing as a leader," and it, it opens up... It was, like, kind of a get back down to ground zero and figure out that I have really poor active lis- listening skills.
[00:30:31] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. Right? I ask for input and, I mean, I ask for input and, uh, when it's given, it's... and it's not taken, then it's like my technician is, "I'm gonna, just gonna... You're not listening to me anyway. Why am I doing it?"
[00:30:45] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:30:45] Josh Coomes: Yeah, yeah. And, yes, there's, uh, I want the input, not for validation, but for other, like, other perspective insight.
[00:30:54] Josh Coomes: And at the same time, like, I'm a- I'm trying to do the right thing for the company, right? And f- I'm... I don't know. I'm listening, but I'm not... It's like they talk about the 30/30 treatment, right? It's like you go- well, you walk outside 30 feet and you look 30 feet in the air, whose name's on the building, right?
[00:31:12] Josh Coomes: Yeah. So it's like everyone gets a v- uh... What did I say? "Everyone gets a voice but not a vote" is what Rick says, right? Yep. And it's like everyone gets a voice. I wanna make sure I take as much as I can. But if I'm not doing it right, why, why is what I'm doing the right answer? If I have another person that has another perspective, then it's like why not?
[00:31:33] Josh Coomes: Why isn't that being followed? Yeah. And from Episode 37, it's like, okay, if I'm not doing it right, then maybe I need to... Maybe there is more to it and I'm making the wrong decisions even though I think it's the best decision.
[00:31:46] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:31:47] Josh Coomes: So we need to have... You know, I'm gonna end up soon probably getting with Josh Parnell and then get his, uh, his downloadable version of, like, leadership guide- Yeah
[00:31:59] Josh Coomes: and start, try to get some, like, more structured things. Um, 'cause I like structure, and if I can get that and then try to implement some of those tasks and ways and techniques that he does things, it's like, okay, let's try to work on this a little bit. 'Cause I'm failing as a leader. Mm-hmm. That's, like, the bottom line.
[00:32:17] Josh Coomes: And, um, like business-wise, we're doing okay. Yeah. We're putting money in the bank. But the leadership part, like, I want him to be happy, I want my wife to be happy, and it's like- Yeah ... okay, there's pro- I probably need to, like, open up my ears a little bit more. '
[00:32:29] Jeff Compton: Cause I'm in that place where... I've been in that place where they'll, you know, they'll ask for the input, and you'll give suggestions, you'll give perspective, and it's, like, never then implemented on, right?
[00:32:39] Jeff Compton: And then eventually it becomes like we all, I think, reach a level, I think it's just human nature, where we go It doesn't really what I, matter what I say at this answer, right? And then we'll start to maybe, like, half-ass the answer or even, like, go completely sarcastic, right, with the whole thing because you're not gonna implement it anyway.
[00:32:57] Jeff Compton: I don't think you guys are there yet, right, in that situation. I don't ... Do you feel like everything you say is disregarded?
[00:33:04] Brian Ramsburg: It's not really disregarded. Um, I think the best way to, to put it from my side is he's hearing, but he's not listening.
[00:33:13] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:33:14] Brian Ramsburg: So he hears the words, but nothing really comes of it.
[00:33:18] Jeff Compton: Is that fair, Josh?
[00:33:20] Josh Coomes: It's 100% accurate. Yeah. I mean, I just ... That's where the structured thing, it's like if we have the, the monthly meeting to talk, and it's not, like, about performance. Right. I mean, there's some of that, but it's not what it's for. And if we have, like, a dedicated plan, we talk through those things, it's like, "Okay, this is why I wanna do this," you know, at least it's being, um, taken more serious.
[00:33:45] Jeff Compton: Mm. '
[00:33:45] Josh Coomes: Cause I think a lot of the stuff that he, he says to me, it's like I'm disregarding it. That's not what I'm doing.
[00:33:51] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:33:51] Josh Coomes: And if I don't explain the why, which is the most powerful part, then, um, it's not, it's just looking as being disregarded. Yeah. And it's not what's happening, it's just there's, you know, that's just what's happening.
[00:34:02] Jeff Compton: Sometimes, too, the timeframe, right? Like, w- we can sit down and have a discussion, and even though we're doing it every month, I think sometimes we think that, like, the suggestion that we give, if by next month at that time it hasn't been implemented, we think it's been disregarded. And I know that, like, what I learned as I got older is a lot of things that I was saying they were hearing and eventually it did come to fruition of what it was.
[00:34:26] Jeff Compton: It just took longer than sometimes what I expected my schedule would be- Right ... for when I would see results, right? And I think that that's something that, like Because it, it's, it's really simple. You can go, "This is the goal, and it's right here," and it looks like a very short trip to get to there, but there's a whole lot of stuff that's gonna come in and out in the way to get there, right?
[00:34:45] Jeff Compton: It doesn't mean that, like, we lose sight of this or that you have taken it and tossed it away and we're not even gonna think about it. It's just, like, other things keep popping up. If, if you get another technician, how do you feel right now? Like, do you feel like that's gonna add to your stress, or is it gonna help your day-to-day?
[00:35:05] Brian Ramsburg: So with what we're currently looking at and have decided to attempt, uh, it's gonna be kind of a mixture of both.
[00:35:12] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:35:13] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, we've pretty much ... I think we're in agreeance at this point that a A level, a master tech, they're not really looking for work. If they are as good as they say they are, shop they're at is not gonna let them go.
[00:35:24] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:35:25] Brian Ramsburg: So I think, uh, the video what we watched the other day says, "All right, we're gonna shoot for an A and settle for a C, and then bring them up to wherever we need them."
[00:35:34] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:35:35] Brian Ramsburg: So ultimately, we're gonna grab somebody that has potential, has the right attitude, the right personality. So in the short here, a month, two month, three month down the road, it's gonna require a lot of training from Josh and me, uh, to try to start bringing whoever this guy is up to our standards-
[00:35:54] Jeff Compton: Right
[00:35:55] Brian Ramsburg: um, which drastically exceed most of the standards of any of the shops in our area. Right. So we know that's gonna be a struggle. So in the short interim, yes, it's gonna be more stressful. Yes, there's gonna be mistakes. Um, but long term, actually getting someone in there that works good with all of us, that's part of the culture, actually believes in what we do, it'll alleviate a lot of that stress.
[00:36:20] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. Are you comfortable in a mentor role?
[00:36:22] Brian Ramsburg: I am.
[00:36:23] Jeff Compton: Okay. You've got experience in it?
[00:36:25] Brian Ramsburg: I do.
[00:36:25] Jeff Compton: Do you think he's gonna be a good mentor?
[00:36:27] Brian Ramsburg: Yeah.
[00:36:27] Jeff Compton: Yeah. That's good. I think you'd be a great mentor too, honestly. Like, I think you've got the kinda, like, what you and I share technician wise, like technical ability, I think there's, you've got a ton to offer.
[00:36:40] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? And Learnie, you're a sharp guy. Like, you know. But it, it can be sometimes that, um, like it's the same as me, like there's so much that I have that I can share, but sometimes the attitude comes out as to why, like I completely disregard again some of the things, you know, that I shouldn't.
[00:37:00] Jeff Compton: Because I gotta remember that, like, when I'm trying to teach them something, I should remove all of that 'cause I'm just trying to teach you a skill or a process or a method. But some of the method is so linked to the way my, what I think, that it's hard for me to s- pass that, that down without putting some of that taint on it.
[00:37:17] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? That tainted perspective of, uh- Mm ... why I do it that way, you know? I do a lot of things the way I do because I worked flat rate for so many years that it was just about speed, and I didn't care, right? I did not care. Like, we joked- Mm ... he's, I, I, I can't make a case study on something to save my life because I probably went out and either like touched it and put hands on it, and that's how I knew that it was bad- Mm
[00:37:42] Jeff Compton: 'cause it was burning hot and it shouldn't have been, or I wiggled the harness and the engine stalled, and I never had a I had, I had, the only tool I might've had was a pocket screwdriver on it, right? Because I was going after something. Whereas, so I can't necessarily just go, "This is the lab scope that I took of that, and this is the, this is the data that was on it," like that.
[00:38:01] Jeff Compton: I don't have that. But what I'm trying to always teach people is a process, right? Of how I... And that's tough for me because now I find a lot of people are getting into this, like we talked about that Jeep, they're getting into the, the learning, I only learn by based on the data, right? And I learn at it going, like we talked about that Jeep, like we're talking about, you're t- talking heat soak, and I'm going, "Man, it's really hard to think that that's like heat soak when the temperature is what it is right now," right?
[00:38:27] Jeff Compton: And it, we're, we're sharing how, like I didn't see that heat soak happen a lot on that particular Jeep. The predecessor, the four liters, like your friend's LJ that was in here, yeah, a lot more. A lot more. And still not super common, not just because I lived in Canada, but it just wasn't a super common thing, right?
[00:38:45] Jeff Compton: That's the struggle that I have is because there's a lot of knowledge that I think a lot of the older techs like you and I can teach, but it's now we're running into this younger generation where if it's not like on a lab scope or with a, a bunch of traces and data and, and all this kind of stuff, they don't get it.
[00:39:01] Jeff Compton: And I go back to like there's still... I fixed so many cars with just like a visual inspection and listening to it, and then some s- data interpretation. I don't have to go and do a bunch of tests afterwards And that's where it's hard for me to go- to, to fit into, I think, a lot of other people's culture now.
[00:39:19] Jeff Compton: Lucas and I talk about this. I would not be successful in Lucas's shop because he wants all this evidence.
[00:39:24] Josh Coomes: See, and that's, that's what we're- Hm ... that's exactly- You're right. Look at him shaking his head. Yeah. Like yeah, it's... That's where I'm at. I want, without a doubt, an answer, right? And I will charge to get that answer.
[00:39:35] Josh Coomes: Yeah. Or I will absorb it, but the technician doesn't take the brunt of it directly. Mm-hmm. Okay? And that's what led up to some of the tension from episode 37. It's like, it- I'm like Lucas, and what I am finding out is that to run the shop that I wanna run, it adds so much extra stress on it.
[00:39:55] Jeff Compton: Yes.
[00:39:56] Josh Coomes: And it's like, because I want perfection- Mm-hmm
[00:39:59] Josh Coomes: it's like the tool of the devil, right? And I'm looking at constantly reputation and accuracy, and it's... the juice may not be worth the squeeze. Yeah. Right? Because I'm pushing technicians away because it's like, "You didn't do it my way." You know, I can do my best to explain the why, which is how you get buy-in, it's the most important part, but even after I still explain the why, why are we doing this voltage drop test on this starter?
[00:40:26] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. It's like, because I need to know it. Yeah. And it's like, why are we proving the starter's bad?
[00:40:30] Jeff Compton: You and I talked about that.
[00:40:31] Josh Coomes: Yeah, and it's like- Yeah ... okay, but you're getting compensated for the test. Or it's within the initial evaluation, which is approximately an hour. Mm-hmm. We don't talk hours to the customer, right?
[00:40:41] Josh Coomes: Right. But approximately an hour, but at the same time, if we're trying to still meet production goals, which is what, like we changed the pay plan again recently because it wasn't necessarily fair for the tech.
[00:40:51] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:40:52] Josh Coomes: And yeah, I run my shop a little bit different. I'm probably very empathetic, and it's like I'm gonna take the responsibility now for the out- for the production, for the pay.
[00:41:01] Josh Coomes: Yeah. But, um, you know, there's still, you know, coaching that's telling me, "You're kinda not doing it right." I'm like, "Well, I'm doing it my way. Maybe it's..." You know, and it's like I tried doing it that way, and I don't like it. But- Yeah ... yeah, so like pushing that stuff away and, or pushing the technician away because I wanna do things a certain way.
[00:41:19] Josh Coomes: There... If I wanna do that my way, and if I ask you to go r- rotate tires 'cause the check engine light's on, if you're paid hourly- Yeah ... I guess you can do that, right? Mm-hmm. But you're still gonna crush moral, uh, morale I mean. Yeah. And, and it's like who wants to work for a guy like that? And I don't wanna be that micromanager, and I caught myself doing it, and it was just more evident after that, and it was like, okay, I need to like roll it back a little bit.
[00:41:42] Josh Coomes: Trust, trust my team, hire the right guys. If there's mistakes being made, if there was a mistake made- It's paid training.
[00:41:49] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:41:50] Josh Coomes: Right? And as long as it's not like what Cecil talked about in class yesterday, as long as it's not fire or blood, or it's not gonna cost you $6,000, let it go.
[00:41:58] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:41:58] Josh Coomes: Right? So, like, okay, let's just, let's try to, let's try to- Mm
[00:42:03] Josh Coomes: turn it down a little bit. '
[00:42:03] Jeff Compton: Cause Josh and I talked about, especially about that starter thing, because, like, he's sharing it with me, and I'm going, "Dude, here's how I would approach it," and I'd be exactly the same. You give me a starter diag. If I walk out and I rap on it with a hammer and it starts, my diag's done.
[00:42:16] Jeff Compton: And he, and, and I see his point. Well, you could just disturbed it, and it could be a volt drop connection right on there. Mm. Guess what, man? I still gotta go through all that work to, say, access that starter, right? I'm putting a new one in when I'm there, and I'm gonna fix it. The other thing that I might see, as soon as it's se- I see it right there, I'm gonna fix that, too.
[00:42:35] Jeff Compton: Right? So that's how I think, 'cause... Now, and I, I shared with one o- the last one I had was a Titan when I worked at the dealer. Not the last one, but one that sticks in my brain is we had a Titan that was under warranty, and, uh, intermittently would hit the key, and it wouldn't crank. Sometimes it would click, click, click.
[00:42:51] Brian Ramsburg: Mm.
[00:42:51] Jeff Compton: Sounds just like a starter, right? Well, on that Titan, it's buried on the intake manifold. You know what I did? I ordered the starter motor, and when I got in there, guess what? That cable was right from the factory, had backed off and was loose.
[00:43:05] Brian Ramsburg: Yep.
[00:43:06] Jeff Compton: Now, I could have- Just clean that up, straighten out that arcing, the pitting that's happened from the burn, and, and n- not put the starter in.
[00:43:16] Jeff Compton: Under warranty, I'm putting the starter in. Now, on a customer's car, that's where it becomes a real thing. What do you do here? You've already got the customer con- con- con- I say convinced. Convinced that they need a starter, they're gonna buy a starter, you put the starter in. The due diligence thing is now when I'm there, I continue the diag process as I'm replacing the part.
[00:43:37] Jeff Compton: I see the effect of the loose connection, then I fix that too. That's the difference. Where swapnostics or shotgun diag has gotten a bad rap in this industry is because we may hand it off to somebody else and say, "Just go put that starter in." And they hit the key and they drove it in. They had no idea why they were bringing it in, right?
[00:43:55] Jeff Compton: And they don't notice, they don't look at that when they take it apart. We're looking always failure analysis.
[00:44:00] Brian Ramsburg: Mm-hmm. "
[00:44:01] Jeff Compton: Oh, shoot. That was only found... " Or they get smart mouth and they go out and they go, "Hey, didn't even need it. It was only just a loose connection." The end of the day, you fixed the frigging car, right?
[00:44:12] Jeff Compton: And you, you, you look at enough things to know while you're in there, what are you gonna do to make the job last as long as it possible. So I get both sides 'cause, like, I've worked with guys, if I hit the thing with a starter, with a hammer, and it cranks up, my diag's done.
[00:44:26] Brian Ramsburg: So that one was what, a Cadillac?
[00:44:29] Josh Coomes: No, it was the Infiniti.
[00:44:30] Brian Ramsburg: Either way, it, it was Nissan- Yeah ... starter stuck underneath intake manifold.
[00:44:35] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:44:35] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, that one in particular, we went ahead and checked, obviously, supply voltage, the whole nine, made sure all that was good. Went to the patch cable that we could reach right there at the back- Yeah ... of the intake and verified- Yeah
[00:44:46] Brian Ramsburg: we had power, we had ground.
[00:44:47] Jeff Compton: Yep.
[00:44:48] Brian Ramsburg: Still no click, no nothing. We went ahead and ripped the intake off. It's like, all right, I'm here. You know what? I'm gonna do the last test my- myself for my standards. Supply power and ground to it. Nothing. Yeah. Starter's just locked up. It's dead. Locked up. No good.
[00:45:03] Jeff Compton: Yep.
[00:45:04] Brian Ramsburg: So in my mind, we're good.
[00:45:06] Brian Ramsburg: It's a shotgun. It's, it's dead.
[00:45:08] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:45:08] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, it, it's not coming back. Get ready to start taking it off. Josh comes over five, 10 minutes later, "Hey, I, I need a voltage drop test put on this now," but I just confirmed it's dead.
[00:45:20] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:45:21] Brian Ramsburg: And that's where sometimes he wants more.
[00:45:23] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:45:24] Brian Ramsburg: And I'm looking at, well, if I swap this, I've already verified I got power and ground to it.
[00:45:28] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:45:29] Brian Ramsburg: We know this is completely dead. We have to have it.
[00:45:32] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:45:32] Brian Ramsburg: Why am I wasting another 10, 15 minutes to run the next set of tests?
[00:45:36] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:45:36] Brian Ramsburg: That's another 10, 15 minutes. I'm the only tech. I need to get to the next car.
[00:45:40] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Now, do you stress because y- right now, like, the fact that you're, you know the work schedule and you're the only tech, does it add stress to you?
[00:45:49] Brian Ramsburg: It does.
[00:45:50] Jeff Compton: See, that's tough, eh?
[00:45:51] Josh Coomes: It is.
[00:45:51] Jeff Compton: It is really, because, like, for me, my standpoint, I was always very blessed early in my career. I didn't give a shit, right? The more cars just meant the more money for me, and the less cars would irritate me. Now, when I see, when I work in a shop and I see all these cars piling up, even though I'm, I'm not paid on any kind of commission base or flat rate or any of that kind of stuff, it, it adds my...
