Customer Stories

The story goes that Stephane’s father left this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in France to chance another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—love. In the early 60’s Stephane’s father moved to the United States to be with the woman who would end up becoming Stephane’s mother.

Because Stephane’s father didn’t speak any English, he started working basic oil change jobs. By the time Stephane was born, his father had picked up English and became the operator and manager of a large chain of service stations, one of which was where Stephane got his first taste for auto repair.

After working for his father, Stephane worked at several BMW dealerships, acquiring skills that would mold him into the shop owner he is today. Stephane became the manager of Excluservice in Rockville, Maryland. At the tail end of 2012, the original owner of Excluservice retired, putting Stephane in the driver’s seat.

As owner, Stephane has grown Excluservice by adopting new technologies that strengthen and complement the relationships between himself, his team, his staff, and his partners. His focus has been on streamlining operations. Stephane teamed up with Tekmetric as his new shop management system partner to help Excluservice reach new heights.

‍Less Costs. More Uptime.

We were originally running our shop with two systems; one was for digital inspection and the other was our shop management system. They were both reliant on a server, so I also had an IT team as well. When I added it all up, I was spending $1,000 a month between the software companies and the IT support. And if the internet connection blipped for a split second, my digital inspection went down for about an hour.

Now I’m paying a fraction of what I was before switching to Tekmetric, and I don’t have to worry about downtime or maintenance. We saved a bunch of money, and the estimate writing process is much faster because the labor guide is built into the system.

An Easy Transition

Nobody really likes change. You just have to sell the vision. Once you get buy in from the team, they will be more inclined to embrace change.

I showed my team how this system is going to be easier for them to write estimates. The turnaround time from estimate to selling work has drastically reduced, which allows us to sell more; if I give my guests an answer quickly, they’re more inclined to buy.

So after researching and thinking about it, we decided to give it a shot, and I’m glad we did. It paid off big time! Our total revenue has gone up by about 20% since we switched.

The system is very intuitive, so training wasn't that hard. I think it depends on how tech-savvy the person is. Most technicians are pretty tech-savvy already, so for them it was not difficult at all. I had been letting them play around with it for the month prior, so once we went live, we were pretty much ready to go.

The time it took to write the estimates was drastically reduced. That was the biggest thing. That then allowed us to sell more because time is of the essence. If you take three hours to write an estimate, the customer is thinking, "What have you been doing for the past three hours? I dropped my car off. What's going on?" And then if you call them in the afternoon and they dropped the car off in the morning, there's less likelihood of selling the work that you're recommending that you found. If you get them an answer quickly, the customer is more inclined to buy. Because of that, our average repair order and our total revenue went up.

Transparent. Measurable. Efficient.

One of the new features that Tekmetric added this year is the Gross Profit Dollars per Hour at the bottom of every job. Now service writers know what our target Gross Profit Dollars per Hour is, and they know that they can't go below that. They also know that if it's above that, and if there’s push-back from the guest, they can lower the price as long as it stays above our GP Dollars/Hour target. They now have the autonomy to do that without requesting my permission.

More Connected

Our shop layout isn’t conducive for the service advisor to walk all the way back to the shop to talk to the tech. Tekmetric is working with us to create a more connected shop. Whenever a repair gets approved, everyone is made aware of it. When a customer authorizes a repair, the parts guy knows, the technician knows—everybody knows. Even when the parts arrive, everybody becomes aware.

Tekmetric is constantly improving because they're always listening to customers' feedback. And that's one of the biggest things—they listen to us. They have a user group, and when somebody has an issue, we help each other and come up with ideas, and then Tekmetric will surprise us by implementing one of those ideas in a clean, easy-to-understand manner. If we have an issue or a question, they're always there to answer it—and pretty quickly, too! They've always got my back.

Life is about relationships. It doesn't matter if it's business or it's personal. If you make a million dollars, but you have no friends, what's the point? What value can we provide to others? That's what's important to me. Not necessarily what they can provide for me. I feel that if you connect with people who have that similar philosophy, things just work themselves out.

For more information about Excluservice, visit bmwexcluservice.com

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Bill gave him a piece of advice that stuck with him for years to come, “We’re in the service industry, not the sales industry. Focus on relationships, not on sales”. In 2015, Bill expressed that he was ready to retire, and Bryan was ready for a new challenge. Bill Casey decided to leave his company in the hands of someone he could trust to grow the business and stay true to his values, his mentee, Bryan Jewett.

In 2017, Casey’s Automotive opened its second location. Bryan continues to invest in Casey’s and everyone who relies on it—his family, his team, his teams’ families, and the good people of Chantilly and Sterling, Virginia.

Creating a Culture for Achieving Goals

This field is a tough field to be in, especially as a technician. The absolute truth is that nobody wants to buy the product of automotive repair. It's not a fun purchase. People want to buy new iPhones. They want to buy new running shoes. They want to buy things, toys, stuff they can play with. Automotive repair is kind of like one of those things where it's like, "I have to buy an alternator because my car doesn't work, and if my car doesn't work, I can't go pick up my kid at soccer or go to my job."

