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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.
0609 16x9 Revised
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[00:00:00] Jeff Compton: Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another exciting episode of the Jaded Mechanic Podcast. We're still here in Tools at, uh, Hershey, Pennsylvania, and I'm sitting down with one of the people that I've been trying to connect with since last year I was at Tools, Mr. Cody Kirkenester- Yeah ... from Faidley's Auto Masters, which is...
[00:00:17] Jeff Compton: You work with Brett Faidley.
[00:00:19] Cody Kirkenester: I do, yes. Yeah. Yep. Yep.
[00:00:20] Jeff Compton: How is that?
[00:00:21] Cody Kirkenester: It's good. Yeah. Um, I enjoy working with Brett. I've been, been with Brett for a long time. Um, it just, couple weeks ago, it's been 15 years that I've been with Brett out of his shop. Oh, man. So-
[00:00:31] Jeff Compton: Congratulations ...
[00:00:32] Cody Kirkenester: um, yeah, he's great, great to work for.
[00:00:34] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Great guy. Yeah. Um, takes good care of us, so-
[00:00:36] Jeff Compton: Yeah. We- ...
[00:00:37] Cody Kirkenester: um, we really enjoy it ...
[00:00:38] Jeff Compton: we tried to sit down and do this last year, and then we tried to get... Because Brett came to me and he's like, "You gotta have Cody on, man." Mm-hmm. "He's a super cool guy." And, and here's the thing, people that are, that are listening, you hear me talk all the time about, like, technicians and how I think, like, some of us need to transition out into being the service writer role.
[00:00:56] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:00:56] Jeff Compton: Um, you're kind of his head service writer/shop manager, are you not?
[00:01:01] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. I, I took, took that role on about a year ago.
[00:01:05] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:01:06] Cody Kirkenester: Um, little over a year ago. Yeah. Um, so it was a little bit before we seen each other at Tools last year.
[00:01:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:01:11] Cody Kirkenester: Um, so yeah, I made the transition from being a tech, um, you know, work, worked at Faidley since I was, I was a green guy in the shop, you know.
[00:01:19] Cody Kirkenester: I was a young guy. Um, learned a lot from Brett's dad. His, his parents were involved in the business at the time when I first started. Um, you know, was there for a long time working in the shop. Um, took on different roles as, as years went on.
[00:01:34] Jeff Compton: Uh-huh.
[00:01:34] Cody Kirkenester: Um, went from, like, the green guy to, you know- S- seems like blink of an eye that I was one of the older guys in the shop.
[00:01:42] Cody Kirkenester: It
[00:01:42] Jeff Compton: happens.
[00:01:42] Cody Kirkenester: Um, yeah. Um, and then I sort of worked my way up to, like, being the shop foreman. Um, m- mainly did diagnostics for a long time. Um, and, you know, it was an idea that me and Brett always kicked around, you know, for quite a few years about, you know, maybe transitioning to the business side of things at some point in time.
[00:02:02] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm. Um, so we had a, a service advisor that left us. Um, and we ended up, you know, Brett said is, you know, "Is this the right time now? Let's do it." Um, so I kinda just jumped right into it- Yeah ... one day. Just started putting estimates together and making phone calls and, you know, learned a lot from him- Yeah
[00:02:22] Cody Kirkenester: you know, as far as that goes. But, um, just kinda ran with it after that.
[00:02:27] Jeff Compton: Now, how did you get into the working on cars side of this industry? Like, was that... Like, uh, 'cause again, it seems almost everybody with the same kind of personality, right? Mm-hmm. We took apart our bicycle when we were a kid. Yeah.
[00:02:37] Jeff Compton: Couldn't get it back together. We got it back together. Or, you know, we took apart the neighbor's bike and put parts of that on... Like, were you that kind of kid?
[00:02:43] Cody Kirkenester: I was, definitely. Yeah. Yeah, my, my parents would always get mad at me 'cause I'd get my dad's toolbox and take my toys apart when I was a kid. Yeah.
[00:02:51] Cody Kirkenester: Um, my dad always used to say, you know, I, "I could tell you were gonna be into cars," when I would wake up as a kid on Saturday morning. Instead of wanting to watch cartoons, I wanted to watch the car shows- Yeah ... that were on, on the TV in the mornings. I- You know?
[00:03:02] Jeff Compton: So many of us grew up on that. Yeah. I can remember, like, the Nashville Network, right?
[00:03:05] Jeff Compton: There's a channel- Yeah ... from way back when, and- Yeah ... you would see all these guys. And I was not like... I was in my... I was, like, 10 when they started coming on the air. Mm-hmm. I'm old. And, uh, and I just would watch that. And then when it became, like- That I was wanting to buy my own car, 16. Mm-hmm. Like, that's all I ever wanted to- Yeah
[00:03:23] Jeff Compton: to watch and read and, like, Hot Rod Magazine and Saturday morning programming for the, you know, on the national network for Gears and Shade Tree Mechanic and all these... Crank and Chrome, all these shows- Yeah ... I grew up watching.
[00:03:36] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:03:36] Jeff Compton: Uh, really impacted me. So you're the same way, eh?
[00:03:39] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exact same way.
[00:03:40] Cody Kirkenester: I mean, I got into those shows and, you know, ever s- right around the time I started driving when I was 16, got my first car. Um, I started tinkering right away, you know, it was- What was your
[00:03:50] Jeff Compton: first car?
[00:03:51] Cody Kirkenester: It was a '93 Toyota Paseo. Oh, wow. Right on. There ain't many of them left anymore- Oh ... but, um, yeah, it was just what I had at the time.
[00:04:00] Cody Kirkenester: And then, you know, my, my time of growing up was, you know, like the, the import car days- Mm-hmm ... you know, the Fast and the Furious thing. Yeah. You know, and, um, so I lowered the car, put wheels on it, did all that good stuff, and that was just when I was first starting to get into it- Right ... you know, in high school.
[00:04:16] Cody Kirkenester: So, um, that's kinda, kinda when the bug bit me and, and, you know, then I figured I wanted to go to school and learn about it.
[00:04:24] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:04:25] Cody Kirkenester: Um, so that's what I did my senior year in high school. I, um, I was, played football through high school. I was a sports kid. Right. Um, decided that I wasn't ever gonna make it to the NFL, so I had to figure out what I was gonna do.
[00:04:37] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Um, and I got... Luckily, I got into a dual enrollment program in high school that- Okay ... I'd go to school half a day-
[00:04:46] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[00:04:46] Cody Kirkenester: and go to college half a day to, basically college classes, and I took a automotive technology class. Um, you know, starting to do basic things. The, the class at that time was very... We had, like, three cars.
[00:05:00] Cody Kirkenester: We had, like, an old Dodge Neon, an old Dodge pickup truck, and a, like, a Plymouth Claim, like K car- Right. Yeah ... or something, you know. Yeah, yeah. And just learned the basic stuff, brakes, you know, oil changes, fluid services, stuff like that.
[00:05:12] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Designed for our automotive industry. It's not just another job-finding website or a search function.
[00:05:18] Jeff Compton: Promotive's recruiters and account managers understand the different roles within your shop. They understand the different pay structures and what great culture in a shop looks like. If you want some expert guidance on your career path, you want to talk to my friends at Promotive today
[00:05:42] Cody Kirkenester: Um, and Brett's brother actually was my instructor in that program. Okay. Um, so I went on to graduate from there, graduated high school, uh, went to college, um, took a two-year automotive technology, you know, degree, associate's degree, got that finished up. Um, and then I... As, as that was wrapping up, I started work- working in a shop then.
[00:06:06] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:06:06] Cody Kirkenester: Um, so I went to a local dealership. I got hired in there- Okay ... from, from the program. Worked there for about two months. Um, they hired me on to work in the shop. Spent two months there detailing cars. Yeah. Wasn't really what I wanted to do.
[00:06:20] Jeff Compton: Didn't give you an opportunity.
[00:06:21] Cody Kirkenester: Nope. Nope. So I left there. Um, I worked in a small, like, chain shop in, in this area.
[00:06:30] Cody Kirkenester: Okay. They, they, uh, they have, like, three shops in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
[00:06:33] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:06:34] Cody Kirkenester: Um, worked there for quite a while. Was just doing tires and brakes and oil changes and stuff like that.
[00:06:39] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:06:40] Cody Kirkenester: Um, left there, spent three years at a, a Monroe, which is, like, a chain type- Yeah ... type shop.
[00:06:46] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:06:46] Cody Kirkenester: Was there for quite a few years.
[00:06:48] Cody Kirkenester: Um- You know, my manager that I worked with there is my lead tech at our shop now. Okay. Um, so I kinda had some connection there, but, um-
[00:06:59] Jeff Compton: Did you get any exposure to anything at the Monroe shop that you didn't at, like, the, the previous?
[00:07:04] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. I, I did a little bit more, you know, like suspension-type work. Okay.
[00:07:09] Cody Kirkenester: Um, you know, I had my inspection license by then. I was doing inspections. Um, you know, it, it, it wasn't a... It, it wasn't a bad place. I didn't leave there because it was bad. Um, but I wanted to do more. Right. I wanted to learn diagnostics. That was always kind of my thing that I was always interested in and- Good
[00:07:25] Jeff Compton: for you, man
[00:07:25] Cody Kirkenester: um, they didn't get into much, like, check engine light stuff- Yeah ... and you know how that goes. So, um, you know, I, I spent couple years there, and I always wanted to move to... I wanted to... You know, I was always kind of looking. You know, I wasn't looking to leave at the moment. Um, Faidley's had an opportunity.
[00:07:42] Cody Kirkenester: They called, called me up. They were looking for a guy. Um, and it was... It was Brett's brother, Chad, that was my instructor in college. Mm-hmm. And that's, that's how I got, got connected with Faidley's, um- And
[00:07:53] Jeff Compton: they had a good reputation, a good name in the local area?
[00:07:56] Cody Kirkenester: Very good name. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. They've been around for a long time.
[00:07:59] Cody Kirkenester: They're probably one of the long... in our area, one of the longest standing, like, independent shops that, that was around. Um, so, you know, back when I was in high school, Chad would always kick around the idea, "Maybe you'll come work for me someday," you know. Yeah. And then it just happened to all fall in place.
[00:08:14] Cody Kirkenester: Um, so I went there, you know, 15 years ago and been there ever since.
[00:08:20] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:08:20] Cody Kirkenester: So they kept me around. Like, it's-
[00:08:22] Jeff Compton: Now, what's... Like, 'cause I kinda know... You know, again, like, you know, I know a couple shop owners that are involved in, in this kind of event, right- Mm-hmm ... in putting this kind of event on, and, and you see them, the ones that are networking in the thing.
[00:08:33] Jeff Compton: But besides that, what makes Brett special as a shop owner?
[00:08:38] Cody Kirkenester: Um, Brett... So wh- when I say Brett's parents were involved in it, you know, in the business in the beginning, um... They've both since passed, but they, they were really big on teaching and learning. Got it. You know? So right away when I started there, I mean, you know, I w- I was going to training.
[00:08:57] Cody Kirkenester: Um, you know, Brett's dad, which at that point in time he was... you know, worked on cars for, like, 60 years. You know, he... Just the amount of-
[00:09:04] Jeff Compton: Wealth of knowledge ...