[00:46:15] Jeff Compton: Because I feel the same way. I'm like, "They're gonna be on me, like, 'cause we got all these cars backed up." It's like tire season in Canada, right? You and I have talked about that. 'Cause nothing is just a tire job. It's a tire job, but plus can you look at this when they're there? And plus, like, it always is the plus that adds the stress level of all the cars piling up outside.
[00:46:33] Jeff Compton: So I feel you, Brian. I really do, man. It is not, it's not easy. Um, the, the, the multiple test thing, when he's- he's right when he says if you're hourly and I tell you to go rotate the tires 'cause I think it's gonna fix the check engine light, you just do it. When I'm, when I'm commission-based pay, hybrid, flat rate, whatever, I'm wired where I'm gonna challenge you every time on why am I doing that.
[00:47:03] Jeff Compton: Because, like, at the end of the goal, I'm just in survival mode. I either wanna hit my number that I need to hit to, to bonus up, you and I have talked about this. Yeah. Or I'm in, like, I, I wanna get as much done as possible to maximize whatever I make. I'm always in survival mode, and it affects the attitude that I can come to.
[00:47:21] Jeff Compton: And this is what a lot of people, when they get from hybrid pay, they don't understand where, well, I pay them hybrid, but they still give me all this flak about how they want, you know, how I want them to do stuff. That's wherein when, when their pay is justified somewhat on how fast they do something, they're always gonna want to have the conversation, right, Josh?
[00:47:41] Jeff Compton: Yep. And you're nodding like, "Yeah, I know. It's frustrating." You see- It's
[00:47:44] Josh Coomes: exactly what happened.
[00:47:44] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:47:45] Josh Coomes: Yep.
[00:47:46] Jeff Compton: I'm not, and I can't sit here and tell you or everybody that, like, they should only pay their guys hourly. They should only pay straight time and, and prof- prof- production, see, I almost have trained my s- bra- brain not to use that word because it triggers, um, should even come off the table as a, as a conversation piece, but it has to.
[00:48:04] Jeff Compton: It has to be there, 'cause we live and die on that, right? But I think that too many of us- 'Cause the tech has every right that if I go out and I smack it with a hammer, and I've got an hour sold to diag or whatever, right? And I smack it with a hammer, and I do a quick AVR test on the battery, and I've got two things that I've proven what it is, my diag's done.
[00:48:24] Jeff Compton: And I got to put a half an hour, 45 minutes extra in my pocket for efficiency. When all of a sudden now it's, the process is, like, I can't make time on some people's processes is what I'm trying to say. And that's tough because you wanna get faster, and you wanna be able to put some time away, but then they go, "Well, you, you make the time on the repair."
[00:48:43] Jeff Compton: Yes, but where my experience was always is I didn't have a lot of extra time on the repair. Now, here's the other thing, that what you're doing well is because from my training and my exper- experience, the quality control that happened after the repair- Mm-hmm ... was something that was never allotted for time-wise, charge-wise or, or pay-wise.
[00:49:04] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. So now when we have... I'm, I'm... People that are listening to this, technicians, slow down a bit because, like, if you're doing it right and they're giving you quality control time, that can be where some of that, if your time goes over a little bit on the repair, you're still not gonna lose because they should have added the matrix that adds a couple tenths to the job- Yep
[00:49:23] Jeff Compton: and you're gonna be okay.
[00:49:24] Josh Coomes: Yeah, so we, we initially were doing a qu- we added a quality control about a year ago that was paying 15 minutes and at $0 an hour to the customer, right? And it was kind of tanking the ELR, effective labor rate, enough to where it screws the labor gross profit-
[00:49:43] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm ...
[00:49:44] Josh Coomes: to where it's like, hmm I'm not making what I need to make overall GP to be able to pay all the bills.
[00:49:50] Josh Coomes: I'm like, "So we have to get the ELR up so I can afford to pay, give raises basically, right?" Yeah. So, um, we stopped doing that. Now, we did- we still run 25% over Mitchell times. Or if the technician feels as though this job pays four in Mitchell, uh, after multiplier comes out to five, I need six. Okay. Like, I don't care.
[00:50:12] Josh Coomes: I mean, it has to be somewhat justifiable, right? Right. You can't just, like, throw extra hours on for no reason.
[00:50:16] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:50:17] Josh Coomes: But I mean, a great example is if, like, I'm on board, I'm not doing a Honda V6 timing belt in three and a half hours of what Mitchell says.
[00:50:23] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:50:23] Josh Coomes: Like, even with multiplier, I'm still putting more on that because I've never done a timing belt that fast on those cars.
[00:50:29] Josh Coomes: Yeah. I've worked on H- nothing but Honda, maybe I can justify it 25% over three and a half, whatever hours that is. Yeah. But a timing belt in my shop is five and a half hours-
[00:50:36] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[00:50:37] Josh Coomes: with a water pump. It's like, that's it. You know? Yeah. I don't really care. '
[00:50:39] Jeff Compton: Cause we've seen all the, all the posts, and the guys go, "I whip them off in an hour and 30 minutes."
[00:50:44] Jeff Compton: I remember when I worked at a high-end day, it was crazy fast how fast some of those guys could do the timing belt and, and all the idlers and pulleys in there at the same time. It was like, we're talking 45 minutes. It was a four-hour job, right? Mm-hmm. And they were just so fast 'cause the muscle memory- Mm
[00:50:57] Jeff Compton: you're just, it just reps in, right? And, um, but for a shop that has to do everything, every brand, every make, every model that comes in, not has to, but you know what I mean, we don't just do one thing over again, we don't ever get the reps in, and it, it's crazy to me to think that it's like I look at book time and I'm so glad so many in the, in the industry are pro- finally adding the matrix to it because I know I've met a lot of great techs, you and I know them.
[00:51:23] Jeff Compton: And a lot of them, I'll say this, um, most guys, the first time I've ever watched them do a job, a lot of jobs they don't, they don't cut the time in half. They don't even cut it. Some, most, a lot break even. If they're doing good quality work, doing it the way it wants... Who was I talking to yesterday? And it's like their process is you don't put a caliper back on without torquing the bolts.
[00:51:42] Jeff Compton: Every frigging bolt. It's Loctited and
[00:51:45] Brian Ramsburg: torqued. Mm-hmm.
[00:51:46] Jeff Compton: That's just their process. Now, how many times would you hire a guy, and if he walked in there and you said that's the way to process, they'd go, "You're crazy. I've been doing this forever. I know how to do brakes." Doesn't matter that you know how to do brakes.
[00:51:59] Jeff Compton: This is now my process. It adds time, right? That's how we've been able to make time on brake jobs forever, is because we don't necessarily run over to the wire wheel like I'm famous for, and I wire wheel every bolt. I don't Loctite them back in, but I probably should, and I wire wheel all the fasteners, check them all out, and then I put the thing back together.
[00:52:15] Jeff Compton: That's the way I was trained, the way I do it. But we... I've worked with countless guys that they do a 15-minute brake job because nothing gets cleaned, pads get slapped on, rotor gets hammered off, rotor gets hammered on, and out the door it goes.
[00:52:27] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm.
[00:52:28] Jeff Compton: It's finding that, that perfect mix, eh, Josh, of what is- Yep
[00:52:32] Jeff Compton: what does quality look like, but does quality have to go over the time? That's the trick, man. That's the secret sauce. It's-
[00:52:40] Josh Coomes: It's hard when you have... I have s- I have standards, right? And I mean, everyone has standards- Sure do ... whether or not they be high or low- Yeah ... is the difference, right? And, um- When I am so specific about how I want things done 'cause it's my shop, my name, my reputation, my legacy, whether or not it's be small or big, right?
[00:52:59] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. It's like it's hard to be able to express that same vision. I don't expect a technician to have the same, uh- Yeah ... burden of ownership and same care, right? Nobody really does. And when you tie in production to that, you're... You know, my idea was that, hey, this is all fair. It's fair if I don't have a bunch of speed bumps and obstacles- Yeah
[00:53:23] Josh Coomes: in the way for the technician to be able to produce. Yeah, I keep my labor GP exactly where I want it because now you're getting paid $22 an hour 'cause you only bill out 30 hours a week, and then when you bill out 70 hours, you get paid $62 an hour. It's like, yeah, it's fair. Everybody's making a lot of money, and it's like, wait a minute, now I can't make 70 hours because you wanted me to wire wheel bolts, Loctite this.
[00:53:45] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:53:45] Josh Coomes: You know, you want me to do three extra test steps to
[00:53:48] Jeff Compton: the- 10 mile test drive-
[00:53:49] Josh Coomes: Yeah ... when
[00:53:50] Jeff Compton: it's done. You know, bursting- And- ... and all that stuff ...
[00:53:52] Josh Coomes: so as time went on when it's like, okay, I'm seeing a problem, I'm acknowledging it, I'm trying to think of a way to move forward with this, and at that point in time, I wanted to take the burden off the technician to be able to produce, so now you're getting paid, in my mind, 50 hours of production.
[00:54:06] Josh Coomes: That's what our goals are set- Mm-hmm ... is 50 hours of production. You're getting paid for that, and you're... But now it's like, hey, you're getting paid what you need to get paid, and then when you overproduce or you produce more than that and you hustle, I want you to be reward. So instead of it being like the carrot that you always talk about- Yeah
[00:54:22] Josh Coomes: it's like now I, I'm trying to get it more and more close to this is now a reward for your effort instead of I'm paying you what you're worth. It's like when you push forth more, it's like, hey, this is... Thank you for what you did. Here's some extra money.
[00:54:37] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:54:37] Josh Coomes: So, you know, I'm still... I was... Like I told Brian, when we went through this stuff and we were...
[00:54:43] Josh Coomes: Like, after a day or two after we had that kind of like confrontation, I'm grateful he came in the next day. I wasn't sure if he was going to. Yeah. Right? And it's like I had a... I told him, I said, "Look, man, 26, 27-year technician, you know, I don't consider myself like a master tech still, and two years shop ownership."
[00:55:03] Josh Coomes: I mean, you... Like, it's not his responsibility is working for a guy that's two years in.
[00:55:08] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:55:09] Josh Coomes: Well, you know, but it's like- There's got to be a little bit of grace.
[00:55:13] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. I hope. Do you, I don't think he... D- the, the goals that he sets down, do you think they're outrageous or hard to hit or... Like 50, 50's not hard for you to hit?
[00:55:22] Brian Ramsburg: 50's not hard to hit as long as all the pieces are moving like they should.
[00:55:26] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:55:27] Brian Ramsburg: So what I mean by that, um, from front of the office all the way through the back of the shop, if we get a car in and my diagnostic notes are simply, "AC broke, fix."
[00:55:41] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:55:42] Brian Ramsburg: Well, what's the story there? Yeah. Are, are we just not cooling?
[00:55:45] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, was there any kind of noise, any precursors? And- no details. Well, now I've got to figure it out, or we gotta get ahold of that customer again to get those details.
[00:55:53] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:55:54] Brian Ramsburg: Well, that eats into our time 'cause-
[00:55:56] Jeff Compton: Yeah. I was wondering if you walk out to it and hit it up and hit the key, and start it up and it's blowing cold right when you look at it.
[00:56:01] Brian Ramsburg: We've had a couple of those.
[00:56:02] Jeff Compton: That's tricky, isn't it?
[00:56:03] Josh Coomes: Yeah.
[00:56:04] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:56:05] Josh Coomes: I don't like that.
[00:56:07] Jeff Compton: Right? Because then that would send me down a complete wormhole. Like do I... Okay, do I go and drive this like an hour and after an hour the... 'Cause I'll talk about a Nissan. We used to see lots of Nissans that, like, after an hour that clutch coil would go open circuit, and the clutch wouldn't cycle anymore.
[00:56:22] Jeff Compton: And you'd chase your frigging ass on that car, right?
[00:56:25] Josh Coomes: Yeah, that would drive me nuts. Like, I'm just like, I'm already getting mad thinking- Yeah ... of a flat rate, at me as a flat rate technician.
[00:56:29] Jeff Compton: But see, what we knew is after we'd seen so many compressor failures, it didn't drive me crazy anymore 'cause it's...
[00:56:36] Jeff Compton: Like, and it goes back to that saying, you laugh at me, it's gonna need one eventually. And you would just go out there with your estimate for selling the compressor.
[00:56:44] Brian Ramsburg: And you know what? It fixed the frigging car- Yeah ...
[00:56:46] Jeff Compton: a lot of the time. And that's where I believe sometimes that it's that window when we operate profitly, profit- profitably and, and we'd have one that, well, it did need a compressor, like we've taught, but there was also something else that was going on.
[00:57:00] Jeff Compton: Control head in a Nissan, we'll do that too. Yep. Um, we just took care of it after the fact. You know what I mean? And that's where this is always gonna be such a fluid conversation back and forth between the owner and the technician, and I think the good Lord just put me here to try and either make fun of it or monetize it or, uh, you know, help people understand both sides of how it can go because it just has to go that way.
[00:57:23] Jeff Compton: This is not- As crazy as it sounds, it's not a perfect science. You know, fixing cars is not a perfect science. Cars, for all the information that's in them, uh, they're operated by people, they're built by people, and they don't tell us what's wrong with them. Now, you can say, "Well, the data, sure it does when it's broken."
[00:57:45] Jeff Compton: But some people are getting so tuned in that they're telling us there's something wrong before the data is telling us something's wrong. And that becomes the whole can of worms of like, how can we go after this, right? And there's the struggle in this because that's where the communication breaks down customer to owner, and then owner to, to technician, 'cause it's interpretation on so many different fronts.
[00:58:06] Jeff Compton: We don't really know what it is until we actually dig in and start to investigate. And then when you find things You can't ignore it because you found something, 'cause it probably is what it is. It's probably the cause.
[00:58:19] Brian Ramsburg: Until it's not.
[00:58:20] Jeff Compton: Till it's not, 'cause there's two causes, right?
[00:58:22] Josh Coomes: And then you- the, the problem with all of those things, right, it even gets even further into it with, like, as technology advances, it's exponential.
[00:58:30] Josh Coomes: Yeah. So it's gonna get even worse. And when you're on a production-based pay, flat rate or hybrid, the technician is the one that's taking the brunt. Yeah. Right? They're the ones that feel it most in their pocket. Yeah. And then, you know, then the shop is, the front is coming back on why, you know, that you're not making production or whatever.
[00:58:47] Josh Coomes: "I
[00:58:47] Jeff Compton: can't pay you more. You're not producing enough."
[00:58:49] Josh Coomes: Yeah. And it's just not, it's just not fair. Like you said before, that flat rate's not gonna go away. I think that flat rate in a dealership, if I went back to a dealership, I would absolutely wanna be flat rate. I think I can still do it, right? Mm-hmm. And, um, but there's so much support network in those things when a properly ran shop...
[00:59:08] Josh Coomes: Now, some of them are terrible. Yeah. I remember I waited for an engine for an hour, uh, after it was already sitting here, and they wouldn't bring it out to my bay. We almost- Yeah ... started swinging. Yeah. Right? 'Cause now you are absolutely affecting my paycheck. I already slammed this out. Oh, and that, that stupid car that that happened to, it was a Volkswagen Passat, and there was a difference in the crankshaft between automatic and manual.
[00:59:26] Josh Coomes: And when it was all said and done, and then finally the engine was out there, I looked at the crankshaft, the first thing I did, it was the wrong freaking engine anyway. So-
[00:59:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[00:59:33] Josh Coomes: who, who, who takes that? I'm the one that's losing because they ordered the wrong freaking part.
[00:59:38] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:59:38] Josh Coomes: I didn't order the part.
[00:59:39] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Now, it, it's... And in a, in a perfect world, you have another bay, you just go on with life, right? That's a little bit of stress, but you're... Like, and maybe I wasted an hour waiting 'cause I, I, I, maybe I, I put my, started to put my tools away or m- organized this because the new engine's supposed to be coming right out.
[00:59:55] Jeff Compton: As soon as it's not there, it's like the talk all the time we had with last week was somebody was like, "What do you do? Do you make the, the technician throw the wheels on it and push it back outside?" Like, because... And some of you are gonna... And you're nodding your head now as a shop owner. Yeah. But back in the day as a technician flat rating the bay, if somebody said, "Hey, Josh, go throw that sub frame half back in that thing so that the wheels can be driven out and push it out, 'cause we're now two weeks waiting for..."
[01:00:20] Jeff Compton: You'd have said, "F you." Right? "Go get the forklift and jam it through the windows and lift it out and carry it out." That's, that's what I... Because I'm not effing paid to do this.
[01:00:28] Josh Coomes: Yeah. It's... But, so, but to sit there and, like, let yourself smolder in it- Mm ... if as a flat rate tech, all I'm gonna bitch about it, and then I'm gonna do it because I need to get the next four cars in- Yeah
[01:00:40] Josh Coomes: so I can actually make a paycheck.
[01:00:42] Jeff Compton: But see, some of those technicians, though, so they're the ones that, like, when it, when it gets to that level with them, they're the ones that you start seeing tools fly.
[01:00:48] Josh Coomes: Yeah.
[01:00:49] Jeff Compton: Right? That won't happen. I can't say that they're wrong because of that. Because- Like we all think we're, we're, we all think we're at our level, and then somebody, life will pile on something else and you thought you were at your max, and all of a sudden you just, you took it up another notch to how angry you can actually get or how jaded you can get, right?
[01:01:06] Jeff Compton: And then it's like who was that guy? I look back sometimes now, I talk about that thing where I, I at almost came to fisticuffs with the guy that was getting me the wrong brake rotors. I look back now and I go, "Who was that guy?" Like that wasn't me. But then I remember, oh, that was me a lot of weeks because the just the pay wasn't there and the stress level was already up.
