The Impact of Wait Times and Digital Inspections on Shop Productivity with Christopher Johnson, Part 2
The Jaded Mechanic Podcast
The Impact of Wait Times and Digital Inspections on Shop Productivity with Christopher Johnson, Part 2
The Jaded Mechanic Podcast · Jul 9, 2024
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Now, some of them were getting so many oil leaks. We've been doing a few engine removal, like the oil pans leak and the top ends leak, and we're like, we'll just pull the engine out. All new gaskets, you know, all the Bolteany stuff, all those new gaskets, slap it back in so you have a nice, you know, clean driveway, no dripping oil everywhere.
That's Christopher Johnson, today's guest on the jaded mechanic podcast, part two of a conversation we put a pin in last week. So if you missed that episode, you can go back and listen to that on this same podcast platform. If you're here for part two, you're in the right place. Christopher Johnson on the jaded Mechanic podcast, part two starts right now.
My old boss, he had one that was a. They raced it. It was a track car, turbocharged stick shift. Fun little car to drive, right? So. And, uh, I never got a chance to drive, but he was like. Or actually, I did drive it, but not like, and any. Just to drive it in to do. I think I put a battery in or something, because he ended up selling it to, um, a friend.
And the friend was still bringing to the shop. It was like, it isn't my thing, that little type of car, but, I mean, it was. It was pretty cool. Like, it could see how somebody would really enjoy whipping that thing around the track. Right, because you're literally sitting on the asphalt like it is low.
Yeah.
And they're like. Makes some pretty good power for the weight of it. Right.
So, yeah, they're. They're a great, uh. They're a great driver's car, a great momentum car, especially, which is all I've ever raced. I mean, my race cars have been old Honda civics with, yeah, bare basic engines. And I'm out there, you know, trying to beat porsches and, you know, most of the time succeeding. So that's just a momentum, or, you know, testicular fortitude, as they call it.
Uh huh. Did you ever see one of the ones that they've been converted? I can remember way back when guys put, like, a five liter of a mustang in one. And I guess it was a pretty reasonable swap, right, because, I mean, Mazda and Ford had kind of always been in bed together, right? So it was not hard to get the. The EfI system to work pretty well.
Yeah. I do know a guy that runs in CSCs, which up here is a, like a time attack series. He's actually the son of the former owner of the Peterborough Mazda store. They've got an NB Miata with an LS engine in it.
Oh, yeah.
That's a very popular swap, as well as ls all the things. Right.
Well, that's it. Ls fixes everything.
Right.
This I remember seeing at a car show probably back in 98, 99, and they called it the Monster Miata. And I think it was somebody from Texas initially came up with the idea of putting it in there. Somebody, I'm sure if you're listening to this episode and you want to chime in on who you've seen do it or how it's been done, I've seen more of the LS ones online. I've never seen one in person, but I remember seeing this five liter way back when jammed in them, and I'm like, okay, now that'd be fun to drive, because, you know, I don't think he could probably get it to go around the corner like the original car used to, you know, the same way, but it, like, it'd be fun in straight line, like, not quite the same.
Way you'd get it to turn with the gas pedal.
Yes. Right.
That's kind of the Carroll Shelby method. Right. That's makes sense for Texas doing that. If it is throat make light.
Yeah. And, I mean, Texans are a little, you know, they love crazy things. Everything's bigger there. My buddy John firm reminds me all the time that it's like, you know, Texas is the last thing that's to the promised land. So you're all the time. He's like, you should really come here. And I'm like, I know. I want to.
So it's got big bass, big barbecue, you know, lots of guns, fast cars. Like, it'd be. It'd be a good place to live, I think. You know what? So your summer plans, will you go race in the summer?
I probably won't. I haven't been racing in several years. Like, my race cars have been mothballed for a better part of a decade, and, yeah, probably. Probably continue to do that, especially with, you know, a three and a five year old at home. Time is. Time is precious. Almost absent. No time for anything.
You did ice racing, too, right?
That's kind of how it started. I used to do autocross, which is just parking lot stuff. Then I did ice racing, which is curling with cars. Yeah, pretty well. It's on a custom built track up in minden. They still do it, but just. And we used to do that quite a lot until we started getting into road racing. And, you know, you're spending a whole lot of time and effort to go up north, the Weiss racing for a little bit, whereas we just took up chump car racing in the states, doing, you know, 24 hours endurance races better bang for the buck and.
Yeah, but the cost of doing that is, you know, skyrocketed like everything else I saw.
I remember reading years ago, there's 24 hours of. Instead of Le Mans, of lemons.
They are still. They're still a going concern, and they're still hilarious racing.
But I can remember reading about that in one of the magazines way back when, and it was like. It just looked like a ton of fun, you know? But again, it's like anything else in racing, right? Money comes in, and then it kind of ruins the. The grassroots idea, right. Because then if you have no budget, it's just. You're gonna win. Right?
Like, yeah, they try and set the rules to that, but, you know, they can only place the rules so many times or so often. Like the. The first 20, it was a 25 hours, 25 minutes, 25. 2nd race, the longest race in the world at the point. At that time, you know, you had to have a $500 car, and, you know, you can only spend so much. And all the other stuff, which we genuinely did. It was an 89 civic with.
Yeah.
You know, it had a. Our version of the Ls and the Honda is. It had the Acura ls engine, the one eight in it. But there's a, you know, mercury cougar up front with a three with a. Probably a 351 in it or something like that running around. And a BMW finished second place with, you know, they've got more invested in their valve train than we do in our entire season of racing here, but still.
$500 car.
