Transcript
Aniz Lavji: Welcome everyone to another exciting episode of the Shop and Tread Talk podcast. We've got, who's that guy? Oh yeah, Frank, as usual with us.
Frank Wiebe: Hard to recognize. I know.
Aniz Lavji: I know he he's trimmed his beard.
Frank Wiebe: What you going to do?
Aniz Lavji: He's not looking too much like Santa today. I mean, geez, I almost had to change your name on the actual podcast.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, that should have been. Yeah, we could have done that. Santa Frank.
Aniz Lavji: I'll have to ai something in there next time.
Frank Wiebe: get I'm getting too thin, so i so I have to start wearing a pillow if i was going to do that.
Aniz Lavji: Oh man, Frank, why don't you introduce our guest who we got here today?
Frank Wiebe: Today with us, we have Olivia. She just graduated as a, I think she said T10 tech or something. I don't understand the US terminology all, but she's ah she's working as a tech in Colorado.
Frank Wiebe: And when I asked her if she wanted to be on our podcast, she jumped at the chance and is excited to share what She does and why she got in the business and all that. So, Olivia, don't you introduce a little bit more about yourself and then we'll just get into the podcast and have some fun.
Olivia: For sure. So yeah, I'm 26 years old. I started in the industry about three years ago. ah Before then I had absolutely zero experience. I was a certified Scotty Kilmer YouTube mechanic.
Olivia: um Was actually watching guys probably less experienced than him, getting me through some pretty rough times. um I was just having a lot of car problems and pretty much since I got my license it had just cars that were leaving me stranded on the side of the road so had over time kind of just gained some knowledge and eventually decided after like seven years of working in food and retail man this sucks I hate working with the public and I would much rather work on something that doesn't argue with me kind of so uh got into working on cars and uh
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: Talk to some people in the industry. i had to do a lot of research just because I had zero experience. So I got some really good advice from a guy that was a dealership tech and basically just said, pick a brand, do their trading program, stick with that, and then work for the dealership or work for like a brand specific shop after that.
Olivia: So I had this O2 Toyota Tundra and I had a Nissan Xterra and I had far less issues with the the Toyota Tundra.
Aniz Lavji: okay
Olivia: So I was like, yeah, I'm definitely picking Toyota.
Aniz Lavji: Really? Compared to a Nissan?
Olivia: Yeah, man, that thing sucked. I mean, it left me stranded pretty much every time I killed it. ah People that were in my life at that time were like, you need to sell that car.
Aniz Lavji: You can...
Olivia: And I wouldn't because I loved it.
Aniz Lavji: You can thank the Nissan, I guess, for i guess getting you into the the industry. Because if that Nissan didn't break down as much as it's built to do, then you may been like an astrophysicist or something like that.
Olivia: Right? Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: you know so
Olivia: Oh yeah, no, for sure. If I had had probably the Toyota only, I don't know if it would have drove me to do that, but I'd put like,
Aniz Lavji: So we can thank Nissan for something.
Olivia: Yeah, that's true. think Nissan for something. Definitely not the Xterra, but something. um Yeah, no, I had a just a funny issue with that car. The reason it was not starting every time I would turn the key off is it had a cracked positive battery terminal.
Olivia: And I spent like a year to putting it in and out of shops and nobody had told me what was wrong with it. They like couldn't get it to duplicate or if they did, they're just like, yeah, you know.
Olivia: And when you did get it to start, it would have like every light on the dash was illuminated. Every system is messed up because it has bad power.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Olivia: So I just could not figure that out. Finally, I figured that out. I'm just like, yeah, I'm ready to throw this thing away. But, uh,
Frank Wiebe: So it was just a no starting issue?
Olivia: Yeah, it would just like no crank, no start. It was kind of like you had a dead battery, almost like wait like not even a click, though. You wouldn't even get like a starter click or anything. It was just like nothing is happening because it it wasn't even getting enough power to send to the starter.
Olivia: So that sucked.
