Stop Leaving Money on the Table: How to Master Your Shop Management System [RR 1085]

0:00This is the Automotive Repair Podcast Network. Hi, everybody. Carm Capriato, Remarkable Results Radio. Good to have you here at Vision 2026. There's so much going on here. I hope in the next so many weeks you can hear some of my recollections as to how unbelievable this event has been and, and some of the honors and the awards that were given. We're brought to you here by Napa Tracks.

0:26You know, the more I learn about what NapaTracs is, the more I'm so impressed with the number of people that they have out in the field. If you want to have a piece of software that runs your business that does so much, but maybe you don't know, then NapaTracs is probably the one to get. NapaTracs.com, because they got people in the field.

0:49And when we come back, after giving great homage to our wonderful sponsors. You're going to meet one of those regional guys from Napa Tracks. Take your Napa Auto Care Center to the next level with the Napa Auto Care Gold Certified program. Gold Certified shops, well, they stand out. Build trust and enjoy exclusive benefits designed to drive business growth. Contact your Napa representative today to get started with Gold Certified.

1:19Hey, did you know that NAPA TRACS has on-site training plus 6 days a week support? It all starts when a local representative meets with you to learn about your business and how you run it. After all, it's your shop, so it's your choice. Let us prove to you that TRACS is the single best shop management system in the business. Find NAPA TRACS on the web at napatracs.com.

1:46Okay, so I am here with Evis. Evis, welcome, Evis. Let me apologize right away for my conference voice. What we recorded yesterday was my calm voice, and today is my conference voice because I spent an extra hour at the bar last night that I should have really gone to bed and stopped talking at the highest part of my voice just to talk over people.

2:07It was just so difficult to get your messages through, but that's what happens. And I kept saying to myself, this is gonna hurt. So here I am with conference voice. Look, Evis, let me just say your last name, and I had to learn it because there's so many vowels and consonants in it. And alphabet too. Yeah. Husinovich. Very close. Say it again.

2:25Husinovich. Husinovich. Ah, okay. I'm rewriting my, the phonetic way to say your name. Anyway, no problem. Great to have you here. Regional sales manager for the Central Division of Napa Trax. And by the way, I think there's a really good point to talk about is that you don't have to be a Napa AutoCare to have NAPA Trax. Even a NAPA customer, you don't have to even be a NAPA customer.

2:46And by the way, I got to thank you so much. In the college that I'm an advisor for, NAPA Trax has decided to say we're going to come in and give the school NAPA Trax so that they can learn how to do stuff. It's so important today to talk about that point because that's a very important part. So us as NAPA wanted to really work with the schools and start working with those young kids because we know as a company that the average age of technician is getting older.

3:14And how do we help our shops? How do we help our customers create more technicians out there and give them some? So we have partnered up with all the schools across the nation to give them tracks so they have something to learn, to learn about putting parts on cars, writing estimates, and then also giving them labor guides and repair manuals so they can learn and be ready when they come out of school.

3:34Well, thank you for what you're doing. It's admirable. One of the things that I continue to hear wherever I go and whoever I talk to, because I'm so curious, you know, SMS is a cornerstone of any great professional shop today, how much people don't really realize all the features that their SMSs have. And is that one of the great reasons why NAPA's got people on the street?

3:58Well, one of many reasons, but we still believe in the handshake business, right? So you can't have a handshake business without a person being in front of you. So we still go back to the old days. How was business done? And so be able to help our customers, work with them. So we have guys on the street that manage those territories, manage those markets, and just go and be there with them in the field.

4:20So you said to me before we turned on the mic, Carmine, I'm out there a lot, even though I'm a regional guy. I mean, I don't sit behind a desk. I'm out there. What are you hearing? Well, it depends where you go, right? But that's a great point. It depends on the market. Some customers are busy doing a lot of great stuff.

4:36Some customers have their struggles, but you, when you find the ones with the struggles, there's always a link. I am not ready to increase my labor rate. I'm not ready to change my price matrix. I'm not ready to venture into different tools or different marketing strategies. So those guys kind of try and say, hey, my, hopefully my business grows organically, right? Where the guys that are doing well, they're doing a lot of stuff.

