The Hiring Mistake Shop Owners Keep Making | Sara Fraser & Chrisi Falco - Ep 20

0:00I've been thinking this, and if they just did this at the old shop, it would have been so much better. Because he was thinking when he got there, what, he was doing 50 cars a day? And I was like, no, we do like 15, bruh. Yeah. Like, I don't do that over here. And he's just like, I get to go to lunch?

0:14I'm like, yeah. Yeah. I can make the motorcycle club thing? Yes, we're going home. You know, like, no, we have a life outside of this joint. Welcome to Downshift with Tanika Haynes. The Automotive Auntie. The thing about Tanika, she gets to know you. She'll laugh and cut up with you, but then she'll hit you with some knowledge that you may not want, but that you need.

0:37Let's downshift. I would like to start by letting you two introduce yourselves. You can do that until you— OK. —end the company. And then go. Do it. Set. Ready, set, 2, 3, 1. I'm Sarah Frazier. I'm the Vice President of AutoIgnite Management. So we do things like business coaching, we do service advisor coaching, and we also do hiring management, which has kind of been my baby and a program that I started very organically a few years ago that has continued to grow and grow and grow.

1:13And we help shops find technicians, service advisors, shop foremans, managers, even accounting. Like we've helped fill a lot of different positions in shops. And it was something that I started doing for coaching clients of ours. And then it just, word got out and it kind of grew from there. And I realized this isn't something I can do all by myself and I need to bring more people into this.

1:38And so we have a staff of about 8 of us now. And Krissy joined us back in, I wanna say November. It's been about 6 months you've been with us. That's it? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, wow. Feels like, yeah, feels like, feels like she's been there forever. I mean, she's such a key player on our team and it's, it's been really amazing. Our staff, uh, all come from the industry except for one of us, and he comes from, his background is stage management and theater and restaurant management.

2:03So systems, processes, people, all of that phenomenal with. And so it's just the passion our team has for finding people and getting them in the right place. And we have a group chat where we're always chatting like, oh, I had this amazing interview. Yeah. They have to hire this person or this, that, and the other thing. And so, Chrissy and I have known each other for quite a few years just through being in the industry and being at events together.

2:26And through conversation, we— I knew I needed to build a team and bring more people on, and she was kind of looking for something, and it just happened to be a perfect fit. So yeah, I'm Chrissy. It's Chrissy! That's all you need to know. I'm also known as the Better Falco. That might carry a little more weight in the podcast world. And I love it.

2:48I'm a talent acquisition specialist right now. She's a TAS. Yeah. Yeah. And it's amazing. Like, it's one of those things that I never knew I wanted to do it until I was doing it. Mm-hmm. And I get to impact people's lives every single day. And I don't know very many people that in their— in the course of their work, they can impact people like that.

3:10And it's just— You know, we talk to so many people and there's so many great candidates out there and so many great shops. And there's this notion that there's a shortage of techs. But I think what the shortage is, is there's a shortage of connections, right? So the right people aren't connected, connecting with the right businesses. So that's what we're, that's what we're here for.

3:31I think you're doing a great job. Thank you. I've had a wonderful experience. Thank you so much. I told you, like, Stuart's ready to do that infomercial for you. I am too. Yeah, we've got to. Not only am I a client, I'm their friend. Yes, exactly. And they don't pay me enough to do this. But no, it's what you said is I don't think there's a good connection.

3:53Yeah. Do you allow people— I was thinking this last night— do you allow people just to interview with you and they're in the pool that if you have a shop that's looking, like, can text directly, give you their resume? We've been, we've been talking about that and it's It's one of those double-edged swords, I think, because sometimes we'll interview somebody fantastic and for whatever reason, maybe it's a culture fit or maybe their skill level isn't quite where the shop needs them to be.

4:24So then we don't have a place to put them forward. Okay. But then at the same time, with trying to grow and working with all these other company, like all these other shops, like, do we start building like a roster, but that roster might pull somebody from a shop we're already aligned with. Oh, that is a little dangerous. So it's kind of, I didn't mean to take that question from you.

4:50Yeah, no, no, you handled that perfect. Yeah, we've been talking about that. We never want to poach from other shops. That's not something we want to do. We only want to help technicians who are actively looking, you know, and sometimes those really great techs are working somewhere and, but they might still want that better opportunity, so they have their resume available. And so that's something we'll do.

5:11But oftentimes we'll even ask shop owners, is there a shop that you don't want us to interview somebody from? Because we know that you guys have relationships with each other in your community. And so if your buddy owns the shop and their employee is applying for your shop, that's at least a conversation that, you know, I don't want to interview them if you don't want to step into that, right?

5:30I'll at least let you know if there's that relationship, let me reach out to you and say, hey, somebody from that shop did apply. Do you want to talk to your friend? How do you want us to proceed with this? Because yeah, we don't want to poach people from shops. That's not what we're about. And, but yet at the same time, we had a technician come up to us yesterday who's moving to a new area and said, hey, do you have any shops in that area?

5:50The closest shop we work with is about 2 hours away from him. And I said, but hey, that shop owner's very connected. Let me reach out to him and see if he knows anybody where you're going. And that's something I'm happy to make those connections, but it's not really a, service that we have in place. But if we can help a technician, I absolutely want to do that.

6:07We're also very picky about shops that we work with, to be completely honest. I mean, Tanika will tell you it's a million-page questionnaire we have somebody fill out. It's gotten longer since you've done it. It's gotten longer. It's gotten longer. No, it does a great job because it makes sure that the shop owner is serious. First of all, when they're applying, do you have to deal with a nut job that thinks they're going to get a technician tomorrow?

6:29Right. And then it actually makes you think about your shop and your own culture when you're answering these questions. Lord, have mercy. And then there are some questions that like, oh, people offer that. Maybe I should do that. And then there's some questions like, yeah, I offer that. Yeah. Yeah. Because like a shop, a lot of shops don't even know what they should be offering, what people are looking for.