Frank Wiebe: no.
Olivia: But i had i put like 130,000 miles on that car in the time that I had it. And then I eventually, I started getting like a timing chain slap or like a tick.
Aniz Lavji: yeah yep
Olivia: And everybody was like, oh, it's shot. Like you gotta you gotta kill that thing. The motor's trash. I'm like, no, no, no. I've been on the forums. Like this thing needs some chains and some tensioners. It'll be good as new. Right.
Olivia: So I dig into that with zero experience. I'm like about to get the timing cover off and I'm like, yeah, I'm in way over my head. So I had to hire a mobile mechanic to come out and like help me get through the rest of that.
Olivia: And then um that did fix the noise. I was right about that. And then two weeks later, I hit like a herd of cows with it, free range cows in the middle of the road. And this is all like two weeks before I was supposed to go to school too.
Olivia: So I'm like fixing up this car. I'm like, Oh, I got to travel like 250 miles, you know, every eight weeks back and forth.
Aniz Lavji: Oh, man.
Olivia: Like I need a good running car and then herd of cows. So that was actually probably a blessing though. Cause now I drive RAV4, like a newer 23 RAV4 that I've had absolutely zero problems with.
Olivia: So it was probably like a secret blessing that those cows were there that night.
Aniz Lavji: Wow.
Olivia: But
Frank Wiebe: course, the cows couldn't come two weeks sooner. can save you all that time on the timing chain.
Olivia: Couldn't have done the chains, right? Oh my gosh. Before I tore it apart.
Aniz Lavji: Good.
Olivia: It was torn apart for like six months too. it was only driving my truck. So after all that that happened, I finally was like, okay, I think I could probably do this. I don't really know what I'm doing. I need some training, but I think I'm ready to dive into this.
Olivia: So pick Toyota.
Frank Wiebe: But it gives you a heck of a lot of experience, so that's a good thing.
Aniz Lavji: yeah
Olivia: Honestly, yeah. I had done... That was the the worst thing I had done was trying to get to that timing cover. And I really got like the like the accessories off and was just like, I don't know what to do. you know So ah it's a good thing I didn't take that ah that cover off by myself. I would have not timed it correctly. so
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, well.
Aniz Lavji: That's super frustrating. you you know You do all that work on the vehicle and then bam, you you hit free range.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: It's not even regular cows, free range.
Olivia: Oh, yeah. And it was like... I think it was... like late July or August and we get some really weird like monsoon storms here around that time. So it was actually my first day at Toyota.
Aniz Lavji: Okay.
Olivia: I had started quick loop department. I'm on my way home. And at that time I was doing like an hour and a half commute back and forth to work every day.
Aniz Lavji: Oh,
Aniz Lavji: wow. Oh.
Olivia: it was my first day. I'd been there till like, 7 o'clock, so it didn't get home until like 9. It's already dark. And this guy that has these stupid free-range cows, they're all black Angus, of course, so you can't see them at night. They're pitch black. And we had like our one monsoon hailstorm. It's like whiteout conditions in the middle of the summer. It looked it was snowing. so But probably a blessing. Again, it's it's probably good that that car is gone. so
Aniz Lavji: Hmm.
Olivia: Yeah, that was rough.
Frank Wiebe: I don't know. There's a real talk between whether Nissan or Toyota is good, but I guess if the if if the Nissan would have held up, maybe you would kept that and been in a Nissan dealer now.
Olivia: Yeah.
Olivia: Maybe so. and And I honestly, I think I looked into that a little bit too, because I was just like, well, I've had this car for so long, like I kind of knew the system. At that time, I felt like I kind of knew some Nissan stuff, just being on the forums. But they didn't have as detailed, i think, of a training program as Toyota did. They really put you through...
Olivia: like all the topics. You have a chance to take all the ASEs. We actually had the chance to take the L1 while being in school.
Aniz Lavji: Okay.
Olivia: So you really are set up for everything immediately out of school if you can just apply yourself.