[00:09:05] Cody Kirkenester: Oh, my God. Yeah. Yeah, the amount of, uh, information and knowledge I've gained from him, just little tips and tricks on, you know, a daily basis and, um...
[00:09:14] Cody Kirkenester: You know, and that's, that's kinda how Brett still carries it on. Yeah. You know, Brett's big on learning, big on allowing you to grow. Um, you know, he's a very, very understanding, like, family first kind of person. Yeah. Um, and that's, you know, it's definitely been, been a big plus working with him. Um, you know, that's one of the main things is he, he doesn't...
[00:09:35] Cody Kirkenester: He wants to see you, see you be better, be better- Mm-hmm ... you know what I mean, and grow, grow your, uh- You know, your knowledge and stuff like that. So, you know, that's one thing that makes it special with Brett that I didn't have at the other shops I was working at. Yeah. You know, I was just like, "You're there to work," and that was it.
[00:09:50] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. You know what I mean?
[00:09:51] Jeff Compton: And- You know, and not- no political stuff, no-
[00:09:54] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:09:54] Jeff Compton: nonsense like that. Yeah. Yeah, 'cause we, you know, you hear me talk all the time about, like, you know, and it doesn't surprise me and it makes me angry still that, like, the dealers still, "Oh, we have a person for you."
[00:10:05] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:10:05] Jeff Compton: And they hire you, and they tell you all this stuff, and then they put you in the detailing bay.
[00:10:09] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:10:09] Jeff Compton: No, not running down detail guys. Right. Right?
[00:10:11] Cody Kirkenester: Right.
[00:10:12] Jeff Compton: But, I mean, I know more detail guys that, like- want to just be a detail guy. Mm-hmm. Than I ever talked to technicians that were like, "I started detailing and I moved into that." I know it happens. Um, uh, Sherwood from Royalty's moved one of his guys a couple up from the detail bay when they show.
[00:10:28] Jeff Compton: Um, but I mean, again, he's got that kind of reputation- Mm-hmm ... where guys wanna start there-
[00:10:33] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:10:34] Jeff Compton: and, uh, do that job, fix cars at Royalty, and he starts them there in the, in the detailing bay. When, when the dealerships do it, I know exactly why they do it. Mm-hmm. They're hoping that, like, 'cause they really need a detail guy then-
[00:10:46] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah
[00:10:46] Jeff Compton: and you can just do a passable detail to get it out, the thing in an order, but, and they're- Mm-hmm ... waiting for something to happen in the shop- Yeah ... then we might try you there. It's not the same. No. It's not the same at all. Yeah. So you, you get to Faye Lee's, more training than you'd ever probably ever had in your career.
[00:11:01] Cody Kirkenester: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, more in-depth training. Like I said, I did go through college and stuff like that. Um, but you know, this, this level of training's totally different than what I got at, you know- Yeah ... what I got out of, out of school. You know, that's more like, more like well-rounded education as, you know, the training that, that Brett sends us to and, you know, and we attend is so much more in depth- Yeah
[00:11:26] Cody Kirkenester: you know, just based on the systems of the cars- Yeah ... and stuff like that. So you're
[00:11:30] Jeff Compton: getting into doing the diagnostics at the, at a pretty good l- rate?
[00:11:33] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:11:34] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:11:34] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Yeah, I got into that pre... That was always, like, something that I enjoyed doing- Mm-hmm ... and people tell me I'm crazy for doing, you
[00:11:41] Jeff Compton: know? Well, they told me that too, right?
[00:11:42] Jeff Compton: Yeah. But I mean, it's, w- we just had a conversation this morning where to me, it just comes back to the basics, right? Mm-hmm.
[00:11:48] Cody Kirkenester: Like,
[00:11:49] Jeff Compton: I've seen so many people ignore stuff on a car-
[00:11:51] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:11:52] Jeff Compton: that they don't care about.
[00:11:53] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:11:54] Jeff Compton: Well, a- and I said, like the radio could stop working, a lot of people may not care.
[00:11:57] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:11:57] Jeff Compton: But if that sucker won't start or run, or like if it can't get out of its own way- Mm
[00:12:02] Jeff Compton: that's when people finally seem to break down and bring it in.
[00:12:05] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:12:05] Jeff Compton: And that was just for my always the way of thinking is, like, if I get good at that, I'll always have work.
[00:12:10] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:12:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah. You know? And i- it's true. You can always get good at tires and front end and suspension- Mm-hmm ... but you and I have seen lots of cars where they're on the side of the road with the tie rod b- broke off-
[00:12:19] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:12:19] Jeff Compton: or the brakes are completely hammered.
[00:12:21] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:12:22] Jeff Compton: But if they can't start it, they can't even get to that point of the crash- Yeah ... you know what I mean? So-
[00:12:26] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:12:26] Jeff Compton: that's how I always approached it. So you get into doing the diag and he's getting you in training.
[00:12:30] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:12:31] Jeff Compton: What's some of the earliest, like when you think back to a car that really taught you a lesson, what did, what was it?
[00:12:37] Cody Kirkenester: Um-
[00:12:38] Jeff Compton: Or helped refine your process or, you know.
[00:12:41] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. One of... I, I had, I had a van, I think it was like an E 250 or 350 Ford Econoline van. Yeah. You know, that was really- I- i- it was, it had ABS communication issue. Um, you know, started doing some ch- checking on it. You know, it seemed like it would come and go, you know, a- and that was probably...
[00:13:02] Cody Kirkenester: You know, this was quite a few years ago. It was probably one of the first, like, communication issues I, I had- Yeah ... in my bay. And, you know, as I started to sort my way through that, you know, trying different things, I, I was pretty new to a lab scope then. Yeah. Um, you know, I ended up scoping the cam lines, find- you know, finding out that there was a bad connection at the module with, with one of the communication lines.
[00:13:26] Cody Kirkenester: Popped the, uh, connector off, see... You know, find corrosion in it, which was common on, you know, fairly common on those. After- Mm-hmm ... after I found that one, we started to see more of them. Yeah. Um, but that was, like, really the first one that I was like, "Okay, I could, I could probably do this." Yeah. You know what I mean?
[00:13:42] Jeff Compton: And you see the power of some of the tools, right?
[00:13:44] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:13:44] Jeff Compton: Like lab scope- Yeah ... in the right hands is a very, very, very powerful tool.
[00:13:47] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, that and the, just the training and, um, y- you know, it's a, it- that's, like, one of the moments where you're like, "Okay, all that time sitting and listening and taking notes and, you know, really paid off."
[00:13:58] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. You know what I mean?
[00:13:59] Jeff Compton: It's a, it's a huge dopamine kick, right? Yeah. When you feel like... Because we all fix cars, but sometimes when we fix that car that, like, the customer either says has been to two other places or-
[00:14:09] Cody Kirkenester: Mm ...
[00:14:10] Jeff Compton: you, you... Maybe it's a regular customer of ours, but you get into it, and then all of a sudden you realize not everybody would've found that.
[00:14:16] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:14:16] Jeff Compton: Not everybody would've fixed that that way.
[00:14:18] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:14:19] Jeff Compton: Then you can start to really... That can be addictive. You can chase that dragon, right? Yeah. Like, it's like, wow, I, I... And that's, for me, a lot of it was. Like, I, I would even sometimes- Like, I had to know.
[00:14:30] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:14:30] Jeff Compton: So I would lose pay to, I gotta know. Yeah. You know?
[00:14:34] Jeff Compton: Um, and then I, so I s- I, I r- commend people that have that, that drive to, to always push- Mm-hmm ... because I, I feel it. I feel it, like, even when... You know, 'cause we're talking about as you're coming up and, and your body slows down, and things change, and all that kind of stuff. When you have that kind of knowledge-
[00:14:52] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm
[00:14:52] Jeff Compton: even if something was to happen to you that incapacitates you from being able to physically do the job, you can teach others how to do it.
[00:14:58] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:14:58] Jeff Compton: And that's the, that's the beauty of this industry, so.
[00:15:01] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:15:01] Jeff Compton: Yeah. So you get that kinda under your belt?
[00:15:04] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:15:04] Jeff Compton: Yeah?
[00:15:05] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, got that under my belt, and started, you know...
[00:15:08] Cody Kirkenester: And when we st- when I first started there, Brett's dad was, like, a specialist in Corvettes. Okay. So, like, got to learn a lot of stuff about that. I've, I've had some Corvette problems that, that have came in, and, you know, they've been to other shops, and the other shops don't wanna get into it, or, you know, they misdiagnose it- Mm-hmm
[00:15:25] Cody Kirkenester: or something like that. Um, you know, and that, that makes you feel good when you got this person that, like, genuinely loves this car- Yeah ... you know, it's like with their life like-
[00:15:35] Jeff Compton: Yeah ...
[00:15:36] Cody Kirkenester: um, you know, 'cause it's something that they saved up for their whole life to buy and, and they, you know, you fix a problem for them and, and, you know, that's just, you know, that, that means a lot to them.
[00:15:46] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. You know what I mean? You take your time and, and figure it out, and, um, when somebody else couldn't, you know? And-
[00:15:51] Jeff Compton: And that's, that's a cool thing because, like, sometimes we look at those enthusiast cars-
[00:15:57] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:15:57] Jeff Compton: and I, and I've seen it, where, like, I've worked at a shop and they would bring you their older Vette.
[00:16:02] Jeff Compton: So I remember I worked at a shop and it's like- His father-in-law had left it to him, right? Mm-hmm. So it was a '76, not, you know, those kind of vintage, right? Yeah. Nothing too impressive, but I mean, it is, it's a Corvette, right?
[00:16:14] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:16:14] Jeff Compton: And I remember them bringing it to us and having these grandiose expectations.
[00:16:19] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:16:20] Jeff Compton: But then their regular cars, their dailies-
[00:16:22] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:16:22] Jeff Compton: like they just went somewhere else for that. Mm-hmm. And that always really rubbed me the wrong way, right? Because it was like, why am I killing myself on your- Yeah ... toy?
[00:16:31] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:16:31] Jeff Compton: Right? If I can't have all the work that you're... Like, I want all the vehicles in the family household.
[00:16:36] Jeff Compton: That's just the way I am, right? Yeah. And I would think that a lot of business owners would be thinking that way.
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[00:17:11] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:17:12] Jeff Compton: But are you a Corvette guy?
[00:17:13] Jeff Compton: Like, do you really enjoy them or does it kinda-
[00:17:16] Cody Kirkenester: Um-
[00:17:17] Jeff Compton: They're challenging ...
[00:17:18] Cody Kirkenester: yeah, because I've worked on so many of them- Yeah ... I, I wouldn't personally probably want one. Uh-huh. I mean, I'd love to drive them. Yeah. You know, they're fun to drive, but fixing them, they, they are a challenge. Yeah. I mean, especially the way that some of the suspensions were set up in, back in the day- Mm-hmm
[00:17:32] Cody Kirkenester: and there's leaf springs and you're fighting them and - Yeah ... the car's wanting to lift off the lift and all that- Yeah ... stuff, you know. Um, but you know, I do enjoy working on... I wouldn't wanna work on that stuff every day.