If my team can’t enjoy the place that they're at, and they are at that location for 8 to 10 hours a day, it's a huge part of their life that they’re just not enjoying.

Now, I'm not saying that we're running around here playing tic-tac-toe all day. What we try to do is make it a better environment. So, we got everybody's input about what they want to get out of their job at Casey's, and we built our motto and our mission statement around that. They wanted an opportunity to grow. They wanted the opportunity to have job security. They wanted to enjoy the place that they worked at. That's really where that culture change came in.

I was like, "Alright. Well, how do we do this?" The obvious things, giving someone the opportunity to have job security and to grow, that's not rocket science.

You need to grow the business so that the individual can grow. The business can't grow without having that individual, so the two kind of go hand-in-hand.

Just trying to meet the needs of my employees and listening to the basic things that they wanted was how we changed the culture.

Every January, we do a goal-poster day. Every employee that works for us writes down their goals, no matter what they are—professional, personal—and then I go out and buy a hundred different magazines. They get poster boards, cut out pictures that represent their goals, and they glue them to their poster board. That way they can track their goals. But to get a bunch of grown men around a table to play arts and crafts and then kind of break down the barrier of that personal drive that they have, it really creates some camaraderie between them.

The neatest thing is when they cross things off their goal board throughout the year, and then when we do that first meeting in January about the goal posters, and they stand up and say, "Hey, listen. In 2019, I never thought I'd end up buying a house that has a separate garage and a nice patio. Me and my wife completed that in 2019." It's awesome to be able to see that. And helping your employees define their goals and then maybe even complete their goals, it goes right back to our mission statement about growing as individuals.

Fun With the Off-Road Community

Our main customers are local families. 90% of the work we do is on Toyota Camrys, Honda Minivans, F1-50 pickups—you know, the normal, everyday driver stuff. And then we have some specific niche customers that are kind of your off-roader type customers: big wheels and tires, Jeeps, and lift kits. Off road vehicles are kind of our specialty, the fun stuff that we do. I've always been like a five year old at heart. I've always liked trucks. The bigger the truck, the better.

About four years ago, we hired a guy who worked at an off-roading shop and, naturally, he brought some of those customers over with him, and we got more into that market. So just as a team building thing, we'll do some off-roading events and bring our team out there, try to meet up with our customers out there on the trails.

What we'll do is set up at a place that usually allows camping and trail riding. We'll rent a campsite, set up trail riding, grill food, cook breakfast, and just kind of get together outside of work. We'll reach out to our customer base, people who have done some of that off-roading work on their vehicles, and of course our employees and our families.

People spend a lot of money on these rigs, so it's great to be able to help them set something up and get together some type of event where they can actually use that Jeep or truck or SUV with their lift-kits and their wheels and tires and their wench upgrades, or whatever it might be. We get them out on the trail and have some fun.

Now, when we do an event, Casey's will sponsor the event by doing giveaways, setting up the event, and making sure that there is insurance for the event. We gave away a winch at our last event. It was like an 8,000 pound winch. We'll give away light bars all the way down to like, toe straps, D-Rings, just off-roading accessory type stuff. But it's really just meeting the people and supporting the local off road community.

"The Most Awesomest Car"

Every year we do Casey's Automotive Spring Fling and Car Show, which benefits Ellie's Hats. Ellie's Hats is a great organization that supports families of kids who have been diagnosed with cancer. Contestants pay to show their car at the event. We have a lot of free family fun activities, and we hold a silent auction. All the proceeds go back to Ellie's Hats. We raised $4,000 the first year, $6,000 the second, and $8,000 the third. We’re shooting for $10,000 this Spring.

We build the trophies for that car show out of motor parts: pistons, bearings—stuff like that. We'll pick children from the crowd and have them pick their favorite car to give out awards for stuff like “The Most Awesomest Car” or “The Super Duper Truck Award” .It's cool! It's a really neat event. Really fun. A lot of music and food. We open up the shop so that people could go in and out of the shop. People flood the parking lot with just the most unbelievable cars. It really brings a lot of people together and makes everyone happy.

Getting the Support I Need

What really matters when you're running a business is: do you have clients? Are you making them happy? Being there for my team and my community is a big part of that because my guys have personal things they want to accomplish. And the truth is, if they can do their job better, that means that they can prosper more at their job, be there for our clients, and in turn, make more goals for themselves. A big part of supporting my team is having a shop management system that supports us.

We knew that we wanted to change from what we were using to a cloud-based system. The system that we were using for our courtesy inspection and our pictures never really played nicely with our operating program.

One problem we found with many newer systems was that the courtesy inspection was not a separate function within the program. A huge benefit to the customer is to be able to go through the inspection and then the estimate. When you provide pictures and the estimation and dollar amount, the only thing a customer sees are the dollar amounts. I don't care how beautiful or ugly the pictures are. I don't care what description you have in there. They see dollar amounts.

And if you're focused on helping the customer, you need to put an emphasis on, "Here are the conditions of repair. Here are the conditions of maintenance." and providing that in a separate function—the courtesy inspection—allows them to digest that. Then you can go over what things cost, what is important, what they can hold off on, and what they need to do now.

