This topic keeps coming up recently so I want to address it from another angle. Just got this note from a shop owner: "It seems as long as I can get them to show up to the interview I can get them to accept the position. But seems the candidates are not truthful with what they are able to do." My Response: Yep. This is one of the most expensive problems in our industry—and almost nobody talks about it. Here's the reality: Some candidates have gotten really good at interviewing. They can answer the questions. They sound like they know what they're doing. They've got the lingo down. Then they get in your shop and fumble around on an oil change like they've never seen a drain plug before. I have a buddy in Texas that calls it "all hat, no cattle." And the damage isn't just the bad hire. It's the three grand you spent fixing their mistakes. It's the customer who now questions your shop's quality. It's your A-tech who has to clean up the mess and starts wondering if this is the kind of shop he wants to work at. The fix? Working interviews. The best shops I know handle it like this: The 3-Day Gold Standard: - Day 1: They're getting their bearings. Finding tools. Figuring out the flow. - Day 2: You start seeing how they actually work. Do the wrenches fit their hands? Can they diagnose efficiently? How do they interact with your team? - Day 3: They're in it now. You see their real work style. Do they show up on time? Come back from lunch when they said they would? Need to leave early every day? I know three days sounds like a lot. If you can't swing it, even a morning is better than nothing. The Lunch Test: Have your other techs take the candidate out to lunch—on you. You'd be amazed what you learn when someone's outside the shop environment. Culture fit issues reveal themselves fast when there's no filter. Pay them. Treat it like a consulting gig. Have them take a personal day from their current shop if they're employed. Lay out a few specific projects.

Think about the last movie that really grabbed you. I bet it wasn't the scenery. It wasn't the special effects. It wasn't even the happy ending. It was the problem. The moment the hero faces something that threatens to derail everything—that's when you leaned in. That's when you stopped scrolling on your phone. That's when the story actually started. Here's what most shop owners don't realize: your job ads and each conversation you have with a tech works the exact same way. Until a problem shows up that challenges the character, the audience sits there wondering when the story is going to get started. And here's the kicker—in your recruiting story, the technician is the hero. Not your shop. Not your benefits package. Not your shiny new equipment. The tech. Which means every job ad you write, every first conversation you have, every follow-up message you send needs to answer one question: What problem am I solving for this technician? Not "we need an experienced tech." Not "busy shop looking for reliable team member." Those aren't stories. Those are shopping lists. The problem is the hook. When you start talking about the challenges techs actually face—the flat rate squeeze, the lack of respect, the dead-end feeling of no growth, the chaos of poor shop management—suddenly you have their attention. Because now you're in their world. Now you're speaking their language. Now they're wondering, "Wait… does this shop actually get it?" This is exactly why techs ghost you after the first call. You didn't make it about their story. There are two questions I tell every shop owner to ask on initial calls with technician candidates: Question 1: "What's going on that has you checking out new opportunities at the moment?" Question 2: "If we were sitting down one year from now and you were to look back over the previous 12 months and all your personal and professional goals had been accomplished, what would that look like?" Two questions. That's it. With those two questions, you now know what villain the tech is fighting (their current frustrations) and what victory looks like for them (their aspirations).

In order to get acquainted and and help fellow community members, please share: 1. The name and location of your shop. 2. Your biggest frustration with finding techs. 3. How you found your last tech.

When a "Great" Candidate Might Still Be a Bad Business Deal. "If it doesn't work for the business, it doesn't work for anybody." -Chris I had a conversation with a shop owner this weekend that I can't stop thinking about. He found a tech who checked almost every box: → European and exotic car experience → Worked at two shops known for phenomenal quality → Sharp diagnostic skills (impressed the shop foreman in the interview) → Family man, stable, asked great questions in the interview → Even owned his own shop before, so he gets the business side The guy wanted $115K salary. Straight salary. No flat rate. No hybrid. And the shop owner was ready to say yes. Then we started peeling back the layers. The first yellow flag: "I need all my vacation and sick days available immediately—10 days—because my wife is having a baby in February and we don't have anyone else to watch the kids." Okay, understandable. Life happens. The second yellow flag: "I can't come in for a working interview. I don't have any personal days left at my current job." Wait. You have 10 personal days where you are... but none left? Where did they go? The third yellow flag: "The shop is slow, that's why I'm leaving." But when the owner texted him during work hours, the response came hours later with "sorry, been slammed." Slow... but slammed? Here's what hit me: This shop owner—like a lot of us—was already mentally problem-solving how to make it work for the tech. "Maybe I can front him the days.""Maybe I can start him at full salary during the 90-day period.""Maybe he just needs a chance." And I get it. When you've been grinding for months trying to find someone, and a candidate finally shows up who seems like the answer... you want to believe. But I asked him a question that stopped him cold: "What happens to the whole shop if he starts, goes on paternity leave, takes his sick days, and you're paying $2,200/week for someone who hasn't turned a wrench in 60 days?" Silence. Here's the thing nobody tells you about hiring:

I'm running a side experiment with @Brian Nerger to augment his current technician hiring campaign... Ever wonder what would happen if you built your entire hiring strategy around a single, ideal technician? We're doing it now. Meet Jason Reeves. He's not real… but he might as well be. This little experiment changed how I think about recruiting and I can't wait to report the results. 👇 Curious? Take a look at Jason's "Wanted Poster" and tell me what stands out to you. (And yes—you probably have a Jason out there looking for you too.)