[00:17:42] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:43] Cody Kirkenester: Um, you know, I'd, I definitely respect the people that do because it, it is a challenge and- Yeah
[00:17:48] Cody Kirkenester: you know, finding the parts and stuff nowadays and, and all that, you know, quality parts is hard, but- Oh ... you know, especially on an older car like that.
[00:17:56] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:17:57] Cody Kirkenester: Um, but yeah, I do, I do enjoy that every once in a while. I
[00:18:00] Jeff Compton: know.
[00:18:01] Cody Kirkenester: Uh, we, we get some, sometimes we get some different things that come into the shop and, you know, I've, I've had chances to work on DeLoreans and like- Really?
[00:18:10] Cody Kirkenester: odd things like that- Yeah ... that would come in. Um, so that's cool, you know, it's something different and- Yeah ... you know, makes your day go, go by a little differently. Yeah. Yeah. '
[00:18:17] Jeff Compton: Cause we never, I mean, most of us I think in the industry, right, if it's built right, we don't mind.
[00:18:21] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:18:22] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? Yeah.
[00:18:23] Jeff Compton: It's just gotta be built right and, and you know, again, and then having the proper service information, that's key. Yeah. You know, we were talking this week, I had a conversation about Tesla, and it's like, it just really irks me that you go to ProDemand and there's nothing there. Yeah. Now I'm not saying Tesla locks you out, right?
[00:18:39] Jeff Compton: They'll let you go over to their website and do it, but I mean-
[00:18:41] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:18:42] Jeff Compton: you know, it would be It'd be a lot easier if it was just like everything else is on Protoman. I say everything else, but not everything.
[00:18:49] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:18:50] Jeff Compton: Mercedes is not, where you can't get a torque- Yeah ... on there too, right? That's true. But at least on a Mercedes I can get a wheel nut torque.
[00:18:55] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:18:55] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? Yeah. On a, on a, on a Tesla they don't even have that listed in Protoman, and that just- Mm ... frustrates me. So the, you know, I always enjoyed challenges if it was billed right and I had service information. I wasn't expected to work miracles for pennies, right? Yeah. That's the part that always...
[00:19:10] Jeff Compton: If you have the right conversation with a customer, it goes well.
[00:19:13] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:19:13] Jeff Compton: Um, what did the DeLorean need? Anything, do you remember?
[00:19:16] Cody Kirkenester: Uh, it was a customer of ours that had, he had two of them. Okay. Um, and these things were like mint condition, like 20,000 miles on it. Yeah. He would drive them in parades every now and then.
[00:19:25] Cody Kirkenester: Okay. Or just take them to, like, Cars and Coffee in- Yeah ... you know, on S- Saturday morning or something. But, um, it, we just did maintenance on them basically. Mm-hmm. I mean, they, we never seen anything on them that were, like, really-
[00:19:38] Jeff Compton: Right ...
[00:19:38] Cody Kirkenester: you know, bad issues.
[00:19:40] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:19:40] Cody Kirkenester: Um, but he, he just kept them in the garage and got them out every once in a while, and then, you know, he ended up getting older and, and getting rid of them.
[00:19:48] Cody Kirkenester: He was an, he was an older customer, but- Right ... that, I still, I have, like, a, a picture that still pops up in my memories from, like, 12 years ago of that car sitting in my bay, you know? Yeah. It's like I'll look back at it and, you know, you know, show the young guys in the shop, "Look at this," you know? Yeah.
[00:20:03] Cody Kirkenester: You've only ever seen it in the movie. They get a kick out of that. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:20:05] Jeff Compton: Very-
[00:20:06] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, they don't even know what it is. I gotta explain it to them.
[00:20:10] Jeff Compton: So there was this movie in '84 that came out. Yeah, it made the whole car.
[00:20:14] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:20:14] Jeff Compton: Right on. Very good, man. Very good. Yeah. What, um, so- How many, like, at, at Brett's has there been a...
[00:20:22] Jeff Compton: Like, is it... Tell us a little bit. Is it a big shop, a lot of techs, or-
[00:20:26] Cody Kirkenester: Um, the, we have three techs in the shop now. Okay. Um, then myself, and then we have a, a receptionist- Yeah ... and, and then Brett. Um, we have five bays. Um, there is an additional building that we have that I think we're gonna possibly look to expand in the future sometime.
[00:20:44] Cody Kirkenester: Very nice. Me and Brett's talked about it. Um, but, uh, yeah, so we, we keep, keep three guys busy, you know, with five bays. And, um, we have a mixture. We, we have Dan, like, our head tech. Like I say, he's a couple years older than me. He used to be m- my manager at one point in time. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Um, now he works with me.
[00:21:02] Cody Kirkenester: And then we have two younger guys, um, that came on with us a couple years ago, maybe two years ago or so. Um, and they're doing, doing a great job. Yeah. I mean, you know, they're... Th- they like to get, get their hands dirty and, you know, dig into stuff. And, um, you know, me and Dan kind of guide them a little bit and help them- Yeah
[00:21:23] Cody Kirkenester: and trying to bring them along, and they're, they're doing great.
[00:21:25] Jeff Compton: And that's hard, Corey, to find the young people that, like, wanna do this. You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Or, like, sometimes there's all kinds of want, but they just don't have it.
[00:21:32] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:21:32] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? Yeah. That's the trick, too, i- is finding the, the one that want it and have the ability.
[00:21:38] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. And I, I always was, like, on the fence. I think you can teach the aptitude. I really do. Um, some people say you can't teach it, they just either are born with it or not, but I've seen lots of guys that, like, struggle on the nuts and bolts stuff-
[00:21:50] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:21:51] Jeff Compton: but man, you put, like, data in front of them or you put, like, a wiring diagram in front of them and they're, like, off- Yeah
[00:21:57] Jeff Compton: and they're, they're just killing it, you know? So I think that that's a different type of aptitude that, like, now as the, as the industry's going the way it is-
[00:22:05] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:22:06] Jeff Compton: like, we're having more and more that I think are going into that, you know? Um- Yeah ... and I think it's, it's making the industry more welcoming, less, instead of less welcoming.
[00:22:15] Jeff Compton: Yeah. I think everybody thinks it's less welcoming, but I don't think so.
[00:22:17] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:22:18] Jeff Compton: You see the kids that are into RC cars and when they're 10. Mm-hmm. Well, that's the kid that at 20 is probably gonna wanna work for, you know- Yeah ... Tesla or work on the EV in the shop. Like, that's the cool thing.
[00:22:28] Cody Kirkenester: Definitely. Yeah.
[00:22:29] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, yeah, I agree with that. And, you know, these guys are... You know, they're more technology, like, driven, I guess you could say, than, you know, when we, we were coming up and technology started changing from- Yeah ... like OBD1 to OBD2 was like, "Oh my God, what are we gonna do?" You know? Mm-hmm. And, uh, you know, these guys now, they're, they're so...
[00:22:49] Cody Kirkenester: You know, they've been- You know, I don't know that they even know about people didn't have internet That's right ... you know, right at one point in time. You know what I mean? So it's just a different way of thinking. Yeah. And, uh, you know, we brought them to Tools last year, um, and it was a, it was, it was like a eye-opening experience, you know?
[00:23:08] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. We explained to them what, what it was going to these events, like the training. Um, and they've d- they'd done some local training back home, but, uh, once they came last year, it was like a whole different world to them. Yeah. Like, they didn't even know these things existed and, you know, once they got to see it in person, and, you know, they, they follow guys on social media- Yeah
[00:23:30] Cody Kirkenester: stuff like that, and they're like, "Oh my God, that's Check Engine Chuck," or something. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's just, it's cool to just get to know them people and- Yeah ... and, and get to meet them now, you know, they, you know, they got to shake hands with them. You know?
[00:23:42] Jeff Compton: Oh, yeah. Like I, I can still remember the first time coming to...
[00:23:45] Jeff Compton: It was because I was able to come to, not Tools, but Asta-
[00:23:49] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:23:49] Jeff Compton: that I got to meet Scanner Danner for the first time.
[00:23:51] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:23:52] Jeff Compton: Right?
[00:23:52] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:23:52] Jeff Compton: That was, like, the coolest thing in the world to me. Yeah. Like, that was like 16-year-old me meeting one of the guys like Stacey David or something, right? Yeah. Um, you know, which i- it's not that I don't have respect for Stacey anymore, but when we, when we go into the more modern things that we're working on now- Mm-hmm
[00:24:09] Jeff Compton: Paul has kind of, you know, come down into that same level of legendary- Mm ... car guy that, you know, people are growing up. Check Engine Chuck's the same thing. Like-
[00:24:18] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:24:18] Jeff Compton: I call him and consider him a good friend. I talk to him a lot, and it's like he just doesn't know how much impact he's now having on the really young people.
[00:24:25] Jeff Compton: Yeah. 'Cause the young people are like, they might be 12 and 13, and they're on TikTok. They're not even driving yet. Mm-hmm. But they're seeing this guy, but they're into cars. Yeah. And they're seeing these guy, this guy do these incredible things of making, fixing these cars. That's what they, they now wanna grow up and have a service van-
[00:24:43] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah
[00:24:43] Jeff Compton: you know, and, and, and do mobile mechanics, or they want to, like, work in a shop and solve these problems. Like, that's- Yeah ... that's the gift, man. Yeah. That's what we want in this industry. Yeah. We cried for so long that we didn't have it. Yeah. Now we're glorifying it. I think it's great.
[00:24:57] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Yeah, I spent years and years watching Scanner Danner- Yeah
[00:25:00] Cody Kirkenester: videos, and, um, m- the, one of the head techs I learned a lot from at Faileys, um, when I first started working there, he, you know, he was, like, the shop foreman and very good diagnostic tech. Yeah. I mean, I learned so much from him. Um, and he put me onto Scanner Danner, and I would just sit at home at night, you know- Mm-hmm
[00:25:19] Cody Kirkenester: just at night and for an hour just watch videos- Yeah ... o- of Scanner Danner, like, diag videos and, and just do that, like, every other day throughout- Yeah ... the week a- and, and then take it to work and try to do f- what I saw or pull the videos up and, um, you know- Yeah ... see how he's hooked up to things and, and, you know, that, that, that brought me a long way, you know?
[00:25:38] Cody Kirkenester: And, and then got, you know, got to finally meet him and told him, I was like, "Yeah, you know, you've done more for me than you even know, man." And he-
[00:25:48] Jeff Compton: He's so humble ... he still is, yeah- Yeah ... so humble, right? Yeah. Yeah. I was, but, and it... You know, you're not... You're telling the truth because before I came up to do this interview- Mm-hmm
[00:25:55] Jeff Compton: he released a video today, and I watched it.
[00:25:57] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. You know what
[00:25:57] Jeff Compton: I mean? Like, he's just now, when I think back on it, like, as long as he's been on YouTube, it's, like, 15, 16 years- Mm-hmm ... I've been watching his videos. It's become part of my... Like, I hope people with these podcasts and stuff, but it's become part of my routine.
[00:26:12] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Like, it's just, like, when they release a video every week, I'm keyed up. I wanna see it. Yeah. And s- and some are like, "Oh, man, I would've never thought about that." And then others are like, "Oh, yeah, I've been exactly there."