The fact that Tekmetric had a courtesy inspection and the estimate as two separate functions was a game changer. It was really a no-brainer. The support we got from Tekmetric was another great thing for us. If I had an issue, one, there's a community, and two, somebody from the company would reach out to us immediately for assistance. The system that we were using took weeks to get back to us.

One of the coolest things that happened when we switched to Tekmetric was that immediately, our long-term clients were like, "Wow. I really like this new system you're using. I've never seen it before!" It was separating us from our competition, making us look like we're from 2020. Their ability to decipher what's going on with their car, dissect that and understand it was very transparent. They could say "approve, approve. Decline, decline" right from their cell phone. Our customers love it. They think it's awesome.

And my team loves it, too. Hour one, everyone was resisting change, and it was the change that they didn't like. Now? The speed at which it allows my counter to write service, price parts, talk to customers, interact there, approve jobs or decline jobs-- that speed has doubled. It has improved two-fold. So if it took them 20 minutes to write an estimate, it's taking them 10 minutes.

And my technicians, the system they were using made it hard for them to talk to my advisers. When their tablets were crashing, it was harder for them to write up a vehicle for the issues. Not now. Now, with Tekmetric, that part is easier for them. They get to look at more cars. They get to interact with the car and with my advisers quicker. The shop, across the board, loves it. And we haven’t had to deal with a single crash of the system, which was always something that would happen with our old systems.

Tekmetric supports me by giving me a window into my shops to see what's going on. I can open that up from my phone, whether I'm in Arizona or Starbucks or upstairs. It allows me to be there for my team and have the confidence that I can open up a third location.

The Shop Overview immediately gives me the car count and the average repair order. It shows me what is a work in progress, what cars are completed, what estimates have been given out. I can pretty much see if it's going to be a busy week or a slow week on that page.

You gotta remember, auto repair is not a product people want to buy, so they don't care if you have a sale on auto alignments. But they do care if they're past due for an oil change. With Tekmetric, I can reach into our database, see who’s due for an oil change or repairs, and basically reach out and touch my customers on the shoulder and say, "Hey, listen. The last time you were out for an oil change was 3 months ago. We have some openings. Come on in and make an appointment." It ensures that I’m always looking out for our clients, and that we’re always helping people.

I'm not the best mechanic. I'm not the smartest businessman. I've just been able to help my employees grow. Help them provide. Help them have the opportunity to get the things they want professionally, and naturally the business just grows around that.

For more information about Casey's Automotive, visit caseysautomotive.com

Always eager to learn and grow, Seth began looking for his own shop. In 2006, Seth found an opportunity on the International Auto Technicians Network to work for and gain the trust of the owner of J&B Eurotech in Minnesota and eventually purchase his shop. In 2012, he streamlined the name to just Eurotech.

Recently, Seth has put a lot of work into growing Eurotech as a business. He established a leadership team, switched shop management systems, and in 2019, opened a second location. Today, Eurotech is the premiere auto repair shop servicing European imports in the suburbs of New Brighton and Woodbury, Minnesota.

We had the pleasure of catching up with Seth to learn more about the leadership principles, technologies, and ideas he has used to grow Eurotech into the thriving auto repair business it is today.

Here’s what he had to say.

Learning as a Team

One of the things we do a lot differently than other repair shops is that we have a leadership team. My leadership team is composed of my two shop foremen, my two store managers, and my district manager. We meet once a month, and we go over issues. Every month, I assign a book or a video to read or watch by the next meeting.

The last course we did was a Dave Ramsey course. Before that, we did a Simon Sinek study on Starts with Why. Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters is another great book that we read and discussed. Each month, we use what we learned to discuss challenges with the shop and how to solve them.

Staying on T.R.A.C.K.

We're here to change some of the automotive industry. Our big thing is taking the hassle out of auto repair. For our management team, we use the acronym T.R.A.C.K. We always ask if everybody is on "T.R.A.C.K.".

"T" is for "trust". Are you credible? Do you tell the truth? Are you dependable? Do you have the value of the common goal and cares? Do you encourage compassion and growth?

‍“R” is for "respect". Do you respect those that work here? Do you show respect in your actions and words? Do you communicate respectfully?

“A” is for "Appreciation". Are you actively looking for things to appreciate? Are you acknowledging things you appreciate? Are you saying "Thank You"?

“C” is for "Communication". Are you communicating openly and honestly? Are you communicating clearly and concisely? And then

"K" is for "kindness". At the end of every interaction, can you say with confidence that it ended with kindness?

Taking Care of Your Team

As we opened a second shop, we knew we needed to up our game.

If you take care of your employees, they're going to take care of your clients.

We have a pretty rigid onboarding process, and part of it is obviously getting them used to our shop management system, Tekmetric. We built out a full learning management system. When we onboard employees, we onboard them into our culture, our systems, and our processes.

