Your Shop Might Be Driving Customers Away | Jessica Watkins - Ep 23

0:00I literally worked in a shop that was still using paper tickets. I had to transfer— There's one across the street from me, like hilarious. The same information 7 different times from onboarding a customer to checking them out. It was such a waste of time. The shop didn't want to invest in any shop management software. Having people who will stick their head up out of the sand and say, oh, is there a better option?

0:23Those are the really people that are going to take over. Those are the people that are going to take and continue to make the industry better. Welcome to Downshift with my sis Taneka Haynes. We all know as shop owners, sometimes you got to slow down in order to speed up. And that's what this podcast is all about. It's time to downshift. I don't like summer, so I'm good with that.

0:51Like, I don't like either one. No. Well, I like cold. You can get cold and warm up, like bundle up. But summertime, you get hot. You can't get butt so naked without going to jail. Exactly. Yeah. So maybe they would let 23, 24-year-old me walk around damn near naked, but not this version. So I would be locked up. Lies. Trying to cool off.

1:18And then with all of the perimenopause, I'm dying. So Jessica, you don't know Ash. Ash, this is Jessica. Hi Jessica, nice to meet you. She has come such a long way. Actually, you two probably would get along, I do believe. So I met Jessica first when she worked for Rim Guard. She worked for a rim shop and we would sublet stuff to them, and then she moved it on up and started working for Auto Shop Solutions.

1:51So tell everybody who you are. Me or Ash? You. Everybody knows who Ash is. Don't tell her. Sorry. Sorry. So I'm Jessica Watkins. I got started in the automotive industry in 2016, so 10 years exactly as of February, which is nice. I came from a marketing background. My dad had a marketing agency that I kind of grew up in, so I'm used to small business.

2:20I'm used to like rolling your sleeves up. My dad was a, if you got time to lean, you got time to clean kind of dad. So there's always something to do. If you don't have any work to do, he'll find you something. So, um, I definitely learned growing up in a small business that there's always something to do and you shouldn't just be standing around.

2:38That just means there's opportunity for you to grow in the business in a different direction. Um, if you've maxed out what your current role is. Well, I maxed out my current role. With my dad's business. And I was like, I really want to do something fun. Cars are fun. I just really want to try cars. So I went to multiple different service-oriented jobs, client-facing, never could get into the automotive industry.

3:04Finally got in at RimGuard and I thoroughly loved it. It was so weird because I knew nothing about vehicles. I knew how to drive them and I could put gas in them. I could change a tire and that is it. That is the extent of my abilities. And that was what was required to get me a driver's license according to my father.

3:22So anything else was just beyond my realm of understanding. But when I got to RimGuard, I was like, hey guys, tell me everything. I want to know everything. I want to be able to do this as good as you. Like, I want to be the best at what we do. So when I started that shop, my boss was like, hey, I'll give you $100 cash if you can get us to $100 grand in a month.

3:43We've only done it once. And I was like, okay, where, where are you now? He said, oh, we're at $81,000 or $84,000, something like that. So I started February 28th, so one day in February, and we closed the month out in the 80s. Um, so the next month I got $100,005 as our total revenue for the month. You did it! I'm so proud.

4:10I did it. I barely made it, but I did it. And, um, they were like, well, some of this is on, um, uh, payments. There are payments that haven't been processed yet, so it doesn't count. And I was like, my first role in the job, my first month in the job, and I was able to hit these numbers? Okay, if you don't like it, I don't have to stay.

4:33So they quickly gave me the $100, and I never let it slip under $100 grand a month. For the rest of my time there. And I was there for 3 years. By the time I left, we were averaging a little over $240,000 a month. Um, so I've more than tripled their business and I helped them build a new facility, um, that was much bigger, much nicer than the one that we were at.

4:55And I did all of that with only adding a couple of like helper technicians. I didn't add any A players or, or B players, honestly, which is pretty And then from there, I went to the tire store. I went to Oak City Tire, was there for a few months during COVID And then I went to a diesel mechanic shop, was there for a few months during COVID And I loved both of them.

5:18They taught me a lot. And then I found Auto Shop Solutions where I could have air conditioning, which was very important to me because I'm very fluffy and I need air conditioning. Working at RimGuard, that was the one thing I can honestly say I hated the entire time was there was no air conditioning.. So my office would get to be about 120, 130 degrees in the summertime, and it was awful.

5:41So I wanted something with a bathroom because they didn't have a bathroom for ladies, and they also did not have air conditioning. And I'm like, I have got to get something with both. So I walked into Auto Shop Solutions and Margaret was showing me around and she goes, yeah, here's a bathroom and here's a bathroom, and if you get cold you can turn the air up or down.

5:58I was like, you have multiple Everywhere. She's like, yes ma'am. I was like, oh my God, this is brand new information. And you have air conditioning? It's a little bit. Oh my gosh, where are you from that you didn't know? I mean, it's 2020-something and shops don't have clean bathrooms for women or people, period. Nobody wants to be in a daggone dirty bathroom.

6:26Exactly. Who doesn't have AC in North Carolina? Come on. Exactly. Especially at a powder coating shop where we had an oven running 24/7. Oh no. You're stronger than me. Ain't no way. Nope. I'm a Madonna when it comes to, or princess when it comes to air conditioning. I need my AC. But no, as you get, right now I am less fluffy than I have been.

6:52So now I'm cold all the time. I'm freezing all the time. So I sleep with a heated blanket. And that is my new best friend. Like, I get home from work and I plug that bad boy up and I push the button and I turn it on damn near iron. And I get it. I should have the smoothest skin because I sleep in the iron every night.

7:12That's what it is. That's too funny. I'm not having that damn wrinkle. Yep. I, I literally set my thermostat to morgue. That's what it sat on all year long. It's cold in the house. I like it because it seems like it's cleaner, right? It's cold in the house, but that is a weird thing. It does feel cleaner. It feels cleaner when the house is cold.

7:32It's like hospital clean, you know, you go into the hospital, there's a little humid in the air. That has nothing to do with Downshift with Tanika and nothing to do with the automotive industry and us being better humans. We're talking about crazy, which is crazy. So I remember when you called me from over there, so tickled. I was like, oh, look at her, baby, she's grown up, she's growed up.