[00:26:22] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:26:23] Jeff Compton: Like, it, it has brought this industry so much together that, like, we don't feel like we're alone anymore.
[00:26:30] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. You know? 'Cause I talk all the time, I'm like, and I'm sure Brett can remember this, we used to have a day where you would call the guy at the dealer- Mm-hmm ... and say, like, "Hey, I'm talking to somebody in parts. Are you moving a lot of this?" Or, or, you know, "We've got one down here, and we don't know. We've, we tried tuning it up, and it, and it's still..."
[00:26:45] Jeff Compton: And they, the guy at the dealer would go, "Oh, yeah, we had one, and, and h- here's what you do."
[00:26:49] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:26:50] Jeff Compton: Now we don't have to do that- Yeah ... because not only does the dealer not wanna help us out, they're struggling just to even find talent and do it. Yeah. But the reality is, is, like, I watched a case study yesterday with Keith Perkins.
[00:27:02] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:27:02] Jeff Compton: And Keith goes through his whole case study and shows it, and then he goes There's somebody that already ran into this and did a video of it on YouTube. Mm-hmm. And here's the guy, and here's the video. Yeah. Like now, when you watch it, you can appreciate both because they approach it from a different, um, a method, and they both get to the same result, and it's the same cause.
[00:27:20] Jeff Compton: It's a, it's a TPMS sensor causing the-
[00:27:24] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:27:24] Jeff Compton: uh, network to wake up and cause a parasitic drain.
[00:27:27] Cody Kirkenester: Oh my God.
[00:27:28] Jeff Compton: Like you never thought, right? Yeah. Like, but here's the beauty of it. Other people would hold that so closer to chest and never talk about it. Mm-hmm. And there's Keith going, "Yeah, there's a guy on YouTube that is, you know, already has a video."
[00:27:39] Jeff Compton: Like that's incredible to me- Yeah ... how we're now starting to uplift each other-
[00:27:44] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:27:45] Jeff Compton: and share that. Like that is so important.
[00:27:48] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, definitely. You
[00:27:48] Jeff Compton: know what I mean?
[00:27:49] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:27:49] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:27:50] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. I mean, there, there's videos out there on just about anything. Oh. I mean, if you really wanna, you know, dig into it. Um, but yeah, it's just, you know, you need that kind of information.
[00:28:00] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. You know? And like you said, it could help, you know, help the next guy that runs into that problem. Why not, why not pass that on if you've been there already?
[00:28:08] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Yeah. So for you to make the kind of the transition that Brett's got you doing-
[00:28:13] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:28:14] Jeff Compton: was it a, was it a physical thing?
[00:28:16] Cody Kirkenester: Uh, n- not necessarily a physical th- yes and no.
[00:28:20] Cody Kirkenester: Okay. I, I mean, you know, I definitely m- as I got older, it definitely could feel it. Yeah. You know, when you come home at night or by the end of the week.
[00:28:27] Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.
[00:28:28] Cody Kirkenester: Um, you know, and i- I've always sort of been intrigued with like the business side of things- Right ... too. Um, you know, I brought that up to Brett and, you know, he was kind of s- slowly working me into things and, you know, trying to understand numbers and, y- you know, that good, all that good stuff.
[00:28:44] Cody Kirkenester: Um, and it just kind of with the service advisor leaving that we had, it kind of just opened the opportunity and he's- Right ... he's like, you know, "Are you ready for this?" And, you know, I always told him, you know, I don't wanna turn wrenches for the rest of my life. Yeah. Um, but it, it was just the right time, and it worked out.
[00:29:03] Cody Kirkenester: And, uh, like I said, I just, just one day I just said, "Uh, I'm done. We're gonna bring another tech in and I'm gonna, you know, move up into the office," and, and we ran with it and-
[00:29:13] Jeff Compton: Your auto repair shop doesn't slow down, and neither should your tools. When diagnostics get more advanced, systems get smarter, and vehicles get more complex, one name keeps shops moving forward: Launch Tech USA.
[00:29:26] Jeff Compton: From powerful diagnostic tools to ADAS calibrations, wheel alignments, TPMS service, even heavy-duty solutions, Launch Tech USA delivers speed, accuracy, and control where it matters most. Faster, smarter, more diagnostics done right the first time Whether you're working on passenger vehicles, fleets, EVs, or advanced driver systems, Launch Tech USA gives your technicians the confidence to tackle anything that rolls into your bays.
[00:29:55] Jeff Compton: Backed by constant software updates, expanding vehicle coverage, and real support from real experts, Launch Tech USA isn't just keeping up. We're pushing the industry forward. If you're ready to work faster, diagnose better, and stay ahead of the curve, visit our website at www.launchtechusa.com.
[00:30:22] Speaker 3: You know, it's worked out.
[00:30:23] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:30:23] Speaker 3: Yeah.
[00:30:24] Jeff Compton: And so you're lucky you landed with Brett because he's, again, you know, we come to these shows and you see sometimes they say, oh, you see the same faces, but, like, there's so many shop owners that don't even know their numbers. Mm-hmm. Or, or what the- their KPIs, right? Yeah.
[00:30:38] Jeff Compton: What, what to look at, what to track.
[00:30:41] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:30:41] Jeff Compton: They don't even know.
[00:30:42] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:30:42] Jeff Compton: And so you get very fortunate. You've got his dad- Mm-hmm ... who taught you a ton on how to be a mechanic.
[00:30:47] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:30:47] Jeff Compton: And then you have Brett, who taught you, or is teaching you- Mm-hmm ... how to be a great shop owner.
[00:30:52] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:30:52] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, it's fantastic.
[00:30:54] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, it's like the best of both worlds. Yeah. I mean, when, when Brett took the shop over, you know, he, he's been there forever. You know, he's worked there since he was a kid, basically. Yeah. Um, you know, when he, he took the shop over full time, you know, after his parents were done with it, um, you know, he, he, he basically just turned it all around.
[00:31:16] Cody Kirkenester: I mean, it was sort of stuck in, like, the old school type of way- Sure, yeah ... when, when they had it. And Brett, I mean, just, just within a year's time, just totally changed the business. I mean, just money wise- Mm-hmm ... and, and, and updating things and the, the tools and, you know, just, just thinking, you know, of a more, like, updated way of, of thinking about things.
[00:31:38] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. And, um, you know, that definitely, definitely changed it for, for the better.
[00:31:43] Jeff Compton: Did it have any growing pains when that happened? Like, did some people leave or ...
[00:31:47] Cody Kirkenester: Um, no- No? ... everybo- everybody pretty much stayed. Um, the head tech that I was working under at the time, um, for a while it was just us two working in there.
[00:31:56] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Um, he ended up moving out of state. You know, his kids went off to college. Right. Him and his wife wanted to move south and, and, um, you know, that's when it was kinda time. Brett's like, "You know, I need you, I want you to step up, be the head guy now." Um, other than that, I mean, there w- wasn't really any, like, growing pains or anything.
[00:32:16] Cody Kirkenester: Okay. Just I think because Brett and his brother were there for so long, you know, they were there for so long- Yeah ... all the customers knew who they were. Um, they knew it was a family business. Um, you know, Brett was doing most of the service writing at the time, uh, him and his brother, and his, his brother would leave to still t- teach half the day.
[00:32:32] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm. Um, so, you know, just it kinda worked out smoothly. Um-
[00:32:37] Jeff Compton: That's good ...
[00:32:38] Cody Kirkenester: I know there were some, some money things and stuff that Brett had to get figured out. Um, I know he's talked on it on some other shows- Yeah ... and stuff. Yeah. Then, and, uh, you know, he, he just said, you know, "I gotta get this figured out," and he got it all figured out.
[00:32:52] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm. And took a while.
[00:32:53] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:32:54] Cody Kirkenester: Um, but, and he's, you know, we're still trying to grow. Yeah.
[00:32:57] Jeff Compton: So. And that's the thing, like, I mean, and, and, uh, you know, we see so many of the, you know, probably his dad's generation-
[00:33:04] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:33:04] Jeff Compton: where they literally, like- Just bought themselves a job. Yeah. You know what I mean? And, and whatever was enough to cover the expenses, you know, if we own the piece of property and it's been paid off forever- Mm-hmm
[00:33:16] Jeff Compton: you know, maybe we don't really tweak our numbers the way we should, and do this and do that, and maybe we, you know, don't mark up and ... Because they're always thinking about the customer.
[00:33:25] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:33:26] Jeff Compton: And, and it's good to think about your customer, for sure, but, like, you have a duty to be profitable- Mm-hmm ... and you have a responsibility to your people- Yeah
[00:33:34] Jeff Compton: to be profitable and to share that profit. That is what you are ... It's what you're tasked with. I don't ... You know, I catch a lot of flack for that, but I mean, there's ... We in the industry need to realize that the shop owner is entitled to profit.
[00:33:47] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:33:47] Jeff Compton: You know? There's too many people that get online and go, "I can't believe they charge $200 an hour."
[00:33:51] Jeff Compton: Break it all down with what we're paying a tech and what everything costs now. Yeah. $200 is nothing.
[00:33:56] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:33:57] Jeff Compton: It's nothing. And then when you break it in and start looking at what we're actually having to pay the technicians and what they deserve-
[00:34:02] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:34:02] Jeff Compton: because of the tooling, the training, these events aren't free.
[00:34:06] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:34:06] Jeff Compton: Everybody's just losing their minds over, "I can't believe the door rate costs this much money." Look at what it costs to run a shop. Yeah. It's gonna go up. It isn't 1982 anymore- Yeah ... when they're $70 an hour now. We should be seeing every shop at 150 and up. Mm. Every shop should be, and we should be really knocking on the door of 200 if you really wanna break it down.
[00:34:26] Jeff Compton: So- Yeah ... you know, people get upset, but I'm sitting here standing back going like, "I want this." If we want to fix the skills gap, we have to show them that you're not gonna come in and, and earn $10 an hour changing oil, and we're gonna expect you to buy $50,000 tools in five years- Mm ... and, and still by then you, you're making $13.
[00:34:46] Jeff Compton: So, you know, like, we have to show them a, a, a plan that's gonna be like, "You're going to make six figures doing this." Yeah. "Here's the process to get there. Here's what's gonna be required of you. Here's the mandatory training you're gonna have to take."
[00:34:58] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:34:59] Jeff Compton: And, and that's the thing that th- as soon as you get them signed up and, and like you- Mm-hmm
[00:35:03] Jeff Compton: and I loved to learn this stuff. Mm-hmm. As soon as you get that, plant that seed in them, it's not hard to get them to take training, man. Yeah. It's not. If you've got a technician that's pushing back against training, you've got a bigger culture problem there than just the fact that the training ... Can they fix the car without the training?
[00:35:21] Jeff Compton: Sure. Mm. But j- then you gotta really look into how effectively are they fixh- fixing the car- Mm ... and what is the reluctance to train?
[00:35:28] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:35:29] Jeff Compton: Because, like, you've seen it. Nobody here is putting a bunch of stuff in front of us and saying, "You gotta read and recite this all back to me." Mm-hmm. Like, we were just doing ad reads before you come in, that's the most, before you came in, that's the most frustrating thing for me 'cause I just gotta wing it, right?
