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Episode-13-The husband and wife power couple from 3D Auto Frank and Margarita
58 Plays3 months ago
Brand new podcast hosted by a Shop owner and a Shop owner/Technician . We dive into shop ownership and how it all began for the both of us. Frank and I had a very special guest this week. His wife and business parter Margarita. I really enjoyed getting to know Margarita and hearing their story. It's not easy working with your significant other but these two made it work and knocked it out of the park! Listen in on this great episode!
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Promotion
00:00:01
Aniz Lavji
Alright everyone, welcome to another episode of the Shop and Tread Talk podcast. We've got Frank and Margarita here today. How's it going guys?
00:00:12
Frank and Margarita
good good how are you
00:00:13
Aniz Lavji
Good, good. Before we get into it, just wanted to mention that you can follow us on Facebook. If you search the, tre oh my gosh, I can't even remember the name, the Shop and Tread Talk podcast on Facebook, you can definitely follow us there, like, comment.
00:00:30
Aniz Lavji
Also, this can be viewed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. So thanks for joining
Meet Frank and Margarita
00:00:36
Aniz Lavji
us today. And let's get right into it. Frank and Margarita, thanks for joining us tonight.
00:00:42
Frank and Margarita
All right. Yeah. So today we have with ah with us my ah my business partner, my life partner, my best friend, my wife, Margarita.
00:00:54
Aniz Lavji
Wow, Frank, you're definitely and again some extrano i know you're getting You're getting all the brownie points to today, Frank.
00:00:54
Frank and Margarita
or I practiced that all day. All day. I wanted to be...
00:01:02
Aniz Lavji
that is That was perfectly rehearsed.
00:01:04
Frank and Margarita
It was. It took me all day to figure that one out. So anyways, Margarita is on the show with us today. And... ah Welcome. Hi. Hi, she says. case you can't hear, yeah speak up.
00:01:15
Aniz Lavji
So yeah, we just, we just wanted to kind of see what the, what the dynamic is with the two of you and kind of, were you, I actually don't even know, were you in, in this from the beginning with Frank or did you kind of jump into it in between or how did this, this, or was that the cat?
00:01:33
Aniz Lavji
oh so I was like, no, I don't think that was Frank.
00:01:34
Frank and Margarita
That's a cat. That's a cat.
00:01:39
Aniz Lavji
ah So how, ah how did this all, ah you know, come together?
00:01:40
Frank and Margarita
No.
00:01:43
Aniz Lavji
does it, I mean, I know you weren't working in the garage or anything with Frank from before. So how out did this become a husband and wife booming business?
00:01:54
Frank and Margarita
Well, that was always the plan in the beginning, but I figured I wanted to keep my job at least until we were financially stable.
00:02:03
Aniz Lavji
Okay.
00:02:03
Frank and Margarita
um So we opened the shop in March and then the following January I lost my job.
00:02:09
Aniz Lavji
Oh, sorry.
00:02:10
Frank and Margarita
And then I started doing the bookkeeping slash reception slash service manager to save money.
00:02:10
Aniz Lavji
Okay.
00:02:18
Frank and Margarita
Then we didn't have to hire that out.
00:02:20
Aniz Lavji
course, yeah.
00:02:20
Frank and Margarita
And so then i started that and I had a bookkeeper teach me all the ropes. And then six years ago, I went to school and actually got my license.
00:02:32
Frank and Margarita
So that's how we came to start together.
00:02:32
Aniz Lavji
There you go.
00:02:36
Aniz Lavji
Okay, okay.
Women in the Automotive Industry
00:02:38
Aniz Lavji
So what do you think about the decision going six years down the line now?
00:02:38
Frank and Margarita
Yeah.
00:02:45
Frank and Margarita
I actually enjoy it. um It got pretty frustrating in the beginning when
00:02:50
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:02:50
Frank and Margarita
you know, nobody wants to talk to a girl when it comes to their car because, you know, girls don't know nothing. Right. So that kind of got frustrating. But I'm getting better at holding my own and making sure that they listen to what I have to say, too.
00:03:03
Frank and Margarita
So.
00:03:04
Aniz Lavji
Good. Yeah. I mean, they have to, I mean, it's, you know, a lot of times if you look even at service advisors and managers, I mean, nine times out of 10, it's not, it's not a man anymore. It's a woman that's actually running the whole show. And there's, you know, either a man or woman in the garage fixing cars, but it's not, it's not just, you know, the guys in the garage working and,
00:03:26
Aniz Lavji
there's a guy in the front. I mean, women are taking over a lot of these different roles and I think that's great. i think we need more of it really, in my opinion.
00:03:35
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, i think having I think having a woman in the shop is very beneficial, whether in the office or in the shop itself.
00:03:35
Aniz Lavji
I think the industry welcomes it.
00:03:42
Frank and Margarita
um There's been so many times where i go to explain something to a customer and she's like,
00:03:43
Aniz Lavji
Definitely.
00:03:49
Frank and Margarita
going have to be a little bit less technical. And she understands the technical that I'm talking. So then she'll, you know, yeah, she'll female translate into, into human language.
00:03:55
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:03:58
Aniz Lavji
Google translated into a...
00:04:04
Frank and Margarita
And so people can understand.
00:04:06
Aniz Lavji
So what language are you saying?
00:04:06
Frank and Margarita
so very often,
00:04:08
Aniz Lavji
if If she's translating into human, what are you spewing out, Frank?
00:04:12
Frank and Margarita
Well, I'm speaking mechanic.
00:04:13
Aniz Lavji
That's what I want to know.
00:04:14
Frank and Margarita
That's, that's, a that's, that's been a whole nother level.
00:04:15
Aniz Lavji
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, mechanic. Okay. Okay.
00:04:18
Frank and Margarita
Like we're from a completely different planet.
00:04:20
Aniz Lavji
Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah.
00:04:21
Frank and Margarita
fifty
00:04:21
Aniz Lavji
I've heard that language before.
00:04:23
Frank and Margarita
It's, it's a language all in its own. And, and, and she learned some of
00:04:26
Aniz Lavji
You really need someone, though, that does that.
Working as a Married Couple
00:04:28
Frank and Margarita
that.
00:04:28
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. She learned some of that while she was ah working in the shop with us for, what'd you work in there about nine months? About a year. About that, that she worked in the shop with us.
00:04:38
Aniz Lavji
No, that's great.
00:04:39
Frank and Margarita
And,
00:04:39
Aniz Lavji
I mean, it's it's not easy, you know, being husband wife, doing this kind of business. And I know there's struggles. as any partnership or business venture, but when your husband and wife added, you know, five days a week and everything, I mean, that's, ah it's, it's not easy, but definitely the rewards are there and you guys have built ah an awesome business, obviously.
00:05:03
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, we've we've been working hard. It's it's been very rewarding, but it it definitely has its challenges working together, being together almost 24-7. um Like we have things that we do separately in the evening sometimes, but at work we're together all day long.
00:05:19
Frank and Margarita
And it's just, I don't know, i never imagined that it would be my whole life together. You know, you always say, yeah, your whole life together, but it's like four hours a day at the end of the day type of deal.
00:05:30
Frank and Margarita
Well, that's usually what it is, right, with most people.
00:05:32
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:05:33
Frank and Margarita
And here we are now, 24 hours, right? that's So it it definitely has its challenges, but man, it's been, I think it's been extremely rewarding. Margarita, what do you think?
00:05:47
Frank and Margarita
I think we make a good team. I think we know where we where our boundaries lie at work. Like the office is my domain and the shop is his domain. And sometimes they cross over a little bit. But for the most part, I stay in my lane and he stays in his lane and it works.
00:06:04
Frank and Margarita
and We have a lot of fun doing it. We have a lot of fun at work. We have a lot of fun at home. You may have a lot of fun scaring you at work. That's true, yeah.
Social Media and Shop Involvement
00:06:12
Aniz Lavji
Now I've seen a lot of the TikToks and everything. And I know like, you know, Frank, it's hard for you to make a TikTok without having Margarita involved in it now. So of course, well, that you'll know that the the view count is going to be higher if she's in it.
00:06:21
Frank and Margarita
Well, I like having her in there. It makes it a better TikTok for sure.
00:06:29
Aniz Lavji
No one wants to see you, Frank. Everyone wants to see Margarita.
00:06:33
Frank and Margarita
That's right. Yep. Yep.
