Flat Rate Tech Podcast

Your manager calls you into the office and says:"You're not producing enough."Now what?Is the problem you? The shop? Dispatch? The work you're getting?In this episode, we talk about how to handle that conversation, how to look at the numbers, and how to figure out what's really going on before you start blaming everyone or looking for another job.Get the facts. Then decide what to do with them.Support the showSPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICSwww.BayDiagnosticsGroup.com You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the problems that can cost a shop technicians, hours,

www.BayDiagnosticsGroup.comThe automotive industry has changed a lot in the last 25 years.Technology has changed. Dealerships have changed. The way technicians work has changed. And so has the pressure on technicians to produce more while dealing with more procedures, more documentation, more delays, and more problems outside of their control.So why are technicians leaving?In this episode, I talk about what I think is happening inside the automotive industry, why good technicians are getting frustrated, why many technicians don't actually want to leave automotive but do want to leave the dealership, and why dealerships can't keep relying on hiring their way out of the technician shortage.The technician shortage isn't just about finding more people. It's about keeping the good technicians you already have.Because the real question for every dealership should be:Why would a good technician want to work here?And if you don't know the answer, you might want to find out before one of your

I get emails from technicians who are thinking about quitting. I talk to technicians who are frustrated, burned out, and seriously considering leaving the automotive industry.And a lot of them are good technicians. Technicians with experience, ability, and a lot of potential.The hard part is, I don't always have an argument for them.Because I understand what they're talking about. I'm dealing with a lot of the same things myself.I don't want to see good technicians leave this industry. I don't want technicians to suffer through a career they should be proud of.But I also don't think we're making this stuff up.In this episode, I talk about the technicians I've heard from, why they're thinking about leaving, why I understand where they're coming from, and why I still believe there's a lot of potential in this industry and in the people working in it.If this is you, Tell your manager about Bay Diagnostics Group. Support the showSPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICSww

Technicians think management is the problem.Management thinks technicians are the problem.And that disconnect is killing shops.Leadership isn't about a title. It's about trust, communication, accountability, and actually listening to the people doing the work.Because when technicians stop believing their voice matters, they start checking out.And eventually, they leave.Bay Diagnostics GroupTruth From The Bays. Solutions For The ShopBaydiagnosticsgroup.com Support the showSPONSORED BY BAY DIAGNOSTICSwww.BayDiagnosticsGroup.com You've heard the problems on this podcast for years — technician turnover, broken communication, bad dispatch, lost productivity, pay-plan issues, and shop culture problems.Bay Diagnostics helps dealership managers find out what's actually happening inside their service department.Built from more than 30 years of firsthand dealership experience, Bay Diagnostics provides anonymous technician feedback, workflow analysis, and diagnostic reports designed to identify the p

The service drive used to be the bridge between the customer and the technician.The customer had a problem. The advisor listened. The technician diagnosed it. The shop fixed it.Somewhere along the way, that got replaced with numbers.Hours per RO. Effective labor rate. Gross profit. CSI. Retention. Customer pay.There’s nothing wrong with tracking numbers. A dealership has to make money.The problem is when the numbers become more important than the people.Because customers don't care about your metrics. They want to know one thing:Can I trust you?And technicians are caught right in the middle. They want to diagnose problems, fix cars, and do the job right. They didn't get into this business to become another number on a production report.When the focus shifts from taking care of people to squeezing every possible dollar out of every repair order, trust starts disappearing.And once customers stop trusting the service drive, even a fair repair can feel too expensive.The numbers might look good on paper.

You’ve probably seen it on a repair estimate. Shop Supplies.Maybe it’s $20. Maybe it’s $50. Maybe it’s even more.But have you ever stopped and asked, what you’re actually paying for?In this episode of the Flat Rate Tech Podcast, we take a closer look at one of the most overlooked charges on a repair order.Gloves. Brake cleaner. Shop towels. Chemicals. Electricity. Waste disposal. Equipment. Those things cost money. There’s no question about that. But how much should a customer actually be charged for them? How is that number calculated? Where does the money go? And if a shop is collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in shop supply fees, should some of that money be making its way back into the shop?Better equipment.Working lifts.Updated diagnostic equipment.Properly maintained tools.Better working conditions.We also look at the customer side of the equation. Because when you see a repair estimate with labor, parts, diagnostics, shop supplies and other charges stacked together, do you actually unde