Aniz Lavji: Oh,
Olivia: And then we have that hybrid certification. So you're really only lacking when you graduate. That Supra certification is like the highest thing that you can get that you don't have from school. But
Frank Wiebe: That's awesome. yeah from what i From what I hear, some people talk about Nissan, like Emma that we had on a few episodes ago, she said Nissan's a little bit stingy with their information.
Aniz Lavji: yeah
Frank Wiebe: And that I found out when I had to contact her with that Rogue that I was working on. There was nothing available, but I've never run into that with a Toyota. They're pretty good with both sharing their information with us in the market.
Olivia: Yeah, really easy to find like wiring diagrams and stuff online. We get a lot of like customers who are on the forums that are like, I want this TSB. You know, they see it as soon as it gets released.
Olivia: It's not even doing that to their car and they're like, oh, I want this. So it's a almost too much information.
Frank Wiebe: Yep, you've got to come in for a warning.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Now, like um thanks to Frank, like i'm I'm lucky I've been in touch with Tyler that we had on the show. he works i think he works at Toyota. Is that Frank? Tyler Van Geesen.
Frank Wiebe: I'm drawing a blank right now.
Aniz Lavji: Oh, he's thinking.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Remember we we had him on the podcast. he He was recording from from his garage and he had that cool car in the background.
Frank Wiebe: A while back.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, yeah. Yep.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah, so I've been i've in touch with Tyler here and there. He's ah he's in London, I believe.
Olivia: Oh, wow.
Aniz Lavji: somewhere in that area. But yeah, it's, it's really handy having, you know, some guests that are working at the dealerships.
Olivia: Fun.
Aniz Lavji: It's like, I'm kind of running into this and you kind of skip the whole process of trying to find information that you're not going to have any access to.
Olivia: Oh, yeah.
Aniz Lavji: So that's been, that's been pretty cool with, with that from the podcast.
Olivia: We're spoiled, for sure, in terms of, like, yeah.
Aniz Lavji: that's
Frank Wiebe: Ah, that's why you said the name wrong.
Olivia: Having info.
Frank Wiebe: What the heck? He's Van Galen.
Aniz Lavji: Tyler.
Frank Wiebe: that' what You said the
Olivia: Starting at the dealer, too, I just couldn't even like imagine going somewhere else right now. We are so spoiled having like all the all the information and the tech stream and the branded materials.
Olivia: It's just like, I don't know how these small shops do it. I could not imagine.
Frank Wiebe: Honestly, the but the fun part is getting to work on so many different brands.
Aniz Lavji: I
Frank Wiebe: I yeah i i really i really do enjoy it.
Olivia: Right. Right.
Frank Wiebe: But I always find that... I always thought that it would be boring working on the same brand all the time. like Today I work from an Audi, Lincoln, no Chevy Cruze, not today.
Olivia: No, thank God.
Aniz Lavji: i was just gonna say, please don't say share. Thank you you're on my side.
Olivia: Yeah, thank God.
Aniz Lavji: but
Olivia: i just had a problem one the other day.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, yeah.
Olivia: who doesn't have a problem Chevy Cruze in their life?
Frank Wiebe: Have well...
Aniz Lavji: Only when you're breathing.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, I don't. although All mine are a good Chevy Cruiser.
Olivia: Not right now. Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: but Frank's the only one that gets the good ones. Everyone else, but yeah, it's another story, but Frank gets all the unicorns.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: I do. I do get all the good ones. Yeah. So, I don't know.
Olivia: Yeah, that one with the turbo code.
Frank Wiebe: I've got a few of
Olivia: Like, you need to go to Chevy. once I'm not doing that.
Frank Wiebe: of them. It's a whirlwind out here. like it's It's so many different brands and so many different... things i've got a bmw sitting in the yard right now not that i work on european cars people stop bringing them to me but anyways they're there
Aniz Lavji: I going to say that's out of your norm. Like Audi's is kind of one, one often.
