Auto shop ownership is a role that requires a vast array of skills. Nobody comes into the role knowing what to expect, but once you’re there, you have an entire team of technicians, service advisors, and more, who are counting on you the same way you count on them.
When Tony Perez started his California-based shop, Euro Car Doctor, he knew that in order to provide stellar service, he needed to recognize who his most important clients are: his employees.
Business of People
Perez doesn’t have prior experience working in automotive. Rather, he has a background in import and export, which has taken him on four million miles of travel in a decade. After years of working in the field, Perez decided he wanted to pursue something not requiring him to move around as much.
Ideally, Perez was seeking to enter a market that was economically resilient, and one where he wasn’t handling so much inventory. He was much more interested in working with people.
“I was on a hunt for a great industry that was—like I said, economy isolated—but more importantly, I didn't have to deal with inventory,” says Perez. “The only inventory I needed to
worry about was my people inventory, and that is something that I've always said, ‘Okay, I can focus on that one.’ Because it is something that you have to foster, you have to seed, you have to grow, and the good people will come to you.”
From the beginning of Euro Car Doctor, Perez has been aware of how important it is to recruit only the best talent he can find. He won’t settle for just anyone from a dealership—he wants the best one there.
It’s not just enough for someone to be a good technician, though—automotive skills can be trained and taught. What typically can’t be taught is having a good attitude.
Though one technician, for example, may have fewer certifications than another tech, their energy and willingness to help others can go a lot farther.
“I can't train you to be an amazing human being. I can't train you to be a servant to the person that's next to you and help them when they're in trouble as well,” Perez explains. “So when we go after looking for that person, we establish the fact that, ‘Hey, this is a true teamwork environment.’”
At Euro Car Doctor, technicians are expected to keep their workplaces always organized, ready for someone else to take over if there’s a personal emergency pulling them away from work. Perez has been careful to craft an environment that accommodates staff members when personal life interferes—but it can only work if everyone is committed to helping.
When an employee is first brought on, Perez takes the time to ensure that they understand everything expected from them as a team member, providing a contract that outlines not only what the requirements of their position will be, but also that they will be working in a team with others, and are expected to always be honest.
“That first day is everything. That first day of hire sets the pace for everything,” says Perez.
Rewarding Ambition
In addition, he also provides new hires with a goal sheet on their first day for them to list their biggest goals. If they work there and commit to giving their all, Perez works with each of his employees to help them draft a plan for achieving their goals.
Just this past year, Perez has helped three of his technicians and a service writer with purchasing their first home. He helped another two staff members get out of debt, with one of them even going on to start his own business with the help of Perez.
Perez will sit down with his employees and their spouses and go over their finances with them, creating a plan to help them achieve their goals. He assists them with drafting letters for loans, and if they have bad credit, he’ll help them figure out how to improve it.
The coaching Perez offers his employees is a creative way for him to use the training he’s received throughout his career, outside automotive work. Having owned another business before, Perez brings a deep understanding of finances, and his work as a real estate agent for the past 20 years and owning over 13 rental properties has made him qualified to help others navigate homeownership. “Because I'm doing it, it's easy to mentor other people to do it as well,” explains Perez.
A Supportive Learning Environment
Another crucial part of Euro Car Doctor’s shop culture is viewing mistakes not as something to be punished, but a learning moment for the whole crew. Each month, the team gets together and share their wins, as well as lessons.
“I don't say losses—we go over the lessons as well,” tells Perez. “Good or bad, we share them with everybody. Somebody grenades a transmission and went the wrong way in a diagonal, we share it with everybody, so it's learned as a lesson and not as a penalty.”
This is important in fostering an environment of trust and honesty. Additionally, Perez uses these round-robin meetings to ask his staff what he can do to help make their job better. He always urges employees to share at least one thing that the shop can improve on, whether it’s an issue with a new quoting process or improvements to the restroom.
One thing Perez knows for sure, though, is that he’s on the right track: he’s fostered an environment of teamwork, that values family and a work-life balance. Holding true to the servant-leadership mindset, Perez works hard to provide everything his employees could need to succeed. In exchange, he’s formed a trustworthy crew that has each other’s backs, no matter what.
“One thing I continuously hear—and it lets me know I'm going in the right direction with the way we're doing it—is a lot of the times that people just go ‘Look, this is the best team I've ever worked on. I've worked in independents, I've worked in dealerships; I've never been in an environment where I can be me. 100% me,’” tells Perez. “‘I'm not in a race against anybody else but myself, and I can make a mistake, and I can be honest about it, and I'm not going to get fired.’”