The first day or so, they're watching videos on our culture like “Why Eurotech”, which we test them on. I’ve found that now we retain more employees, and we’ve seen them grow in ownership and leadership. In a lot of ways, it's less work for me because I don't have to be there as often.

Daniel, my district manager, started as our customer service rep and grew into a service writer and now he’s an operations manager doing oversight management over both of our locations. I'm the visionary and he's my integrator to some degree. Once we understood those roles, there were a lot of good things that could happen.

Going Digital as a Multi-Shop

We felt that getting off a server and going to an internet-based solution was the way to go. When looking for a new shop management system, a major deciding factor was their willingness to make changes and listen to our feedback. We believe heavily in a labor matrix to keep our effective labor rate the same, and that was a huge sticking point with some of the other shop management systems.

Our team picked up Tekmetric pretty quickly. The DVI is nice, and their API integrates with almost any other system that wants to play ball with them. We're completely paperless now, and we have a 70-inch monitor in the shop that displays all the jobs onboard.

Shop Owner Freedom

Tekmetric is handy as a shop owner because I can access both my shops from my cell phone. I can run reports, keep an eye on jobs and employees, and manage through the numbers, essentially, which is what a shop owner should be focusing on.

It’s great to be able to spend more time with my family and still keep an eye on the shop. This summer, we took a vacation to our lake house, and it was nice being able to check on things while we were away. I'm able to help employees if they need help with a ticket or if a customer calls with an issue.

Building Customer Trust

Tekmetric has helped us build trust with our clients and be more transparent. Now that we have the video capability on the DVI, we’ve filmed short “Meet Your Tech” videos, so every time a car is in the shop, the customer gets a nice introduction to their tech. We plan on filming them 3 or 4 times a year to change them up because your average customer only visits you twice a year. It's unlikely that the customer will see the same video. It’s a nice touch that makes guests feel more comfortable, like they’re in good hands.

The Future of Eurotech

Hopefully, by the end of the year, we'll have our third location up and going. I've been in auto repair since 2000, and I believe its future is bright. We're in the business of fixing people's personal transportation, and vehicles are going to continue to break down and need fixing.

I think our success is rooted in the training that I've received and always wanting to learn and grow. We read a lot of books and educate ourselves constantly. My advice for other shop owners is to stay up to date on training and technology. Most shop owners don't send their guys to enough technical training as it is. I teach training, and I struggle to fill classes every day.

You learn from failures. You learn from success. You have to have a drive to grow, personally and professionally.

Leadership is key. You can't get them to bite on and learn Tekmetric unless you can lead them to it. You have to sell the vision and cast your leadership skills, and that's the biggest key to growth. Obviously, Tekmetric makes it easier because they have a lot of features and options and the ability to work remotely and not have to be tied to the desk the whole day.

For more information about Eurotech Auto Service, visit https://www.eurotechmn.com/

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About Northrich Automotive
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Northrich Automotive, founded in 1995 by Alex Gotsdiner, started as a family-owned auto repair shop in Richardson, TX. A first-generation immigrant, Alex's determination to achieve the American dream after immigrating to the United States from the Soviet Union led him to entrepreneurship.
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Over the years, Northrich has evolved from a basic service shop to a comprehensive automotive care center, tackling both repairs and collisions. The shop has become a trusted name in the automotive industry, achieving over 415 Google Reviews and maintaining an average of 4.8 stars.
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The shop’s success has not been without its fair share of obstacles. In 2018, it was clear that Alex needed help growing the business and decided to seek the help of his two children to bring a fresh perspective. That’s when his daughter and son stepped in.

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The challenge

Alex’s daughter, Rochelle Gotsdiner, never planned to run an auto shop. With a background in medical sales, she spent years refining her skills in a completely different industry. However, when her family's business, Northrich Automotive, needed fresh minds to help elevate the business, Rochelle stepped in.

“I left my career in medical sales at 25 and decided I was gonna run an auto shop... not because of my love for cars or anything but truly just for my family,"

This pivotal decision marked the beginning of a journey characterized by resilience, innovation, and transformation.
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Stepping into an industry she knew little about, Rochelle approached the auto shop with a fresh set of eyes and a critical mindset. While helping with the shop’s marketing, her first major task was diagnosing the operational inefficiencies that plagued Northrich Automotive while her brother took on the role of CFO. It was clear her team needed a modern solution to an outdated process that was holding the business back.
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Her lack of industry experience became her strength, allowing her to question long-standing practices and push for innovative solutions.

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The Solution

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Rochelle’s search for a transformative shop management solution led her to Tekmetric. The shop had been on Master Repair for most of the business’s lifetime, but briefly transitioned to RO Writer. Ultimately, it was clear that those solutions came short.

“We were coming from a system that was slow, researching history and technician notes were not good…and customer support was awful.  I got tired of having these issues that no one on their team could figure out. Tekmetric was the opposite.”