00:06:35
Aniz Lavji
No, but that's, that's really Well,
00:06:35
Frank and Margarita
And I've got to put the pretty lady in there for the views anyway.
00:06:40
Aniz Lavji
I mean, Frank, you you you you wake up with your hair like that. I mean, I mean, geez, I got to run a comb through it. You just probably just wake up, and your hair is already ready to go for the day.
00:06:48
Frank and Margarita
I very often just do this and then that's it. That's all I do. or he forgets to brush his hair. There's been days.
00:06:56
Aniz Lavji
the um The cool thing is, I know Frank's been telling me, Margarita, off and on that you're getting more and more involved in the shop and and learning as you go along. I know he was saying during the winter time, you were doing, I'd say 90% of the tires. What was that like?
00:07:13
Frank and Margarita
Um, mostly i I enjoy doing tires. Um, it's not bad. Like it's, it's definitely a good workout. The truck tires, those are a challenge once they're about um half my size and I'm supposed to lift them.
00:07:22
Aniz Lavji
Is that... Yeah.
00:07:27
Frank and Margarita
So usually I make him do all those ones and I do the easy ones, but yeah, it really, i didn't mind it. I didn't even mind doing oil changes for a while either, but those get to be really gross and messy after a while and you get tired of those real quick.
00:07:42
Aniz Lavji
Do you, do you get customers coming in and expecting Frank to do the tires and and you're just like, yep, I'll take care of that for you. Do they get surprised? Like, have you had customers come in like, wait, what do you mean?
00:07:54
Frank and Margarita
All the time. I've had customy customers say, what do you mean you're going to work on my car? I've had people actually come back and say, oh, there's something wrong with my vehicle because I did the tires and there's nothing wrong with it.
00:08:08
Frank and Margarita
But because I did it, then now they want Frank to look at it just to make sure that I didn't mess something up.
00:08:08
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:08:15
Aniz Lavji
And you know, that's, unfortunately, that's a stigma that has been in the industry for a long time. i think it's slowly changing once, once more women are getting into the industry.
00:08:26
Aniz Lavji
And I think that's great that the, the narrative is changing because it's, it's been a long time.
00:08:30
Frank and Margarita
Thank you.
00:08:32
Aniz Lavji
Like even, well, Frank, you know, you guys have been to my shop, my mom's there and, We'll have customers come in that that want they're asking questions about something and my mom will answer and then they'll just look at her weird, like, how did you know the answer to that? And then they'll ask to talk to the boss, you know, and then my mom's like, okay, how can i help you?
00:08:52
Aniz Lavji
It's so...
00:08:53
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, people don't people don't like that when you do that. They're like, they just don't understand how a woman can be in the shop. And I've always said, I've always encouraged it. I'm like, women are so much smarter than men.
00:09:06
Frank and Margarita
And for them to be able to retain information, like most of the time, generally a woman just, they learn something once and that's it. They know it. It's not a question of do they, will they have, they just know it, right?
00:09:18
Aniz Lavji
They know the attention span is there too.
00:09:19
Frank and Margarita
And then Yeah, yeah. And after that, it's just a lot of times it's building strength. Like most women aren't as strong as a man, and so they build the strength.
00:09:29
Aniz Lavji
Exactly.
00:09:30
Frank and Margarita
But if they can build the strength, they can do the job. There's no there's no doubt
Team Building and Hiring
00:09:35
Frank and Margarita
about it. The the knowledge is here.
00:09:36
Aniz Lavji
Sorry, Fred, you're going to have to repeat that. I lost my train thought, but I lost attention there. Sorry.
00:09:43
Frank and Margarita
No, I can't repeat that. Come on now.
00:09:46
Aniz Lavji
No, you're you're you're bang on with that.
00:09:47
Frank and Margarita
No.
00:09:48
Aniz Lavji
I mean, it's it's very rare that you'll see a lot of these successful businesses that don't have a very strong presence from a woman. I mean, it's it's great.
00:09:57
Frank and Margarita
Yep.
00:09:58
Aniz Lavji
and And the nice thing is, you know, Frank, you've got your strengths. Margarita's got her strengths. And you guys together are able to feed off each other. And i think that's great.
00:10:08
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. it's
00:10:09
Frank and Margarita
aye and and and I couldn't run the shop without her. There's just no way. like I did it for the first, like you said, for the first few months. I was my own office manager and and running the shop.
00:10:22
Frank and Margarita
like I was there all by myself. My brother came to help me out a little bit in the shop. right ah but i mean it was It was hard.
00:10:26
Aniz Lavji
yeah.
00:10:30
Frank and Margarita
It was hard. Writing up invoices. i'd be I'd be at the end of the day, I'd be writing up an invoice and she'd call me and say, when are you coming home? and I'm like, When I'm done, I got to write up an invoice or I got it all right come and help you.
00:10:42
Frank and Margarita
Or yeah, well, she would later on, she would come and help me, but it it took a lot of work. So then, then we, we, I forget how we went.
00:10:52
Frank and Margarita
Is somebody, did somebody come and help us in the office part-time, part-time in the office while I was working?
00:10:58
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:10:59
Frank and Margarita
And I mean, that didn't work out so well. So when she, when she lost her job, It was like, okay, well, now I guess it's do or die. So we just, she jumped in and she learned it like super quick, had essentially never used QuickBooks before.
00:11:07
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:11:13
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:11:14
Frank and Margarita
And within a short little time, learned how to use QuickBooks, do invoicing and learning all of the part suppliers that already were in place. Like, and she picked it up real quick. And then, yeah, once, ah once it got to the point where,
00:11:30
Frank and Margarita
I mean, we had enough enough work. Then we hired, a I mean, you know, different employees in the shop back and forth.
00:11:37
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:11:38
Frank and Margarita
But then eventually it was like, hey, we almost need a second service advisor. And that's when we hired David to come aboard. and And that's been working out super great.
00:11:46
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:11:50
Frank and Margarita
And then when we were down employees in the shop, well, our co-op student was at Fanshawe.
00:11:58
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:11:58
Frank and Margarita
And it's like, she's like, okay, well, I guess I'll just jump into the shop and and start working. And she started doing brakes and tires and oil changes and and just just killing it.
00:12:10
Frank and Margarita
I'm like, it didn't matter what she did or what she put her mind to or what her hands to. It just it just did it, right? And I'm like, I don't know how I could have done it without it.
00:12:18
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:12:19
Frank and Margarita
like
Business Expansion Plans
00:12:20
Frank and Margarita
the the The people I would have had to hire and pay absorbent amount of money to,
00:12:26
Aniz Lavji
I
00:12:26
Frank and Margarita
And all it costs me with this one is a vacation once a year. I mean, I do that. I'm okay. You don't have a But it's yeah it's been it's been quite a journey.
00:12:35
Aniz Lavji
don't know much of choice in that department.
00:12:41
Frank and Margarita
And now she's transitioning more back into the office because we've finally been able to hire a couple of ah employees in the shop. And so now we're going to...
00:12:51
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:12:53
Frank and Margarita
come here shortly. We're going to start just rolling full steam this the entire season starting again for the spring and then the summer rush is going to come and I think that we're just going to, I don't know, we're going to roll full steam through the summer and see how that goes.
00:13:00
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. yeah
00:13:09
Aniz Lavji
It's great.
00:13:10
Frank and Margarita
if we...
00:13:10
Aniz Lavji
I think it's nice that, you know, even if you guys are once you get your, your bay back, because you've got your office and everything in there right now, once you get that bay back,
00:13:20
Frank and Margarita
Another week, hopefully.
00:13:21
Aniz Lavji
you can put a big sign up there that you put up there at Margarita's Bay. So if she wants to work on something, you know, she's got her own space there too.
00:13:29
Frank and Margarita
Well, you know what? That's actually funny. I found a at ah one of the yard sales, I found that it says a woman's, what does it say? Woman's space or something like that. Something like that. And I put it up outside my bay door and not a single man walks into my door.
00:13:46
Frank and Margarita
It could be wide open. but Not a single man will walk in, but they'll walk in his bay if it's open. So that's pretty funny. That's we keep the chains up. Woman cave. That's what it said. Woman's cave. Did it?
00:13:58
Frank and Margarita
Something like that. That's what it says
00:14:00
Aniz Lavji
You should get two more made and just put them over each bay and then they'll have to walk in the front door.
00:14:02
Frank and Margarita
says.
