Auto Shop Personalities and Cultures
Arms Crossed - An all too common automotive repair shop staff photo
When I opened my automotive repair shop in 2007, it was with the intention of doing something different – shaking up the industry. I didn’t realize at the time, but I’d get all kinds of feedback from dyed-in-the-wool shop owners who thought that the idea of putting a café in an automotive repair shop was nothing short of idiocy. They viewed this as unnecessary fluff in an industry known for its gruff operational style. To this day, nearly twenty years later, I still bump into these shop owners who look at me sideways and shake their heads in dismay and perhaps a little disgust.
But this has lessened over the years as every shop looks for a way to differentiate themselves. Some are doing clever videos or mailers. Others are trying to double down on customer service techniques with their staff in the hope of gaining more market share. This has become especially true as cars go longer between services and customers aren’t in repair shops as often. We all are looking for an angle to be more appealing to the masses.
Recently I was at a conference in Washington D.C. and on the first night I was there I bumped a family that owned nine locations in the greater D.C. area. They seemed to be doing very well. The owner had a house in Virginia and one in Florida and he commuted to the conference in his nice boat. He was actually a featured speaker for one of the training classes that was happening. His wife, after seeing the name “Lube and Latte” on my nametag immediately started inquiring about our shop and what we were doing.
Who makes the coffee drinks?
What kind of espresso machine do you have?
Where do you get your coffee from?
What kind of investment did this require?
It is true that women gravitate more toward the model than men, and frankly I like it better this way. There are plenty of automotive repair shops out there for men already, I don’t need to be another one. But there are plenty of men who like the concept as well and I’m just fine with that too.
Sooner or later the automotive industry needs to think about moving away from the traditional approach if they want to differentiate themselves. I was reminded or this when I saw the cover of a trade magazine today. On it was a number of technicians, half of whom had their arms crossed. There are soooo many pictures of shops profiling their staff and every one of them has their arms crossed. Enough!
I get it. You’re tough. But this closed position says a lot of things: protectiveness, smugness, closure, superiority. I understand that it may also indicate pride and confidence, but when you see the same picture over and over again, you just blend into the background. It takes a lot of guts to do something different. I know it seems silly, but uncross your arms and dare to be unique. I know you’ll get a lot of flack for it, but the upside is you’ll also find a whole new community ready to use your services. This is what Lube and Latte did and will continue to do in the days to come.