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Confessions of a Shop Owner is hosted by Mike Allen, a third-generation shop owner, perpetual pot-stirrer, and brutally honest opinion sharer.  In this weekly podcast, Mike shares his missteps so you don’t have to repeat them. Along the way, he chats with other industry personalities who’ve messed up, too, pulling back the curtain on the realities of running an independent auto repair shop. But this podcast isn’t just about Mike’s journey. It’s about confronting the divisive and questionable tactics many shop owners and managers use. Mike is here to stir the pot and address the painful truths while offering a way forward. Together, we’ll tackle the frustrations, shake things up, and help create a better future for the auto repair industry.
Mike Allen [00:00:00]:
This is 15 years ago. Okay? This is really bad. Talking to a customer at the front counter and the dog start. I'm like, oh, he's about to have a seizure. And before I can turn around and get him, he runs into the corner and he gets stuck onto a sticky trap. I lean over in the corner to pick him up, and so my back's to my customer now, and I pick him up and I lean over and I split my pants from belt to zipper. And it gets worse.
Mike Allen [00:00:30]:
The following program features a bunch of doofuses talking about the automotive aftermarket. The stuff we or our guests may say do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of our peers, our sponsors, or any other associations we may have. There may be some spicy language in this show, so if you get your feelings hurt easily, you should probably just move along. So without further ado, it's time for Confessions of a Shop Owner with your host, Mike Allen.
Mike Allen [00:01:02]:
So anyway, like I was saying, and it's a total disaster.
Mbie Dowd [00:01:11]:
Right off the bat. Tdf.
Mike Allen [00:01:12]:
Right off the bat, I. I try to drop an F bomb or a penis joke within the first 10 seconds of every episode just to establish a standard of expectation, you know?
Mbie Dowd [00:01:21]:
Okay, we're ladies, so maybe keep your penis to yourself.
Mike Allen [00:01:24]:
Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, I think. I think standards are good out there.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:30]:
Are there any boob jokes we can come up with?
Mike Allen [00:01:33]:
I feel like we can come make some boob jokes. I mean, y' all can make the boob jokes. I'll stick to the. To the pecker jokes.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:38]:
Okay.
Mike Allen [00:01:39]:
We'll keep to what we're looking at.
Mike Allen [00:01:41]:
You.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:41]:
You probably could make a couple boob jokes.
Mike Allen [00:01:43]:
Well, you know, Lucas was talking about my man boobs earlier. Moobs. My moobs. Yeah, he gave me a pretty big booby twister in the lobby.
Tonnika Haynes [00:01:54]:
Literally.
Mike Allen [00:01:54]:
What is with Wednesday night men and.
Mbie Dowd [00:01:56]:
Booby twisters on other men?
Mike Allen [00:01:58]:
It's because they want to do it to the general populace, but they know they get arrested for assault when they do it to women.
Tonnika Haynes [00:02:05]:
Personal space.
Mbie Dowd [00:02:08]:
Or punch in the face.
Tonnika Haynes [00:02:09]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:02:10]:
Yeah. Maced.
Tonnika Haynes [00:02:12]:
Groin kick.
Mbie Dowd [00:02:13]:
Kicking the balls.
Mike Allen [00:02:14]:
Yeah. What are you going to do? So, Ms. Tanika Haynes.
Tonnika Haynes [00:02:19]:
Yes.
Mike Allen [00:02:19]:
It's going to be Dowd. Thank you for joining me.
Mbie Dowd [00:02:22]:
Thank you for having me.
Mike Allen [00:02:24]:
So, for those of you that don't know, this is the inbound leadership of the Automotive Service and tire alliance for 26 and 27 and 28 and 29, potentially. So you'll be seeing a lot of these two faces for the next several years, and I'm super excited about it. Ms. Dowd, you have been shit eating grin. I'm super excited about it because you guys are going to be awesome and because it's not going to be me anymore.
Tonnika Haynes [00:02:55]:
I like your face right now.
Mike Allen [00:02:57]:
So happy. I was. I was laughing when Braxton the other day, I was like, you know what? For this year, doing the podcast I have, my daughter reads a disclaimer at the beginning of the episode.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:10]:
Right.
Mike Allen [00:03:11]:
About how, you know, the statements that are made do not represent, you know, or any associations that we may be a part of. Right. But let's be honest. I'm representing the association whether I like it or not, whether I put a disclaimer in there or not. But January 1st, you can show your ass. No, I'm just gonna be topless. It's just gonna be. My moves are gonna be out.
Mbie Dowd [00:03:31]:
You're gonna be immediate past president. So you're.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:33]:
You still.
Mbie Dowd [00:03:34]:
You're still going to have.
Mike Allen [00:03:35]:
It's a non voting position. So, I mean.
Mbie Dowd [00:03:37]:
Yeah. But I'm gonna call you every day.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:39]:
Every day.
Mbie Dowd [00:03:41]:
We'll talk a lot.
Tonnika Haynes [00:03:42]:
Did you hear that laugh?
Mbie Dowd [00:03:47]:
If diabolical wasn't so overused these days, that would be the perfect adjective.
Mike Allen [00:03:53]:
Well, you know, the root of diabolical is diablo. So evil it's too early.
Mbie Dowd [00:03:59]:
Very good. Very good.
Mike Allen [00:04:00]:
I don't know if I don't know if that's the root or not.
Mbie Dowd [00:04:03]:
Sounded good.
Mike Allen [00:04:04]:
Yeah.
Mbie Dowd [00:04:05]:
Good. Yeah, we can go with that.
Mike Allen [00:04:08]:
But. So what I want to do today is I want to let the world know. I want to introduce the incoming president and vice president of the Automotive Service and Tire alliance. And I'll probably release this episode late this year. Like maybe, like early December.
Tonnika Haynes [00:04:25]:
Okay.
Mike Allen [00:04:26]:
Because I'm a lame duck president right now, which means, like, all bets are off. I'm gonna force through some legislation that nobody likes because I don't care about a pork barrel. But can I get, like the five minute version of you and your history and how you found yourself where you are today, other than poor choices?
Mbie Dowd [00:04:44]:
Mmm. In life or just in this seat.
Mike Allen [00:04:50]:
Whatever you feel called to, ma'. Am.