[01:01:26] Jeff Compton: And you know, they tell you like, "Hey, you gotta make hay when the sun's shining," right? Boy, like there's all kinds of these ... We're ... It's a busy time of year. Like get it done, get it done, get it done. And your stress level's just incrementally going up and up and up and up and up. And you're like, "I'm making money," but you're, you're, you're right at your limit.
[01:01:43] Jeff Compton: One little thing and the wheel falls off the cart, not the car, the cart, and all of a sudden the apple cart's turned upside down and you're like I, I became a different person. And that's why for me I can never go back. I can't do it. Yeah. It's just, it's not in my culture anymore. Physically I can't do it.
[01:01:59] Jeff Compton: I, I'm ... I only have one good arm. But the, the reality is is like it puts me in such a head space now, it's just a matter of time when somebody starts to, to pay me that way or talk about production that way before I sabotage myself. So don't ever become that. Always have ... Because here's why I became that way.
[01:02:19] Jeff Compton: There was nobody to listen. There was nobody to have the conversation. So always come to him with your, with your, with your feelings and your perspective and, and, you know,
[01:02:29] Josh Coomes: your- But I have to be receptive to it.
[01:02:31] Jeff Compton: And you are. You're not a terrible listener, but you do need to- Yeah. I, I've known you enough now, we've shared enough that I know that you're, you're stubborn.
[01:02:38] Jeff Compton: You're stubborn sometimes.
[01:02:39] Josh Coomes: Yeah.
[01:02:40] Jeff Compton: You know? So
[01:02:40] Josh Coomes: are you.
[01:02:41] Jeff Compton: Oh, yeah. But- It's okay. We ... It's that, it's that A type of personality that gets into this that makes us so good, but we almost have to like flick that switch to the other type of person that we need to be when we're in your role now as a shop owner, right?
[01:02:56] Jeff Compton: Mm. 'Cause yes, I'm stubborn and I'm opinionated and I'm pig-headed, and I have a record that shows that like I'm very difficult to employ because I think I'm pretty flipping smart. But here's the reality, like we're all flipping smart, but the truly successful ones are the ones that are flipping smart but they're able to navigate the other side of this conversations that is how they manage to not talk themselves out of a job, or they don't sour their, their attitude and their, and their personality till nobody wants to be around them.
[01:03:26] Brian Ramsburg: Well, luckily I came to Josh at a point in my life where- I'm a lot more calm than I used to be.
[01:03:31] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[01:03:32] Brian Ramsburg: I used to be easily excitable. Uh-
[01:03:34] Jeff Compton: I like how he even says that, easily excitable. Like, it's a very politically correct way to say, like, "I was ready to throw hands." Like, that's, you know?
[01:03:41] Brian Ramsburg: Josh has heard the stories.
[01:03:43] Brian Ramsburg: Yeah. He, he, he's known, uh, previously I, I've been at a stage where I threw hands.
[01:03:47] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[01:03:48] Brian Ramsburg: Um, but it's something where I had to learn how to humble myself a- and see both sides for what it really is- Yeah ... as best as we can. Uh, so just like some of the incidents y- you've probably heard about at this point, me and Josh just kinda get to the point, you know what?
[01:04:02] Brian Ramsburg: We do have a bit of a, a difference of opinions at this point. I'm gonna pick up my toys, I'm gonna go home, I'm gonna cool off. We'll talk in a day or so.
[01:04:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:04:11] Josh Coomes: That's awesome for him to be so emotionally intelligent that he doesn't respond when emotions are high. Like, I'm getting better with that.
[01:04:19] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[01:04:19] Josh Coomes: Um, but he's already, in my opinion, mastered it. So that's awesome, 'cause you can do a bunch of bad things when... and, you know, very bad things. Yeah. Right? And it's like I respect him tremendously for that, and I just adapt to know, I need to, like, when he's ready, you know, it's like I... The next day I said, "You know, we're gonna have to talk about this.
[01:04:39] Josh Coomes: Just we're, we'll, we'll put a pin in it for now, but- Mm ... this has to be addressed. This can't fester, and we have to come up with- Yeah ... a resolution." So and it's like, "I'll give you space." You know, I'm grateful he came into work the next day, you know? But and it took about- four days. It happened on a Thursday, I think by Tuesday or Wednesday, and it's been the, the atmosphere in the shop has been the absolute best it has ever been.
[01:05:02] Jeff Compton: That's good. That's good.
[01:05:03] Josh Coomes: It's, it's awesome. So I'm hoping that with some more guidance and structure we can kind of maintain that. Mm-hmm. And hiring somebody else is gonna help. You know, we've been hiring for nine months now.
[01:05:14] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:05:14] Josh Coomes: And I cannot find... I gave two job offers. One guy was like, he's about an hour drive, and he couldn't do it.
[01:05:20] Josh Coomes: He was gonna been an awesome fit.
[01:05:22] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:05:22] Josh Coomes: And, um, you know, I gave him for a three-day work and interview, and he's like, "Dude, I just can't do this drive." So I appreciate the honesty 'cause, you know, I'm gonna pay to move his toolbox here. It's like, okay, you're gonna b- like, work two weeks and it's not gonna work, but- Yeah
[01:05:34] Josh Coomes: and the other guy is just like, as time goes on I'm trying to figure out where to go. Now, most of my coaching and mentors in the industry are like, "You need to get a guy that comes in here and bills out 40 hours a week."
[01:05:44] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:05:44] Josh Coomes: That's not the type of shop that I want. Like, yeah, obviously I need production.
[01:05:47] Josh Coomes: It's, it's like no shit, right? But I don't want a guy to come in just to bang out work and go home at 5:00. And it's just like, I don't want that kind of atmosphere where it's just like this is a job to me. Like, we're trying to build something better here, and that's making the scope of technician pool from a puddle to a mud puddle.
[01:06:06] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:06:06] Josh Coomes: Right? So it's not a, it's not a freaking, you know, a, a lake of, you know, the pool.
[01:06:11] Jeff Compton: And yet everybody says that, "Oh, go find one that you can pull in here and do 40 hours." And I, as the dealer guy from way back then, I saw lots of them hire guys that could pull 40 hours. And you know what? I did 10 of their hours over again every fucking week.
[01:06:26] Brian Ramsburg: Yep.
[01:06:27] Jeff Compton: And you don't want that, and you don't want that.
[01:06:29] Josh Coomes: No.
[01:06:29] Jeff Compton: So-
[01:06:30] Josh Coomes: So yeah, and that's what I'm saying. So it's like, as time goes on, like, I, I... where I'm at in Fayetteville, in my opinion, there's not a huge technician pool, right? And the guys that are out there, yes, they might be able to produce, but not when you put them in my shop to where we do things different.
[01:06:44] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. 100% we're not doing the same things that you're doing- Yeah ... where these guys are able to produce 70 hours a week. You will not come into my shop and produce 70 hours a week. I can almost guarantee it. Yeah. Now, what you will produce is gonna be 50 hours of amazing work that will not come back is the goal, right?
[01:06:58] Josh Coomes: So it's like, that's what we're trying to find, and I can't find the person that can do that right now. And, you know, everyone's telling me, "Don't hire a new guy." Well, it's like, look, man, I got a cultural fit that has... He's ambitious- Yes ... and he wants to do things. And it's like, "Hey, let's try this out," you know?
[01:07:15] Josh Coomes: It's like, we're gonna try to m- We're doing it. I mean, I'm pretty sure that we're gonna give... We're doing a one-day work and interview. Normally, we do one to three-
[01:07:22] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[01:07:23] Josh Coomes: uh, depending on skill level, 'cause I'm not really actively looking at 100% skill unless we're getting to, like, a lot of higher pay, um, or you're being hired because y- of your skill set, then we might try to push for, like, what can you do and what do you know?
[01:07:36] Josh Coomes: Yeah. But for now, the, the one-day work and interview is really for a cultural fit to make sure, like- If we weren't gonna do a working interview, I met him after hours, nobody's there, I would probably offer him a job. Yeah. But that's doing a disservice to my wife and my technician. Yes. It's like, "Hey, um, I wanna bring you in and work for a day, and then make sure it's all gonna jive.
[01:07:57] Josh Coomes: And if, if you're gonna be receptive, you know, it's not fail-safe, but it's something better than nothing." This guy is such in a bad spot where he's at right now, he thought he wasn't getting paid to come in, and he was like, "Yeah, I'll, I'll be in-
[01:08:08] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[01:08:09] Josh Coomes: for a whole day." I
[01:08:09] Jeff Compton: know.
[01:08:10] Josh Coomes: And I was like- Donating
[01:08:10] Jeff Compton: your day time
[01:08:11] Josh Coomes: and I forgot, like- You gotta try that out, yeah ... I never even told him about that, and I forgot, and I had to text him. I'm like... He told me he was good to come in on Monday, and I was like, "Oh, by the way, I'm paying you for the day." And he's like, "Oh, really? That's great." I'm like, oh my God, dude, this guy is so freaking jaded- Yeah
[01:08:24] Josh Coomes: that he's just, like, willing to do anything, and it's really sad.
[01:08:27] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:08:28] Josh Coomes: So I mean, like-
[01:08:29] Jeff Compton: There's a lot of them out there like that, bro. I tell you right now, like, I, I've, I've had the working interview and done the working interview thing, and I never expected to get paid. I was just willing to do it to try and get into a better fit.
[01:08:41] Jeff Compton: You know
[01:08:41] Josh Coomes: what I mean? What's your opinion on working interviews? 'Cause I missed a couple guys for that. Hmm. Let's ask the interviewee or interviewer.
[01:08:47] Jeff Compton: What, like, uh, what, a working interview? Mm-hmm. Like working, working job interview? I think everybody... I think this industry needs to pull its head out of its butt and actually start doing it.
[01:08:55] Jeff Compton: Like, when I think about some of the shop owners that have gone as far as they've gone to bring guys from other states, make it happen, come down and do a week, right? And it's not just are you gonna fit in the shop at that week, 'cause you- they may fit by day two, and they love that. Like, "I could see myself working here forever."
[01:09:11] Jeff Compton: You gotta show them the rest of the area and go like, "Do you wanna live in Fayetteville? Do you wanna live in Blowing Rock? Do you wanna live..." Like, I'm talking, thinking of people that have brought techs from farther away. It's a big commitment. Andrew Fisher, right? Like, he, we know him. He's a friend of ours.
[01:09:25] Jeff Compton: Goes and works at arguably one of the best shops in the country, but there's, there's still family things that, like, brought him away and, and he had to make a move. You know, it kills him every day, I think. Well, it doesn't kill him every day, but he, he waxes nostalgic about being there, and it's such an awesome place to work.
[01:09:40] Jeff Compton: I think we have to do it in this industry. We have to become a lot more flexible about how we're gonna find the talent, because it's like you're gonna do. You're gonna grow the talent in your shop, or we're gonna sit here and, and wonder how do we poach talent from something else. Both cost money. That's the thing.
[01:09:58] Jeff Compton: Growing them or poaching them, it's a ton of money. Ton. So the... But we have no choice in this industry. We're at that point now, and there's, there's a collective in the industry that just wants to blame the high schools and blame the colleges and blame the parents. What good does blaming anybody do for that?
[01:10:13] Jeff Compton: Not a damn thing. At the end of the day, you still need another tech. You still want another tech. Yep. Blaming everybody ain't gonna do squat.
[01:10:20] Josh Coomes: That's why you put the wheels on the car and push it outside and get moving to the next thing- Yeah ... that's actually making a
[01:10:23] Jeff Compton: difference. And the next thing is, is like I have to now- For the people who are listening, and I'm not citing you as an example, if you think you're doing, "Oh, I can help my customer by doing free diag," or, "I can help my customer by doing this," that money that you're not charging for that, that you feel good about, you don't have that money then to come and build your...
[01:10:43] Jeff Compton: And I'm not talking pro- profit now. You can't build your team without money, because it's gonna cost money to get people to come in to your business and work there. It's just the reality. We have a window here where we have a lot of young people who are thinking about coming in, and we have a lot of old, angry people like me, and what we both want is good pay and a good culture, and we can't build that if you don't fucking charge.
[01:11:06] Jeff Compton: So.
[01:11:07] Josh Coomes: Yeah, I think, like, just coming to this, these tools- Yes ... this is a mandatory... It was mandatory this year, uh, for the shop, um, because of, like, just the dynamic we have in the shop right now. Yeah. And, um, ASTA is always mandatory because it's an hour and a half north of us- Yeah ... and it's like, and then, you know, most of my friends are in North Carolina.
[01:11:26] Josh Coomes: So that is mandatory always, and those two training conventions with three tickets-
[01:11:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[01:11:34] Josh Coomes: is about, it's gonna run about 20 26,000 minimum. If we have a fourth ticket, we have more lost production pay, right? So you, you, in k- you know, it's like basically my training budget is $40,000 a year.
[01:11:50] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:11:51] Josh Coomes: So $40,000, and I have a small shop.
[01:11:53] Josh Coomes: I have one technician, man, you know? Like, we'll be lucky to break a million this year, and I think we can do it- Mm-hmm ... especially if we get another tech in there, but, like, that's, that's a lot. And my expenses are really high for what we, for what I'm doing. But if I'm not charging for diag, how can I justify a $40,000 training bill?
[01:12:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:12:10] Josh Coomes: And people don't care to know that. They don't, they don't care. Yeah. They're just like, "Oh, it's 170?" Yeah.
[01:12:15] Jeff Compton: And the charging diag is just an example, but I mean, let's roll it into and say I don't run a matrix, or I don't mic mark, mark my parts up. Like, we, the free diag thing always gets tossed there and it, and it's the hot button thing, but, like, I mean charging effectively all throughout- Yeah
[01:12:29] Jeff Compton: the business, same as you, same as we talked about. Okay, so here's what I'm gonna say to you. I want to see you back here next year at this event, and I wanna see you at, you know, when we do ASTA in September. Yeah. We'd love to see you there. And, and you know, um, one point closing, what do you wanna say to him?
[01:12:51] Jeff Compton: And then you get to do the same thing. Oh. 'Cause I know he brags about you all the time to me, 100%. So you... And then we close on that. We'll go get some lunch.
[01:13:02] Brian Ramsburg: Tell you what, you go first 'cause I'm a little lost.
[01:13:05] Josh Coomes: Um, I would say that I have a strong technician. Mm-hmm. Right? Nobody is perfect. Uh, as long as you're willing to listen and ab- and absorb knowledge, then you're an asset.
[01:13:20] Josh Coomes: As soon as you have, uh, someone that is shut down and, like, doesn't wanna listen to anything, you're now a liability- Yeah ... and you're not, you're not necessarily worthless, but you're nowhere near as worth to the company as what you think you are.
[01:13:32] Jeff Compton: You're an obstacle as I would say.
[01:13:33] Josh Coomes: Yeah. So, and I have a technician that is still, he 100% does it.
[01:13:39] Josh Coomes: Brian Pollock says that the first 40 is the job, the next 40 is where you're gonna hone your craft. Yeah. I have a technician that understands that and does that on his own. So this training conference was hard for him because he's like, "I already do some of this training," and then you get here and you see it, like, eyes open.
[01:13:54] Josh Coomes: So him being s- a little res- like- You didn't really wanna come.
[01:14:00] Jeff Compton: Right.
[01:14:00] Josh Coomes: But now you see the value that's here, so he went out of his comfort zone probably 'cause he was told to, but now he's here and he's like, "Okay, I like it." So I have someone that I want to invest into, and he's receptive to it. Yeah. Yeah, there's tension, and I'm sorry for that, but know that I'm not trying to do anything wrong, like, on purpose.
[01:14:21] Josh Coomes: It just happens all the time.
[01:14:25] Brian Ramsburg: And I get all of that. You're absolutely right. We've talked about training. Uh, I'm a creature of habit, so I like staying around my home state within a few hours. I mean, we're what? Eight hours out, give or take? Yeah.
[01:14:37] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:14:38] Brian Ramsburg: So it was a, a big jump for me to come here, uh, be part of this giant seminar where I've got social anxiety like no tomorrow.
[01:14:47] Brian Ramsburg: It's part of the reason it's easy to lock me in the back of the shop and just leave me alone. Mm-hmm. I see the value in everything you do or where you're trying to get there. Uh, that's why I stick around. Guaranteed over the next six months between now and ASTA, we're gonna have some kind of disagreement somewhere, some reason, some way.
[01:15:06] Brian Ramsburg: But just like the last one, we're just gonna keep moving forward and figure it out. All
[01:15:12] Josh Coomes: right, good.
[01:15:13] Jeff Compton: That's pretty powerful stuff to hear, guys. Like, that's, that's the example of what I wanted to have these two on 'cause we don't, like you said at the beginning, we don't get to have very often the, the technician and the shop owner in the same conversation at the same time in the same interview, and that's why I wanted to bring you two here because, like, you're, you're an awesome friend, and I mean, like, I wanna see...
[01:15:33] Jeff Compton: I wanna cheer for you louder than anybody, right? I, I wanna see you succeed, and he brags about you to me all the time, right? So I mean, I feel like you guys can really, like, we can be, we can be doing this in a year, in another year, in another year, and you're just gonna become another face where you're gonna be, like, his right-hand man, and I'm gonna see you two guys together.
[01:15:52] Jeff Compton: So thank you both for coming on here today with me. I know you're... I can see you're not super comfortable, but you're doing well, so, so, and you know you, I love you, so you know, we're good. Beer, beer bros. Um, everybody, uh, we got their meet and greet tonight, um, from 6:00 to 9:00. Uh, I know by the time this gets released you're not gonna be able to make it there, but, um, you know, I appreciate everything that, uh, Brett bringing me here to Tools, and, um, make this part of your calendar for next year that you come to Tools in Hershey.
[01:16:22] Jeff Compton: I think it's gonna be in Hershey going forward every year, and it's an amazing place to be. If you can't make Tools, make it on your calendar that you're gonna make one of these events because it'll literally will change your life. So everybody, I love you. Thanks to all my s- family, my sponsors, LaunchTech USA, Promotive, you know, Techmetric, everybody.