5:01They're marketing well. They are doing newsletters, they're reaching out to their customers, they're part of the communities, and they're actually following the trends of growth in different pricing and rules that they doing in their shop. Do they realize the profitability structure that they could get if they paid attention to the features inside of their SMS system? 100%. So when you're there and you're asking these open-ended questions and you're hearing things, does it give you a chance to say, Have you ever thought of the labor price matrix, the, all of these factorizing features that are there that give the guy his due profit?

5:40And those are very tough conversations because going to an owner that's very proud of his business, how do you tell him you can do better without insulting them? So you have to be very careful with those conversations and you have to be very smart on how you speak about it because A guy could be saying, hey, I do $1 million a year in sales and I take home $60,000 and I don't have a boss and I'm happy, right?

6:03And then you have a guy, I'm doing $2 million, I'm putting $500,000 in profits, I want to make $700,000, right? You have to be very smart how you have those conversations because you do not want to insult anybody in their business. I understand. You're not their coach, you're not their dad, their mom, their partner, and you have to tread carefully. So you can't overstep your bounds.

6:22Correct. With them. But it's something that you almost have to point out to— you say, listen, when you're ready, this can be a great feature for you. I think it's going to be great for your business. We'll come back, we'll show you how it works. Well, and we do point those out. So we always talk about customers and you always ask them, is there something you would like to do more or different in your business?

6:43What do you feel like you have the biggest opportunities in? Right. And a lot of them start talking about technicians or a lot of them start talking about how we should have more cars. And when they say, I wish I had more cars, I said, let's talk about your car counts. So now we can go into numbers because now we're looking at numbers and now you can point things out.

7:00Hey, why is your parts profit this way? So now you asking them, they start telling you where you can now start educating them. And some customers are happy and they're not gonna do anything about it. And some guys really listen about it and say, hey, show me about this. Show me about the parts matrix. Show me about the labor matrix. So that's where you can get the conversation, but you have to get to that conversation.

7:21You can't say, hey, your pricing is not good, or it sucks, if I may say that, and then go into something different. So you have to be very, very smart. I so agree that you're walking on thin ice by trying to tell an owner something that he should do to make his business better. And what right gives you? Wait a minute, I've got all my risk in this business and you're just flying in here telling me I need to do this.

7:47But And probably, you know, a year later he says, you know, Evan, I think you were right. Thank you for pointing that out. 'Cause I never forgot what you said. And I thought about it. I talked to friends in the industry and they're doing this and I'm not. So I love the idea that if they don't quite know all the features, even though you're not telling them what to do, at least you're pointing out all the great, like, job categories and all that stuff.

8:12We did a great episode on with Ben. On job categories. It was just so interesting, and there's a lot of people that aren't using them. A lot of people, because they don't know. The reason they don't know, because, you know, people always ask, you know, I have all these different SMSs out there, why is Track so different? Why is this? Well, differences are we have the people on the ground, but we also want to partner them as a partner, because hopefully in return they buy more and more parts from us, right?

8:39And we help them with their business. But again, sometimes those conversations are easy, but we have built different things to help those customers. Like we have different modules they can take, training, and it's at their self-pacing. So some of the customers say, hey, I don't know, I'm okay with the prices I have. Couple of things we ask them, are you part of a BDG?

9:01So do you talk to other owners? Do you work with other shop owners in your area? Do you guys have a monthly or annual meetings where you discuss business and how you help each other? And then we also point them to our LMS, which is absolutely free. Now they can learn about those different things that we do. So you have to be very, very careful because listen, I mean, you know, I cover a big portion of United States.

9:25How many states? Well, if you start in top Minneapolis and you always get down to South Florida, I mean, everything in between. I just don't have the Upper East. Wait a minute, they call Florida Central? Well, yeah, no, I'm just kind of kidding because it's how they draw the map. It's how the map is drawn, right? So I mean, I kind of follow Big L.

9:43Wow. Down the center of the country. So, I mean, I go to owners that have never had a computer, that we have to buy one for them. They're handwriting. I am sorry. And then I go to owners that have these computers. They're like, look at this, I have, you know, like big room with everything in it and it's like all connected. But again, each of them runs a good business in their mind and none of them like to be told what they want to be done.