7:54And now you like run the whole show? Not quite, but I do like to have fun over there. Yeah. I actually just moved from Auto Shop Solutions to Velo, which is the parent company of Auto Shop Solutions, and I'm handling client success there. But it was really funny because the first, I guess, week or two, they were like, hey, you've worked in the shops in North Carolina.

8:15Which of these shops do you know? Do you already have a relationship? I was like, Danika's mine! She's mine! Real quick, I was like, I don't care who has this account, it's mine now. And the funny thing is, like, as you grew, as you've been growing, like, I get different people, I'm like, I'm still gonna call Jessica. I know you're my person, but I'm gonna courtesy copy her on this email for the rest of her life because I want to let you know, don't play with me.

8:41But no, everybody's been great. But I do, I do secretly like CC Jessica just in case. Just in case somebody's tripping over there. But that just tells you how great you are. I appreciate everything that you do. So emails from you in my inbox, my whole day is just instantly better. So you send them anytime you want. Yeah. So like, we are 3 women in the automotive industry.

9:06Ash, Ash, you want to tell Jessica who you are, what you do? I guess since everybody else— no, I don't think Jessica knows you just yet because she's a busy lady. Yeah, I grew up in the industry. It's all that I really know, other than a short hiatus where I thought that I would try something stable and not blue collar. And so I've always been like business obsessed.

9:28So like exiting high school and starting college, I was in business management and accounting. And 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.

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10:42At a car dealership. So I was sucked back in whether I liked it or not. And I did it for 6 months. It was the shortest job I've ever had because I realized how much I hated it. And I loved talking to people and I would literally get in trouble for over— like being over my lunch because I was like downstairs talking to the salespeople or the customers, or I would just like see customers standing around.

11:05I'm like, hi, have you been helped? Just like, I cannot help it. It's just in me. And my love for cars too, just like I just wasn't enjoying it. Doing accounting was terrible and I was doing titles and all kinds of stuff. So I got back into service. This is a little over 10 years ago and I just never left until recently.

11:26I stepped out of a shop in 2024 to build remote estimating as a service now for shops. So now I have Golden Hour Garage. It's my company that we have an amazing team that are all former service advisors that all work remote now, and they help shops with estimates, warranty calls, fleet. And then I am slowly working myself out of workflow eventually, hopefully, to start training shops and helping them learn how to operate more efficiently.

11:56So that, and that's what I love. I love fixing problems. I love cars. I love working on cars. I don't as much anymore, or I love working on them. I don't do it as much anymore. I probably haven't touched I haven't picked up a wrench in probably over a year, maybe a little over. I know it's actually really sad. I miss it a lot, but there's just no time for it right now.

12:18So I'll get back to it when I can. You'll get back to it. Yeah. And I'm so excited for the next projects or whatever I take on. But, and I love racing, so anything motorsports, drift is my life, but anything that involves racing is all me. So we are 3 super cool women, and I love dealing with super cool women, especially young ladies.

12:47I think you guys are like 2 years old, let me tell it. And so it makes me so happy when I get to see young people in the industry doing things. And you did— I think we have to figure out a way to tell more super cool young ladies that they could do it. Like, you're not actually turning a wrench, Jessica. You're in the industry, but you're making a huge difference.

13:07Um, same thing for you, Ash. You're not actually turning the wrench. How do we get these young ladies to know that, hey, you might love working on a car? Like, actually, like, working on a car, you like drifting, you like doing this, you don't necessarily have to turn a wrench because all girls don't want to do that, but they want to be a part of the party.

13:22Or like, how do we convince parents that it's fine that your daughter can be in the industry? She It doesn't mean anything. Like, it's, it's worth it. It's fun. Yeah, there's a space for us here, right? Or they want to turn wrenches, but everyone tells them you're not supposed to, that that's not what girls do. That was— I think that was for me.

13:42Anything is that you were told that's not what girls do. Yeah, I mean, my dad didn't. He, he raised me as a boy pretty much. I did all the boy things, um, but it was getting into the— when I got into the industry professionally, that Why don't you try sales? Why don't you try the counter? Go sell this. And I did it.

14:00I'm great at it. I love it. But, you know, Tanika, you know more of my background that like I loved working. I love solving problems. That's why I went to tech school and I was like, no, I'm going to be a certified technician. Like, that was my goal and I did it. And then I enjoyed working in the back of the shop.

14:15But then I got to the point where I realized, like what you're saying is I don't have to be in the shop working on cars to still enjoy this. My skills are better used at the counter or dealing with people or now helping other shops do that better. So yeah, we definitely need to be more inviting and welcoming. Yeah, more inviting and inviting and welcoming.

14:39But as far as what you do on the other side, you're like helping shop owners in a different way, Jessica. So you're not with Auto Shop Solutions anymore, but you would Velo, and they're under that that umbrella, correct? What do you do for day-to-day? So right now I'm doing enterprise client success. So basically the same thing I've always done in every role, which is make sure to love on my customers as much as possible and be their trusted friend and advisor on what they need to help grow their business or help be successful in whatever that means to them.

15:11So I'm leveraging different products that are from Velo, um, and even outside of Velo, and I'm saying, hey, you know, this is your issue that you have, let's solve it together, let's see how we can integrate together to make your life easier and your shop run more smoothly. Because the last thing I want to do is be like, hey, just because I'm with Velo, you need to use this product so that it'll work, because it works for everybody, it'll definitely work for you.

15:34And that's not necessarily the case. It needs to be effective for each shop. But I also agree that this industry is not super female-friendly. It's gotten a lot better over the last 10 years, I will say that. But I think also letting women know that if you like helping people and you like learning things, you don't necessarily have to go turn the wrench.

15:55Like, my only driving force in life is to help others. So I'm very similar to you, Ash. I want to help people. I want to make people's day better. And I know for a fact, if I go to a car dealership and I've done this twice now where I bought a brand new car and they took advantage of me or they tried to because they thought that I was easy prey.

16:15And I just want to break down those silos because that's not how it always is. And the more you can understand and take up for yourself, the more empowered you feel and the more control you have over the safety of your vehicle and just the, the ability to go in and say with confidence, oh, I understand what this is. And if I don't, I can ask a question because that's something that I don't think we could always do.