[01:16:42] Jeff Compton: Thank you, guys. Without you guys, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing here. So love yous all. Talk to you later.
[01:16:50] Brian Ramsburg: Hey, if you could do me a favor real quick and like, comment on, and share this episode,
[01:16:55] Jeff Compton: I'd really appreciate it. And please, most importantly, set the podcast to automatically download every Tuesday morning.
[01:17:02] Jeff Compton: As always, I'd like to thank our amazing guests for their perspectives and expertise, and I hope that you'll please join us again next week on this journey of change. Thank you to my partners in the ASA group and to the Changing the Industry podcast. Remember what I always say, in this industry, you get what you pay for.
[01:17:19] Jeff Compton: Here's hoping everyone finds their missing 10 millimeter, and we'll see you all again next time.
Josh Coomes and Brian Audio
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[00:00:00] Josh Coomes: Nobody is perfect. As long as you're willing to listen and absorb knowledge, then you're an asset. As soon as you have, uh, someone that is shut down and, like, doesn't wanna listen to anything, you're now a liability. Yeah. And you're not necessarily worthless, but you're nowhere near as worth to the company as what you think you are.
[00:00:35] Jeff Compton: Welcome back to another exciting episode of the Jaded Mechanic Podcast. Um, this time we're coming live from... Well, we're not coming live. We're coming from Tools in, uh, Hershey, Pennsylvania. We're sitting here in the Hershey Lodge. Um, this place, if you've never been, has the most glorious smell coming through the HVAC system.
[00:00:53] Jeff Compton: It kind of smells like chocolate, and everybody is very, um, uh, happy. Uh, summer, the kids are really hyper. Uh, they're making a lot of noise down in the lobby, so we had to get away from that. So, um, we came up here, and we're gonna record with, uh, a really good friend of mine, Joshua Combs, who some people have seen his, um, Auto Shop Therapy channel on YouTube as of recent.
[00:01:13] Jeff Compton: I'm a huge fan. Um, I blow up his comments with either, you know, opinions or corrections. Um, and he's brought his technician with me today. Uh, Brian, I, I... Pardon me, I don't know your last name, Brian.
[00:01:25] Brian Ramsburg: It's Ramsburg.
[00:01:25] Jeff Compton: Ramsburg, nice to meet you. So how's, how you guys feeling today?
[00:01:29] Brian Ramsburg: Honestly, it's been pretty great so far.
[00:01:31] Jeff Compton: This is your first event like this?
[00:01:32] Brian Ramsburg: It is. Um, a little out of my comfort zone. Josh had kind of drug me- Sure ... North Carolina up here.
[00:01:38] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:01:38] Brian Ramsburg: And said, "No choice, you gotta go."
[00:01:39] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:01:40] Brian Ramsburg: And so far it's been great.
[00:01:41] Jeff Compton: But once you're here, you're liking this.
[00:01:43] Brian Ramsburg: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:01:44] Jeff Compton: Yeah. 'Cause Josh and I met last year for the first time at Tools, and I don't know, we just clicked, right?
[00:01:52] Jeff Compton: And we got talking about, like, um, mud- not mud pies.
[00:01:56] Josh Coomes: Uh- Whoopie pies ...
[00:01:57] Jeff Compton: whoopie pies. And then he brought me some whoopie pies, and 'cause we were in Lancaster, right? Heart of the Amish, and, and, uh, Josh kind of had a little more insight into that than I did, so I was fascinated by it. And then as we've come away from that, we're still probably talking probably every week about his shop and my job as an auto shop.
[00:02:17] Jeff Compton: And, um, we just started sharing them when he came out with his YouTube channel. He shared a bunch more, right? And then of course, me being the guy that never keeps my mouth shut, um, I'm sounding off in it all the time, and he's talking to me about what's going on in the shop and what you're facing and what he's facing, and different diagnostic challenges and processes and stuff like that.
[00:02:37] Jeff Compton: So kind of share with me, you know, 'cause we know Josh's kind of backstory a little bit, and we'll touch on that too, but kind of share your just a condensed version of you in the industry and how you got there and how you wound up here.
[00:02:49] Brian Ramsburg: Well, honestly, it's kind of been a, uh, family trade on my side. I've been doing it for a little over 18 years now, uh, professionally.
[00:02:57] Brian Ramsburg: It's kind of one of those you grow up young, you wind up taking everything apart and getting in trouble for it. Mm-hmm. So eventually you gotta learn how to put it back together.
[00:03:04] Jeff Compton: Right. Right. And how old are you now?
[00:03:07] Brian Ramsburg: Just turned 39.
[00:03:08] Jeff Compton: Geez. You look good for 39. Really? Like you don't look all, uh... How did I look at 39?
[00:03:15] Jeff Compton: Well, I was still losing my hair, and I was, like, fat. I'm still fat. Um, so you're doing okay. You don't look all worn down, so that's good. Um, that's what I mean when I say you're looking well. Like, you don't look like you've had 39 years in the trenches, so that's good.
[00:03:28] Brian Ramsburg: Luckily, it hasn't beat me up too bad this far.
[00:03:30] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Now what does, um... When you decided you kinda wanted to do this for a career, what did that trajectory look like? Did you... Was it, um... Did, did you know when you got in, you kinda had a feeling of what it was gonna be like, or did you get a big, bunch of big surprises when you started working for different people?
[00:03:49] Brian Ramsburg: So it was one of those, um, it's kind of a, been a family occupation. Okay. Uh, uh, my dad, my grandfather, the whole nine, all the way through the years. So I kinda had a good inclination what it was gonna be like to a degree.
[00:04:00] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:04:01] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, just spending time in the shop as is.
[00:04:03] Jeff Compton: Now were they shop owners, or did they work for other people as techs?
[00:04:06] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, a little bit of both.
[00:04:07] Jeff Compton: Okay. All right.
[00:04:09] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, in the end, we realized it was a lot easier to work for someone else- Right ... than try to do it on your own.
[00:04:14] Josh Coomes: Hopefully.
[00:04:15] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:04:16] Brian Ramsburg: Usually.
[00:04:17] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Oh, well, and that's, that's funny because... I don't mean it's funny, like funny haha, but it's, um... There's a lot of people that have done that.
[00:04:25] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? That they had a business, and they decided, "I'm not running the shop to..." It's not worth it, right? Josh and I have talked about that. And then they, they go back and get themselves a job, and, and... 'Cause you and I have talked lots, and we s- we, we could show you so many examples of shop owners that all they did was buy themselves a job.
[00:04:45] Jeff Compton: So when we talk about that, I think maybe, is that what your parent, your, your grandfather and father just kind of ever did, was buy themselves a- Like have a business but don't really have the ... What's the, what's the word I'm thinking of, Josh? Like the, the profit-
[00:05:02] Josh Coomes: They
[00:05:02] Jeff Compton: own a
[00:05:02] Josh Coomes: job. Yeah, they own a job and not a shop.
[00:05:04] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Exactly. The profits don't come along with the-
[00:05:06] Brian Ramsburg: They were good with what they were working on. They weren't really good with people.
[00:05:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah. That's tough too, eh? Yeah. I share that. Let's ... When he talks about me and he's like, um, you know, everybody, 'cause they'll ask me like, "Well, why don't, why aren't you a shop owner?"
[00:05:21] Jeff Compton: Well, and I'll say 'cause I'm 50 and I don't think I have enough time left. But the reality is, is like I struggle with listening to too many of people's concerns or complaints in one day. I have like, I think I could do it from about 8:00 to 8:21, and then I would be filled up with like my, my give a damn.
[00:05:41] Jeff Compton: And, um, and it's not that I don't care. It's just like I would just wanna get, hand me the keys, you know? Um, don't wait. Give me a, a little bit of an idea about what it's here for, and then I will have somebody that's better at talking to you call you. That's how I approach it, right? So I've always been, if I was to start my own shop, who would I hire to do that?
[00:06:04] Jeff Compton: Because like it's, it's as hard a job as, as the technician role, I think, 100%. Um, service writers are pivotal for actually success in this, and I keep, sometimes I beat on them really hard. Josh has heard me. But other times, like if you don't have it that they're doing what they're supposed to be doing, it does not matter how effective a technician any of us are, you're not gonna make any money, and I think that's what a lot of the people that have started shops don't narrow that down and they don't realize it, right?
[00:06:39] Jeff Compton: So is what happened, like you said, they just weren't good with dealing with people. Like, give me, kind of build on that. What do you mean by that?
[00:06:47] Brian Ramsburg: Well, um, I guess the best way to put it is they were really good with machines and mechanical apparatus. Uh, their active listening wasn't that great.
[00:06:59] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:07:00] Brian Ramsburg: So- Just maybe similar to what you deal with.
[00:07:04] Brian Ramsburg: Someone starts talking, you lose interest, and you just kinda zone out. And when that happens, you tend to lose a lot of those critical details that you really needed.
[00:07:12] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. And Josh, you're... When I watch you, you're better at that than a lot of other mechanics I've known that step into that role of, of laying out what the customer's here for and all that kind of stuff.
[00:07:24] Jeff Compton: Like, I can tell when I watch you, you're genuinely interested and, and, uh, empathetic to what it is that they're concerned about. You know what I mean? And I'm not. Like, I've just... There's something wired in my head that it's just strictly, like, business, and I... What, what gives you that power? How did you learn that or...?
[00:07:42] Josh Coomes: So my driving force... So I had a shop years ago, right? Mm-hmm. So I grew up, I went to UTI in '99, worked for Volkswagen until, like, uh, '07. Started my own shop in '06- Yeah ... like moonlighting, right? And then the reason I started the shop was not to make more money, I guess. It was really because I was tired of service advisors taking advantage of customers, absolutely selling things- That's not needed, yeah
[00:08:07] Josh Coomes: that weren't needed, overcharging on time on purpose, like, 'cause they get, you know, spiffs on everything, right? And for me, the driving force was customer experience and fixing the cars right. Mm. So, like, I'm empathetic to that. I want their car fixed. Just like what Brian Pollock says, "Just fix the f-ing car."
[00:08:26] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:08:26] Josh Coomes: Right? And it's like, yeah, we can do that. And I genuinely care about people, regardless if they're my customer or not. If I get a customer that I know is not gonna be a good fit for them, if I have the time, which usually I spend too much time on the phone with them- Mm-hmm ... even if they're not gonna come in here and I don't want them in my shop- Right
[00:08:43] Josh Coomes: I still wanna see them get their car fixed or their problem solved.
[00:08:47] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:08:47] Josh Coomes: So yeah, it's a fault of mine to probably care too much about people that aren't lining my pockets, but I still want them to get fixed.
[00:08:55] Jeff Compton: Right. And that helps the, that helps the image of the industry, right? 'Cause even if you're politely telling them, like, "We're not the shop for what you're driving"- They, they go away going, "Wow, that's the first time somebody's talked to me in that way of level of explanation and level of professionalism," and all that kind of stuff.
[00:09:13] Jeff Compton: And maybe, you know, they get a car that you're more suited to work on brand-wise, age-wise, whatever they might need. Then you become the better fit for them, right? But at the time we just can't, you know... Let's throw something like a, your, your BMW that was on the hoist, the, your project car. Like, if that came in as a customer's car, you probably wouldn't touch it, would you?
[00:09:32] Josh Coomes: No.
[00:09:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:09:33] Josh Coomes: No.
[00:09:33] Jeff Compton: Right? But that same customer that has that car, maybe eventually after you've been able to help them, they bring you something in the more modern realm that you would wanna have in your shop, right? And you're pretty particular. Like, you were talking about even, like, your Chevy truck that you were doing over...
[00:09:50] Jeff Compton: Well, you're fixing it up to sell or to keep or whatever you're trying to do. You were sh- talking in the one video how, like, if that was to come in as a customer's you wouldn't touch it either. But yet it's in pretty good shape, isn't it?
[00:10:00] Josh Coomes: Yeah. And it's like, and I had that conversation. Somebody wanted to do brakes on a '97 Chevy truck.
[00:10:06] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. And I'm like, "No, I don't wanna bring that in the shop." Yeah. And it's just brakes. Right. Who, who cares, right? It's easy money. And but I told them, I said, "And you need to find a shop that will... I want you to form a relationship with the shop that you're in that can take care of this car from soup to nuts," as Keith Perkins- Yeah
[00:10:22] Josh Coomes: would say. Yeah. And that's more important to me to have a relationship with your mechanic. And, uh, I don't want... When somebody talks about me, I don't want someone to say, "Well, take it over here," when they're asking for a referral. Like, "Take it over here. This is where I take my car." It's like, no, my mechanic is A-OK Auto Repair.
[00:10:40] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:10:40] Josh Coomes: There's a, there's a difference in those two things, and I want them to form that relationship with somebody else. And if they don't want that and they're just looking for a guy to fix this and fix that and fix that, that's completely transactional and it's not the client that I want.
[00:10:51] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:10:52] Josh Coomes: And it's like, "So it's better in your best interest, or if that's what you want, that's fine.
[00:10:56] Josh Coomes: It's not what I want."
[00:10:57] Jeff Compton: And, see, you and I know there's lots of shops out there that would preach that if it's just a brake job, it doesn't matter what, bring it in, get it on the hoist, get it apart, get your parts ordered. But that same car may turn around and come back in next month, three months later, say, because they feel like all of a sudden, "I really liked how you handled my brakes, but now this thing is not running right," or, uh, I sh- you know, I walk away for three days on my '97 anything and the battery goes dead.
[00:11:26] Jeff Compton: And you all of a sudden, those shops will go, "Hmm, we kind of have a rule, you know, like, uh, 10 years or older on diag, we don't touch it." And all of a sudden that customer's like, because they don't understand the difference between a '97 and a 2027, so they think it can't be all that hard, and then they go, "You just seemed like you were the greatest thing since sliced bread last month, and now you're telling me to kick rocks?"
[00:11:48] Jeff Compton: Like, that's where that, that balancing act comes in, right? 'Cause I sit there and see if I was strictly money motivated as a technician, and you told me that, like, I hung up the phone on a '97 Chevy brake job, I'd be like, "What are you crazy?" But then if you turned around like I was in his shoes working for you and you brought in a, a '97 for some weird misfire or check engine light that won't go away after it's been...
[00:12:10] Jeff Compton: I'm gonna be like, "Josh, what are we doing here? Like, we're not a restoration shop." So that's the struggle, right? Of always just trying to figure out, like, how do we make enough profit at the end of the month Or week, day, whatever. How do we service the community, right? And how do we not alienate certain people that are gonna go and say, "Oh, they don't wanna touch anything over a certain age."
[00:12:30] Josh Coomes: So we did... You know, there's a few... We had just one recently. We brought in a- Mm-hmm ... an '89 Chevy truck for AC work.
[00:12:36] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:12:37] Josh Coomes: And it's... He was, uh, expecting it to be a bad evaporator 'cause another shop told him that, and it's like, where's the evidence that the evaporator's bad? Yeah. Now, I already ordered one pre...
[00:12:46] Josh Coomes: I had it sitting on the shelf 'cause it was in stock, so when we did our, our evaluation than he got charged for, if it had, if it needed one, we have it. Yeah. We couldn't find it. The only thing we found was a leak in the high side line. Right. Well, he called me, um, you know, that, that car did not get a DVI.
[00:13:00] Josh Coomes: I'm just being honest, right? Just like the channel. It did not get a DVI, fixed their main concern. Well, he, he sent a message, "It lasted a week and it's dead. It's flat again." Now, when we got it done, it's short cycling. Yeah. It's got the right amount of refrigerant in it. Right. And it's like, so now I have to get into an AC, a real AC problem that's short cycling and, you know, like I'm trying to up, you know, my game with superheat and- Yeah
[00:13:22] Josh Coomes: subcooling and all these other things, like, you know, 'cause now we're trying to be the best, you know? And it's, "Well, I'm not the best shop for this, and this is why I didn't wanna work on these things," and it's like, so now I'm, I'm kinda opening a can of worms. Yeah. Now, we did it before where we had an AC problem on an old Chevy Caprice.
[00:13:38] Josh Coomes: It was a donk car, right? Yeah. I'm like, "This is not my client. It's not the car that I wanna work on." And we had very clear-cut expectations. It was, uh... It wasn't an AC car. It... Yeah, it was an AC car, and the driver inside the PCM was bad. It wasn't turning the compressor on. Brian freakin' superstar nailed the diag right off the bat, and it's like we get the thing done.
[00:13:58] Josh Coomes: It was missing half the den- dash vents and all kinds of other stuff in it. Now it was blowing cold now, and then he called back a week later and talked to the service writer. He's like, "Can he look at this or that?" And right away, like the service advisor knows the rules- Yeah ... and said, "He told you that we're only fixing this AC problem.
[00:14:15] Josh Coomes: We're not touching this car. Again, no DVI. I don't care." Yeah. "You're not... I got your AC working that no one else would fix." Mm-hmm. Right? So it's like... And he said, "Well, that's valid. He told me he wouldn't do that." There you go. Yeah. So clear expectations, but again, it's like, it's the same thing you just said.
[00:14:32] Josh Coomes: "Well, he fixed this and now I'm like, my car's not good enough?" Y- yes, it is. Right? Yeah. So, but, you know, tread lightly when you talk to them about their piece of junk car. Mm-hmm. But, you know, it's just like now we're dealing with an '89 that we're gonna have to get into probably.
[00:14:48] Jeff Compton: And what do you really enjoy?
[00:14:49] Jeff Compton: Like, if he could book just one type of work over and over again for you, what do you really enjoy or what would you most wanna be- working on?
[00:14:57] Brian Ramsburg: Well, that's probably one of the oddities for me. Um, I enjoy a plethora of everything.