Yeah, but we finished third, so.
Yeah, there you go. Right? Yeah, I mean, and that's, you know, it's. That's the problem. Racing is like, it's not the problem, but, I mean, it just kind of. You kind of wink, wink, nod, nod. You know, like, oh, yeah, it's a $500 car. Everything was free. Now, you know, everybody tends to barter and trade.
So, I mean, it technically is free, but, like, it's like, so you painted a guy's car and he gave you an engine. Like, that's kind of not what like this should be about, but, yeah, nobody's getting rich racing. So, I mean, it's like, at least the people that are, you know, that crazy better are keeping the sport going, you know what I mean? And that's.
It's the attitude. I find. It's the attitude you go in with, like the guy with the 88 Mustang, with the Mazda three engine that came to us.
Yeah.
He's always near the back. He doesn't give a toss. Couldn't care less. That's. He'd rather blow a whole bunch of money and do that and finish at the back. He's having fun, doesn't give a rasp behind. Yeah, that's his thing. And that's.
If you go in with that kind of attitude, you're always going to win. It doesn't matter. Like, all the guys at the front, you know, if they're cheating, whatever, they're, they're always going to be doing that. They're in it to prove a point.
Yeah.
And if your point is to just have fun, then get a bunch of guys, go have fun. And I think you can still do that. We have some races up here. I mean, just the entry to get in, because the cost of tires, cost of vehicles, cost of the track has gone up. That's the only thing that's gone up. But, yeah, so have the right attitude.
Yeah. I have a friend, she's from Sabo beach, shadowed Susan, her son. They were on a team for, I want to call it what used to be cast car. They run a team.
And Pinty's series, I think what's still called now.
Yeah. And it's. I never realized how much money it was. Like, when she tells me the tire bill for the weekend, and I'm like, it's what? For tires for the weekend? To run that car, she's like, yeah, that's why. Because some of them, like her son, they'll be big races, but he's not running them every time. And I'm like, what's wouldn't Dale be? Couldn't get a sponsor for that race, so can't buy the tires. Can't, you know, and I'm like, I always thought, dumb me when I was a kid, that it was like, oh, yeah. Like, they blow the engine up every week.
That's the biggest expense. No, it's not. It's the rubber. Right. So she was saying, like, if they get a sponsor, it's normally for one race, and that buys the tires. And, you know, so if you go and win, and he does pretty good. He won a couple, couple races last year, and they grew up in a NASCAR family. She's the first person I ever met that they were like, not the first person, but the.
For canadian die hard NASCAR. Like, they drove to Daytona every year, you know, drove down, watched the race. They were there when Dale died. Like it was her son's name. Dale after Dale. Like it's, you know, the sports different now. I used to follow it when I was younger, and now I couldn't even tell you how, who's doing what and who's, you know, it's just different, you know, bad. I think it's on its way out.
It's just.
Yeah, I haven't followed that series in quite a bit. But when I worked at the race shop and I just talked about expenses, we had, you know, say if they. We had customers going down south to Daytona or Sebring or whatever, running in Trans am. If you're in the top level, I mean, even back then, say ten or more years ago, you were spending $25,000 to run mid back of the pack in a transm one. Yeah, and that's. But that's your paying for your tires, your crew, your fuel, you know, your several drums of fuel, your entry fee, all that jazz and whatnot. Flights down the back here. But that's just to have fun.
Yeah.
You might get a, you know, a $1000 check or something to pay for a tire and a half, if that.
Yeah, it. I just, when I think about. And it's like, there's a guy, Robinson automotive at a Toronto. I don't know if you know him, and he used to be all over the racetrack up near there, Toronto or that area, and he was all over running some kind of Corvette series they ran a vet in. And I don't know, but, like, it's the same thing. I can remember him saying 20 years ago, nobody's making money. But, yeah, you know, it's like. But you're running a vet around a track, you know what I mean? Like, it's like, um.
The name of the track escapes me. You'd know it. Um, but I mean, I was just like, they're running vets around, like, that's still a $50,000 car back then. You know what I mean?
Like, that'd be a most part, probably. That's my home, my second home. That's. Yeah, the race shop I worked at was actually in the infield. Yeah, there.
Yeah. So, like, Kirk Robinson, he'd be there, you know, running some of them. I can't remember the team names or whatever, and it was just like. But those guys would work as, you know, they'd work all day at a, like, he ran a shop, he owns a shop. And then they go and work on the car until ten, 1112 at night. You know, every day of the week, like, no, thank you.
It's a labor of love. Yeah. It's that if you think of the automotive industry on our end is, you know, weird and wacky, then the racing industry is a whole different kettle of fish. Especially if you get to the more upper echelons in Europe, where you literally have almost no downtime. If you're on working for, like, the world during this championship or Formula one, that's literally your life is just doing that.
Yeah, I saw something too happened. I'm trying to think. It popped up last two weeks ago, somebody. It was a counterfeit part of some kind, uh, something to do with a val body. And, uh, it ended up being sold through jags or summit, and it was a counterfeit. You remember seeing that?
I really see bits of it, yeah. So they were having to take, like, everything off the shelf out of the warehouses and.
Yeah.
Investigate that.
Yeah. And there was that. And it was funny because there's, they're showing the guy that had come up with, I can't remember his name. God, I should break this stuff down. And he was talking about. And you would think, like, so he came up with this groundbreaking valve body or whatever for whatever that was used in race cars. You'd think he'd be a lot more well off, wealthy, but you could tell by looking at the shop, nope. You know, he's.