Frank Wiebe: and today was a thing like with the bmw i haven't looked at yet but i had two audis in the shop today the lincoln well which is my lincoln but yeah it is mine actually the boat yep
Aniz Lavji: I was going
Aniz Lavji: to say that's probably yours. The boat.
Frank Wiebe: I was working on the wiring today, trying to fix the taillight wiring. Now I got to buy all new sockets because they're all deteriorated from old.
Olivia: Oh, no.
Frank Wiebe: I got source them, but no big deal. We'll keep at it. But yeah, anyways.
Olivia: That's cool, though. Yeah, getting to work on different stuff. I mean, sticking with just Toyota for sure, it saves me like half the cost of tool investment. So if I do ever decide to leave, I'm looking at probably a whole nother investment into those standard sizes. So.
Aniz Lavji: Well, that's how you're doing.
Frank Wiebe: Well,
Aniz Lavji: You're probably doing a lot of pattern failure stuff too, right?
Olivia: Yeah, I mean, we we do see like a lot of similar failures and especially right now, like you kind of get to know some of the recalls and the TSBs and you know what to look for.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Olivia: But every now and then, like you get a wrench thrown in there literally where you're just like,
Aniz Lavji: Mm-hmm.
Olivia: Sorry, she's in the way. Get out of there. But ah yeah, sometimes things just ah things are odd. You get like a weird one. I've got one right now. I'm having to open. we have like a technical assistance hotline, and I'm having to open a case. I'm not exactly sure what they are, if they're like ex-techs or if they're engineers or what, but they're all in a call center together somewhere, and you have this hotline you call. You give them your case number, and they can kind of like...
Olivia: look at all this information that you don't necessarily have 100% access to and give you can you know some kind of good areas to look.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Olivia: But I've got one where this guy says that his ah his brand new Tundra, he's plugging in his charging cords and it's melting the charging cord. And initially and I'd be like, okay, yeah, it's one charging cord.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, my gosh.
Olivia: Like that's probably a faulty cable or like a device or something. But he's saying we've got two faulty charging cords, ah two of them melted and they're in two different positions that he plugged it in.
Olivia: And then that circuit is like a pretty basic, like parallel circuit. It's got shared power, shared ground. So we're chasing that right now. I have no idea. Like that is definitely not something that I've heard of before.
Olivia: And that technical assistance line had no idea. They're like, are you sure of this guy's telling you the truth like I don't know so
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, it sounds like a dead short in it somewhere.
Aniz Lavji: That's interesting.
Olivia: you would think but I plug in my cable I'm not getting it to duplicate so it's just like I don't know where to go but something like that i mean you want to take it seriously it's a fire concern so i'm trying to like trying to believe the guy for sure but if I can't get it to do it I don't know
Aniz Lavji: We
Aniz Lavji: I had couple Santa Fe's. I don't know why randomly they're both Santa Fe's, but they're like newer ones, like 22s and 23s. and ah pretty Yeah, they're 21 or 22s out of warranty.
Aniz Lavji: And the customer complaint was basically the USB port was not working with CarPlay. So it wasn't it wasn't really frying anything, but we we called around and we looked Identifix and they just have something wrong with the way that it was built, the actual the actual port.
Olivia: Wow, okay.
Aniz Lavji: So we ordered new ones from the dealer, put them in and then never heard from the customer again, done.
Olivia: That's wild. Is it like a three? Is it like a power ground and then a communication line, I guess? So maybe there's like an issue in that communication port or something?
Aniz Lavji: You're asking the wrong person because I just make the ROs.
Olivia: Fair.
Aniz Lavji: I do click, click, click, click.
Olivia: Fair.
Aniz Lavji: And hey, yeah i yes, yes, you do need brake pads to stop.
Olivia: yeah
Frank Wiebe: Anis is not...
Aniz Lavji: so
Frank Wiebe: Anis sits in that chair all day long.
Olivia: Fair.