What sold her on Tekmetric were its key features and the flexibility it offered:

• ‍Cloud-Based Technology: Tekmetric operates entirely in the cloud, which eliminated the need for costly servers and allowed the team at Northrich to access the system from anywhere, enhancing flexibility and responsiveness.
• ‍Digital Vehicle Inspections: The software allowed for digital inspections that customers could view in real-time, increasing transparency and trust between the shop and its customers.
• ‍Comprehensive Reporting Tools: Tekmetric provided detailed reports that helped Rochelle and her team make informed decisions based on accurate data.

Additionally, Tekmetric's month-to-month contract option stood out, offering Northrich Automotive the flexibility to adapt without the pressure of long-term commitments. This was crucial for Rochelle, who wasn’t looking to be locked into a lengthy contract that might not serve the shop's evolving needs.

The Results

The shop aims to provide transparent pricing, detailed service estimates, and digital vehicle inspection reports to keep customers informed about their vehicle's condition and recommended services. Thanks to this mindset, the results have brought some impressive changes, proving how effective Rochelle's strategic decisions were and how powerful the right tools can be.

• More Cars, More Often: The number of cars coming through Northrich’s doors jumped by 20%. This boost reflects not just more customers, but also a more efficient operation.
• Stellar Reviews: Thanks to Rochelle's sharp focus on ensuring every customer leaves happy through a seamless shop experience,  online reviews have soared. Her shop sits at over 415 reviews at an average of 4.8 stars. 
• Smarter Workflows: Tekmetric revamped how things get done at the shop, making every process from check-in to checkout smoother and more customer-friendly. This upgrade has paved the way for Rochelle to bring on more hands to keep up with demand.
• Clear Insights: With Tekmetric, Rochelle gained a clear picture of the shop’s numbers. She found out that 54% of customers were one-timers, shifting her strategy to turn more first-timers into regulars.
• Freedom and Financials: The cloud-based system freed up about 30% of Rochelle’s time, allowing her to manage things without being tied to the shop floor. This change helped push revenues over the $1 million mark and ensured they hit their profit goals for each job.

"Give the team the right tools, trust them, and then just watch the numbers. They tell the real story. With Tekmetric, we see everything we need to keep getting better."

Northrich Automotive is not just a business; it's a story of perseverance, adaptation, and the seamless transition of leadership from one generation to the next.
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As Northrich Automotive thrives under the father-daughter duo stewardship, the Gotsdiner family remains committed to steering the company toward even greater success. With their unwavering determination, innovative spirits, and profound respect for family tradition, they embody the essence of Northrich Automotive's enduring legacy.

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"I would 100% recommend Tekmetric. Their customer service is always there for us, and the quality of the software gives me peace of mind. It's a game-changer."

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In 2011, Andrew left his role as a Certified Master BMW Technician to go back to school for engineering. To help pay his tuition, Andrew started his own auto repair shop: Bavarian Motor Repairs. Once the ‘be your own boss’ seed took root, there was no turning back. Since day one, Andrew has focused on delivering the highest level of service to BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce owners in the D.C. area. Now, he is growing his business by connecting his team and his customers, tracking his shop’s metrics, and scaling his garage from the ground up.

Connecting with Clients

I resigned from doing mobile diagnostics tech support BMW in 2011 to go back to school for engineering. In 2015, we opened Bavarian Motor Repair. Last August, we decided to be more intentional when it came to growing our shop. Because we only service BMWs, Rolls Royce, and Minis, we're constantly pushing to surpass the local dealers, which is a feat. In the DC area, it's really aggressive. There are a lot of smart guys here with a lot of good systems in place. Tekmetric really helps us stand out.

Our goal was to communicate with our clients faster and with more clarity so that we could provide better service, which results in higher dollar ROs.

Communication is extremely important for us. If we're not communicating, then we're not working. Everything is a presentation to our customers. Everything.

When you can show clients the problem on their own terms, and give them a choice, it grows your ARO and your business.

Engagement with our clients has to be high caliber and proactive throughout the entire repair process. From the second they drive onto our lot, we walk out to their car, greet them, and begin documenting their concerns to make their visit as personalized and efficient as possible. Once we’ve made that personal connection, our shop management system really shines with DVI, messaging, and lightning-fast estimate approvals by text or email.

Switching to a New Shop Management System

Our old SMS was on a local PC. We did have some computer downtime where we had to reboot everything and figure it all out from scratch, which was a massive loss. So we investigated other shop management systems. At every expo, we tried everything we could to break them. After talking to some of the staff at Tekmetric and doing the screen-sharing presentation, it was pretty evident that Tekmetric was going in the direction that we needed a shop management system to go in with communication, presentation, and efficiency.

Tekmetric came along right as I was realizing that I could use some guidance when it came to running a business. I wasn’t sure what numbers to look at. When I started using Tekmetric, which just puts the important numbers right in front of me, it made everything easier.

And the changeover was seamless; the difference was like night and day from the support to the fluidity to how easy it is to use to how it always works. I haven't had one single day where I wasn't able to use Tekmetric. How many shop owners out there have been without there SMS for a day for one reason or another? Tekmetric has always worked for me, and it works well.

There are so many little things that help us blaze through our day so much more efficiently. When our client’s started receiving updates in advance without having to wonder, ‘Hey, what's going on with my car?’, our tickets and our numbers went higher. Now, my service writers can write a $6,000 estimate in five minutes or less.

