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Ep 31 - Tonnika Haynes | A Serial Gifter of Anonymous Silliness
151 Plays1 day ago
Today, we play a voicemail from Bryan's biggest fan. Or shall we say, biggest fan of his feet...oh yeah - and Tonnika Haynes joins to talk shop. And confess things, too.
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00:00 Funny Social Media to Watch
08:50 Overworked and Overcommitted
10:49 "Becoming a Shop Owner" Workshop
13:44 Sales Tactics and Decision Dynamics
19:46 "Unlock Hidden Auto Shop Revenue"
20:50 "Napa Encounter: Charismatic Persuasion"
26:19 "Cultural Fit Over Potential"
27:27 Balancing Tech Skills and Estimation
30:45 Insurance Influence on Repair Shops
35:56 Sibling Roughhousing Consequences
37:15 "Challenging Training for Real Skills"
43:21 EV Safety Certification with Avtech
43:58 Certification Test Opportunity Details
49:11 High-End Carlisle Equipment Discounts
51:05 Busy but Available for Fun
55:57 "Brian's Foot Finder Request"
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
I mean, literally a couple of weeks ago, I had a guy call and he has a great shop. He's like, hey, what are you charging? i was like, oh, yeah, i'm charging this. He's like, how is it? Why are you not charging that? How? Because that's what I need to get what i need to have.
Social Media and Public Presence
00:00:13
Speaker
The following program features a bunch of doofuses talking about the automotive aftermarket. The stuff we, or our guests may say, do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of our peers, our sponsors, or any other associations we may have.
00:00:27
Speaker
There may be some spicy language in this show, so if you get your feelings hurt easily, you should probably just move along. So without further ado, it's time for Confessions of a Shop Owner with your host, Mike Gallen.
00:00:45
Speaker
I was like, you guys should use that on social media so bad. Like even in my 20 group, nobody knew what i was talking about. I showed up to them They were like, whoa. Oh my gosh. Game changer. Yeah. Yeah.
00:00:55
Speaker
I think I ever see when ah he had a tech doing the videos with him, they'd be chasing, the tech would be chasing him out the door for not like paying him on the job. I'll get you on the next one. He's good. He's funny. We're talking about Elite Voice, who's a TikToker service advisor at, think he's at like an Audi dealer in Texas or something. Yeah. Oh my gosh. It's funny. Yeah. So him and the Subaru chick, the Subaru girl, she's pretty funny too.
00:01:18
Speaker
Subaru girl. So she hasn't made her way onto my algorithm yet, but I also, yeah, she's pretty funny. So I saw you Tanika, saw you earlier today on with Jimmy Lee, uh, doing something for, it was just hanging with Jimmy. What were allll talking about?
00:01:35
Speaker
So we were following up on the conversations we had at the Institute, the little lightning talk that I gave. Okay. We're just talking, shooting the breeze.
Podcasting Challenges and Equipment Issues
00:01:45
Speaker
Nice. what's What's it like being like a awesome, famous shop owner who everybody wants to talk to and they want to have you on podcast and and live streams?
00:01:56
Speaker
I don't know, Mike, you tell me. Like, what is it like? Tell me about it. Nobody wants us. you on here for waiting yeah Mike had to start his own. Yeah. Tell me about it. I'm so in love with my own face and my own voice and I couldn't get people to have me on their show. So I just like F it. I'm starting my own.
00:02:14
Speaker
The guy behind you, the little balloon guy's killing me. I don't know why. Waving inflatable arm flailing to me. I was so happy to send that. Yeah. Yeah. That is a gift from Miss Tanika. She is a serial gifter of anonymous silliness around the industry.
00:02:30
Speaker
Because we have to. These people are mean. ah but were mean and gru upy I know the computers back there. Disco. this is Okay, so I do need to fess up here. um We've had some technical difficulties. We're over 30 episodes in now. We've had some technical difficulties on and off throughout the series at this point.
00:02:49
Speaker
And almost always, it was my dinosaur of a computer having hardware issues. that were He'd be restarting that thing. The lights would be dimming in that room.
00:03:00
Speaker
But that's like a gaming computer. That's... Oh, yeah. He's going to be awesome now. Yeah. and Well, I mean, so, but you know, Brian makes a joke about how his unnamed software is the covered wagon of shop management softwares. I have the covered wagon of podcast host computers, and we've lost like three good episodes because of my computer screwing up. Well, you've been on the list.
00:03:23
Speaker
that's my new one that arrived today and I didn't get us set up in time. So I've got one monitor over here that's running it, but I'm having to load everything and transfer everything. So this is the last, the final episode on the dinosaur computer before we move to the tech metric of computers.
Skills and Challenges in Automotive Shops
00:03:38
Speaker
Really? I get the last crappy episode. I don't get the new stuff. Wow. You're kind of fuzzy and the audio is going out there. I can't understand what you're saying you heard the hill when said, you know what I mean?
00:03:52
Speaker
Um, yeah Anyway, so I'm excited to get that thing hooked up so that Braxton doesn't have to work nearly as hard. I mean, the thing looks awesome. It looks great. Well, one of the first things I got to do is figure out how to turn off those damn lights because I'm not at a disco.
00:04:07
Speaker
You are. You are. doctor But no, and then you have to learn to stop typing like this. You're going to have to learn to type. all that I have this started putting that into my pre-screening questions ah for technician and service advisor.
00:04:22
Speaker
Are you a 10 key typer? For a service advisor, they have to be able to type 40 words a minute with minimal mistakes. ah For a technician, it doesn't really matter that much, right? but Windows, hello.
00:04:33
Speaker
You can talk into that thing. It'll type it out for you. Man, we've got like an industrial... print shop directly behind our shop and they have one of those giant vacuum cleaners that sucks up all the shavings and it runs from before we open until after we close. Bluetooth headset.
00:04:48
Speaker
You can't hear shit at Carfix. So... like can i we got driver a block ah we gotta We got to drive like a block away for noise diagnosis issues. you know just Come on. Is it really that loud?
00:05:02
Speaker
No. Oh, my God. Like when all these people come out and they want to do video content at the shop. She doesn't believe you. She just shook her head. No. no She's like, it's bullshit. I don't even know when to believe Mike anymore. Mike's such a bullshitter.
00:05:12
Speaker
like yeah about it So smoothly with it, though. I have train tracks next to our shop, and it's not really that loud. Here's the deal. I like to think that I'm pretty good at running an auto repair shop.
00:05:25
Speaker
It's what I've done for 20 plus years, but I'm not good at managing a marketing budget and all the different facets of a truly well-rounded marketing plan. There's mail, there's local advertising, there's website, there's Google AdWords, there's you know all the different things that go into that.
00:05:42
Speaker
And it's just not what I'm good at. So what I've chosen to do is to buy myself the time to focus on what I am good at while having someone else execute on all of those things at a way higher level than anything I could ever do.