Mbie Dowd [00:04:54]:
So I'm approaching 20 years in the industry in the next. Yeah, maybe next year.
Mike Allen [00:05:04]:
Okay.
Mbie Dowd [00:05:04]:
Maybe my 20th year. When I was very small, my two favorite toys were the Hot Wheels track that my dad set up. Maybe in the kitchen. I don't remember where we had the most space. And a Starsky and Hutch remote control car, so it was lower single digits. My dad and I always had a thing about cars. When we moved to California, I was driven to school in a yellow Mustang fastback that Ms. Helen owned.
Mbie Dowd [00:05:48]:
And there was just certain things throughout my life that just always pointed me in the direction of cars. When I was in my late teens and early twenties, me and my girls would go to the lowrider car show in San Diego and LA every year. So just always cars. I had a dream of owning a shop, but I worked at Budweiser and it was just a thing. It wasn't like I would actually do that, but it was a. Wouldn't that be cool if I did? In 2005, I moved to North Carolina, divorced with my daughter and stayed with my parents. You know, my dad was like, just come and see and you know, if you don't like it, you can go back. I think he knew that I probably could not go back, but it sounded good.
Mbie Dowd [00:06:47]:
So we did come and we've been here ever since. And my family has evolved and grown and become remarried and I have a, a son now as well. And in 04 I was here, but I didn't know what I was going to do here. And I heard about, through my dad, I heard about the automotive program at Guilford Tech and he said, you've always talked about it, maybe you just go and see what it's about. And they had this program called Quick Jobs and it was like you could take an abbreviated class to see if you were interested in that field. So I did that and it was really interesting and the instructors were like, you should really do this. I think you'd be really good at this. And so I enrolled in the GM ASAP program and I did the two year program which also had a co op component.
Mbie Dowd [00:07:53]:
And my very last co op opportunity was at Casey's. I'd gone to countless dealerships and shops and no one was really interested in me. So whether it was experience, which the 18 year olds, you know, I was 29, almost 30. The 18 year olds didn't have a tremendous amount of work experience either. But I was not what most that I interviewed with were looking for.
Mike Allen [00:08:29]:
And you're a 30 year old woman and they're scared of a 30 year old woman.
Mike Allen [00:08:32]:
Yeah.
Mbie Dowd [00:08:33]:
Yes. So I, my very last, Jeff Faircloth, which some of you know, he said, this is our last shot. He said, I really want you to stay in the program, but this is our last shot for you to be able to stay in the program. So I went and I talked to Alan Jones at Casey's and he said, yeah, if you want to work here, we would have you. I mean, we Had a conversation. It was a real interview. But he seemed excited about it where nobody had seemed excited about it before. And so since then, multiple twists and turns and different opportunities.
Mbie Dowd [00:09:17]:
But I did start as a technician. I was not a mechanic. You know, I changed oil and I did tires, and I, you know, the occasional brake job and stuff like that. But. But I did want to learn the industry from the very beginning, from what is fundamental and what makes everything go. And that was my goal always. So from there at that time to now, you know, technician and service advisor. And I stepped out for a few years and worked for a big box and then came back, and I've been back for maybe, I don't know, 13 or 14 years.
Mbie Dowd [00:09:57]:
So it's been a lot, and I've learned a lot and have a lot of appreciation for the people that I've been able to learn from. And I've had a tremendous amount of appreciation for the people who have and continue to see something in me that they feel is beneficial and that I bring something to the industry. So I hope that's five minutes.
Mike Allen [00:10:21]:
So that was four minutes and 30 seconds. I'm going to just give me another 30 seconds. Exactly.
Mbie Dowd [00:10:26]:
How about I just blink?
Mike Allen [00:10:27]:
Perfect. One of the things that I love about you, one of the many things, is that you are very intentional with your words and you are very thoughtful. And like when we're at board meetings together, you probably speak less than any other board member at the meeting, but your words carry more weight than any other board member at the meeting. Everyone stops and listens when you have the floor. And I think that it's going to be a very welcome change because I call spade a spade. I like the sound of my own voice, and sometimes I talk way more than I need to, and I don't say anything while I've been talking for a while.
Tonnika Haynes [00:11:09]:
But it's funny.
Mike Allen [00:11:10]:
And so that's my safety blanket is sophomoric humor to try to cover up my awkwardness. And so I am excited for the direction that we're going to go as an association with your leadership. So thank you for agreeing to be my vice president, and thank you for being a counterbalance to my shenanigans for the last two years.
Mbie Dowd [00:11:35]:
Well, thank you for trusting me. I think that's big, and I think that we work well together, and I don't necessarily see it as shenanigans. I feel like you live through your personality like I do, you know, and I am reserved and measured, and that's just how I approach things. But I welcome a counterbalance because sometimes I feel like maybe I'm too boring or too inward. And so it's nice to look over and have a good laugh, you know? So I appreciate it.
Mike Allen [00:12:16]:
Well, and to that end, as you matriculate from vice president to president, there is a new vice president coming in who is a good counterbalance to. I think. I think you're. I think you're my sister from another mother. Maybe. I don't know. I feel like share some similarities. You did say I was invited to the cookout.
Mbie Dowd [00:12:34]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:12:35]:
You know, the redheads are now cookout, but we have to work on the slide. Your dancing ability.
Mike Allen [00:12:42]:
I. I dance from the shoulders. Like, I don't move. There's no hip movement. There's no foot movement.
Tonnika Haynes [00:12:46]:
We'll loosen it up a little. Chiropractor.
Mbie Dowd [00:12:48]:
Well, don't do that.
Mike Allen [00:12:50]:
Don't do that. Don't do that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:12:52]:
No.
Mike Allen [00:12:52]:
Ever again.
Mbie Dowd [00:12:52]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:12:53]:
Never see that again. Yeah.
Mbie Dowd [00:12:54]:
I think if we work on a solid two step, which is waist down one, you can leave all of this stuff alone. A solid two step will get you far.
Mike Allen [00:13:02]:
Okay.
Mbie Dowd [00:13:03]:
Trust me.
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:03]:
Little head bop with a head bop.
Mbie Dowd [00:13:06]:
The hands, if you feel like you want to do the hands, just drop them down.