00:14:03
Aniz Lavji
and then you don't to worry about them walking in the garage anymore bothering you guys. Hey, Frank.
00:14:08
Frank and Margarita
You know what? Yeah. You know what was is the best thing that we ever did for that is just some plastic chains that we hook from one end to the other.
00:14:15
Aniz Lavji
Mm-hmm.
00:14:16
Frank and Margarita
And I've had a few people crawl underneath it and I'd be like, no.
00:14:20
Aniz Lavji
Seriously?
00:14:21
Frank and Margarita
Oh yeah. Yeah. And I said, no, no, you have to stay on the other side of that. I always use the excuse. My insurance won't allow you in here. Oh, they won't. Oh, okay. Okay. I mean, it is, it's not really an excuse.
00:14:32
Frank and Margarita
I mean, it's the truth, but as soon as you say insurance, they're out the door and they're good. So.
00:14:37
Aniz Lavji
I think we should just put a sign on it that says if you crawl under or go over this rope, we will automatically add 10% shop supplies on top of your repair order.
00:14:48
Frank and Margarita
I'd be doing 40%. Forget this 10% stuff. I'd be doing 40% because it annoys the crap out of me when people come in. the The shop I worked at for many, many years, he had no problem. like Of course, he didn't work in the shop himself, but he had no problem with people walking in.
00:15:05
Frank and Margarita
I kept saying, we got to do something about this. I always wanted to put up a barrier or something by the door. He's no, no, I'm not going to do that. going to do that. And that was one of the very first things I did at our shop is like, I put chains across and I'm like, Nope, nobody's walking in here. Forget that garbage.
00:15:24
Aniz Lavji
in the summertime we we leave the doors open and everything it's been okay we haven't really had too many people kind of walk in and usually they won't walk right they'll kind of hang out outside and then one of my texts or whatever will be like, Hey, you know, can I help you?
00:15:40
Aniz Lavji
Oh yeah. just looking for the office. And then they'll point the sign that says office that way. And then they just leave. But very rarely will they kind of run into the garage unless it's the only ones that go in the garage.
00:15:52
Aniz Lavji
If it's like a family friend or my uncles or something, then my, my texts know, but even then they're not going and staying under the car because then, yeah, it's not going to turn out well.
00:16:03
Frank and Margarita
Yeah.
00:16:04
Aniz Lavji
Cause at the end of the day, it's all safety, right? It's about safety.
00:16:07
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. So many people, they, same thing. They stand there and they're like, I'm like, can I help you? Oh, I was just wondering if you could do some work for me. Well, yeah, you're going have to go to the office and talk to them and see what our schedule is like.
00:16:21
Frank and Margarita
That pisses some people off when I do that. And I'm like, dude, first of all, I tell everyone, I don't know the schedule. That's, that's Margarita's department. Well, how much is it going to cost me? I don't know the price. That's Margarita's department. And I just keep pushing it on to her. And they're like, and finally they go in reluctantly and they go in to talk to her. And then then when she tells them, and then sometimes they're like, and and we've actually had people that come back to me and they're like, thanks oh, she said this and this. I said, yeah, that's what it is.
00:16:51
Aniz Lavji
You know, what you could do is, ah be like you know, I'd love to give you a price, but the last five or six times that I gave a price, it was actually a lot more expensive than what she was quoting.
00:17:04
Aniz Lavji
You're probably better off just talking to her. I don't want you spend more.
00:17:09
Frank and Margarita
yeah that's yeah that's a good one i never tried i never tried that line but maybe i'll use that
00:17:10
Aniz Lavji
that way. try Try that one next time and be like, yeah, the the last guy, I think he spent an extra 250 I mean, if you want to, I can, you want me to quote you?
00:17:20
Frank and Margarita
yeah yeah i usually tend to quote it real high because i'm the one doing the job that's a good one i usually i usually end up quoting it real high because the job pisses me off so better talk to margarita
00:17:21
Aniz Lavji
ah you know
00:17:26
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:17:32
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. Oh, man. No, that's great. I mean, having that, the communication back and forth. And the nice thing is when there's a job and you're you're able to explain it to her as well.
00:17:47
Aniz Lavji
a lot differently than someone that's just kind of getting into the game, right? She's been in the garage and knows all the kind of ins and outs of some of the jobs too. So when she's quoting it, you know that she's going to remember that we're doing – this exhaust job there's gonna gasket here, there'll be this here, the spring kit and this kit. So a lot of that stuff like is even some service advisors that are five, six, seven years in are forgetting these little things, right? So
00:18:17
Frank and Margarita
i think I think that was a huge benefit, don't you think, Margarita? It was. It was very, very insightful just to see what all goes into...
00:18:26
Aniz Lavji
yeah.
00:18:27
Frank and Margarita
Because usually I listen to what he says and then I memorize everything. So when people come and ask me, then I have... The answers, don't always have to run and ask him for all the answers.
00:18:34
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:18:38
Aniz Lavji
Well, the beauty is once, like everyone, obviously, most your customers are a lot of return customers, right, from the area.
00:18:45
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:46
Aniz Lavji
So once they've dealt with you, Margarita, over for a while, and, you know, because the first time they may be like, okay, so she's going to give you the price. It's like, yeah, well, yeah, she is. So I guess after some time, once you've dealt with them, they're like, oh, okay, well, she's my go-to person to to you know get the advice for the vehicle and everything. Then the narrative changes, right? And then when you get new customers, then sometimes, unfortunately, we just have to retrain them to realize that you know this is just not the normal shop you go to and you can say the things that you want to say, right? Everyone's got be treated with respect.
00:19:21
Frank and Margarita
Well, it's mainly a lot of people that are friends with Frank that don't like dealing with me.
00:19:26
Aniz Lavji
yeah
00:19:28
Frank and Margarita
they want to They'll text him instead of calling the shop for appointments, in which then ah I'm the one responding back to them, but they think they're talking to Frank if they're texting him.
00:19:32
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:19:39
Frank and Margarita
So i said that the other day when somebody called and I answered, I'm like, you know, you're talking to me 95% of the time, not Frank. But they think that they're talking to him, and i guess that's all that's important.
Customer Service and Communication
00:19:52
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. It'll take some time. It'll get to the point where don Frank don't take it the wrong way but it'll get to the the point where people don't want to talk to Frank when they come in which is honestly I would think that's probably a good thing because then you can actually get stuff done that you need to get done in the garage and not waste time answering questions that Margarita's got an answer like instantly for right.
00:20:16
Frank and Margarita
No, exactly. I had a customer the other day. was He texted me and said, hey, can you quote this and this and this for me? And I'm like, nope. I'll get Margarita to quote out for you. or like And you, the other day when you called, I'm like, hey, I'm just going to have to give the phone to Margarita.
00:20:27
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:20:32
Frank and Margarita
Or very often, I won't even answer the phone. I'll either let it just ring out or or she'll pick it up and be like, Frank's phone. And then she's like, oh, no, Frank's busy. What can I help you with?
00:20:45
Frank and Margarita
And yeah, that definitely teaches people that it's like, hey, I just don't have time to answer the phone.
00:20:50
Aniz Lavji
I usually try calling you at the the most annoying time possible, usually just before lunch.
00:20:50
Frank and Margarita
I'm in there working.
00:20:56
Frank and Margarita
Yeah.
00:20:57
Aniz Lavji
I'll try to make sure that the question is long-winded as possible, too.
00:20:58
Frank and Margarita
but We get time for lunch? No, not usually. Okay. So it don't all matter.
00:21:04
Aniz Lavji
like
00:21:07
Frank and Margarita
who We're shop owners. Remember, there's there's no schedule for us.
00:21:11
Aniz Lavji
there is There really isn't.
00:21:13
Frank and Margarita
it's just awake and sleep that's what we have right now
00:21:13
Aniz Lavji
hey bre
00:21:16
Aniz Lavji
Usually by the time I get lunch, have well, the lunch is usually made or... ordered or sitting there by 1.30 or so. by the time I get to it, because I'm just trying to take care of all the customers, you know, maybe three o'clock.
00:21:30
Frank and Margarita
the shop I worked at before the owner he would go for lunch
00:21:30
Aniz Lavji
But.
00:21:35
Frank and Margarita
exactly at 12 o'clock every single day. So the same time that everyone else was scheduled for lunch, except for the girl that was in the office, she wasn't allowed to take her lunch at 12 o'clock.
00:21:39
Aniz Lavji
Mm-hmm.
