Ratchet+Wrench Radio

AAPEX Bonus: Lauren Beaulieu of Advance Professional

In this episode. Ratchet+Wrench Editor Chris Jones catches up with Lauren Beaulieu, VP of Advance Professional, Worldpac, Carquest, and Autopart International. They are to revisit a story from the June 2022 issue of Ratchet+Wrench on TechNet Impressions and talk about what's new with the program.

Podcast: How Ortho Brings Voice Assistance to Shop Bays (w/ Kim Conti)

In this episode, Kim Conti, VP of product for RAIN Agency, talks about her company's new disruptive shop technology, Ortho. This voice assistant will increase the speed at which techs work by eliminating unnecessary back-and-forth computer searches replacing them instead with voice commands.

What Is ADAPT Anyway? (w/ Hanna Bubser)

This week, EBM Digital Editor and ADAPT Podcast host Hanna Bubser talks about what ADAPT is and why forward-thinking shop owners should care about it. We dive into its differences from Ratchet+Wrench and how to find and access all of its content.    Subscribe: ADAPT newsletter Listen: The ADAPT Podcast Learn: ADAPT Automotive website

From Technician to Owner (w/ Daniel Gonzalez)

In this episode, Daniel Gonzalez of Boudreau's Auto in Holliston, Massachusetts, tells how he went from technician to shop owner during the pandemic, and about relocating from Texas to Massachusetts to open his shop (and the lessons he learned).

Podcast: How to Get Media Coverage for Your Shop (w/ Mickie Kennedy)

This week, Mickie Kennedy, founder and president of eReleases, the small business leader for press release distribution, joins editor Chris Jones on Ratchert+Wrench Radio. Mickie is an expert at helping small businesses increase their visibility and credibility and he’s here today to share some valuable insights on why more shops should use press releases to draw attention to their shops. [2:28]: What is a press release? [3:40]: How to know if your shop's stories are newsworthy (including a funny repair shop case study) [10:37]: Leveraging community news resources [13:52]: Tips for writing our press releases (or hiring someone else to do it for you) [14:48]: Press release distribution etiquette tips [19:23]: Success tips

Bonus: California & The Future of the Aftermarket

In this bonus episode of Ratchet+Wrench Radio, Bob Redding, the Automotive Service Association’s Washington, D.C., representative, joins editor Chris Jones for a look at how California's decision to become a zero-emissions state by 2035 will affect the automotive aftermarket. We also discuss the significance of the decision by the California Air Resources Board to intervene on behalf of independent repair shops to provide ongoing access to information.

Today’s Class Trains Techs Using an App (w/ David Boyes)

In this episode, David Boyes joins Ratchet+Wrench editor Chris Jones to talk about his company’s app, Today's Class, an online learning organization that has been supporting the automotive industry for more than 20 years. If you recall, Boyes was highlighted in the August issue Breakdown, A Classroom in Your Pocket.   We discuss:  (0:06): What Today’s Class is and how it works  (3:15): What the time commitment looks like  (5:21): The science behind app-based learning  (7:19): The features of the app (12:10): The value for shop owners  (17:01): Feedback Boyes has received from shop owners  (18:05): How the app’s gamification feature encourages learning  (20:06): How to get Today’s Class 

How Carolyn Coquillette Built Shop-Ware

In this episode, Carolyn Coquillette talks about how she founded Shop-Ware while running her shop, Luscious Garage.  We discuss: (1:15): The pain points that conceived the idea for Shop-Ware (4:45): Going from analog to digital platforms in her career (5:48): Why shops are hesitant to go full digital on software (8:35): How she decided to create software for the industry (16:01): What's under the hood of Shop-Ware (21:09): The importance of tracking KPI and using the right software (23:23): Is scalability a factor in choosing software? (25:40): What to look for in shop management software (29:00): What Carolyn loves about helping shop owners grow

How to Get Your Team Talking w/ Deanna Baumgardner

Deanna Bumgardner from Employer's Advantage LLC joins Rartchet+Wrench Radio to talk about why shop owners need employee feedback to build better shops and how to get people talking and sharing ideas. If her name sounds familiar, she was in the July issue story, "How to Get Authentic Employee Feedback."  We discuss: (0:58): The benefits of asking for feedback (1:45): Why shop owners struggle to get feedback (3:15): How to create a culture of openness (5:35): What happens when leaders negatively react to feedback? (7:00): How feedback can help shop owners identify thought leaders (8:26): What happens when employee feedback isn't valued? (9:45): Addressing employees' fear of repercussion (11:46): The 'Start, Stop, Continue' feedback loop (14:21): Other ways to get employees to share feedback (15:40): The benefits of outsourcing HR for help.

Identifying Shop Inefficiencies w/ Alex Bunkers

In this episode, Alex Bunkers, head of operations at Tekmetric, joins Ratchet+Wrench to take a deep into a whitepaper she wrote called, “Quantifying Inefficiencies in Your Shop,” which is aimed at “helping shops maintain a strong awareness of every aspect of the shop, from inventory management to proactively keeping up with KPIs.” We'll discuss: (0:53): An overview of the whitepaper (2:30): Analog shops and how they keep records (4:08): Benefits of using shop management software (5:39): A case study on Mike's Auto Repair (7:19): Should any shop not be on a digital platform in 2022 (8:08): The most important and most overlooked KPI (9:52): 3 Steps to promote shop growth (14:58): How to improve shop workflow (15:57): Tracing trends and proactive metrics (17:48): Long-game strategies for applying shop data (18:16): What shops lose by not tracking KPI.