Grease The Wheels Podcast

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy talks about bad management practices. Bad management was the hallmark of the former Soviet Republics, but it also rears its ugly head often in the Automotive Industry. We get into some of the practices that make for bad management as well as relevant examples that are probably happening in your shop right now. From poor communication, to unmet or unwritten expectations - the automotive industry is often hampered by its own lack of interpersonal communication skills in the shops and dealerships that we work at. From asking for the sale, to bringing high definition video to your customers, there is a lot more money to be made in shops that are well run and can crank work through the door over shops that are mired in their own gossip and petty grievances. Bottom line, better run shops make more money, and there's nothing stopping you from going to them! Also Uncle Jimmy greases his wheels, more on that later!

On this week's episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy shows the flip side of the coin when it comes to customers. While all customers deserve a base level of respect and empathy, there are some situations where they are going to try to turn the tables. We also get into some genuinely useful customer service tips for the customer facing technicians, or anyone doing side work. Good customer service is a huge market differentiator and can often make long-term customers that you make a lot of money off of while solving a lot of their problems. At the end of the day the old adage of “under promise and over deliver” rings truest of all when it comes to preventing tension with the customers. We also get into the phenomenon of the customer's internal clock and just how long they can remain a waiter until they need their car back, or need to find alternative transportation. This one is weirdly useful and completely checks out on a corporate communications level, but you’ve never heard this much interactional breakdown with this much swearing! Also Uncle Jimmy’s Mom runs a scorched earth campaign on Midas for the better part of 4 decades.

On this week's episode of Grease the wheels we get to the ethos of the automotive industry - making people mobile. As the people who keep the cars running, we play an absolutely vital part of this ecosystem. We also take a look at emerging automotive trends, which is hilarious because most of the stuff they're soothsaying in the articles has been the standard for 20+ years. The automotive industry is more a slow and steady march rather than a series of massive leaps. Sure, there have been massive leap moments which have propelled the industry forward - but we are the part of the industry that figures it out on a daily basis. This is going to continue through electrification and the move to hydrogen - they’re just going to have to add more training. Also Uncle Jimmy gets sent to look for a fault that wasn’t a feature for another 8 model-years.

On this week's episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about the much maligned doldrums of the flat rate pay system. When the shop isn’t making money - you aren’t making money. Whether it is a market adjustment to raising your door labor rate, to full blown economic meltdowns that make people put maintenance on the back burner - it is an incredibly cyclical beast. We also get into some of the various shop management theories that are floating around out there, as well as some of the end game systems that could ensure a shop's success for years to come. Love it or hate it, flat rate is the name of the game, and in some states that could be very interesting when it comes to warranty work. Tune in for this and more on this week's episode of Grease the Wheels. Also Uncle Jimmy resists the urge from naming this episode “Good Times, Bad Times”

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Jimmy hacks up a lung and explores the line where you should go into work and where you should call in. This is obviously a personal question with personal answers, but it’s important for the 90% of the audience that wouldn’t call in short of missing a limb. Also, if your employer doesn’t give you sick days, that is a pretty good sign to grease the wheels, unless there is some prior understanding to not commit acts of bio warfare on your coworkers. We also get into the myriad of other excuses to call into work, and some of our fan favorite scenarios throughout the years. We also pay homage to the greatest fake calling in sick of all time, and the model to which we aspire to on our days off of work. In the end, Uncle Jimmy makes this one work on a deeper level, because when you’re sick - it's really hard to give 100%. Also Uncle Jimmy leaves his phone at work so he can't call in.

On this week's episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy gets into what gets people into the automotive industry in the first place: passion. From your first car, to the first thing you fix, the seeds of passion are planted. For some of us, this culminates in a lifelong passion for certain makes and models. For others, it ends in compulsive hoarding. The best balance is a happy medium. Every make and model seemingly has its own subculture, from the Jeep Rubber Duckie thing, to the Subaru Merit Badges. These serve as small, but oftentimes meaningful connections for complete strangers who’s only commonality might be what they drive. In this sense, it serves to think that the cars we drive are oftentimes reflections of self that also get us from Point A to B. Also Uncle Jimmy talks about the future's markets on classic cars and the E30 tax.

On this week's episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about complaining. There are right ways to complain and wrong ways to complain, and we go into both as well as some of the resolutions that get the best results. We also get into the gamesmanship and merits of taking intershop complaints directly to the person you are having them with instead of involving management. We also talk about productive complaints, malicious complaints, and chronic complaints and who in your shop fits each of these monikers. At the end of the day, the way you phrase your complaints and follow them up with solutions is the most important factor to getting them resolved. If the system that you are working in is something that doesn’t respond well to change, it might be time to get out of it and make more money elsewhere! Also Uncle Jimmy gets into mutually assured boombox destruction and Erik remembers to hit "save", unlike last week.