Mike Allen [00:13:08]:
Just put them in your pocket.
Mbie Dowd [00:13:09]:
Just drop them down.
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:10]:
Just grab an alcoholic.
Mbie Dowd [00:13:13]:
Yeah. Hold on. That.
Mike Allen [00:13:15]:
What if I just get some New Balance and cargo shorts?
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:17]:
Well, you know, we've talked about your shoe game, and you've been doing a good job.
Mike Allen [00:13:21]:
I've tried to step it up a little bit, so. First time I ever wore these was yesterday.
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:25]:
Yeah, I saw. I saw them work on them already.
Mike Allen [00:13:28]:
They're already dirty as shit. How do you keep white shoes clean?
Tonnika Haynes [00:13:31]:
You just keep buying new white shoes.
Mbie Dowd [00:13:33]:
That's the only way.
Mike Allen [00:13:34]:
My wife makes so much fun of me. My wife is amazing. I am the bougie bitch of our relationship. Like, the only time she gets dressed up is for me. She does it for me, and she does it for coming to conferences for her work, and that's it. She would be in a hoodie and sweatpants and some Crocs every day if she could. I have easily three times the number of shoes that she has, and half of them never get worn. And she's like, just throw them the F away because I don't have, like, a shoe thing in the closet.
Mike Allen [00:14:10]:
They're just like, laying around the bed everywhere. And she's like, she'll. She'll walk over and she trip over a pair of shoes. She's like, I'm gonna Throw them away.
Mbie Dowd [00:14:18]:
Well, that's why. It's not because you have too many. It's because they're everywhere.
Mike Allen [00:14:22]:
I think she is appalled by the fact that I'm have perfectly good shoes that function and I go buy new ones. She's like, you don't need new white shoes. You already have one.
Mbie Dowd [00:14:31]:
But they're dirty, right?
Mike Allen [00:14:32]:
They're dirty.
Mbie Dowd [00:14:33]:
They're not the same white shoes. They're different shoes.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:36]:
These are the cool shoes. Like, yeah, shoes get demoted.
Mike Allen [00:14:39]:
So what happens with these hey dudes next week? Because they're gonna. They're already dirty. Do they get thrown away where they.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:43]:
One week shoes have to go. Go. We gotta go.
Mike Allen [00:14:46]:
Who's.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:46]:
What's it Sup, bro? That's what Benji calls them. Walmart.
Mike Allen [00:14:50]:
They're not.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:51]:
Hey, dudes.
Mike Allen [00:14:51]:
They're like suck bros. Sub bros. Okay. It's the Kmart version of the heydays.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:56]:
Yes.
Mike Allen [00:14:56]:
They're comfy, though. I mean.
Tonnika Haynes [00:14:58]:
Oh, yeah, I've got a lot.
Mike Allen [00:14:59]:
Oh, wait, I'm not wearing the white ones today. I'm wearing the blue one today. Right? These are brand new. Cole Hans.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:05]:
Those are nice. But the ones you had on yesterday, I saw the stuff. Yeah, but I was going to give you a break.
Mbie Dowd [00:15:10]:
I hope you're giving me my white friends.
Mike Allen [00:15:12]:
Don't judge my shoe game like you do.
Mbie Dowd [00:15:14]:
I hope she's not judging my shoe game because I have. The older I get. I don't care about.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:19]:
Don't blame that on that.
Mbie Dowd [00:15:20]:
No, I don't care about.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:22]:
Don't be a part of that cub. The we do not Care club.
Mbie Dowd [00:15:25]:
I do not care. No, I don't care.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:28]:
We care.
Mbie Dowd [00:15:28]:
I don't care.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:29]:
We care.
Mbie Dowd [00:15:31]:
Tanika cares for me. I don't care. I used to. So I have a very crispy paraket Swiss that stay very clean.
Tonnika Haynes [00:15:39]:
Yeah.
Mbie Dowd [00:15:40]:
I don't want to crease them. Right. So I've probably. I probably have worn them three times because I don't want. But these pumas right here, all the time I wear them and I look and there are scuffs on each. Each one on the side. And I'm like, I should get that off. But then I just put them on and I just keep walking.
Mbie Dowd [00:16:01]:
I know, I know.
Mike Allen [00:16:02]:
They're leather shoe. Can you clean leather shoes? I don't know you.
Mbie Dowd [00:16:06]:
These are.
Mike Allen [00:16:06]:
Can I get like a magic eraser?
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:08]:
Actually, that works pretty good. Yeah.
Mbie Dowd [00:16:10]:
These are suede.
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:13]:
Like a suede there too.
Mbie Dowd [00:16:15]:
Marshmallow suede.
Mike Allen [00:16:17]:
Nice. Very nice. So, yes. Great news. You got. You've Got good people on the. On the team now.
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:25]:
Yes.
Mike Allen [00:16:25]:
Continuing to build a good program. You're a little bit. You're able to step back a little bit from Brown's Automotive. And your whole team's here, right?
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:32]:
Yeah, everybody's here except for one. She's in school. She had like, some stuff to do.
Mike Allen [00:16:35]:
Do. Okay. So that means now that you don't have to be plugged in all the.
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:39]:
Time, what am I supposed to do with myself?
Mike Allen [00:16:41]:
You're going to go back opening to five and six days a week, right?
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:44]:
No, I don't know. Because the last hire, we talked about it, the only way I would do that is I would never have to be there.
Mbie Dowd [00:16:52]:
No.
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:52]:
Because I can imagine somebody being sick and then I'd have to go to work.
Mike Allen [00:16:56]:
Now you staff up a little bit, man.
Tonnika Haynes [00:16:58]:
You're right. So I think I can do that.
Mike Allen [00:17:00]:
One or two extra staff people. You will rapidly outrun that with a couple of extra days of running.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:04]:
I believe it. I can see it now. You know, we talk about it like at the Everybody's in Expo, you're in class, get all the good information. You're like, yeah, I can do it. Yeah. Then I'm like, well. And then I feel like I have to micromanage everything. So, like I've just got out of my own way.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:19]:
Like now they tell me to leave at 3 o'.
Mbie Dowd [00:17:21]:
Clock.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:22]:
Like, Ms. Tanika, you said you're going home at 3. I'm like, you don't tell me what to do. You need me. They don't need me. They're like, no, they don't need me.