16:39But nowadays, if I were to go to any shop, I could go in there and ask a question and people would actually answer me, whereas back in the day that wasn't always the case. So giving it a shot now is nice. Well, you know what, probably a lot more shops are still like that, more than we think. From what I understand, the shops that we know and love in our network of people that we've met over the years through different, um, trainings and organizations, we're different.

17:07We're built different. We're the top Some people say 10, some people say 1, but we're the top. Like you said, you were working in the shop without a clean bathroom. That seems like so, like, why? Like, it's not 1985. Like, really? This is what we're doing? A shop with no AC. And, you know, sometimes that doesn't make any sense to have AC, but just the little things.

17:28People still have not stepped their game up to understand that, you know, your audience is the mom with the minivan, and all of them don't have to go home and ask their husband. You should have a facility that is friendly to everyone that walks in the door, no matter the sex or the age or whatever or anything. So, what you're doing with Auto Shop Solutions and being there and being a woman in the industry, that's a big deal.

17:54I just want to let you know that. I think it's a big deal. Yeah, I tell my customers and you've heard me talk to people, I'll tell them like it is because that's how things should be. It shouldn't have to be scared to speak your mind. But I would have customers call me and be like, oh yeah, well, we don't do that.

18:11I'm like, why not? Raise the bar. If you recognize that there is an opening or a way to make this industry better, your shop better, your customers happier, why aren't you doing it? Why are you scared? Because you'll be the, the reason people are happy. Just do— you'll be the outlier. You'll stand out. And that's what we want to do, right? That's part of marketing.

18:31Exactly. Nobody wants to go to the cookie cutter shop with the, the dirty tech and the mean guy throwing wrenches in the back and the terrible music going on in the back. Well, my music in the back is bad too, but you know, all the stereotypes, right, that the world has about shops and technicians and shop owners. Why would you want to continue to be that?

18:51Exactly. The change. I literally worked in a shop that was still using paper tickets. I had to transfer one across the street from me, like not across the street, right around the corner from my house. It's hilarious. Yeah, wild. I literally had to do the same stuff, um, the same information 7 different times to— from onboarding a customer to checking them out, 7 times per customer.

19:18It was such a waste of time, but the shop didn't want to invest in any shop management software. So having people who will stick their head up out of the sand and say, oh, is there a better option? What can I do to streamline? That's where the really people that are gonna take over. And those are the people that are going to take and continue to make the industry better.

19:40Because one thing that we say is we got to make it better, we got to make it better. But how do we reach these people, the 90% that are still writing the paper tickets? That are still charging too little for their services. How do you think we could reach these people? Or can we, can we, Ash? You think we can bring them along?

19:59Yeah, I think it just gets to a point when they realize they have tried everything on their own and they finally look for help. So by doing this, having these conversations, putting content out there, being friendly on the Facebook groups. No, don't know how to do that. I know it's like, we're not supposed to say, you know, be nice, right? But no, but honestly, like, that's, that's where I'm like, there's shops that are struggling, people that don't want to ask for help.

20:27So if we're mean to each other on the Facebook groups and we get on here and we only talk about how bad other shops are, why would they ever ask for help? That's true. So you're like, VLO is now the grocery store for the automotive industry. I can come into the store and I can shop all the things. Are y'all just gonna buy up everybody?

20:48Is that the plan? World domination? Our goal is to be the number one provider of choice for automotive software. So anything you need to run your shop effectively. And we also have the best customer service, which you know this. I do. I'm not gonna let you have a bad day with my software. Mm-mm. Tanika, I'm curious for you to share like what your shop uses AutoShop for.

21:12Because I know you, you use a different SMS, but Auto Shop Solutions is the company that she worked for prior to Velo. So they are website and marketing, they're my website developers. So that's it. I've been using them for a very long time. I wish I knew, um, it was over 20— it is over 20 years that they start developing my website.

21:37So yeah. Auto Shop Solutions for website. I'm not sure what else they do. So Auto Shop Solutions, we do websites, uh, Google Ads, Facebook marketing. Um, although I don't think anyone beats you on Facebook marketing. Well, I do my own Facebook marketing because I'm a clown and I want to be seen. I use you as examples to people. I'm like, this should be— I think you're better with that.

22:02Well, people have to do it. Marketing's so important. But your dad is into marketing as well. So you kind of grew up in that. I don't think people understand how serious marketing is and actually how simple it is. Like, it is if you spend the time to actually understand it. It's very simple. It's what would you do to figure out what you need?

22:24You would Google it, you would ask a friend, you would, you know, depending on how old you are, go to the Yellow Pages, right? Like, you're gonna go find the answer you need. So you need to be visible in those areas where someone would look, which typically now is Google or, you know, AI chatbots looking for the, the resolution. Like, hey, my car is making a weird noise.

22:47Well, that's like going to WebMD and saying, oh my God, I cut my finger and suddenly I'm dying of, of cancer or something that's completely unrelated. Like, you can't diagnose— you want to cut that off? Yeah, don't diagnose yourself. But people don't— I don't think people understand marketing. Right, and that is sad. Yeah, I'm not a marketing person. I, I am your target to market.

23:07I am a sucker for good marketing, but I do not know how to market. Well, at least you know that. Some people don't know that they don't know that, that it's actually needed. Like people that don't claim a Google profile. It's like, dude, it's free. Just claim your page. Put a picture on it. Put a dog on it, a cat or something.

23:28Right, buy from people that they know, trust, and blah blah blah, that whole thing. It is true. Just put your face out there. And with marketing, for me, like my Facebook page, before when Santana was still playing football, if I didn't update every week about the game or whatever he had going on in football, I would get emails from customers like, hey, what happened with the game?

23:49Like, oh, you're really paying attention to that? Because even if they don't like it They're watching. Yeah, so like now with the Lipstick Reports and then with the podcast, because we've got a couple episodes released, just because they don't like it, you can still see how many times it's been viewed. And I think that's crazy, like 2.5 bazillion views and 3 likes.

