Send us a text On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, we look through the archives at some of the hits and misses of the previous 325 episodes of the podcast. We have undoubtedly had some ridiculous fun so far, including pondering children’s programming aiming to get more kids into the trades with incredible titles such as Mr. Rogers Dyno Room and Sesame Street Outlaws. We also get into some of the early episodes where we talk shop dynamics, how not to get on your coworkers nerves, and ...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy follows up last week’s episode with all of the stuff that he forgot — it happens, because as a new guy there is a ton of things to learn in a short period of time and sometimes the people teaching you the ropes will themselves forget things. We also get into the idea of changing jobs and becoming a “NOS” New/Old Service when you have a bit of experience and are changing venues. There are a lot of things to navigate with this inc...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, we have some serious words of wisdom (and rants) for the new guys. If you have new guys in the shop, this is probably a good one to start them out with, because it should theoretically cut about 90% of the BS if they actually listen! From inherent mechanical curiosity to becoming a master technician, the road for a mechanic is a long one that is fraught with difficulty. Choosing the right tech school is a big part of getting yourself ahead ...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes in depth on the pros and cons of being an auto mechanic. Despite some of our previous episodes, there are many pros to being an auto mechanic. The cars have gotten safer, the shops in many cases have gotten better, and more often than not the shops have come a long way from some of their humble roots. Not to mention that as mechanics, there are tons of ways that we can keep our own cars on the road longer and even occasiona...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes down the rabbit hole of toxic management. We go into some of the specifics for what makes a manager or boss toxic: such as unrealistic expectations, nepotism, and much, much more! The good news is that skilled tradesmen of all types, and especially auto mechanics and technicians have ample opportunity to jump ship, because the demand far outweighs the supply. We also go over some of the possible remedies to these conflicts,...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy is back in the OG Rock and Roll Garage after a Homeric odyssey to get to New York from Texas. As a result, Erik the Producer is in studio to talk about some of the digital tools that we have been working on to help make your lives easier, and make you more money! We are talking Video MPI Training, a fully flushed out K-Plan with some help from our friends in academia, ASE Test Prep, and so much more! We also talk about the brand...
Send us a text On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy rounds out the “you’re e’ffed” saga with part four. As it turns out there are tons of portents of doom when cars roll into your shop. Some vehicle’s even have multiple of these automotive red flags, while others can be false flags. We hit the ever favorite, “gimp mask in the trunk” and raise it with tons of other examples that we have seen throughout the years. What is your favorite? What is one that we didn’t hit on the ...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes into some of the backend programming of our customers in regards to what the media has made our profession out to be for the last 50+ years. As a profession, few trades have been maligned to the extent of the automotive trades, and this is especially true in media depictions. Let’s be clear, we have seen some criminals in this trade -- but it is actually a lot more rare than you would think. However, more often than not the...
Send us a text On this much delayed episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy takes a look at the entire strata of the typical dealership and informs them of at least one major thing that they should take into consideration in order to make the process seamless. For ownership and boards of directors, it is very hard to get an accurate picture of a dealership’s overall functionality just by the numbers. The numbers can tell you a lot, but it is sometimes hard to put toxic shops or bad processe...
Send us a text On this fairly-sporadic episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy wades into the terminally unhinged forum of LinkedIn to find a concept that everyone deals with in this industry. The term “Emotional Waste” is the concept of negative emotions creating undue stress and occupying an inordinate amount of someone’s time. We all see this, and some of the best people in the industry have the exact opposite going on - Emotional Intelligence. This is the ability to regulate and utilize...
Send us a text On this week’s Episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy takes a look at some of the real world ramifications of Texas discontinuing their state vehicle safety inspections. The first thing that stood out to us was that it was in fact similar to those in New York, and in fact throughout most of the Rust Belt where we know they are a really good idea. Entropy is the name of the game here, and if something is too rotten to be safe, or tires are too bald to provide adequate tractio...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease The Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes for the trilogy of things that you see roll into your shop that spell doom, because you know you’re eff’d. From poorly done wraps, to harlequin models of cars that are not 90s Golf’s, and underbody lights, there are a lot of things that we see that spell doom and gloom for our profit margin. Seeing an old car that is still being daily driven darkening your door is somehow more of an omen of impending doom than the banshee’s...
Send us a text On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy comes up with a list of interview questions for mechanics to observe and take into account when they are looking to move to a new shop. Is there enough parking, are there enough bathrooms, and where exactly did all of these dead and abandoned cars come from? There are tons of criteria that we use when evaluating where we are going to work, but this episode brings a lot of them to life with some of the most insane examples...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy goes to practical goal building mode for 2025. Getting better isn’t going to be negotiable in 2025, as the pace of technological change in the cars is continuing at break-neck speed. Look at the year end total for your W-2, divide it by your hourly rate and that gets you near how many hours you worked. This of course isn’t taking into effect all of the house that you turned but didn’t get paid for! It also doesn’t get into the a...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy revisits some of the common signs and portents of things that you know are going to result in a rough day in the shop. From bullet holes and hypodermic needles, to an entire goodwill inventory of clothes in a trunk where you need to replace a battery, there is little limit to the chaos and carnage that customer roll in on a daily basis. We also go into a scientific breakdown for an answer to every single complaint about a sunroo...
Send us a text On this episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy lifts the cover off of one of the truly weird and genuinely innovative technician/mechanic development programs: The K-Plan. Developed with the help of people way smarter than us, the K-Plan lays out all of the areas of knowledge that someone will need to be successful as a mechanic, with tailored resources for that particular shop. It utilizes technician development bonuses to encourage institutional and brand specific knowledg...
Send us a text On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy gets back to proper form and takes customers to task. Every area has that one shop that when you see a car roll in with their plate frames, you know you’re (more specifically the customer) are eff’d. Dozens of bumperstickers, turning your interior into a series of various claymore landmines and much, much more! This series literally wrote itself, but if you have some specific examples please let us know over on the Facebo...
Send us a text On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy unveils the K-Plan. This is a system that shops and dealerships can use to basically build a farm system for their new technicians while rewarding the technicians that train them to a level of autonomous productivity. It benchmarks what people know against what the new people have to learn, providing clear expectations for knowledge and how a shop wants things done. We also get into the Master-Apprentice relationship and ...
Send us a text On this weeks episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy gets into how to get along with your coworkers better. As the weather begins to cool, yes even in Texas, the doors of the shop are going to stay closed more often and you’ll be working in closer quarters. The better that you all get along determines the overall vibe in the back of the house as well, so try to be helpful and courteous. Creating a cohesive atmosphere in the shop is important to getting along, which can make ...
Send us a text On this week’s episode of Grease the Wheels, Uncle Jimmy wades into the foggy, brutal game that is internet reviews. In many ways reviews are one of the most important parts of your business, often taking massive precedence in the way that your company appears through search results. This allows customers to quickly form an opinion on your company, with huge potential upsides when you treat customers right. However, in the situation of many auto repair shops, the customer comes...
TJ Schwabe
love ur podcast Jimmy
Michael Harrison
They tow the Rangers to the dealer and then we drive them in and replace the igniter without disconnecting the battery as per manufacturer instructions. Saves them .3 per recall if we don't have to properly safe out SRS before performing maintenance.