Professional_Tool_And_Equipment_News_December_2019 - 8

EDITOR'S NOTE

Making adjustments
and minding the dollars

David Brierley
Managing Editor

A recent survey on salary and job satisfaction
urges us to take stock of industry growing pains.
By Sara Scullin, Editor
Sara@VehicleServicePros.com

H

ow have time, technology, and pricing
impacted your career?
Professional Tool & Equipment News
recently surveyed a sample of its readers to
get an update on the reality of shop owners and technicians servicing and repairing
vehicles today. Most respondents in this survey (just over half) are shop owners. More
than 50 percent work at general automotive
repair shops, and others labor at specialty
repair shops. The vast majority have worked
in this industry for 16 years or more.
This survey focused on salary and hours
worked, and most of these technicians (85
percent) were independent shop owners.
Of this group, the highest percentage of
respondents (33 percent) earned $25,000
to $50,000 last year, and the next highest group (25 percent) earned $50,000 to
$75,000 annually.
When these professionals were asked to
rate "How satisfied are you with your overall compensation?" on a scale of 1 to 10, the
average figure given was a 7.
While a "7" is not terrible ... it's not the
best score, either. Of course, a person's satisfaction with their compensation on the job
depends on a lot of things. That "comfort
zone" is not always an easy thing to come
by while riding the road to job security and
a profitable shop.
The reality is, for many technicians and
technicians-turned-shop owners, those
years of training, learning, doing, and
managing are often fraught with up-front
costs and investments, staffing hurdles, and
market uncertainties.

8

PTEN

DECEMBER 2019

VehicleServicePros.com

"I work very hard, and cars are getting
more complicated to fix," one technician says.
"Underpriced services to customers have
left this shop struggling ... and opportunities for efficiency and improvement have
been ignored," says another.
Every profession has its growing pains.
For independent shop owners, it can be difficult to reconcile customer-friendly service
rates with the reality (time, tools, expertise)
of a modern repair. But lots of shops are
forging ahead, taking stock of their market, maybe adding services like TPMS and
ADAS, and investing in new training and
tooling. For some ideas on ways to freshen
up your shop's offerings for the new year, see
Gonzo's column on p. 46.
Even with so many uncertainties at play,
more than one shop owner/technician
responded to the effect of: "I love what I do!"
It's an interesting and exciting time for
the automotive aftermarket. New technology is helping technicians diagnose vehicles
more thoroughly and quicker than ever.
There are even ways to train - and learn -
that ten years ago would have been unheard
of in a professional shop (hello remote diagnostics, YouTube videos, professional groups
on social media).
There's a lot to be gained from rolling
with the changes, including (hopefully)
a healthy paycheck. When service pricing and technician skill begin to move
forward in tandem and align, consumers,
shop owners, and technicians all have much
to gain.

Tyler Fussner
Assistant Editor

Emily Markham
Assistant Editor

Kayla Oschmann
Assistant Editor

Barry Hoyland
Contributing Editor
PTEN Editorial Advisory Board
Technicians
John Harris,
Brooks-Huff Goodyear, Timonium MD
Eric Moore,
DeMary Trucks, Columbus, OH
Lou Fort,
K.A.R.S. Inc., Huntingburg, IN
Shop Owners
Phil Fournier,
Phil's Auto Clinic, Hemet, CA
JD Goad,
Goad's Body Shop, Lexington, VA
Edwin Hazzard,
Southeast Mobile Tech, Goose Creek, SC
Barry Hoyland,
VSSCA, Camarillo, CA
Pete Rudloff,
Pete's Garage Inc., Newark, DE
Equipment Manufacturers
Chad Schley,
Schley Products/SP Tools
Jim O'Hara,
Clore Automotive
http://www.VehicleServicePros.com
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