She drove out with tears in her eyes · Technician Find Community

She drove out with tears in her eyes

Happy New Year!

I've been thinking about something this morning that I want to share with you.

A few years ago, I got a message from a shop owner I'd worked with. He told me that the technician we'd helped him hire had just fixed a brake issue on a young mom's minivan. She'd been putting it off for months—couldn't afford the time or money.

The tech stayed late to get it done. Gave her a fair price. She drove out of that shop with safe brakes and tears in her eyes.

That tech wasn't a unicorn. He was a good technician who finally found a great shop. And when those two things link up, something bigger happens.

A family drives safer. A shop thrives. A technician does work that actually matters.

That's what this whole thing is about.

I know 2025 might have been hard. Maybe you lost a tech you thought would stay. Maybe you're still short-staffed. Maybe you're tired of the hustle.

But here's what I want you to hear today:

You are building something that matters.

Every oil change, every diagnostic, every brake job... you're keeping families safe on the road. That's not a small thing. That's an enormous thing that most people will never understand.

And 2026?

It's a blank page.

You get to decide what you write on it. More importantly, you get to decide who you're becoming as you write it.

Not just "shop owner." Not just "the guy who fixes cars."

You have the chance this year to become the leader your team didn't know they needed. The shop that the best tech in your town is secretly hoping exists. The place where someone finally feels respected, challenged, and valued.

That transformation doesn't happen by accident. It happens by decision.

So here's what I want you to do:

Take 5 minutes today. Write down one thing you're going to do differently this year to make your shop the kind of place a great technician would never want to leave.

Then drop it in the comments. I want to see it. I want this community to see it. Because when we share our commitments out loud, they become real.

Here's to 2026.

Here's to great shops. Great techs. And safer roads for everyone.

Let's build something that matters together.

- Chris

P.S. — I believe something that might sound simple, but it's the engine behind everything I do: Good technicians do their best work when they link up with great shops. And when that happens, we all win—safer vehicles, stronger businesses, better communities. That's the future I'm working toward. I hope you'll build it with me this year.

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