Tools and Management Systems in Automotives
00:05:57
Speaker
That's what turnkey auto marketing does for me. So if you feel like you could use some of that same magic, I'm going to recommend that you go to turnkeyautomarketing.com, get a free consultation, tell them that I sent you, i tell them that Confessions of a Shop Owner sent you, you won't be disappointed.
00:06:14
Speaker
Look, when I first opened my shop, I thought my old systems would keep up, the software that I had would continue to evolve. But as we grew the slow estimates, scattered workflow, increasing downtime,
00:06:27
Speaker
Really just, it was becoming a real problem. That's why I switched to TechMetric. It's not just software. It's a complete shop management system that makes my life easier. Smart jobs, instant estimates, integrated payments, integrated financing options. I mean, it allows me to focus on the work that actually makes me money and not get bogged down in the other details.
00:06:46
Speaker
My shop's repair orders have jumped over 300% since switching to TechMetric. And when I need help, their support team responds in real time. I actually was online with them asking questions just this week. And I got answers in minutes rather than having to wait for callbacks and emails days later.
00:07:01
Speaker
If your system is holding you back, it's time for a change. Tap the link in the show notes and see how TechMetric can help you move your shop forward. I mean, know well, I mean, it's because there's normally not a train there, right? That that is true. There's never a train on it. If there was a giant turbo diesel engine parked just idling there all day, that'd be a problem, right?
00:07:23
Speaker
Meh. i don't know. Meh. Yeah. so Are they turbo diesels? Is that the right word? Yeah, they got turbine chargers. yeah Diesel, electric. I don't know. Whatever. They got a turbo.
00:07:34
Speaker
They're big engines. Stop it. engines. Big turbos. Yep. You know, one of the reasons that I wanted to have Tanika on was because she also is not a technically minded person. And I feel like we're we're drifting into... We're getting way too technical with these conversations lately, bro. We got to get back to the evil shop owner mentality. know. I'm terrible. and Tanika is definitely evil in that capacity. Yeah.
00:07:59
Speaker
I mean, she's open like 32 hours week. Yeah. um what are your What are your hours? I know you're Monday through Thursday. am Monday through Thursday from 7 to 5.30. We leave at 6.
00:08:11
Speaker
Well, they leave at 6. I leave when I'm done. From 7 to 5.30, is that what you said? Mm-hmm. Start reaching at 7. but So those are e those are evil shop owner hours for per day, but you just got to stretch it out to seven days, girl. Come on.
00:08:25
Speaker
I'll do better. Now, if I can get a team, if I can get somebody that I trust, I would open up on Fridays again, possibly. You're just not willing to do it. I'm not willing to do it anymore. Dude, I've been doing this way too long.
00:08:39
Speaker
Like COVID spoiled me and then I felt really good that I could spend that time with my kids in like Fridays. Like it's just crazy. going to have gateway Fridays this summer.
00:08:50
Speaker
Because even if when I was open five days a week, I still did the really long days. We got there at seven to get ahead of all the things. And I was staying late, saying yes to a bunch of crap that I shouldn't said yes to.
00:09:04
Speaker
Mm-mm. It was just say yes. Tractor tires. Yes. Wheelbarrow tires. Yes, exactly. I was saying yes to that crap. does toatoror work Absolutely. How about a 2020 Morgan Roadster?
00:09:20
Speaker
don't even know what that is. i It's a kit car. Would you say yes? No. Oh. But you like that stuff. You're feeding off of it. Like you get excited when you saw it, didn't you?
00:09:30
Speaker
Actually, um, I was inclined to go hard no but it's actually got a Ford 3.7 out of a wrecked transit in it so it's just like working on a transit van for the problem it's got so I'm just like whatever it's fine.
00:09:43
Speaker
So I mean that's a different thing for different people what's it different strokes for different folks I just did I'm not one of those folks I finished up a 78 280z that I probably would have bought from the guy if I could fit in the thing.
00:09:55
Speaker
No, I get mad if there's anything 20 years older in my shop. I'm like, why is this here? Oh, yeah, yeah. i don't want I don't want an old four grand am in the shop. Don't get me wrong. This thing was pristine.
00:10:06
Speaker
And he was paying. You know, it's all on what they're willing to pay, right? Right. I just know that when you had to go to Dutch for ah for feedback on. it was that old.
00:10:18
Speaker
Yeah. I had to phone a Dutch. said, listen, the Dutch. I said, this is what I got here. I got a 19-0-7 right flyer.
00:10:30
Speaker
like Who's the oldest person I know that'll know about this? Dutch. Y'all can't keep talking about Uncle Dutch like that. I adore that right just announced today that officially, I mean, I guess Nick and I knew, but we just announced today officially that he is teaching a class at the ASTA Expo this year. That's fantastic.
00:10:49
Speaker
um And I don't know that we've announced the title and topic of the class, but I feel like I can say it now because this won't be released for two weeks. So ah his classes show you, so you want to be a shop owner and it is specifically geared at technicians
Customer Service and Sales Tactics
00:11:03
Speaker
that want to branch out and open their own shop.
00:11:06
Speaker
or that have branched out and opened ah their own shop recently and they realizing that they don't know what the hell they need to know about being a business owner. um And so that's a, I think that's a dynamite class.
00:11:18
Speaker
um I'm just gonna post up in front of the door and make sure none of my guys go into it. That is a good class because you can imagine like when we're in the forums and the guys that used to be like, Hong Kong Mike doesn't do any of this.
00:11:31
Speaker
Well, no. The guys are coming in the forums and they're like, oh man, how much do I charge? hot Like you don't even know what you're doing. It's more than turning wrenches. And once they realize that the boys that they used to have really didn't make all the money that they thought he made or she made.
00:11:47
Speaker
there Oh no, everybody's getting rich. Yeah, everybody's getting rich on your back. Yeah. Like the true cost of an employee. You're doing $100,000 a month. You must be making, don't know, like 80 grand a month. Right. the owner, right? Because I'm not getting nothing. yeah.
00:12:03
Speaker
Easy. so um ah had So you know what they do, those those fresh startup businesses trying to figure out, at least they're trying to figure out how to how to set their systems up.
00:12:15
Speaker
They call every shop in town and ask them what their labor rate is, right? And so we got one of those yesterday at the shop. My newest, greenest service advisor, and he is a freaking rock star already. He was an HVAC guy. It was in the HVAC industry before. Oh, this is that guy. Oh, the guy that moved down, yeah.
00:12:34
Speaker
And he is a I mean, he just, he loves customer service. He loves teamwork. he doesn't he He doesn't have bad habits. So we said, here here's how you do it. And he just fucking does it that way.
00:12:46
Speaker
And oddly, it works when you just do it that way and don't overcomplicate it and try to know how to do it better. Plus, he's probably not bashful, right? He's yeah probably getting pretty used it. He already you was telling people they were going to spend $25,000 to have some low-level technical work done on their house.