10:07So it's, you have to be smart. Again, I want to thank Sherri Hamilton for having us here at Vision in our studio. We've been here for about 8 years. Unused features. And I'm not trying to put you on the spot, but what's out there that people aren't— it goes back to my point. What aren't people using? And oh, I wanted to also butt in and say, he mentions the acronym BDG.

10:28And if you're not Napa, then that's the Business Development Group and LMS. If you're not a training geek or a perpetual student, you would not appreciate what LMS is, and that's the learning management system. I mean, you guys are on fire with that. Yeah. I mean, it's probably one of the biggest tools we have created and our national training director, Ben Dexter, just, just does an amazing job at it and managing it.

10:53So we're putting a lot of efforts toward it because we're trying to have the customers use more of the softwares. But I can tell you this. Any software that's out there, right? I think, uh, you know, a lot of these guys have great softwares, great tools. People use about 10 to 15% of the software, and it's very— okay, you just rocked my— actually, no, you confirmed what I believe, what I see, what I hear, and I am just pissed about hearing that.

11:21And it goes back to, I was a technician, I opened the shop. "Right? I was only showed these things and it works for me, right? So I'm gonna build a ticket—" Up to the level I'm willing to, and then move on. And move on. And then you have guys that use every single step of the software. Everything. And you have guys that use— I have a great customer in Grand Rapids, uses every single thing we have to offer.

11:44And then I have guys that only thing they do is write up a ticket, bill out, and move on. So, I mean, that's— You know, but all softwares have so many phenomenal features that can help you managing money, managing customers, inventory. It's all there. It's just what you want to use. I guess the whole reason that, that this episode, doing this episode with you, is important to me because I want to try to move some shop owners off top dead center that aren't using enough of their software and to stop and realize that it can do so much more.

12:19Make you so much smarter, provide the kind of information that you can use to react to how to grow, build your business, how to look at efficiencies and all that stuff. All the hundreds of KPIs that people look at to make better profit and grow their business. And I'm not telling them to do this, but it's maybe if you're stuck, you have Trax, then get over to the learning management system..

12:46And without committing, I'm gonna do this, just embrace a lesson and say, oh my God, I didn't know that. Put it in the back of your mind. Reach out to your local people and say, I wanna do this. Somebody hold my hand. I don't know if you guys have handholding time. We do. And any of our customers that feel they do not have enough information or would like to learn more, we offer multiple things.

13:12They can reach out to us on Facebook. They can call in, you know, to their local Napa store and say, hey, do you know who my Trex rep is? If they don't know, they can go to Napa Trex website. If they put in their zip code, our website will show who their reps is. Nice. They can pull up, they can get their cell phone number, they can call them, they can schedule a time.

13:30I mean, a lot of our guys do, most of the guys, every couple of weeks, they sit at home on Fridays and they just do support calls, calling customers. Oh, nice. One-on-one conversations, teaching about different stuff. But then any customer can go to Traxx, click the help button, and see Ben live every day. See Ben live every day. I know. 1 o'clock Central Time.

13:50I know. Ben is available, and then the LMS is available 24/7, and it's absolutely free. If you really want to do stuff, you know, if you want to get better with inventory, it's available. If you want to have better profits and laborers, it's available. If you want to have better accounting functions, available. If you want to figure out How to take your business to next steps.

14:09It's all there, but they can always reach out to us. So I mean, that's why you said we are the guys still boots on the ground. That is why we are on the ground because we still believe in the handshake business. 'Cause you don't have a handshake business being somewhere hoping somebody's gonna call you and say, hey, use my software and have a good day.

14:27We're gonna be there with you. So that's the big important part. We wanna help their customers. See Ben live every day. I love that. What a cool little slogan. Is that the name of the— his training? No, it's, no, it just, I came up with it. I wanna fly, but it's, uh, I love that. It's live training. Ben does it every single day for our customers.

14:43He's a great guy. He's been on the show a bunch of times and he's really knowledgeable. The thing I love about Ben is all the years he spent down on the ground before he went up. I mean, yeah, Ben was the shop. He spent at a great shop. I've heard about the shop that he spent time at. Wow. Kensa Auto Repair and Nap Auto Care Center, a gold shop out of Georgia.