Why do good technicians stop caring?The automotive industry loves to talk about the technician shortage, but nobody seems to ask why experienced technicians are becoming burned out, frustrated, and ready to walk away.After 25 years in the dealership world, I've seen what happens when technicians lose trust in the system. Training, flat rate pay, master technician programs, production numbers, management pressure, difficult jobs, and a culture that can reward the wrong behavior all play a role.This isn't about saying every dealership or every manager is bad. It's about looking at what happens when technicians stop believing that their hard work, experience, and honesty actually matter.When good technicians stop caring, everybody pays the price, the technician, the shop, the customer, and ultimately the entire industry.This is a conversation about why that happens, what causes it, and what the industry needs to start looking at if it actually wants to keep good people.Flat Rate Tech Podcast is br

Ever picked up your car from the dealership service drive, only to have the check engine light pop back on before you even made it home? You’re not alone and it’s not an accident.Here’s the truth: most mechanics out there actually give a damn. They want to fix your car right the first time. The problem is, under the current dealership model, doing the job right means taking a financial hit. Between 0.4 warranty diagnostic limits, insane management quotas, and flat-rate pressure, the system actively punishes techs who refuse to take shortcuts.In this episode, we expose how corporate bean counters turned service bays into assembly lines, why master techs are walking away, and why you need to respect the mechanics who still take pride in their craft because they’re literally paying out of their own pockets to fix your car right.Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFla

One of my favorite episodes is back. Recorded back in 24, How to play the game. Thats all the shop is, a GAME. Play it. The manager plays all day same with the owners and everyone in the building. Play them cause they are playing you. This was a fun episode I was turning into a video episode for YouTube. I decided to reupload it back onto here again. Subscribe to the YouTube channel.Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

Mechanics are in demand everywhere, so why are recruiters and hiring platforms making money off the technician shortage?In this episode, we expose how third-party recruiters, placement fees, and hiring apps profit from the automotive industry while technicians take all the risk. Before you jump to another shop, watch this first.NEW MERCH available on Fourthwall link on my websiteSupport the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

Managers feeding good work to the new techs to keep them from quitting, even when they are on a guarantee! ZERO respect for loyalty. When managers do this they are basically feeding the new techs the good work so they think thats the work they will be getting so they will stay. Series coming soon. Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

Should you become a mechanic?Everybody online makes this industry sound like a six-figure dream. Trade schools sell it. Managers sell it. Influencers sell it.I’m here to tell you what it actually looks like.Flat rate. Working for free. Buying thousands of dollars in tools. Broken lifts. Shady pay plans. Shop politics. Managers promising the world and delivering bullshit. Watching other industries move ahead while you're fighting every week just to make hours.This episode is the raw truth about dealership life from someone who’s spent 25 years living it.If you're thinking about becoming a mechanic, listen to this episode first.If you're already a mechanic, you're probably going to be nodding your head the entire time.Managers are probably thumbs-downing this video already.Good.Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon&

Has your shop manager ever hired in a real scumbag tech? They say "We are a teacher" yet they hire in anyone off the street to join. And all we have is HOPE.Everybody talks about technician productivity. Nobody talks about what happens when there is no work.When management fails the techs pay the price.Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

Everybody talks about the technician shortage.But what if there isn't one?What if the real problem is an industry that burns through skilled technicians faster than it can replace them?In this episode, I take a look at the automotive industry's favorite talking point and ask the question nobody seems willing to answer: If the technician shortage is so bad, why does nothing ever change?We talk about flat rate pay, warranty labor times, dealership culture, technician turnover, corporate pressure, and the organizations that continue to defend a system that leaves many techs frustrated, exhausted, and eventually walking away from the trade.This isn't an attack on the technicians still fighting every day in the bays.It's a challenge to the people at the top who keep saying they care about the shortage while refusing to address the reasons experienced techs leave.The truth is simple:The system isn't broken.The system works exactly as designed.Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/d

Is being a mobile mechanic the way out of this BS and work for yourself?Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

This episode you get the Patreon cut. Subscribe Help Support the podcast. They had this planned the whole time. The technician shortage was a smoke screen for the big VISA takeover. AI can't take our jobs, but importing cheap labor can. And they knew that all along.Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comcheck out the website, join Patreon. Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

Do you ever ask yourself why you're still a mechanic? I do every day. Today we shoot the $hit. Some real talk and we make fun of mechanics. Don't be that old guy eating Salisbury steak frozen dinners while your project car rusts away. Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

Parts stolen from the factory and also stolen from the dealerships parts employees. Theft everywhere not just from us technicians. Some employees are fighting back LOL. Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech

Do you ever ask yourself why you're still a mechanic? I do every day. Today we shoot the $hit. Some real talk and we make fun of mechanics. Don't be that old guy eating Salisbury steak frozen dinners while your project car rusts away.Support the showTHE BOOKhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FK654G57Follow the Facebook pageFollow the instagram page-- Flatratetech_podcastCheck out the website Flatratetechpodcast.weebly.comFlatRateTechPodcast@gmail.comDon't Forget To Rate And Review!Thanks For Listening, and Thanks for your support!Tech