Watch Episode HERE

Eric Henley, owner of H-Teck Auto Care in Gray, TN. Listen to Eric’s previous episodes HERE 

Matt Wagg, Accelerated Diagnostics and Automotive, Bennington, NE, Matt’s previous episodes HERE

Al Wright, John’s Automotive, Cedar Rapids, IA. Al’s previous episodes HERE

Show Notes:

• You must have the right people in the right places for your business at all times.
• Let your people lead, trust them and empower them.
• Stress- leave your work at work.
• Have a contingency plan, who will do what if something happens and how will they do it. Empower your people to make calls and decisions in your absence. Train them on what and how to do things. Make sure they understand the mission and goals of the business and how it relates to each and every one of them. 
• Listen to your body
• A lot of people wait until they have health issues before going to the doctor. We should maintain our bodies like we teach our customers to maintain their vehicles. Regular annual checkups are a great way of catching things before it is too late. Take care of your health and deal with stress in a positive, helpful way.

Thanks to our Partners Shop-Ware and Delphi Technologies

Shop-Ware: More Time. More Profit. Shop-Ware Shop Management getshopware.com

Delphi Technologies: Keeping current on the latest vehicle systems and how to repair them is a must for today’s technicians. DelphiAftermarket.com

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Important Books

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Did you know money isn’t the main motivator for employees? How many people are willing to work 40+ hours a week in an unhappy environment while being undervalued? What benefits set your business apart from other shops in your area? And, are you reminding your team of their benefits package so they understand their value within your business?

Watch Episode on YouTube

Eric Henley, owner of H-Teck Auto Care in Gray, TN. Listen to Eric’s previous episodes HERE 

Jim Hayes, General Manager of Pacific Motor Service, CA, Listen to Jim’s previous episodes HERE

Matt Lachowitzer, Matt’s Automotive Service Center, Fargo-Moorhead, North Dakota and Minnesota. Listen to Matt’s previous episodes HERE

Key Talking Points

• Professional career development, where do I go from here and how is it laid out for me to achieve it. Are the training and tools there to allow me to grow?
• Company sponsored events-team members want to feel good about where they work and the work they do matters for the community. Involve the family with anniversaries and birthdays etc.
• Dividing sick and PTO- vacation days can be paid out, sick days don’t have to be paid out
• Making adjustments for employees with existing vacations- can manipulate the salary/pay rate. Each employee will be different depending on the scenario. Be creative.
• Benefit packages will vary depending on the employee- paycheck is a small portion of what you offer, focus on culture/environment/growth opportunities. 
• Marketing the entire package- and discussing with the team consistently 
• Jim’s company matches 1:1 up to 4% for 401K
• Invisible paycheck- base salary + expenses of benefits= value of the company
• Paid training- shows intent and value
• Incentives- ASE, benchmark bonuses, tools
• Bereavement/maternity- additional days that don’t involve PTO

Connect with the Podcast

Aftermarket Radio Network

Subscribe on YouTube

Visit us on the Web

Follow on Facebook

Become an Insider

Buy me a coffee

Important Books

Check out today’s partners:

More Time. More Profit. Shop-Ware Shop Management getshopware.com

See how Broadly can help YOU grow your auto shop. getbroadly.com/chat

Your weekly broadcast production with wisdom shared by our guest host and a virtual shop tour. There is a trivia challenge.

• Tom Ham talks about rising costs and labor rates. Tom’s previous episodes HERE
• Virtual Shop Tour by Eric Henley from H-Teck Auto Care in Gray, TN Eric’s previous episodes HERE.
• Trivia Challenge: What Vehicle Won the Motor Trend SUV of the Year Award in 2020?

Dorman gives people greater freedom to fix vehicles by constantly developing new repair solutions that put owners and technicians first. By always innovating, Dorman has led the way in growing the aftermarket. Here you will see a few examples of a Dorman OE Fix. An OE FIX is a Dorman repair solution you can’t get from the original equipment manufacturer. It means they found a situation where they believe the OEM wasn’t giving repair professionals what they wanted, so we fixed it. Everything Dorman does is centered around providing customer value, both in the quality of products, and the creativity of solutions. Our engineers and designers go out of their way to save repair technicians time and save vehicle owners money. Want to really go under the hood? Take the Dorman Virtual Tour at www.DormanProducts.com/Tour

How to Have a Four Day Work Week with Eric Henley [RR 627]

Eric Henley, owner of H-Teck Auto Care in Gray, TN, is 4th generation of mechanical repair. He received an associate’s degree in Auto Service Technology and spent over 15 years at a Honda dealership. Eric started H-Teck Auto Care in 2006 with just him, his dad and his wife. Going on over 15 years in business he now has a 6 bay shop.

• 4 generations in the automotive industryGrandfather was a blacksmith and father used to bring home cars to be fixed up. Eric grew up fixing bicycles, lawnmowers and cars. 
• Received an associates degree in Auto Service Technology
• Spent 15 years in dealerships- income can go down as skill level goes up (more skilled jobs often wouldn’t pay as much)
• Hiring new techniciansUses Indeed and Facebook Marketplace but the best results come from word of mouth and referrals from existing employees
• Current prospect is 21 year old Skills USA graduate 
• Current tenured technicians – 15 years, 11 years, 3 years
• Food Friday’sEither grill or go out to eat every Friday- have employee meeting over a meal
• All employees and Eric discuss any issues, improvements, ideas, areas needed for training, or tools needed. Open dialogue and non-formal
• Eric gives his employees the opportunity for responsibilities in the business- currently working on updating SOP’s with more DVI usage
• Shop is open 5 days a week with weekends offEric is in the shop 4 days a week because he trusts his employees- they are good people able to follow the SOP’s in place and make day to day decisions
• Employees will know if you don’t trust them- creates “neediness” for everything 
• Gives his employees monthly expenditures they can use for customers in need
• Spends extra time in the community and with his family
• He is very involved in his employee’s lives and is flexible with work schedules based on their family schedules
• What makes a great service advisor?Excellent people skills and communication skills- enjoy talking to people
• Can think quickly on their feet, a warm personality, patient and good listener
• Similar to a good waitress/waiter- there when you need them, listen to what you need, then go on to the next table. 
• Both of Eric’s service advisors are in ongoing training
• Best service advisor trainers- previous service advisor, or previous technician with good people skills, or having parts experience
• TrainingRequires minimum 30 hours per year of training 
• Utilized online training a lot last year during COVID shutdowns
• RRR 588 with Jim Fleischman and Matt Manzone- Dealership tech now works for an independent

• Thanks to Eric Henley for his contribution to the aftermarket’s premier podcast.
• Link to the ‘BOOKS‘ page, highlighting all books discussed in the podcast library HERE. Leaders are readers.
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NAPA Autotech Training helps your technicians keep their skills sharp and their NAPA Know How up to date. It’s the highest quality technical training that covers almost every vehicle system and every make and model. NAPA Autotech is presented by experienced instructors who are ASE master certified technicians. Even after a class is over, techs can access course information online with ClassPass. So when questions come up later they can get the answers. AutoCare Center owners who have taken advantage of Autotech Training say that well-trained technicians are helping to increase their shop’s repair capability and raise bay productivity. That results in fewer comebacks, more satisfied shop customers, and reduced technician turnover.

Learn more about NAPA AutoCare and the benefits of being part of the NAPA family by visiting www.NAPAAutoCare.com.