He's made a comfortable living, but, I mean, he's. It never made him rich. You know, like, just, he's doing it for the passion of doing it. That was an interesting thing, because I remember it was kind of shining a light on. Guys were talking more and more about how. Yeah. But it was trying to say, oh, Jegs is doing this. And then Jegs is like, whoa, wait a minute.
Like, we just buy, you know, them from a certain supplier. If they put the wrong part in his box, are we at fault or is he at fault? Like, it was just. It was stupid, right? It became a whole match online. It's just like, you know, I get it. I want to side with him, not with Jags. You know, they're the multi billion dollar company. But, I mean, it's the same as, like, people were talking. I can't believe the amount of hate that's online right now for, for Edelbrock as of late, like, everybody's saying their stuff is trash now.
Oh, they're probably getting their lot of their stuff made in China, probably. Or offshore. Yeah, I think. I think I have heard the quote. Quality has gone and gone. Down a little bit, but yeah, yeah.
And then somebody was saying, I think it was comp cams is now they're having issues which everybody that makes a camshaft is having issues with. You know, that's an oil thing, I think, not just the material that the cams made out of, you know, I mean, look how many oe cams fail, right? Like, you can't really say that it's 100%. And to be fair, it's more the lifter that fails than the cam. You know, the lifter fails and then takes the cam with it. So, you know, but we sat through a class on Tuesday night and they talked about AFM, different multi displacement systems, that kind of thing. And it was, it was interesting, but it all comes back to like, we all kind of knew. You get to know the pattern failures and why is it happening. And then, you know, what's the fix most time, put an engine in it.
But they showed some of the new ones that are coming along where, how they're going to do it right on the top of the rocker two piece. It's. That's ridiculous. You know, these cars. And then of course, like the same thing with the extended oil change interval. The guy was saying, like, it's going to be fine if the customers would go back to changing oil every 5000k. But with eight and ten and 12,000, you know, kilometer interval, these engines aren't going to make it out of warranty.
So that's even the problem we've been seeing, or they have with Matt. I think last time I talked to you, we were just starting some valve seal replacement issues with turbos because the extended, I think it was actually a seal issue, but with the extended intervals makes it even worse. You run out of oil faster, so the oil light comes on. Do valve seals in the car. That's actually fun. And my, my tinkery brain loves actually doing that. Like, oh, I get to do some valve seals or in the car, use my brain for a bit.
So, yeah, I, I did, um, the last head that I really stripped down was in a three, five and a Magnum years ago because the, the keepers were too tight, so it wouldn't rotate and they carve up really bad and, um, pit the valve right off. And I remember I just did one, or I did. No, I did three or four under warranty and it was getting towards where they were. They were out of warranty and then they'd revised it so there was only a few cars coming in. And I remember, started like prepping the customer for the. For the. When they wrote a warranty, the cost. And they're like, no, no thanks.
Not doing it like it's. Oh, it's just a little bit of a misfire. Turn light on. I'll leave it. And it was funny. It was always magnums. It wasn't. Same engine in the charger.
Not nearly as often, but in the Magnum. I think it was just the weight of the vehicle or the way maybe it was set up suspension wise or something. It was just like the customers didn't rev it up high enough. It would. It would, you know, the carbon to build and pit and you know. Now he was showing us these, you know, the rings and stuff. Well, you see it, right? Like Mazda does it too. That.
The low tension oil rings and the crappy oil and. Why shouldn't crappy oil? The extended interval. Right. Like it's just Gi and everything. It's bad. It's getting really.
Yeah, so I. Even in my mom's car, she got a. She has a 23 cx 30. She finally got a new car. If you. If you want. Here's a customer, just a kind of an aside. Here's a customer that is buying a car until it's completely used up.
Yeah.
She is on her fourth new car since 1979.
Wow.
She had a 79 t bird, a 90 Corsica, an zero four accord, and now she has a 23.
So she got 14 years out of a Corsica.
Yes. Somehow I think the ass end of it got rebuilt because it got smushed. It said an engine put in it because three one. And it eventually just rotted out in the front. Then she got an zero four accord that she put 488,000 km on until it was getting a little soft in the back end. And she's still working and can afford some payments for a newer vehicle.
Yeah.
To be able to go see the grandkids here and there and cart the carrying kids. So. Yeah, so she's got a cx nine, uh, 30.
Cx 30.
Yeah, a small one. One just capable of driving the small car. She don't need a big one. She's only like 5152.
She's. Yeah. I had a friend that had a Corsica in high school and I think we tried to kill that more than once and couldn't do it. I think he put two engines in it though, for sure.
What I mean, tough to do. And the other week, you know what I saw? A tempest. Like the same. The same thing. There's a. Fuck. I saw a neon the other day. Like a.
An actual neon. Not an Sr.
Yes.
Or 2.0 or whatever they are, was an actual neon. Like, lord, where did this come from?
Yeah, we don't. And that's the thing. Even up here, we don't see even Sx two s anymore, unless it's summertime. It's somebody's, you know, which usually that's.
Our t four, but the rest of them had all been recycled into new krezers.
Yeah. And that's the thing because. But first gen neon, I can't think of even the last time I've seen one. You know, probably. I mean, I've seen them, but, like, now. Yeah. If you saw it in traffic, you'd be like, where the hell did they find that? Like, yeah, they're all rotted away a long time ago. So they were good.
I love those cars. They're so easy to make money on. Fast, though. Some of them are quick. Like, you know, I talk about my, my service manager, the first dodge dealer I ever worked at, he had an ACR neon, which was american club racer, two door, manual steering, manual brakes. And he built himself a little nitrous kit for it. Just sprayed it right on top of the throttle body, you know, like, just basic. Didn't.
