Fixed Ops Journal - October 2021 - F29

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
book appointments online. It matches the
customer's description of the problem with
the availability of a local technician with the
appropriate skill level, and the system automatically
orders the necessary parts - mostly
from aftermarket providers.
YourMechanic doesn't provide the service
itself. It has assembled a network of more than
1,000 technicians who work independently in
more than 30 states. Its technicians are gig
workers, like Uber drivers.
Th ey set their own hours and provide their
own vehicle and tools. Th e company says they
have worked at franchised dealerships, independent
used-car dealerships, aftermarket
service providers and also on their own.
Flexibility
Rodio says YourMechanic techs also want
more fl exibility.
" Th ey want the ability to be their own boss
and set their own hours, " Rodio says. " Th at appeals
to people as they get older. "
Technicians set a certain number of hours
they want to work each week. Keith Canete,
operations manager and lead master technician
for YourMechanic, recommends techs
make themselves available for at least 15
hours per week and no less than four hours
per day. If a tech lists fewer hours, the software
platform may skip over them, thinking they're
not available for lengthier jobs.
Randy Davis, a mobile tech working out of
Winston-Salem, N.C., enjoys the freedom to
work when he wants. He's been getting work
from YourMechanic for three years after stints
in dealership service departments working on
mostly Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram vehicles
and a handful of imports.
At YourMechanic, " I could have a schedule
that says I'm available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
but that doesn't mean I'm booked from 8 to 6, "
he says. " My fi rst appointment might not be
until 10 o'clock. "
Not so fast
Davis says his easier schedule means there's
less of a physical toll on his body.
" I'm not as fast as I was when I was 25 or 30, "
says Davis, who's in his early 50s. " If I was in a
dealership now, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday
through Friday, of course there's always going
to be work there, but how fast could I go? And
if I'm doing the same thing all the time, it's
monotonous. "
One downside for some YourMechanic
techs is the driving from job to job.
" I've got a pretty big service area; sometimes
it's a 45-minute drive, " Bietz says of his North
Texas territory. " Th at's the only real downfall. "
If a job doesn't pan out after he gets there -
for instance, if he cancels it because the scope
of work is too much to perform on-site - he
says YourMechanic pays him a $25 fee.
Pryke says mobile techs who are used to
working at dealerships sometimes need advice
on how to explain repairs to customers
since there's no longer a service adviser to do
that. Before joining YourMechanic as a tech
and coach in 2015, he worked in an Arizona
Chevrolet dealership service department.
He's worked in auto repair about 40 years.
" At YourMechanic, you wear a lot of hats -
lube tech, diagnostic tech, service writer, service
manager, parts guy, clean up guy, " he says.
" Some have never been exposed to that. "
No pressure, little paperwork
For Raymond Covit, a mobile tech based in
Las Vegas, the independence and a lack of
pressure to sell extra services are what he
likes best about YourMechanic. Covit, 61,
says he's been getting work from YourMechanic
for three years and has been working
on cars since the mid-1970s. He has worked
at an independent repair facility, on his own
and at a couple of franchised dealerships as a
service writer and a tech in Southern California.
" I
believe in karma, " he says. " When you're
your own mechanic, you're in control of what
you do, 100 percent. "
While techs have to do some tasks they
didn't at the dealership, YourMechanic takes
care of most of the paperwork and other offi ce
chores.
" Th ey organize the payment for me; I don't
have to fool with any of that, " says Davis, the
North Carolina tech. " I just worry about doing
what I do. " 
Defections just
add to tech
shortage woes
T
he defection of veteran dealership
technicians to the mobile
service market is a new
wrinkle to an old problem.
" Loss of experienced techs is defi nitely
an issue for dealers, " says Meredith Collins,
a director with consulting fi rm Carlisle
& Co. " We do hear from dealers and
OEMs that many technicians are aging
out and nearing retirement, with average
U.S. technicians having over 20 years
of experience. "
Th e auto repair industry has an estimated
annual shortfall of 20,000 to
25,000 technicians, Collins says. Th ere
aren't enough newcomers from vocational
schools and other sources compared
with the number of technicians
who retire or leave for other reasons.
" We've found that on average, one lost
technician costs a dealership upwards of
$172,000 in annual revenues, which is
largely driven by lost productivity - getting
a new technician up to speed of where
the experienced tech used to be, " she says.
" Th is is a big problem for dealers today. "
Th e National Automobile Dealers Association
has made facilitating recruitment
and training of technicians a top
priority.
- Jim Henry
OCTOBER 2021 PAGE 29
Keith Canete,
operations
manager for
YourMechanic,
says techs should
make themselves
available for at
least 15 hours
per week.
Fixed Ops Journal - October 2021

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