Three Benefits of Integrated Payments in Your Auto Repair Shop

Hello Shop Owners, Sunil Patel, Co-Founder of Tekmetric here.

I’m writing this blog because I believe it’s both an honor and a duty to be a leader in business.

Recently, I was awarded by Houston Business Journal as a Most Admired CEO of 2020, and this got me thinking about the leadership principles that have helped me along the way and made Tekmetric what it is today.

Not only do I lead a team of great talent, but I also speak with and have the pleasure of doing business with many strong leaders, whether it be shop owners, other entrepreneurs, or even other leaders within the company.

The fact of the matter is that I wouldn’t have been able to build a robust shop management software without my team. Watching them succeed and set each other up for success is hands down the most rewarding part of my job.

It’s a privilege to work with talented and innovative individuals that make me proud each and every day.

Playing a part in helping them grow and flourish makes me feel like I have served a purpose larger than simply building a product or making money.

Inspired by the HBJ honor, I took the time to sit down and outline a few of the leadership principles that I have always relied on.

They focus on listening, learning, and recognizing everyone as an individual. I hope they help you and your team grow as people and as a unit.

1. Listen to Your Team

Good leadership relies on a strong feedback process.

Listen to your team, whether it’s an idea or how they’re feeling so that they know you care not only about their contributions but also about them as people.

Once a week, I sit down with the leaders of different departments and simply listen to how things are going. What are the current challenges they’re facing? What are some successes they’re proud of?

What do they feel they could use more support with? Giving them the room to voice their concerns, their desires, and their victories provide them with a model for being the best leader they can for the people they lead.

Even when we’re hiring new team members, we like to get input from our current team to make sure we’re considering all voices in the process.

No idea is a bad idea. Even the ideas that you never end up using still have value because they can spark other ideas, show your team a new perspective, or simply show the person who voiced them that they were included as part of the team or project.

Some of the minds behind Tekmetric have been exactly where you are: running a shop and trying to maintain that fine balance between success for your team, success for your customers, and success for your business.

And we know there's always that extra .001 millimeter room for improvement, which is why we set out to help shops find and make those improvements. Everything about Tekmetric is about making your shop better!

But we also know that you spend a lot of time running your shop, and that’s why we’re happy to do that heavy lifting. Part of the natural byproduct of helping great shops get better is we have a lot of data and a lot of insight into how shops can, and maybe even should, operate. 

That's the beauty of modern cloud-based shop management systems, they provide businesses like yours with a strong foundation of organization, simplicity, and functionality to run your shop, with the flexibility and freedom to run it in whatever way works best for you.

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Looking specifically at the first half of 2023, we set out to gather a high-level view of the entire independent auto repair industry alongside unique Tekmetric shop data to understand how shops like yours can save time, improve operations, and bolster your profit margins.

The goal behind our latest industry index report was simple: we wanted to make it as easy as possible for shops like yours to take advantage of all that amazing data and industry expertise we've gathered along the way.

Keep cars on the road, customers happy, and your team supported for a successful business.

At Tektonic 2026, one of the most memorable moments of the conference came when Tekmetric turned the spotlight on the shops doing the best work.

The inaugural Shop Excellence Awards, powered by performance insights from the Tekmetric platform, celebrated repair shops that are not only delivering standout business results, but also redefining what exceptional customer service, shop culture, and operational excellence look like across the automotive repair industry.

"Tonight is probably going to be my favorite part of all of Tektonic," Tekmetric CEO and Founder Sunil Patel said during the ceremony. "None of this is about us. It's about the shops in this room, the people actually doing the work. Running shops, leading teams, taking care of customers every single day."

Using 12 months of platform performance data from Tektonic event registrants, Tekmetric recognized shops that rose to the top across key measures of customer trust, service consistency, team culture, transparency, and operational growth.

"The shops that win today aren't just fixing cars … they're building businesses, leading teams, and delivering experiences customers remember," Tekmetric President & COO Lauren Langston said.

Top Car Count Award: Dick's Point S Tire & Auto Repair

The Top Car Count Award recognizes a shop that has earned extraordinary trust from its community at scale.

This year's winner, Dick's Point S Tire & Auto Repair in Battle Ground, Wash., served more than 25,000 vehicles during the last 12 months.

That level of throughput only happens when customers return again and again, and when shop teams consistently deliver an experience drivers trust.

"Serving nearly 26,500 vehicles in a single year means thousands of drivers who found a shop they could count on, returned when they needed help, and left satisfied," Langston said.

Sustained Growth Award: Branch Automotive and AutoPro Maryville

Growth is one thing. Sustaining it is something else entirely.

The Sustained Growth Award recognizes shops that have continuously raised the bar for what they deliver to every customer who walks through the door. Growth in average repair order reflects shops that are doing better inspections, making clearer recommendations, and earning customer confidence in the work their vehicles actually need. These two shops demonstrated the most consistent upward trajectory throughout 2025.

This year's winners were Branch Automotive in Highlands Ranch, Colo., and AutoPro Maryville in Maryville, Tenn.

Branch Automotive posted nine straight month-over-month increases in ARO. AutoPro Maryville also delivered nine month-over-month increases, growing by an impressive 51%.

