I'm thrilled to introduce @Christi Warren, who just joined our team at Technician Find as Client Success Manager. Christi brings something special to our community - she's been living the shop life alongside her husband, who's both a technician and shop manager. Those dinner conversations about the tech who didn't show up? The excitement when a great candidate accepts? The frustration when your A-tech gives notice? She's been there for all of it. But here's what really sets Christi apart: she's worked directly with independent shops, helping them onboard shop management software. She's been in your shops, seen your workflows, and felt your pain points firsthand. She attends industry conferences and truly understands the daily frustrations - from software that promises everything but delivers headaches, to the constant juggling act of keeping customers happy while developing your team. One of the many things I love about Christi is her genuine passion for this industry. She's been quietly absorbing technician culture through forums and groups - not as a recruiter, but as someone who genuinely cares about understanding what makes techs tick. She gets why respect matters as much as pay. She understands the difference between a shop that just employs techs and one that develops them. Her husband has given her the real insider's view - the good, the challenging, and everything in between. Combined with her hands-on experience in shops like yours, that perspective is invaluable, and I'm excited for you all to get to know her. Christi will be helping coordinate our recruiting campaigns and keeping things moving smoothly for our clients. But more than that, she's here as someone who truly understands your world from multiple angles. Please join me in giving Christi a warm welcome! Drop a comment below to say hello - I know she's excited to connect with each of you. Welcome to the family, Christi! We're lucky to have you.

As an industry, we keep saying we’re “short on techs,” but the best ones aren’t hiding—they’re just ignoring shops that look the same. After 7 years of conversations and 100+ exit interviews, the pattern is blunt: 1) Wrong pond, wrong bait.We blast generic job-board ads and expect top performers to bite. They don’t. They move through referrals, reputation, and communities where your shop rarely shows up. 2) Leaving beats staying (on paper). Great techs flirt with opening a shop not because they want payroll headaches, but because it promises three things they’re missing: respect, control over income, and real growth. 3) The 3-circle gap (why they quit): - Respect: Real open-door policy, not lip service. Clear communication, decisions with tech input. - Money: Competitive comp that tracks value, not tenure. Transparent paths to higher earnings. - Growth: Personal AND Professional training, tooling, and a ladder beyond “turn more hours”. Great employees want to go with shops that want their life to work inside and outside of the shop. When all three circles overlap, two things happen fast: - Retention sticks. People stop taking recruiter calls. - Attraction turns magnetic. You stop “hiring” and start selecting. The “shortage” mostly exists in shops trying to win with one circle (usually Money) and hoping the rest will sort itself out. If you want fewer resignations this quarter, start here: audit your Respect–Money–Growth overlap. Then replace job-board spam with proof—tech-facing videos, team-led referrals, and visible systems that make great techs say, “Yep, I can thrive there.” The future isn’t about convincing kids to join the industry—it’s about building shops worth joining.

"Can't make it in today." -Your service advisor. The third one this year. You're already doing the math: - You'll work the counter yourself (again) - Cancel your afternoon meetings (again) - Apologize to waiting customers (again) But here's the thought that actually hurts: "Maybe I'm the problem. Maybe my shop is where good employees come to quit." [Stand in your shop tonight after everyone leaves. Feel that? That's not emptiness. That's potential.] Last week, one of the shops we were working with had to turn OFF our ads. Too many qualified service advisors were calling and applying. What finally moved the needle for us was ditching “job posts” and writing love letters—clear, specific invitations to the person who would thrive in that specific shop. How to do it (grounded in a real SA ad that worked): 1️⃣ Start in their world. Open with what great SAs actually live: “You’re the bridge—calm with customers, clear with techs, you keep the day moving.” 2️⃣ State the promise—plain and concrete. “$60k–$100k+ based on performance. Full medical/dental/vision. Up to 21 paid days off. No weekends.” 3️⃣ Show how they’ll win here. “Family-owned, open-door leadership, steady car count, Tekmetric, clean front office, 1:1 check-ins, real path to leadership.” 4️⃣ Lower the friction to raise a hand. Offer human ways to respond: “Apply online, drop a resume in person, text the owner, or email.” 5️⃣ Proof without puffery. If you’ve got it, add social proof: “4.9★ Google rating—see recent reviews.” When your ad sounds like you actually see them, you stop hiring “anyone” and start attracting the right one. And cool stuff starts to happen like having a 20-year veteran service manager say: "This feels like someone finally sees me." Simple words can change everything. The next time you write an ad to attract a top performer, let them know within the first 10 seconds that you understand their world. Then watch what happens.

I had a great discussion with Technician Find community member @David Laird last week about auto repair shop marketing that will help you boost car count AND hire better techs. The quote above is just one of the gems shared by David during the chat. I had a great time mixing it up with David. It turns out that there's a ton of overlap between great marketing and great recruiting and we deep dive into both on this call. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER: ✅ The 3 marketing mistakes costing shops $5,000-$10,000+ annually (and why they seem "safe") ✅ Why Google Local Service Ads are the #1 opportunity RIGHT NOW (pay-per-lead, not per-click) ✅ The "60-70 page website" strategy that outranks dealers spending 10x your budget ✅ How to get 30-35% close rates on marketing leads (real numbers from real shops) ✅ The "Market Lock" system - why David won't work with your competitors ✅ 3-step Monday morning play to boost car count in 90 minutes KEY TOPICS COVERED: ✔️ The Revenue-Technician Death Spiral ✔️ Why Generic Websites = Generic Results ✔️ What ACTUALLY Works In 2025 To Drive Customers Into Your Shop ✔️ What Is The $10,000 Website Mistake (And How Do You Avoid It)? ✔️ How To Compete with Dealers (Without Their Budget) ✔️ What Are The Hidden Demand Signals in Your Market (And How They Can Make You Money) ✔️ The Shop Success System Explained ✔️ 30-Day Emergency Car Count Plan Here's the direct link to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To90SVghxfc

Guess who I ran into yesterday during my quick trip to Denver? It was our August leaderboard champ David Laird! We had a delicious breakfast and talked about all of the new ways shops are increasing car counts and keeping productive technicians happy and fed with work. Stay tuned for my upcoming interview with David where he will share the cutting edge strategies that are working right now to keep shops busy with high-quality work. Big congrats to our other community rockstars Rob Morrison and Craig Zale who rounded out the top three last month by contributing their deep industry knowledge and wisdom to the community. As usual, I'd like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to making the Technician Find Community more valuable and useful to our members by posting in August. Here's how the top 9 finished up: 1️⃣ @David Laird 2️⃣ @Rob Morrison 3️⃣ @Craig Zale 4️⃣ @Brian Nerger 5️⃣ @Eric Beachy 6️⃣ @Stephanie Walsh 7️⃣ @Randy Pickering 8️⃣ @Heather Williams 9️⃣ @Patrick Hynes