[00:15:03] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:15:04] Brian Ramsburg: Um, if I wanna do one job on repetition, I'd get a factory job. I'd go sit in a cubicle somewhere.
[00:15:11] Brian Ramsburg: I would rather see 20 different cars, 20 different lines, 20 different problems.
[00:15:15] Jeff Compton: Really, eh?
[00:15:16] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, yes, I'm not gonna be the quickest tech on all 20 lines all the way across the board, but it's gonna expand my knowledge- Mm-hmm ... drastically, making me ultimately more valuable.
[00:15:27] Jeff Compton: See, and that's an unusual answer, eh?
[00:15:29] Jeff Compton: Because, like, if you were to ask me, and Josh knows me, it'd be like, well, you could give me diag on just about anything, as long as it didn't involve having to then go in and diag AC, 'cause I don't like air conditioning from the sense that I'm not good at it. And then no European cars, just the domestic stuff, right?
[00:15:45] Jeff Compton: America. Like, give me that kind of crap, and if it's not running right or check engine light, that's what all I wa- really wanted to do. Like, I don't want to, I don't wanna go looking for wind noises, water leaks, squeaks and rattles. I don't wanna go looking for, you know, your AM/FM Bluetooth blah blah. Like, like, you know, who cares?
[00:16:03] Jeff Compton: Like, lunch your phone in, put your earbuds in there. It's fixed for you. Have a nice day. Like, that's how my brain works from a simplistic bre- s- situation of there are other stuff that's can really be legit concerns for customers. I just don't get all up in it because I'm just like, eh, your s- you dr- it drives well, drives good, it's safe.
[00:16:20] Jeff Compton: I wouldn't... My own, I wouldn't spend a ton of time. Like, my Jeep, I lent my Jeep to Christie and, and Benji yesterday, and, um, they're gonna hear this and it'll be the laughin'. Two months ago, intermittently would throw a, an ABS and a traction control light on the dash, and you cycle the key and it would go away.
[00:16:37] Jeff Compton: And I never scanned it until last week, and when I scanned it looking at the Jeep just to set up my new launch tool, um, there was no code in there for ABS or, or traction control. No big deal. Drove it all the way down here yesterday. No, excuse me, Wednesday. Um, give it to Benji and, and Christie. They've got it one morning.
[00:16:56] Jeff Compton: They break the damn thing. Now it's got a code in it. So when I get done recording today, I'll go out and, uh, Bra- uh, Brax and I are gonna film a video showing the new launch tool, and at least finally know what code's in my Jeep for an ABS. But it's like other people, you know, they're like, they would be immediately Okay, I gotta drive in and get that fixed, right?
[00:17:15] Jeff Compton: And me, not just because I'm a technician that I panic, but I'm like, I know that it's like this thing still starts, drives great. I can safely drive it back home another 600 miles. I'm not stressing, you know? And that's where I, I, I just- when I wanna be a technician, I wanna do the, what sounds like the really essential things.
[00:17:35] Jeff Compton: And that's why I've never been good at getting into too many of the other things that, you know, people want addressed or fixed. So that's another reason why I've never really been... Why don't I jump into shop ownership realm is 'cause I would be... I think I would specialize myself so far into, like, obscurity that nobody would know who I was or bring me anything, so.
[00:17:54] Jeff Compton: Um, what about you? Like, in a perfect world, then what do you wanna see coming into your shop?
[00:18:00] Josh Coomes: Hmm. '
[00:18:02] Jeff Compton: Cause you have a l- you have a European background, like you wanna work on them, you like working on them?
[00:18:06] Josh Coomes: I don't like working on them.
[00:18:08] Jeff Compton: Oh, no, not at all.
[00:18:08] Josh Coomes: So I do have a European background, but I left Volkswagen in '07, right?
[00:18:12] Josh Coomes: Right. So there's, like, been three platforms now, that there's some familiarity. Like, I can still get into my ALL-Tell and, or my VCDS- Right ... and I can still go into measuring value blocks that are drilled into my brain, and I can pull those same measured value blocks up, know that I can force readiness monitors and that kind of stuff.
[00:18:28] Josh Coomes: Yeah. So that's nice, but I told... When I hired Brian, Brian had a lot of Euro background, and I told him, I said, "We can continue doing Euro. It doesn't matter to me, but don't expect me to put air in the tires. Don't expect me to drive it. I don't wanna change the oil. I don't wanna touch any more European cars."
[00:18:44] Josh Coomes: Yeah. I'm just so over it. Um- Okay ... it's, everything's complicated- Yeah ... right? It's like, you know, I just hate not having dipsticks. Yeah. Like, dude, come on, man. It's, you know, yeah, it's different. I'm not saying it's better, but they break a whole lot more often, and there's a lot more stuff to break. Yeah. And, you know, I don't wanna deal with the clientele a lot of times either, right?
[00:19:06] Josh Coomes: So just like what Mike Allen said before, if you're a third or fourth owner, you're a car- European car owner, you're probably not in the right shop. Yeah. Right? 'Cause I don't wanna work on it, and I'm just... You know, we had Jags come in with, you know, the supercharged motors with needs like $5,000 worth of coolant repairs.
[00:19:24] Josh Coomes: Yeah. And the first time they ever owned a European car, and it's like, "Yeah, I'll see you in a couple more months with another couple thousand dollars worth of repairs needed." And that's a hard conversation. I don't really wanna get into that, right? Mm. So it's like I'd much rather work on the more normal stuff.
[00:19:40] Josh Coomes: And it's not that... I mean, I don't mind doing some of the hard diag stuff, 'cause, like, I wanna work my brain and get those things, but a lot of times what will happen is that, yeah, we charge for, for diag for sure, and what we normally do is, like, we'll get a baseline, and then that'll get us into, like, further testing- Yeah
[00:20:01] Josh Coomes: and then the customer can afford once we have a baseline. But then we don't know when it's... So the schedule's already built out five days. We don't know that the next check engine light or next ABS concern, so now y- the shop gets backed up with three hard diags at once, and now the shop's n- not making any money until- Yeah
[00:20:16] Josh Coomes: their stuff's closed out. Yeah, we charge for it, and we have an elevated labor rate for diag and that kind of stuff, but it's still, for, like, productivity and stuff, that's where it gets kind of jammed up. So, I mean, we, we balance that out as much as we can with the schedule, but it still can still bite us.
[00:20:32] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:20:32] Josh Coomes: You know? And then when you get stuck on one, it- You know, it sets you back three days, and then the next one's already here, and it's like, okay. You know, so I mean, some people realize that. Like now if we get like an electrical problem that's already calling for the schedule, I'm gonna tell them it's two weeks out- Yeah
[00:20:47] Josh Coomes: because I wanna make sure that all the other stuff I have in the shop's gone. So if I had my choice, I would love to do like tires and brakes. I know a lot of independent shops don't wanna get into tires, but I'm telling you right now, tires are your highest gross profit per hour job that you are doing in your shop- Yeah
[00:21:01] Josh Coomes: if you're doing them right. And it's like you don't need a crazy expense- You don't need $75,000 worth of tire equipment to do it. Yeah. Yeah, you can, but, um... So I would like to do the low-hanging fruit, the gross profit stuff, but at the same time, not... People need their other cars fixed- Mm-hmm ... that are broken.
[00:21:18] Josh Coomes: Yeah. And a lot of other shops, they're not getting into it. I've just interviewed a guy, um, who is coming in on Monday for a working interview, and he's been out of shop for three years now, and he didn't know that you could test for a catalytic converter. He just automatically assumed a PO420, 430 fault, it needs a cat.
[00:21:34] Josh Coomes: And it's like, dude, there's some like... Y- you have to do some basic level testing. Yeah. It only takes a few minutes with a scan tool, or maybe you might have to smoke an exhaust, right? But, like, it's just there are shops still out there that I couldn't believe it 'cause I'm like I've n- You know, I've- Yeah ... I don't believe it-
[00:21:48] Jeff Compton: Yeah
[00:21:48] Josh Coomes: that fault, fault code, part number, and you're like, "Oh my gosh," you know? And so those, those cars still need to get fixed.
[00:21:55] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Now what... So what's the challenges then when you see working in the shop because do you think sometimes, like, he turns away a job that you would've really enjoyed getting your teeth into, or do you kind of trust him to, to pick the right decisions?
[00:22:13] Brian Ramsburg: Honestly, we've had it both ways. Um, it's not uncommon for me to be in the office in between jobs or waiting for him to ch- hopefully finish up with a customer sooner than later.
[00:22:24] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:22:24] Brian Ramsburg: Um, we've had some that kinda slipped through, things that I've dealt with in the past. Okay. And you're just used to kind of pattern failures.
[00:22:32] Brian Ramsburg: Right. But it's not quite the right customer for our shop given our current dynamic. Uh, when it's just me and him, uh, having the ability to bring in something as simple as a Jag or a Land Rover with cooling issues, very easy to do if you know what you're working with.
[00:22:47] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:22:48] Brian Ramsburg: But we also know that we're always one day away, one broken hose from that car is now in bay for two, three days.
[00:22:56] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:22:57] Brian Ramsburg: So while it's easy, low-hanging fruit for me-
[00:23:00] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm ...
[00:23:00] Brian Ramsburg: he's looking more towards the tires, the brakes, things of that nature.
[00:23:05] Jeff Compton: Yeah, and the liability, like you and I talked about it, those high-end cars, right? Like, well, even we can take the, we can take the, the high-end car away. Brian M- Pawlik just shared with me yesterday a situation that they had in their shop, and the customer came in with a Silverado transmission problem, right?
[00:23:21] Jeff Compton: Shocking. I mean- ... how do they not? And, um, the guy was red flags right from the beginning, right? Um, in the, in the vibe that he was putting down and with the advisors and all that kind of stuff. Now, they have a strict policy. Like, they, they diagnose the transmission issue, um- They charge for the diagnosis, and then they sublet the transmission.
[00:23:40] Jeff Compton: It goes to another shop. They rebuild it, replace it, whatever they have to do, will warranty it, and all Brian then does is collect a small charge for the diag, the sublet, and they stand behind it, right? So the other shop, they... And they, the customer's all red flags and they're telling them like, "We don't really want to even touch this truck by the vibe that he's giving out."
[00:24:01] Jeff Compton: Well, they decide, "Okay, we're gonna do it anyway." Well, the guy has the truck in no time. So after he gets the tranny done, just like a Silverado would, camshaft goes flat, and then this guy proceeds to go around their little neighborhood telling all the other shops, "Don't take anything to that shop. They screwed me.
[00:24:19] Jeff Compton: They don't know what they're doing. They can't fix it." So I can understand from the standpoint of, like, what you look at as it's, it's a real easy repair on a Land Rover for you. He's thinking about, what can happen to my business if we do that easy repair on the Land Rover, and then six months later, three months later, the check engine light comes on completely unrelated, but they can go around and just completely throw your shop's name right into the mud.
[00:24:45] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:45] Jeff Compton: So that's where me, I get to sit here sometimes a- and hear both sides, and it really helps me because, like, I've been on you and I've been like, "That seems really simple, Josh. Like, what, what..." And then, you know, I always think back to, what's he trying to do? What's the end goal? So it's tough, man, from the technician standpoint, 'cause especially if you just wanna...
[00:25:04] Jeff Compton: Like I, he knows me, I hate to not have work in the shop, which you hate to have not work in the shop, too. But I mean, it drives me crazy if the shop is kinda slow, then I'm like bored and I get... My brain goes do, do, do, do and goes into overdrive and sometimes goes negative. Um, but you have to pick the right type of cars, period, or else you're, you're, you're gonna wind up, I don't...
[00:25:28] Jeff Compton: And no shade. You could wind up where your dad and father were, where it was just like eventually this isn't worth the time to deal with these people. Yep. So yeah. What do you... What's some challenges working together? Is it, can I ask that between you two? Yeah. What's the challenge to working together?
[00:25:49] Josh Coomes: One of yous go first. Brian's thinking. He'll go first.
[00:25:51] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:25:52] Brian Ramsburg: Sure. Uh, I think a lot of the challenges between us are just personality differences.
[00:25:58] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:25:59] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, usually I show up, I'm ready to go. I don't like to talk.
[00:26:03] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:26:04] Brian Ramsburg: So I like to grab those keys. I want everything on my work sheet ready to go, and I'm gonna start running and start throwing the cars back to you as quick as I can.
[00:26:12] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:26:13] Brian Ramsburg: Josh is a social butterfly- Uh-huh ... as you've seen on his, on his channels, even maybe visiting with you guys. Oh, yeah. Yeah. He loves to talk. So I can be in the middle of something, and I've got a very one-track mind. If I'm working on something, I'm focused on right here in front of me. Josh likes to come out and try to talk about six other things, and half of it I'm not even listening to.
[00:26:35] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. Now, those six other things, are they related to other cars? Or, like, do you kind of start in the morning, and you kind of drink your coffee, and you plan the day, and think about the day, and get a feel for, you know, the mood you're in, the mood everybody else is in, and you kind of think about how you're gonna navigate that?
[00:26:51] Josh Coomes: It's, it's almost always- Very rarely do I s- bring up conversation that's not business related- Okay ... somehow or another. Now I'll, I might ask about, like, what he did the night before 'cause I knew he was going out with his kids or picking them up or whatever the case is- Yeah ... or over the weekend. But for the most part it's, it's always something to do with work.
[00:27:12] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. Whether it's what do you think of this le- next guy that I'm, I'm interviewing, Hey, I got this on the horizon, this car is coming in. Like, so it's always business related.
[00:27:21] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:27:22] Josh Coomes: And it's definitely a defect in me to bother him while he's working.
[00:27:27] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:27:28] Josh Coomes: Right? And I catch it sometimes. Sometimes I need to be reminded.
[00:27:33] Josh Coomes: Yeah. You know?
[00:27:34] Jeff Compton: He... Uh, and I'm not defending him.
[00:27:37] Brian Ramsburg: No.
[00:27:37] Jeff Compton: Or, you know what I mean? But it's a situation of, like, where he is right now, he needs, he needs your input on those, some of those decisions 'cause in a way he's asking you, like, how do you feel comfort- comfort wise with this particular job that we might bring in here?
[00:27:52] Jeff Compton: Or what do you feel comfort wise about this next person that we're gonna hire? Because him and I talk a lot about the scenes behind that, right? That's kinda where, like, as crazy as it is, people always wanna talk to me about how do I find a technician or what kind of technician do I hire, and I'm like, "Oh, geez."
[00:28:09] Jeff Compton: Like, here we go. Because I don't know why people necessarily think that I'm the, the insight as to what you should hire, but I do talk to a lot of technicians, right? Mm-hmm. So I think that's where that comes from. So, you know, why, why do you feel, where does that come from for you that you just wanna be, like, focused on the car?
[00:28:27] Jeff Compton: Where does that come from?
[00:28:28] Brian Ramsburg: So we'll back up just a tad.
[00:28:30] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:28:31] Brian Ramsburg: So, like, he comes to me and he's like, "Hey, we've got this guy. He's gonna interview. We're gonna have this working interview." And after the first five or six and we're just cycling through and cycling through and there's not really a r- a good fit.
[00:28:47] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:28:48] Brian Ramsburg: So it gets to a point where Josh would come out and it's like, "All right. I'm looking at these three resumes. What do you think?" It's like, well, we've learned from history our parameters that we've already got set here. All right, this guy's like 60, 70 years old, he's probably not gonna be a very good fit for very long.
[00:29:07] Brian Ramsburg: I, I know you're in love with old guys. They, they bring a lot to the table, but, uh, longevity wise, is this gonna be something where he shows up, shares a little bit of knowledge, and then he's, he's gone in the next year or two, retired?
[00:29:20] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:21] Brian Ramsburg: Or now we've got, like our scenario right now, we've got these two applicants side by side.
[00:29:29] Brian Ramsburg: Applicant A's got this experience. Applicant B's got this experience. What do you think?
[00:29:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:29:36] Brian Ramsburg: You then provide your opinion as far as, "Well, this looks the most promising for these reasons," and then he goes the opposite direction.
[00:29:44] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:46] Josh Coomes: It's a problem.
[00:29:47] Brian Ramsburg: Yeah?
[00:29:48] Josh Coomes: Like, it's, it's a problem. The, uh... You know, we had...
[00:29:53] Josh Coomes: If you go back to my channel, Episode 37, right? Like- Yeah ... that we had a, a blowout of our standards. Like, no one's yelling at each other, no one's throwing any tools- No ... right? Right. So it's like we're both more mature than that. But I definitely... You know, people watch that episode and they're like, "Can you imagine going on YouTube and telling the world that your technician sucks?"
[00:30:13] Josh Coomes: Yeah. It's like, if that's what you got from that-
[00:30:15] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[00:30:16] Josh Coomes: then I'm like-
[00:30:16] Jeff Compton: You, you didn't listen, no ...
[00:30:17] Josh Coomes: yeah. It's like I just went to the world and said, "I am failing as a leader," and it, it opens up... It was, like, kind of a get back down to ground zero and figure out that I have really poor active lis- listening skills.
[00:30:31] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. Right? I ask for input and, I mean, I ask for input and, uh, when it's given, it's... and it's not taken, then it's like my technician is, "I'm gonna, just gonna... You're not listening to me anyway. Why am I doing it?"
[00:30:45] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:30:45] Josh Coomes: Yeah, yeah. And, yes, there's, uh, I want the input, not for validation, but for other, like, other perspective insight.
[00:30:54] Josh Coomes: And at the same time, like, I'm a- I'm trying to do the right thing for the company, right? And f- I'm... I don't know. I'm listening, but I'm not... It's like they talk about the 30/30 treatment, right? It's like you go- well, you walk outside 30 feet and you look 30 feet in the air, whose name's on the building, right?