15:01Kensa, Georgia. So a great customer of ours as well. And Ben, I know, and Ben knows all about the business. So, but then we had to hire him. Because, you know, he was also one of our biggest complainers, right? So he can show us what we need to do and how we can help our customers, right? I'll shut him up. We'll hire him.

15:17And he's been truly amazing. I mean, he's what makes Traxx different than everybody else. It's the people. I still believe that automotive industry, the parts industry for a long time will be all about the people because you're dealing with people. You have a customer walking in, that has a problem, right? And you are trying to solve their problem and you are going to call people to find those parts and whatever it is to help your customer out.

15:44So I think it all goes back to how this industry was built on— it was on relationships. Yeah. Now that you know what it takes to become a NAPA Gold Autocare Gold Certified shop, let's talk about the real value, what you get when you achieve Gold. This isn't just about status, it's about tangible benefits that grow your business. Gold Certified Shops receive premium placement on NapaOnline.com at no additional cost.

16:13With millions of site visits each year, your shop will be one of the top options consumers see when they search locally. That visibility, it means more cars in your bays. You'll also get $1,500 annually in marketing funds for pre-approved co-branded messaging, helping you connect with your community while benefiting from the national reach of NAPA branding. Combine that with preferential referrals and you've got a powerful marketing advantage.

16:39Gold Certified status enhances consumer confidence with an extended 36-month, 36,000-mile peace of mind warranty and local labor coverage, proving you stand behind your work. You'll also gain access to award-winning NAPA Autotec training for technicians and service advisors, helping improve efficiency, reduce comebacks, and support retention. Additional benefits include NAPA credit card financing rebates, year-round peak performance promotions, NAPA Tracks shop management software, SmartSign Pro customer engagement displays, a team tool rebate to invest in your technician success, and a $300 annual credit toward Master Technician or Blue Seal ASE certification.

17:22Gold Certified Membership is designed to help you recruit, retain, and deliver the best experience to every customer. Are you ready to elevate your shop? Contact your local NAPA representative today to see if you qualify and start your journey to Gold Certified. Contact your local NAPA sales representative today to see if you qualify and start your journey to Gold Certified. Let's face it, your shop management system is the single most important tool in your shop, period.

17:50NAPA Tracks was built from the ground up to make your business more profitable and efficient. We provide an extensive set of tools to increase and track profitability in real time. NapaTrax offers the industry's best post-sale support, hands down, and we train your people on-site. Yep, on-site. And we offer remote refresher training 10 times a week, and customer support is open 6 days a week.

18:15Give us a call, visit the website, or join our Facebook community today to learn more. We'll prove to you that Trax is the single best shop management system in the business. NapaTracs is always customized and tailored for you, whether you're a one-man shop or a large multi-bay or multi-location company. After all, it's your shop, so it's your choice. Visit us on the web at napatracs— that's N-A-P-A-T-R-A-C-S—.com.

18:45What's your background? How'd you get into this? My background. So yeah, were you in computers and shop or something? No. So my career started in auto parts in 2003. Okay. So this September of 2026, I'll be 23 years in automotive industry. Wow. So I spent 14 years with a competitor. All right. Lived in a couple of different states, moved around for them, started on the calendar and just kind of walked my way up.

19:09Got it. And then came to Napa in 2017 as a business development manager at the Mount Vernon local. Which was our company-owned stores, and worked there, progressed, and, you know, became an area manager, worked on the distribution side, worked on the local side, and then I moved to Traxx in 2022. What system's in your blood? It's automotive is in my blood. So, you know, when I tell you I come from Europe and I don't really play sports— wait a minute, stop right there.

19:35This man speaks 4 languages. You just mentioned the word Europe, so I had to share with people you have kind of a little accent. I don't have an accent. No, you don't. No, you don't. Yeah, we're not even gonna talk about it. Automotive was always the thing I loved. Cars was always what I wanted to do. So it's always worked in the industry, always wanted to be part of it.

19:55So at a very young age, I mean, I still know how to read catalogs to look up parts. Stop it. Oh, I have to tell you a great story. So we go to this big Napa store near us and I wanted to tour, have Tracy, you see the background of a store because that's where my legacy is. And I never ever had a chance to show her with the distribution side of the industry.