24:11So people are nosy. So marketing is to get the nosy people to come be nosy. Exactly. Yeah, is that, is that the technical term? Marketing is for nosy people. That's exactly what I learned when I went to school for marketing. Yeah, that's what they said. It was the whole book. Make the nosy people happy, give them something to look at. See, this is what I learned every day with Tanika.

24:33I don't need to pay for school, I just need to ask Tanika the question. Got you, I got you. So Jessica, tell— you got married on Halloween. I did, yep. You are a Halloween nut. I am. Why? Is this forever and ever, or is this a new thing to you? Oh no, ever since I was a child, it's been my favorite holiday since I was like— I think that's so cool.

24:56If we see her, she's gonna have some Halloween type thing going on. But I thought the fact that you got married on Halloween was amazing. And then my wallpaper— I don't know if you can see my wallpaper, but it's skulls and roses. But yeah, is it? Yep, I can see it. You've got a— is that a black cat or an owl? That's an owl.

25:14And then this is Audrey from The Little Shop of Horrors. Seymour! Feed me Seymour! Oh, that's so cool! I also have my little owl in the corner, my little spooky owl. But yeah, I like— you're one of those people that have the 8-foot skeleton. Do you have those? I have a Predator of the Night, which is very similar. It's got a 12-foot wingspan.

25:37Um, But the last one, Storm, just broke his knees, so I got to put him back together. But yeah, I have animatronics everywhere when it's Halloween. I consider Halloween July 5th through until the day before Thanksgiving because there's no other holidays you decorate for between them except Halloween. So that's so funny. I probably have animatronics that I put up. Yeah, I mean, your poor husband, he probably loves it too though.

26:06That's crazy. He doesn't want me to take it down. That's the funny part. Well, he doesn't want you to take it down, or he just like doesn't want the job of taking it down? He doesn't want me to take it down. He loves it. He's like, keep it up. It's like my Christmas tree, you know. We could have still have— we could have like a St.

26:21Patrick's Day tree right now. I had a Christmas tree in the shop up for the last couple years. Every day I would just redecorate it, but this year I took it down. Oh, I just decorated it every year. That's my shop tree. It was fun. Customers enjoyed it. Some people didn't like it, like, why you see on your tree, or why you got your tree up now?

26:43All right, ladies, so let's talk about how do we encourage— we talked about getting women into the industry. What do you think shop owners can do to bring them in? Like, how do you make the shop more inviting for the ladies to come to the front desk and to be a technician in the shop? Or is that even a thing? Should we, should we even worry about that?

27:10Oh, definitely worry about it because curb appeal is everything, right? Like, you're not going to stop at some place that you don't feel safe, and that goes for any, not just women, but women more so than anyone else because we're I feel like we've got our head on a swivel a little bit more, but it needs to look nice. It needs to smell nice.

27:29It needs to be, you know, clean and inviting because if it's not, I'm not stopping. Like, literally, I had a really horrifying experience at one of the shops I worked at. It got very violent one day and I was held at gunpoint. And ever since then, I was like, and I'm still to this day, terrified of going to parking lots by myself because I was held at gunpoint.

27:53And so I will not park anyplace that does not have a streetlight directly above my parking space if I'm going in at night or early in the morning. And I was arguing with one of my old coworkers when we would go into the office. Now we're fully remote. He was like, why do you steal my parking spot? I'm like, it's the only one under a parking, you know, like a street lamp and it's directly in front of the door.

28:14So like if something were to happen, I could run really quickly and get to the door. He's like, I don't even think about that. I'm like, of course you don't. Exactly, because you're— you don't have to deal with that. I remember visiting another shop and things like that. My mom taught me things like that. Have your keys ready when you're going to your car, going into your house.

28:30Um, park somewhere that's well lit. Bushes that are overgrown. Like, you have to think as a woman, or just as a person, not just a woman. Fools will find a way. Uh, people think criminals are dumb. They are not dumb. They're waiting for us to be looking at our phone not paying attention and watching our habits. And this is how they pounce and get you.

28:49But shop owners don't think that way, and that also is a part of marking. Yep. Yeah, my night drop box. I don't know if it's a general statement, but I feel like women, we tend to be more aware of our surroundings for that, because of that. And that almost is why when there is a woman in the shop, the shop tends to operate better because we're more aware of those things.

29:13And it's like, yeah, like to your point, Tanika, majority of, majority of women are the decision makers in households. We, most of us are the financial decision makers as well. So if you don't have a shop that's safe and inviting for women, that is the big, like, that is your customer base. Yeah. And so, yeah, we have to. And I think shops should, should be more inviting and almost should want like, oh, we don't have a woman on our team.

29:43We need to bring a woman in. I think also, like, if I can speak for myself, I don't know about all women. I don't like repetitive problems. So if I go into a business and it has a problem and there's no incentive to change it or like they're not willing to change it and it's like, okay, then I'm not going to waste my time here, right?

30:04Yeah. Um, so that's for a lot of women coming into the industry is they're, they're going to come in and find areas that need to be improved. So I hope you're ready to improve it. Which is good. It's always good. Not even just a woman, but women are going to do it best to have someone else look at your shop from a different angle.

30:21Like, one thing I do in my front office is I'll just go sit down where the customers sit, and then I'll look at the shop. And what I'm looking for is that spider web that's been there that I'm nose blind to, I'm blind to because I'm in it every day. It's just like that. When you stand outside of your shop at the top of the street, what does it look like to the people that are passing by?

30:41You know, the weeds and the bushes that are overgrown and the paint that's chipping, those things are what help people decide if they're coming or not. You know, if the office floor is disgusting, if the bathroom is disgusting, if it stinks, Smells are important. Yes. So women are really, really good at that. But men are too. Well, when you don't have the security in your senses, like touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing, those things, then you can't, you can't get to that trust point.

31:13So if the first thing you do when you walk in a building is it reeks immediately, that's one notch off of your trust belt, right? Yeah. If it's so loud in the back of the shop, you can't even hear the person talking to you. There's no good sound barriers. That's another notch. And it's like, it just— those little things that I don't think people think are as important as they are.

31:32Or if you can't even find a parking space because there's 10 junk cars in the front of the shop. Exactly. Or if you even see those 10 cars that are at the shop. Like, what happened to you, Jessica, is horrific. That is horrific. I had a situation with a customer, um, we had like a— made it a point to have like a valet section where someone could just pull up and walk right into the front door and we would move their car for them because I had a customer that would do it.