[00:31:12] Josh Coomes: Yeah. So it's like everyone gets a v- uh... What did I say? "Everyone gets a voice but not a vote" is what Rick says, right? Yep. And it's like everyone gets a voice. I wanna make sure I take as much as I can. But if I'm not doing it right, why, why is what I'm doing the right answer? If I have another person that has another perspective, then it's like why not?
[00:31:33] Josh Coomes: Why isn't that being followed? Yeah. And from Episode 37, it's like, okay, if I'm not doing it right, then maybe I need to... Maybe there is more to it and I'm making the wrong decisions even though I think it's the best decision.
[00:31:46] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:31:47] Josh Coomes: So we need to have... You know, I'm gonna end up soon probably getting with Josh Parnell and then get his, uh, his downloadable version of, like, leadership guide- Yeah
[00:31:59] Josh Coomes: and start, try to get some, like, more structured things. Um, 'cause I like structure, and if I can get that and then try to implement some of those tasks and ways and techniques that he does things, it's like, okay, let's try to work on this a little bit. 'Cause I'm failing as a leader. Mm-hmm. That's, like, the bottom line.
[00:32:17] Josh Coomes: And, um, like business-wise, we're doing okay. Yeah. We're putting money in the bank. But the leadership part, like, I want him to be happy, I want my wife to be happy, and it's like- Yeah ... okay, there's pro- I probably need to, like, open up my ears a little bit more. '
[00:32:29] Jeff Compton: Cause I'm in that place where... I've been in that place where they'll, you know, they'll ask for the input, and you'll give suggestions, you'll give perspective, and it's, like, never then implemented on, right?
[00:32:39] Jeff Compton: And then eventually it becomes like we all, I think, reach a level, I think it's just human nature, where we go It doesn't really what I, matter what I say at this answer, right? And then we'll start to maybe, like, half-ass the answer or even, like, go completely sarcastic, right, with the whole thing because you're not gonna implement it anyway.
[00:32:57] Jeff Compton: I don't think you guys are there yet, right, in that situation. I don't ... Do you feel like everything you say is disregarded?
[00:33:04] Brian Ramsburg: It's not really disregarded. Um, I think the best way to, to put it from my side is he's hearing, but he's not listening.
[00:33:13] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:33:14] Brian Ramsburg: So he hears the words, but nothing really comes of it.
[00:33:18] Jeff Compton: Is that fair, Josh?
[00:33:20] Josh Coomes: It's 100% accurate. Yeah. I mean, I just ... That's where the structured thing, it's like if we have the, the monthly meeting to talk, and it's not, like, about performance. Right. I mean, there's some of that, but it's not what it's for. And if we have, like, a dedicated plan, we talk through those things, it's like, "Okay, this is why I wanna do this," you know, at least it's being, um, taken more serious.
[00:33:45] Jeff Compton: Mm. '
[00:33:45] Josh Coomes: Cause I think a lot of the stuff that he, he says to me, it's like I'm disregarding it. That's not what I'm doing.
[00:33:51] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:33:51] Josh Coomes: And if I don't explain the why, which is the most powerful part, then, um, it's not, it's just looking as being disregarded. Yeah. And it's not what's happening, it's just there's, you know, that's just what's happening.
[00:34:02] Jeff Compton: Sometimes, too, the timeframe, right? Like, w- we can sit down and have a discussion, and even though we're doing it every month, I think sometimes we think that, like, the suggestion that we give, if by next month at that time it hasn't been implemented, we think it's been disregarded. And I know that, like, what I learned as I got older is a lot of things that I was saying they were hearing and eventually it did come to fruition of what it was.
[00:34:26] Jeff Compton: It just took longer than sometimes what I expected my schedule would be- Right ... for when I would see results, right? And I think that that's something that, like Because it, it's, it's really simple. You can go, "This is the goal, and it's right here," and it looks like a very short trip to get to there, but there's a whole lot of stuff that's gonna come in and out in the way to get there, right?
[00:34:45] Jeff Compton: It doesn't mean that, like, we lose sight of this or that you have taken it and tossed it away and we're not even gonna think about it. It's just, like, other things keep popping up. If, if you get another technician, how do you feel right now? Like, do you feel like that's gonna add to your stress, or is it gonna help your day-to-day?
[00:35:05] Brian Ramsburg: So with what we're currently looking at and have decided to attempt, uh, it's gonna be kind of a mixture of both.
[00:35:12] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:35:13] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, we've pretty much ... I think we're in agreeance at this point that a A level, a master tech, they're not really looking for work. If they are as good as they say they are, shop they're at is not gonna let them go.
[00:35:24] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:35:25] Brian Ramsburg: So I think, uh, the video what we watched the other day says, "All right, we're gonna shoot for an A and settle for a C, and then bring them up to wherever we need them."
[00:35:34] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:35:35] Brian Ramsburg: So ultimately, we're gonna grab somebody that has potential, has the right attitude, the right personality. So in the short here, a month, two month, three month down the road, it's gonna require a lot of training from Josh and me, uh, to try to start bringing whoever this guy is up to our standards-
[00:35:54] Jeff Compton: Right
[00:35:55] Brian Ramsburg: um, which drastically exceed most of the standards of any of the shops in our area. Right. So we know that's gonna be a struggle. So in the short interim, yes, it's gonna be more stressful. Yes, there's gonna be mistakes. Um, but long term, actually getting someone in there that works good with all of us, that's part of the culture, actually believes in what we do, it'll alleviate a lot of that stress.
[00:36:20] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. Are you comfortable in a mentor role?
[00:36:22] Brian Ramsburg: I am.
[00:36:23] Jeff Compton: Okay. You've got experience in it?
[00:36:25] Brian Ramsburg: I do.
[00:36:25] Jeff Compton: Do you think he's gonna be a good mentor?
[00:36:27] Brian Ramsburg: Yeah.
[00:36:27] Jeff Compton: Yeah. That's good. I think you'd be a great mentor too, honestly. Like, I think you've got the kinda, like, what you and I share technician wise, like technical ability, I think there's, you've got a ton to offer.
[00:36:40] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? And Learnie, you're a sharp guy. Like, you know. But it, it can be sometimes that, um, like it's the same as me, like there's so much that I have that I can share, but sometimes the attitude comes out as to why, like I completely disregard again some of the things, you know, that I shouldn't.
[00:37:00] Jeff Compton: Because I gotta remember that, like, when I'm trying to teach them something, I should remove all of that 'cause I'm just trying to teach you a skill or a process or a method. But some of the method is so linked to the way my, what I think, that it's hard for me to s- pass that, that down without putting some of that taint on it.
[00:37:17] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? That tainted perspective of, uh- Mm ... why I do it that way, you know? I do a lot of things the way I do because I worked flat rate for so many years that it was just about speed, and I didn't care, right? I did not care. Like, we joked- Mm ... he's, I, I, I can't make a case study on something to save my life because I probably went out and either like touched it and put hands on it, and that's how I knew that it was bad- Mm
[00:37:42] Jeff Compton: 'cause it was burning hot and it shouldn't have been, or I wiggled the harness and the engine stalled, and I never had a I had, I had, the only tool I might've had was a pocket screwdriver on it, right? Because I was going after something. Whereas, so I can't necessarily just go, "This is the lab scope that I took of that, and this is the, this is the data that was on it," like that.
[00:38:01] Jeff Compton: I don't have that. But what I'm trying to always teach people is a process, right? Of how I... And that's tough for me because now I find a lot of people are getting into this, like we talked about that Jeep, they're getting into the, the learning, I only learn by based on the data, right? And I learn at it going, like we talked about that Jeep, like we're talking about, you're t- talking heat soak, and I'm going, "Man, it's really hard to think that that's like heat soak when the temperature is what it is right now," right?
[00:38:27] Jeff Compton: And it, we're, we're sharing how, like I didn't see that heat soak happen a lot on that particular Jeep. The predecessor, the four liters, like your friend's LJ that was in here, yeah, a lot more. A lot more. And still not super common, not just because I lived in Canada, but it just wasn't a super common thing, right?
[00:38:45] Jeff Compton: That's the struggle that I have is because there's a lot of knowledge that I think a lot of the older techs like you and I can teach, but it's now we're running into this younger generation where if it's not like on a lab scope or with a, a bunch of traces and data and, and all this kind of stuff, they don't get it.
[00:39:01] Jeff Compton: And I go back to like there's still... I fixed so many cars with just like a visual inspection and listening to it, and then some s- data interpretation. I don't have to go and do a bunch of tests afterwards And that's where it's hard for me to go- to, to fit into, I think, a lot of other people's culture now.
[00:39:19] Jeff Compton: Lucas and I talk about this. I would not be successful in Lucas's shop because he wants all this evidence.
[00:39:24] Josh Coomes: See, and that's, that's what we're- Hm ... that's exactly- You're right. Look at him shaking his head. Yeah. Like yeah, it's... That's where I'm at. I want, without a doubt, an answer, right? And I will charge to get that answer.
[00:39:35] Josh Coomes: Yeah. Or I will absorb it, but the technician doesn't take the brunt of it directly. Mm-hmm. Okay? And that's what led up to some of the tension from episode 37. It's like, it- I'm like Lucas, and what I am finding out is that to run the shop that I wanna run, it adds so much extra stress on it.
[00:39:55] Jeff Compton: Yes.
[00:39:56] Josh Coomes: And it's like, because I want perfection- Mm-hmm
[00:39:59] Josh Coomes: it's like the tool of the devil, right? And I'm looking at constantly reputation and accuracy, and it's... the juice may not be worth the squeeze. Yeah. Right? Because I'm pushing technicians away because it's like, "You didn't do it my way." You know, I can do my best to explain the why, which is how you get buy-in, it's the most important part, but even after I still explain the why, why are we doing this voltage drop test on this starter?
[00:40:26] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. It's like, because I need to know it. Yeah. And it's like, why are we proving the starter's bad?
[00:40:30] Jeff Compton: You and I talked about that.
[00:40:31] Josh Coomes: Yeah, and it's like- Yeah ... okay, but you're getting compensated for the test. Or it's within the initial evaluation, which is approximately an hour. Mm-hmm. We don't talk hours to the customer, right?
[00:40:41] Josh Coomes: Right. But approximately an hour, but at the same time, if we're trying to still meet production goals, which is what, like we changed the pay plan again recently because it wasn't necessarily fair for the tech.
[00:40:51] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:40:52] Josh Coomes: And yeah, I run my shop a little bit different. I'm probably very empathetic, and it's like I'm gonna take the responsibility now for the out- for the production, for the pay.
[00:41:01] Josh Coomes: Yeah. But, um, you know, there's still, you know, coaching that's telling me, "You're kinda not doing it right." I'm like, "Well, I'm doing it my way. Maybe it's..." You know, and it's like I tried doing it that way, and I don't like it. But- Yeah ... yeah, so like pushing that stuff away and, or pushing the technician away because I wanna do things a certain way.
[00:41:19] Josh Coomes: There... If I wanna do that my way, and if I ask you to go r- rotate tires 'cause the check engine light's on, if you're paid hourly- Yeah ... I guess you can do that, right? Mm-hmm. But you're still gonna crush moral, uh, morale I mean. Yeah. And, and it's like who wants to work for a guy like that? And I don't wanna be that micromanager, and I caught myself doing it, and it was just more evident after that, and it was like, okay, I need to like roll it back a little bit.
[00:41:42] Josh Coomes: Trust, trust my team, hire the right guys. If there's mistakes being made, if there was a mistake made- It's paid training.
[00:41:49] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:41:50] Josh Coomes: Right? And as long as it's not like what Cecil talked about in class yesterday, as long as it's not fire or blood, or it's not gonna cost you $6,000, let it go.
[00:41:58] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:41:58] Josh Coomes: Right? So, like, okay, let's just, let's try to, let's try to- Mm
[00:42:03] Josh Coomes: turn it down a little bit. '
[00:42:03] Jeff Compton: Cause Josh and I talked about, especially about that starter thing, because, like, he's sharing it with me, and I'm going, "Dude, here's how I would approach it," and I'd be exactly the same. You give me a starter diag. If I walk out and I rap on it with a hammer and it starts, my diag's done.
[00:42:16] Jeff Compton: And he, and, and I see his point. Well, you could just disturbed it, and it could be a volt drop connection right on there. Mm. Guess what, man? I still gotta go through all that work to, say, access that starter, right? I'm putting a new one in when I'm there, and I'm gonna fix it. The other thing that I might see, as soon as it's se- I see it right there, I'm gonna fix that, too.
[00:42:35] Jeff Compton: Right? So that's how I think, 'cause... Now, and I, I shared with one o- the last one I had was a Titan when I worked at the dealer. Not the last one, but one that sticks in my brain is we had a Titan that was under warranty, and, uh, intermittently would hit the key, and it wouldn't crank. Sometimes it would click, click, click.
[00:42:51] Brian Ramsburg: Mm.
[00:42:51] Jeff Compton: Sounds just like a starter, right? Well, on that Titan, it's buried on the intake manifold. You know what I did? I ordered the starter motor, and when I got in there, guess what? That cable was right from the factory, had backed off and was loose.
[00:43:05] Brian Ramsburg: Yep.
[00:43:06] Jeff Compton: Now, I could have- Just clean that up, straighten out that arcing, the pitting that's happened from the burn, and, and n- not put the starter in.
[00:43:16] Jeff Compton: Under warranty, I'm putting the starter in. Now, on a customer's car, that's where it becomes a real thing. What do you do here? You've already got the customer con- con- con- I say convinced. Convinced that they need a starter, they're gonna buy a starter, you put the starter in. The due diligence thing is now when I'm there, I continue the diag process as I'm replacing the part.
[00:43:37] Jeff Compton: I see the effect of the loose connection, then I fix that too. That's the difference. Where swapnostics or shotgun diag has gotten a bad rap in this industry is because we may hand it off to somebody else and say, "Just go put that starter in." And they hit the key and they drove it in. They had no idea why they were bringing it in, right?
[00:43:55] Jeff Compton: And they don't notice, they don't look at that when they take it apart. We're looking always failure analysis.
[00:44:00] Brian Ramsburg: Mm-hmm. "
[00:44:01] Jeff Compton: Oh, shoot. That was only found... " Or they get smart mouth and they go out and they go, "Hey, didn't even need it. It was only just a loose connection." The end of the day, you fixed the frigging car, right?
[00:44:12] Jeff Compton: And you, you, you look at enough things to know while you're in there, what are you gonna do to make the job last as long as it possible. So I get both sides 'cause, like, I've worked with guys, if I hit the thing with a starter, with a hammer, and it cranks up, my diag's done.
[00:44:26] Brian Ramsburg: So that one was what, a Cadillac?
[00:44:29] Josh Coomes: No, it was the Infiniti.
[00:44:30] Brian Ramsburg: Either way, it, it was Nissan- Yeah ... starter stuck underneath intake manifold.
[00:44:35] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:44:35] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, that one in particular, we went ahead and checked, obviously, supply voltage, the whole nine, made sure all that was good. Went to the patch cable that we could reach right there at the back- Yeah ... of the intake and verified- Yeah
[00:44:46] Brian Ramsburg: we had power, we had ground.
[00:44:47] Jeff Compton: Yep.
[00:44:48] Brian Ramsburg: Still no click, no nothing. We went ahead and ripped the intake off. It's like, all right, I'm here. You know what? I'm gonna do the last test my- myself for my standards. Supply power and ground to it. Nothing. Yeah. Starter's just locked up. It's dead. Locked up. No good.
[00:45:03] Jeff Compton: Yep.
[00:45:04] Brian Ramsburg: So in my mind, we're good.
[00:45:06] Brian Ramsburg: It's a shotgun. It's, it's dead.
[00:45:08] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:45:08] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, it, it's not coming back. Get ready to start taking it off. Josh comes over five, 10 minutes later, "Hey, I, I need a voltage drop test put on this now," but I just confirmed it's dead.
[00:45:20] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:45:21] Brian Ramsburg: And that's where sometimes he wants more.
[00:45:23] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:45:24] Brian Ramsburg: And I'm looking at, well, if I swap this, I've already verified I got power and ground to it.
[00:45:28] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:45:29] Brian Ramsburg: We know this is completely dead. We have to have it.
[00:45:32] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:45:32] Brian Ramsburg: Why am I wasting another 10, 15 minutes to run the next set of tests?
[00:45:36] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:45:36] Brian Ramsburg: That's another 10, 15 minutes. I'm the only tech. I need to get to the next car.
[00:45:40] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Now, do you stress because y- right now, like, the fact that you're, you know the work schedule and you're the only tech, does it add stress to you?
[00:45:49] Brian Ramsburg: It does.
[00:45:50] Jeff Compton: See, that's tough, eh?
[00:45:51] Josh Coomes: It is.
[00:45:51] Jeff Compton: It is really, because, like, for me, my standpoint, I was always very blessed early in my career. I didn't give a shit, right? The more cars just meant the more money for me, and the less cars would irritate me. Now, when I see, when I work in a shop and I see all these cars piling up, even though I'm, I'm not paid on any kind of commission base or flat rate or any of that kind of stuff, it, it adds my...
[00:46:15] Jeff Compton: Because I feel the same way. I'm like, "They're gonna be on me, like, 'cause we got all these cars backed up." It's like tire season in Canada, right? You and I have talked about that. 'Cause nothing is just a tire job. It's a tire job, but plus can you look at this when they're there? And plus, like, it always is the plus that adds the stress level of all the cars piling up outside.
[00:46:33] Jeff Compton: So I feel you, Brian. I really do, man. It is not, it's not easy. Um, the, the, the multiple test thing, when he's- he's right when he says if you're hourly and I tell you to go rotate the tires 'cause I think it's gonna fix the check engine light, you just do it. When I'm, when I'm commission-based pay, hybrid, flat rate, whatever, I'm wired where I'm gonna challenge you every time on why am I doing that.