6:48So that's great. And they don't know what they're looking for either. They just know I need a technician or I need a service advisor, but they don't know the level of skill or the level experience or the level. So not only do we now have a shop owner questionnaire that we have shops complete, we also We also have candidate alignment forms that go through different levels of skill and experience and what are you willing to train and what are you not willing to train and those kinds of things.

7:09And that's something that we just started rolling out to help align us there too. But yeah, so we're pretty picky about the shops that we work with. So it's not like we have this massive, not anyway, not right now. I mean, we have been growing, so hopefully we'll be in more spaces, but yeah, we don't have a shop in every city or anything like that, but we do know a lot of really great shop owners who are connected.

7:30And so if we can help make connections, we're definitely open to doing that. Doing that. But yeah, at this time we don't have like a— we already know what to do. We've been to the trainings, paid for the coaching, learned the right way to inspect cars, build estimates, and talk to our customers. That's not the problem. The problem is consistency, because some days it only works when the right person is working, and when they're not, it's a whole different shop.

7:54So now you're stuck in that cycle. You need a strong team to run a great shop, but you need a great shop to attract a strong team. Make it make sense. That's why I rock with Detect Auto. Detect Auto streamlines your service processes with automations that save time, increase maintenance sales, and improve productivity without changing your whole system. It plugs in, guides your team through inspections, recommendations, and even customer communication.

8:20Now that's not just based on memory or mood. That's how shop runs. And let me tell you, I've been using it for over a year now. My ARO is up 63%. That's not new knowledge. That's just consistency. If you're tired of your shop depending on who showed up today, go check out Detect Auto, book a demo. I mean, we've talked to technicians and we kind of have people who have told us, you know, if an opportunity in my area comes up, let me know if you know of something.

8:47And so we kind of have that, but we don't have our own pool of techs or our own bench of techs. And when we start working with the shop and we go to write their job ad and post their job ad, it's so specific to them and to that area that it's not like we have this cookie-cutter ad where we just change the location and the title and we throw it out there.

9:05You know, we really, that's why we do that questionnaire to learn about the culture and what they do that sets them apart and all of those things that we, so we can speak to that and attract people that way. So yeah, it is something we've definitely talked about. And I think we'll, as this whole thing has grown organically, that will come into place organically as well.

9:25That's got to be a lot to take on. But yeah, here's the thing, when I'm listening to people, whether it's you guys or another company, they cost too much, they charge too much, it costs so much, it costs this, why does it cost so much? And I know all of the hiring mistakes that I've made. I don't know the questions to ask.

9:43And then sometimes I feel like I just need a warm body, and you're quick to hire the wrong person just because I need a person, I need a person. That actually costs money too. So people don't really think about the cost of it. Somebody's not better. Like somebody's not better than the right person, right? Just that fast isn't always better. You know, it's just like getting your car fixed, you know, like cheap isn't good, good isn't cheap, right?

10:04Like you get what you pay for. So I feel like I've got what I paid for. And then, oh, here's the thing, connection. You guys said the word connections. I don't sound all foofy-foofy, but I'm so happy that we connected the way we did in Houston. Yes, that was crazy. That was crazy because I've seen you a million times and we've talked, but when we got to hang out, that was, that was a weekend.

10:29Yeah, like, women in auto care. I'm like, wait, I haven't been to Houston. Fort Worth. Yes, yes, yes. You guys were in Houston recently. Yeah, um, that was fun. That was a big fun. Yeah, so I raised that to say Women in Auto Care was an amazing event. There's a lot of women in auto care at different levels, like things that you guys are doing.

10:53There's things, women that wrench, women that own shops, women that are in the, you know, selling parts and whatever. Connection is a big deal. And you've been teaching a class on how to put yourself out there, especially at these events. You want to touch on that a little bit? But you did a great job. Oh, thank you. So Tracy Capriato and I started doing this class called From Awkward to Authentic, and it's all about networking at these events.

11:16And that also was born from her and I being pretty introverted and shy and awkward. And both of us came into this industry under fathers with big names. Both of us came in with such a high level of imposter syndrome, with such a high level of anxiety, this like feeling of I need to look a certain way, do things a certain way.

11:36I have these really big shoes to fill. I have to, you know, all of that. And also sort of feeling like we were on an island and nobody else really knew what we were going through. And we were scared of you 'cause you were superstars and we didn't know how to talk to you. And we had no idea. Like, And that, that's so wild to me that Tracy told me the first time she met me in person that she was like intimidated.

11:55And I'm like, why? Like, I'm like, I'm a nobody. Nobody knows who I am. Like, that's that little voice in my head, right? That's like, nobody knows me. And then, so when people are like, oh, Sarah, and you know, da da da, I'm like, it's, it's just really a weird thing for me. But so we were like, we met through networking and we've built an amazing friendship.

12:14We're not just people who connect at work at events anymore. We talk almost every day. We've helped each other through relationships and friendships and all sorts of things that come up in in our lives and loss of pets and just all of the, you know, those things that you do with your best friends. And even though we don't live in the same state and we only see each other maybe 5 times a year, we've built this relationship.

12:34And it's, there are so many amazing people in this industry if you open yourself up to finding those people. And you've been such a phenomenal auntie to so many people here. And you've got, you've adopted so many people under your wing and have really like, like leveled them up. And that's what this is. If we can help somebody else level up, that's what we wanna do.

12:55And being that shy, awkward, I'm afraid to talk to anybody person, if I can help that person connect with somebody, find their person, find the space that they're comfortable in. And so, yeah, the class we teach, we get into some psychology stuff and why our brain does these certain things and why it fights against us. But we also get into just how to have easy, low-pressure conversations and, you know, not to walk in and start a conversation with, So what do you do?

13:20Who do you work for? Because it's just that's a high pressure. Yeah, it's such a like, oh, you know, instead like, oh, hey, have you been to Tools before? What brought you to the conference or what session did you take this morning? And just those like easy ways to get into a conversation and to stay away from bonding over complaints. You know, so many times.