00:13:03
Speaker
yeah Like some stuff that ain't that hard to do. Well, okay. Yeah. We'll get back to the price shopper and the labor rate shopper that he had to deal with. But he came in. I met him because he came to my house. So this desk right here and he presented me just smooth as ice. Twenty thousand dollar AC repair. Right. um And like I knew it was going to be big because he came in and he was. He was asking asking all the fact finding questions and he was asking the fact finding questions that he needed to know the answer to, to overcome objections further down the process. How much do you think a new system costs?
00:13:41
Speaker
All that stuff, right? Was he doing that? Yeah. ah no He found out if I was the primary decision maker or if I needed to get my wife in on the phone too so that we could talk together as a group. And he asked me, you know, mindset questions about budget. And did I want top of the line or did I want, you know, just just barely getting by? And so the compressor had failed on one of my units.
00:14:05
Speaker
And he went ahead and laid the groundwork about all the reasons why replacing just the compressor was a bad idea. Uh, you know, yada, yada, yada. And I was like, oh yeah, this guy, this guy's a student of the craft.
00:14:18
Speaker
Uh, and so I ended asking him, you know, what kind of podcast he listens to and stuff. Cause he's on the road all day. Cause he's the first person this company sent in just was like, whiff, whiff, whiff, whiff. He could tell he was missing all the points that was supposed to make.
00:14:31
Speaker
And I was like, you know what? Just email me a quote. Uh, and we can talk about it. I'll call you back next week. And, uh, I saw him feverishly on his phone. I said, my boss is going to be here in 10 minutes. And so they called in the heavy hitter, I guess, because he was missing. But ended up bringing him on board, and he he is just killing it, man. I've got nothing but ah but positive vibes about where this guy's going.
00:14:56
Speaker
um anyway Anyway, so he gets the call today, and it's ah this woman who's like, hey, I just need to know what your labor rate is. And nobody ever calls without preamble and says, what's your labor rate, right? Right. Unless...
00:15:11
Speaker
They're married to, know but or their boss or their husband said, call every shop in town and write down what their labor rates are. yeah right um and And he went into our sc script and he was like, oh, absolutely. I can help you with that.
00:15:25
Speaker
What type of problem are you having so that I can know what the correct answer is? she's like, I don't have a problem. i just know what your labor rate is. Uh, and, and he just hadn't been prepared for that. And he didn't know enough to know that that's just a price shopper from another shop or whatever else.
00:15:38
Speaker
Uh, and so we had a really fun role play with that this morning at the, at the morning meeting. He actually called me cause he's off today. He called me yesterday and we role played it on the phone. um but, uh, that's so funny that.
00:15:52
Speaker
You know, shop owners who they don't know any better. Right. It's not malicious intent. They just don't know what they don't know. They think that they got to set their price based on what other people's prices are.
00:16:03
Speaker
And you should know what other people's prices are, you know, because it does matter what the market and in your area is.
Industry Transitions and Cultural Insights
00:16:11
Speaker
but it's not relevant if you can't pay your bills yeah yeah that the price is what it's got to be to have a the appropriate profit that you decide what appropriate is on top of your expenses right yeah um so i don't know it's just i thought it was funny and i remember 2003 two thousand and three uh doing the exact same thing calling all the shops in town mean they're done i didn't i didn't at least say what your labor rate is i said how much for brakes right or how much for an alignment or got price on tires or whatever do you think that there's an hvac service owners forum talking about how some shitty shop owners swiped their freaking star sales employee oh yeah that episode was dropped today
00:16:59
Speaker
There are 100% groups like our groups for HVAC. you think the guy that owns the HVAC company is complaining about you for swiping his employee? oin margoyle He 100% told him that I was a liar and there's no way i was going to pay him as much as I was saying. and there it was you know He was going to get here and realize what a huge mistake he had made and everything else.
00:17:18
Speaker
um and Now he's calling all of his buddies and being like, hey, you need to come work in the automotive space. Yeah, because he doesn't have to crawl under house Or in an attic. in attics when 130 degrees. Exactly. Spiders and crap. o Yeah. Spiders and snakes. I would rather have my car broken down than have a hothouse. So those customers have to be pissed off.
00:17:39
Speaker
And they're spending, what, $20,000, $30,000. And most don't have one unit anymore. I am. ah Here's my confession for the episode. I am a terrible customer.
00:17:51
Speaker
Oh, man. So I got three quotes. I got this guy's company. And I'll tell you what, even to the day that he started at Carfix, he was like, hey, boss, you still need to fix that thing, man. And there's nobody better than the company that he was with. Tell me you ordered a compressor off a team. You you got you're on it.
00:18:09
Speaker
uh so i 100 called around until i found somebody who had just come and put a compressor in it heck you yeah brother and it's a 15 year old train system and the compressor got here yesterday and freaking found someone to do your breaks that's working out of a storage unit you scumbag you freaking scumbag man and i'm getting what i deserve it's all fun and games Because he put the compressor in, he was like, hey, your thermal expansion valve is not working. That's probably killed your compressor in the first place. It's going another two weeks and about $2,000 for that. you said it's hot as hell in a house.
00:18:45
Speaker
Just hot. Well, I got three. The the house has three units. Okay. So it's just it's we solve this office and the kitchen, which is next door, are warm. But yeah whatever. i got i got I got a nut fan under me right now blowing up. Okay.
00:18:58
Speaker
Well, you could have kept the nut port out of it. um Everybody, yeah look. I don't have a that's kind of weird.
00:19:08
Speaker
But Mike, we're the same. I did that crap one year. Just like, no, just put a compressor in it. Remember the old Toyota 4Runners used to have the vent down low in the knee bolster? Oh, man, that was a great vehicle. If it's on, you start getting cold.
00:19:19
Speaker
Yeah. It was a fantastic vehicle. I'm completely uncomfortable in this conversation. Okay, back to Mike's cheapness. Hey, so anyway, you know, it'll be an ongoing saga because right now we're a month and a half without AC in my office.
00:19:34
Speaker
And i'm ah I'm just sweating it, dog. I'm $4,800 in and I still have no AC. And my new employee is laughing at me uncontrollably at my idiocy. As he should.
00:19:46
Speaker
If you're like me, you know there's always hidden revenue in missed maintenance sales or overlooked customer concerns. Detect Auto helps auto shops unlock that revenue by analyzing vehicle service histories, pinpointing maintenance recommendations, and equipping advisors to confidently address customer questions.
00:20:04
Speaker
It's easy, it integrates with your existing software, and your team will love it. ah Check out detect auto.com and see how your shop can stop guessing and start selling better service recommendations today.
00:20:17
Speaker
Hey, hey, I spend another two grand and I get two years out of the system. It's like when somebody doesn't want to pay you dag and they bolted all the parts on the car and it's still broken. You're like but ah so the second dude that came out. I was, uh, I was at the Napa thing.