Together, the two shops exemplify what sustainable growth looks like: stronger inspections, clearer recommendations, and the kind of customer trust that leads to consistently higher-value work.

DVI Powerhouse Award: Craftsman Auto Care – Fairfax

Transparency remains one of the most powerful drivers of trust in modern auto repair, and no shop demonstrated that better than Craftsman Auto Care – Fairfax.

“Winning means everything. It means my team winning–being able to pay the best in the business, being able to offer the best benefits, having amazing employees and amazing customers who just fall in love with us,” said Matt Curry, president and CEO of Craftsman Auto Care.

With almost 10,000 five-star reviews, with an average rating of 4.9 stars, Curry said that's a huge trust signal with all of their customers. Craftsman Auto Care uploaded hundreds of thousands of digital inspection images during a year, the highest total Tekmetric’s dataset.

"That's 300,000 moments where a customer could clearly see what their vehicle needed," Langston said. "Removing guesswork, building confidence, and helping drivers make informed decisions about their car."

The result is a service experience rooted in clarity, education, and trust.

Booked Solid Award: A Master Mechanic and Demore's Automotive

The Booked Solid Award honors shops that have built reliable, predictable demand through reputation and service, the kind customers actively seek out, return to, and refer others to.

This year's first winner, A Master Mechanic in Sparks, Nev., recorded the largest booked appointments in the Tekmetric network dataset.

This year's second winner, Demore's Automotive in Palmer, Mass., earned its recognition by proving that smart marketing and exceptional service are a powerful combination. As a Tekmetric Digital Ads beta participant, the shop turned digital visibility into real volume, reaching the right drivers at the right moment and converting first visits into long-term customer relationships. The result is full bays, steady demand, and a shop that delivers every time someone walks through the door.

Together, these two shops show that full schedules don't happen by accident. They're the result of consistent service, earned trust, and, increasingly, the strategic use of digital tools to reach customers before the competition does.

Financing Excellence Award: The Garagisti Katy

For many drivers, the biggest obstacle to safe, reliable transportation is not understanding the repair, it is figuring out how to pay for it.

The Financing Excellence Award recognizes the shop that best removed that barrier.

This year's winner, The Garagisti Katy in Katy, Texas, was the leading user of Buy Now, Pay Later financing across the Tekmetric network.

“I feel great, not only for myself, but for the team and everything that they do: the customer interactions, the sales, helping close the sale. It means a lot,” said Eddie Marlow, manager of The Garagisti Katy. “I have a great team, a great owner, and this award means a lot to all of us.”

By making financing a seamless part of the customer journey, the shop helped more drivers move forward with necessary repairs without added financial stress.

"This shop has made that moment easier," Patel said, referencing the often difficult conversations shops have when customers need repairs but hesitate because of cost.

Best Shop to Work For: The Kar Shop and Ice Cold Air

The final award of the evening focused on the people behind every customer experience.

The Best Shop to Work For Award recognized two shops this year, each demonstrating, in their own way, that the customer experience will never exceed the employee experience.

The first winner, The Kar Shop in Rogers, Ark., was recognized for building a culture where technicians and staff feel valued, supported, and empowered to grow. During the ceremony, Tekmetric leaders shared one story that stood out: the shop changed its operating hours so employees could spend more time with their families while continuing to invest in training and long-term career development.

“It's really kind of impressive that our guys think so much of us. In your day to day, you don't really think about things like that,” said Keith Kingston, one of The Kar Shop’s owners. “You're there to make sure the customers get taken care of, that everything flows well, that you have all your parts; there are so many small details you have to worry about. You don't always stop to think about how everybody feels. So to know that they said good things about us, it's really kind of humbling.”

The second winner, Ice Cold Air, earned its recognition through intentional hiring, steady processes, and genuine leadership, building a workplace where people feel supported, valued, and proud to belong. 

“And what just happened right there with my team and my wife? That energy is going to go back home with us,” Ashley Butler, owner and franchisor of Ice Cold Air, said immediately after winning the award. “It's going to go throughout the entire organization. And next year, we're coming back with a minimum of two people from each shop, that means 28 people. We're going to bring techs, we're going to bring managers, we're going to bring franchisees, so they can come build that energy and experience Tekmetric firsthand.”

With more than 100 employees, Ice Cold Air’s impact reaches far beyond the shop floor. The Tampa, Fla., team believes in doing things the right way: investing in their people, giving back to their community, and building something that lasts.

"It shows up in their culture, their retention, and in every customer interaction," Langston said.

Raising the Standard for the Industry

The Shop Excellence Awards were ultimately about more than recognition. They highlighted the operational habits, customer-first decisions, and team investments that move the entire industry forward.

At Tekmetric, that is exactly what Tektonic is built to celebrate: the shops leading by example and showing what great looks like.

"To all of our winners, and honestly, to every shop in this room, we know what it takes to do this well," Patel said in closing. "The standard you're setting is what moves this entire industry forward."

Join us at next year's Tektonic to hear their stories, see the strategies behind the numbers, and connect with the shop leaders shaping the future of auto repair.

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