Tracking My Numbers

When I can measure how valuable my business is, I have more opportunities to pass that value on to our clients. We track this value by looking at our numbers: door rate, effective labor rate, parts and labor margins on each RO, service advisor close ratios, GP dollars and the many other KPI’s that Tekmetric tracks and puts in front me. Being able to measure our success is one thing, but quickly identifying our shortcomings and new opportunities for innovation is what has led us to grow our profits.

Right now our car count is up, our ARO is up, and our technician efficiency is up. We were always around 95%, now we're floating around 120%. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple of months we're growing at 200% or 300%.

Scaling My Business

We are actively expanding our shop, adding an additional 2,500 square feet to accommodate four new bays. As we expand, it’s critical that we have a cloud-based software that seamlessly grows with us. I can attend a 20 group, meet with my business coach, spend time with my family, and still have access to my shop from my phone. Anywhere access gives me the confidence to let my staff grow into their roles.

As for marketing, we pull a lot of the data right out of Tekmetric. We've got some really good referral and outreach programs. We realized early on that cold-call customers, people who were calling for price check-ins, were not our best clients; they're not our highest ARO. When we increased our snowball of referrals, it attracted the kind of clients we do want—the clients who come in here with confidence in advance and trust us to create an honest repair order. If a customer is set-up as a marketable customer, we're pulling their information from Tekmetric and feeding that right into Facebook and Google. Our customers are able to match us with other similar customers.

"Communicate your vision to your team and invest in the right people and technology to make it a reality."

If I could go back to six years ago, I would tell myself, "Any one thing you do well is not enough". You need to team up with others that will help make your vision a reality. I hired a professional coach who taught me that I couldn’t manage what I wasn’t measuring. I joined a 20 group, upgraded to the best SMS I’ve ever used, and now I’m running a business that feels grounded with direction and purpose. I’m eternally thankful to our clients, my world-class staff, and companies like Tekmetric who work tirelessly alongside us in pursuit of something greater.

For more information about Bavarian Motor Repairs, visit bavarianmotorrepairs.com

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Greg Bunch has always had a passion for fixing things. At 15, he bought a 1966 Volkswagen Bug that “should have gone to the junkyard.” The engine was rusted out and the brakes didn’t work, among other problems. So, Bunch became a self-taught Volkswagen mechanic by reading every technical article and owner’s manual he could get his hands on.

Now, years later, Bunch is the founder and owner of Aspen Auto Clinic, which has grown to four locations in Colorado Springs.

Bunch believes that mindset is what makes or breaks shop owners. Wanting to pay it forward, he decided to help other shop owners expand their businesses to multiple locations. He started Transformers Institute, a robust mastermind program where shop owners learn the sales, marketing, and business operations skills that will take their auto repair businesses to the next level.

We recently caught up with Greg, as well as Aspen Auto Clinic’s president and COO Kenneth Greffin, to learn how they nurture corporate growth, foster strong team bonds, and pay it forward.

From Cleaning Toilets to Running Multiple Shops

Greg Bunch:

‍I started my family at a young age, and I needed a way to support them. After trying a few jobs I wasn’t passionate about, I approached the small Volkswagen shop where I bought parts to fix my Bug. They gave me my first job in the industry. My role was to clean the toilets and floors. When business picked up at the shop, I could fix and disassemble cars.

From there, I worked at a couple of different places, including a general repair shop and a European shop. Along the way, I did a lot of self-study and bought as many tools as I could afford.

Eventually, I got what I thought would be my dream job at a Volkswagen dealership. I learned a lot and became ASE certified, but the job wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. After working at the Volkswagen dealership, I went to work at a German shop, where I learned about service writing along with being a technician.

When I moved to Colorado, I started a full-service role. I worked with domestic cars, then went and managed an import shop for a while.

I realized that I wanted to work for myself and see where I could take a business of my own. I opened my business by working out of my garage for the first three months. Then, I moved into an industrial condominium for about two years. In 2004, I purchased property with an SBA loan and built my first “actual” shop.

We’re now in our twentieth year of business.

Creating a Resilient Culture With Core Values

Greg Bunch:

‍In the early days of running my business, I bounced between being a manager, advisor, master technician, and head diagnostician. With time, I realized that I couldn’t do all those things at once, and learned how to narrow the scope of my daily tasks, which gave me the space to open more shop locations.

I’m still the CEO of Aspen Auto Clinic, but I hired Kenneth to run the day-to-day operations as president and COO so I could focus on my coaching company for budding multi-shop owners, Transformers Institute.

Kenneth has played a key role in creating a resilient company culture that’s grounded in core values. When he came on board, the shops were a bit divided. He united them by iterating on our existing core values, which include accountability, reliability, and treating customers with care. We go through every manager huddle and team meeting with those core values in mind.

Kenneth also got everyone to understand that although there are separate shops, there’s only one Aspen Auto Clinic. An employee’s team isn’t restricted to the people he sees at his location everyday—his team is everyone across those locations.