00:20:31
Speaker
so three i got three quotes okay um so he gets like every problem car every shop and their brother has looked at the thing but nobody actually they nobody can fix it no just turns out the owner doesn't want to pay anyone to fix it no yeah they don't want to fix it the way i want it fixed because they know better because you're a terrible customer ah So the second one came while we were at Napa, na the Napa thing in Vegas, yeah right? Napa now.
00:20:56
Speaker
And so Amanda was talking to him and she really liked this guy. And he had he he had the charisma going on her and she was ready to write the check. And I was like, nah, nah, nah, girl. ah And so, you know, he he's overcoming the objections, right? and And he gets her on speakerphone with me. So they're in my kitchen sweating.
00:21:15
Speaker
you know Because he didn't want to go in the living room where it's 72 degrees. He wants to make sure he stays in the pressure point in the kitchen. um And they call me in Vegas, and we're on the phone. And dude doesn't know, right? But he's like, this is like if you've got an old Honda Accord with 250,000 miles on it, and it needs $3,000 worth work, and the car is only worth $3,000, you're not going to spend $3,000. I would totally buy a $3,000 Accord and put $3,000 into it drive it for the 25 years. Bro, that is the wrong analogy to make with me because I do that shit with people every day because I don't sell new cars.
00:21:51
Speaker
Cheap at keeper. So and anyway, we're ah we're putting an engine in this half million mile 2001 Civic. We'll see how it goes.
00:22:02
Speaker
Nice. Nice. see We just see how many episodes beyond this one I have this nice sheen on my forehead. I know, you're all sweaty. It's like 82 degrees in here right now. That's crazy. Nah, I would mad at you.
Guest Interview: Tanika Haynes
00:22:15
Speaker
We're 20 minutes Brian's having animal issues, and I feel like we should introduce our guest.
00:22:20
Speaker
That's probably good idea, because nobody knows me. Hi, Miss Haynes, how are you? I'm good, how are you? For the people that have been under a rock, can you just kind of introduce yourself and where your business is and why you're famous?
00:22:35
Speaker
One, I'm not famous. My name is Tanika, Tanika Haynes, run Browns Automotive in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, second generation shop owner and second in command to Mike. He's the famous one here. Actually third, you two are the dynamic duo.
00:22:54
Speaker
No, I'm just here. I'm just glad to be on the show. I'm glad to be invited. I have another confession to make and I apologize. oh I thought we were recording with Mimby today. i thought you were Mimby and I'm sorry. We get that a lot.
00:23:09
Speaker
We get that a lot. I mean, I'm so glad that I know and love her because that kid can be aggravating. this cra Like we look nothing alike. It's hilarious.
00:23:21
Speaker
There's no similarities. None whatsoever. Yeah. I mean, it's funny. We'll be in the same room and she'll send me a text like, hey, yes, somebody thinks I'm you. It's like, seriously, people? So we should get on a podcast together and prove that we're two different people.
00:23:35
Speaker
yeah If we do that, can I switch it on purpose? We should do that. So for those that don't know, Mimmy Dowd is the owner or one of the owners of Casey's Tire Pros in Greensboro, North Carolina.
00:23:49
Speaker
She's the vice president of ASTA. um And Tanika is on the board of ASTA. They're the two black women on the board. And so therefore, they obviously are the same person. Absolutely. Yeah. so we're interchangeable yeah And and they are frequently there to remind us that we're just a bunch of old white guys as the rest of the board. So.
00:24:10
Speaker
Um, that is my job to up. Stop it. Well, how are things at Brown's automotive? We're good. Like everything's up and down, mostly up.
00:24:22
Speaker
Um, the first quarter has been kind of sucky just dealing with customers and, you know, everybody's afraid to spend a dollar because they're afraid because the new, to the news told them to be scared.
00:24:34
Speaker
Um, But for the most part, I'm doing a good job of overcoming objections and all the magic stuff that we have to do to close the sale. So i cant i could complain. It wouldn't get me anywhere. But I think we're doing great.
00:24:49
Speaker
How is your talking about overcoming objections? How's your front counter team? So it is. It's not a strong. It's not it. I'm very lucky for who I have up there. I have a young lady. She is 22. She's been with me for a year and a half and she's doing a great job.
00:25:03
Speaker
Like she really is holding it down. I'm so proud of her because I've really been traveling a lot and doing a lot of things and not going to work for like maybe I'm at work half the time that I should be.
00:25:13
Speaker
And she handles it. She's doing a wonderful job. I'm still looking for a superstar service advisor, but I don't think I'm go find it in the way that I used to find an it. I'm probably gonna have to do like you, go outside the industry because I have my rules and regulations and there's just stuff that I'm not gonna deal with anymore.
00:25:29
Speaker
So like in the last two months, I've hired two advisors and fired two advisors. And somehow both of them were alcoholics.
00:25:39
Speaker
that's scary. Both of them are alcoholics? Both of them, I'm pretty sure, alcoholics, but we don't have to talk about that. Braxton, take that out. Can you send them down my way? Because I like a drink every now and then. If you don't actually have to work on anything, there's no excuse.
00:25:53
Speaker
Like, seriously, drinking During your lunch break? to Oh, that's Loserville 9000. To the point that the ladies next door in our body shop that we rent out next door said, hey, when we got back from Vegas, that's when I fired her. They were like, hey, do you know that she goes to the bar and drinks every day?
00:26:15
Speaker
Every day? Every day. Yeah, that's problematic. So, I mean... I thought I saw a lot of potential in her and I was ready to send her to training and this, that, whatever, because she's been in the industry for a while, but it just didn't fit the culture. You know, fitting in is going to be a big deal for me because we're small.
00:26:32
Speaker
And I'm, you know, I don't have time for it. I don't have time with to babysit anymore. Like I'm willing to train, but babysitting, I'm over it.
History and Evolution of Automotive Shops
00:26:42
Speaker
Yeah. So we're getting along.
00:26:46
Speaker
But I'm actually, um, talk to Ash about HubSpot HubShop. HubShop Solutions. HubShop Solutions. Yeah. Newest sponsor of the podcast. Thank you HubShop Solutions.
00:26:58
Speaker
Um, but, uh, but you're wearing her out. Like she is, her whole concept is amazing. So if I'm get that, i get on boarded in July. Yeah. That's how busy they are is they're, they're backed up, uh, big time.
00:27:13
Speaker
Uh, um, the two shops that I have using it right now. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Uh, the advisors love it because historically I've had them looking up labor and they don't have that anymore.
00:27:25
Speaker
Um, I'm sorry. The technicians love that. Cause I've had them looking up labor. The advisors love it because really good advisors typically are really bad at building estimates. You know there's like that gregarious nature and then there's the detail focus that is required for good estimating.