00:21:47
Frank and Margarita
She had to wait until he got back at 1230 or 1240 or whatever. And I always thought, you know what? and To me, that just seemed backwards. Like it should be like, hey, these are the people that are making the money for you.
00:22:01
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:22:02
Frank and Margarita
You should allow them.
00:22:03
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:22:04
Frank and Margarita
there's You go have lunch. I will go when you're done. Right. And I've always thought of that backwards. So that was one thing when I started. I'm like, no, when it's if it's if it's between me and the employees, the employees get to go first.
00:22:19
Frank and Margarita
it's just That's the way it is every time.
00:22:21
Aniz Lavji
That's the same with me.
00:22:21
Frank and Margarita
So when it comes to lunchtime, you guys go for your lunch. When you get back, then I'll go or then I'll do my thing or whatever. Yeah. In the office, it doesn't work that way. No. David and I try to take her while we take our lunch together. And if I'm there, then I'll answer the phone. some If he gets there before me, then he does. But we both usually work through our lunch. But I try to try at least to give him half an hour of his lunch.
00:22:45
Aniz Lavji
No, definitely.
00:22:45
Frank and Margarita
So it doesn't always happen that way.
00:22:48
Aniz Lavji
know, our guys take half an hour and if it's been a ah crazy busy day and stuff, then I'll try and buy lunch for the guys as much as possible. And then, you know, i I try and spend some time in the garage as well. I'll have lunch with them too. You know, i enjoy breaking bread with the guys in the back and shooting the breeze for for half an hour. and We try to kind of shut things down for the half hour and just kind of reset.
00:23:13
Frank and Margarita
it's nice to be able to do that for sure.
00:23:13
Aniz Lavji
But yeah, and I don't want to be the owner that's just in the front office, you know, taking, making repair orders and answering the phone and just talking to customers. Like I want to be in the back with the with the guys as well, right? So they know that I'm not just a guy in the front answering the phone, right?
00:23:36
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. Having having that having that kind of relationship with your employees is
00:23:37
Aniz Lavji
because
00:23:41
Frank and Margarita
I mean, you you got to have a a certain level of it, but you definitely got to have some kind of relationship with them. Because if you're just always, I'm the boss and and you're the people, that that doesn't work.
00:23:52
Frank and Margarita
See, that's why I come and annoy you that way.
00:23:52
Aniz Lavji
and
00:23:54
Frank and Margarita
You know, I still exist in the office too. Uh-huh.
00:23:57
Aniz Lavji
the The guys know there's there's two times of the year that I might be a bit edgy and a little bit more by the book when it comes to getting stuff done. It's winter tire season.
00:24:11
Aniz Lavji
And spring tire season. Because, I mean, those are the two busiest times of the year where, you know, there's literally no time to spare. It's just all guns blazing, just going, going, going, right?
00:24:24
Aniz Lavji
But...
00:24:24
Frank and Margarita
yeah Oh, I totally get that.
00:24:26
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:24:27
Frank and Margarita
And then you just you just got to accept that that's how it is. But there's always you'll always have a busy season. You'll have a slow season. So you're just going to take the good with the bad, right?
00:24:34
Aniz Lavji
Yep. Exactly.
00:24:36
Frank and Margarita
Well, we've been very blessed this year. We never had a slow season yet. So we've been busy right through throughout the whole year. kind Kind of slower, but just not not not empty bays like like you hear everyone talking about.
00:24:49
Frank and Margarita
We haven't had empty bays.
00:24:50
Aniz Lavji
No, I mean, that's that's amazing. Because I know, Frank, you were you are predicting, that's why you guys did the big renovation, right? You were predicting that, you know, oh it's it's not going to be as busy and stuff like that. But you know you know that always backfires, right?
00:25:05
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, well, you think I would have learned by now, but apparently not.
00:25:07
Aniz Lavji
so So now you have to say that this year is not going to be busy. You should just stick with that. So that way, the rest of the year just goes the opposite direction for you.
00:25:16
Frank and Margarita
Exactly, yeah
00:25:16
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:25:17
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, usually we I market a lot in January, February, just to keep people coming, because we've had a couple of January, February's where we saw one person a week, which was kind of really tough.
00:25:30
Aniz Lavji
Oh, wow.
00:25:31
Frank and Margarita
So now this year when we were doing the renovation, I said, well I don't mind if we're a little bit slower. That will will get em bomb through the renovations faster.
00:25:37
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:25:39
Frank and Margarita
And we've just been like busy, busy, busy. So.
00:25:43
Aniz Lavji
Well, that's because Frank is advertising all around town about a Chevy Cruises. That's why.
00:25:48
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. Best car, best car on the market right there.
00:25:54
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:25:55
Frank and Margarita
No one, no one agrees with me. That's okay.
00:25:58
Aniz Lavji
i just heard of I heard a few crickets.
00:26:00
Frank and Margarita
ah jerp jerp jerp dirp
00:26:03
Aniz Lavji
no that's that's really cool. Are you guys planning? i think Frank or Margarita, were you guys planning on putting ah another addition on the building at all? Another bay? You're almost getting to that point, no?
00:26:15
Frank and Margarita
Well, we were going to until we had to renovate our office, so now I'll have to wait a little bit longer.
00:26:21
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:26:22
Frank and Margarita
it's it's It's possible that we might do it um within a year or so. But it all depends on how this, really how this next year goes. If the next year is good, then then it might happen sooner. But yeah, that's that's the plan. we'll see how We'll see how that ends up. But we just ended up, like I say, we hired a our co-op student and we've got another technician hired to start in three weeks.
00:26:49
Aniz Lavji
The license?
00:26:50
Frank and Margarita
um He's writing at the end of the month. he's third year writing it.
00:26:53
Aniz Lavji
Okay.
00:26:54
Frank and Margarita
So he's going to He'll have his ticket soon.
00:26:58
Aniz Lavji
Man, I...
00:26:58
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, that's that's going to change things.
00:26:59
Aniz Lavji
I hope that works out, man, because I know how much that would really help you guys to kind of take a bit of the load off too.
00:27:07
Frank and Margarita
Well, we've been working towards getting our shop to the point where if we need to go away, like we're going to Pennsylvania at the end of April, and what it's been up till now is if we go away like that, then the shop shuts down.
00:27:16
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:27:22
Aniz Lavji
yeah
00:27:22
Frank and Margarita
and And I... I don't really care about the fact that the shop shuts down, but I do feel bad about customers who definitely desperately need their work done during that kind of a time period.
00:27:30
Aniz Lavji
Yes.
00:27:32
Frank and Margarita
right So we're trying to build so that when we need to do something that the shop doesn't just halt and nothing happens.
00:27:32
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:27:39
Frank and Margarita
right So that's kind of what we're building towards. And and i think this will be... This will be the first stepping stone towards that. So I think we'll ah we'll definitely see how it works at the end of April.
00:27:51
Frank and Margarita
And if it works out that way, then we're just going to take vacations for the next six months and let the guys do it.
00:27:57
Aniz Lavji
That's amazing. oh the you know The thing is, you guys didn't get in business to you know to buy a job, right? You know what i mean? When I say that is, like you guys are in business to run a business, right?
00:28:13
Aniz Lavji
And so sometimes when we we get so busy you know in the business, working in the business, working, working, working, And you you not lose focus, but you you get so set in your ways and then you don't realize that, you know, if you had, i know it's tough to get people, but once if you had someone else working in the garage, a little bit you could be a little bit more hands off and be able to spend some more time with each other and just go out and do things, right?
00:28:44
Aniz Lavji
Because at the end of the day, like, you know, I didn't get in business to just be working six days a week. Like, I eventually want to be able to wake up in the morning and be like, you know what, I'm not going in today. And it'll be okay.
00:28:59
Frank and Margarita
ah I wouldn't do that. I would go crazy if I said I didn't want to go to into work. i try I try to not let a day by where I don't work.
00:29:05
Aniz Lavji
Or a day. day, Frank. One day. I'm going to I'm going to say the week.
00:29:08
Frank and Margarita
No, it'll never happen. You will never. No, but art my my whole point is always like, yeah, I want to ah wanna to run a business, but I want to run a business where were I can help someone else live a life. You know what I mean? Like, so we have our employees.
00:29:26
Frank and Margarita
We want to, we want to, generate enough work so that they can also build a life. We don't want to just, I don't want to just build a life for us.
