Give Back to Your Employees During this Holiday Season

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December 15, 2023

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Read time: 3 min

The holiday season is now in full swing, and as a shop owner, you’re probably thinking about how to best lead your team during this time.

Between the hot chocolate and the carols, there will be a lot you’ll have to navigate, including holiday pay and time-off requests.

By preparing and leveraging auto repair shop management software, all of this can be a piece of cake (or pie, if that’s your holiday dessert of choice).

Pay Technicians at the Job Level Instead of at the End of ROs

Your technicians will likely appreciate getting paid faster, especially during the holidays, when they’re probably planning for purchases like gifts and decorations.

Instead of waiting until an entire RO is completed, you can pay your technicians as they finish individual jobs.

That way, technicians won’t have to wait for their colleagues to finish their tasks. They can get their paychecks once their part of the repair is done.

Tek-Tip: Paying technicians per job is easy to do with Tekmetric’s Tech Pay feature.

Once you set up Tech Pay, all you’ll have to do is go to an RO, select an individual job line, mark it as complete, and release payment.

Balance Technician Hours

Some technicians end up getting more or fewer hours than others—and not necessarily on purpose.

After all, it can be easy to lose track of who has done what recently. This holiday season can be the perfect time to start turning that around by giving more equal hours to technicians across your shop.

That way, you can avoid overworking or underworking technicians during the holiday season and beyond.

Tek-Tip: With Tekmetric, you can use real-time technician reports to get a snapshot of individual technicians’ hours, and assign future tasks accordingly.

Implement a Fair Time Off System

Whether or not your shop already has a vacation time policy in place, you’ll likely see a lot of time off requests during the holidays. Your team members might want to take extra time off outside of the designated days the entire shop will be closed for the holidays.

As much as you want to honor everyone’s time-off requests, it’s not realistic. If you have too many people out at the same time, you risk being understaffed, which can lead to slowdowns and frustrated customers.

Instead of risking being understaffed, you can implement a fair time off system and communicate it to your staff. For instance, you can stipulate that time-off requests during the holiday will be “first come, first serve.”

You could even stagger the schedule so that if multiple people want to be off on the same day, the first half could work during the morning and the second half could take over in the afternoon.

Tek-Tip: No matter which approach you take, you can use the technician hour reports to start forming your game plan.

Consider Holiday Pay

If you do want your shop to be partially staffed on, say, Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve in case of any emergency vehicle repairs, you can offer your staff holiday pay.

This way, team members who would like the extra money can opt to work those days, rather than you designating certain people to come to work.

Tek-Tip: To determine how much you give in holiday pay, you can analyze statistics like your GP dollars and close-ratio within Tekmetric.

Look Into Giving Holiday Bonuses

During the holidays, your shop might spend time giving back to the community, be it through organizing a holiday donation drive or giving discounts to essential workers. As a shop owner, you might also be thinking about how you can spread some holiday cheer to your team.

A great way to do so is by giving everyone a holiday bonus. However, you need to evaluate if you’re in a financial position to give out holiday bonuses, and if so, how much you can give each person.

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In the fast-paced auto repair industry, delivering exceptional service and ensuring vehicle safety is paramount. This is where Tire Suite comes in — a solution that simplifies tire management, letting you save time and gain peace of mind.

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Reasons for their skepticism can stem from many things: the customer can’t see what the service advisor is seeing on their end; they might not have a way to gauge the importance of the issue at hand; maybe a service advisor doesn’t communicate the problem correctly or forgets to ask the customer if they’re following along.

Tekmetric’s features empower auto repair shops to improve customer transparency, streamline communication, provide flexible payment options, and simplify the payment process.

These promote customer trust, enhance satisfaction, and ultimately help your shop close more repair orders. And that's what matters most.

Because at the end of the day, if customers feel they can trust your shop, they'll be more likely to return the next time they need something repaired.

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Mechanic interviews are challenging for both the employer and candidate because the right candidate has to be a fit in personality and technical ability. Plus, the numerous certification types, manufacturer nuances, and shop needs make it even more challenging to become a mechanic.

This guide can be used to help repair shops/dealerships ask the right questions and also help technicians be prepared for questions they will likely encounter. Below you will find the most common car mechanic interview questions broken down by mechanic and service advisor level plus tips to ace your next interview.

Top mechanic job interview questions

While every auto repair shop differs in how they run their job interview process, these are some of the most common questions you can expect. Ranging from technical questions to customer service, be prepared to answer these common questions before your next interview.