[00:35:41] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:35:42] Jeff Compton: And I'm like, if I had the words in front of me, they would come off, but, like, trying to not stammer and stutter over my words-
[00:35:47] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:35:47] Jeff Compton: when I'm trying to sell something, which is essentially, like, click here to r- you know- Mm ... to watch the podcast or click here to subscribe, that's not natural for me. You and I sitting here like this having a conversation, completely natural.
[00:35:58] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:35:58] Jeff Compton: Don't ... I'm not worried. So- People that have a reluctance to train, I don't know where that comes from. Like, whether it's a, a, so you b- got a touch of the 'tism or you're, you know, dyslexic. Like, you can go and take the class and still come out of there better- Yeah ... and learning what you need to learn.
[00:36:18] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:36:19] Jeff Compton: Sorry, a bit of a rant there, Cody, but you know.
[00:36:21] Cody Kirkenester: No, I to- I totally agree with you. Um, you know, talking to the young guys that I have with, with, that we're, they're here now. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, i- if you, you're not gonna retain everything. Yeah. You know, you're not gonna go there... A lot of the stuff that you're gonna learn is gonna be over your head.
[00:36:36] Cody Kirkenester: It's still over my head or, you know, some of these other guys, and- Yeah ... and, you know, these guys presenting these classes are like, you know, like world-class, you know?
[00:36:46] Jeff Compton: They're the 1%-
[00:36:47] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ... of
[00:36:48] Jeff Compton: 1%.
[00:36:48] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Yeah. And y- you know, you're not gonna retain everything, but if you can take just one piece back with you and use it, you know, if you're gonna be reluctant to training, you know, you know, Brett's sending us out here, t- the shop owners are sending you out here to make you better.
[00:37:02] Cody Kirkenester: You know what I mean? Yeah. You know, if, if you don't wanna take anything from that and bring it back and put it to use, um, you know, you shouldn't really be there. You know what I mean?
[00:37:11] Jeff Compton: And how long do you think you can possibly last in the industry-
[00:37:14] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:37:14] Jeff Compton: before you're gonna get left behind? Yeah. And not only that, but there's, there's a contingency of people that they demand top pay, but they won't train.
[00:37:23] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:37:23] Jeff Compton: Or they demand top pay, but they're not improving.
[00:37:25] Cody Kirkenester: Yep.
[00:37:26] Jeff Compton: They're probably backsliding in terms of their ability and their, their give a damn and all that kind of stuff, right?
[00:37:31] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:37:32] Jeff Compton: Their... Training won't fix attitude-
[00:37:34] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:37:35] Jeff Compton: but training can instill motivation in people, which can then fix their attitude, right?
[00:37:39] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:37:39] Jeff Compton: There's, there's, there's a collection out there that never got training, and they're resentful of the fact that they never got it now. Mm-hmm. And then there's a contingency out there of people that, like, "I don't want to because I'm, I'm in my lane. I, I'm not getting too many hard cars, and then all of a sudden if I get training, you're gonna lump on me a bunch of really hard stuff that I'm not prepared to do."
[00:37:59] Jeff Compton: That all is solved from conversations of having with your owner, right? Yeah. Like, you can sit down with Brett and go, "Okay, I took that course-
[00:38:06] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:38:06] Jeff Compton: but I'm not ready all of a sudden to rebuild a Tesla."
[00:38:09] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:38:10] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean? Yeah. It's, it's having conversations, right?
[00:38:12] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:38:13] Jeff Compton: It's important. Yeah. You gotta be able to listen, and you gotta be able to communicate your thought.
[00:38:17] Cody Kirkenester: Yep.
[00:38:17] Jeff Compton: So.
[00:38:18] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, and, you know, there's a lot of, you know, shops in our area that have really good mechanics, and, you know, it, it... But the ones, you know, the, the good shops are the, are the guys that are here. Yeah. You know what I mean? They're, they're the ones that, that go out of their way and spend the money and take, close the shop down and, you know, send their techs, invest in their techs' knowledge and- Mm
[00:38:38] Cody Kirkenester: you know- That goes a long way with, with, you know, just what you charge in your shop.
[00:38:44] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:38:45] Cody Kirkenester: You
[00:38:45] Jeff Compton: know? It's- So what were the growing pains, Cody, when you went to write in service?
[00:38:49] Cody Kirkenester: Oh, so for me, for me the hardest thing was I'm not a very, like, outgoing guy.
[00:38:55] Jeff Compton: Okay.
[00:38:56] Cody Kirkenester: You know? I'm, I'm sort of quiet and reserved, so- Yeah
[00:38:58] Cody Kirkenester: kind of had to come out of my shell a little bit. Um, one of the things that helped, though, is that I was there for so long. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, you, you know, you sit through some of these classes and they, you know, they say, like, technicians don't c- make good service advisors, and I, yeah, I totally understand that.
[00:39:15] Cody Kirkenester: And I definitely had to change my mindset about things when I started talking to customers. Right. Um, you know, I, I was still a familiar face there. Yes. Like, a lot of the customers came in and still known that I, last 15 years I was working on their car. Um, you know, so th- I think that transition, that part of it made it easier for me.
[00:39:36] Cody Kirkenester: Sure. Um, 'cause a lot of the, the older customers that were regulars and stuff, they, they'd come in and they'd, "What are you doing in the office?" Or, you know, "You, you don't normally dress like that," you know? You know, looking like a mechanic- Yeah ... for all, for so long. Um, but I think that r- that really helped, you know, that I, there was still, like, a sense of, um, like I'm still a familiar face- Yeah
[00:39:58] Cody Kirkenester: you know what I mean, to them. Um, I, I'd say that was probably, like, the main thing is I had to just-
[00:40:04] Speaker 3: Yeah ...
[00:40:04] Cody Kirkenester: you know, especially giving people bad news, you know- Yeah ... about their cars, and that's hard. Um, you know, definitely, you, you know, you gotta be, you need to sympathe- you know, you feel sympathetic for them, you know.
[00:40:17] Cody Kirkenester: But, you know, other than that, like I said, I was always, always interested in the business side of it. So, um, you know, I think I, you know, doing pretty well understanding it, you know, along with training. You know, I work with a coach, a service advisor coach that's great. I mean, he's, he's amazing. Um, so I, I couldn't, you know, I couldn't ask for anything more.
[00:40:41] Cody Kirkenester: I mean, Brett gave me the tools to, you know- Yeah ... help me out, you know?
[00:40:45] Jeff Compton: I think it makes it easier when the service writer- is somebody that has, is well known and well established in the deal, in the, I almost said in the dealership, but in the shop, period- Yeah ... right? Because they know that, okay, all of a sudden we have never seen Cody in the last six months, and then we come in- Mm-hmm
[00:41:01] Jeff Compton: and he's dressed different. He's behind the counter. The trust is already there that you're gonna take care of it. Yeah. You used to take care of it out in the bay, but now, okay, he's at the counter. Mm-hmm. Are they gonna trust you that it's gonna still be done properly- Yeah ... 'cause you're gonna take care of them?
[00:41:13] Jeff Compton: When, when we have people that all of a sudden, and I think this is why I've been such an advocate that we, I think it works better than people want to necessarily admit, when you take a tech that has that and you, you put them in front of the thing, they may be nervous as heck talking to the customers.
[00:41:29] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. And they may be a little, uh, uh, jaded. Mm. They may be a little abrasive, but if the customer is trusting them, that's 90% of the, of the trip is done. Yeah. 90% of the hard work is behind you. You've got the trust already. Whereas you can bring somebody in that can have the greatest smile in the world- Mm-hmm
[00:41:46] Jeff Compton: and, uh, bubbly and personality and all that kind of stuff, if they don't know them-
[00:41:51] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:41:51] Jeff Compton: they're still not necessarily as trusting.
[00:41:53] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:41:54] Jeff Compton: You know? Yeah. And so people that are listening, when you're thinking about, like, do you have a technician, and you sit there and you shake your head, and, "Oh, I don't have any techs that ever make a Service Advisor," think about that little, that little reality for a second.
[00:42:05] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. They already have the customer's trust.
[00:42:08] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:42:08] Jeff Compton: Why would you not try it out?
[00:42:10] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:42:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah. What's, um, when you talk about giving bad news, like that's hard.
[00:42:15] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. That's hard, you know, especially when, uh, when you know the customer's not, you know, they express to you that they're not, you know, "I, I hope this is nothing major, you know, I got this going on in my life"- Yeah
[00:42:26] Cody Kirkenester: and, and it comes in and needs a transmission or- Mm-hmm ... it needs an engine, or, you know, that's, that's hard to deal with, you know. You, you, just to break that news to them, I mean, I've had customers cry to me on the phone, you know. Yeah. You gotta kind of be like a therapist a little bit, you know? Yeah. Um, which is okay.
[00:42:42] Cody Kirkenester: You know, it's just that, that, that can be a little uncomfortable sometimes. Um-
[00:42:48] Jeff Compton: Or they go and buy something that, you know, you wish you hadn't heard that they bought.
[00:42:52] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:42:53] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Right? And then it's like they bring it in, and you're like, "Crap."
[00:42:56] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:42:57] Jeff Compton: You know? Yeah. It's just like, to pick a name like, you know, "Oh, you went and bought a Mini."
[00:43:02] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:43:03] Jeff Compton: You know- Yeah ... oh, shoot, like how many kilometers are on it? Is... or- Yeah ... it's my Canadian coming out, right? How s- how many miles are on it? And you're like, "Oh, it's got 120,000 miles on it. Ooh, all right. Well, I hope you didn't pay much," right? Yeah. And that's, and then you go from there, and it comes back to having those conversations, right?
[00:43:18] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. Like you wanna get- You wanna get them prepared. I'm not... I need to step away from the idea that I tell people, "Don't buy this," because at the end of the day they don't listen to me anyway. They buy what they wanna buy.
[00:43:28] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:43:28] Jeff Compton: Right? But we have to be a little more understanding about, like... And very transparent.
[00:43:35] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Like, this is the car you got. We'll help you-
[00:43:38] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:43:39] Jeff Compton: navigate this.
[00:43:40] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:43:40] Jeff Compton: But we're not gonna sublet it for you. We're not gonna supplement the, the, the cost- Yeah ... because of, because of empathy. Yeah. We can't do that, you know?
[00:43:48] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. And a lot of that comes with just, you know, trying to educate them on what they have.
[00:43:52] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm. You know, you, they buy a car that you know there's a certain problem with and, and you've seen it before, and just try to, you know, plant that seed that-
[00:44:00] Jeff Compton: That's
[00:44:00] Cody Kirkenester: right ... you know, this might be coming down the road for you. Yeah. You know, we should get this taken care of first, you know.
[00:44:05] Jeff Compton: You got a Silverado, right, expect at some point- Mm-hmm
[00:44:07] Jeff Compton: you might have a transmission issue. Yeah. Like, you know, you got a Ford, uh, Eco anything, you might be putting some turbos in it at some point- Yeah ... in its life. Like, like there's, there's expensive repairs that come along with this modern stuff. You know, you got a Volkswagen, like, it's gonna leak oil constantly.
[00:44:22] Jeff Compton: Like, it's gonna- Yeah ... burn oil if it ain't leaking it. Like, it might even do both.