31:58It wasn't intentional. We didn't have this in place yet, but she would do it. And I had asked her at one point, I don't remember what the question was, but she explained to me she had been violently attacked one day. I mean, all the things that I don't want to say on a podcast. And it's— it was horrific and it messed her up so much mentally.

32:17When she came to our shop, she said, I have to be able to be right by the door. Actually, it was— there was a time where she went, but the parts delivery person parked right there. And so she left and she came back later and she called me and she's like, hey, I missed my appointment because there was a car in front of the door, so I couldn't stop.

32:33And so it's just like being aware of those things, like making things more accessible. And you don't have to know everybody's situation. Like, no one is going to know, Jessica, that that's why you like to park under where the light is. But being aware that, okay, we need to have a well-lit parking lot, we need to make sure it's accessible for somebody to be able to park close to the curb.

32:51For whether they're handicapped or not handicapped. Um, yeah, all those things are so important. I— it really bugs me that you've worked in shops that don't have air conditioning and clean bathrooms. Well, the air conditioning is expensive, and I can understand that all shops can't afford that yet. In the office or the shop? Oh, in the— you— whoa, you didn't have AC enough?

33:13If there's no AC in the office, we had a window. But the window unit was in the waiting room, and there was a wall between the waiting room and my office. That's just poor ownership. Yeah, if you can't work comfortably, how do I expect you to take care of the customers? Exactly. No. Oh, I was just thinking in the shop, but an office with no AC?

33:37No, and the technicians need to be able to come in and cool down. No, I would not have that. Of course. I'm so sorry you went through that. It's okay. It was a learning experience. Um, one thing that I think a lot of people don't think about that I've noticed probably more so from my seat in the industry is the age of the shop owners.

33:58The vast majority of shop owners that I've worked with have been well over 55, 60 years old. And it's not saying that all shop owners are, but they're getting closer to retirement. So they also have the, if it ain't broke, don't fix it mentality a lot of times, because they're like, I just need to get another 3 years out of this shop and then I can retire, or I'll sell it and it'll be somebody else's problem.

34:24So I think a lot of the mentality is, oh, this was fine back in the '80s, '90s, early 2000s. It's still fine for just the next couple of years, but then it's also separating them from their client base where pushing that envelope just a little bit further over to the edge because they're just not keeping up with the times. Um, but what I always encouraged my shop owners to do is I'd say, hey, depending on where you are in your life and who's available to you, either ask your mama to come to your shop or ask your daughter to come to your shop.

34:57And if she doesn't feel comfortable going to the bathroom, if she doesn't feel comfortable parking her car, if she doesn't feel comfortable any capacity She'll tell you and pull you aside and not make it embarrassing unless, you know, of course you're my mother. No, I'm just kidding. Um, well, pull them up and have them do the service and don't tell your team that it's your mom or your daughter or whoever.

35:19Find that trusted woman in your life, have her come in and do an actual vehicle appointment and let her tell you all of the things that are working and are not working so that you can fix them. That's a good idea. That's a really good idea. To get a second opinion from someone that you already know and love and trust. So yeah, that is a great idea, but you got to get them to do it because everybody thinks their shop is the bee's knees and it's not.

35:45Oh yeah, I had a— we always have work to do, guys, always have work to do. One of my favorite shop owners is in Raleigh. I love him to death. I've worked with him forever. And Tanika knows this, if I can possibly take my vehicle to one of the shops that I've worked with before, I want to do it. Like, I almost turned around the day I went to your shop to have you take a look at my vehicle, but you guys were closing for lunch and I wasn't willing to make you stay for— through your lunch break for me.

36:12But I went to downtown Raleigh, get my car worked on just for an oil change, just to kind of see what it was like and see what he was talking about. And sure enough, I was ignored for the first 10 minutes that I was there. There was no one in the office. Nobody greeted me. I literally walked into the shop and was like, hey, anybody working here?

36:32And finally someone came up and was like, oh, I'll be right up there. And then another 20 minutes goes by. I completely missed my appointment window. And so I was explaining to him, I'm like, hey, you know, the person on the phone when I booked the appointment told me that he didn't want to book my appointment over the phone, that I should just use the internet like everybody else and book it online.

36:52And then I get there and you guys weren't ready for my appointment. You never checked me in. You didn't do the full inspection of my vehicle. And when I went to check out, you overcharged me. You charged me $35 for an oil cap, which to me is ridiculous. So I paid it because I'm not going to be that guy. But also, like, I'm not going to come back to your shop.

37:14And he was like, oh, well, that's embarrassing. It's not bad enough for you to not come back, is it? I was like, you tell me, would you come back to that? Would you feel comfortable? Because I wouldn't. And even though you are reasonably close to my house, I'm not willing to drive out there for that kind of service and pay that kind of money for it.

37:32But you will drive far for excellent service. And that's what people need to pay attention to these things, because if your shop stands out because of excellent service and you've gone above and beyond and the office smells good and it's clean and people look in your eye and they talk and you can actually sit on the chairs, you can find a parking space All of the good— all those little bit of things.

37:55You can be an excellent tech, you can have an excellent technician, you can have the best man in the back, but if you can't get the people in the front door, we can't get him to go to work. So all these little things, starting with marketing— this is a part of your marketing. Like, how are you treating that customer? It's your brand.

38:11Yeah, it's your brand. It's a part of your brand. What, what is on the wall? How old, how old is that plant? Please get the— please, people, listen. Is everybody listening? Listen to Auntie. If you don't get that artificial plant with 3 years worth of dust on the leaves out of the corner of that lobby, I'm coming to find you. If you do not get those old magazines, your old magazines from 1995 Fishing and Wildlife.

38:50If you don't update your furniture and get those folding chairs out of their front lobby— not the folding chairs— I'm coming to get you. This is all a part of your brand. This is all a part of marketing. Walk outside, look at your shop, fix it. I do have to agree, I'm talking about you. The shops that we're talking about, like raising labor rates, and some people say, oh, I can't do that.