00:29:32
Aniz Lavji
denson
00:29:33
Frank and Margarita
I want them to be able to build a life as well.
00:29:36
Aniz Lavji
For sure. they're they're They're your teammates right at the end of the day. They're not employees.
00:29:39
Frank and Margarita
Well, if it wasn't for them, where would we be?
00:29:39
Aniz Lavji
They're more teammates.
00:29:42
Aniz Lavji
Nowhere.
00:29:42
Frank and Margarita
And, and there, I always, I always go back to where I work.
00:29:43
Aniz Lavji
Nowhere.
00:29:47
Frank and Margarita
Right. And, and it was a prime example of forgetting who is helping you get to where you are. Right. Like there's a point where, okay, yeah, I mean, you're you're running things.
00:29:56
Aniz Lavji
For sure.
00:30:00
Frank and Margarita
Your life might move a little faster for you. But those people that are working for you are the ones that are helping do all this.
00:30:10
Frank and Margarita
And they need to be compensated for their stuff too. Like they they need to be able to build a life too.
00:30:13
Aniz Lavji
they're the fuel for the engine man i mean without without the teammates and the employees you got i mean yes you you guys could do it because frank uh you know your mechanic and margarita could run the front but it's not the same like without having the the help it's not an easy task at all
00:30:19
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:32
Frank and Margarita
Wow, we could definitely run just the two of us if we wanted to, but the thing is we've got people knocking down our door to try and get working. And and if if we want to have a good client base and we want to service the customers that we have, we have to get people to help us. But then the thing is, then we just have to train everyone that helps us to do things the way that we want them done.
00:30:55
Aniz Lavji
Exactly.
00:30:57
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, but when it was just the two of us, we were working until 11 p.m.
00:30:57
Aniz Lavji
No, but yeah.
00:31:00
Frank and Margarita
almost every day. Well, because of so many customers, right? yeah
00:31:04
Aniz Lavji
That's, yeah, that's that's brutal. It takes a toll on you as well, right?
00:31:09
Frank and Margarita
Definitely does. we were ah We were having breakfast with some friends today that have been her our customers almost since day one as well. And he was saying, you know, the other day they dropped their car off and he says, i love it when I pick up my car. It's just, I know that it's done. Everything is done on. it And yeah while he was picking up the car, he was looking at our sign and and our our slogan says, go farther with integrity.
00:31:27
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:31:33
Frank and Margarita
And he says, you know, that's, it's it's so easy to see that that's what you're building your your business on. And that's what we've built our whole business on is the fact that that we have that integrity.
00:31:44
Frank and Margarita
We have honesty. We have, if something if something happens and it's our fault, we take care of it, right?
00:31:49
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:31:52
Aniz Lavji
For sure.
00:31:52
Frank and Margarita
If there's something that we need you to be aware of as a customer, we let you know.
Building Customer Trust
00:31:57
Frank and Margarita
and And we try very hard to convey that.
00:32:00
Aniz Lavji
Definitely.
00:32:00
Frank and Margarita
And that's that's something we've been really working on is is being able to to find all of the things that you should fix on your car today and the things that you could you know wait with and then conveying that property to a customer.
00:32:13
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:32:16
Frank and Margarita
And customers really seem to appreciate that. not not No pushy sales gimmick, no nothing.
00:32:19
Aniz Lavji
That's good.
00:32:22
Frank and Margarita
Nothing like, hey, you oh you really should do this you really should do that.
00:32:22
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:32:26
Frank and Margarita
It's just like present it. This is what your car needs. Okay, well, let's do it.
00:32:30
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:32:31
Frank and Margarita
No, there's a few people we have to kind of convince to, you know, what this is a safety issue. You need to do it.
00:32:38
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:32:39
Frank and Margarita
But mostly we are customers are reoccurring customers. Now, when they say when we come and say, hey, you need to do this, 95% of them will be like, okay, let's do it.
00:32:50
Aniz Lavji
You've also got that rapport with him as well. So it's it's not like this is the first time they... you know randomly showed up at your shop to to get breaks done. I mean, these are mostly people that you know and that have been coming to you or they're referred to you by someone else. So you're you're already ahead of the game and in that sense too.
00:33:11
Frank and Margarita
And yet we still get new customers. Almost daily. Yeah, like regularly.
00:33:15
Aniz Lavji
Just the best.
00:33:17
Frank and Margarita
and I mean, i was you would think that in six years in business, we'd have our customer base filled up. But I mean, always there's customers come and go, and that's just part of the game, right? But we have regularly new customers coming in. And it's like, I often ask them, like, okay, you know, what brought you to our shop? and And most of it is like, oh, such and such told me that I should come here.
00:33:41
Frank and Margarita
And that's that's usually what it is. And I'm like, well, that's, can't ask for better advertising than that.
00:33:47
Aniz Lavji
And see, when you're getting a referral that's from a customer that's been dealing with you for the longest time, they're automatically like, you know you know, Mrs. Jones, just go and talk to Frank and Margarita.
00:34:01
Aniz Lavji
They'll take care of your car. I've been going there for years. and they'll steer you the right way. So right away when you do the inspection on the vehicle, they need something that's serious, nine times of 10, they're gonna say, just go and fix it.
00:34:14
Aniz Lavji
Because they know that you're gonna take care because they're really good friend or their friend has been coming here. So they know that their friend's not send you someplace. They'll take advantage of them, right? So, you know, the word of mouth referrals, you can't get better than that.
00:34:28
Frank and Margarita
Right.
00:34:31
Aniz Lavji
No, I think it's really important, though, that, you know, you're getting some some extra staff so at least you guys can not rest, but at least take ah take a little bit of the the headache and the burden off too, right? Because there's only so much you guys can manage, just the two of you, you know, technically running the business, right?
00:34:54
Aniz Lavji
especially if you guys want to go to ASTA in September and all these other conferences. So legally, legally, you guys have to go to that one, by the way.
00:34:59
Frank and Margarita
I don't know. i don't know
00:35:02
Frank and Margarita
Oh, legally? Okay.
00:35:04
Aniz Lavji
Legally.
00:35:05
Frank and Margarita
not sure i'm not sure if that I'm not sure if that one's going to fit into our life just yet, but we're definitely going to tools in Pennsylvania. I guess I said this. No. Greece trumps ASTA this year.
00:35:17
Frank and Margarita
That's just it. That's not this year, though.
00:35:18
Aniz Lavji
The what?
00:35:19
Frank and Margarita
That's next year. next year. Next year, sorry. Next year.
00:35:21
Aniz Lavji
Which one? Sorry.
00:35:22
Frank and Margarita
Greece. My cruise to Greece trumps ASTA. that's That's next year.
00:35:28
Aniz Lavji
I heard Greece beautiful.
00:35:30
Frank and Margarita
So, but no, we're, I think, I think we're going to see how um Pennsylvania turns out, like what, what we feel and how, how it does for us. That's kind of going to determine whether we will make the effort for ASTA or not.
00:35:46
Frank and Margarita
But I mean, I think I would like to go just for the, for the community that's there, if nothing else.
00:35:47
Aniz Lavji
think I...
00:35:53
Aniz Lavji
Yep. Well, I told you that when I went, that changed my whole life. completely.
00:35:58
Frank and Margarita
Well, you keep saying that. Did you? really wonder what direction your life was going
00:36:02
Aniz Lavji
I don't know. I really don't know. i I'll be honest with you. I got a new shop software in June and then in September I went there and then bam, I got back and then everything changed after that.
00:36:16
Aniz Lavji
Everything was up from there, man. Because I feel like I was basically, we were doing well and everything, but we were not going in a direction where I was seeing you know, like anything very fruitful. It was just kind of not spinning wheels, but we're just doing okay. But now I kind of feel that the direction I'm going that I can actually see that, okay, this is becoming extremely more profitable.
00:36:44
Aniz Lavji
We're not leaving money on the table. We're showing customers exactly what they need to get done. If they don't want to do it's fine, but we're informing them and it's it's just changed the whole culture and everything.
00:36:55
Aniz Lavji
But you don't understand that completely until you go to one of these events and you talk to people. Like when I went, like Frank, you know, I went alone. i didn't go with anyone. And I knew nobody body when I went.
00:37:08
Aniz Lavji
But I mean, i got there and one night they were doing a go-karting thing.
00:37:08
Frank and Margarita
Yeah.