No tune, no nothing. Just like. And he went out and he, like, he, he spanked a lot of faster cars than him because, like, he, you know, he was a good driver. And then it was just like, he didn't care. Like, he put pistons in it probably every other week. One down. It's like, because he was doing so. He was doing.
That's when the pistons were noisy. So, like, he always had a set of pistons hanging around that it came out front or warranty for something else. And he put it. Because he didn't care if it was noisy. Just like I needed to hold together. And. Yeah, he, he raced that thing hard, like street racing. He.
He beat a lot of five leaders. He beat a lot of mustangs. Like, he beat a lot of Hondas. Like, it's a quick car. Fun. I don't know where it would be now because the ACR even was not super common.
Mm hmm.
Like, I'd only ever seen two in the dealer. And then the first srt four I ever drove. That thing scared me. That was fun. That's fun to drive. Like stick shift. It was. It was a lot of fun.
It was quick. Really quick. I hated that, though, because it was four doors. I like. It just killed that car.
But powers. There were power windows up front, but manual windows in the back. Right?
Yeah. So stupid, right? Like, who does that?
Like, you know, but save some weight in the back. But I don't, maybe. I don't know. That was what killed me. I was like, seriously. First time I saw one. Yeah, literally, who does this? Like, yeah, sure. It wasn't made wrong.
Yeah, nobody's ever gonna sit back there, probably with this car. But, I mean, hey, like, yeah, whatever, right? Like, which is fine. Then nobody's gonna sit back there. Don't. Then don't sell it with a backseat. Like, just put some lexan windows in it and leave it. Like, yeah, I'm sure. I think if you probably go to some of the racetracks on a Friday night, whatever, where the guys are running, you know, super stocks or whatever, you probably still see a neon run around there or something.
But, you know. Yeah. Who knows how many times that engine's been apart in that car?
So, yeah, probably 47 or so this in the last three years, but.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But we're back onto the. The oil life intervals. I think we've been pushing the eight, give our customers to the eight k, even if it, you know, we've got the system where it'll go up to 16k. But try to teach them at the eight k. We're not having the, you know, oil run out because, you know, no one's checking their. No one's checking their oil until it comes in for service or the oil light comes on.
Yeah.
And that's where we were seeing the problems with the valve seals on the turbo engines.
Mm hmm.
Big time. But that was a, that was a fun warranty job to do.
Yeah. Not. Didn't pay one.
It actually, I won't tell you the times, but I. I've got it down to almost half of warranty time. I can do it. It. The first one, it took me own, you know, an hour or more over that. But, you know, with any job like that, I like to research the hell out of it ahead of time. They had videos up, read how to do it, watch the videos on how to do it. And the first, when I do it, I'm watching the video, getting it right first time.
Because something else we can touch on is, you know, you see, a lot of techs nowadays are more worried about their flag time. They're worried about, you know, they're worried about getting, you know, worry about getting paid for the hours rather than paid for the job they're doing, rather than doing the job they're getting paid for. Yeah. They're worried about that than they can get in their own head or, you know, cut corners. And that's not a job to cut corners on, but it's, yeah, it's, uh, to doing the valve seals, the cam stay in and everything. You're just putting the piston at top dead center, not even pressurizing the cylinder because the valve won't actually drop down low enough.
Right.
The spring has enough spring to it. You can collapse it and put it all in.
Nice.
But, uh, I managed to, yeah, knock it down to about almost half of warranty time. So I can knock out two of those and a couple brake jobs in a day. And.
Are they coming in a lot, Chris.
In our area, they weren't some guys I was talking to at training. They were, you know, they had them stacked up for a while, but they didn't like doing their jobs. And I was talking to one guy, and he was astounded I could do it the way I was doing it, but that comes down to a lot of, you know, muscle memory. And. Yeah, as we touched on earlier on, the obsession with having, you know, all the ratchets, all the. All the. Everything I had, I have an electric ratchet on one side for going, the bolt to go up, a ratchet on the other side for the ratchet, for the bolt to go down.
Yeah.
Then I've got two different hand ratchets, one for on, one for off, and a torque wrench. It's a two Newton meter setup. And I could. I can fire those off no problem.
Yeah.
But it's having all the tools set up and.
Yeah, I went and bought a second electric ratchet, and I was like, oh, that was stupid. I'll never use it. And it's, like, amazing now. Right. You don't even change sockets. You just pick up the other ratchet. Like, same thing as you're saying.
I've got three, three, eight ratchets or electric ratchets. You've got two quarter inch ones, you know, a short and a long one, and a bunch of different impact guns with everything attached. I can just, if I'm doing a job across the shop, I just load up my bucket with all my extra tools and a ratchet on or a socket on each ratchet. Subaru 14 on the front, 13 on the rear. Just pick a different ratchet sockets and save.
I find that was the biggest, one of the biggest hurdles I did for really getting my, my speed up, because I'm not fast, was. Was just better organization on tools on a cart like, that helped immensely if it was. If I could keep it all localized it really sped my time up and that was something I probably, I probably bought my first service cart, like 2006, you know, and now it's just as the box gets bigger, you put more in the cart, but it still helps to be able to just like reach behind you, grab that out of the drawer, go right back to the car, you know, like it's. Instead of having to, like at the back of the. When I think now, like, how many steps I've made walking from the back axle to the toolbox. Like now if I can't. If I can't, I look at the size of the shop now, if I can't look like I could move my cart around in it reasonably well, I don't want to work there because it's just going to be, you're going to be fighting it, trying to get it between the hoists and everything else. It's just little things.