00:27:41
Speaker
And, never to shall the two cross paths it seems like has been my experience um and so you know there are some unicorns out there that can do both but um they're few and far between so um they're trying to figure out a way that they can um you know work on our our third shop but you know we'll we'll see so yeah i'm excited for that shockingly saturdays is the problem no imagine that say that again uh saturdays are the best thing i've ever done there you go good boy there you go there you you uh your dad started the shop in early 80s yeah so we have similar with stories my dad started the shop in early 80s but lot of people don't know we started as a body shop collision center so that's a body man through and through
00:28:38
Speaker
um When we moved to our current location, because we were in Carrboro in this very small shop, that's when we had the two buildings. Well, we have two buildings. And the second building, the service department, was to play ah money game with insurance companies.
00:28:54
Speaker
And I say this over and over. A lot of people don't know how much money body shops lose. It's crazy. Yeah. So we did the sublet game. Oh, yeah, baby. Yeah, you're paying a body shop $45 an hour, whatever it is. I can't ever get the number right.
00:29:09
Speaker
But, and for suspension work. But if I take it up the street to Joe Blow's shop, and his rate. You can sublet it for whatever. Exactly. Oh, yeah. So, yeah, we played that game. And that's how I got into the service industry.
00:29:24
Speaker
Yeah. so I would never, never sublet something from myself to myself. Yeah, we sublet it. Dealing with insurance or extended warranty ever. I would never have a separate LLC for programming ever.
00:29:36
Speaker
We're talking about what not to do. Well, yeah. So that's how I got in the industry. And um when he retired nine years ago, we rent the body shop out. There's no money there.
00:29:49
Speaker
And you're literally recycling money. You have to lie to gain because insurance companies audit everything. They literally send someone in there weekly, monthly to go through your ROs,
00:30:02
Speaker
And audited in their job is to find a dollar or two. I mean, they're not coming in to find big problems. Each repair estimate they wanted to find a dollar. And I was told at one point, yeah, this is my job. And if I do this and if I say the insurance company, five dollars per repair order over a million repair orders.
00:30:21
Speaker
Boom, it's five million dollars. So essentially, i always felt like I got ticked off with it at the end. It's you know, this is Brown's automotive. You know, this is Brown's auto and collision.
00:30:32
Speaker
This is not Nationwide Geico because they really come in there and try to rule over the shop. And so in the beginning, when dad retired and he decided that he was going to rent that out, I was a little disappointed. But now i know better.
00:30:46
Speaker
I know so much better. Mm hmm. Yeah. you know And we did not advertise as a service center. So I didn't have a customer base when dad retired. So yeah, I had to start from the ground up and that's why i was doing all of those inspections and oil changes and trailer tires and and calling around for other people's labor rates. And calling around for other people's labor rates. And yeah, I would have my receptions at the time.
00:31:10
Speaker
Hey, can you call and see how much they're charging and sitting there stalking other people's websites? What are they doing? What are they doing? How do they do that? I guess now and they're stalking me. I mean, literally a couple of weeks ago, I had a guy call and he has a great shop.
00:31:23
Speaker
He was like, hey, what charging? I was like, oh yeah, I'm charging this. He was like, how? I was like, why are you not charging that? How? Because that's what I need to get what I need to have. Like, I think Jim could call this. I want a bigger boat. I want a bigger boat.
00:31:36
Speaker
What I eat does not make you fat. Why are you worried about my labor rates? You don't have my bills. God, I love that. What I eat does not make you fat. others No, no, no, no, no. What I eat don't make you fat.
Language Trends and Parenting
00:31:49
Speaker
does not Do not use proper English. What I eat don't make you fat. Say it, Mike. Go. Ready, set, go. Hey, let me ask let me ask you guys this. My son... Today, you know that we had to start recording a little bit late because I had to go pick up my son from a field trip that I forgot about. I feel like we're about to dive into pop culture.
00:32:08
Speaker
And ah yeah he's not a man of many words, right? Getting him to text in complete sentences is a challenge sometimes. But they were running a few minutes behind. And I was like, actually, I think my response when he said they were running behind was, damn it, is all I said, because I'm also a man of many words and text.
00:32:23
Speaker
um He said, we at the Duncan near school... And then we close.
00:32:34
Speaker
Yeah. So I feel like I need to correct him on that. Like, does he speak like that in public? No, never.
00:32:44
Speaker
Leave it. Never. Quit. It's fine to type short. Does he have big thumbs? I feel like I can relate to this. twin type on a five time bro He's actually the tallest man in the Allen family already. He's in ninth grade. He's six foot tall. Well, you can't relate to what it's like to try to type on a smartphone when you're that tall.
00:33:03
Speaker
Yeah, well, does he say, what's it? Skibbity? Does he call you bruh? Skibbity? Are you bruh yet? Are you still dad? Sam said something like that in the backseat.
00:33:16
Speaker
that I know that he saw on YouTube. And I like freaking, I put everybody on the seatbelts. I was like, I don't know what that word is and we ain't saying it. I'm like, don't know what it is. Let those have their words. Like if I try to say it, Santana and Drew are like, ah mom, let's sit this next play out. It's like, oh, I can't say that.
00:33:32
Speaker
This is bussing, bussing. Like nothing's, bussing, bussing. I think that means it's good. there's a... Just down from the Hillsborough Street store, there's literally an old school bus parked on the side of the road that has been turned into a taco truck, and it's bussing tacos. See? Nice.
00:33:49
Speaker
Yeah. I can get on board with that. I can imply that bussing means good, right? Bussing is good. Yeah. And I think I know what guillot is from my 12-year-old.
00:34:01
Speaker
yeah I don't know what that means. That's butt. Oh. That's like a big booty. yeah Oh, let me Santana about that. I don't know about that one. I feel left out.
00:34:12
Speaker
But yeah. ah So, yeah, let the kids have their language. Yeah, G-Y-A-T-T. Oh, yeah, sure is. That means That's what the Google says. like slang term used to describe a person, usually a woman with a large, attractive butt.
00:34:29
Speaker
Oh, my God. going to use it. And then my kids are going to tell me not to. Like, Mom, please stop. I'm going to roll in the shop and try to use it. I don't how I'm to that. ah Contextual use examples. Bro. Giat. Did you see that? Whoa.
00:34:42
Speaker
it's a whole That's a whole conversation that just happened. I knew we were going into pop culture. i I knew it was happening. Well, no. Your kids are still young, so they haven't started calling you bro.
00:34:54
Speaker
my kid Oh, my kids call. Sam calls me bro all the time yeah when he gets fired up. I'm like, Sam. Sam. You got clean that stuff up. He's like, bro, I didn't make that mess. i was like, bro, you better get over there, clean that up before you find out.
00:35:06
Speaker
Yeah. The pick your battles with the kids. Yeah. And then start to talk to him like that. Have you explained to your 10 year old wrestler what f FAFO stands for yet? Sam? No, he's, yeah, he's, he's only seven.