Mbie Dowd [00:17:29]:
It's like your actual children. And not to make them less than. But when you realize that your actual children don't need you, you don't want.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:39]:
Me to make your doctor appointment.
Mbie Dowd [00:17:40]:
Very humbling. That's a. Yeah. And it's good because it means you did the right things.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:45]:
Right.
Mbie Dowd [00:17:45]:
But at the same time, it's kind of empty and lonely.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:50]:
I mean.
Mbie Dowd [00:17:51]:
Cause you.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:51]:
Well, Santana and Jordan left home with their back. Jesus, they're back. I feel the same.
Mike Allen [00:17:56]:
Poor choices.
Tonnika Haynes [00:17:57]:
That's what I was doing. I was in the backyard with my fire pit. Yeah, it's my friend. But no, I think with the coaching and actually listening to the coach, instead of saying, I know I hired you, but you don't tell me what to do. I have start writing down exactly what I want, giving them the opportunity to do it, trusting the process. And then like my last hire, he has come on board full speed ahead. Like, he's here at the expo. Like, the whole team's just chilling together.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:27]:
They were hanging out last night until, like, 11. When did we order pizza? 11. They were just all together.
Mike Allen [00:18:31]:
Pizza got there, like, 11:30 last night.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:33]:
Yeah, they were bonding.
Mbie Dowd [00:18:34]:
I'm not going to say that I was on the lime scooters with them, but I may have been out in the streets of Raleigh.
Mike Allen [00:18:41]:
I heard that there was a lime at my big age scooter disaster.
Mbie Dowd [00:18:46]:
Who did I tell you?
Mike Allen [00:18:46]:
Oh, I am narrowly averted.
Mbie Dowd [00:18:48]:
No, it wasn't an ambulance. So I've never ridden a lime scooter. So Tracy Duke. Tracy and Tori said so.
Tonnika Haynes [00:18:56]:
Yeah, you were with. Cause Tracy and Tory. Traci was with him.
Mbie Dowd [00:18:58]:
Yes. Tracy and Tori said, come on, we're gonna go ride scooters. And I said, hi, I'm 50.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:06]:
I've got two good hips, no grasses.
Mbie Dowd [00:19:08]:
I have no major injuries, and I've never had a surgery. I'm good.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:12]:
I'll watch you.
Mbie Dowd [00:19:13]:
So then Tracy.
Mike Allen [00:19:14]:
And then you felt a peer pressure and did it.
Mbie Dowd [00:19:17]:
Tracy grabbed me, and. Well, what I fell to was, am I really being a stick in the mud? Like, am I really just being frump versus actually, like, doing something fun? So I was like, let me go. Okay? Let me go and do this against my better judgment. So it's. There's a learning curve. Yeah, there is a learning curve. But I did finally get the hang of it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:46]:
Okay.
Mbie Dowd [00:19:47]:
And then when I finally got the hang of it, I misjudged how much space I had. It was like a permanent pylon, and I misjudged how much space I had to get around it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:19:57]:
You can't do that.
Mbie Dowd [00:19:58]:
So the scooter went headfirst into the pylon. I jumped.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:02]:
Oh, off.
Mbie Dowd [00:20:05]:
Went down. I believe it probably sounded much worse than it was, but I did. I was upright.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:13]:
I'm gonna hear Jordan's version of this.
Mike Allen [00:20:14]:
Like, chest straight into the bollard, though.
Mbie Dowd [00:20:17]:
Yes. But, yes, I. I don't feel it. But I did sustain a temporary injury, and then I.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:25]:
To your ego?
Mbie Dowd [00:20:27]:
No, to my chest.
Mike Allen [00:20:28]:
Oh, insert boob joke here.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:31]:
We're talking about airbags, Bruce. Boob earbags deployed.
Mbie Dowd [00:20:34]:
Yes, the airbags deployed, but I. So then I was done because I felt that was good.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:41]:
I'm done.
Mbie Dowd [00:20:42]:
And I just happened to be across the street from the hotel, and I just walked. So I said, hey, this would be a good time for me to stop. Y' all go ahead. Have fun.
Tonnika Haynes [00:20:50]:
Love you, bot.
Mbie Dowd [00:20:51]:
I'm gonna stop here. I'm gonna End this ride.
Mike Allen [00:20:55]:
Casey's Tire Pros Franchise two STORES Greensboro, North Carolina. I am excited about having some tire knowledge at the top because independent auto repair shops are not historically known for being good at tire business. And some of them even believe that you can't make money on tires. And that's so badly misinformed. And I don't know how to do tires right. So having having you at the helm and having folks like Neil Meyer on the board, and we've got some tire distributors on the board, we really as an association need to teach our membership about the opportunities that exist in the tire space. And the funny thing is, strong tire dealers all think that they need to improve their maintenance and repair game because I think there's so much money to be had there. And they're not wrong.
Mike Allen [00:21:58]:
And maintenance and repair shops all need to improve their tire game, but they don't think there's any money to be had there. And they're wrong. And then you go, you drive around town, you said, where are the really big, really pretty stores that are on the corner by the stoplight? They're all tire stores. Not a lot of general repair and maintenance shops that are on the hot real estate. The profit per hour per bay, whatever, however you want to shake it down is so high, the skill level required to be good at it compared to advanced diagnostic work is so much lower. The cost of labor is significantly lower. So I'm going to be leaning on you to make my tire business better.
Tonnika Haynes [00:22:42]:
No pressure.
Mike Allen [00:22:42]:
Yeah.
Mbie Dowd [00:22:43]:
None. None. Yeah, we're full service, so we do light to heavy, big to small. In those locations, we have some of the. Not just bias, but because I watch every single day some of the most talented technicians in our area and outside of our area, we really have some, some talent. We have longevity, an established clientele, reputation, and we take all of that very seriously.
Mike Allen [00:23:25]:
Hey, it's me, Mike's kid. Want to tell us your wild shop stories? Or maybe you just think my dad's totally wrong. Call us at 7:04 confess and leave a message. You can tell us we're awesome or you can tell us we're idiots. We're cool either way. That's 704 confess. Just don't make it too weird.
