He is a pretty good technician, but was not hired as one. Right away I asked him what he was doing. He said, “I know you’re busy, so I was just going to change this battery real quick so you don’t have to deal with it.” I told him that I would take care of it. Later I discussed it with him, went over his job description and the importance of his position.
When you don’t stay focused on your position, you get out of control, things get missed, customers don’t get the service they deserve and the business loses money. Trying to wear too many hats never works and should be avoided at all costs.
There will be times when you will be put in a position where you need to work in the shop, write service, etc. I recently lost my diagnostic technician, so I needed to work in the shop until I could find someone qualified to fill the position. But the key here is to try to find balance between working in the business and running the business. If you focus too much on one area, the other one fails, and in my book failing is not an option. If you must spend 100 percent of your time in the shop, then you need a manager that can manage 100 percent of the time.
Remember, sometimes helping is actually hindering the process, so know your role and stick to it.
B.J. Lee has worked in the automotive repair industry for more than 30 years. He is an industry consultant and trainer for Automofo.com and owner of Stellar Performance Inc. in 29 Palms, Calif.