When guys design shops, they need to think about that kind of stuff, like, you know, spaces. Yeah, we could jam one more hoist in. Sure.
You can't walk between them, but you have to walk under a car for sure. If a car is mid level, you have to walk and run all the way around the shop. But, yeah, like doing a job like that, I've got like 517 mil, three, eight sockets, so I can.
Yeah.
How long for the next one?
You said you got two apprentices are working with you.
That we do. One, he should be going for his second year. You can only get him for day release because the block program get, you know, fills up within 45 seconds of it opening. Yeah, just like the campgrounds. But he went through the OYAP program, which is the Ontario youth apprenticeship program.
Yeah.
So that's at the end of high school. You just go, you're working in a shop as your first year, then you do some schooling with that. So that covers your first year. But he's, he's really come a long way of given him enough direction. When he was a co op student and be a younger apprentice, he's followed what I've done. He's listened well and taken direction. I just leave him in the corner. Don't have to worry about in the work he's calling and if he has questions about anything, he comes and asks and, yeah, looks for direction and that's all I can ask them is I used to have as talking about when you worry about, you know, you're making your hours or not, especially in flat rate, you get anxiety about that, like, oh, you know, I want that job because it's, you know, that pays better than what I've got.
But I know nowadays, or if we've worked our system out, I can give them as much customer pay as work. I'll be getting work. I'll get work, and I don't have to worry about, you know, taking over their jobs or anything, just let them go.
And that. And that. That came about. You were saying, as you're talking earlier, with some of the changes at the shop for your pay.
Yeah, that and a bit before that, too, where I started advocating a lot more for our apprentices, whereas sometimes I would see sometimes it's had a necessity where we need them to do something else and, you know, we need a tech to take over. Nowadays, we're just leaving the apprentices going. That's how they're learning to do their job. And, you know, they're. They're more productive for the shop. They're generating more hours, and the shop is better off for it. So, yeah, and we're training them to do us, you know, do the work our way, do it the right way, and they're going to stay there. They're going to want to stay there, you know, hopefully forever.
A career. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. We saw the conversation come up in tick tock. I don't know if you saw it or not. One of the guys was talking about apprenticeship and mentorship into the indian industry and where we're absolutely dropping the ball. But it's so funny, right, because when you talk to the guys down the states about how we do it up here, immediately, there's so much kickback. Oh, I don't want the government involved at all.
I mean, I get it. But, like, I think our system up here works pretty good. It really does. Like, now, it's not a new system. It's been refined several times. Right.
Yeah.
It's not as far from perfect, but, I mean, you know, you came up through it. I came up through it. Like, you know, lots of other guys have talked to.
It sets, like, you know, at least your base level, where that's. It's all like anything. It's down to the shops, the individual shops, to do with that, what they can. You know, you're gonna get some shops where you're gonna be sticking an apprentice on the lubrack forever and expect them to know anything.
Yeah.
And you can if you don't teach them, and it's investing in them. Yeah. That pays off at the end and makes the system work.
My boss is big on that. He's got a real. He's taken that real challenge and really tried to address it. We've got a co op student that comes in. She's in every morning, almost every morning, three to three mornings of the week, because, again, we're not open Fridays. Um, or four. Four mornings, so. And she's.
So she works half a day. She's doing good. She likes it. Um, the girl we had previous semester, she liked it, too, but I. She just didn't have it. I don't think it's. It's going to be in her wheelhouse. I think she.
Whereas this young lady, Erin, she's got mechanics in the family. I think it's. An uncle is a retired mechanic, and he's gonna. They do a lot of work at home for the rest of the members of the shop. So she's been growing up around it, and so she really likes it. But, you know, it's. It's funny to see because it's just a little thing, right? So I'm watching her like that cv axle, we're getting ready to torque the axle nut, and, you know, I'm gonna. Okay, so it's like 158 foot pounds torque this axle nut, and she created, grabs the torque wrench, and she starts pulling it towards her.
And I'm like, you want to be careful of that, because if that slips off, you're going to punch yourself right in the bottom lip. And so I said, you should try to push it away from. Well, the poor girl is so little, right, that it's like, everything she can do to, like, push on, because she don't weigh 158 pounds, right?
So grab onto the fender, stand on the end of it.
Yeah, but she got it done. But she's like. And I'm like, you know, and like, she'll come over and I'll be like, what's she trying to get an oil filter off? And she couldn't get it off. And I reached up and just literally like. And she looks at me like, how do you. How do you. And it's like, first of all, I'm like, four of you, my side. And then, second of all, I said, honey, it's just like, it's 30 years of doing it.
Like my. You know, our hands are different now, right? Like, they just.
You know, I do that with our apprentices every once in a while. I can't get this off. And I come over with my dad's strength and.
Yeah, yeah, my friend Lee, forget that was on here. He talks about, you know, it's not a coincidence that all the old mechanics, when you see them, they look like, you know, gorillas, big shoulders, big necks, like crippled up and hunched over. He says, it's just what it does to you. But, yeah, it's the same thing. My brother lifts weights and it's like, you know, when he compares even my hand strength and his, he's like, what do you, it's just, it's all day, every day, man. It's just the way it goes. Like, you just, your body adapts. So it's, um.
She's doing really well, and I hope that we can, I'd like to keep her on through the summer and get her because she's starting to get really up to speed on, you know, tires and oil changes and, and doing the DVI thing. And, and that's where it's important because, like, you know, this industry is more and more is about inspecting the car properly. Right? Like, it's not just about, I used to think it's just smarts, and then now I realize that it's like, most of this is like, documentation and proper inspections. Like, yeah, because if you do that, it certainly helps your, your odds of even being able to sell the work, you know, especially now as the economic times become a little tighter, people are a little more fussy about how it's actually presented to them, you know?