An image highlighting the top job interview questions for mechanics.

General interview questions for car mechanics

These common questions cover basic automotive repair experience and relevant work history.

  • Tell me about yourself and your experience as an automotive technician.
  • Why do you want to work for our company/shop?
  • How do you stay up to date with new automotive technologies and repair techniques?
  • What certifications do you currently hold (ASE, manufacturer-specific, etc.)?
  • Are you comfortable working weekends, evenings, or overtime if needed?

Technical interview questions for mechanics

These technical interview questions cover more specific hand-on experience and tools/equipment.

  • Which repairs are you best at?
  • How much would you estimate your tool inventory to be worth?
  • What steps do you take when diagnosing a check engine light?
  • What tools and diagnostic equipment are you most familiar with?
  • Have you worked with hybrid or electric vehicles?
  • Do you believe in factory recommended vehicle maintenance intervals?
  • How comfortable are you with OEM scan/diagnostic tools?

Experience & situational questions for mechanics

These questions help employers understand how you would handle various shop situations and also helps them understand your communication skills.

  • Can you describe a time when you had to work under a tight deadline?
  • How do you deal with angry customers?
  • How do you prioritize tasks when you have multiple vehicles to work on?
  • What would you do if you made a mistake on a repair? How do you handle accountability?
  • What do you do if you encounter a vehicle with an issue you've never seen before?

Additional questions to expect

  • Are you comfortable serving those in need once a month?
  • Are you comfortable doing a DVI on the majority of vehicles you touch?
  • How do you handle a high-pressure environment when the shop is busy?
  • How do you handle a situation where you're unsure about how to fix a problem?
  • Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer?

Top interview questions for service advisors

While the interview questions for service advisors will be similar to mechanics, there will be small differences. Typically, service advisors will be more customer facing and shops will tailor their questions to focus more on customer service and communication style.

General interview questions for service advisors

  • Are you comfortable selling repair services?
  • Are you comfortable working on a commission based salary structure?
  • Who do you believe has the best after market products?
  • Which shop management software is your favorite?
  • How do you deal with a customer saying that you are more expensive than their last shop?
  • How do you win back angry customers?
  • How do you handle over the phone quotes?

Technical interview questions for service advisors

  • What are your greatest strengths as a service advisor?
  • Who do you trust for moving electrical parts?
  • How do you handle working in a fast-paced environment?
  • Are you comfortable meeting sales goals and upselling services?
  • How do you stay up to date with new automotive technology and service trends?
  • How do you handle stress during busy hours?

Experience & situational questions for service advisors

  • How do you explain complex vehicle repairs to a customer who doesn’t understand cars?
  • What steps do you take to build trust with customers?
  • Have you ever had to deal with a miscommunication between a technician and a customer? How did you resolve it?
  • Can you describe a time when you turned a dissatisfied customer into a repeat customer?
  • How do you handle multiple customers needing assistance at the same time?

Additional questions to expect

  • How do you explain the importance of routine maintenance to a customer?
  • What experience do you have with automotive service software or point-of-sale systems?
  • How do you prioritize repair orders and schedule work efficiently?
  • How do you explain repair estimates to customers?
  • How would you respond to 1-star reviews?

Job interview tips for mechanics

  • Research: Not all shops are created equal so make sure to research before applying to make sure they are a good fit. You can also look at online reviews to see what their customers are saying.
  • Preparation: Use the commonly used questions above to help you prepare for the interview. Practice how you would answer each question and ways you can present yourself well.
  • Attire: You have 7 seconds to make your first impression and attire is a big part of that. Dress to showcase your professionalism and experience.
  • Highlight your experience/certifications: Showcasing your certifications and experience can go a long way to in making sure you land the job.
  • Ask thoughtful questions: Some interviewers will allow you to ask questions during the conversation. Make sure you have a few questions to ask that help you learn more about the shop.
  • Follow up: if you haven’t heard back from the shop and you are still interested, give them a call and remind them of your interest in the position.

Final thoughts

Interviews are challenging in any industry but mechanic interviews can be even more challenging with the shortage of talent available. This guide will help you either prepare for your next interview or provide you with common questions to ask your next hire. Lastly, always hire for culture fit and talent second. Culture problems are a lot harder to correct than technical car knowledge.

Top Interview Questions for Automotive Mechanics

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