Our desire to help our community is another major part of who we are as a company. We can’t consider ourselves successful unless we’re paying it forward. Ways we’ve given back include running a fundraising program for high school and junior high school sports teams (they sold oil changes, kept the money, and sent us the clients), fixing up donated cars and giving them to a pregnancy center, giving free oil changes to veterans on Veterans Day, and giving free oil changes to frontline medical and emergency workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rolling Out a New Shop Management System

Kenneth Greffin:

Switching to Tekmetric was incredibly easy. Their software is intuitive and their customer service and support are excellent. The Tekmetric team set up phone calls and Zoom meetings, walking our front office staff through the software and answering every question.

I can’t say enough good things about the people we’ve interacted with at Tekmetric.

Tekmetric has gotten us more organized than ever before. Now, everything is on the cloud and information is synchronized. When I’m in my office, I can immediately pull data from the other stores.

‍“Tekmetric’s homepage has all four stores listed. With the click of a button, I can pull up the store that I need info for.”

Tekmetric’s integration capabilities help keep us all aligned. We use an outside parts matrix, and it took three minutes to integrate it with Tekmetric. Our rewards program, text-to-pay program, and digital vehicle inspection were also super easy to integrate.

With the reports feature, the accounting team and I don’t have to spend time on the phone hunting down crucial information. The data on parts usage and parts ordered has been especially beneficial. I can get a clear idea of what we purchased in a given month versus what we sold. I can manage inventory in a cost-effective way without risking being undersupplied.

With Tekmetric, we get enhanced reporting that other systems just can’t give us. It’s nice that we can look at individual metrics. But what’s even better is that we can look at several metrics in relation to each other. For example, we might realize we’re not selling a high percentage of a particular service, but it’s still adding up to a high profit.

Tekmetric has also helped us better communicate with our guests. In particular, they can go to one of our stores, ask for an estimate on any given job, and we’ll be able to show them the same pricing across our locations. It eliminates any confusion about prices. And with the Tekmerchant payment processing integration and text-to-pay features, we can keep our customers’ credit card information secure—and they can pay without stepping inside the store.

It’s top of the line customer service. They know how somebody wants to be treated when they call with a problem. Just hands down the best support in the business.”  

Coaching Other Shop Owners

Greg Bunch:

A few years ago, I noticed that there were plenty of auto repair programs out there for people who wanted to learn how to become owners of a single shop. However, similar opportunities just weren’t available for budding multi-shop owners.

To bridge that gap, I started the Transformers Institute. My team and I train shop owners to optimize their sales, marketing, and business operations skills—and work toward opening multiple shops of their own.

I stress to shop owners  that there’s no one right way to do business. There are multiple business models and multiple ways of doing things that can work. Sometimes there are two right answers, and it’s up to the individual to decide which personally makes the most sense.

Being a successful multi-shop owner comes down to mindset. If you think like a technician and believe that you have to be the best mechanic at your shop, you’ll likely have a small shop that does well. However, if you want to grow an empire, you need to think like a business person.

For more information about Aspen Auto Clinic, visit aspenautoclinic.com

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About Cardinal Plaza Shell

In the fast-paced world of auto repair, staying ahead isn’t just about keeping pace; it’s about maintaining a standard your customers grow to expect. That’s the philosophy at Cardinal Plaza Shell, an automotive service shop providing excellence to customers in Springfield, Virginia. 

Chris Chagnon, the Chief Operation Officer, implemented Tekmetric in early 2020. As the pandemic reshaped the landscape of the auto repair industry, Chris recognized the urgent need to adapt. The shop's existing management system was laden with unfulfilled promises of updates and flexibility, leaving the team in a backlog when it mattered most. 

His team hasn’t looked back since. 

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The Challenge

The shop operates at high volume, with service advisors constantly juggling phone calls and customer queries. To deliver standout service, efficiency is key.

“Our service advisors are the real bottleneck because they're answering phones, helping people that walk in, and having to juggle a bunch of different priorities. It can get messy during peak hours."

Chris explained. The need for a solution that could streamline their workflow and allow them to focus more on customer service was clear.

The Solution

When Tekmetric introduced Smart Jobs, a feature designed to reduce clicks and save time during the creation of repair orders, Chris saw more than just an upgrade; he saw a new business advantage.

This innovative feature enables service advisors to create repair orders with just one click. For Chris, the decision to implement Smart Jobs was a “no-brainer.” The feature’s simplicity and efficiency meant that service advisors could now focus on what really matters: the customer. “Simplicity is the best thing,” Chris said, emphasizing how Smart Jobs eliminates the need to manually source labor and parts, freeing up advisors to concentrate on customer needs.

The Results

With Smart Jobs, the team at Cardinal Plaza Shell has experienced a significant shift in how they operate. The feature has not only streamlined the job creation process but has also allowed service advisors to devote more time to customer interactions. “It saves us so many clicks every time, and those gains made in the margins add up,” Chris noted, highlighting the tangible benefits of Smart Jobs on their operations.