Oh, yeah. It's a, it's helped our sales. Like, they sales quite a lot and, but the customers are seeing that, like, wow, I didn't realize, I didn't realize this much. And we're selling a lot more. Yeah, that's the other thing. We had this, we've been starting the last year and a bit is, and pushing hard. As for DVis, they're doing our, we have to do one on, you know, every vehicle that comes in.
Right.
Even if it's coming back for some work, you know, we'll just do a, not even a full inspection. We're just doing a quick video. Like, here's your nice shiny new brakes. You know, you knocked your mirror off last week. Here's your nice new mirror.
Yeah.
You know, little things like that. Or if we're doing, you know, some diagnostic work, you know, here's what we found. Doing videos on that.
But, yeah, I've always been, yeah, I've always been very stickler for, like, trying to film or take a picture of what I find when I do the diag, like, here's the rotted wire right here, you know, or like, I do it more now. I just take like, videos of the, of the scanner when it's happening, when it's rolling, and just take it with my phone because I suck at, like, computer stuff. So, like, yeah, I can hit the button and take the snapshot and save the recording, and then, but after I got it back to the shop, I would have no idea my boss could go and get it. Like, it's uploaded to the cloud and whatnot. But, I mean, it's, it's just easier for me to, like, take the phone out, like, pull over the side of the road, take the phone out, get it to duplicate it, and then just film it. And then I can stick that right on the DPI from my phone and, you know, here you go. I, it's, you know, it's such a big thing. Somebody was talking how in the, they feel like if we hit another economic downfall, then the 300% rule is going to be like a detriment and not a.
I don't see that happening because I still think, like, it may not be able to, we might be able to sell anything off of it, but I think now the, you know, the, the door is open, the customers are used to it, and I think they're going to stick with it. They're just, they're going to want to know. They're not going to buy nothing if there's no proof, right? But, like, if there's no proof, they're not even. We don't even have a chance. So I think it's, it's bad. I still struggle with it. Like, I'm so used to. Just, like, it needs a control arm, you know? And that's it.
Right. Right on your work order. Here you go. And, you know, price it out.
And, and the plaything, trying to show people. Sometimes the, the play is, is tough because then it's like a two man thing, right? Someone's got a hold of camera. Somebody's got to shake it. You got to get it on video because the static picture obviously doesn't show it.
Yeah.
And another one there. Wheel bearing in a. What the hell was that? A ford econoline. Um, noisy wheel bearing, uh, tapered in or not, or. Right. So it's like, I took the brake pads right off. There's the bracket hanging there. Nothing's touching the rotor.
Spin it, you know, get it on film. Cool customers, like, great. You know, it's, that kind of thing is harder to catch. That's why, you know.
Sure. If it actually translates on the other end of the video, can you actually hear them? Well, yeah, yeah.
And then, so you could spend sometimes, like, ten minutes trying to get one part as a video. That's the part that, like, really, time adds up. So, shop owners, if you're listening, like, give the people, your people, like, proper time to do these, you know, one shop owner I know, um, he does the DVis are all free, and the expected time that the shop, the customer or customer expected time that the tech should take is an hour, and it's pretty, pretty competent check. Like, it's a pretty complete check, and it's an hour, you know, we're not. Shouldn't be expecting our guys to do them for, like, 25 minutes. You're not really gaining much for 25 minutes, you know, so.
Yeah, for a. Yeah, for a full inspection, like, we're doing ours, you get the multi point, which is just whatever yeah. Is on our sheet. You're just checking out the basics on our sheet, then we're. Our sheet. The digital inspection. Everything's on the. On the computer now.
Yeah.
But just covering the basics and. Or if I'm gonna die, then, you know, that's where the 300 rule, you know, I find, doesn't apply. You can.
Yeah.
You can't, you know, say, oh, you need all this stuff that wasn't in your scope of, you know, they didn't ask you to look at.
Yeah.
You know, if I'm doing an engine misfire, I've got the hood up. Well, I'll peek around while your belt's about to fly off. You're going to know a leak over here as well as, ls Everstep or have the vehicle up and you. Then you notice the wheels are falling off, then you can recommend that if it's.
But, yeah, but I saw, like, the same thing we were talking about last month. You know, I've heard of guys like, oh, it's in for a wiper blade, and they're racking the car. Like, that, to me, is just like, you look too desperate to the customer, I think, when you do it that way, I mean, I'm sure there's coaches out there, like, listen, it works. It's the same as the conversation we had about waiters. Becky Witt, I shared that thing, and she was talking about how they don't even. She doesn't even allow them. And somebody, of course, oh, it works really good for me. I know it can work.
I'm not saying it can't. Nobody's saying it doesn't work. We have a whole history in the industry of it working. But for all the times that it works, in terms of selling work, it also does set that, that pace in the shop of the anxiety level goes up because, you know, and it like advisors that are listening, if the customer asks you how much longer, and it hasn't even been the time that's been conveyed and communicated as to what to expect, don't go, like, don't go out in the shop just to appease the customer. Notice the tech. That's just pissing the tech off, right? If you want to make it look like you did, go out in the shop and then, you know, go to the bathroom or go and then walk back in, but, like, coming out to us when it's only been 45 minutes and you told there'd be an hour, you're not achieving anything except that you're trying to appease that customer who already is showing you, like, they shouldn't be a waiter. They're not. They're too keyed up, they're too impatient.
