Building a Winning Scoreboard For Your Auto Repair Shop [RR 1098]
About this episode
Jerry Frank joins Karm Capriotto to discuss how gamification can transform auto repair shop culture and boost profitability. Inspired by a highly competitive staff bowling night, Frank shares how shop owners can channel that natural drive into daily operations. The conversation highlights the critical step of diagnosing root business problems—like service advisors throttling phone calls or inefficient processes—before implementing solutions. By building a clear, visual "scoreboard" for key metrics, shop owners can align their teams, increase billable hours, and turn daily targets into an engaging game everyone wants to win.
What if your shop operated like a championship team, where everyone knew the score and was motivated to win together?
Gerry Frank, business coach and former shop owner of 35 years, joins Carm Capriotto to explain how gamification can transform an auto repair business by increasing profitability, accountability, and employee engagement. Rather than relying on pressure or incentives alone, Gerry shares a practical system that turns daily performance into a shared game built around visibility, ownership, and teamwork.
What You'll Learn- Why diagnosing the real business problem is more important than applying quick fixes.
- How visible scoreboards create accountability and keep the entire team focused on shared goals.
- Why technicians and service advisors should update their own scores instead of management.
- Which key performance indicators matter most, including car count, billable hours, margins, and hours presented.
- Why aligning the front and back of the shop creates stronger teamwork and better customer outcomes.
- How storytelling helps employees understand the importance behind the numbers.
- A leadership approach that improves performance by focusing on results instead of criticizing people.
Gamification isn't about making work feel like a game, it's about giving every employee clear goals, measurable results, and ownership of their performance. When leaders diagnose problems correctly, track meaningful metrics, and connect the numbers to a larger purpose, they create a culture where accountability, engagement, and profitability naturally grow. Gerry Frank, former shop owner, trainer and coach for Maverick Shop Owners Want a more profitable shop? Start with your service advisor. They are the face of your business, the voice on the phone, and the key to every approved repair. Download 'Words That Work - The Service Advisor's Complete Phone Scripts Playbook at https://serviceadvisortraining.com/ Learn more about NAPA Auto Care and the benefits of being part of the NAPA family by visiting https://www.napaonline.com/en/auto-care
NAPA TRACS will move your shop into the SMS fast lane with onsite training and six days a week of support and local representation. Find NAPA TRACS on the Web at http://napatracs.com/
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The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/
- Remarkable Results Radio Podcastwith Carm Capriotto:Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion.https://remarkableresults.biz/
- Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z:From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life.https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/
- Business by the Numbers: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest.https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/
- The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level.https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/
- The Weekly Blitz: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching.https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/
- Speak Up! Effective Communication: Develop Interpersonal and Professional Communication Skills with Craig O'Neill.https://craigoneill.captivate.fm
gamification
"We're gonna talk about gamification. We've done episodes on this before and I think you've heard a lot about it. Jerry's got this really unique way to look at it."
Turning everyday work tasks into a game with scores, rewards, and friendly competition to make the job more fun and motivate employees to perform better.
The practice of integrating game mechanics—such as points, competition, and scoreboards—into business operations to increase employee engagement and productivity. In an auto repair shop, this often involves tracking metrics like billable hours or repair orders on a public board to foster friendly competition among staff.
average repair order
"obviously a lot of the problems that people may have, low car count, maybe billable hours, you know, an ARO issue, you gotta stop and look at that."
The average amount of money a customer spends when they bring their car in for service. Shops track this to see if they are successfully finding and fixing all the issues on a customer's vehicle.
A key performance indicator (KPI) in the automotive repair industry calculated by dividing total sales revenue by the number of repair orders completed. It helps shop owners understand the average amount of money spent by each customer per visit.
PicoScope
"Too bad there wasn't some kind of device, you know? Like a PicoScope you can put on the business."
A super-advanced electronic testing tool that mechanics plug into a car's computer and wires to see exactly how electricity is flowing, helping them find tricky electrical problems.
A highly precise PC-based automotive oscilloscope used by technicians to diagnose complex electrical and mechanical issues by measuring voltage signals over time. It allows mechanics to see rapid electronic waveforms from sensors, actuators, and ignition systems that standard diagnostic tools cannot capture.
billable hours
"Yeah, you know, and another great example is low billable hours, right? Everybody tells me, I hear it as a coach, you know, I gotta get my hours up..."
The hours of work that a shop actually charges the customer for a repair. Mechanics try to complete the work faster than this standard time to be highly efficient and profitable.
The hours of labor charged to a customer for vehicle repairs based on industry-standard flat-rate manuals, rather than the actual clock time the technician spends on the vehicle. This metric is crucial for measuring technician efficiency and shop profitability.
ASE certification
"...and a $300 annual credit toward master technician or blue seal ASC certification."
A special certification that proves a mechanic is highly trained and knows how to properly fix cars. It is like a diploma for automotive repair professionals.
A professional credential awarded by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) to automotive technicians who pass rigorous exams and have relevant work experience. It serves as an industry standard for technical competence.
digital vehicle inspection
"We've seen average arrows, you know, go from 45 $600 to doubling that, approaching $1,000 and more, focusing on behaviors. So is that something you wanna create a scorecard for you, Beth?"
A digital report card for your car. Instead of writing on paper, the mechanic takes pictures and videos of what needs fixing and texts them directly to your phone so you can see the issues yourself.
A modern vehicle inspection process where technicians use tablets or smartphones to document a vehicle's condition with photos, videos, and notes. This digital report is sent directly to the customer's phone or email, increasing transparency and trust.
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