39:17We always say, yes, you can. If you have folding chairs, maybe you shouldn't. Maybe you shouldn't. Do not raise your rates. Go to the daggone Facebook Marketplace and find a chair or something. Not the premium one. But no, people don't pay attention. They think that stuff is superficial. Like, I don't have polished floors in my shop, but my shop floors are clean.

39:38I'm gonna keep my shop clean. Because what if you have to take the customer out there? Oh, it's a shop, it should be dirty. It shouldn't. What if you want to go take your customer to the car and show them something? Whether it's a man or a woman, do you want all these old parts just stacked up? The part that you've had over there since 2001 and you're waiting for the car that it might fit on?

39:57Don't do that. Yeah, do it. I like everything you said, Jessica. The one thing I'm stuck on that I'm like, that's a non-negotiable for me If you walk into a business and there's no eye contact or greeting within like 10 minutes, it's a long time. I was going to say like 10 seconds. Yeah. If there's no eye contact or greeting, I mean, as soon as I walk in the door, I will go somewhere else.

40:23That is a non-negotiable. And that's how I train, like with advisors. I've had technicians, but my technicians knew better. If I saw a customer parking their car, I'm ready. I'm standing there waiting. Technicians talking to me the second that customer walks through the door. I— you're not my customer. That's my customer. We can continue this conversation. It's a big pet peeve of mine when I go into a business and the employees are chit-chatting and cutting up and I'm sitting there waiting to be taken care of.

40:51It's a big problem. But it's not hard. Just look up, smile. Tanika, when I walked in your shop, they know who I am. They were probably expecting me, but I still walked in. No, the first thing they weren't expecting me. Well, the first thing that happened is Haley looked up and Jada looked up and they both smiled at me and made eye contact.

41:12One of Haley was on the phone, but she still made it a point to smile and greet me. Yes. It's a, I'll be right with you. Yes. That's all it takes. Yes. That's all it takes. And even if, cause we do cut up at the front desk, cause we're there all day and we gotta like each other or else everybody will get killed.

41:29By each other. I mean, you have to, but if the customer walks in, you're laughing, you're like, hey, Miss Such-and-Such, if you know who it is, or hey, I am sorry, we are so unprofessional, but how are you doing? It turns you into a human. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So just talking to someone, like, like you said, if you're on the phone and you, you know, you're in the middle of the call, just like, I'll be right with you, there's a quick mute button.

41:56Yeah, quick mute button. Hey, I'll be right there. Yep, that's all, that's all. And they understand. Yes, they have seen and heard and all the good stuff. And, um, yeah, that's why we need more women in the industry. I agree. That's not true though. I, I, I'm a woman. That's not true. My father was really big on that, really big on the way things looked, smelled.

42:20Like, he designed the shop. I don't— Jessica, you've been to the shop, the collision center next door. Like, it looks like a hotel lobby in there, and he designed that, and that was in place in 2000 early. We've always had the lobby was on point, everything's on point, because he knew that early on. So men, you can do it too. You don't need a lady, but I think you should go get one to represent.

42:43But you can do it too. You know what nasty is, y'all hear me? Yeah, on the internet, y'all know what nasty is, and don't do it.— and there's, I mean, even the bathrooms in the shop, they shouldn't be dirty. Nope. Just clean up. I literally drive to Maryland once a year to visit one of my clients and I love them to death.

43:04I will love them until I'm dead. And I literally save up any issues for my vehicle and I take it to them and they do it for me. I drive from North Carolina to Maryland for that level of service because it just doesn't exist. In my direct hometown. Now obviously I can drive an hour or so and get to Tanika's shop, but like literally that— the level of service that I've seen at Tanika's shop when I watch people walk in and out of Brown's and I'm like, oh my God, everybody's just having such a great day.

43:34Like the fact that they shine so beautifully at the front desk and their shine rubs off on everybody else. So it just kind of like that candle analogy, like lighting somebody else's flame doesn't dim yours. You guys just make everything so much better because you're just so positive and engaging. And that's how it should be. It should be like that everywhere. And you guys have something very unique and I wish more people could do that.

43:59Thank you. Thank you. I really, I work hard on it and sometimes you think you're so busy that you can't take care of those things. If you don't take care of those little things, you won't be busy. Exactly. I have to admit something, a confession. Oh. We were talking about like, how do we encourage more women in the industry? And I have not been the best at doing this.

44:21My approach has always been, if it's something you really love, go for it, but you have to have thick skin, be prepared for the abuse, because that's what I endured for a long time. And so that's been my advice. So I'm curious from both of you, like, I want to change how I encourage women in the industry. I don't want to paint it as this battlefield that they have to gear up to go into.

44:44But I think it's on us how we encourage, but also on us to be the change in the industry so that it's more welcoming. So how do you guys encourage women? Ooh. So my, I think everybody's road to wherever they're going to get to is different, right? So mine is different and I am very, very blessed. And I hope I tell him enough that my dad, raised me as the most feminist.

45:11I'm very feminine. I'm very— yo, but he raised me hard. Um, he didn't, he didn't raise me scared. He didn't teach me, oh, well, you're a woman and you can't do this. He raised me, oh, you're a woman and you can do this better because y'all pay more attention to stuff. Um, so my, my outlook is different. Um, It is going to be hard.

45:33Everything is hard. Life is hard. Whether you're in the automotive industry, you're going to be a doctor, pharmacist, a teacher, everything is hard. Um, we're not going to use being a woman as excuse. We're going to use being a woman as a power. Absolutely. Okay, so if you walk into a room and you feel like you're being discriminated against, I'm raised to— I will show you better than I can tell you, and I will do it with lipstick on.

46:00Okay, that's my— that's who I am. Now, there's been times that, for example, I tell people, first ASTA, I didn't feel comfortable walking in that room. And there's been some rooms that I've been uncomfortable in, but only because that was the story I was telling myself, that I didn't belong there. Or I told myself I felt uncomfortable. I have thank God, have not been in a situation that another man has been able to make me uncomfortable, whether he tried or not, because I've got clap back like that.

46:35And you can't tell me where the hell I can go. But the only thing that's ever kept me from going any place or going into any room or any situation was my mindset. So as long as your mindset is strong and you've been raised strong like that— so I think that I have a That's my blessing. That's what I— that's my gift from my family, that I've been— I was raised as a warrior princess.