Like, they're already, we're sitting there going, you know, stress schedule was already stressing them, and it's been 45 minutes, and then they knew it's gonna be an hour, and they showed up 15 minutes late. And that's supposed to be still your fault, not theirs. Like, you know, if all that would go away tomorrow, I'd be such a happy boy in this industry because it just, it adds such a. So many people get anxiety as soon as the customer's waiting, and it's like, yeah, you know, I understand. They come in, they're waiting. You have them there. You can show them the damage, but that's what the DBI is supposed to be for. We're supposed to be able, they're supposed to be able to have their phone in their hand anywhere that they are, and look at the thing.
There's the same thing, you know? Then if you really want to come over and I'll show it to you, then you could drive back over. But when you're not in the waiting.
Room, you're not, here's your loaner, please.
That's right.
For a while. Come back eventually.
Yeah. Dealerships. That's what I miss is, like, dealers, like I say, the first dealer I ever worked in, they had two shuttle bands running nonstop all day long. Like, they would take people from Ottawa and drive them over into Gatineau, Quebec.
Oh, yeah.
Like, they thought nothing of that. You know, that's a 45 minutes in traffic trip every day. Yeah, twice a day, three times a day, four times a day. Didn't they care? They pick up parts of the other dealer coming back like it was, we use those guys, God bless them, but now it's like the other independent shops, they don't seem to get on the idea that it's like okay you got four people there, you know, it's 09:00 there's four people like they were supposed to be, you know, not waiting and then they come in and they decide they're gonna wait. Yeah, like get them in your van and get them out of here. Like take them somewhere, take them to work, take them to McDonald's, take them to Tim Hortons. Like get them the hell out of this shop. You're just keying everybody up like just.
On a Saturday. Hey. Like everyone always, we try not to let people wait on Saturdays. I would prefer a Saturday. Just, I don't care. You give me pretty, you know, eight jobs to do. Just everyone come in at 08:00 drop off your keys, put a stack of work orders and keys out there then bugger off. I'll tell you what the car needs.
You sell it, we'll get it done. Everyone comes and picks up at twelve. Yeah.
And or reschedule. Right. Like it's just we got talking to, we Lucas does it at his shop where they do inspections and diag in the morning. That's how they schedule their day and then repairs it on the afternoon.
Yeah.
And it seems to work really well and I should really have him on at some point to talk better about how they do that, break it right down because I think it's like it would really work. I've seen it work in person and it's like it, you know, morning is hustle in inspect and you know that way the guys got time and then in the afternoon they start pulling in the car that they maybe looked at at eight that morning it comes back in at 01:00 and then they start doing the repair or the next day is when they pull it in at 01:00 like. But they always know morning inspection and you know, diag day time.
By the time that's, you know, been quoted out and accepted and all the parts are you know, on the bench ready to go, not waiting on a part here and there.
But you're not looking at like a c problem at 03:00 on a, you know, Friday afternoon when they close at five you know that's like shouldn't even be doing. Yes, she wanted it fixed but you.
Know a few weeks ago. So we just had our best, our second best month April or month ever was our April. So we hit 666 hours which normally is with three and three quarter people, because our one apprentice was off sick for about a week.
Right.
And the one day I had, I think I had his hoist and my hoist, and I was juggling them between them and parking them outside. Thankfully, all the customers were getting loaners. All right, or here's a ride. Bugger off. All the work, they couldn't not sell the work on the car, so I managed to crank out 24 hours of work and, you know, in a nine hour period, just juggling cars left.
Yeah, it can be done. You know, people that, like, think that, like, it can be done, it's, it's, it. But it's process, right? It comes back to. It's not. The tech is able to do the job any faster. What it is, is the tech doesn't waste a second. All the parts already sold. It's flow, you know, it's.
It's not, you know, no one's bugging you. And that's, that's where I always wind up. Getting slowed down is being shot for me. I'm bugged 30, 40, 50 times a day.
Yeah.
You know, a minute here, a minute.
There, but it, it adds up for sure. Um, what do you got to say in closing, Chris, what do you think?
Um, I think in closing, I like to thank you very much a, for, like, doing this podcast, which is great. I listen to it as often as I can. Unless, you know, the kids fussing in the back then that I got to put on some music to drown them out or to appease them. Yeah, Metallica usually works well, but. And I think talking to you, the last time, I think I was talking about, you know, my, my struggles growing up and, yeah, getting past some of those, and it's helped give me a voice and give me a better outlook and a better, better way to proceed with things which has helped at work. Like my manager and I have a better understanding. We work amazingly well together now, and we're running a tight ship, but a very productive, very successful ship.
Now, that's got to be very rewarding, right, for him to see, you know, if a relationship at work can improve. Like, that's, you know, because we always, like, you know, we can work together, but when two people, like, really start to click on a better level, you know, it's. It's even better. Like, yes, you know, and I've gotten.
A lot better direction from our general manager as well. I think I did some, took some after, after hours training from Oscar Gomez, amazing trainer, and, yeah, my general manager had no problem of. No, here's a check. Yeah, let's go. Just get it done. You. So that. That gave me the confidence to be able to do that.
So this and our talk and our venting and. Or my kind of venting and like I talked about, our. My oldest child has ASD, which is autism spectrum disorder. And, you know, it's one of those pretty darn sure that I've got it. So I've actually started down the road of the adult diagnosis for that.
Right.
Well, which is supposed to be on Tuesday, but that's gonna get way late till next month, so.