[00:44:25] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:44:26] Jeff Compton: You know, and then onward and onward. And, and, and, you know, um, I don't think that, like, we're... I don't think we're necessarily always getting the customer ready for the reality- Mm-hmm ... of what's happening, right? Yeah. With this industry that's changing and, like, you know, you and I can remember where nobody ever probably did a fuel injection service- Yeah
[00:44:47] Jeff Compton: or, you know. And now it's a, it's a critical part of keeping some of these complaints-
[00:44:52] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:44:52] Jeff Compton: from happening on cars. Yeah. So it's a tough sell sometimes, right?
[00:44:55] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:44:55] Jeff Compton: And it, and it just comes back to education, so.
[00:44:58] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:44:58] Jeff Compton: What, um, what kind of cars do you like to see come in?
[00:45:01] Cody Kirkenester: Um, do I like to see come in?
[00:45:03] Jeff Compton: Yeah, like from a, from a customer-
[00:45:05] Jeff Compton: standpoint-
[00:45:06] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:45:06] Jeff Compton: what do you like to see come in?
[00:45:07] Cody Kirkenester: Um, you know- Eh, uh, uh, I don't wanna knock on, like, European vehicles- Mm-hmm ... or anything like that No, go ahead I don't wanna see them come in. Uh, we do work on some, you know, we do work on them. But, um, you know, from a customer standpoint, I mean, like some of the good, you know, good cars out there, every car has their issues- That's for sure
[00:45:28] Cody Kirkenester: especially we see them, you know, we see them. So, you know, Toyotas, Hondas- Mm ... you know, that's, uh, uh, and you c- you can't really go wrong buying one of them. Yeah. Um, you know, Nissans, y- you know, they had the CVTs and those things that, you know- Yeah ... um, I try to steer customers away, you know, from them. But, you know, it, uh, you know, they're gonna buy what you w- what they wanna buy.
[00:45:52] Cody Kirkenester: There's- They're gonna drive ...
[00:45:53] Jeff Compton: a lot of Nissans out there right now. Yeah. Like, I mean, and that, and that's the thing. Like, it's... I talk about the Rogue all the time. Like, the, where the Rogue came from to where it is now is crazy how many of them you see on the road.
[00:46:03] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:46:04] Jeff Compton: It's nuts. Yeah. And, and a lot of it is, like, people talk about that and the Altima, and it's like, well, they're former rental fleet, and yeah, okay.
[00:46:11] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. But I mean, rental people always, like, and taxis, we used to joke about taxis, right? Mm-hmm. Taxis, but, like, they only picked the stuff that would last.
[00:46:18] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:46:18] Jeff Compton: And you're seeing a lot more Nissan being used out in fleet operations, and it's like-
[00:46:22] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:46:23] Jeff Compton: you know, so, uh, and CVT, like, it'd be, it'd be crazy to say that only Nissan have CVT problems.
[00:46:30] Cody Kirkenester: Well, yeah,
[00:46:30] Jeff Compton: yeah, they all- We know that lots of people have. And I mean- Yeah ... look at, again, back to the Silverado, that's not a CVT, and look at how many transmission issues they have.
[00:46:37] Cody Kirkenester: Oh, I know.
[00:46:37] Jeff Compton: You know? Ford, the same transmission, right? Like-
[00:46:40] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:46:40] Jeff Compton: or almost the same transmission. Like, it, it's just part and parcel.
[00:46:43] Jeff Compton: We have to get these people, um, like you said, expecting that, you know, if you keep it long enough- Mm-hmm ... Murphy's Law says this probably will happen.
[00:46:55] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:46:55] Jeff Compton: You know? You, or you do your maintenance, and it still probably will still happen. It'll just happen later.
[00:47:00] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:47:00] Jeff Compton: You know? And, uh, and that's what I say is there's nothing wrong with selling maintenance to a customer, as long as you're clear that if it's already slipping, it probably won't fix it.
[00:47:11] Jeff Compton: Yeah. You know? Yeah. Now, uh, it's up to you. Do you wanna, do you wanna service it and try?
[00:47:16] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:47:17] Jeff Compton: Or, but we cannot any longer just say, "Okay, yep, that'll be $199" and not have a conversation with the customer. You gotta ask them, "What's your expected outcome?"
[00:47:26] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. "
[00:47:26] Jeff Compton: Why are you doing it? Why do you think you need it?"
[00:47:28] Jeff Compton: You know?
[00:47:28] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:47:29] Jeff Compton: Because you and I have seen it where it's like they may get in there and say, "I got a transmission fault."
[00:47:34] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:47:34] Jeff Compton: No, and you go and drive it, it's a misfire. Mm-hmm. Right? Yeah. It's going down the road, it's, it feels like a
[00:47:36] Cody Kirkenester: trans torque converter. Yeah. A misfire. Yeah. Yeah. Well, they're happy.
[00:47:43] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:47:44] Jeff Compton: Like, you could sell them a $600 tune-up. Yeah. They're happy- Yeah ... 'cause they're expecting $6,000 transmission.
[00:47:50] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:47:50] Jeff Compton: You know?
[00:47:51] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:47:51] Jeff Compton: Um, what's, uh, what's some of the challenges right now coming into the shop?
[00:47:57] Cody Kirkenester: Um, as far as challenges, I mean- For us, uh, one of the big things is, like, uh, I don't wanna say qua- uh, quality of parts- Mm-hmm
[00:48:08] Cody Kirkenester: but- You can say that ... w- we, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Um, I mean, you know, w- our suppliers are great, but i- there's, you know, w- y- you... If you're gonna do a repair, just go factory, depending on what it is. Mm-hmm. You know what I mean?
[00:48:24] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:48:24] Cody Kirkenester: Um, you know, that's, since kinda COVID, everything just kinda, it, you know- Gotten worse
[00:48:29] Cody Kirkenester: tanked on that end. Um, you know, it's good to be backed by somebody that gives a good warranty, you know? And that's, you know, ano- another reason, you know, why I try to explain to people you should, you know, choose our kinda shop because of that. Yeah.
[00:48:43] Jeff Compton: Um- And it's gonna cost more.
[00:48:45] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:48:45] Jeff Compton: We're gonna put an OE part on it.
[00:48:47] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:48:47] Jeff Compton: But you're not gonna have to come back and-
[00:48:50] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:48:50] Jeff Compton: try another vent solenoid or purge solenoid- Yeah ... or another TP, TP a- uh, I almost said TPS. TPS, yeah, throttle position sensor- Mm-hmm ... which they don't even really use anymore, but you know what I mean. Right. You're not gonna have to try a different throttle body before- Yeah
[00:49:05] Jeff Compton: we finally get the OE one, right? Like-
[00:49:07] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:49:07] Jeff Compton: stuff like that. It, it, it, it makes me... That's the hardest conversation I have d- because again, when the people are like, "But I saw it online,"
[00:49:16] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:49:16] Jeff Compton: Yeah, that, an online part-
[00:49:18] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. There- Like- ... there's a reason why that part costs this much- Yeah ... and this one doesn't.
[00:49:22] Jeff Compton: And that online part, like sometimes it's the same brand-
[00:49:25] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:49:26] Jeff Compton: but it's not the same line within the brand.
[00:49:28] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:49:28] Jeff Compton: And, and they'll sell that to the DIYer all day long.
[00:49:31] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:49:31] Jeff Compton: But they won't sell it to the parts store. Yeah. Well, if the parts store won't carry it, there's a problem.
[00:49:36] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:49:37] Jeff Compton: You know? And then the OE stuff is like, it's a struggle.
[00:49:39] Jeff Compton: Sometimes they're not... Who was, um... Somebody just did a video and they were talking about... Oh, Ivan from Pine Hollow.
[00:49:45] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:49:45] Jeff Compton: Uh, a 10-year-old, uh, Chrysler Stellantis product- Yeah ... needs an ABS module. Not even supported from the dealer anymore. Yeah. Can't get it.
[00:49:53] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:49:54] Jeff Compton: Like, that's frustrating as heck that, you know...
[00:49:56] Jeff Compton: But there's nothing in the aftermarket, you know? There's workarounds for some of these modules that if you wanna make the They say you can't use a used one, but you can Mm-hmm ... right? EEPROM and all that kind of stuff. But this is all where we're getting into these customers that are just like, "I don't understand."
[00:50:13] Jeff Compton: Like, "I don't understand why that part's not available," or, "I don't know why I can't use this aftermarket part." We have to explain to them like, "I can't stand behind it- Yeah ... and that's why I can't use it."
[00:50:24] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:50:25] Jeff Compton: You know, it's got a record that I know is gonna be... I'm gonna be chasing my tail on it.
[00:50:29] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:50:29] Jeff Compton: We don't use it.
[00:50:30] Jeff Compton: Yeah. And that's why it costs more.
[00:50:32] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:50:33] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:50:33] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And, and you know, we, it goes back to educating the customer- Mm-hmm ... on what you're doing to their car. Um, you know, most of the time, if you explain that to somebody, they understand. Yeah. Um, but it's just taking the time to explain that, um, I don't wanna put something on your car that you're not gonna be happy with.
[00:50:51] Cody Kirkenester: Right. And I wouldn't put it on my own vehicle. Yeah. You know, so yeah, that's, that's kind of... I mean, we've been seeing a couple issues with that, but- Mm ... you know, we're working our way through it and -
[00:51:02] Jeff Compton: Yeah. And again, the OE parts, they have failures too.
[00:51:04] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, they do.
[00:51:05] Jeff Compton: You know?
[00:51:05] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:51:05] Jeff Compton: Like you've seen that enough by now, right?
[00:51:07] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Yeah. Um, some of it I think is their supply chain and the aftermarket supply chain are not all that different.
[00:51:12] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:51:13] Jeff Compton: Right? There are... But it's, it was somebody explained to me there's a different level of testing that the, the car, the part has to go through to be sold at the dealership. Mm-hmm. Now, during COVID, they threw that all out the window- Yeah
[00:51:24] Jeff Compton: 'cause whatever they could get is what they got- Yeah ... 'cause they needed it. I'm not, I'm not mad at them for it, but now I, I don't like that we haven't been able to turn the corner back.
[00:51:35] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:51:35] Jeff Compton: That's what drives me crazy. Yeah. You know, 'cause they're using all this inventory up. Instead of getting rid of it and going, "Hey, there's just too many of them," they're like, "Well, we gotta use it up."
[00:51:42] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:51:43] Jeff Compton: Um, what, uh... How do you find- Um, do you find a challenge of getting young people?
[00:51:53] Cody Kirkenester: Um-
[00:51:53] Jeff Compton: Like, I know you have two younger ones, but-
[00:51:55] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, we, we do have two younger ones. Um, e- there for a while we were- Yeah ... having trouble finding, um, finding some people. Um, you know, I don't know, you know, when I was a kid, you know, it was, you know, Dad would take me out and show me stuff or tinker with the lawn mower.
[00:52:13] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm. Or like, you know, nowadays, I mean, uh, we, we had a really good young guy that was there before. He ended up leaving. He d- he didn't wanna do cars forever.
[00:52:23] Jeff Compton: Right.