13:39It's cold in here. Yes. We're just complaining about these kids. So many kids here. There's so many kids here. Right, right. —And they're already bonded. —And that's the thing. Like, those are conversations you have with your people, right, who understand you and know you. But when you're standing next to a stranger and you're just like, "Oh, it's so cold in here." And then they're having a hot flash and I'm like, "Really?"

13:58And then it's like you bond in misery. But where does the conversation go from there? You don't open— Yeah, you don't open a door to like— I don't want to add more misery to that. Exactly. I got enough of that. Yeah. Yeah. So this was just the second time we taught this class. And I told Tracy, I'm like, "If this is the only class I ever teach for the rest of my life, I'm happy with that because it's so needed at every event."

14:18event where you have networking. And if we can teach it like the first day and then have people go out, get to go out and use the things we talk— exactly. And we did it at Vision, and I think by the third day of Vision, a gal that was in our class came up to me and she's like, I just want you to know I left your class with 3 new friends.

14:35We exchanged numbers. We've been meeting up throughout this whole event. And that just— that's why we wanted to do that. We wanted to— I can't be that community for everybody. You can't be that community for everybody, but it's here. Like, those people are here. Find them. So yeah. Because I've always— not— I don't— let me stop lying. I do not feel like I'm the odd person out, but I have felt that on occasion, believe it or not.

15:00Sometimes, I do feel uncomfortable in a room. But I was raised like, "Go in there anyway." And so, I'm a little more bold with that. But I've gotten a lot more bold with it. And I had to do a good job on following up. 'Cause when you were teaching yesterday, I was like, "Ooh, I haven't followed up on some of the—" ladies I met at Tectonic, let me go ahead and send a message.

15:18"Hey, girl, what you doing? How you doing?" And this ding-a-loom lives like, right up the street. And we have the same birthday. Yep. That's wild. That's wild, right? It's my best friend's daughter's birthday, too. Yeah? Yeah. So, like, I just know so many amazing people that are January 3rd. My husband's close. He's the 2nd. So, like, he's like, almost cool. But he's pretty close.

15:40He's pretty close. I guess I like Capricorns. I don't know. Yeah. We're a wonderful species. But the thing is, like, there's so many women that come with their husbands, and maybe they don't work in the shop. And I think Kim said it best. It's like, but they still want to be connected. Yes. And being around other people in the shop, maybe we can teach them how to relate to their— you can teach them how to relate to your spouse a little bit better when they're bringing home crazy stuff.

16:05Oh yeah. Because Rich is in the industry. So, that's a good connection. But I definitely wanna tell any woman out there, young or old, we are not superstars. We're just weird people. We eat chicken wings. There's alcohol involved at times. And chocolate. And chocolate. Chocolate. Especially to this city. Oh my goodness. Like, if you see us, I mean, if you walk up to me and you expect me to remember your name, I am not gonna remember your name.

16:31Same. It's not 'cause I don't think you're the most special thing in the world. It's just, I can't remember nobody's name. I have like a facial recognition blindness. A facial blindness. Same, same. Yeah, I'm just like, I mean, and in this industry, I thought to say it, but I mean, there's a lot of the same age white male who look very similar.

16:48And so they kind of all blend and they all wear the same colors. They got the same outfit on. Like black, dark blue. You know, thank God for Brett and Jimmy Lee bringing these flashy jackets and style. You can pick out Jimmy Lee. I am here for that. You can pick out Zeb. Yeah. Yeah. But the rest of them, you're like, okay.

17:04Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of white guys, baseball caps, beards. Yeah. Like, uh, mm. Yeah. They need to have a beard contest. That glitter beards. Glitter beards. Oh, let's talk to Jimmy about that. Jimmy doesn't have a beard. He's kind of— he started growing a little bit of scruff. Oh, good. Yeah, we can put like, fairy hair in the beard. And we'll get— no, we'll get Josh.

17:26Yeah. And the Bearded Brother to sponsor the beard contest at the event. There you go. Yeah. That's what we're gonna do. Brett was talking about having a women's division for the like, you know, they do— so, they do a jacket competition here at Tools, and at some other events, they compete with these flashy jackets. And he's like, "Well, women, you guys are are on a whole nother level.

17:44You would need your own division. And I said, we do. I said, Brett, here's the thing. Women are already competing. We just don't vocalize it. So we really don't need to put it on a stage. Like, we're already like so in our heads about what everyone else is wearing and doing. And do I measure up? And how do I fit into this?

18:00Like, we, we don't need to put like awards to that. No, I have a hard time with that. Fun shoes. Fun shoes. Like, we're having like, I'm like trying to see what Tracy has on her feet. I'm like, "Who would you get it from?" See, I bought my fun shoes. Did you? Love. Look, they're sparkly. That one's not on. See, we've got sparkly shoe game.

18:19I'm not showing you my shoes. They're not on. Okay. She's not ready for the— My toes are sparkly, but my shoes are just comfortable today. I feel like I wanna get some sparkly shoes, too. Yeah. I have to teach today. So, standing for 4 hours, like, comfort's a little higher. Oh, you're teaching today again? This afternoon, yeah. So, we're doing— Tracy and I, together again, are doing a class called, "Build Trust, Not Confusion," which— is really interesting for us because it's, it started from our communication class that we did last year and that talked about internal and external communication.

18:45And this is really just external focus on communicating with customers. Neither her nor I have ever been a service advisor. I mean, I've worked in a shop for 6 years. I've jumped in and helped out in that space, but I've never solely been a service advisor. And so we were kind of imposter syndrome, right? Like, who the hell are we to be able to speak on this?

19:00Like, we haven't been in that role. Is anyone going to take us seriously? But really the, The perception and space we're coming from is from the customer's perspective. And does that repair order make sense? And do the words you're saying make sense? And do we understand that? Because we have far more of the customer side of experience than we do the technical, the service advisor, the technical side.