00:37:15
Aniz Lavji
And, uh, I was in the, one of the groups and there was a separate group of all the guys going to the go-karting and I just kind of messaged in there. Hey, did anybody want to share an Uber to, to the go-karting place?
00:37:29
Aniz Lavji
And then Mike Allen, which he's confessions of the shop owner, he messaged on there. Hey, I got room for one, but only caveat is it's in my red Miata. So I was like,
00:37:41
Aniz Lavji
I mean, I don't care, but you know that's how I met him and really cool guy and been talking to him since then. But you get to meet these people, hear their stories, hear their success stories and stuff that they that they did that did not turn out well either.
00:38:01
Frank and Margarita
Right.
00:38:01
Aniz Lavji
So, I mean, the relationships you you make at these events, you know, it's second to none. I mean, I met him, I met... Tanika, I met ah Benji in North Carolina, i think Josh Parnell. I met tons of people.
00:38:16
Aniz Lavji
And I met Jeff Jada Mechanic, which that's where the whole podcast thing, I started listening to his first, and that's kind of where things blossom from there. But you don't get these opportunities in everyday life.
Networking and Industry Learning
00:38:31
Aniz Lavji
You've got to be at these events to really be in the environment and and learn. I learned ridiculous amounts.
00:38:38
Aniz Lavji
Some things I thought that was good.
00:38:39
Frank and Margarita
Just in the one weekend. Yep.
00:38:41
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. and and And that was what i was there for four days, but those four days felt like i learned for like two months. And, and it's interesting when you talk to other people, you don't realize that your advice is actually beneficial to them as well. and You may think that these are, these guys are all successful, well-off people. And then you give them a tip about something like, wow, man, I never thought about it like that. Like I'm definitely going to do that.
00:39:07
Frank and Margarita
ye
00:39:08
Aniz Lavji
it's It's nice. It goes both ways, but you come out of there changed, I think. I think that's what's going to happen for you guys at Tools. You take some classes there and it'll open your eyes on stuff that you may not even realize. and you know Frank, you'll you'll talk to people that are in you know in the garage doing this and that. and Margarita, you'll probably talk to a bunch people that are either in the garage or doing the similar work that you're doing. and It gives you tips and ideas and you you feel a very big sense of community, right? It's it's like you belong to something.
00:39:44
Aniz Lavji
So that's, I actually, I became a member of ASTA and I'm not even in North Carolina.
00:39:49
Frank and Margarita
Oh, really?
00:39:50
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:39:52
Aniz Lavji
But that's that's how much I really believe in it.
00:39:52
Frank and Margarita
What does that give you benefits to be a member of their?
00:39:58
Aniz Lavji
Box chocolates every two months.
00:40:00
Frank and Margarita
What the heck?
00:40:02
Aniz Lavji
No, no, no. There was a there was a sale. i think it was a hundred bucks for the year. And then, because I know that I'm going to ASTA, so I also get a discount on the the actual ticket to go. So it just made sense. And you know what? Like, it's done so much for me. $100 to join and support them. It was nothing, really.
00:40:24
Aniz Lavji
They've done they've they done enough for me.
00:40:26
Frank and Margarita
Are you going to take your um guys in the shop to ASTA? Yep.
00:40:32
Aniz Lavji
I'd love to. i have a lot of... the two guys I have three guys right now I have, um, I think they're, they're not too keen on flying to the States right now with all the stuff kind of going on and like their significant others probably won't like the idea either.
00:40:55
Frank and Margarita
yep
00:40:55
Aniz Lavji
So I'll open it to them. Like, I don't mind taking one or two them if they want to go and we'd probably be able to figure something out. But, um, you know, that's definitely not something that's out of the question or anything. It's the conversation I'd, I'd have with them in a, know, hotels and flight, not a big deal, but you know, I think it's something that I, I really wish they had something like this in Canada.
00:41:22
Aniz Lavji
think
00:41:23
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, I don't understand why they don't. like Canada is pretty freaking huge, and you'd think that somebody up here be smart enough to make something like that work.
00:41:32
Aniz Lavji
it'd be a huge success. Like they have something in Toronto a I think it's A-A-R-O, something like that.
00:41:38
Frank and Margarita
That's the only one I've ever heard of, but one of the ah one of the guys that I'm in a group with, um He's a member of that, and and I asked him about it, and he's like he didn't even really know. he did He'd never been.
00:41:52
Frank and Margarita
He was a member of AARO, but he had never been to their trade show or their training session ever. And I think he did go last year, but he's he's in he's at retirement age, so he didn't really get much out of it, I don't think.
00:42:07
Frank and Margarita
But it definitely isn't what –
00:42:07
Aniz Lavji
But I mean, advertising and there's, you know, there's no hoopla behind it. That's what it is. I mean, if they really wanted to make something big, they'd get all the parts suppliers, Napa and ACP, CarQuest, all the big guys advertising for it.
00:42:12
Frank and Margarita
yeah.
00:42:22
Aniz Lavji
Say, hey, look, this, there's a big thing coming up. And then you create some excitement about it. And I'm sure a lot of people would go. Right.
00:42:31
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. Yeah. I think around here, it's more individual stuff. Like the individual stores, like Napa has got their own training program. They do some training modules and CarQuest APC.
00:42:39
Aniz Lavji
For sure.
00:42:42
Frank and Margarita
They all have their own slightly, you know, stuff that it's, it's an evening thing or something like that. But,
00:42:48
Aniz Lavji
sharing
00:42:49
Frank and Margarita
Most of that training I found is is just repetitive, same kind of jargon, gurgled over and over again. I did it for a few years and I'm like, i i'm just I'm really not learning anything new as far as how to become a better mechanic.
00:43:06
Frank and Margarita
A lot of it was like, oh this is a this is the new technology. It's coming out in a Honda van.
00:43:13
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:43:13
Frank and Margarita
I'm like, well, i ain't going to see that for 10 years in my shop.
00:43:17
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:43:19
Frank and Margarita
But there is one there is a training that we're sending our apprentice to is AutoAid does a really good electrical training.
00:43:20
Aniz Lavji
No, it's. Oh
00:43:28
Frank and Margarita
He's going to electrical basics, introduction to electrical.
00:43:29
Aniz Lavji
yeah.
00:43:32
Frank and Margarita
So I'm going to send him to that the same time that we're going to Pennsylvania. That one also has a four-day course too. Yeah, that's for the master Yeah. and but
00:43:43
Aniz Lavji
okay
00:43:44
Frank and Margarita
That's ah Mark LeMay, I think. yeah he's ah He's a phenomenal instructor. I've had him a few times through the APC courses.
00:43:53
Aniz Lavji
okay
00:43:53
Frank and Margarita
And he's he's good. Like, he's ah he's a super, super smart guy. um So there is that for for for training. But nothing nothing like a weekend a whole event like what we have or what we're going to be going to in the U.S.,
00:44:11
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, and and these are things like, man, I look for, like, I'm going to Vision next week, and i was able to pull it off, which I wasn't sure, but it's it's working out. But there's going to be 4,000 people there in Kansas City.
00:44:23
Frank and Margarita
damn
00:44:25
Aniz Lavji
And it's going to be great. um I know, and now I know quite a few people that are going to going there, so I'll be i mean meeting some familiar faces that I haven't seen since I went to ASCA.
00:44:37
Aniz Lavji
But I've been keeping in touch online on Facebook and everything, so.
00:44:41
Frank and Margarita
yeah see these are all kinds of programs that i've never heard about before um i've only been introduced to them in the last Well, in the last year, nine months ago, basically, since you and I started talking about ASTA, that was kind of the first one.
00:44:50
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:44:53
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. Yeah.
00:44:56
Frank and Margarita
And I'm like, what is all of this stuff? And and i was like, i I'd never heard of all of these training. ah But I guess the they've been doing this kind of stuff for years down there, which is fantastic.
00:45:08
Aniz Lavji
Years and years. And I think the statistic, I'm pretty sure what it is, is out of all the independent shops, In the US, if I'm not mistaken, correct me you know if anyone wants to put a comment and on Facebook, but correct me if I'm wrong, i think it's only 5% that actually go to training.
00:45:27
Frank and Margarita
Really?
00:45:29
Aniz Lavji
5% out of all these independent shops.
00:45:34
Frank and Margarita
and And then they're ready, the training times or modules are ready so huge. So how the heck would you ever support if like even 50% went? It'd be ridiculous.