20:13So we go to this Napa store and she looks in the back at these racks and racks and stacks of catalogs and she goes, what's that? It's a library. Exactly right. It's a library of— it's gold. It's— well, you know, growing up in auto parts, computers only, like, you know, when I started, we were operating on the black and green screens. That's what was on.

20:37That's right. So You know, you can type in so many different things on there, probably fine. But a guy comes in and says, I have this part, you know, and I'm working on a 350 or a 351 or a 302 or 306. A lot of them, there was not a car attached, it was just an engine. And you know, a 350, you know, it was a truck motor or a car motor.

20:55So there was differences, but parts are very identical. We went to a catalog. Yeah. You did not put it in, 'cause my favorite thing today is you go to any of the auto parts stores, say I need wiper blades for my truck. Is it 2-wheel drive or 4-wheel drive? I don't know if it mattered, it made a difference. But you know, that's what you get.

21:10And you know, the parts guys, either— I'm sure that they're listening, they've been a part of this for a long time. You know, when you say you need a donut gasket for 350, people just went to the shelf and grabbed it for you. It was no— Before computers, here's my story. You just reminded me of a great story. A guy's working on this hybrid engine, he's building a race car, and he comes in, he has this choke pull-off with this bracket that's gotta fit where it needs to go.

21:36So what do you think we had to do? Got the high-grade picture book of all the choke pull-offs, and we went page by page and saw if we could find the right bracket. Didn't matter what it fit. We were just looking for the part. Now today, you probably can take a picture of it within 8 or 9 seconds, find that part somewhere.

21:57But years ago, man, we were flipping pages. I believe strongly because, you know, when I go out to the field, I always like to visit the Napa stores and say hi to the people. I always see one or two guys on the counter still using catalogs because it's still the gold for some of the older cars. Because, you know, looking for a choke in a computer, I mean, you know, who's the guy?

22:21How did they write it right? How did they put the choke pull off? And you know, what's the word they use, right? Is, can you use natural language in the software or can you not? So sometimes those searches don't come up. You're still pull up that old good catalog and say, all right, let's go have fun with it. I think I just aged myself by telling that story.

22:37I've aged myself too, but I mean, but that's the cool thing. And that's why I love what I do is because you meet so many great people in this industry. You meet so many great owners, like Napa store owners for us. NAPA Auto Care Centers, and then customers that don't even buy from NAPA, right? So I mean, anybody is a great customer, right, that has a shop.

22:58So we want to help everybody equally because in the end of the day, if we help them be successful, hopefully they buy a little bit more parts from us. That's the ultimate goal. It is, isn't it? Yeah. AI have any effect on where you guys are headed? I mean, I have a customer in southern Florida. So it was a 2014 Volvo XC60.

23:18The repair manual for a navigation system is 19-something pages long and is all kinds of having issues. But then as you find problems, there's more stuff. So we uploaded the entire manual, he uploaded it in ChatGPT, and it was really cool to watch him type in something about the car and the thing is spitting it out. So I think we're gonna see a lot more use out of it because, you know, repair manual, Mitchell or AllData or whoever, It's a lot of pages, right?

23:46You can search it, you can narrow down your searches, but sometimes when it's a big procedure, especially electrical and some of the different stuff, if you can upload it to like artificial intelligence, they can allow you to be more efficient and quicker. I think we're gonna see a lot more changes, but I don't think as of yet today, I think automotive is still going to be this slow-moving machine, but a lot of guys are making a lot of things simpler in that industry.

24:11There's a lot going on with AI at the service and the DVI connectivity and to do the research on the CRM modules. Correct. There's a lot of— I'm seeing and hearing about a ton of software being written to seamlessly provide information to the specialist, the techs in the bays, and the service advisor. I am fascinated with how fast everything is moving. And I'm— and again, here's what I have this concern.

24:41There's stuff that they SMSs aren't being utilized with, then there's going to be all this heavy-duty, fun, exciting, fast-paced, flashing thunderbolt lightning stuff happening over here. And the guys that aren't doing a lot here, they're going to get so far behind. And when I see this going on with TRACS, is because you're in the field and because of your constant training, and you know, every day with Ben training, you're providing a service to hopefully keep the person at least above water in the things that they should know.