00:35:19
Speaker
Oh, he's only seven, but yeah, he's the definition. Yeah. Yeah. You do not. I had to tell his His sister. Frickin' ended up crying. he's got His sister's almost 11, and she started messing with Sam. And she, like, came in crying and stuff after she got knocked around. And I'm like, dude.
00:35:38
Speaker
Like your brother doesn't play. I know he's half your size, but you can't. ah If you grab a hold of him, it's not going to end well for you. like Just because he doesn't have to he doesn't have to restrict anything. He doesn't have to muffle the force because it's his big sister.
00:35:53
Speaker
Yeah, when i'm just ah he will he will hurt people bigger than him. I've seen him do it. I've seen him tackle 13-year-olds.
00:36:04
Speaker
Just don't mess with them. It's not safe to be messed with. not My daughter has her black belt test Friday. It's three hours long. So Friday from six to nine is her black belt test.
00:36:16
Speaker
What is it Is it Taekwondo what is it? What does she do? it's It's a belt factory karate place for kids. But okay, that might be oversimplification.
00:36:27
Speaker
But but it was I feel like this to a degree it's a belt factory because they haven't really challenged them. But this is the first one where they're like, look. It's a belt factory.
Tools Conference and Educational Opportunities
00:36:35
Speaker
yeah I thought that was the name of the business. I hope the baby does not listen in on this.
00:36:40
Speaker
How hard she works for this damn belt. Well, she's having to work hard for this one, right? Because this and you there's no guarantees on this. You've actually got to know all your forms and you've got to be able to do like there are physical requirements, push-ups, sit-ups. You've got to run a mile in a certain time frame. You've to spar. You've got to use the different weapons or implements or whatever.
00:37:01
Speaker
um and pass or not, I think we're pulling her out of the studio and putting her in one where they actually run you through the worst. Yeah. And I hope that it will be a positive wake up call for her because it's been kind of a participation trophy experience to this point because they just want the you know our checks to keep clearing every month.
00:37:25
Speaker
no So, yeah. So what are doing when she starts beating her ass? Well, you know, she's one of the reasons that I want to put her in a real Karate Gym or whatever is... don't think they call it Karate Gym, but... Not the Karate Gym? I think it's the dojo.
00:37:42
Speaker
You ever watch Napoleon Dynamite? Rex Kwan Dole. thinks she's badass, and she comes and she starts like picking on or picking at her brothers, and then they and they fold her up like a lawn chair. you know and And she's all shocked.
00:37:55
Speaker
I can't believe it. You mean I'm not a ninja warrior? No. Sit down. Slap them.
00:38:01
Speaker
slap she it You might know karate, but I know kar crazy.
00:38:10
Speaker
All right. So I think we're all going to tools next week, right? and Yes. And I think this comes out immediately after tools. So we'll have to have a reaction video post tools, but I'm excited about it.
00:38:22
Speaker
i Me too. um You know, one thing that I realized is my crazy, I have two crazy jackets to wear to tools and I had them hanging on the back of the chair that right over here and they're missing.
00:38:34
Speaker
Did you take them to get them? I thought you had to go get them altered. No, I haven't done that yet. But Ling's tailor shop at at Crabtree is like, you drop it off at 10 o'clock in the morning, you pick it up at two o'clock in the afternoon.
00:38:48
Speaker
they don't mess around well that's um yeah um but uh they're missing now so i'm guessing that my mother found them while she was here watching the kids when amanda and i were on our cruise and i'm just hoping that she didn't like thrift them because that would be embarrassing straight to the salvation army what the hell is this oh gosh so um brian you're teaching a class That's what they tell me.
00:39:15
Speaker
Yeah. Yep. Shit you don't know and how to find out. Is that right? Mm-hmm. Four-hour class? Four hours, yep. I know that you've got about 12 hours worth of content. Have you chosen which four hours you're going to present? um Not really.
00:39:33
Speaker
We'll figure that out. We'll put it together. We have a lot of good content. ah Jim warned me. He's like, you've got a lot of stuff here. I don't think we need any more. And I'm like, we must to have more.
00:39:43
Speaker
For a four-hour class. And he was like, okay. then I looked at I go, yeah, that's like like two days worth of class. 114 slides.
00:39:56
Speaker
Yeah, we have a lot. That's a lot. We have a lot. Well, we won't teach at all. we won't we don't ah We don't do the... We have a lot of material to cover. Hold your questions. We don't do that.
00:40:08
Speaker
So... I think even like at ASTA last year, we had like narrowed it down to like, this is what we're going to include. And we didn't even get through all that because it's not really the, you know, the reward isn't like how much can we cover? It's like, how much can people learn about stuff? And if, you know, and if we got to go slower, so they get more, that's, you know, that's just how it goes, man.
00:40:29
Speaker
Well, and if the crowd gets engaged and there's back and forth that, yeah, and that's, that's a huge deal. And they learn more when they're engaged. It's literal. Like, it's not like an opinion. It's actual brain science. When there's back and forth discussion, they learn more than being lectured to. So you and Jim have both been known to be blessed with the gift of gab as well.
00:40:48
Speaker
Yes. Um, that could play into the running long way too long about something way too long. Tanika, what are you teaching?
00:40:59
Speaker
Yeah. How to be a player. um not I'm still a student. I'm not a teacher yet. Yeah, but Kim and I, Kim, and Kim Walker, and B and I are doing something at the expo, ASTA. So I'm excited about that. That's exciting.
00:41:21
Speaker
yeah Can you tell us what it is yet? and I cannot. Because you know why? Because I don't know. don't know.
00:41:28
Speaker
Um, so yeah, Kim Walker came up with that idea idea and I'm like, hell yeah. I I love it. Let's do something. What are you teaching, Mike? Oh, I'll just be teaching how to hold up one end of the bar and Zeb will have the other end it'll be good.
00:41:42
Speaker
so Okay, good. I'm sure you have a lot of attendees.
00:41:46
Speaker
You know, I feel like we've fallen by Friday night shenanigans have fallen by the wayside lately just because life's been so busy between kids commitments and and ASTA commitments and travel and everything else. So I feel like we need like shenanigans live.
00:42:05
Speaker
And so we keep saying that we should do it. Well, Brian and Braxton and I have been looking at different software suites that we can use to live stream so we can have like call-in show.
00:42:17
Speaker
Yeah, a couple of cameras, producer board, a call-in, whole deal. and So we've got until September. We've got five months to pull four months to pull this off. So um I think we can do it. And that would be pretty fun to have like a live studio audience and call-in.
00:42:33
Speaker
But we need to get like a PA so people can hear the person on the phone too. That would be so having Collins would be amazing. I think so. That would, that would take shenanigans to the next level.
00:42:44
Speaker
That would, that would be fun. um It'll be fun. It'll be, it'll be good time. So, um, I am looking forward to, also Avtech is going to be there.
00:42:57
Speaker
And, uh, one of the Thursday add on classes is, um their EV safety certification, certification class. And if you know what Avtech is, if you don't, you need to listen up to some of the podcasts they've been making the rounds.