00:45:46
Aniz Lavji
I think if the demand was there, I mean, from, from what I understand, vision was, was quite small. Like it was in the hundreds or maybe, a you know, five, six, 700. And now it's grown to 4,000.
00:46:02
Aniz Lavji
So the word gets out, you know, people go back to work and then they talk to their buddies. Oh yeah. I went to, I went here for this cross. Oh, I, you know, I'm an automotive, I'm a mechanic. Well, okay. Next time I'll go. So then,
00:46:14
Aniz Lavji
it just spirals from there, but you don't know what you don't know, right? That's what it comes down to. But, there's There's so many different conferences coming up and the only way that you really understand the effect, like when you guys go to tools, I'm really curious to see when you come back, just kind of how it was and different classes you take and the people you talk to, especially in the evenings, you know, glass of beer or some whiskey or something, you really talk to people and hear their story and kind of what's working for them and what's not.
00:46:48
Aniz Lavji
Those little tidbits of information, those little nuggets, I mean, you can't put a price on that. It's incredible.
00:46:56
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, I think Margarita's taking most of the management courses out of there.
00:47:02
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:47:03
Frank and Margarita
and And I'm going to do the technical training. So we'll see we'll see what it comes up. Then once once we're both done, then we'll we'll talk talk about it. and And I think that we're getting a two-for-one deal, basically, is what's going to happen, right?
00:47:12
Aniz Lavji
Exactly. For
00:47:17
Frank and Margarita
She's getting one end of it, and we'll...
00:47:17
Aniz Lavji
sure.
00:47:19
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, but these are not my first management classes. I used to work at a convenience store and we used to do like a convenience trade show. And I got a lot of management training in there too.
00:47:26
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:47:29
Frank and Margarita
So...
00:47:30
Aniz Lavji
A lot of this will be geared more to the automotive industry though. And you'll probably like, you'll probably know a lot of the stuff that they're talking about anyways, but it's just a little nuggets of information, how to apply it in this dynamic that, that may or may or may not help you. Or if you already know it, it'll just be like a refresher.
00:47:51
Aniz Lavji
But again, you'll get to talk to people that are in the same environment, field or in the same job title that you have that you'll learn so many things that you can't learn from a class.
00:48:05
Aniz Lavji
And other thing is you make connections. Like you may end up meeting a bunch of people that you really get along with. And those are the connections that you talk to. If you have a question or want to throw an idea past them or something, then you've got someone to actually ask those specific questions to you.
00:48:22
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, I think that's going to be very good. Like I said, mike my goal this year was to do some networking because I was like i felt like I was a fish out of water. i All these shops and mechanics around and so and I really didn't know anybody.
00:48:37
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:48:37
Frank and Margarita
for like the last 14 years before i we opened our shop, i was I never got out. I never got out of the shop. I never get out in the community. I didn't know anybody and I wasn't connected to anybody online. So I told Margarita that this year is the year that I'm going to do some networking.
00:48:55
Frank and Margarita
And I feel like we have, like we've done quite a bit. I have tons of new friends on Facebook and stuff, people that that would, you want to go shut that off?
00:49:13
Frank and Margarita
Tons of, ah yeah. And just, just meeting people that way and and getting information from them and just ah learning how different people, how other people run businesses and how they run their employees and stuff like that. And like you said, learning those little tidbits of information from other people, I think is going to be huge in helping us grow our shop.
00:49:36
Frank and Margarita
Because we don't know it all. We try. i mean, she knows it all, but she doesn't share it all with me. And she wants you she wants me to learn it on my own.
00:49:42
Aniz Lavji
She can't give you all the all the nuggets, Frank.
00:49:48
Frank and Margarita
But all in all, I think we make a pretty good team.
00:49:49
Aniz Lavji
No, but...
00:49:51
Frank and Margarita
we we ah We've really had to learn to communicate. That's that's the key, I guess, when you when you have a husband and wife team, is is really learning to communicate.
00:50:00
Aniz Lavji
Yep. Yep. Yep.
00:50:02
Frank and Margarita
And and more than just... just talking about shop. Like we can talk shop all day long and probably talk shop more than we talk personal stuff. The other day she's like, okay, let's let's not talk about shop today.
00:50:15
Frank and Margarita
Sometimes it's difficult. as it's I can turn off the work, you know, leave at five o'clock, right? We leave at five every day. Sure, let's go with that. So when when we finally leave work, I'm pretty good at ah leaving workout work at work.
00:50:34
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:50:34
Frank and Margarita
um But sometimes, you know, we talk about the day and we talk about the next day.
00:50:39
Aniz Lavji
Well, for sure.
00:50:39
Frank and Margarita
And, you know, if something, something went haywire. That's something we can discuss. And I think that's really helped us because we can discuss it over dinner while we're making dinner, doing dishes, whatever.
00:50:51
Frank and Margarita
We can talk about how the day went, what went wrong, what can we do differently?
00:50:53
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:50:56
Frank and Margarita
And so we've really been able to, we were able to feed off each other. Whereas I think if, if you're not, I'd find it more more difficult. Maybe if you were a business partner with somebody that,
00:51:08
Frank and Margarita
that wasn't your life partner. And ah so now you had, now you had a something go wrong.
00:51:10
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:51:16
Frank and Margarita
So now, okay, now you got to have a meeting. So when do you have the meeting?
00:51:19
Aniz Lavji
Exactly.
00:51:19
Frank and Margarita
Do you have it during work hours? you have it after work hours?
00:51:22
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:51:22
Frank and Margarita
We just have our meeting on the drive home. We have the meeting while we're having dinner. Like we've had, we've had a, we had a professional tell us once that we should sit down and have a meeting at least once a week.
00:51:27
Aniz Lavji
Exactly.
00:51:35
Frank and Margarita
And I'm like,
00:51:36
Aniz Lavji
we We have it every day.
00:51:37
Frank and Margarita
yeah we you know we we We communicate all day long. And so if there's something that that arises, we'll usually be able to take care of it right away pretty quick.
00:51:42
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:51:48
Frank and Margarita
We can talk about it even at work and and get things sorted out. And it's it's, I don't know, I think it's been really good that way. it's It's not always been the easiest thing, but I think it's been very beneficial.
00:52:03
Aniz Lavji
you guys are both, uh, in the trenches with the wrenches, as I say, right. So that's, and, and, you know, I think, uh,
00:52:07
Frank and Margarita
Yep. Yep. Yep.
00:52:11
Aniz Lavji
Again, i haven't known you guys that long, but I think you guys make a great team and you're doing a great job. it's It's not easy. It's not easy what you guys do. And i think you guys have built an awesome company. You're employing staff. You're looking for more staff. So obviously...
00:52:29
Aniz Lavji
Frank is doing something right with all those cruises. i don't know what it is. And Margarita is obviously steering the ship in the right direction. But hats off to both of you for being able to navigate this crazy entrepreneurship project, which I call it more a project because it is more of a project than a business some days. But I think you guys are doing an awesome job. And once this, once this office is all done, i'm i'm actually looking forward to coming out that way and seeing it all done and everything.
00:53:05
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. It's going to be cool. We're going to have to do like one of them shop tour things. It's it's a pretty short shop tour.
00:53:12
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:53:13
Frank and Margarita
I like Zeb's, but...
00:53:15
Aniz Lavji
Zeb's shop tour probably was about one terabyte by the time he was done with it.
00:53:18
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, I think so. Ours is going to be like maybe five minutes, but anyways, yeah, once once it's all done, then I'm going to... Actually, I was talking to our the guy that does our our website.
00:53:29
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:53:30
Frank and Margarita
He's really into making AI videos and whatnot. And I was thinking, you know, that'd be perfect. Just snap a couple of pictures and he could do this really neat AI tour video of our new office and the shop and stuff like that.
00:53:44
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:53:45
Frank and Margarita
So I think we're going to end up doing something like that and he and then posting that online once it's all done and
00:53:51
Aniz Lavji
and You can even do a grand reopening, right? With ah the new office and everything, which would be cool.
00:53:56
Frank and Margarita
We probably will do something like that. maybe Maybe wait until springtime until we can get the smoker at the shop and and maybe smoke up a brisket or some ribs something like that.
00:54:05
Aniz Lavji
There you go.
00:54:07
Frank and Margarita
We'll invite customers out.
00:54:07
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:54:09
Frank and Margarita
Maybe you can even come down that day if you're into brisket.
00:54:11
Aniz Lavji
i I'll be there. Yeah. if Let me know in advance.