25:10You would hope so. Oh, that's just a heavy statement that you just said. You would hope so. You know, you still find that customer today. I mean, I've been, I can't even tell you how many customers I see a year, but I can tell you 2 weeks ago I saw 35 shops in Des Moines, Iowa with, you know, a couple of sales representatives from Napa there and went and saw a bunch of good customers of ours existing and not existing.

25:34Every one of them was very different. And, you know, we had Trex users, we had other softwares being used there as well. A lot of them are just scratching the surface, and then you have the guys that are really dug deep inside of it. And you would hope so that people will start adjusting to times because, Cam, I'm a strong believer in this.

25:54I still believe that in the automotive industry, I think a lot of guys still think very old school way, if I may say that, where we don't realize that majority of the customers are females. Right? You know, clean shops, presentable people. Because, you know, I always say this in my user group meetings that I do across the country. Those are also free, by the way, user group meetings.

26:17We set them up and, you know, Ben does a lot of them. I do a lot of them. And Jim Floorman on the West Coast does a lot of them. But always say this, a husband and a wife, the husband maybe can go out and spend $100 or $150 or $200 without calling anybody, right? But anything more, they pick up the phone and say, hey honey, you know, this is what I need to do.

26:37A wife goes to Target and spends $600 and is like, ah, you know, it was not that bad. You know, and tomorrow she goes here and spends more. So when I put this jacket on and I go to church Sunday, I'm gonna be bad. Exactly. But you bought a t-shirt, it's like, why'd you buy that? It doesn't even look good on you, right?

26:54So, you know, I always go back whenever you are building your shop or however you're putting your front, it has to match that customer. Yeah. Do you have to really think about who's coming there? Because husband may drop off the car and he's going to work, or the wife may pick it up and feel like the service, all of those pieces. So the guys still forget that.

27:14I love what you just said about user groups. You get a lot of feedback or you get a lot of questions. How do I do this? How do I do that? Yes. We, so typically those, when we set up those, we let the sales teams know so they go out and talk to customers. And we have existing customers, we have users that have had it for a long time, and we have guys that are new or customers that are even just thinking about coming to Treck.

27:37So all of those guys show up. That's nice. And then we kind of go around the room, ask them questions, who they are and what do we like to learn, right? And, you know, you know, my favorite is like, I'm new, I want to just see it all. And then other guys like, well, I've used it, all of it, and I need to break down how the AR works, right?

27:53I want to be able to send statements to all my customers. So you go from something, I just want to see it to a very complex stuff, which is very simple inside the software, but like showing all of those different features. And we teach them all in those 3 or 4 hours. And those are typically done in the evenings when everybody's done.

28:09We give them some food. We make sure we feed our customers. That's the more important part. That's nice. Food's always good. Yeah. Do you find that when you show someone something and get them started, they actually then embrace it and use the tool that you've shown them. I'm a hands-on learner. You gotta do this and I gotta read these 30 points. And I always say, God, can somebody get me started?

28:31Can somebody show me how this works? Maybe I don't have the tolerance for investing in the time. And that's how I kind of look at some shop owners that don't use the entire comprehensive systems that they have in front of them is they just want someone here, put your hand on the keyboard, put your hand over here on the mouse, do this, boom, boom, boom.

28:48I'll be back in 2 weeks. You should be up and running. That's easier said than done. See, I knew you were going to say that. And so my thought was this: maybe one thing at a time. Go to one of— go to Ben's class, go on Facebook, start asking some questions, and say to yourself, wow, I've never seen this module on Trax, and I'm going here.

29:08And it could be anybody's software, it doesn't have to be Trax, but we're talking Trax because Evis is here. And make a commitment in your strategic plan to learn 3 or 4 new things this year that your SMS can do. Or even the thing that you do every day, just building a sales ticket. There's plenty of things, just building an invoice, you can learn things about it.

29:29It's not just what's your name, what's your phone number, what's wrong with your car, and build the ticket. Like, you've got to really explore and see all the options available to you. So if I would say, make sure you understand how the whole invoicing system works and all the capabilities of that and all the stuff that you miss. Because if somebody came in for an oil change, have you done a good inspection?

29:56Have you done DVI, right? We mentioned DVI earlier. And then have you talked to the customer about the health of the car? Because here's the big thing. The cars are getting older, as we know, right? There are people not buying new cars. Just like when you go to your dentist— I love using dentists. Because when you go to a dentist, they say for teeth cleaning, they say, hey, you know, great job, but we found some stuff and here's pictures, right?