00:43:09
Speaker
And, uh, is it's not just book learning and a certificate. You have to then demonstrate on a live vehicle that you circle have the competency and then you get that ah competency-based certificate.
00:43:25
Speaker
Well, if you attend the Thursday class, then you can sign up for ah the certification test on Friday or Saturday. And they'll be having those on the show floor or maybe in one of the causeways in front of the classes. so So we're going to have an EV out there roped off.
00:43:43
Speaker
and you come in, you sign in, and you take your test there and you get your certificate and you walk away or you or you or you don't get your certificate if you if you fail, right? Because this is not a belt factory. um This is not my kid's karate studio.
00:43:56
Speaker
Dojo has anyone done that before what we're doing? It's never been done. Not at a trade show that I know of. Uh, and we're going to have, uh, we're going to have licensed TIA certifications happening there. So you can come in on Saturday and take a TIA class and get, ah come away with your TIA certification.
00:44:13
Speaker
for those that are heavy in the tire world or looking to get into the tire world, that's a valuable certification also. um and so, uh, we're trying to really kick it into another gear about you're not just going to come and listen to a sage on a stage. You're going to get interactive classes. You're going get hands-on classes.
00:44:31
Speaker
Jim, Brian, do you know about Jim's class that he's going to do with the with the circuit boards? Yeah, i got roped into it. Oh, you're to help him on that. That's going to be freaking awesome. yeah i think i'm I think I'm roped into like 16 hours of classroom.
00:44:47
Speaker
Well, you better save some time for fucking podcast work, buddy, bro. And shenanigans. And shenanigans. And hangovers. And hangovers and lobby talk.
00:44:59
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Jim. Yeah, he's doing the him and him and Jim Wilson, I think, are teaching that electrical. Right. They're doing the electrical class. with the circuit boards and the meters, like the live board training, which is, you've never done that before. They're going to have 20 workstations set up.
00:45:15
Speaker
yeah I brought one of our young guys. He was 19 years old. I brought him to a class like that one time that they did locally where they had the they had the boards with the with the little fuel injector on there and everything else, and it was um it was just a meter class.
00:45:28
Speaker
And that kid, I watched him make more strides in that class, understanding how that worked than any other electrical class I'd ever brought anybody to. That's cool. And that was that was eight hours of instruction. That was like two two nights after work. And it was, um you know, it was it was just a great class, man. And man, when they can take a meter and they can start touching stuff and they can understand, okay, we're going to put this resistance in, watch what happens.
00:45:55
Speaker
That's, it's part of the doing, right? It's more than just the slides. I think I just shared that, you know, the learning pyramid the other day. Like if if you can get people talking, right? And then you can get them to do something. I mean, they're learning and they're retaining far more than they would have just.
00:46:12
Speaker
Yeah. As Jim will talk about, you reduce the forgetting curve significantly, right? Yes. Yeah. You flatten it out. So um one requirement of that class is that you have to bring a functioning meter to class with you because they're supplying the boards and the test equipment, everything else. But you have to have your meter so you can learn how to use your meter in class.
Napa AutoCare and Tools Discussion
00:46:31
Speaker
You think they'll let me carry a meter and a carry on? maybe ship it to us we'll hold on to it i got a couple i could bring i got a couple spares i could bring we need to have um we need to have class sponsor who supplies meters and then you can buy the meter that you've learned to use right and that would be cool who's uh who's who's sponsoring who's a tool who's uh not a tool i'm sorry who's a apart parts parts lucas underwood is a total tool no who's who's the major parts store that's sponsoring it okay well i mean so we've got uh napa is bringing their a game and uh it also looks like about napa napa has rebranded the carlisle brand and they've ah switched some suppliers
00:47:20
Speaker
They're bringing the Carlisle truck they' bring the Xbox. They're bringing the Carlisle. Carlisle's got meters, so who do we got to call? Ooh. Tameka's making notes over there. I am.
00:47:32
Speaker
Because, yeah, they can say, okay, you can use these 20 meters in the class, then would you like to buy this at the end? Uh-huh. This great deal? and i And I kind of nerd out on tools, as you could imagine. Like, that's kind of my thing.
00:47:44
Speaker
Some of this Carlisle stuff is bought... from the same people who manufacture stuff for other major tool trucks so you're getting a napa branded tool if you're on a napa auto care program i don't know if you guys have seen the new tool rebates for the people i mean some of it's insane the money their apprentice tool rebate program is crazy good the appendage tool rebate program is crazy and then they're getting not necessarily snap on hand to a level but other tool trucks that come around most of those are rebranded tools carlisle's using the same manufacturer and just having them stick their green handles on them you know what i mean like it's it's not cheap you know it's good stuff you know what i mean it's really it looks great the whole i can't wait for the expo because when we're in vegas that setup was amazing yeah
00:48:36
Speaker
Like you're looking at it like what can buy? Your new Carlisle stuff is really good. I started looking into like who's making this for them and who's making that. And I'm like, this is a serious deal. Like if we're going able to, plus if you're in auto care and you get a discount you get rebate and this, that, and the other thing, blah, blah, blah, blah. All of a sudden you're buying shop equipment. That's like really high end stuff for less than you would have to pay.
00:48:58
Speaker
You know? And and i also feel pretty good about the fact that Napa ah more so than some of the other really big national brands tends to support the, the independent aftermarket a little more happily.
00:49:12
Speaker
Yeah. one hundred percent You know, they all have, ah outreach programs and that kind of stuff for the aftermarket. Multiple, multiple in some markets. I think we have two different outreach programs for the aftermarket in our area. You know what I mean? We have, we have BDG and,
00:49:30
Speaker
Well, I guess the other one's not really associated with Napa. My my Napa salesman runs the other group, but it's not really. Well, BBG is Napa's auto care branded 20 group, right? Yep.
00:49:41
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. yeah they're having a big event at Buffalo River Works June 28th up here. so Yes. Yeah, that's what I was hearing about. um I was ah was worried. Yeah.
00:49:53
Speaker
At Napa Now in Vegas, i was like, oh, that's cool. I should see what I got to jump through to be an auto care gold, right? And one of them was you got to be in one of their BDG groups. And I'm just in too many damn groups already, man. I got a 20-minute backup coach.
00:50:09
Speaker
You don't have to say why You don't actually have to go to the meetings. You don't have to go to it. Sign up for the group. You don't to We'll edit that part out. Yeah, you do worse.
00:50:21
Speaker
You don't have to that.
00:50:24
Speaker
I'm going to the one at Riverworks. I just happen to be busy the other 12 meetings a year. I like that save. Good save. Yeah. Yeah, man, I'd really love to go and I really love Napa's products and I love them so much that I keep buying them and I talk about how great their tools look now, but um I'm not, yeah, I'm just busy 12 meetings a year, but I do have time to go to the party with the drink tickets and the pizza and stuff. I got time for that one.
