Grease The Wheels Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 187: Same S***, Different Day Mar 30, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels we take a look back at some of the finer points of the origins of this show: how little auto mechanics are paid and why. The numbers are pretty pathetic and for a lot of us wouldn’t even get us to return an employer’s calls if they offered us a job at that wage. This of course has precipitated a disastrous drop in the amount of people doing the job which will only get worse as time goes on. However, we look at the ways to command a higher price when applying for jobs, anyone with all of their ASE training (even though we have mixed feelings about their effectiveness) and having experience and training in EV/Hybrid drive vehicles is going to be worth their weight in gold.

Also Uncle Jimmy pitches the most original fix to the technician shortage yet: reanimating the corpses of dead technicians to fill the empty bay next to you!

This episode is distributed by The Wrenching Network. Whether you're a technician, a mechanic, or someone who just loves the car scene, The Wrenching Network is a place that you have to check out. They have all sorts of great content, gear, and snacks to keep you turning wrenches in whatever capacity you do it. Also if you see us over there, make sure you say hi and leave a comment with what you think about the episode!

Episode 186: “I F****** Quit!” Mar 23, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we look at the final bit of the employment process- the point where you have had enough or circumstances change and you need a new job. There are a lot of really good reasons to quit your job as an auto mechanic: partner gets a better job somewhere else - go with them, cars break everywhere! Wanting to go back to school is usually a pretty good way to get a raise and get out of that stuck feeling. We also talk about some of the ways that someone quitting actually affects a shop, for instance the immediate pay bump to everyone else when the workload remains the same and the number of people doing it has been reduced. We briefly touch upon “rage quitting” which is not an unfamiliar topic to anyone in the automotive industry, but this is a more in depth look at the reasons why people quit. We definitely want to hear those rage quit stories though, they almost never disappoint! Weather your departure is going to be spectacular with donuts, or more of a prolonged leave to take care of a sick family member; there are a lot of good reasons to Grease the Wheels.
Also Uncle Jimmy poorly explains Onlyfans and completely forgets that the best opportunity for a technician's career advancement is to start their own shop.

Episode 185: Happy Mar 16, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we are talking about happiness in the workplace. Seems like a bit of an oxymoron in the automotive industry, but Uncle Jimmy is co-opting articles written for cubicle workers for Auto Mechanics again, so hilarity ensues. The key to being happy at work is in maintaining a good work-life balance and there is a lot to unpack there. Some of the best tips for this include checking the baggage for one at the door of the other, and mentally training yourself to forget work when you see a mental save point at a specific point on your commute home. We also talk about the declining efficacy of the Pizza Party as a management tool, but it has amazing effects when it is unplanned (or involves doughnuts). But what really makes people happy or unhappy in most instances are the people that they work with, so we encourage you to go paint balling or drinking with them regularly.

Also Uncle Jimmy and his shop get murdered in softball and looks for old cars for sale on Facebook Marketplace as a form of therapy.

Episode 184: Questions to Ask Mar 09, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we complete the interview process by coming up with some intelligent questions to ask your interviewers. Admittedly, we have covered a lot of this in the last two episodes, so this is a bit more general (if you hate pushing cars, make sure you ask how they get dead cars into the shop) Asking the person you are interviewing with some of these more broad questions will be more helpful, because they might not know a lot of the specifics about equipment, those questions are better left for other technicians in your perspective shop. Also we give an incredible piece of advice for anyone hiring technicians in 2022, bring in one of your trusted technicians as a built in bulls*** detector! It works every single time if your tech knows what they're talking about, and can give you an advantage if a prospective hire thinks they are all that, and they’re not!
Also Uncle Jimmy describes working in a family business and the pull factors of working on German cars in a warzone.

Episode 183: Interview Questions Part 2 Mar 02, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we continue to explore how to game job interviews with well thought out answers to the most common job interview questions. The important thing to remember when you are getting interviewed is that this is also an interview between you and the shop, so find out as much information as you can from the people that already work there. If the narrative that your potential employer is giving you is massively divergent from the operational realities on the ground, it will be pretty easy to figure out. We also talk about using up all of your vacation time before giving your two week notice, because that is one of those legal things that gets a bit sticky sometimes, and often its a lot better to have the time off before a big change so you’re fresh and ready to rock and roll at your new shop. Do people even give two weeks notice in the automotive industry? Sometimes, but if you broach the subject some more short sighted management might just show you the door immediately.
Also Uncle Jimmy contemplates whether or not your manager driving a Volvo projects strength or weakness, and comes up with one of the best game plans for nailing job interviews in the Automotive Industry.