46:58So my encouraging, when I talk to you, when I'm talking to Ash, she knows, and I'm like, yeah, I don't care, there's no crying in automotive. Like, come, come on here, boo-boo, that's your experience. Let's do it. Cars— feelings don't fix cars. That's— that negative industry is not going to get you where you want to go. Let's go, let's go, let's go.

47:18Now I'm not telling that you— we're not going to cry about it. I'm not going to tell you it's not going to be comfortable. It's going to be uncomfortable at times, but had less moments. You can have your boohoo moments, but fix your mascara, fix your lipstick and your lip gloss, and let's go do something about it. We're gonna put— tighten up our bra, all right?

47:37And we're gonna go do something about it. So I— my thing would be to be— I want to build a strong woman, a strong girl, if she's not strong enough yet.. And yeah, but I wouldn't say, oh, it's going to be hard. And you know, it's mean. It's not, it's not. I think it also depends on where they're starting and what their goals are, because like Tanika's point, I don't turn wrenches.

48:03That's never been something that I've had a passion to do. I would love to learn, don't get me wrong, but I, I am very mechanically handicapped. I cannot put anything together. You can give me the instructions and a video and like hold my hand and I will still break it. So I'm not mechanically inclined at all, but I am really good at organizing and I'm really good at talking to people.

48:28So just because I don't want to turn wrenches doesn't mean that I can't find a spot in this industry that's perfect for me. And that goes for women everywhere. You can be the office manager, you can be the service advisor. You don't have to go in there sweating your butt off in the shop with no air conditioning like I did. You can literally go and find a job that fits all of your needs.

48:50But just to your point as well, it's not going to be completely comfortable because change is never comfortable. There's always going to be something where you're just like, oh God, this is going to be so embarrassing. Like the first day that I moved tires into the shop, this guy dropped off 4 rims and tires together. And he had put tire shine on it and I didn't notice it.

49:12And I went like this afterwards, walked around the rest of the day with a Hitler 'stache. And the guy didn't tell me a thing. And it wasn't until 4:30 when I was getting ready to go home that I recognized in the rearview mirror of my pickup truck that the 7:30 drop-off had the Hitler 'stache for the entire day and not one person.

49:33Oh no. There will be days that it's uncomfortable, but you also have to do it. Diligence for yourself where you're like, hey, is this an environment that I feel safe? Is this something that will actually listen to me and show me the ropes? Or are they just going to leave me out to dry? Because if you don't recognize those places and the environments that you're putting yourself in, you might be shooting yourself in the foot by starting like the ghetto place that I was where there was, you know, gunpoint.

50:00Yeah. You know, that's a terrible situation. Don't, I don't recommend it. Don't do that. Go somewhere nice that you feel comfortable, you feel safe, and then you can go from there in your career to whatever you want. But don't start at the very bottom of the barrel and work your way up because that's going to set everybody up for failure that way.

50:19That was a good question, Ash, because I want to be more encouraging to women, and I know sometimes I'm hard. Me too. But that's just, I'm just that family member that's going to be that way. And then you're going to have a family member in the industry that's gonna— I don't have another word and it seems like a mean word, but that's going to maybe coddle you because some— you need that at times.

50:38But as for me, it's gonna be, you know, box of kick rocks, you can get in my pocket, what we gonna do? Okay, we cried about that, now what, huh? Is we still— we still crying about that? We cried about that last week. So this is like, yeah, but did you go— yes, I went through that, I went through that, and, um, I made it, nobody died..

50:57And, but that again, that's the way that I was raised. We just have to— I think even to your point, Jessica, where you said like, you don't have to turn wrenches, you don't have to do this, just find what works for you in the industry is playing to people's strengths. Right. Because there's things I'm not strong at. There's things you're not strong at, but somebody else is.

51:20So yeah, you find your superpower and run with it. And then the things that you can't do, You find someone to do it. I mean, same thing with leadership, same thing with me running the shop. And you know what I hate? I hate accounting. It's the dumbest thing in the whole world. Numbers are stupid until they're in my bank account. You know what I did?

51:36I hired an accountant. Hey, I will give you money if you get— take this off my plate. Yeah, but what I do love to do, one thing that I know that I should outsource, I love to clean up. I cannot wait to go into the shop and clean up on Saturday. That is my mental health medicine to go and get the cracks and crevices and clean, and it helps me think.

51:56And so I love to do that still. But if there's something that I don't like to do— again, accounting is the dumbest thing in the whole world. Numbers are stupid. I don't know why they exist. Who made numbers? Let's find them. I'm gonna fight them. I don't like it, and it's okay that I don't like it. But you find your strength. Your super strength is service.

52:16And you guys like fixing stuff and caring for people, take that strength and figure out how to make money from it. Yep. And do it cute. Yep, do it cute. And do it cute. So Ash, you got to tell us one good story, um, automotive industry story. Make it funny. I know you got a good funny industry story. Come on. It's funny, but it's also gross.

52:42Oh God. Actually, it's not funny. I'm just— I messed up in the head. It's not funny. Um, let's lighten it up a little bit. Oh gosh. Uh, come back to me, Jessica. You go first. Okay. So I had this customer one time. Um, he came to me and he goes— he didn't speak English very well. And he's, he's like, bent rims. And I was like, Okay, um, you got bent rim?

53:11Which wheel is bent? And he goes, yes. I was like, okay, well, it takes a lot to bend a rim, so usually there's only one or two that's bent on a vehicle at a time. Typically, this man parked in the wrong parking lot across the street, so I took his keys and I went to pull it up onto a lift because I knew with the, uh, language barrier it was going to be a long time of him trying to tell me which wheel was bent.

53:37So I put it up on the lift and spun the wheels, and all 4 of them were bent, which takes talent. It takes an immense amount of talent to bend 4 rims, and they were steel wheels at that, which don't even bend very often. Like, you have to really try. And I was like, were you going sideways down the railroad tracks? Like, what happened?