[00:47:03] Jeff Compton: Because, like, at the end of the goal, I'm just in survival mode. I either wanna hit my number that I need to hit to, to bonus up, you and I have talked about this. Yeah. Or I'm in, like, I, I wanna get as much done as possible to maximize whatever I make. I'm always in survival mode, and it affects the attitude that I can come to.
[00:47:21] Jeff Compton: And this is what a lot of people, when they get from hybrid pay, they don't understand where, well, I pay them hybrid, but they still give me all this flak about how they want, you know, how I want them to do stuff. That's wherein when, when their pay is justified somewhat on how fast they do something, they're always gonna want to have the conversation, right, Josh?
[00:47:41] Jeff Compton: Yep. And you're nodding like, "Yeah, I know. It's frustrating." You see- It's
[00:47:44] Josh Coomes: exactly what happened.
[00:47:44] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:47:45] Josh Coomes: Yep.
[00:47:46] Jeff Compton: I'm not, and I can't sit here and tell you or everybody that, like, they should only pay their guys hourly. They should only pay straight time and, and prof- prof- production, see, I almost have trained my s- bra- brain not to use that word because it triggers, um, should even come off the table as a, as a conversation piece, but it has to.
[00:48:04] Jeff Compton: It has to be there, 'cause we live and die on that, right? But I think that too many of us- 'Cause the tech has every right that if I go out and I smack it with a hammer, and I've got an hour sold to diag or whatever, right? And I smack it with a hammer, and I do a quick AVR test on the battery, and I've got two things that I've proven what it is, my diag's done.
[00:48:24] Jeff Compton: And I got to put a half an hour, 45 minutes extra in my pocket for efficiency. When all of a sudden now it's, the process is, like, I can't make time on some people's processes is what I'm trying to say. And that's tough because you wanna get faster, and you wanna be able to put some time away, but then they go, "Well, you, you make the time on the repair."
[00:48:43] Jeff Compton: Yes, but where my experience was always is I didn't have a lot of extra time on the repair. Now, here's the other thing, that what you're doing well is because from my training and my exper- experience, the quality control that happened after the repair- Mm-hmm ... was something that was never allotted for time-wise, charge-wise or, or pay-wise.
[00:49:04] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. So now when we have... I'm, I'm... People that are listening to this, technicians, slow down a bit because, like, if you're doing it right and they're giving you quality control time, that can be where some of that, if your time goes over a little bit on the repair, you're still not gonna lose because they should have added the matrix that adds a couple tenths to the job- Yep
[00:49:23] Jeff Compton: and you're gonna be okay.
[00:49:24] Josh Coomes: Yeah, so we, we initially were doing a qu- we added a quality control about a year ago that was paying 15 minutes and at $0 an hour to the customer, right? And it was kind of tanking the ELR, effective labor rate, enough to where it screws the labor gross profit-
[00:49:43] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm ...
[00:49:44] Josh Coomes: to where it's like, hmm I'm not making what I need to make overall GP to be able to pay all the bills.
[00:49:50] Josh Coomes: I'm like, "So we have to get the ELR up so I can afford to pay, give raises basically, right?" Yeah. So, um, we stopped doing that. Now, we did- we still run 25% over Mitchell times. Or if the technician feels as though this job pays four in Mitchell, uh, after multiplier comes out to five, I need six. Okay. Like, I don't care.
[00:50:12] Josh Coomes: I mean, it has to be somewhat justifiable, right? Right. You can't just, like, throw extra hours on for no reason.
[00:50:16] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:50:17] Josh Coomes: But I mean, a great example is if, like, I'm on board, I'm not doing a Honda V6 timing belt in three and a half hours of what Mitchell says.
[00:50:23] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:50:23] Josh Coomes: Like, even with multiplier, I'm still putting more on that because I've never done a timing belt that fast on those cars.
[00:50:29] Josh Coomes: Yeah. I've worked on H- nothing but Honda, maybe I can justify it 25% over three and a half, whatever hours that is. Yeah. But a timing belt in my shop is five and a half hours-
[00:50:36] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[00:50:37] Josh Coomes: with a water pump. It's like, that's it. You know? Yeah. I don't really care. '
[00:50:39] Jeff Compton: Cause we've seen all the, all the posts, and the guys go, "I whip them off in an hour and 30 minutes."
[00:50:44] Jeff Compton: I remember when I worked at a high-end day, it was crazy fast how fast some of those guys could do the timing belt and, and all the idlers and pulleys in there at the same time. It was like, we're talking 45 minutes. It was a four-hour job, right? Mm-hmm. And they were just so fast 'cause the muscle memory- Mm
[00:50:57] Jeff Compton: you're just, it just reps in, right? And, um, but for a shop that has to do everything, every brand, every make, every model that comes in, not has to, but you know what I mean, we don't just do one thing over again, we don't ever get the reps in, and it, it's crazy to me to think that it's like I look at book time and I'm so glad so many in the, in the industry are pro- finally adding the matrix to it because I know I've met a lot of great techs, you and I know them.
[00:51:23] Jeff Compton: And a lot of them, I'll say this, um, most guys, the first time I've ever watched them do a job, a lot of jobs they don't, they don't cut the time in half. They don't even cut it. Some, most, a lot break even. If they're doing good quality work, doing it the way it wants... Who was I talking to yesterday? And it's like their process is you don't put a caliper back on without torquing the bolts.
[00:51:42] Jeff Compton: Every frigging bolt. It's Loctited and
[00:51:45] Brian Ramsburg: torqued. Mm-hmm.
[00:51:46] Jeff Compton: That's just their process. Now, how many times would you hire a guy, and if he walked in there and you said that's the way to process, they'd go, "You're crazy. I've been doing this forever. I know how to do brakes." Doesn't matter that you know how to do brakes.
[00:51:59] Jeff Compton: This is now my process. It adds time, right? That's how we've been able to make time on brake jobs forever, is because we don't necessarily run over to the wire wheel like I'm famous for, and I wire wheel every bolt. I don't Loctite them back in, but I probably should, and I wire wheel all the fasteners, check them all out, and then I put the thing back together.
[00:52:15] Jeff Compton: That's the way I was trained, the way I do it. But we... I've worked with countless guys that they do a 15-minute brake job because nothing gets cleaned, pads get slapped on, rotor gets hammered off, rotor gets hammered on, and out the door it goes.
[00:52:27] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm.
[00:52:28] Jeff Compton: It's finding that, that perfect mix, eh, Josh, of what is- Yep
[00:52:32] Jeff Compton: what does quality look like, but does quality have to go over the time? That's the trick, man. That's the secret sauce. It's-
[00:52:40] Josh Coomes: It's hard when you have... I have s- I have standards, right? And I mean, everyone has standards- Sure do ... whether or not they be high or low- Yeah ... is the difference, right? And, um- When I am so specific about how I want things done 'cause it's my shop, my name, my reputation, my legacy, whether or not it's be small or big, right?
[00:52:59] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. It's like it's hard to be able to express that same vision. I don't expect a technician to have the same, uh- Yeah ... burden of ownership and same care, right? Nobody really does. And when you tie in production to that, you're... You know, my idea was that, hey, this is all fair. It's fair if I don't have a bunch of speed bumps and obstacles- Yeah
[00:53:23] Josh Coomes: in the way for the technician to be able to produce. Yeah, I keep my labor GP exactly where I want it because now you're getting paid $22 an hour 'cause you only bill out 30 hours a week, and then when you bill out 70 hours, you get paid $62 an hour. It's like, yeah, it's fair. Everybody's making a lot of money, and it's like, wait a minute, now I can't make 70 hours because you wanted me to wire wheel bolts, Loctite this.
[00:53:45] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:53:45] Josh Coomes: You know, you want me to do three extra test steps to
[00:53:48] Jeff Compton: the- 10 mile test drive-
[00:53:49] Josh Coomes: Yeah ... when
[00:53:50] Jeff Compton: it's done. You know, bursting- And- ... and all that stuff ...
[00:53:52] Josh Coomes: so as time went on when it's like, okay, I'm seeing a problem, I'm acknowledging it, I'm trying to think of a way to move forward with this, and at that point in time, I wanted to take the burden off the technician to be able to produce, so now you're getting paid, in my mind, 50 hours of production.
[00:54:06] Josh Coomes: That's what our goals are set- Mm-hmm ... is 50 hours of production. You're getting paid for that, and you're... But now it's like, hey, you're getting paid what you need to get paid, and then when you overproduce or you produce more than that and you hustle, I want you to be reward. So instead of it being like the carrot that you always talk about- Yeah
[00:54:22] Josh Coomes: it's like now I, I'm trying to get it more and more close to this is now a reward for your effort instead of I'm paying you what you're worth. It's like when you push forth more, it's like, hey, this is... Thank you for what you did. Here's some extra money.
[00:54:37] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:54:37] Josh Coomes: So, you know, I'm still... I was... Like I told Brian, when we went through this stuff and we were...
[00:54:43] Josh Coomes: Like, after a day or two after we had that kind of like confrontation, I'm grateful he came in the next day. I wasn't sure if he was going to. Yeah. Right? And it's like I had a... I told him, I said, "Look, man, 26, 27-year technician, you know, I don't consider myself like a master tech still, and two years shop ownership."
[00:55:03] Josh Coomes: I mean, you... Like, it's not his responsibility is working for a guy that's two years in.
[00:55:08] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:55:09] Josh Coomes: Well, you know, but it's like- There's got to be a little bit of grace.
[00:55:13] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. I hope. Do you, I don't think he... D- the, the goals that he sets down, do you think they're outrageous or hard to hit or... Like 50, 50's not hard for you to hit?
[00:55:22] Brian Ramsburg: 50's not hard to hit as long as all the pieces are moving like they should.
[00:55:26] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:55:27] Brian Ramsburg: So what I mean by that, um, from front of the office all the way through the back of the shop, if we get a car in and my diagnostic notes are simply, "AC broke, fix."
[00:55:41] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:55:42] Brian Ramsburg: Well, what's the story there? Yeah. Are, are we just not cooling?
[00:55:45] Brian Ramsburg: Uh, was there any kind of noise, any precursors? And- no details. Well, now I've got to figure it out, or we gotta get ahold of that customer again to get those details.
[00:55:53] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:55:54] Brian Ramsburg: Well, that eats into our time 'cause-
[00:55:56] Jeff Compton: Yeah. I was wondering if you walk out to it and hit it up and hit the key, and start it up and it's blowing cold right when you look at it.
[00:56:01] Brian Ramsburg: We've had a couple of those.
[00:56:02] Jeff Compton: That's tricky, isn't it?
[00:56:03] Josh Coomes: Yeah.
[00:56:04] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:56:05] Josh Coomes: I don't like that.
[00:56:07] Jeff Compton: Right? Because then that would send me down a complete wormhole. Like do I... Okay, do I go and drive this like an hour and after an hour the... 'Cause I'll talk about a Nissan. We used to see lots of Nissans that, like, after an hour that clutch coil would go open circuit, and the clutch wouldn't cycle anymore.
[00:56:22] Jeff Compton: And you'd chase your frigging ass on that car, right?
[00:56:25] Josh Coomes: Yeah, that would drive me nuts. Like, I'm just like, I'm already getting mad thinking- Yeah ... of a flat rate, at me as a flat rate technician.
[00:56:29] Jeff Compton: But see, what we knew is after we'd seen so many compressor failures, it didn't drive me crazy anymore 'cause it's...
[00:56:36] Jeff Compton: Like, and it goes back to that saying, you laugh at me, it's gonna need one eventually. And you would just go out there with your estimate for selling the compressor.
[00:56:44] Brian Ramsburg: And you know what? It fixed the frigging car- Yeah ...
[00:56:46] Jeff Compton: a lot of the time. And that's where I believe sometimes that it's that window when we operate profitly, profit- profitably and, and we'd have one that, well, it did need a compressor, like we've taught, but there was also something else that was going on.
[00:57:00] Jeff Compton: Control head in a Nissan, we'll do that too. Yep. Um, we just took care of it after the fact. You know what I mean? And that's where this is always gonna be such a fluid conversation back and forth between the owner and the technician, and I think the good Lord just put me here to try and either make fun of it or monetize it or, uh, you know, help people understand both sides of how it can go because it just has to go that way.
[00:57:23] Jeff Compton: This is not- As crazy as it sounds, it's not a perfect science. You know, fixing cars is not a perfect science. Cars, for all the information that's in them, uh, they're operated by people, they're built by people, and they don't tell us what's wrong with them. Now, you can say, "Well, the data, sure it does when it's broken."
[00:57:45] Jeff Compton: But some people are getting so tuned in that they're telling us there's something wrong before the data is telling us something's wrong. And that becomes the whole can of worms of like, how can we go after this, right? And there's the struggle in this because that's where the communication breaks down customer to owner, and then owner to, to technician, 'cause it's interpretation on so many different fronts.
[00:58:06] Jeff Compton: We don't really know what it is until we actually dig in and start to investigate. And then when you find things You can't ignore it because you found something, 'cause it probably is what it is. It's probably the cause.
[00:58:19] Brian Ramsburg: Until it's not.
[00:58:20] Jeff Compton: Till it's not, 'cause there's two causes, right?
[00:58:22] Josh Coomes: And then you- the, the problem with all of those things, right, it even gets even further into it with, like, as technology advances, it's exponential.
[00:58:30] Josh Coomes: Yeah. So it's gonna get even worse. And when you're on a production-based pay, flat rate or hybrid, the technician is the one that's taking the brunt. Yeah. Right? They're the ones that feel it most in their pocket. Yeah. And then, you know, then the shop is, the front is coming back on why, you know, that you're not making production or whatever.
[00:58:47] Josh Coomes: "I
[00:58:47] Jeff Compton: can't pay you more. You're not producing enough."
[00:58:49] Josh Coomes: Yeah. And it's just not, it's just not fair. Like you said before, that flat rate's not gonna go away. I think that flat rate in a dealership, if I went back to a dealership, I would absolutely wanna be flat rate. I think I can still do it, right? Mm-hmm. And, um, but there's so much support network in those things when a properly ran shop...
[00:59:08] Josh Coomes: Now, some of them are terrible. Yeah. I remember I waited for an engine for an hour, uh, after it was already sitting here, and they wouldn't bring it out to my bay. We almost- Yeah ... started swinging. Yeah. Right? 'Cause now you are absolutely affecting my paycheck. I already slammed this out. Oh, and that, that stupid car that that happened to, it was a Volkswagen Passat, and there was a difference in the crankshaft between automatic and manual.
[00:59:26] Josh Coomes: And when it was all said and done, and then finally the engine was out there, I looked at the crankshaft, the first thing I did, it was the wrong freaking engine anyway. So-
[00:59:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[00:59:33] Josh Coomes: who, who, who takes that? I'm the one that's losing because they ordered the wrong freaking part.
[00:59:38] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:59:38] Josh Coomes: I didn't order the part.
[00:59:39] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Now, it, it's... And in a, in a perfect world, you have another bay, you just go on with life, right? That's a little bit of stress, but you're... Like, and maybe I wasted an hour waiting 'cause I, I, I, maybe I, I put my, started to put my tools away or m- organized this because the new engine's supposed to be coming right out.
[00:59:55] Jeff Compton: As soon as it's not there, it's like the talk all the time we had with last week was somebody was like, "What do you do? Do you make the, the technician throw the wheels on it and push it back outside?" Like, because... And some of you are gonna... And you're nodding your head now as a shop owner. Yeah. But back in the day as a technician flat rating the bay, if somebody said, "Hey, Josh, go throw that sub frame half back in that thing so that the wheels can be driven out and push it out, 'cause we're now two weeks waiting for..."
[01:00:20] Jeff Compton: You'd have said, "F you." Right? "Go get the forklift and jam it through the windows and lift it out and carry it out." That's, that's what I... Because I'm not effing paid to do this.
[01:00:28] Josh Coomes: Yeah. It's... But, so, but to sit there and, like, let yourself smolder in it- Mm ... if as a flat rate tech, all I'm gonna bitch about it, and then I'm gonna do it because I need to get the next four cars in- Yeah
[01:00:40] Josh Coomes: so I can actually make a paycheck.
[01:00:42] Jeff Compton: But see, some of those technicians, though, so they're the ones that, like, when it, when it gets to that level with them, they're the ones that you start seeing tools fly.
[01:00:48] Josh Coomes: Yeah.
[01:00:49] Jeff Compton: Right? That won't happen. I can't say that they're wrong because of that. Because- Like we all think we're, we're, we all think we're at our level, and then somebody, life will pile on something else and you thought you were at your max, and all of a sudden you just, you took it up another notch to how angry you can actually get or how jaded you can get, right?
[01:01:06] Jeff Compton: And then it's like who was that guy? I look back sometimes now, I talk about that thing where I, I at almost came to fisticuffs with the guy that was getting me the wrong brake rotors. I look back now and I go, "Who was that guy?" Like that wasn't me. But then I remember, oh, that was me a lot of weeks because the just the pay wasn't there and the stress level was already up.
[01:01:26] Jeff Compton: And you know, they tell you like, "Hey, you gotta make hay when the sun's shining," right? Boy, like there's all kinds of these ... We're ... It's a busy time of year. Like get it done, get it done, get it done. And your stress level's just incrementally going up and up and up and up and up. And you're like, "I'm making money," but you're, you're, you're right at your limit.
[01:01:43] Jeff Compton: One little thing and the wheel falls off the cart, not the car, the cart, and all of a sudden the apple cart's turned upside down and you're like I, I became a different person. And that's why for me I can never go back. I can't do it. Yeah. It's just, it's not in my culture anymore. Physically I can't do it.
[01:01:59] Jeff Compton: I, I'm ... I only have one good arm. But the, the reality is is like it puts me in such a head space now, it's just a matter of time when somebody starts to, to pay me that way or talk about production that way before I sabotage myself. So don't ever become that. Always have ... Because here's why I became that way.