30:20That's the DVI. Oh yeah. You know, I'm stealing this from somebody because he loves this. So shout out to my boy, Kiwani Stokes from Syncrony. That's what he uses, what we talk about. But then you take pictures. Now they talk to you about it and say treatment plan. Just let's use that in the automotive. Car comes in for an oil change, you inspect it.

30:38Now you let the customer know, hey, here's some of the stuff that's going on with your car. You know, we should start looking into this. So I think just that beginning of that will take them a long way, and then you can start in the other stuff. But I agree, 3 to 4 things— if everybody learned 3 to 4 things a year, it would be phenomenal.

30:56I love treatment plan. I don't know why I talk about the dental thing and the hygienist. You can't get up from the chair unless you get your appointment, no matter what your calendar looks like. How is Tuesday in 6 months? Exactly. And then when the doctor comes in and does that final inspection and says, well, look at, here's what we found. You have an old silver filling and we're not quite sure what it looks like, but we've seen underneath.

31:21It's like, I think the plan is to get me spending $1,000 or $2,000. Exactly. But the doctor says, listen, whenever you're ready, it's a treatment plan. And I never thought of using that at our counters. Listen, this is critical. It's a must. Tires are about ready based on the miles you travel. Let's get this treatment plan for the safety of your vehicle going right now.

31:44And that's the biggest point. So you say, you know, why don't we use— we're not even using what the beginning of the software can do for you, let alone all the other pieces. Because, Cam, a treatment— because everybody wants to know that their car is reliable, because I feel The customers have an ABC cars, right? So I call them ABC cars. So husband and wife have a car.

32:05Yeah. And then you have a spare car. Those days are gone. Right. People have an A and B car. Yeah. And that A and B car needs to be reliable because they travel or the mom is taking the kids to volleyball or taking them here or taking them there. And the dad is going to work, right? If one of those cars fails, those things don't happen now.

32:23But if I brought my car to your shop last week and you changed my oil, and on Saturday morning I go out and my battery doesn't start, who am I gonna blame? Why didn't you check my car? Yeah. 'Cause now, you know, so just those simple things like tires, brakes, being looked at every single car that comes into your shop, looking at the fluids, all the important parts, and then put that plan together and say, hey, Mr.

32:45Customer, you know, we've noticed your tires and they could go probably another 3, 4, 5 months. You know, here's some pricing options. Hey, we have noticed that you haven't had an antifreeze flush in your car. It's recommended, right? And a lot of people say, I don't need that. Well, it's the most forgotten service. It's those simple things that people don't do. You're right.

33:03And it's important. But that's all of those things help you. We started as how do you make more money? How do you be more profitable? Well, just think about it. If every oil change you have done, you sold an air filter and a cabin filter with, what'd you just do? Huh? Did you have to see more cars? No. Right? If you inspected every car truly and did it the right way, what do you now build?

33:25Because every, you know, we still talked about this too, I don't have enough customers. Well, if you do everything for your customer, now they keep coming back, now you grow your business. And that's just the beginning of what a software can do. And that is what we love to do with our customers. This is what we talk about with our shops when we are out there in the field.

33:45Great stuff. The whole underperform maintenance thing and the utilization of your software to get you that information and to work with your customers creating treatment plans. I love it. This was enlightening. Thank you for coming in here, Evas Husanovic. Husanovic. Husanovic. You'll get there in the next few weeks. Again, I always apologize to someone that I can't say their name right. It just pisses me off that I— but I'm gonna say it over and over again after you leave, and then, uh, never.

34:11Thank you for having me. From Napatrax, thanks for Napatrax for having us here. You got great people. We love all your people. You know, Ben has been a great contributor to the show because he brings his real-world view of stuff. And hey, your SMS system, it's the centerpiece of the success of your business. Yes, sir. Use it. Thanks, man. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

34:32Thanks for being on board to listen and learn from the premier automotive repair business podcast, Remarkable Results Radio. Get your episodic education on the ARPN listing app at automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com. Also enjoy the podcast on our Carm Capriato YouTube channel. Carm is all for advancing the professional automotive service industry. Until next time.