But starting down that journey, you're not alone in it. There is a lot as I meet more and more technicians and owners and people in this industry. You're not alone. There are so many that are. That are on it. It's incredible. I think it's what makes some of them really good, you know, it probably does.
Yeah. But I think having the self realization there, that's why, you know, going through the process and realizing, you know, why it was. I think I was. I was a toxic employee, if you've the toxic tech before, and they've managed to turn that around at Cobra Mazda and with Cobra Mazda.
Yeah.
Turning that into a successful career. I mean, they want to see me retire from there, so they're like, we're here forever.
That feels good to hear. Right. I mean, and it's not just because they've got a bunch of money and time invested into you, but they see you as an asset. Right. Like, that's huge. I mean, and the podcast thing for me, like, you know, all the support I get and thanks for you for being such, so loyal and, you know, always supporting me is because this is just therapy for me. It really is. You know, it's just.
It's so, so simple to just have the conversations and connect with people and, you know, it's not. We've got some exciting things coming up for. For Asda. This what we're gonna be doing. We're working on kind of behind the scenes on some conversations that are gonna happen, and I'm really looking forward to it. And then it's like, if it takes off, like, I think it can, and it becomes a reoccurring thing, then huge. How many people it could actually really reach, you know, because it's gonna be. It's gonna be something that stays, something that people can pull up and research and hear again and again and then.
Because not everybody hears every episode. Not every episode resonates with everybody. But, I mean, every week, more and more people are. And it's funny because some episodes that I think are just okay. Other people go, my God, your conversation with that person was. Was fantastic. And I'm going, all right. I didn't.
Like. Sometimes it doesn't. It doesn't feel like that when you're having a conversation, and then when you go back and listen to it, you're like, wow. Yeah, okay, I get it. What they're talking about now, that's just like, you know, we come on here. We don't come on. It's. It's so just natural, you know? It's as if you and I are sitting here having a coffee, talking about our week at work.
Like, you work at one dealership and I work at another, and we get together. I used to do that with all my friends all the time, you know, that's just what this has become for me, you know?
So I get. Well, before our previous talk, I. I probably wouldn't even have done that, to be honest. So, like, coming on and talking with you, you know, kind of fanboy in here, but fangirl. But, like, you've done great for the industry and great for us, and, you know, I like to thank you very much for what you've done.
I stand on the shoulders of people like, you know, the guy on your shirt, like, that's. You know, those people gave me. Yeah. Mister Scandinavian. Yeah. Next level human being. Right? So the stuff that he's doing with his charities and stuff now is just, you know, if I can have that kind of impact at the end in some way, then this will be more than it was ever expected of me to do in this industry. So I'll be very fortunate.
I am very fortunate. There's no doubt about it. I'm very blessed. So, anyway, I will let you get back to your Victoria day weekend. I just wanted to thank you for coming on. So, it's good to see that things are improving, and, I mean, you'll be here again for sure, you know? Yeah, it's. I mean, reach out to me anytime you want. You know, whatever you're going through, whatever you're challenging.
Interesting stuff. Let me know, man. We talk. We talk. We see each other quite a bit online, and. Yeah, share more, as much as you can, because, I mean, it's. It's interesting to me. It's a dip, it's a brand, and I'm not super familiar with.
I don't get a ton of them, but, I mean. Yeah, all right.
And if you are hell, if anyone's ever down the coburg way, poutine's on me.
Love it. Love it. All right, I'll let you go. Thank you very much.
Thanks for having me. Bye.
Hey, if you could do me a favor real quick and, like, comment on and share this episode, I'd really appreciate it. And please, most importantly, set the podcast to automatically download every Tuesday morning. As always, I'd like to thank our amazing guests for their perspectives and expertise, and I hope that you'll please join us again next week on this journey of change. Thank you to my partners in the ASA group and to the changing the industry podcast. Remember what I always say, in this industry, you get what you pay for. Here's hoping everyone finds their missing ten. Mm. And we'll see you all again next time.
About this episode
Christopher Johnson returns for part two, diving deeper into shop productivity, the impact of wait times, and the importance of digital inspections. He shares insights from his experiences with engine repairs and racing, highlighting the balance between speed and quality in automotive work. The conversation touches on the challenges of modern racing, the significance of mentorship in the industry, and the evolving landscape of automotive service. Johnson emphasizes the need for proper inspections and customer communication to enhance shop efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Original notes
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In this episode, Jeff and Christopher pick up where they left off and discuss the benefits of digital vehicle inspection (DVI) for reducing customer wait times and minimizing technician frustration. Christopher also shares how the podcast has positively impacted his outlook and relationship with his manager. Additionally, the conversation explores the intricacies of budget racing and the importance of an efficient shop layout.
00:00 Monster Miata car show, LS engine, unique.
04:34 Autocross, ice racing led to chump car.
08:29 Realized the cost of racing tires is surprising.
09:54 Expensive racing involves $25,000 expenses.
14:31 Issues with camshafts and lifter failures.
16:24 The Last head was stripped down due to tight keepers.
21:52 The Backseat is useless for this car, consider removal.
25:57 Tool organization on the cart improves work efficiency.
27:44 High school followed by work and schooling.
31:25 Young lady Erin has family mechanics influence.
34:57 Using the phone to document workplace repairs.
39:26 Industry history of works but fuels anxiety.
41:37 Frustration over customers waiting in the shop.
45:21 Grateful for the podcast, overcoming struggles, and improved work.
48:31 Exciting plans for Asda's upcoming conversations.
51:36 Please comment, share, and subscribe to the podcast.
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The Jaded Mechanic Podcast
Jeff Compton
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