19:21But then also in our positions in the industry, we also have a unique view being so close to knowing, you know, I've sat in a lot of advisor classes, I've watched my dad teach a lot of advisor classes, podcasts that, you know, we've listened to or Tracy's edited or whatever. And so we have this like like how things should be from what we hear.

19:37And so it's not a sales class, it's not about KPIs, it's literally about communication that makes sense, that's understandable, and, and how to build relationships and connect and all of that. So it's, it's really— that's smart. Yeah, I think we've kind of found our zone in this like fufu space. As I think Cecil was the first one who said that I taught fufu classes, and the fufu is important because, you know what, yeah, I remember, uh, my OB, who was also a customer, she was talking to me and I said, "I won't talk transmissions to you if you don't talk medical to me because I don't know what you just said."

20:10Am I dying or not, doc? Yes or no? And that's how I talk to my customers. Like, "How bad are my brakes?" Fred Flintstone, ma'am. You put your foot out the door and you're about to die. Like, I mean, I know what I'm saying, but I literally say Fred Flintstone. We're not stopping. And that's such a visual. That makes sense to me.

20:26I'm serious. I get that. "How bad are the brakes?" They're not that bad. We can get them done. We check "Next time," or whatever. Just have a regular conversation. But you'll know who you need to speak to in mechanics' terms. Like, there's gonna be someone that wants to know how many millimeters. Right. I remember, I mean, I was at a conference, and I took my car to the dealership for a recall.

20:47And I remember the DVI, the guy was telling me that the brakes were at X millimeter. And I know what it is. He didn't know that I knew what it was. And I said, when I got back, I said, "You said the brakes were at 4 millimeters." to me, or maybe another woman, even another guy, that means, "Oh, I got 4 more to go."

21:04Yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, I was like, "What does that even mean?" I'm like, "How many they start with?" Yeah, like, "Is it 5?" Yeah, it's like, "You've got 4 men. Oh, good. I got 4 more to go." Yeah. Like, no, you don't. Yeah, but people just don't get it because we're used to it and we're used to the verbiage and all of the stuff.

21:21But yeah, keep it simple. Yeah, I had to take my Kia to the dealer. Because the navigation stopped working. Oh, that's nice. Okay, so it would only navigate me to places I had been before. It would only go left. Right, basically. So I bring it into the dealership and I, you know, first I did the calls and all the other stuff you have to do first, but then I'm face to face and I explain the situation really clearly like, this is what's not working.

21:45This is what I need to work. This is how I know it's not work. This is how come I know it's not working. And they do what they do and they tell me, oh yeah, well, you know, whatever, whatever, whatever. Okay, great, great. They call me a little while later and they're like, your car's done. I'm like, awesome, I'm gonna be able to navigate anywhere.

22:02And I get back there and I, you know, they hand me, oh, you're all set, Miss Falco, here you go, hand me my paperwork. I go and I'm looking at the paperwork and I turn around, I said, so, I said, so the navigation's fixed? Oh, well, you had a recall on your ICC unit and all this like tech speak. And I said So my navigation works now?

22:24Oh, let me go check with the tech. No, ma'am. No, sir. No. So he goes out in the shop and he comes back. He goes, oh, the tech didn't even look at it. I said, why didn't the tech look at it? That was my chief complaint. I came in. I came in saying this happens. This doesn't happen. So here's why it's a problem and here's how I know it.

22:44And you fix a recall that I didn't even know I had. So, Jeff said that on a podcast not too long ago. Old jaded mechanic dude that, you know, that little sorry sucker. But yeah, so, shops are so excited. DVIs are important. 300% rule is important. But they're so excited to do all of that that you forgot about the initial complaint. Yeah.

23:03I would be ticked off to the highs of 10. I ended up having to bring it back because I said, "Well, if—" I said, "Can I leave it now?" And they're like, "Well, we don't have time now." I said, "But you had it." and didn't fix it, you're giving it back. So then I should be inconvenienced again and bring it back. I mean, just, I mean, he looked like a deer in the headlights.

23:22He goes, oh, they never get training. I understand. Like, they don't get training. You know, independents do more training than those service advisors. They just find you a nice cup of coffee and put you in a— it was— I ended up having to leave my car there for a week, which would have been fine if you would have planned on that when you dropped it off.

23:37Say, well, ma'am, you know, this is what we found. It's going to be here for a week and Sure. Yeah. How can we help with that? But I have to go back the end of the week to get my loaner car. And then like they have my car for like 4 days and I finally text the guy like, hey, can I have an update?

23:51Like, what's going on with my car? You know? And he's like, well, we're still working on it. No, you're not. You don't even know my name. Really? And he's like, rebuilding the car. It might end up being a head unit. What does that do? What does that even mean? Just what, you know, speak to me like a human. Can you just fix my nav?

24:07Like, and now it's all better. But, you know, I'm like, I want to say to him, like, when I, after that experience, I said to Sarah, so our service advisor training program, do we offer that to dealerships by chance? Because I got a candidate. We don't, but we have talked about creating a specific program for dealing or for training technician or Jesus, I can't talk for training service advisors who are coming out of dealerships and going into independents because it is it is different.

24:36And I mean, we see that struggle in hiring and somebody's like, I have 15 years of service advisor experience. And then you look at where, and it's like, okay, yes you do, but what is that going to transition like to in the shop? And, you know, we do a question that's kind of about price matching and how would you, you know, handle this situation?

24:56Vehicles in the shop, customers drop the car off, vehicles in the shop, Technician's done the estimate, let you know what's going on. You've reached out, you know, you've put the estimate together. You've reached out to the customer. You've done your whole spiel. You've educated them. You filled them in on what we found, what we can do, what the total's going to be, all that fun stuff.

25:12And they're like, oh man, I got to talk to the spouse. I got to think about it overnight. Totally fine. You reach back out the next day and they let you know, hey, we did some research. We called a few other shops. I found a shop who's willing to do that same work for less money. How would you respond to that? And we've had really interesting You know, a lot of times coming out of dealership spaces, it's like, well, you know, what is our wiggle room?