Mbie Dowd [00:23:44]:
I'm proud of that, you know, to be a part of it and help build it and help move it along. Interestingly for me, I don't know any other way. You know, I've worked two places in automotive and both places have been both. So I've always done, you know, Always been involved with tires. I've always been in. Done with, excuse me, involved with repair. So I don't know any. I don't know any other way.
Mbie Dowd [00:24:10]:
So I think it's the best way. I think you should take advantage of as many opportunities as you can.
Mike Allen [00:24:16]:
Were you on the Tire Pros National Council?
Mbie Dowd [00:24:18]:
I was not on the National Council. I was the chair of the Marketing Council.
Mike Allen [00:24:22]:
Okay.
Mbie Dowd [00:24:22]:
For several years.
Mike Allen [00:24:24]:
Okay. What was that like for you?
Mbie Dowd [00:24:31]:
Similar to any trade association. Being able to speak to people who speak your language is invaluable, whether it's sharing ideas or even just commiserating, you know, whatever it is, being able to reach out to people when you have a question, a concern, an idea. The unique thing I think about the Tire Pros Councils for me was that you could actually speak directly to leadership. So they were in the room, they were soliciting our opinions and ideas, and there was a feeling that you actually had a hand in making things happen. You know, previewing and knowing what's coming and being able to vet processes or say. I really think it would be better if, from my perspective, in my day to day, I think that this is how this should look and knowing that those things were being taken into consideration while they're making a decision for the group.
Mike Allen [00:25:53]:
Do either of you. Have you had the opportunity to get together and kind of cast a vision of what you see the next few years looking like that might be a little bit premature. I know that we have a board retreat coming up where we're kind of going to do that corporately, but I feel like you guys are going to be the motor driving and it's exciting to see where you go.
Tonnika Haynes [00:26:15]:
We've had short conversations, but we haven't.
Mbie Dowd [00:26:17]:
Like, sat down and had a, yeah, nothing session yet. I think that over maybe the last six months, I have tried to speak a little more forwardly. At the same time being cautious and I don't, you know, want to assume the position before it's time, but being more vocal about some of the expectations that I will have and the way that I see that I think things should go.
Mike Allen [00:26:55]:
I think you're going to be so much better at accountability than I ever was. I just want people to like me and I want to have fun. And I don't have the awkward conversations nearly as much as I should.
Mbie Dowd [00:27:07]:
I don't love awkward conversations either. But I think that. I think, if I'm being honest, I think more of my method is to let people know what I expect at the beginning and do it in a way that is intentional and sometimes serious. You know, this is really what I need. And so I think that if you start there a lot of times when you go forward, sometimes you don't have to have the conversations because you already said what you said. And I have been in situations where I did not say what needed to be said in the beginning. And then you're just always kind of trying to catch up and get people back where you wanted them to be in the first place. So my.
Mbie Dowd [00:27:58]:
My old lady advice would be tell people what you need up front.
Mike Allen [00:28:04]:
Well, clear communication. Right?
Mbie Dowd [00:28:06]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:28:08]:
You're gonna be really good at that. I'm excited because I just. I care too much that people like me and smile at me. Even if it's fake, I don't care. Just don't let me know it's fake. Perfect.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:22]:
Like, go to the bathroom and cry about it.
Mike Allen [00:28:24]:
I can't hear you.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:25]:
You just go to the bathroom and cry about it. What happens?
Mike Allen [00:28:27]:
I mean, I weep softly into my pillow most nights, so I have to wait until Amanda does the deep breathing thing. She does a little twitch and I know she's actually asleep. You guys do that little twitch right, when you fall asleep?
Mbie Dowd [00:28:37]:
Yeah, I don't know. I'm already asleep.
Mike Allen [00:28:40]:
Well, you never twitch yourself awake. You're like, damn it, I was right there. No.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:45]:
Yeah. Cricket feet go.
Mike Allen [00:28:48]:
I don't know.
Mbie Dowd [00:28:49]:
And then all the feet.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:50]:
The cricket feet.
Mbie Dowd [00:28:51]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:28:51]:
And then change the position. Then it's like a big sigh and it's.
Mbie Dowd [00:28:56]:
I wake up a lot. I fall asleep fast. That I wake up a lot.
Mike Allen [00:29:01]:
You know, I slept really well last night.
Tonnika Haynes [00:29:05]:
That was called being drunk.
Mike Allen [00:29:06]:
And, well, I think it's. I think it's because I didn't drink any alcohol. I think sleeping makes sleep apnea worse. Right. And I'm sure I have undiagnosed sleep apnea because I'm overweight. And that's what every 45 year old overweight male has. Right. We were just talking about my moves.
Mike Allen [00:29:25]:
Of course I'm overweight.
Mbie Dowd [00:29:27]:
I think Lucas just wants to touch you. I don't know that it's because you have moves.
Mike Allen [00:29:32]:
Quick change of subject. Did I share with you the incredible Marine Corps wisdom that Benji gave me last night?
Mbie Dowd [00:29:41]:
No, no, please.
Mike Allen [00:29:42]:
In the Marine Corps is sometimes you sleeping in a foxhole and it's cold and you need body heat to stay warm. Right? So. So you can go pole to pole or hold a hole. Just don't go pole to hole. And if you do, just don't push Back. What? No. See, you thought you were going to get out of this with an adult conversation. For the entire time you're on camera, you're both laughing on camera.
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:11]:
It's terrible.
Mike Allen [00:30:12]:
What? Because.
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:15]:
It's terrible. Because I completely knew where you were going and it makes me feel bad that I knew that joke.
Mike Allen [00:30:21]:
So who am I really?
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:24]:
I'm so sorry.
Mbie Dowd [00:30:25]:
I'm not judging you, but I did not know that's what we're doing.
Mike Allen [00:30:27]:
Let's be honest. Spooning is the best form of body heat. You know, transfer. I mean, this. The spoon is the most efficient.
Mbie Dowd [00:30:33]:
So I agree.
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:34]:
Why is that a subject? Right. Why are we talking about that?
Mike Allen [00:30:37]:
I don't know. I just walked into the conversation. That's where they were.
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:39]:
Okay.