[00:52:24] Cody Kirkenester: Um, he was super smart. He would've made a really good A-Tech someday. Right. You know, he would just pick up... You know, I show him something one time and, and he'd never ask the same question twice.
[00:52:35] Cody Kirkenester: Um, great, great kid, very smart. He, he was into trade and day trading stocks, and it's like- Really? ... I'd have never even thought about that at his age, you know? I was, I was doing other stuff, running around, you know- Yeah ... having fun, but, you know, and, and he was making enough money on that, he didn't need to work.
[00:52:51] Cody Kirkenester: Um- Wow ... so now he's, like, a photographer, a sports photographer, and just does what he likes to do for fun.
[00:52:57] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:52:57] Cody Kirkenester: And, you know, he's o- he's... I think he might be 22 or 23 now. He still stays in contact with us and stuff. Yeah. Um, great kid, but, you know, it's just, like, just the, it, the, you know, just think of that when you were that young a- and, and do all the research and read and, you know, invest your own money and- Wow
[00:53:15] Cody Kirkenester: and, you know, it's totally different than what kids are doing, you know, you know, when we were younger, you know? Yeah. It's just the technology's totally different, you know? That's, I think that has a lot to do with it. Um-
[00:53:26] Jeff Compton: 10 years ago we were waiting for the next video game to drop, right? Mm-hmm. And then when we weren't playing the video game, we were, "How do I make my car-
[00:53:36] Jeff Compton: sound different or sound like that one on the movie?" And now these guys, I don't know if it's 'cause everybody's going EV or something, they just have no- Like, cars are just tools.
[00:53:46] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:53:47] Jeff Compton: Right? Whereas from our generation- Mm-hmm ... cars were cool as hell, man. Yeah. Like, they were... They said something about you, that it was part of your identity, and I think that we've removed that now, and I don't know necessarily how to get that back because it's not that it's completely gone- Mm-hmm
[00:54:00] Jeff Compton: but it seems to be a very much, like, you have enthusiasts.
[00:54:03] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:54:04] Jeff Compton: Whereas everybody back in the day, like, their car said something about them. Mm-hmm. And now you see people and it's just a, it's just an appliance.
[00:54:12] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:54:12] Jeff Compton: It's just like their cell phone. Yeah. F- three years, it doesn't matter what I- memories I have in this car- Mm-hmm
[00:54:17] Jeff Compton: I'm getting rid of it and going get another one.
[00:54:18] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:54:19] Jeff Compton: And a completely different thing. It's like a cellphone. It's like, ah, you know, whatever- Yeah ... the newest one came out, I'll go try that one.
[00:54:24] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:54:24] Jeff Compton: And I'm thinking, like, I still have the first cellphone I ever owned. Mm-hmm. It sits in a drawer. It don't work no more.
[00:54:29] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:54:30] Jeff Compton: But I mean, like, if we would've... Your father or grandfather probably has a truck sitting out back-
[00:54:35] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[00:54:36] Jeff Compton: that they, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like, it-
[00:54:37] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:54:38] Jeff Compton: it ain't worth nothing to nobody.
[00:54:39] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:54:40] Jeff Compton: But they always had that idea that, like, it's got value and I don't wanna pass it on.
[00:54:44] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:54:45] Jeff Compton: That's crazy to me.
[00:54:46] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, it's definitely a different way of thinking, thinking these days.
[00:54:49] Jeff Compton: Yeah.
[00:54:49] Cody Kirkenester: You know? Um, but-
[00:54:51] Jeff Compton: The young people that you have, they're interested in learning?
[00:54:53] Cody Kirkenester: They are. Yeah. Like I said, I, I d- I wouldn't say they weren't. You know, they're young and have... The one has a kid, and- Mm-hmm ... and, you know, f- it's hard to get him to go to class at, at- Yeah.
[00:55:04] Cody Kirkenester: No ... 7:00 at night, and you sit there till almost 10:00 till you get home, and that can be a struggle after- Yeah ... you worked all day. Um, but when they st- started coming to these training events like this, it was just like, now they're hooked. Yeah. You know, now they wanna sit in the classes, and they wanna learn, and they wanna go to Brandon Steckler's class, and they- Yeah
[00:55:22] Cody Kirkenester: they wanna come back and pick up a lab scope. The one I was talking to this morning, uh, one guy, he goes, "Hey, when we get back, can we pull one of the lender cars in and just, you know, just play around with the lab scope? Can you show me a couple thing?" I'm like, "Yeah, I can do that." You know? Isn't that cool?
[00:55:36] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Yeah. Before they were like, you know, didn't even know what a lab scope was before- Yeah ... they started coming to these events, and, you know, if you're, you, you know, you want me to show you, I'll show you. You know, I'll teach you. And, um, you know, like I said, I don't know everything about them either. I'm- Yeah
[00:55:51] Cody Kirkenester: you know, but we can learn together.
[00:55:53] Jeff Compton: That's right, and that's the beauty of it, right? There's so much information that wasn't even available to us until a couple people started putting it out there. Like- For what used to be our impact gun, a little four-channel lab scope. Mm-hmm. You know, I saw a guy in a video today, and he, he bought an eight-channel Handtek- Mm-hmm
[00:56:12] Jeff Compton: on Amazon for, like, 100 bucks, and he goes, "Well, it's not the fastest scope in the world," but he says, "For what I need it to do, this parasitic drain, it's perfectly fine."
[00:56:20] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:56:21] Jeff Compton: So he needed eight channels 'cause he's looking at eight different modules waking up at once. That was his thinking, is, "I'm gonna go measure the current draw on each module- It's gonna be...
[00:56:29] Jeff Compton: yeah ... when it comes alive on the, on the CAN." Like, we woulda not even thought about that-
[00:56:34] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:56:34] Jeff Compton: five years ago.
[00:56:35] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:56:36] Jeff Compton: And there he's like, "I need eight channels at once." Bang, 80 bucks.
[00:56:39] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:56:39] Jeff Compton: Like, what used to be a DVOM was an advanced tool for some of us coming up-
[00:56:45] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:56:45] Jeff Compton: is now, like, these young kids now, it's not even a DVOM.
[00:56:48] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. It's the oscilloscope that they should be picking up first.
[00:56:51] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:56:51] Jeff Compton: You know? Yeah. And then talk into your phone, ChatGPT, "How do I set this up?"
[00:56:56] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:56:56] Jeff Compton: And then ChatGPT gives the answers back, and it's like, holy mother. Like-
[00:57:01] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:57:01] Jeff Compton: there's so much. Show me a waveform. Show me a known good. There you go.
[00:57:04] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:57:05] Jeff Compton: Like, I understand that, uh, you know, AI is only as good as what we're putting into it, but, uh, I mean, um, Keith Perkins yesterday was like, "If you're not using AI every day right now, you're already behind."
[00:57:18] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[00:57:19] Jeff Compton: You know? Yeah. He's using it just to show us his slides for his show. Mm-hmm. He's got pictures, and he's just like, "ChatGPT, make me, make me look like I'm frustrated doing something," and, and it creates
[00:57:30] Cody Kirkenester: it.
[00:57:30] Cody Kirkenester: And it's on...
[00:57:31] Jeff Compton: It's incredible. Yeah, it is. Like, I'm behind.
[00:57:34] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. And
[00:57:34] Jeff Compton: I'm 50, and I'm like, "I'm behind."
[00:57:36] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:57:36] Jeff Compton: So, you know.
[00:57:38] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, we've used some of it. Um, you know, some of the AI, they were talking a lot about the AI in the classes- Yeah ... you know, this time around this year. Um, it's c- it's coming. I mean, it's, it's not gonna go away.
[00:57:49] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. You know, so why not learn about it? Exactly. You know, I was kinda glad some of the classes were touching on different things, and some of the other shop owners throwing around what they're using for the AI for, and it's like, okay, maybe we'll look into that once we get back and get back to
[00:58:03] Jeff Compton: work.
[00:58:03] Cody Kirkenester: Well,
[00:58:04] Jeff Compton: you hear some people talk about it, and it's like they're gonna use AI to replace service writers.
[00:58:08] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:58:09] Jeff Compton: You know? I d- I don't think that we're gonna get that far yet.
[00:58:12] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:58:12] Jeff Compton: But you can certainly get them to, like, an automated voice can, can take the phone call-
[00:58:17] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:58:18] Jeff Compton: and, and book the appointment and, and ask some questions, and it gets smart enough to go, "Okay, so Mrs.
[00:58:22] Jeff Compton: Smith is coming in for an AC complaint," you know? Mm-hmm. Uh, instead of just w- you know, Mrs. Smith is coming in, and we don't know what she's coming in for. Mm-hmm. Do you wanna make an appointment? Now AI is smart enough to be able to say, "Okay, it's coming in for this. All right, anything else?" Like, it can prompt and ask questions.
[00:58:38] Jeff Compton: Like, that's a good thing. Um, ah, my brain was slipping there for a minute. What, um- You kind of have... Brett talked to me this morning before we set this interview up- Mm ... and he was talking with me about, like, his succession plan for the, for, for Fraley's-
[00:58:55] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[00:58:55] Jeff Compton: involves you.
[00:58:56] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[00:58:57] Jeff Compton: What do you think about that?
[00:58:58] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah, that's, that's something we've t- we've talked about over the years, too. Um, you know, I, you know, I told him that, you know, sort of what I've always dreamed of, that I'd l- love to have my own shop.
[00:59:09] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm.
[00:59:09] Cody Kirkenester: You know? And like I said, I was always fascinated with, like, the business side of it. Um, you know, working in the shop for so long, Brett was always, you know, the business side of the shop.
[00:59:20] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Brett, d- Brett'll tell you I, I don't belong anywhere near that shop. I'm not a tech You know? No. You know, so whereas brother was more of, like, the tech, you know, guy, you know, Brett was always, you know, the service advisor in the- Right ... front office. He was always, like, the face that was the customers seen when they came in.
[00:59:36] Cody Kirkenester: Mm. Um, you know, and get to learn sort of both, best of both worlds from th- from them- Yeah ... too. Um, you know- There's no- there's nobody involved that with Brett's family that wants to take it over, Brett. But for as long as I've been there, I knew Brett's mom and dad and his brother, and, you know, they've gave me an opportunity 15 years ago to come work there.
[01:00:01] Cody Kirkenester: Um, you know, I'd love to carry that on- Yeah ... for what they built. Um, you know, they got a heck of a reputation. Um, they did things a certain way that made them successful. Um, you know, I would never change the name. You know- Mm-hmm ... that's theirs. They built that. That was nice. Yeah. Yeah. That's theirs. They built that.
[01:00:18] Cody Kirkenester: Um, you know, we've... So you know, it's what I would like to do. You know, I'd, I'd like to do that eventually. Me and Brett have, have talked about it. Um, you know, if Brett'll come to me and say, "You know, I'm not getting any younger," you know? Mm-hmm. You know, he don't wanna do it forever either- Yeah ... you know?
[01:00:34] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Um, but, but yeah, it's something that, that we've planned and, and something that I'm interested in with him. Um, you know, we've had quite a few conversations. Good. So I'm hoping that progresses, you know, in the next few years or- How old
[01:00:47] Jeff Compton: are you now, Cody?