25:33Can we price match? Da da da da da. And I'm like, well, let's say that you can't price match. There's no wiggle room. Where do you go from there? And instead of talking about warranty or finance or the car's already in the shop, like we can get to it today. And the good advisors pick up on that and they do say that.

25:49But well, I would just respect their decision and tell them that we're here if they need us. And we hear that a lot. And it's hard because it's the whole interview has gone great with this person. They have a great attitude. They have, you know, knowledge about the industry. And it's so, we know if we're going to send that person to a shop that that's something we have to highlight as they're going to need training in how to build relationships, how to actually sell value, not just focus on price.

26:17And so that's, yeah, we've definitely thought about creating programs specifically for advisors coming out of the dealership world and how different it is. And there are, we do find great advisors from dealerships. You know, we've had lots of people who have gone back and forth and see, you know, benefit in both and all of that. And so, but it is interesting to really find the experience doesn't always mean that it's going to match what that shop is looking for.

26:43And that's why it's important for us too, to know how that shop feels about Yeah, they're service advisor price matching. And where do we go with that? Yeah. Yeah. And we don't, I don't think we work with any shops that do price matching. So it's funny because sometimes we'll have the exact opposite. You know, we'll have that service advisor candidate that maybe doesn't have a stellar resume and like maybe the start of the, the in, uh, the interview is like a little rough, but then once you get them to start talking about their customers and their relationships and You know, they go on this whole, like, you know, the quality, the, you know, the skill

27:20of the technicians. We only use these great parts. We stand behind our work. We're going to be there next to you no matter what happens to that vehicle. And you're like, okay, okay. So the first 3 questions, I was like on the fence, but now I'm all team you. Like, right. You know, that one question can really show so much about the person you're talking to.

27:41Yeah, because I think it takes more confidence as a person to speak to the value of something that is intangible. Like, you can feel a relationship, you can see the stability of the company and like maybe how they reach out in the community, but like, it's not like this little silver box you're getting. Yeah, you know what I mean? So I think it, I think it takes a, it takes a different skill set.

28:03And I think, too, you know, when we have those people who we know need coaching in that space, then we dig into questions more so to find out, are they coachable? Are they going to be somebody who's going to be willing to adapt? Because it's not their fault that that's the environment they've been in and that's what they've been trained to do.

28:18And I have nothing against that. But are they going to be open to changing that process? Or is that like they're going to come in and be like, well, no, I've always done it this way and I can't adapt. That is the situation. The last two hires were service advisors that I hired myself before hiring you guys. Same thing. Well, this is how we do it.

28:37Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Who's we? Who is we? We fresh today? But this is how it happens here. Aren't we fresh today? No, this is how we do it. Well, this is how I did it. They're like, mm, no. Yeah. Like, why are you arguing with me? This is my process over here. But like, I think Stuart was on, he was in a big box store and he didn't have any training.

28:56The first training he had was ASTA and I hired him what, less than 2 weeks before then. Which I love that you brought him. So many times we see shops take their team to training, but not the new hire. And it's like, why? Hit the ground running. Why? Take them, show them. Like, that's retention. Show them what this industry has to offer.

29:16He was on fire after that. And he said, he's like, "I've never been trained in this." And like, sitting in classes like Becky Wick and Rick White, and he's just like, "I've been thinking this. And if they just did this at the old shop, it would have been so much better." Because he was thinking when he got there, what, he was doing 50 cars a day?

29:30And I was like, "No, we do like 15, bruh." Yeah, yeah. Like, "I don't do that over here." He's just like, I get to go to lunch? Like, yeah, yeah, I can get— make the motorcycle club thing. Yes, we're going home. Like, no, we have a life outside of this joint. But then training, he's training with Elite. I've never ever— well, I'm not gonna say I've never— the way that he was so excited about that, texting me from the plane, hey, this was the best thing ever, I got friends.

29:58And this— so he's made his connections. Yeah, he's got people to call on. When he's having a situation, you know, that are in the coaching group with him. He just really enjoyed the whole process. He kicks me out of my office 5 minutes before he has the son on the trainer. I'm like, I need to find your own training computer. Yeah, because he's like, I gotta go.

30:16That's how you know you got somebody that's like, he's as invested in you and your business as you are in him. Yeah. So here's the thing, I've had people that try to bypass the process. And say, hey, I put in an application, haven't heard anybody. And I was like, well, did you call? Did you follow the process? The process is important. And I believe that shop owners will probably get frustrated with that as well because again, they want a warm body.

30:41Yeah. But I really like to redirect, like, nope, follow the process. I, I did step out, but I told you, I was like, this guy's an outlier. Yeah. Because he had people come up to me like, no, this is the dude, you need him. Like, yeah, but Didn't have any skills. Him and the computer thing. Yeah. That was, yeah. He's like, yeah, I didn't get to do all of that.

31:02I was like, Link, really? We understand that. I mean, and we have shops that know that they've hired because of our ads we've put out. But like I have a shop owner I talked to just this weekend and very small local community. And he's like, well, so this guy came in and he saw the ad and, you know, I knew the shop he worked in and I just interviewed him right there.

31:22Totally get that. Yeah. Like I don't want to, break this like tight community thing. And he said, but I know when I've tried to hire on my own and we've put ads out, we have never had the interest like we have had since your ad went out. So he's like, I know we didn't follow your process, but I know this is still because of what you guys did.

31:39And I'm okay with that, right? Like there's flexibility in what we do. We don't want too much of that. No. Because the process is there for a reason, just like they have processes in the shop. Absolutely. Exactly. Because you don't want to just trust what everybody says because what I can imagine from where Christians told me that techs going through the process can start to show their true colors.

31:57Oh, Lord. Like, some of this stuff, I swear, Sarah and I need to do a blog because I have gotten some wild answers from questions. I mean, I still— my very first wild answer, and probably my favorite, was, you know, as we're going through the questions just in the preliminary interview, this is like the who are you? Let me get to know you a little bit.