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy explores the explosion of mobile mechanics in the city of Austin. There are a lot of different ways to fix cars, and getting the job done on the side of the road has really never stopped any of us before but actually making a living with it can be tough. There are big parts of the country where it would be a major undertaking with the elements making life incredibly difficult. We also get into the idea of subletting out jobs that you don't have the right equipment for, getting financing, and a hybrid model with smaller shops that operate by appointment only, with a mobile unit for when the shop bookings are lower. We also get into the “Great Filter” of hydrogen cars, and the way that the industry is going to respond to a third major player in the automobile propulsion game. As Dylan put it, “oh the times, they are a changin’”, but that is a good thing for everyone with the skills to get the job done in the face of a whole rash of people not knowing anything about the technology. If going mobile on your own is something that you are interested in, reach out to us - we’re working on a pretty cool project to help get you up and running with the internet support you need to get jobs and start making money. Also Uncle Jimmy pulls a Service Advisor move and breaks into looking at memes in the middle of the episode and ends it how Mission Impossible usually starts.

On this week's episode of Grease the Wheels, we get into the nitty gritty when it comes to test driving customers' vehicles. Any manager who says that you should blindly test drive a vehicle before putting it up on a lift to see if it is structurally sound should listen to this episode. The aforementioned pitch can be a seriously bad idea, especially if that vehicle has serious problems. We have all seen the “just rolled into the shop” posts where a vehicle shouldn’t have even made it into the shop, and we get into some of the dangers that driving a vehicle like that can pose to both the technician and the general public. We also get into some of the most dangerous cities in America to drive, but for most of them they really have no excuses compared to some of the other parts of the country that go through all four seasons in one afternoon. We also get a bit scientific with the idea that most people are too oblivious to know that they are bad at driving, as well as what happens with your brain when you get into an unpleasant smelling customer car. Also Uncle Jimmy classes-up “truck nuts” and recreates classic Dukes of Hazzard stunts with his mom’s Vega.

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we get into the transient nature of the automotive industry, just how bad the technician shortage has gotten, and the insane attrition rate of your new guys. In 2020 the reported technician shortage was around 178,000, now extrapolated out to 2025, which is right around the corner, they are projecting almost 800,000 want ads going unfilled in shops across the country. We get into why that is, but more importantly we get into some of the nitty gritty on what the articles aren’t talking about. Automotive journalists have routinely downplayed the money in their conversations about why so many jobs are going unfilled, and one that is completely ignored is the physical attrition rate of technicians. How many technicians physically can’t do the job anymore because of injuries sustained while working on cars? We have no idea, they don’t really want to ask that question. Finally, we do a detailed analysis of the guys in your shop, where they are going, and what is most likely to happen over a 5 year time frame. Also Uncle Jimmy quotes numbers from the government that are actually pretty believable!

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we do our own version of ‘how to make friends and influence people.’ Helping to hang a set of exhaust is always going to be appreciated, but being forthcoming with helping other people will signify you as someone who can be depended on in the shop. We also talk about some of the karmic ramifications of tool loaning and just helping people out in general without the expectation of something in return. When all else fails, feeding people is an awesome way to get people to listen in a pinch, and Jimmy’s GM makes Pavlov proud. Being inviting to the new people in your shop is always a good way to start a relationship off on the right foot, and we get into the idea that everyone deserves a baseline level of respect that can either go up or down depending on your interactions. Also Uncle Jimmy avoids being Dr. Ruth.

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we talk about overwork and burnout. If your employer has you turning enough hours that you are seemingly working 8 days a week, that is one thing. If you’re doing it because you love money, that is quite another. The latter is ok, while the former will quickly remove any passion you have for the industry. Overwork can lead to a ton of bad things, so it is important to draw boundaries between your personal life and professional lives. Sometimes that looks like leaving at exactly 5:01, sometimes it is not working on your family’s cars. Overwork can make you important where you work, but if it comes at the expense of personal relationships that can be short lived. Burnout is something that, in this industry in particular, happens the minute the passion is gone. Also Uncle Jimmy talks auto repair karma in a way that makes way more sense than it probably should and the universal nature of the french fry under the seat. 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!

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy takes a break from the political rhetoric and talks about chicken farming. Shops and dealerships need to have the people who are creating the labor out of thin air in optimal conditions to create as much labor as possible. Whether that is having good service advisors and parts guys, to having the right number of lifts and bays per technician, shop optimization is a real thing. This needs to be communicated with the management in charge, and labor rates really need to be on a fluid scale based on technicians qualifications and workload. Much like the geese who lay the golden eggs in a children's story, you want your technicians to be able to make you as much money as humanly possible. Also "Three-Eyes" the evil goose makes a cameo. 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!

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels Uncle Tuck-er-we-mean-Jimmy gets angry, political, and straight to the point. You don’t need a Masters in Physics to know that batteries don’t work as well in the cold, but apparently a lot of people in Chicago and the Midwest didn’t get the memo. NY’ers did, because they don’t buy them in droves unless they need the EV tax write off. Even with temps dipping down into the 30’s in the incredibly EV heavy market of Austin, people aren’t really impressed with their EV purchases. We go into everything from Range Anxiety, to how the Nords deal with their cold-weather EV’s, and get into some of the American motoring culture’s inherent abhorrence to the concept. There are genuinely good hybrid cars at this point in the game, so pushing for full EV hegemony by an arbitrary date seems not only counter-productive, but completely undoable given the nature of automotive development/ product life cycles. The fact that more advanced biofuels and hydrogen developments paired with the first generations of EV’s getting real-world miles underscore one of the other major issues at the heart of EV consumption: recycling. As American’s there is also that underlying fact that we don’t really like being told what to do, how far we can go, and what we can buy. This is a wild one: think, it’s not illegal yet! Also Uncle Jimmy pitches Frankenstein-ing half a dozen X6’s into one good one over buying an X6 Hybrid. 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!

