Digital Shop Talk Radio

Latest Episodes:

Building an All-Star Team on a Budget Oct 15, 2020

Show notes

On this episode of The Digital Shop® Talk Radio, we met with Jay Goninen from WrenchWay and Fred Gestwicki from Fix-it With Fred about how to build and All-Star team for your Digital Shop. We’ll talk winning strategies to succeed in today’s tough climate and give some insights to help you prepare for the future, as digital technology redefines traditional auto shop roles. - Hear best practices for recruiting the right people for your operation - Learn how to build a bench of talent - Discover how The Digital Shop® is enabling innovative shops to re-imagine traditional roles

Could Your Best Marketer Be Your Service Advisor? Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

Have you ever wished you had a magic button that you could push and fill your bays with the type of work you want to do? Well, guess what? You have it! On this episode we hear from shop owner Russ Crosby (Russ’s Wrench in Clinton, NJ) and his service advisor Becky Hoffman as they discuss how they used AutoVitals' Campaign Manager to increase new appointments from marketing campaigns by 25%!

Should Techs Write Estimates? Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

As Digital Shops continue to discover innovative ways of running their shops by focusing on performance metrics, putting the paper-based shop to shame, new opportunities through Digital Inspections and Workflow Management arise that challenge the industry status quo. On this week’s episode of the Digital Shop Talk Radio, Host Tom Dorsey is joined by Bruce Nation, owner of Westlake Independent in Westlake Village, Cali., and Neil Daly, owner of Oceanside Motorsports in beautiful Oceanside, Cali. to compare the benefits and challenges of Techs and Service Writers taking on different roles in the Digital Shop, and how each of these successful operators are applying digital best practices to crush goals that would be impossible to reach in a paper based shop.

Enabling Your SA to Handle More Work Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

By nature, the job of a service advisor is incredibly hectic, making it hard to streamline processes in a day that's constantly filled with interruptions. On this week's episode of The Digital Shop Talk Radio we teamed up with the crew at DRIVE to bring you Mike Button (Owner of Affordable Automotive, DRIVE client) and David Saline (VP of Sales, DRIVE) who will help us explore: - How integrating your PoS can not only save time, but dramatically increase the value of your inspections - Techniques and tools to better manage tasks throughout the day, so your service team can stay laser-focused on sales - Ways to prep your staff for changes in the shop, getting them to buy in from the get-go

What to do When Business is Slow Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

No matter how much you plan, prep and market, there are certain circumstances (not caused by you or your staff) where business can be slow. Check out this episode if you share the belief that every problem is an opportunity. Join Dave DeRosier (Freddie Kish's Complete Car Care Center) as we discover what creative (and productive) ideas that slow times can create.

Best Drop-Off Experience: At The Vehicle OR At The Counter? Sep 10, 2020

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On yesterday’s episode of DSTR, we welcomed shop owner Frank Scandura (Frank's European Service, Las Vegas) and Carlos Contreras (Northtown Auto Service, McHenry, Ill.) to figure out which drop-off approach creates the best customer experience. We discussed: - COVID-induced solutions to greet customers and make them feel taken care of - Ways to best educate the customer and lead them down a path to buy - The importance of scripts and a well-defined process when managing your shop's first impression with the customer

Remote Possibilities: Managing Production Outside the Shop Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

Service Advisors can't work remotely, right? Of course they can! On this week’s episode, we welcome Russ Crosby (Russ's Wrench, Clinton, NJ) who has used COVID-era constraints and shop expansion as a catalyst to explore the opportunities that a remote staff will allow - and the results speak for themselves. What we covered: - How to manage multiple shops from one location - A staff that's able to work from anywhere helps both shops to strive - What types of work you can manage remotely, and the tools necessary to set yourself up for success - The type of challenges to be tackled

What's better: Educating with trends or current vehicle conditions? Sep 03, 2020

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Are Trends Educating Motorists Better Than Strictly Providing the Current Conditions? On today’s episode of DSTR, we welcome shop owner Fred Haynes (multiple Honest-1 locations in MN) and his store manager Brandon Polhemus who provide thorough inspections with the most current info. Well what if there's more to it than that? We'll discuss: - How to use digital media in new ways to educate the motorist - Techniques more effective (and less interruption-driven) than using the phone - The ability to track trends is easy, and beneficial to the shop and the motorist

Who Owns Production In The Shop? Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

Should production management in my shop be owned by the whole team or one person? Today’s episode of DSTR will feature a debate between three shop owners with strong opinions about how production and task management should be handled in the shop. What we covered: -The pro's & con's of a Production Manager vs. Pool Management -Which method makes sense for your shop? -Groundbreaking tools that will make production management easier, no matter which process you choose - Compensating your team, no matter which way you choose For more info on our podcast, go to www.autovitals.com/radio

Using Digital Tools to Maximize Shop Efficiency [Ep. 80] Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

Today we're working with Protractor (and a couple of high-performing shops) to discuss how inefficiencies in the shop add up in time, and dollars, tempting Service Advisors to take shortcuts. So let's make it easier for them to build the estimate. We'll explore the integration with Protractor and AutoVitals, and how it allows our shops to simplify the RO writing process and how to identify opportunities to get to the best possible use of your SA’s time.

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