32:21Like, can we have a conversation? And, you know, after talking about do they have any ASE certs and, you know, like training and all that stuff, I'm like, we have a question. What area would you like more training in? And we're already talking about your skills and your work. And the guy was quiet for a minute and he goes, well, I don't like to fly, so if it could be near my house That'd be great.

32:46And in an effort to not make this person feel wrong or feel like a silly goose because they just answered out of left field, I was like, okay, yeah, I get that flying can be hectic. Okay, so what kind of subject matter do you feel you could use or want, you know, some additional training in? And he was like, ah, well, I'd have to say all of it.

33:08All of it. All right. Just give me training. What's at the top of the list? But that tells us that this is somebody just hungry to learn whatever. Whatever they wanna be taught. But then have you ever had someone say, "I'm a damn trainer and I know everything." Oh, absolutely. "I'm certified too." "And who are you, young lady, to be asking questions about cars?"

33:28"You get your butt in the kitchen, you cook." I have a little pad that I keep on my desk and I tick mark honeys, sweeties, darlings, and babes. And depending on how many you get, that's like a little negative mark on your application. I mean, I would never keep it from moving to the next level for that, But you, I got my eye on you, fucker.

33:50But come on now. Yeah. It is, it is 2026. The only one you should be calling honey is Winnie the Pooh. Like, that's it. That's it. Or maybe you're honey at home. You're honey at home. Yeah. Yeah. You know, but a, but a person on the phone in that professional, you're interviewing for a job. Yeah. Oh, people swear on interviews all the time.

34:12And, and like technicians, you know, I've been, I've worked in a shop. Right, right. I, I, I understand the language. Like I get it. It. And if you talk to me outside of my, you know, my professional persona, you will find that I also swear. Like, I'm a human, right? Sailor blush. Yeah. And so it's— it doesn't bother me too much. And I didn't really think of it too much until one day I was down in Texas in my dad's office and I was doing an interview and I had it on speakerphone.

34:35And I'm like not thinking anything of it. And he's just like, they said that on an interview? And I was like, oh yeah. I'm like, you know, if it's an advisor, I'm going to think a little bit differently, you know, but I think too, the thing is when we're interviewing, we're not interrogating. We are trying to make that person so comfortable, like we're just having a conversation.

34:54And if that's who they are, I want to know that. Like, I want to know who they are. I want to know what they're going to show up at work like. I don't want them to show up to an interview with the, this is who I think you want me to be. Right. And so we try to really get them at ease, get them comfortable.

35:09We kind of like in the same space of like networking, starting easy, starting low pressure. I know so much about people's dogs and hobbies and things that have nothing to do with whether or not they're gonna get that job. But, and, and this is something that I think is interesting too, is we've, there's a lot of talk about AI coming up and how to use AI and this and that.

35:27And can we use AI for hiring? And there's new rules and regulations being put into place around these things. And I've, I've often thought with the amount of work that we have and we're growing, could we use AI to do this preliminary interview that we do? Like, could we just set it up and and have this questionnaire go out that they fill out and they send to us.

35:46But the thing is about our preliminary interview, it's not the answers that we're really after. It's what's underneath those answers. It's the tone. It's the, you know, when I ask somebody, do you currently have or have you ever had any ASC certifications? I don't care if you have any ASC certifications. I wanna know how you feel about them. Yeah. Well, no, I, I don't really, I've never needed them.

36:07I don't really care to do that. It's just a waste of time. It doesn't mean anything. I don't test well. I've never worked in a shop that required them, but if I worked in a shop that would support me in getting them, I would absolutely love to get them. Wow. That's what, so we're, we're not listening for that. It's not a yes or no.

36:21Yeah. Yes, I have 3 or no, I don't have any. It's, we're trying to get the, and, and that conversation that we have, there's no way AI would pick up the things that we pick up on. No. And there's no way that just having them complete a form would pick up on what we're looking for. And when we do our internal interview, it's not just the answers to the questions.

36:40There's also a whole debrief of things that, aren't in the answers, the unspoken things and what we're looking for. And then does that match with what we know about the shop? And so it's, I don't know how I got onto this tangent. I don't remember what we were talking about. No, we're having fun. We're having a time. I love it. But yeah, so in interviews, it's really, we were talking about people swearing and calling you honey.

37:01Yeah. Because we want to find out who they really are. And I actually shared the story during class yesterday about that interview because sometimes we have to call each other after interviews and just like collect ourselves. And you had one the other day about you. I'll let you share it. But yeah, that was The other day, um, for a technician up, up in the Northeast, so you know, like the kind of bravado.

37:21Mhm. And, uh, you know, I start the interview and I ask the first question, like, you know, are you, are you currently working? Honey, just tell me what you want to know, I'll say whatever you want me to say. What? Wait, are you— are we on an interview? Oh, okay, okay. Do you currently have a job? Wait, what, what? I'm like, I thought I was being punked.

37:44Okay, honestly. Okay, so then he tells me, and then we're, you know, we go into other things. I ask him the ASE question. He's like, you know, I mean, tell me, what do you want to hear? Do you want to hear that I have them? Because I can say I have them. Uh, do you have them? Like, do you— like, I was so off-put, like, and it's If you know me, it's kind of hard.

38:09It's a little hard to like shut me up. Yeah, it's a little hard to leave me with nothing to say. And I'm just like, uh, um, maybe, do you— is this thing on? Like, you know. And he was just so gruff and so Northeast. And then he goes— I, I said to him, I said, um, if I met your best friend, what would they tell me they like the best about you?

38:33And he goes, 'Ah, are you running one of those crybaby shit shows? Because I'm not gonna have any part of that.' Oh, okay, big dog. And I was just like, I'm already typing in our— we have a text group that's just information for the blog, which is like, this shit's been crazy. And I'm already typing, I'm like, uh, I don't even know what else to say to you.