54:01And he was like, bent rims. And I was like, okay, it's gonna cost you the same for me to fix them or to replace them. And he's like, fix. And I said, that's dumb, but all right, you only got like— you get them in a junkyard in a minute for a steal wheel. Like, it's nothing. But he didn't want to because it would take me 2 or 3 days to get them in.

54:23And I was like, it's honestly better for you, but you do you. Sure enough, Couple months later, he comes back, all four rims are bent again. Oh my gosh, what? I'm like, I'm sorry, are you going to a job? I have no idea what his job was. He was driving in Raleigh. Did you ever get answers on what caused it? No. His, uh, Link— keep me up at night.

54:48But he— I finally just kept ordering those rims, um, the steel wheels, and kept them on stack. I'm like, because he came that much. He came quarterly with 4 bent rims every time, and it cracked me up because I'm like, this, this is comical. Like, who does this? In what universe is this normal? Hey, he's been the best customer. Yes, 4 Wheels, let's go!

55:11I got it. Come on, Rique, we got you. I gotta tell this. Yeah, go ahead, I got a good one for you. Okay, this is the last one. I won't, I won't tell anymore, but I had this one dude come in and, um, he was like, oh my God, my mother was in— was a, um, a victim of, uh, a hate crime.

55:35She was a victim of a hate crime. I was like, oh my God, does she need help? Like, let me call 911. He goes, no, it's on my car. And I was like, oh goodness, um, let me see what's going on with your car. He's like, someone took sandpaper to my rims. And I was like, that is a very specific hate crime.

55:53That takes a lot of effort. You must have pissed somebody off. Oh my lanta. Who carries the sandpaper with them just for the off chance they could find someone to hate? You know, you know what, don't puncture tires, don't slash tires, sand wheels. Sand wheels. You're really pissed off. Go sand somebody's wheels. Right. That's wild. I walk out there. Yeah, no, his mama just drove all over the curbs.

56:21And so he's like, she was a victim of a hate crime. She said somebody did this to her while she was at the grocery store. I'm like, no, sir, she did this to herself. Your mama knew exactly what she was doing. Mama lied. I've been in the car with people that they, yeah, what curb? Oops. Oh my God. I had a customer come in for an oil change, a waiter, and I barely do waiters.

56:46I do like 2 a day. He has his waiting appointment and it's an oil rotation, DVI. Waiters are going to wait, okay? Haley comes to the back and she's frantic. She's like, Mr. Nika, you need to come up front. This man says he's running out of oxygen and he's mad. So he was mad because it was taking too long and he was running out of oxygen in his oxygen tank.

57:13You know the little thing? He got me on the wrong day. He was furious. And I said, sir, how do you walk out the house without the right amount of oxygen? And he's like, well, this is taking too long and this is not senior friendly and I want my car. And I was like, well, we can't just stop, we have to finish the service.

57:34Like, what, what do you want me to do? Well, I need to be compensated for this. I'm running out of oxygen. And he kept saying he was running out of oxygen. And I say, for somebody that's running out of oxygen, you're doing a lot of talking. And I, and I said, that is your responsibility. I really don't know what to do with this one because he was mean.

58:01You're the only person that can get away with it. It was me. What was I supposed to do with that? You're the only person that I know that can get away with that. I remember I put that on like one of the ASOC Facebook or maybe changing it or whatever, and people were like, you should have hooked him up to the welding tank.

58:19And I was like, I know, right? Like, oh my God, customers are crazy. I don't, I don't have any like wildly funny customers. Well, you better not say anything disgusting. You say that for my Oh, I just— yeah, no, I won't. Most of mine are sad turned like heartwarming. The only funny thing I could think of is y'all, like, I, I'm drift obsessed.

58:41I love drifting. And there was a shop I was— one of the last shops I worked at, um, they had never witnessed it because I was drifting in Arizona and I had moved to Texas, and so they never witnessed it. And it was a Christmas party, and one of our where one of the technicians from another location had his like brand new Mustang, and I was like, hey, can I play with your Mustang?

59:05And he's like, sure, here you go, here's the keys. So I think he was expecting, oh, this girl wants to like, you know, rev it or play with the buttons, honk the horn. Not Ash. So we had this huge parking lot that wrapped around, like it had a whole front section and it drove around to the back. There's a whole field And then— oh, I did.

59:27I did laps drifting his brand new Mustang. I would have whooped your ass. You got out of my car. It was so funny. No, so I, I get done. I did it about 3 or 4 times, and I come and I— when I go to pull up to the garage where everybody's standing, I skrrt, slid up right against the, the garage door, and I parked right there.

59:46And I look over and like 6 grown men are like And the one that owned the Mustang would have been like, you lost your damn mind. No, they, they loved it. They thought it was hilarious. And he actually asked for a ride-along, so he jumped in the car and I did it again. Um, yeah, so if I asked to play with your car, I'm not— I will beat your ass.

1:00:08Just letting you know, you've been warned. It's been documented to show, you know, She scares me so bad with her vehicles. She parked one of her cars directly in front of my big-ass pickup truck. Oh, we're in Greensboro. Yeah, it was not big enough for her to park her car in front of my truck, and I ended up going off the road onto the grass and went up to the next parking lot up to turn around.

1:00:40I remember when I was driving that car. I don't know where I went. I said I'm not even sure why I was driving that car. You were driving it for the, um, uh, Fueling Connections. Oh, Zeb wanted me to pick him up in something crazy. Yeah. Oh yeah, car. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so I was okay. That's what it was, because if you want to be a baller, you got to do baller shit.

1:01:05I was like, I'm gonna take out 6 other vehicles just to avoid I would have fought you. I wouldn't do something I knew would harm anybody's vehicle. So, girl, I'm just letting you know. All right, Jess, we've taken up all your time. So the people that want to connect with you under the umbrella of Velo, how would they find you? Uh, you can give me a call at 984-246-2716, or you can email me at jessica.watkins@velo.com.

1:01:36And you've got all the automotive solutions for all the automotive people. I do, yes ma'am. All right, you need something, go call my girl. She, she'll be good to you, I promise you. Well, that's another episode, ladies. I thank you for taking the time with me, and we will see you on the downshift. Downshift with Tanika is where we slow down long enough to have real conversations, hosted by myself, second generation shop owner, Tanika Haynes.

1:02:04This 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. You 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.