Episode 182: Interview Questions Part 1 Feb 23, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes over the top 50 questions asked during job interviews. We are still in the throes of “The Great Resignation” which started at the end of last year and is still going strong with people leaving jobs en masse. How is it affecting the automotive industry? Well, if the want ads are any suggestion, it isn't helping anything. If you are looking to grease your wheels, this two-part episode will give you the questions that you are most likely to be asked, because most HR managers can't be bothered to come up with their own interview questions, so they're likely to take them straight off of google. We just want you to think about them and have some sort of response planned. We also go into the idea that if you straight up walk out of an interview when the pay offer is insufficient, it will eventually give hiring managers and owners the hint.

Also Uncle Jimmy settles the “wearing a suit to a job interview” debate with personal experience, and says all of the things you shouldn’t ever say if you’re looking to get hired!

Episode 181: Assessment Feb 21, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy recounts a recent experience of taking a test for employment and flips the script by coming up with his own survey for you to send potential shops. Obviously sending it as an attachment with your resume might get you disqualified for the job right away, it’s just the nature of the industry. However, if you can snag an interview you often get the chance to ask questions like, “how do you get dead cars into the shop?” or “does all of your equipment work?” and watch their answer. If they give an answer that is satisfactory but sounds like BS, it probably is! One of the best parts of the interview process is watching these people squirm when they don’t have an answer, which will tell you a lot more about them while also speaking volumes to what you value in an employer.

Standby for the questionnaire to send to prospective shops. We will throw it on the website once we are done updating it!

Episode 180: Shortage Feb 09, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy finds an article on the internet that almost sounds like it was written by someone who listens to this show. The article: Four Reasons for the Technician Shortage, and the first one is money! This guy gets it! The only real part that we disagree with is the idea that the technician shortage could become a crisis, we only disagree because it already is a crisis. We also get into the discussion about working conditions and some of our favorite dilapidated repair shops. The final part of the conversation is a bit more complicated because of the optics of auto mechanics in the general zeitgeist: people don’t respect mechanics/technicians because they think that we are ripping them off. To which we respond with the GTW greatest hit, “when was the last time you paid the mechanic?”

Also Uncle Jimmy adds some auto mechanic caliber language to an extremely well written article about a very real problem.

Episode 179: Listening to You Feb 02, 2022

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On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about listening, because it’s something that pretty much everyone in our industry is bad at. That’s not entirely true, tech’s are usually pretty good about listening to other techs especially when the information that can make their job easier - or just general shop banter. Other than that though, no one is listening. We also go into reasons for why people aren’t listening: people who constantly whine and complain are generally disregarded because their input isn’t always relevant. There is a lot to listening and being a good listener, but when you are you become an invaluable asset to whatever organization you’re in: because as an Auto Technician or a technician of any type (or whatever else you do) you are a problem solver, and problem solver’s get things done! Pair that with quick and effective communication and you have a recipe for getting a lot of stuff done.

Also Uncle Jimmy is still salty about the Bills loss and talks about the fear of clowns.

Episode 178: Proactive V. Reactive Jan 26, 2022

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On this week’s Grease the Wheels we talk about the inherent difference between Proactive and Reactive in the Automotive Industry, as well as some of the ramifications that being too heavy on one or the other can cause. As a rule of thumb, you should probably be a bit of both: being able to prevent fires in your shop or dealership is just as important as being able to handle them when they show up. By fires, we are usually talking about customers and some of the “unexpected” repairs that we quote. We know that no one ever actually looks at their tires, we just get really annoyed when they somehow try to make it our problem. We also talk about some ways that management can be more proactive and how to be quicker on the draw when you need to react and solve a problem that you didn’t expect. Finally we circle back to the idea that being proactive is one of the ways to make sure that you own the job instead of the job owning you: and this is good for everyone, not just Auto Technicians.

Also Uncle Jimmy talks about destroying things as a “ute”

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