Fixed Ops Magazine - 2023 Vol20 05 - 29

LET'S DISTILL DOWN FURTHER
A study by Carlisle and Co.'s Chad Walker is focused on
the Technician shortage. The survey draws a net promoter
score (NPS) for the industry if Technicians are
recommending the profession to friends and family.
Based on respondents' answers, Walker called it " Dire " .
" Not only are Techs not promoting the career, most of
them are actively telling people NOT to come into this, "
said Walker.
That should make all of us in the industry shake with
fear like a Tech working on an EV with no gloves. And it
doesn't take Woodward and Bernstein to figure out why
George Arrants, VP of ASE Education Foundation, says,
" Once the students graduate and get into the industry,
they face another challenge. More than 40% leave in the
first two years. We're eating our young, " he says. " We
throw these young people to the wolves and expect
them to be successful. "
Now some of you are thinking I am spilling a lot of ink
here taking shots below the waterline and being ex
parte against this field of work. Many will retort with:
" Hey, 100K! " and punch back with " Good Techs make
$100K+ " . That is true. As a Fixed Ops Manager in a dealership,
I had some Techs, mechanical and collision, making
an extraordinary amount of money. However, there is
some " truthiness " that needs to be applied to that statement.
It's Kabuki theater.
HERE IS THE STRONG MEDICINE
Depending on which survey you use, the common
Fixed-Ops producer (Tech), on your floor makes $36K
to $47k a year. Then there are the laser focused Techs
who are " needle, meet haystack " and they make $75K
to $100+. But the $36K to $47K averages do include the
Mac Daddy producers in the average. So it is 80/20. 80
percent of your crew is $36K to $44K and 20% or less
are the bigger earners.
The primary complaint among " our young " , as Mr.
Arrants calls them, is low or unfair pay. And that, my
fellow Fixed Ops Comrades, is our " canary in the coal
mine " . And I bet that is also mostly why Carlisle and Co's
NPS survey is so abysmal.
LET'S FIX IT
This is a self-contained environment that is screaming
" HELP! " So let's fix it! But it will take a community effort
and I am not in denial of its complexity.
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2023 || FIXED OPS MAGAZINE
29
Fixed Ops Magazine - 2023 Vol20 05

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