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we get into how to deal with anger while working in the automotive industry. Right off the bat, as previously chronicled in the 272 preceding episodes, there are a lot of things that can set automotive technicians off. From the low pay, to the incredibly complicated cars, to sometimes hostile work environments - keeping your cool can be hard. Luckily there are things such as identifying what makes you mad, working out, and even percussive therapy on inanimate objects to quell the anger. We also get into some fairly in-depth analysis of what causes us to be angry, with some of the solutions to deal with them. Bottom Line, being able to successfully navigate and even harness your anger will put you ahead in the long run, and any threats or physical violence gets you a meeting with HR- so avoid that! But the alternative is simple and concise, don’t let your job make you angry - just Grease the Wheels! Also Uncle Jimmy ranks the angriest members of his immediate family. 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!

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we get into things that make mechanics mad - although judging by the article these people were pretty loose with the job descriptions between mechanic and service advisor. We talk about Customers who insist that they know what is wrong with the car, which is annoying but easily overcome. We also get into the idea that quoting ETA’s for completed repairs is basically sending Murphy’s Law a DM on whatever it is you’re working on. It is 100% possible that on any given really bad day, everything in this episode could happen to you, and if it has, we want to hear about it! Also Uncle Jimmy waits an entire 5 minutes to run down service advisors and celebrates a milestone in car buying. 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!

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we bid adieu to a tumultuous 2023; but the world kept on spinning because of you wrench twisting bastards. Because of this we set the bar at, “don’t let me down” because asking for much more sounds like tempting fate. In this episode we lay out some of the expectations that customers, Service Advisors and Management would have of their technicians especially as the Automotive Technician Shortage worsens. We also get into the ways that the parts department and lot rats let us down, and in some cases it is because of the incredibly expendable view that HR has of these folks. Either way, with the age of cars steadily rising and used vehicle prices still elevated - people will be holding onto their cars longer and relying on you to keep them going! The future's looking bright, we just hope that it is’t “Decline-All’-d”. Also Uncle Jimmy explores the concept of an empty bay being more productive than one filled with an idiot. 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!

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy gets absolutely medieval on aftermarket warranty companies. I could probably end the episode synopsis there, and customers, service advisors, and tech’s will all still tune in - but this one is fun! The market analysis of aftermarket warranty companies is “bad” and “worse”, with some notable exceptions coming from Carvana and other internet automotive retailers that would rather pay for us to fix it after they sell it to you, than fix it right in the first place. The bottom line, having procedures in place to properly deal with cars that have aftermarket warranties is the key to keeping that stuff out of your way while you do something actually profitable. For the customers, the biggest thing that you are going to lose with an aftermarket warranty in most cases is time, so hope that your dealership actually has a loaner car available. Also Uncle Jimmy shatters eardrums. 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

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we take a brief look ahead to what people in chairs think is coming down the pike for us wrench turning folk in 2024. The one thing we see more of on the horizon is the russian infantry tactics of filing the shop with whatever bodies can hold the wrenches and look busy. However, further analysis will prove that having your best technicians with two available lifts or bays will increase the specific output of that bay over an inexperienced new hire. Estimates put the number of new hires needed across the board at 100,000 per year until 2026 to counteract the shortage, but we know that number should be closer to 200k because of the near 50% 2-year attrition rate among new hires. We also talk a little bit about the K-Plan as a path to employee retention with regular skill checks, but the fact remains that if these new hires are going to need in shop instruction - we are going to have to get paid for it! We also briefly touch on the idea of more modular cars that are easier to work on, but they are having too much fun right now making them harder to work on so we don’t expect that until sometime around 2050. Also Uncle Jimmy introduces E39 Yoga and blows up on a bank teller over the phone that turned out to be a good friend. 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!

On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy is talking about ways to keep your hard days from turning into hard nights wheen it comes to stress. Folks, there is enough stress in the automotive industry to go around, so being able to deal with it is key to being effective at your job. From new systems in cars that are broken in new and interesting ways, to customers with unreasonable expectations, more often than not the answer is simply to not sign for the stress and let the system do it’s job. When the system is not working it can be pivotal to emotionally detach yourself with phrases like, “it’s not my car”. Being able to do this effectively will let you keep your stress at work where it belongs and keep it from infiltrating your home life. We also go over some of the causes and symptoms of being overworked, which is one of the leading causes of burnout in the automotive industry as a whole. Performance punishment is a real thing in our industry, and being able to put up effective safeguards will keep this from being a problem for you. Also uncle Jimmy has no idea what consumption is. 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