Mike Allen [00:30:40]:
I made him repeat it so that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:41]:
No, like, why did you just bring that up? That didn't. That's like a segue for something.
Mike Allen [00:30:45]:
I don't. There was something that made. I've been waiting for 45 minutes.
Mbie Dowd [00:30:49]:
He's just to say that.
Mike Allen [00:30:50]:
So I just wanted.
Mbie Dowd [00:30:51]:
He was going to interject that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:53]:
Oh, okay.
Mike Allen [00:30:53]:
There was something.
Mbie Dowd [00:30:54]:
Regardless.
Tonnika Haynes [00:30:55]:
It probably not a thing. Yeah, no, no.
Mike Allen [00:31:00]:
We should leave with that. You said at that right at the very front of the episode. That's a good call.
Mbie Dowd [00:31:04]:
I'm trying to think about how many people I can actually share this with that.
Tonnika Haynes [00:31:08]:
Please don't listen to this podcast.
Mike Allen [00:31:10]:
I was talking. I was talking to Dan Tekken Night and he was like, I've been on Lucas's podcast. I've been on your podcast. I've been on Parnell's podcast. He's like naming off all Carm. He's like, the only one that I'm willing to share with friends and family is the Josh Parnell podcast.
Mbie Dowd [00:31:24]:
Right.
Mike Allen [00:31:24]:
All the other ones I don't want them to know exist. And I don't think it was because of the things that he said.
Tonnika Haynes [00:31:32]:
These are my friends. I'm so sorry.
Mike Allen [00:31:34]:
My. My mom and my wife both tell me that I curse too much on. On the podcast. There's too many F bombs.
Tonnika Haynes [00:31:42]:
If you didn't say all the things, then nobody would believe that you're being yourself. Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:31:47]:
They'd be like, what's wrong with Mike? What's wrong with Mike?
Mbie Dowd [00:31:49]:
That's not how Mike talks.
Tonnika Haynes [00:31:52]:
Like, the little lies and the crazy stories and like, that's what we expect.
Mike Allen [00:31:57]:
Lies. I don't know what you're talking about 100%. Jeff paid me off to take a fall last night. That is not a lie.
Tonnika Haynes [00:32:04]:
I think my favorite one Is the shopping cart.
Mike Allen [00:32:07]:
Oh, the shopping cart wheel balancer gig.
Tonnika Haynes [00:32:09]:
My favorite so far.
Mike Allen [00:32:10]:
That's good stuff. It's a good side hustle. Oh, okay. So I can give that as a confession tonight, today, if you want. I need a confession from you guys. So I'm going to tell the story, and I need to. While I'm doing that, I want you to think about something that has gone horribly wrong at your shop, and I want you to tell me about it so that we can have our listeners not make the same mistake that you made. And there's a really clear lesson for my listeners to learn from this story about a mistake that they should not make.
Mike Allen [00:32:40]:
So this is about 15 years ago at Carfix. And at the time, I had a little Shih Tzu. It was a package deal. I got married, and it came with two Shih Tzus. And one of them was epileptic. And so he would have seizures occasionally. And when he was sick, I would bring him to shop with me because I don't want him to be home in a. In a kennel by himself having seizures, right? But he'd start to get agitated right before it would happen, and he would.
Mike Allen [00:33:07]:
He would just start running and he started to lose his sight, and he would end up running into a corner and just like headbutting into a corner until he fell over the Grand Malls, right? It was really sad. But it was that time of year at the shop when the big wolf spiders were coming out, you know, and. And so I'm an arachnophobe one. And I still thought I was Skinny Mike, but I was not Skinny Mike anymore. So I was still wearing skinny Mic pants. I hadn't admitted that I needed to move up to 36s, and I had. These are all details that come into play in a minute. And I had sticky traps in the corners to catch mice, whatever, right at the shop.
Mike Allen [00:33:53]:
And so I'm talking to a customer. It's 15 years ago, okay, this is really bad. Talking to a customer at the front counter. And the dog start. I'm like, oh, he's about to have a seizure. And before I can turn around and get him, he runs into the corner because that's what he does. And he gets stuck onto a sticky trap. And I feel so bad for him.
Mike Allen [00:34:15]:
And I lean over in the corner to pick him up. And so my back's to my customer now, and I pick him up and I lean over and I split my pants from belt to zipper. All white boxes. And yeah, just same all at once, just like, like that. And I am commando.
Tonnika Haynes [00:34:47]:
A hairy red headed butt.
Mbie Dowd [00:34:49]:
All right.
Mike Allen [00:34:50]:
And it gets worse from this point.
Mbie Dowd [00:34:52]:
It can't.
Mike Allen [00:34:54]:
I pick up a dog having a grand mal seizure, foaming at the mouth, stuck to a sticky trap with my balls hanging out to my customer.
Mbie Dowd [00:35:05]:
This is not true.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:07]:
Stop it.
Mike Allen [00:35:08]:
I have to like separate his paws from the sticky trap. And I finally get him separated and I sent him down. And now my hand stuck to the sticky trap. My back's still to my customer as this is all happening. And I look down the sticky trap and there are three big wolf spiders stuck to the sticky trap. And I start screaming like a little bitch. And I'm jumping around trying to fling it off my hand with my balls flapping around the back of my foot. And I finally get it separated and I throw it down and I pick up my dog and I don't even turn around to look at my customer.
Mike Allen [00:35:47]:
And I just look over to my technician who's standing there just like. And I say, I'm going to the house. I'll be back in 20 minutes. And I walk out the back door of the shop.
Tonnika Haynes [00:35:57]:
I wouldn't have told nobody that shit. You could have left that 15 years ago. I can't even live you in the eye no more.
Mike Allen [00:36:03]:
Most embarrassing moment of my life.
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:06]:
Oh my God.
Mbie Dowd [00:36:07]:
Because there was a real point where you had to decide the dog over your ass. Like you had to say, I got to get the dog. I know what's happening to me.
Mike Allen [00:36:19]:
So there's.
Mbie Dowd [00:36:19]:
I know what's happening to me right now, but the dog needs me.
Mike Allen [00:36:22]:
You dedicated 70 year old woman saw all that happen.
Mbie Dowd [00:36:27]:
And she can't answer.