00:54:12
Frank and Margarita
I think hamburgers and hot dogs would be more affordable than brisket.
00:54:17
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. I'm with her on that. i We're going to be doing something or the other this summer. we usually do a big barbecue with has about 10, 20 burners on at the same time.
00:54:30
Aniz Lavji
So we'll do something like that as well.
00:54:30
Frank and Margarita
Yeah.
00:54:32
Aniz Lavji
Just like a customer appreciation kind of thing.
00:54:34
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. We, we never got a chance to do a grand opening when we opened the shop. Cause there was a, what the heck? it was COVID. That's what it was. covid
Future Plans and Events
00:54:43
Frank and Margarita
happened We opened right during COVID.
00:54:43
Aniz Lavji
Okay.
00:54:44
Frank and Margarita
So we never got to open two weeks before COVID. ye And so it was really frustrating. So now it's probably once the office, and I think it's a great idea to do a, a grand reopening and, and just to,
00:54:56
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:54:58
Frank and Margarita
that people see it and and customer appreciation for, hey, if it wasn't wasn't for them, we wouldn't be able to do what we do.
00:55:05
Aniz Lavji
You got it. If you didn't have your your teammates and you didn't have the The customers, I mean, there's there's no there's no three d auto without the customers and the and the employees, right?
00:55:11
Frank and Margarita
Yep.
00:55:17
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:55:18
Frank and Margarita
Nope, there is not. Nope, exactly. And I still would love to do some courses for, like, people that don't know anything about cars. We did a short one at the Elmer Library, but they did it during a bad time. So we had, what, six people come out for that?
00:55:34
Frank and Margarita
But it would have been nice if they would have um rescheduled it to a less, like, they did it right in the heart of summer and everyone's camping or doing something. So I think the fall would have been a nicer time for Yeah.
00:55:47
Aniz Lavji
Well, I love to do, want to a women's clinic at, at the shop. And I think that would be a lot of fun. i tried doing it last year. It just, it wasn't working with timing and everything, but I think that would be a lot of fun.
00:56:00
Aniz Lavji
And I was thinking I'll just get in touch with Lindsay and see if she'd be interested to come down and do something with that as well. Right.
00:56:09
Frank and Margarita
Yeah. Yeah, teach something. Teach something to people. people listen up like Everyone needs to know at least a little bit of something about their car.
00:56:16
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:56:17
Frank and Margarita
If nothing else, how to add washer fluid to it in the right in the right spot.
00:56:17
Aniz Lavji
And. and
00:56:20
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, because we taught people how to do washer fluid, coolant, check their tire pressures.
00:56:24
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:56:26
Frank and Margarita
Check your oil. Check your oil. So I did a lot of the demonstrations because there was all women that came, and it made them feel a little bit more um at ease, I think.
00:56:40
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. Yep.
00:56:41
Frank and Margarita
And Frank and I did it together.
00:56:42
Aniz Lavji
and
00:56:44
Frank and Margarita
um We explained things where I missed, he filled in and kind of, so we got our point across.
00:56:48
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:56:49
Frank and Margarita
So that's kind of nice.
00:56:52
Aniz Lavji
And it's not just women. Like I've got some men coming in that they'll ask me questions like same thing, like where do put the washer fluid in there? How do I check this? How do I check that? So, I mean, it's, it's really the industry itself has got to change a bit and going to try and educate the customer on even some of the simpler things before we get the complicated things.
00:57:14
Frank and Margarita
Mm-hmm.
00:57:15
Aniz Lavji
A lot of them come in, they may not know when we're trying to explain why their brakes are squealing that the back end plate is ready to fall off because you got them done at Joblo's garage for, you know, 78 bucks and this is what it is.
00:57:30
Aniz Lavji
But, you know... The small things when we educate the customers, it really goes a long way at that moment and even down the line, right? Because then they they feel that when they come in, they're, okay, you know, Margarita is not just trying to sell me something.
00:57:43
Aniz Lavji
She really wants me to understand what this repair consists of. And Frank is not just a pretty face that wakes up with, you know, beautiful hair every morning.
00:57:47
Frank and Margarita
so
00:57:52
Aniz Lavji
He actually knows what he's talking about, you know, one day out of the week, right? i don't want to I don't want to say five, Frank, at least one day.
00:57:59
Frank and Margarita
Well, I know um we only ever do CarQuest Gold Bricks. I won't go any lower than that. And I tell people it's worth the extra money because you get the shims that are supposed to go with the pads and you get all of that.
00:58:05
Aniz Lavji
ye
00:58:11
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:58:13
Frank and Margarita
And it's just so much, and you don't get any squealing. um There's warranty back there product. You don't get any dusting.
00:58:20
Aniz Lavji
Lifetime, right? Yeah.
00:58:21
Frank and Margarita
And, yeah, the life of the pad, yeah.
00:58:22
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, yeah. and now
00:58:25
Frank and Margarita
And we, and honestly, we've had very, very little comeback. There's the odd one that's defective or whatever, but we've always been good at replacing them for us.
00:58:31
Aniz Lavji
yeah
00:58:34
Frank and Margarita
So I'm always, like I said, we I've seen Napa Breaks. People will come in and be like, why are my rims look so disgusting and I'm like well it's just the pads are wearing and that's the dust that's coming onto your rims and that's not I wouldn't want that on my vehicle I wouldn't so therefore I won't put that on anybody else's
00:58:50
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:58:54
Aniz Lavji
Of course.
00:58:58
Aniz Lavji
No, I think this week I've got a couple of break jobs. So I'm actually looking forward to start using those CarQuest pads this week. So just waiting. The next break job I get on the hoist, definitely going to be using some of those gold pads and and see how it goes.
00:59:14
Frank and Margarita
Yeah, let me know what you think, especially of that the metal shim or that backing shim that's on there. Yeah.
00:59:21
Aniz Lavji
I'd be curious to put them on a Volkswagen and see what happens, but that's been one vehicle that we just don't even put anything other than Volkswagen brake pads in. Yeah.
00:59:31
Frank and Margarita
a We've had no issues. We've put golds on Volkswagens. We've had no issues with Volkswagens, yep. There's sometimes it's harder on Volkswagen because they're like five or six different gold pads.
00:59:43
Frank and Margarita
So you've got to know the measurements and you got to know this and you got to know that.
00:59:44
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:59:48
Frank and Margarita
And I mean, Dodges are the same way.
00:59:48
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:59:50
Frank and Margarita
They're very frustrating too because they have so many different sizes.
00:59:53
Aniz Lavji
I'm going to try it out this week.
00:59:55
Frank and Margarita
But yeah, I'm trying the CarQuest new high carbon coated rotors that are supposed to last longer because I don't drive my car a lot.
01:00:03
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
01:00:04
Frank and Margarita
I'm interested to see how they work. I'm, Got them on order. They should be coming this week. so yeah's Definitely nap time.
01:00:10
Aniz Lavji
Oh, yeah. No, that's great. I think ah we'll probably call it here hit in just about an hour and I know, Frank, you're probably exhausted along with Margarita. Still working on a Sunday.
01:00:26
Aniz Lavji
Nap time, Frank. Go to bed.
01:00:28
Frank and Margarita
No, I know. We get about an hour or two nap, and then we get back up and go to work again. No, we do not.
01:00:32
Aniz Lavji
my God. You know what? I'm going to listen to your wife on this one because I think she's bang You're sleeping for at least two and a half hours.
01:00:43
Frank and Margarita
Hopefully seven hours. we'll get We'll get between five and six, maybe seven hours. We'll see.
01:00:49
Aniz Lavji
That's great. No, I appreciate you guys coming on tonight and hopefully we'll have you back on Margarita when you're a licensed mechanic, you know, just on the side and then Frank will, maybe you'll switch roles and Frank will be in the office and you'll be in the garage.
01:01:05
Frank and Margarita
I don't know if he has the customer service for the office. i got I got the face for it, but that's about it.
01:01:11
Aniz Lavji
That might be an off air conversation that you guys need to figure out.
01:01:17
Frank and Margarita
yeah
01:01:17
Aniz Lavji
But thank you. Thank you very much. And Frank, I'll probably bug you at some point this week anyways.
01:01:25
Frank and Margarita
so Sounds good, man.
01:01:26
Aniz Lavji
All right. Good night, guys. All right.
01:01:27
Frank and Margarita
hey Good night.