If you only ask "Tell me about your experience"… you deserve the hire you get. I mean that. Because here's what happens. Somebody walks in, shakes your hand firmly, says all the right things about flat rate and diag hours, and you think — this is the one. Three months later you're walking on eggshells around them. They won't follow your processes. They blame everybody else when something goes sideways. And the rest of your team is giving you that look. You know the one. You've been here before. And the problem was never that the candidate lacked skill. The problem was you interviewed for the wrong things. I've talked to hundreds of shops over the last seven years. The ones who consistently hire well — and keep those people — don't ask better technical questions. They ask better human questions. Here's what they screen for (before skill ever enters the conversation): THE 3 THINGS THAT MATTER MORE THAN SKILL 1. Communication and presence. Can they explain something clearly? Do they make eye contact? How do they handle a question they don't know the answer to? One shop owner told me recently: "Personality, eye contact, how they talk — more important than knowing how to write an estimate." He's right. You can train your POS system. You can't train someone to tell the truth under pressure. 2. Structure tolerance. Do they thrive with SOPs and written expectations, or do they create "eggshells" every time you try to hold them accountable? Here's the thing lots of owners miss: people freak out when expectations aren't written down and they get corrected later. That's not a discipline problem. That's a communication problem you created. But — and this is important — the interview is where you find out if someone wants structure or fights it. Big difference. 3. Training buy-in (agreed BEFORE the hire). This one's non-negotiable. You must get agreement on training expectations before the person starts. It's hard to change people after you have them.

The two images below are ready for your shop's Facebook page. Pick the one that feels right. Just one. HERE'S THE DESCRIPTION TEXT TO GO ALONG WITH THE IMAGE "We don't work weekends. That's time for family and the things you love. We want our employee's lives to work inside and outside of the shop." Here's your move: → Post it on your FB business page → Boost it for $20 — 10-mile radius → Come back here and tell us what happened This is passive recruiting. Stop telling technicians your culture is great. Show them. Every employed tech within 10 miles scrolling on Sunday will see it. Let that sink in. 👇