39:00Like, I would just crybaby shit show because I asked him what his best friend would like about him. Yeah, so he assumes we're some touchy-feely, all the feelings, and you know, so I'm like, you're trying to make sure you're not gonna throw a wrench at somebody when you get to work though, right? Yeah. And I'm like, I'm gonna be professional and I'm gonna try and finish this.

39:18And I was like, all right, so on a scale of 1 to 10— and before I could even get it out, he goes, what? I was like, yeah, I was like, how do you— the same people saying the industry is terrible and shop owners don't pay. There's a shortage of jobs. There's no jobs. There's no techs. He might have been an amazing tech, but dude, nobody want to work with your ass.

39:38He probably was, but for God's sakes, be a human being for 5 minutes so I can know. He could have tricked you just a little bit. He ain't even trying. I mean, if he's living in the Northeast, he's going to go work in the shop in the Northeast. So his personality might fit in just fine there. But if I can't find out anything about you, to put you through to that next step.

39:59Like, I don't think it's just the Northeast people. Crazy everywhere. Oh yeah, West Coast crazy. Yeah, it's just different brands of crazy. He was full-on Northeast Staten Island crazy. Yeah, like, you know, but then you have those ones that are just like, you don't even want to get off the phone, you're having such a good time, and then you want to like go work.

40:19Like Stewart, like, I'm like, I want to work with Stuart. Like, you know, it's just— and talk about what we were talking before about feeling intimidated, or you like, you don't belong, or you're afraid to step into a room. The first time I met Tanika, I was intimidated. I was afraid to go talk to her. I had never met her before. And so weird, right?

40:37That sounds so flipping weird, right? And Craig O'Neill was standing next to you, and I know Craig pretty well, so like, I took that as my comfort zone to go up and talk to you because you had given the speech that was just phenomenal, and I had never heard a speaker in our industry talk about things in the way that you did and coming into the industry and what it was like and walking into a room full of Bobs.

40:57And, you know, just like, I love all my Bobs. Your delivery was so good. And I had been on this journey through Toastmasters learning to speak better and all these things. And I was just like, I have to tell her how amazing this speech was. And so I was like, I was nervous. And so I'm terrified to go up and talk to her.

41:15And so then we get to know each other. We become friends through going to events. Events and stuff. And so then when Tanika finally reached out and is like, okay, I need you to help me hire somebody, I was like, oh God, I'm like, this, this is not just a client, this is a friend. This is, this is the Super Bowl of hiring.

41:28This is somebody who's well known in the industry now, who has social media presence. Let me tell you, that damn ain't me. I would not hire them. She was scared that was gonna happen. No, but I was like, just like, we can't mess this up. Like, I can't send you somebody that's not amazing. And I even told the team that. I was like, look, this is for Tanika's shop, whoever.

41:49And I mean, every client, we want to, we want to knock it out of the park. But I was just like, the, the pressure was so on in that moment. And so, yeah. And, but also, and we're kind of finding this a lot more now in shops where we're looking for an advisor who is not just coming in to replace an advisor.

42:05They're coming in to help the shop owner get out of the counter. We're building to get. And so that's kind of been a cool experience for us to learn what we're looking for in that role versus just somebody who's coming in and working alongside another advisor. It's a little bit different, right? Or create, you know, somebody who's willing to create systems that don't exist or somebody that is willing to be coachable but also bring ideas.

42:27Yes. And that's so important to us. And so, yeah, when I did Stewart's preliminary interview and I think Paul did his second and we just adored him. And so, yeah, it was just— He is tried and true. Yeah, yeah, he's a really good faker or just godsend. It's also finding those people that have the capacity to own things. Mm-hmm. Yes. You know, because it's one thing to have somebody that they feel stable, you feel supported, but to like be able to own it enough to chase you out of the room.

42:57He chases me out of the room. I'm telling you, between him and Haley and now Santana, he's like, OK, boss, it's 3 o'clock. OK, boss. And then the— I don't know if he knows that he does it, but he— kind of debriefs me on the week if I'm not there. It's like, "Oh, you know, we're almost gonna meet this. We didn't have a good week, but we got a lot of stuff lined up."

43:15And I don't ask him that. He just takes ownership. He really takes ownership. He's invested in you because of the way you've invested in him. Like, I just— and that can happen. I think a lot of shop owners, one, sometimes we just don't allow it to happen. But it is happening for me, 'cause someone asked me at Tectonic, they were like, "You're not even in the shop anymore."

43:34I was like, I was like, "They don't need me." Which is good. It feels a little funny, but they're still doing so well. Someone's having those same growing pains. Well, we talk about imposter syndrome. And it's like, why do I not deserve to have the business that I built do the work? Like, okay, are these guys gonna be mad at me that they don't see me every day?

43:58"Oh, she just don't even come up in here no more." Actually, I don't think I don't think so. But I still worry about that. But I know that when I— if I come in at 7:01, I'm just like, "Oh my God, I'm late for work." It's like, "Yo damn shop, why are you feeling like that?" So, it's a whole little thing that I'm having, like, "Oh, you the boss, but I just, you know what?"

44:19No, you're no longer a worker bee. And I have to remind myself, "This is what you asked for." I'm the queen bee. I'm providing for these guys. These guys are great. I'm gonna make sure the shop is clean, they got the equipment they need. I'm handling the big problem if there's any. I'm empowering you. I'm coaching you. I'm leading from a different standpoint.

44:37You built from home. Yeah. Yeah. So I just have to remind myself of that. And a lot of shop owners do have to remind themselves of that, that, yes, it may be time for you to hire somebody and get off the counter. When I answer the phone, if we just happen, I'm there answering the phone. I was like, oh, I can't do that shit no more.

44:52Like, I can't. Oh my God. It was a 5-minute conversation about a $13 inspection. I was like, I was mean. Like, Janita cannot get on the phone. That lady, what do you want? I'm like, okay, I'm going to watch Dateline. I'm out. But I've put in the work and any shop owner that doesn't know, sweetie, honey, boo-boo, what else they call you?