00:50:50
Speaker
Some evil shop ownership right there. Yeah. So very proud of you right now.
Humorous Segments and Listener Interactions
00:50:55
Speaker
Hey, um, there's something that we got to get to and I don't want to let the whole episode go by and forget about it. Uh, um, if you haven't been listening, uh, eight or 10 episodes ago, um there was a tangential conversation about Brian selling feet pics on the internet.
00:51:15
Speaker
Um, Brian, could you give us like the 90 second recap of that real quickly? Yeah. Um, I bet somebody that people are so stupid that even I could make money selling feet pictures. So in a drunken stupor, I took pictures of my feet and put them on a website called feet finder. And sure enough, I got like $150, uh, $100, $50 was the bet that you want. Correct. Correct. I got, I, yeah, $100 worth of feet picture purchases over the course of, I mean, it really fell off after like the first two months and, uh, $50 that I won on my bet.
00:51:51
Speaker
but so um i think i can get more and you also got a special request submitted right yeah somebody wanted me to smash my feet around in cream cheese um did they offer you a specific amount of money for that you know hold on let me see here i don't know
00:52:16
Speaker
Hold on, I can just go in my email here. pulling up his FeedFinder.com account. The FeedFinder app. Let's pull it up. It was 10-7-2024. yeah. um oh yeah Yeah, I was offered money.
00:52:30
Speaker
How much? It was $25. You did it, didn't you? It would cost that much for cream cheese, right? No, I did not do it. to the alie store You go to the Aldi store and get yourself some cheap cream cheese. Probably get the job done for three, four bucks.
00:52:44
Speaker
Oh, really? Okay. So, I mean, there's a return on investment. There's heck a return on investment. You think it's good for your corns? or I don't know. It could be moisturizing. Yeah.
00:52:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's what you tell yourself. You weep softly into your pillow at night. um So, anyway, we told this story a month or two ago. We talked about it when we were at the NASCAR hall or ah nascar Technical Institute.
00:53:07
Speaker
I think we were recording. We talked about it. And about two weeks later, I got a voicemail left on the confessional line. Oh, God. If you don't know, we have a phone number that you can call in 704-CONFESS.
00:53:19
Speaker
can call and leave a voicemail and just tell us that we're idiots or tell us what went wrong in the shop or whatever else. um But it turns out that the person who paid for your feet pics.
00:53:33
Speaker
No, that's not true. is a listener of the program. There's no way. That's nice. They called in and left us a voicemail. So i want to play the voicemail right now for you And Brian has not heard this voicemail.
00:53:45
Speaker
I haven't. um like I've heard of it, but I have not heard the voicemail. So, all right. I hope that the audio works. so Let me know if you guys can hear it real quick. I'm praying. I'm the sole benefactor of Brian's feet. I did. And I also am the one that requested the feet in the cream cheese.
00:54:04
Speaker
me grand feet Because I love Brian's feet. I love Brian's feet. yeah I'm to text him right now. I'm going to text him right now. Come on, brother. the sole benefactor of Brian's feet finder. And I him.
00:54:25
Speaker
one hundred percent believe him he's talking about He's actually talking about buying a whole bunch of lifts. He texts me this thing. going be like, use your sole benefactor money.
00:54:36
Speaker
Sole, S-O-L-E. yeah Is that how you s spell sole of the foot? S-O-L-E, yeah. Yeah, okay. yeah yeah So, anyway.
00:54:47
Speaker
I wonder how much I could get because I've got stuff to buy. Do you have a profile? How did he know was your feet?
00:54:57
Speaker
how do you know your He knows the story. He knew the story. He's known the story for a long time. so he had to go to a catalog of feet and say, oh, those are like Ron's feet. Does it have like where you're from? Does it have like New York in it or anything? no can you Can you read us your profile description on Feet Finder?
00:55:15
Speaker
I will not.
00:55:18
Speaker
I could have a bunch of weirdos looking. man yeah Zeb's probably spending night and day probably trying to find it If you're listening to this show and you have some free time and a foot fetish, please do what you can on feetfinder.com to find Brian's foot profile and send it into the confessional so that we can share that.
00:55:36
Speaker
That would be greatly appreciated.
00:55:40
Speaker
can't believe the that that's the conversation we're having, but one more time, just just everybody be quiet. I'm the sole benefactor of Brian's Feet Finder. I paid all the money that's on there, and I also am the one that requested the feet and the cream cheese.
00:55:54
Speaker
Because I love Brian's feet. Because I love Brian's feet. love Brian's feet.
00:56:03
Speaker
Look, if you love everything about somebody, you got to love their feet too, right? Oh my God. That's good stuff. He's been on the feet finder. Susie's been having them drive her around the lake to go fishing. He's freaking on the feet finder board.
00:56:16
Speaker
Feet finder, fish finder, same thing. Yeah, feet finder, fish finder, whatever. Oh. I did. I do have it on good authority that there are going to be special strokers tanning bed stickers available at the expo.
00:56:28
Speaker
Yes. In case you want to get the little strokers logo as your tan is your tanning. Yeah. yeah Yeah. i think we were in the same group chat. I heard that.
00:56:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. We'll be able to strokers diesel tanned onto you. He's a marketing genius worldwide marketing world worldwide domination. Worldwide domination.
00:56:50
Speaker
Well, I feel like we've had a lot of really valuable conversation and and added a lot of quality to the industry over the last... list Absolutely, we did. Yep. Yeah, specifically the last six minutes of this conversation. That was outstanding.
00:57:06
Speaker
Tools is going to be awesome. ASTA Expo is going to be awesome. ah Browns Automotive in Chapel Hill, North Carolina will be awesome when they open on Fridays. um Feetfinder.com, find Brian's feet.
00:57:20
Speaker
um I think that's a pretty good summation of the episode, yeah? And eventually we'll get you some damn AC. And one day I'll have air conditioning after I spend $20,000 a piece at a time.
00:57:33
Speaker
and Instead of just $20,000. One piece at a time, and it didn't cost me a dime. Yeah. yeah Yeah, exactly. Well, poor Mike. Tanika, thanks for coming on. Not poor Mike.
00:57:45
Speaker
Poor Mike. ah see you guys in a little bit. Bye-bye. Thanks for listening to Confessions of a Shop Owner, where we lay it all out. The good, and the bad, and sometimes the super messed up. I'm your host, Mike Allen, here to remind you that even the pros screw it up sometimes. So why not laugh a little bit, learn a little bit, and maybe have another drink.
00:58:02
Speaker
You got a confession of your own or a topic you'd like me to cover? Or do you just want to let me know what an idiot I am? Email mike at confessionsofashopowner.com or call and leave a message. The number is 704-CONFESS.
00:58:18
Speaker
That's 704-266-3377. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, or follow. Join us on this crazy journey that is shop ownership. I'll see you on the next episode.
00:58:56
Speaker
I said just.