Mike Allen [00:36:28]:
She didn't say a word. I didn't say a word to her. Next time she came back into the shop, we didn't talk talk about it. She continued to be a customer. Yeah, we, we acted like it never happened. It was. Yeah, that's loyalty.
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:42]:
That's.
Mike Allen [00:36:43]:
And my guys recounted it for years. They said that the best part was not the, the tearing in the ass. It was the me dancing around like a fairy trying to get the spider sticky thing off my head.
Tonnika Haynes [00:36:54]:
So that convinced you to buy the correct.
Mike Allen [00:36:57]:
So I moved up to the appropriate size of work pants. Yeah. So anyway, I don't have anything like that now. You know why I'm okay getting in a sumo suit for everyone else amusement. Because it couldn't be worse.
Mbie Dowd [00:37:10]:
Yeah, it could not be. It really could not be worse. So anyway, that I don't, I don't Know, I don't think I have a story. Well, no, no, no.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:20]:
And if I did, I'm not telling you. That's your straight.
Mike Allen [00:37:23]:
I feel like that is an inappropriate confession to ask them for something because I don't need you to meet that energy. You shouldn't meet that energy.
Tonnika Haynes [00:37:29]:
That is a lot.
Mbie Dowd [00:37:30]:
Okay. I might have.
Mike Allen [00:37:32]:
Hey, there's the pole to pole guy.
Mbie Dowd [00:37:34]:
Yeah.
Mike Allen [00:37:34]:
These guys here, a couple of marines causing trouble to pull.
Mbie Dowd [00:37:42]:
Okay. Just something embarrassing.
Mike Allen [00:37:44]:
It doesn't even. Just something that went wrong at the shop.
Mbie Dowd [00:37:47]:
Okay. Well, I mean, it was just me. So in between. So at Casey's. Not Casey's. Casey's. Right. So when I was not at Casey's, I actually worked Sears Auto Center.
Mike Allen [00:38:01]:
Okay.
Mbie Dowd [00:38:02]:
And I ran High Point and Greensboro.
Mike Allen [00:38:06]:
Okay.
Mbie Dowd [00:38:07]:
That was about a four year span. In between, how many stores did you have?
Mike Allen [00:38:11]:
There was just one in each town or multiple.
Mbie Dowd [00:38:14]:
I ran. There was one in each town. And I came in as a service advisor and it was like six months. And then I got promoted to assistant manager. And then the High Point store needed a manager, so I went there and I ran that store for a while. And then they needed a manager at the Greensboro store. So I came back. So that was time.
Mbie Dowd [00:38:34]:
So this was during Sears times. So we get a pallet of batteries delivered. So we have a special area, the stage. Em, you go in, you make sure you have everything. So I am counting batteries, how they were situated. It was kind of hard to maneuver. The room was tight. So I squat down so that I can see something else.
Mbie Dowd [00:39:06]:
Well, when I squat down, I actually am physically in contact with some of the batteries. I didn't really realize it at the time. I wasn't trying to sit on the batteries.
Mike Allen [00:39:16]:
You have a metal belt on.
Mbie Dowd [00:39:17]:
But I kind of just lowered myself far enough to where I actually was in physical contact with the batteries. Well, one of the batteries was leaking acid.
Mike Allen [00:39:31]:
So.
Mbie Dowd [00:39:35]:
I did not realize what happened until I started to feel uncomfortable. And discomfort turns into burning.
Tonnika Haynes [00:39:48]:
Oh, Lord, my ass is on fire.
Mbie Dowd [00:39:49]:
And I got your ass on fire. My ass on fire. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? So I had a good friend that lived maybe about 10 minutes from the store. So I called her and I said, where's your Heidi key? I gotta get to your house. I have to get out of these clothes. I have to take a shower because my ass is on fire. And she's like, what do you mean? And I said, I accidentally sat on a battery and the acid is eating through my life. I Need help.
Mbie Dowd [00:40:25]:
So she's like, go to the house. I go to the house. I get out of those clothes. It's already starting to eat away at the material. Take showers. She says that, you know, grab this. And I was walking funny for a.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:43]:
Few days, but is that a permanent scar on your.
Mbie Dowd [00:40:48]:
No.
Mike Allen [00:40:48]:
Okay.
Mbie Dowd [00:40:48]:
Well, I don't look at it often.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:51]:
I mean, I don't want anything.
Mbie Dowd [00:40:52]:
So back there. I'll have so much. Check it for me.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:55]:
Oh, man.
Mike Allen [00:40:57]:
I think there's only one person that's allowed.
Tonnika Haynes [00:40:59]:
That's why I was like, well, she.
Mbie Dowd [00:41:00]:
Did say something ever happened out.
Mike Allen [00:41:05]:
Anybody else who checks it for you has a problem with Abraham Dowd.
Mbie Dowd [00:41:08]:
That's exactly right. And nobody wants a problem with Abraham Dowd.
Mike Allen [00:41:14]:
So if one of your friends was like, hey, I need to know where your key is hidden. I have to take a shower at your house immediately. My ass is on fire.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:23]:
Depends on which one says that. Like, Shannon can say that and we'll talk about it two days later. Like, you're gonna tell me why your ass was on fire. Like, go fix your ass, but we're gonna talk about this in a couple days.
Mbie Dowd [00:41:32]:
Yes.
Mike Allen [00:41:33]:
Some preparation. Second drawing.
Mbie Dowd [00:41:35]:
It was that type of relationship. Yeah. Where I was like, I can't explain it right now, but I just.
Mike Allen [00:41:40]:
Everybody needs friends in their life that you can randomly go shower at their house without explanation.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:44]:
I agree. Yeah.
Mbie Dowd [00:41:45]:
Yeah, I agree.
Mike Allen [00:41:46]:
In the middle of the work day while they're at work.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:48]:
He's like, yeah, we'll talk about that later. Okay.
Mbie Dowd [00:41:51]:
What is a higher sign of true friendship?
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:53]:
Right.
Mike Allen [00:41:54]:
So I showed my ass to a customer. You burned your ass at work? Tell me about your ass.