[01:02:19] Jeff Compton: There was nobody to listen. There was nobody to have the conversation. So always come to him with your, with your, with your feelings and your perspective and, and, you know,
[01:02:29] Josh Coomes: your- But I have to be receptive to it.
[01:02:31] Jeff Compton: And you are. You're not a terrible listener, but you do need to- Yeah. I, I've known you enough now, we've shared enough that I know that you're, you're stubborn.
[01:02:38] Jeff Compton: You're stubborn sometimes.
[01:02:39] Josh Coomes: Yeah.
[01:02:40] Jeff Compton: You know? So
[01:02:40] Josh Coomes: are you.
[01:02:41] Jeff Compton: Oh, yeah. But- It's okay. We ... It's that, it's that A type of personality that gets into this that makes us so good, but we almost have to like flick that switch to the other type of person that we need to be when we're in your role now as a shop owner, right?
[01:02:56] Jeff Compton: Mm. 'Cause yes, I'm stubborn and I'm opinionated and I'm pig-headed, and I have a record that shows that like I'm very difficult to employ because I think I'm pretty flipping smart. But here's the reality, like we're all flipping smart, but the truly successful ones are the ones that are flipping smart but they're able to navigate the other side of this conversations that is how they manage to not talk themselves out of a job, or they don't sour their, their attitude and their, and their personality till nobody wants to be around them.
[01:03:26] Brian Ramsburg: Well, luckily I came to Josh at a point in my life where- I'm a lot more calm than I used to be.
[01:03:31] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[01:03:32] Brian Ramsburg: I used to be easily excitable. Uh-
[01:03:34] Jeff Compton: I like how he even says that, easily excitable. Like, it's a very politically correct way to say, like, "I was ready to throw hands." Like, that's, you know?
[01:03:41] Brian Ramsburg: Josh has heard the stories.
[01:03:43] Brian Ramsburg: Yeah. He, he, he's known, uh, previously I, I've been at a stage where I threw hands.
[01:03:47] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[01:03:48] Brian Ramsburg: Um, but it's something where I had to learn how to humble myself a- and see both sides for what it really is- Yeah ... as best as we can. Uh, so just like some of the incidents y- you've probably heard about at this point, me and Josh just kinda get to the point, you know what?
[01:04:02] Brian Ramsburg: We do have a bit of a, a difference of opinions at this point. I'm gonna pick up my toys, I'm gonna go home, I'm gonna cool off. We'll talk in a day or so.
[01:04:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:04:11] Josh Coomes: That's awesome for him to be so emotionally intelligent that he doesn't respond when emotions are high. Like, I'm getting better with that.
[01:04:19] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[01:04:19] Josh Coomes: Um, but he's already, in my opinion, mastered it. So that's awesome, 'cause you can do a bunch of bad things when... and, you know, very bad things. Yeah. Right? And it's like I respect him tremendously for that, and I just adapt to know, I need to, like, when he's ready, you know, it's like I... The next day I said, "You know, we're gonna have to talk about this.
[01:04:39] Josh Coomes: Just we're, we'll, we'll put a pin in it for now, but- Mm ... this has to be addressed. This can't fester, and we have to come up with- Yeah ... a resolution." So and it's like, "I'll give you space." You know, I'm grateful he came into work the next day, you know? But and it took about- four days. It happened on a Thursday, I think by Tuesday or Wednesday, and it's been the, the atmosphere in the shop has been the absolute best it has ever been.
[01:05:02] Jeff Compton: That's good. That's good.
[01:05:03] Josh Coomes: It's, it's awesome. So I'm hoping that with some more guidance and structure we can kind of maintain that. Mm-hmm. And hiring somebody else is gonna help. You know, we've been hiring for nine months now.
[01:05:14] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:05:14] Josh Coomes: And I cannot find... I gave two job offers. One guy was like, he's about an hour drive, and he couldn't do it.
[01:05:20] Josh Coomes: He was gonna been an awesome fit.
[01:05:22] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:05:22] Josh Coomes: And, um, you know, I gave him for a three-day work and interview, and he's like, "Dude, I just can't do this drive." So I appreciate the honesty 'cause, you know, I'm gonna pay to move his toolbox here. It's like, okay, you're gonna b- like, work two weeks and it's not gonna work, but- Yeah
[01:05:34] Josh Coomes: and the other guy is just like, as time goes on I'm trying to figure out where to go. Now, most of my coaching and mentors in the industry are like, "You need to get a guy that comes in here and bills out 40 hours a week."
[01:05:44] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:05:44] Josh Coomes: That's not the type of shop that I want. Like, yeah, obviously I need production.
[01:05:47] Josh Coomes: It's, it's like no shit, right? But I don't want a guy to come in just to bang out work and go home at 5:00. And it's just like, I don't want that kind of atmosphere where it's just like this is a job to me. Like, we're trying to build something better here, and that's making the scope of technician pool from a puddle to a mud puddle.
[01:06:06] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:06:06] Josh Coomes: Right? So it's not a, it's not a freaking, you know, a, a lake of, you know, the pool.
[01:06:11] Jeff Compton: And yet everybody says that, "Oh, go find one that you can pull in here and do 40 hours." And I, as the dealer guy from way back then, I saw lots of them hire guys that could pull 40 hours. And you know what? I did 10 of their hours over again every fucking week.
[01:06:26] Brian Ramsburg: Yep.
[01:06:27] Jeff Compton: And you don't want that, and you don't want that.
[01:06:29] Josh Coomes: No.
[01:06:29] Jeff Compton: So-
[01:06:30] Josh Coomes: So yeah, and that's what I'm saying. So it's like, as time goes on, like, I, I... where I'm at in Fayetteville, in my opinion, there's not a huge technician pool, right? And the guys that are out there, yes, they might be able to produce, but not when you put them in my shop to where we do things different.
[01:06:44] Josh Coomes: Mm-hmm. 100% we're not doing the same things that you're doing- Yeah ... where these guys are able to produce 70 hours a week. You will not come into my shop and produce 70 hours a week. I can almost guarantee it. Yeah. Now, what you will produce is gonna be 50 hours of amazing work that will not come back is the goal, right?
[01:06:58] Josh Coomes: So it's like, that's what we're trying to find, and I can't find the person that can do that right now. And, you know, everyone's telling me, "Don't hire a new guy." Well, it's like, look, man, I got a cultural fit that has... He's ambitious- Yes ... and he wants to do things. And it's like, "Hey, let's try this out," you know?
[01:07:15] Josh Coomes: It's like, we're gonna try to m- We're doing it. I mean, I'm pretty sure that we're gonna give... We're doing a one-day work and interview. Normally, we do one to three-
[01:07:22] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[01:07:23] Josh Coomes: uh, depending on skill level, 'cause I'm not really actively looking at 100% skill unless we're getting to, like, a lot of higher pay, um, or you're being hired because y- of your skill set, then we might try to push for, like, what can you do and what do you know?
[01:07:36] Josh Coomes: Yeah. But for now, the, the one-day work and interview is really for a cultural fit to make sure, like- If we weren't gonna do a working interview, I met him after hours, nobody's there, I would probably offer him a job. Yeah. But that's doing a disservice to my wife and my technician. Yes. It's like, "Hey, um, I wanna bring you in and work for a day, and then make sure it's all gonna jive.
[01:07:57] Josh Coomes: And if, if you're gonna be receptive, you know, it's not fail-safe, but it's something better than nothing." This guy is such in a bad spot where he's at right now, he thought he wasn't getting paid to come in, and he was like, "Yeah, I'll, I'll be in-
[01:08:08] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[01:08:09] Josh Coomes: for a whole day." I
[01:08:09] Jeff Compton: know.
[01:08:10] Josh Coomes: And I was like- Donating
[01:08:10] Jeff Compton: your day time
[01:08:11] Josh Coomes: and I forgot, like- You gotta try that out, yeah ... I never even told him about that, and I forgot, and I had to text him. I'm like... He told me he was good to come in on Monday, and I was like, "Oh, by the way, I'm paying you for the day." And he's like, "Oh, really? That's great." I'm like, oh my God, dude, this guy is so freaking jaded- Yeah
[01:08:24] Josh Coomes: that he's just, like, willing to do anything, and it's really sad.
[01:08:27] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:08:28] Josh Coomes: So I mean, like-
[01:08:29] Jeff Compton: There's a lot of them out there like that, bro. I tell you right now, like, I, I've, I've had the working interview and done the working interview thing, and I never expected to get paid. I was just willing to do it to try and get into a better fit.
[01:08:41] Jeff Compton: You know
[01:08:41] Josh Coomes: what I mean? What's your opinion on working interviews? 'Cause I missed a couple guys for that. Hmm. Let's ask the interviewee or interviewer.
[01:08:47] Jeff Compton: What, like, uh, what, a working interview? Mm-hmm. Like working, working job interview? I think everybody... I think this industry needs to pull its head out of its butt and actually start doing it.
[01:08:55] Jeff Compton: Like, when I think about some of the shop owners that have gone as far as they've gone to bring guys from other states, make it happen, come down and do a week, right? And it's not just are you gonna fit in the shop at that week, 'cause you- they may fit by day two, and they love that. Like, "I could see myself working here forever."
[01:09:11] Jeff Compton: You gotta show them the rest of the area and go like, "Do you wanna live in Fayetteville? Do you wanna live in Blowing Rock? Do you wanna live..." Like, I'm talking, thinking of people that have brought techs from farther away. It's a big commitment. Andrew Fisher, right? Like, he, we know him. He's a friend of ours.
[01:09:25] Jeff Compton: Goes and works at arguably one of the best shops in the country, but there's, there's still family things that, like, brought him away and, and he had to make a move. You know, it kills him every day, I think. Well, it doesn't kill him every day, but he, he waxes nostalgic about being there, and it's such an awesome place to work.
[01:09:40] Jeff Compton: I think we have to do it in this industry. We have to become a lot more flexible about how we're gonna find the talent, because it's like you're gonna do. You're gonna grow the talent in your shop, or we're gonna sit here and, and wonder how do we poach talent from something else. Both cost money. That's the thing.
[01:09:58] Jeff Compton: Growing them or poaching them, it's a ton of money. Ton. So the... But we have no choice in this industry. We're at that point now, and there's, there's a collective in the industry that just wants to blame the high schools and blame the colleges and blame the parents. What good does blaming anybody do for that?
[01:10:13] Jeff Compton: Not a damn thing. At the end of the day, you still need another tech. You still want another tech. Yep. Blaming everybody ain't gonna do squat.
[01:10:20] Josh Coomes: That's why you put the wheels on the car and push it outside and get moving to the next thing- Yeah ... that's actually making a
[01:10:23] Jeff Compton: difference. And the next thing is, is like I have to now- For the people who are listening, and I'm not citing you as an example, if you think you're doing, "Oh, I can help my customer by doing free diag," or, "I can help my customer by doing this," that money that you're not charging for that, that you feel good about, you don't have that money then to come and build your...
[01:10:43] Jeff Compton: And I'm not talking pro- profit now. You can't build your team without money, because it's gonna cost money to get people to come in to your business and work there. It's just the reality. We have a window here where we have a lot of young people who are thinking about coming in, and we have a lot of old, angry people like me, and what we both want is good pay and a good culture, and we can't build that if you don't fucking charge.
[01:11:06] Jeff Compton: So.
[01:11:07] Josh Coomes: Yeah, I think, like, just coming to this, these tools- Yes ... this is a mandatory... It was mandatory this year, uh, for the shop, um, because of, like, just the dynamic we have in the shop right now. Yeah. And, um, ASTA is always mandatory because it's an hour and a half north of us- Yeah ... and it's like, and then, you know, most of my friends are in North Carolina.
[01:11:26] Josh Coomes: So that is mandatory always, and those two training conventions with three tickets-
[01:11:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[01:11:34] Josh Coomes: is about, it's gonna run about 20 26,000 minimum. If we have a fourth ticket, we have more lost production pay, right? So you, you, in k- you know, it's like basically my training budget is $40,000 a year.
[01:11:50] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:11:51] Josh Coomes: So $40,000, and I have a small shop.
[01:11:53] Josh Coomes: I have one technician, man, you know? Like, we'll be lucky to break a million this year, and I think we can do it- Mm-hmm ... especially if we get another tech in there, but, like, that's, that's a lot. And my expenses are really high for what we, for what I'm doing. But if I'm not charging for diag, how can I justify a $40,000 training bill?
[01:12:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:12:10] Josh Coomes: And people don't care to know that. They don't, they don't care. Yeah. They're just like, "Oh, it's 170?" Yeah.
[01:12:15] Jeff Compton: And the charging diag is just an example, but I mean, let's roll it into and say I don't run a matrix, or I don't mic mark, mark my parts up. Like, we, the free diag thing always gets tossed there and it, and it's the hot button thing, but, like, I mean charging effectively all throughout- Yeah
[01:12:29] Jeff Compton: the business, same as you, same as we talked about. Okay, so here's what I'm gonna say to you. I want to see you back here next year at this event, and I wanna see you at, you know, when we do ASTA in September. Yeah. We'd love to see you there. And, and you know, um, one point closing, what do you wanna say to him?
[01:12:51] Jeff Compton: And then you get to do the same thing. Oh. 'Cause I know he brags about you all the time to me, 100%. So you... And then we close on that. We'll go get some lunch.
[01:13:02] Brian Ramsburg: Tell you what, you go first 'cause I'm a little lost.
[01:13:05] Josh Coomes: Um, I would say that I have a strong technician. Mm-hmm. Right? Nobody is perfect. Uh, as long as you're willing to listen and ab- and absorb knowledge, then you're an asset.
[01:13:20] Josh Coomes: As soon as you have, uh, someone that is shut down and, like, doesn't wanna listen to anything, you're now a liability- Yeah ... and you're not, you're not necessarily worthless, but you're nowhere near as worth to the company as what you think you are.
[01:13:32] Jeff Compton: You're an obstacle as I would say.
[01:13:33] Josh Coomes: Yeah. So, and I have a technician that is still, he 100% does it.
[01:13:39] Josh Coomes: Brian Pollock says that the first 40 is the job, the next 40 is where you're gonna hone your craft. Yeah. I have a technician that understands that and does that on his own. So this training conference was hard for him because he's like, "I already do some of this training," and then you get here and you see it, like, eyes open.
[01:13:54] Josh Coomes: So him being s- a little res- like- You didn't really wanna come.
[01:14:00] Jeff Compton: Right.
[01:14:00] Josh Coomes: But now you see the value that's here, so he went out of his comfort zone probably 'cause he was told to, but now he's here and he's like, "Okay, I like it." So I have someone that I want to invest into, and he's receptive to it. Yeah. Yeah, there's tension, and I'm sorry for that, but know that I'm not trying to do anything wrong, like, on purpose.
[01:14:21] Josh Coomes: It just happens all the time.
[01:14:25] Brian Ramsburg: And I get all of that. You're absolutely right. We've talked about training. Uh, I'm a creature of habit, so I like staying around my home state within a few hours. I mean, we're what? Eight hours out, give or take? Yeah.
[01:14:37] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[01:14:38] Brian Ramsburg: So it was a, a big jump for me to come here, uh, be part of this giant seminar where I've got social anxiety like no tomorrow.
[01:14:47] Brian Ramsburg: It's part of the reason it's easy to lock me in the back of the shop and just leave me alone. Mm-hmm. I see the value in everything you do or where you're trying to get there. Uh, that's why I stick around. Guaranteed over the next six months between now and ASTA, we're gonna have some kind of disagreement somewhere, some reason, some way.
[01:15:06] Brian Ramsburg: But just like the last one, we're just gonna keep moving forward and figure it out. All
[01:15:12] Josh Coomes: right, good.
[01:15:13] Jeff Compton: That's pretty powerful stuff to hear, guys. Like, that's, that's the example of what I wanted to have these two on 'cause we don't, like you said at the beginning, we don't get to have very often the, the technician and the shop owner in the same conversation at the same time in the same interview, and that's why I wanted to bring you two here because, like, you're, you're an awesome friend, and I mean, like, I wanna see...
[01:15:33] Jeff Compton: I wanna cheer for you louder than anybody, right? I, I wanna see you succeed, and he brags about you to me all the time, right? So I mean, I feel like you guys can really, like, we can be, we can be doing this in a year, in another year, in another year, and you're just gonna become another face where you're gonna be, like, his right-hand man, and I'm gonna see you two guys together.
[01:15:52] Jeff Compton: So thank you both for coming on here today with me. I know you're... I can see you're not super comfortable, but you're doing well, so, so, and you know you, I love you, so you know, we're good. Beer, beer bros. Um, everybody, uh, we got their meet and greet tonight, um, from 6:00 to 9:00. Uh, I know by the time this gets released you're not gonna be able to make it there, but, um, you know, I appreciate everything that, uh, Brett bringing me here to Tools, and, um, make this part of your calendar for next year that you come to Tools in Hershey.
[01:16:22] Jeff Compton: I think it's gonna be in Hershey going forward every year, and it's an amazing place to be. If you can't make Tools, make it on your calendar that you're gonna make one of these events because it'll literally will change your life. So everybody, I love you. Thanks to all my s- family, my sponsors, LaunchTech USA, Promotive, you know, Techmetric, everybody.
[01:16:42] Jeff Compton: Thank you, guys. Without you guys, I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing here. So love yous all. Talk to you later.
[01:16:50] Brian Ramsburg: Hey, if you could do me a favor real quick and like, comment on, and share this episode,
[01:16:55] Jeff Compton: I'd really appreciate it. And please, most importantly, set the podcast to automatically download every Tuesday morning.
[01:17:02] Jeff Compton: As always, I'd like to thank our amazing guests for their perspectives and expertise, and I hope that you'll please join us again next week on this journey of change. Thank you to my partners in the ASA group and to the Changing the Industry podcast. Remember what I always say, in this industry, you get what you pay for.
[01:17:19] Jeff Compton: Here's hoping everyone finds their missing 10 millimeter, and we'll see you all again next time.