Looking to the Future‍

For Cardinal Plaza Shell, Smart Jobs isn’t just a feature; it’s a cornerstone of their commitment to excellence.

“Smart Jobs is a must-have. It's going to speed up your service writing process by a huge amount."

As they look towards the future, it’s clear that Cardinal Plaza Shell will continue to innovate and evolve, with Tekmetric by their side, ensuring that their service remains the best it can be—not just  vehicle repairs, but the full customer experience.

In embracing Smart Jobs, Cardinal Plaza Shell has not only enhanced its operational efficiency but has also reinforced its dedication to providing unparalleled service, proving that with the right tools, any challenge can be transformed into an opportunity for growth and improvement.

About Campus Automotive 

Nestled in the heart of Blacksburg, Virginia, Campus Automotive is where quality car care meets hometown service. Having taken over the shop in 2003, Matt McMurray has grown the business from its roots in towing into a full-service auto repair center. With 9 bays and more on the way, including a brand-new tire service, the shop’s not just bigger—it’s pulling in $300,000 more without needing to handle more vehicles, and that’s just 6 months after implementing Tekmetric.

Key to that success has been Matt’s right-hand man and General Manager, Johnnie Self.  Johnnie has been running the shop’s operations and provides his unique background to ensure the team is always on top of the day-to-day. Combining his experience in the Army, 15-years as a police officer, and a degree in Organizational Management, Johnnie knows how to keep things in check. He learned from the ground up – including taking classes with the Automotive Repair Institute. A jack of all trades, Johnnie quickly understood the importance of a stable foundation, in this case, a shop management system that could keep up with Matt’s ambition and triple revenue without increasing fixed costs. 

The Challenge

Campus Automotive initially relied on R.O. Writer, a point of sale system that, despite its initial appeal, fell short on updates and flexibility. This was particularly true in accounting and business overview capabilities. The limitations in accessing the system across different computers hampered Johnnie's high-level business visibility to track everything and make strategic decisions. To Johnnie, it didn't meet his standards of being user friendly.

Finding a solution

‍The journey to Tekmetric was a blend of frustration with the old way of doing things and the pursuit of a solution that offered more than just basic functionalities. Always looking for ways to improve, Johnnie was first introduced to Tekmetric at a Service Manager's coaching group in mid-2023. He had a conversation with his technicians and understood that the potential for seamless integration across the shop sounded like the right tool for the job. Johnnie's management style focuses on getting buy-in from his team. He wants them to have a say, and that's why after a technician recommended Tekmetric, he started investigating. It didn't take long before he looped in Shop Owner, Matt.

"Matt took one glance, called me that same night, and told me to make the switch. That was back in May of 2023. In our first 6 months, we’ve netted $300,000 more in revenue with the same amount of vehicles.”

Matt also had a friend who was using Tekmetric after transitioning from R.O. Writer and asked for a walkthrough. Since then, Tekmetric revolutionized the way Campus Automotive operated, with an all-in-one modern experience that Johnnie compared to the convenience of shopping at a superstore like Target or Walmart.

“Tekmetric changed the game for us. It’s like walking into a superstore but for car repairs—everything’s right there when you need it. Customizing work orders, ordering parts without the back-and-forth, and even adding videos to car inspections made everything smoother."

Features like custom RO labels, parts ordering, and Digital Vehicle Inspection Mapping with video additions to inspections significantly enhanced efficiency. The system's organizational capabilities and the option to have everything at one's fingertips stood out as game changers for Johnnie and his team.

Getting to a result

Implementing Tekmetric led to a transformative change in how Campus Automotive approached their business operations. The platform's automation and integrated systems not only facilitated a notable improvement in how appointments were set, but also completely improved transparency throughout the entire repair order process, particularly crucial in a college town where communication with customers—and importantly, their parents—is key. Matt’s goal of tripling revenue without increasing fixed costs became achievable, with the shop already seeing their average RO amount climb up 49% while maintaining their average vehicle count per a week.
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“When your customers are college students and their parents are back at home, your shop needs transparency at every step.”

Transitioning to Tekmetric was smooth, with the entire team quickly adapting to the new system within a week. The elimination of paper-based processes and the clarity it brought to job assignments and technician accountability alone were huge for the team. Johnnie now has a “Command Center” setup with a large TV screen to display real-time shop activities that not only appealed to the younger technicians but also symbolized a modern, efficient workflow that Tekmetric enabled.

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“We meet every morning around our command center 15 minutes before we open shop. It keeps us on the same page and lets us look through every single R.O. with advisors and technicians. If any of us are even 1 minute late, we dock a half-pay’s day.  That includes myself.  We go through it all and we address all the questions as a group to stay on the same page.  It makes a difference.”

The takeaway

Campus Automotive’s experience with Tekmetric is a testament to its ease of use and the significant positive impact it has on shop operations. His advice to other shop managers and owners is clear: Tekmetric makes everything "EXTREMELY easy for everyone involved."

“The biggest change that we made last year that got us to this point is Tekmetric.  It allowed us to be more organized on a daily basis – it’s up in front of me all the time, even right now!”

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