Tonnika Haynes [00:41:58]:
I have no ass doors stories. I don't know. I think the most embarrassing thing I did at work is lock myself in the shop. So I must have been, like, doing stuff late because, of course, I'm a micromanager and I would stay out later, and I went to the back of the shop to do something, but the doors in the back, they can lock from the inside, so I locked myself out of the shop. But the front door was open. It was either the front door was open or I had a key in the car, but the gates were locked, so I had to climb over the gate.
Mike Allen [00:42:32]:
And you've got, like, concertina wire. Gay, right?
Tonnika Haynes [00:42:34]:
No, it's a metal fence that my dad built. So, yeah, it was. I had to climb over the gate to get out.
Mike Allen [00:42:43]:
I don't know. That'd be kind of dangerous in the evening.
Mbie Dowd [00:42:45]:
Yep.
Mike Allen [00:42:46]:
Climbing over to Browns cops might come by and think.
Tonnika Haynes [00:42:49]:
I thought about that too. So. Yeah, explain it. It's my shop.
Mbie Dowd [00:42:52]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:42:52]:
Lady, come on. Ma', am. It's mine.
Mbie Dowd [00:42:58]:
Yeah. Hey, there it is. Help.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:01]:
Can somebody please call Sheriff Blackwood so you can get me out of here?
Mike Allen [00:43:04]:
Well, so what I learned from my confession is you're even 15 years ago. You're too damn old to be going commando. That's something that you do when you're in college and that's it.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:14]:
Or an if. I don't know. Why would you ever do that? Don't you guys have zipper accidents? I mean, sometimes you just got hair in a zipper. Skin in the zipper.
Mike Allen [00:43:22]:
Yeah. Like why you're just wearing your gray sweats.
Mbie Dowd [00:43:27]:
No, no, no. The chafing. Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:30]:
And the moisture.
Mbie Dowd [00:43:32]:
The underwear is a significant barrier.
Mike Allen [00:43:34]:
Powder man keeps everything nice and dry. It's like baby powder for baby powder for your man balls.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:39]:
No, it doesn't clump or like man.
Mbie Dowd [00:43:42]:
As opposed to powder moobs. I don't know. You can put gold ball gold bond under your boobs too. Gun.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:51]:
Gold bond balls.
Mike Allen [00:43:52]:
See, I mean, I. I have to deal with. You have to deal with under boob sweat.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:55]:
You down with gbb.
Mbie Dowd [00:43:57]:
You don't. Yeah. Oh.
Tonnika Haynes [00:43:58]:
What?
Mike Allen [00:44:01]:
Damn it. I don't. I think that slipped by. We'll edit that out.
Mbie Dowd [00:44:05]:
Keep it.
Mike Allen [00:44:06]:
If you told me. She asked me what I do to manage my man boob sweat. My underboob sweat.
Tonnika Haynes [00:44:12]:
Leave it.
Mike Allen [00:44:12]:
I keep my cigarettes under there.
Mbie Dowd [00:44:15]:
Your palm oils, 20 bill. Never know when you'll need a 20 bill.
Tonnika Haynes [00:44:22]:
Everybody should have emergency.
Mbie Dowd [00:44:23]:
This is very much not the introduction.
Mike Allen [00:44:28]:
I think that we can leave it on boob money. There's a really good introduction to the new executive board of the automobile service entire line.
Tonnika Haynes [00:44:36]:
We have lots of boob money.
Mbie Dowd [00:44:38]:
Oh, I keep some.
Tonnika Haynes [00:44:39]:
We keep some boob money.
Mbie Dowd [00:44:41]:
I love cash $1 bills especially.
Mike Allen [00:44:46]:
Interestingly, regardless of gold bond stat, I don't know anybody that keeps ball money. So I feel like there's a risk of paper cut there.
Mbie Dowd [00:44:54]:
Maybe they're not telling you. Well, what do you care about the health of your balls if you're just letting them fly free?
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:01]:
Aren't they supposed to be high and tight?
Mike Allen [00:45:03]:
Proper airflow?
Mbie Dowd [00:45:04]:
No.
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:04]:
Are they supposed to be low and cold? Because low and cold is.
Mike Allen [00:45:07]:
Cold is high and tight. Warm is swing low, sweet chariot. Really?
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:12]:
I thought if they were closer, they'd be warmer.
Mike Allen [00:45:14]:
Oh, well, no. So they suck up to the body when you're cold so that you can keep them warm.
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:18]:
Right, right, right.
Mike Allen [00:45:18]:
Right, Right. Yeah. But when it's hot outside, they kind of droopy, you know? What are you gonna do?
Mbie Dowd [00:45:25]:
I feel like that's not an apparatus that I would like to have.
Mike Allen [00:45:28]:
Yeah.
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:28]:
It's like, what are they?
Mbie Dowd [00:45:29]:
I'm glad I was born a woman. This doesn't seem like I don't have to do.
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:34]:
I would, like, wear tidy everything to be still.
Mbie Dowd [00:45:37]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Things moving when you don't want you guys independently.
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:42]:
How's it hanging? Like, I'm still. I'm not hanging.
Mbie Dowd [00:45:45]:
Yeah. It's unfortunate, but someone's got to do it. Childbirth is optional.
Mike Allen [00:45:52]:
It's fair. It's fair. I guess testicles are optional, too. At this point. It's probably a conversation. We'll let that one out.
Tonnika Haynes [00:45:58]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's let that one go.
Mbie Dowd [00:46:01]:
Let that go.
Mike Allen [00:46:01]:
Seriously. We should edit that one out for real. All right. Thanks, guys.
Mbie Dowd [00:46:06]:
Thank you.
Tonnika Haynes [00:46:07]:
Thank you. You're crazy.
Mike Allen [00:46:10]:
Thanks for listening to Confessions of a shop Owner, where we lay it all out. The good, the bad, and sometimes the super messed up. I'm your host, Mike Allen, here to remind you that even the pros screw it up sometimes. So why not laugh a little bit, learn a little bit, and maybe have another drink? You got a confession of your own or a topic you'd like me to cover? Or do you just want to let me know what an idiot I am? Email mikeonfessionsofashopowner.com or call and leave a message. The number 704-confess. That's 704-266-3377. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to, like, subscribe or follow. Join us on this crazy journey that is shop ownership.
Mike Allen [00:46:46]:
I'll see you on the next episode.
Mbie Dowd [00:47:16]:
You know, I said.