[01:00:48] Cody Kirkenester: I'm 37.
[01:00:49] Jeff Compton: 37.
[01:00:49] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
[01:00:50] Jeff Compton: Good for you. Good for
[01:00:51] Cody Kirkenester: you.
[01:00:51] Cody Kirkenester: Um, so, you know, I, I was pro- you know, I, I could be turning wrenches right now, you know? Right. But I think better for me to learn the business side of things- Yeah ... um, you know, while I'm still young and while, while I still wanna do it, you know?
[01:01:07] Jeff Compton: I, yeah, and, uh, again, I, I think, like, if I had been at 30, like mid-30s, like-
[01:01:14] Cody Kirkenester: Mm
[01:01:15] Jeff Compton: and I'm 50, if I'd have been mid-30s and somebody offered me that opportunity, I'd have jumped all over it right then too. Mm-hmm. 'Cause it, it's, I... and it's not about making buckets of cash. Right. It's not about that, right? It's about being able to step away from the, the grind on the body, and then really see the other side-
[01:01:32] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah
[01:01:33] Jeff Compton: you know, and appreciate it more. Like, that's the thing is I, man, I used to not have very nice things to say about a lot of shop owners. Mm-hmm. I didn't have it. And then once I started to network with more and more of them, I realized that a lot of them are really, really special people.
[01:01:46] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:01:47] Jeff Compton: You know what I mean?
[01:01:47] Jeff Compton: It, it takes... N- there's, there's bad apples in every bushel.
[01:01:51] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[01:01:52] Jeff Compton: But they're, for the most part, the people that we're here with are truly some of the most incredible people I've ever met in my life, and it, and it's because they get it. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, they now, this generation- They understand, like, we have a duty to serve the community and our customers.
[01:02:10] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. But we also have a responsibility to the people that work for us.
[01:02:13] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:02:14] Jeff Compton: And I think that that's where some back in the day a little, got a little bit lost, you know? Mm-hmm. It was like everybody just threw up their hands and go, "Well, it's always been that way." Like, you know, y- y- you worked in a, in a shop and had the gas pump out front, and you, and you, you know, you made a living, but that was it.
[01:02:29] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[01:02:29] Jeff Compton: And now I think it's like they're seeing that this is really complex stuff.
[01:02:33] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:02:34] Jeff Compton: And, you know, we're still tasked with keeping our c- community mobile on the road, but, like, by God- Mm-hmm ... you know, we have to, we have to charge for it. We know, have to know our value.
[01:02:45] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:02:45] Jeff Compton: You know? Um, I think that's the only way the industry survives, 'cause you ta- look at other skilled trades, they got replaced.
[01:02:52] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:02:52] Jeff Compton: You know? And, and it's a constantly evolving thing, but it's like when you look at that and you go, "How do we keep that from happening?" Train.
[01:02:59] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[01:02:59] Jeff Compton: Get better every day. Yeah. You know?
[01:03:02] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:03:02] Jeff Compton: What, um- What scares you?
[01:03:07] Cody Kirkenester: What scares me business-wise?
[01:03:10] Jeff Compton: All of it.
[01:03:10] Cody Kirkenester: Um.
[01:03:12] Jeff Compton: Like, not like I'm worried about rattlesnakes or something like that.
[01:03:14] Jeff Compton: Yeah. But you know what I mean? But yeah. Yeah. Business-wise and industry-wise, what scares you?
[01:03:20] Cody Kirkenester: You know, I'd, I'd say failure.
[01:03:23] Jeff Compton: Yeah?
[01:03:24] Cody Kirkenester: You know. Um, you know, if you're, if you're, if you're scared enough of it, you're gonna work hard not to, not to fail. Right. You know. Um, you know, it, it, it's, it, it's all in the decisions you make.
[01:03:39] Cody Kirkenester: You know what I mean? It, it's not necessarily like I'm scared to fail. You're gonna ha- you're gonna have... You're gonna make mistakes. Mm-hmm. You know, you're... It, it's how you, how you learn from them- Yeah ... how, you know, how you fix it. Um, you know, I wasn't always work- perfect working for Brett. You know, fif- after 15 years you, you know, you get to know somebody so much that-
[01:03:57] Jeff Compton: Yeah
[01:03:57] Cody Kirkenester: you know, but he, you know, he ne- he didn't give up. You know, he, he kept me around for a reason. Yeah. You know, and I stuck around there for a reason 'cause he's, he's, you know, they're a great family to work for. Yeah. Um, but you know, that would be my biggest fear is if, i- if I would take it over, um, you know, I want it to succeed.
[01:04:17] Cody Kirkenester: I don't wanna- Yeah ... you know, I don't- You don't
[01:04:18] Jeff Compton: wanna tarnish
[01:04:19] Cody Kirkenester: that, that legacy. Yeah, because, you know, for to have him trust in me enough to, to even consider that, you know, um, you know, definitely means something to me. Mm-hmm. So,
[01:04:31] Jeff Compton: um- That's very cool. I thought like, what I was thinking, I was like, 'cause you have some people talk about like, "I'm scared about information being locked out, and I'm scared-" Mm-hmm
[01:04:40] Jeff Compton: "about the Right to Repair Act, and I'm scared about like am I ever gonna be able to program a set of keys again?"
[01:04:46] Cody Kirkenester: Right, yeah.
[01:04:46] Jeff Compton: And you went right to the, I think, which is the bigger thing.
[01:04:49] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:04:49] Jeff Compton: Like I'm scared that I'm gonna disappoint somebody- Mm-hmm ... who's invested so much in me.
[01:04:55] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:04:55] Jeff Compton: I think that's a really powerful thing to say, and I think it's very telling of, of how important, you know, Brett is to you- Mm-hmm
[01:05:01] Jeff Compton: and how important you are to him. Like, I think that, like I said, I sat there this morning and had breakfast with him and, and he just raved about you nonstop.
[01:05:08] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:05:08] Jeff Compton: And, uh, and all the times I've talked to him, he just raves about you cra- constantly. Like it's, it's, that's pretty cool to see.
[01:05:15] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[01:05:15] Jeff Compton: You know, um, because like I've seen lots of dads rave about their sons-
[01:05:21] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm
[01:05:21] Jeff Compton: but I haven't seen too many shop owners rave about their techs to that level.
[01:05:27] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:05:27] Jeff Compton: And that's pretty, that's pretty cool. It says a lot about you, and it says a lot about him, so.
[01:05:31] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:05:31] Jeff Compton: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm, uh, I think the industry's going in a really good place.
[01:05:36] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:05:37] Jeff Compton: I really do. I think it's like, you know, yeah, the, the Right to Repair Act is a, is a sketchy thing to navigate right now.
[01:05:43] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:05:43] Jeff Compton: Um, but I mean, it isn't because we don't have people out there like Keith and everybody else that are like advocating for us.
[01:05:50] Cody Kirkenester: Advocate, yeah.
[01:05:50] Jeff Compton: You know, saying we need to have access to this.
[01:05:53] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[01:05:53] Jeff Compton: But our, you know, it isn't, they're out there fighting that fight. Um, the scary thing for me is, is can we get enough of the young people to come in, and I think we can.
[01:06:02] Jeff Compton: Yeah. I just think it, it means that we have to like show them that passion that we have for this, and we gotta pay them well, man. Yeah. Like that's just the thing, you know? Like it, it can't be, when I came up, man, it was hard. It was hard to- And it wasn't because, like, it wasn't greed. Mm-hmm. It was just because they, they didn't know how to have the conversation with the customer to say, "No, this is why we can't be $59 an hour.
[01:06:28] Jeff Compton: We have to be 68."
[01:06:29] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:06:30] Jeff Compton: They're learning now how to have that con- And we're like, people are hearing that going, "59 and 68?" Like, yeah.
[01:06:35] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:06:35] Jeff Compton: That's not that long ago. We're talking 20 years ago.
[01:06:38] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:06:39] Jeff Compton: You know? So I mean, w- inflation is one thing, but I find that, like, we're s- we're finally catching up to where we can go along with inflation.
[01:06:48] Jeff Compton: Mm-hmm. I think we were so far behind before. We were way too behind.
[01:06:52] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:06:52] Jeff Compton: Um, it's gonna be tough. I think we're gonna see less people own cars.
[01:06:56] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm.
[01:06:56] Jeff Compton: Less people that'll drive. Like, I think we're... You know, we used to see maybe they had three cars in the family-
[01:07:01] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[01:07:01] Jeff Compton: right? And they had a f- like a Corvette.
[01:07:04] Jeff Compton: Yeah. And then they had two dailies. I think that may go away. Um, and it's gonna suck.
[01:07:09] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:07:10] Jeff Compton: But, I mean, the, the costs are gonna push that to that.
[01:07:16] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:07:17] Jeff Compton: And, um, you know, we have to, again, it doesn't mean that because they... things cost more that we have to be, well, gee, do they eat or do they fix their car? That was never what it's s- should have been about.
[01:07:28] Jeff Compton: It should have been about, uh, I wanna help them-
[01:07:32] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[01:07:32] Jeff Compton: but I need to help my people that work for me, and that means that they have to be able to eat-
[01:07:36] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah ...
[01:07:37] Jeff Compton: which means I have to charge you.
[01:07:38] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:07:38] Jeff Compton: And then go on from there, you know?
[01:07:40] Cody Kirkenester: Yeah.
[01:07:41] Jeff Compton: Um, I wanna thank you for being here, man. I was really looking forward to this, and like- Yeah
[01:07:45] Jeff Compton: you know, I know you're a little nervous, but you killed it. You're doing great. I was. So, um, and that's the thing, like, to be scared of, of this industry or what you were afraid of happening in it-
[01:07:56] Cody Kirkenester: Mm-hmm ...
[01:07:56] Jeff Compton: that's one of the best inter, uh, answers I've heard in a long, long time.
[01:08:00] Cody Kirkenester: Thank
[01:08:00] Jeff Compton: you. You know? Is, is to say I'm, I'm...
[01:08:03] Jeff Compton: I wanna preserve that legacy. That's what I'm worried- Mm-hmm ... was letting people down, so good on you, man. Thank you very much, Cody.
[01:08:08] Cody Kirkenester: I appreciate it. So- Thank you for having me.
[01:08:10] Jeff Compton: Yeah, man. Uh, reach out to any of us any time. Cody- Yeah ... love to have you back on. Yeah. People that hear this and you have a similar story, that's what we're trying to really delve into, is how do we move from a technician head space and a position in a shop to a service advisor role?
[01:08:25] Jeff Compton: If you have that kinda insight on that, what you wanna see or, or if you've done it, please reach out to me, man, because I think it's something that we have to go f- going forward. We're gonna have to have that conversation a lot more, so. Yeah. Cody, thank you, man.
[01:08:36] Cody Kirkenester: Thank you. I appreciate it.
[01:08:37] Jeff Compton: Yeah. We'll talk to yous all soon.
[01:08:39] Cody Kirkenester: Yep.
[01:08:40] Jeff Compton: So thank you again for watching that episode of the Jaded Mechanic Podcast. If you wanna watch the next episode that we have coming up, you need to click right here. And if you wanna join us on this wonderful journey of changing the industry, become part of the family, click right here. Thank you.