45:15Darling, dumpling, darling, dear, sweetie. If you've done the work, go ahead and— I got a couple toots, yeah. Ew. Yeah, yeah. And I also had an older gentleman say, I don't understand why a skirt's asking me all these questions. I was like, it's not 1940 anymore, sir. You can't call us, sir. I'm wearing pants. Well, maybe he should be wrenching anyway because his back's probably hurting.

45:37Oh, yeah. He didn't want to go there. He was 75 years old looking for a job at a heavy line diesel shop. Somebody made bad decisions. Oh, yeah. But no, owners, you are allowed to leave the shop when you have done the work and when you have your processes in place and when you're still— I'm still coaching. Got to be coachable. But mine is KPIs.

45:57Making sure everything's working, making sure I can pay my staff the way they deserve to be paid. When you got that stuff in line, then it's time for you to step away from this. Get out of your own way. Because right now, I would probably just tear my whole business up again. I would be giving away stuff because, yeah, I'm paying, you know, pricing out of my own pocket again.

46:16Yep. Yep. And then someone's like, hey, you know, I know your daddy. And I'm like, you know my daddy? Okay, I'll give you 10% off. Like, they don't do that because they're like, mm-mm. Right. No, Mr. Nick said no, we got to get these numbers this way. Because we're not getting in trouble with her. So, leadership is hard, leadership is wonderful, and hiring is the hardest thing in the whole world.

46:34And I have not done a good job at that. And so, I'm so glad that you started your business. Thank you. And that you brought this lovely young toots along. She ain't dumb. I mean, what you're talking about is— Christy's looking at me because we're going through that. And I've heard my dad for years say that, that leadership, being a good leader is about providing the environment and the tools for the work to be done, not doing the work yourself.

46:59And because this is something that I started and built and was so involved in every step along the way as it's grown, I can't do that. And I have to let go. And I have an amazing team, a phenomenal team of people who I trust to really, who have the same passion as I do, who have the same vision, who bring really great ideas.

47:17And it's been cool to be able to step back actually take a vacation this year without my computer. Like, that was a goal I had. Well, I guess that was actually last year, but that was a goal at the beginning of the year. And in August, I finally did it. And, but I have never related more to the shop owner who doesn't want to get out of the bay because I, I love what I do.

47:34And it's important to me to still be involved in interviews, especially because I teach a lot about that too. And, and soon, hopefully, somebody else will be teaching on that. So, um, and yeah, it's, it's been really exciting to watch our team grow. We have a new employee joining joining us this coming week and we're really excited. And she has a technical background and an advisor background.

47:52And that's what's really important to us too, is like we're not hiring recruiters, we're not hiring people who have worked in the hiring space. We're hiring people who've worked in our industry, who understand our industry, who understand the roles that we're putting these people into. And so it's really exciting. But yeah, I've the whole, like listening to you, like you gotta step back.

48:11Like, yeah, I have to let my people do the things that they're really good at. And, and I know what I'm not good at. And like you were talking about following up and I'm not a details person and Chrissy's phenomenal at that. So like just being able to say, okay, you know, somebody gave me their business card yesterday. I passed it over to Chrissy.

48:25Make sure we touch, you know, make sure we touch base with this person and, and having that team of people that just embrace your vision and that really want to, to build with you, not just like, okay, tell me what to do and I'll do it. Right, right. Yeah, right. So it's, it's been amazing. Well, you've also created an incredible space for ideas and for growth.

48:48So you, you know, we have this team of people and we have a Monday morning meeting, and, you know, even with Bill on there, there's, there's no idea that's ever looked at as dumb or wrong or not worth the time, right? Or, you know, there's never been a, a forum inside the company where you feel like you don't have a voice and you can't say, I don't really think that that's the best idea.

49:13Yeah, like, because it's all like everybody's voice matters, which is a really unique thing to have inside of a company, especially a company that's growing really fast. And, you know, sometimes we're like, oh my God, really? How many people? You know, that is so crazy good. Yeah, like, I'm looking— same thing, growth is amazing, but if you just put the right people in the right is that we've grown 24% already this year.

49:36Like, I'm just like, oh, mercy. Do I deserve this? Yes, I do. Yes, you do. Yes, you do too. Thank you. Thank you. And I think that's why we love what we do too so much is that we get to see that. We get to see that we, not only did we get to change Stuart's life by putting him with somebody who is an amazing boss and has a phenomenal shop, but like, he's lift, you know, lightened your burden and created a space and just, I don't like to say we're recruiters, we're matchmakers, right?

50:02It's the connection. It's finding that connection that makes sense. And that's how we knew that Kat was the right person to bring on. Yeah, for sure. Because we talked about, like, Sarah always says that we kiss all the frogs for you. You know? We go on all the bad first dates for you. Okay. And when we were doing her second interview, she's like, well, she's like, if I could just reduce the frog percentage out there.

50:25And I was like, I instantly loved it. We love you, Sarah. You're in. You're in. Absolutely. All right. So they probably already know, but ladies, if someone needs to hire, how do they get in touch with you? You can check out our website, which is autoignitemanagement.com. You can email either one of us, Sarah, sara@autoignitemanagement.com, or Chrissy, chrisi@autoignitemanagement.com. You can, that's really the best way.

50:51I'm like, you could call me, but I'm a millennial, so I won't answer the phone. You'd have to text me first. Same. And I'm old. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for having— Thank you. Well, not having me, but for letting me have you. Thank you for having us. Yes. This was fun. Like, whatever y'all talk about, I don't know. We could probably talk all day.

51:10We got things to talk about. So, I gotta get in the head of Brandon Steckler next. I'm excited about this. Ooh. Oh, boy. Downshift with Tanika is where we slow down long enough to have real conversations hosted by myself, Well, second-generation shop owner Tanika Haynes. This goes beyond your car count, your KPIs. We want to talk about leadership, legacy, mindset, and the messy, beautiful journey of building something that lasts.

51:39You will hear stories from shop owners, technicians, and other industry leaders who are figuring it all out by themselves in real time. This is a space for growth, tough love, Laughter and leveling up.