Frank Wiebe: He's not a tech. He doesn't get his hands greasy like you and I do.
Aniz Lavji: No, this is my, I'm in my office downstairs in the basement.
Frank Wiebe: Okay, well, whatever. You sit in a chair anyway.
Olivia: Sweet.
Aniz Lavji: I do sit in a nice chair, yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yes.
Olivia: It's okay.
Frank Wiebe: But where you're...
Aniz Lavji: in your
Olivia: You gotta...
Aniz Lavji: and In air conditioning, so it's pretty.
Frank Wiebe: What you were saying, in Olivia, about having ah the hotline is we have in the aftermarket on Identifix, we have a hotline ah like that as well, which is amazing because sometimes you just run into something that's completely out of your...
Aniz Lavji: Mm-hmm.
Frank Wiebe: You've never worked on this brand vehicle before and it's like, man, I'm just stuck at this.
Olivia: Right.
Frank Wiebe: So for a small fee, you call this hotline and you get... So you'll get like the Toyota expert or the Nissan expert.
Olivia: Yeah. Oh, that's sweet.
Frank Wiebe: You don't just get a general guy. If you have a Toyota problem, it goes to Toyota.
Olivia: Yeah. Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: So it's really good that way for us, when we have all these different brands that we've got to work on that we'll get a specific expert in that field and then walk you through it.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: They'd be like, oh, do this and doing this test. And you go do the test and you come back with the result. and And if it doesn't fix it the first time, then you call back and keep following up until it's fixed.
Frank Wiebe: But most of the time, after you've done all your checking and you can't figure it out, you submit that and they're like, do this and this and this. And you're like, ah, damn it. That's one thing I didn't think of.
Frank Wiebe: And it's usually something so simple. It's like, ah, yeah, you're right.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: I didn't know that. And then you go and test it. Boom, there's your answer. And then off you go.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: All right.
Olivia: Yeah. Sometimes you just need a smart guy to call that's not in the room with you.
Aniz Lavji: You know, it's, um,
Olivia: That just is like a a set of eyes that's not really looking at anything. Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: it's It's interesting, Frank, the you know when you're talking about that hotline and stuff, you know with all the resources that we've had you know over X amount episodes, we may as well just have a WhatsApp group and all dealer techs that we've talked to just put everyone in one WhatsApp group.
Frank Wiebe: I always need a smart person to call because it's unreal.
Aniz Lavji: And when someone has one someone has an issue with a certain vehicle like this, like like the you know you're at Toyota and you get a random Nissan coming in and it's not the CVD transmission for some reason, you could message in there and be like, hey, I've got this.
Frank Wiebe: That's a good idea.
Frank Wiebe: Hey, come
Aniz Lavji: And bam, someone that works at Nissan is like, oh, yeah, check this, this, this, and this.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: however you Have your own hotline. That's
Olivia: Yep, that's true. We have some good used car tags too, so that's kind of what we we use those. It's like, yeah, this this guy works on crap all day.
Aniz Lavji: helping techs.
Olivia: I can go ask him.
Aniz Lavji: Well, we're not talking about Chevy Cruises. We stopped.
Frank Wiebe: on.
Olivia: Oh, I'm still talking about the Chevy Cruze.
Aniz Lavji: Oh, okay.
Frank Wiebe: thanks a long
Aniz Lavji: Sorry. you
Frank Wiebe: i Why is everyone always picking on me? that i'm still that tick That video that I posted where I had the three Chevy Cruises on the hoist all in the same time, I'm still getting comments on on that video.
Olivia: Oh, no.
Frank Wiebe: And it was like weeks ago.
Aniz Lavji: Were they asking why that it didn't rush through or what?
Frank Wiebe: Nah, everyone's like, oh, you need a turbo. Oh, you need you got an oil leak.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: i'm like
Olivia: yeah
Frank Wiebe: But I can't believe that people are still seeing the video and still commenting on That's... That's probably my most commented on video of all the videos that I've done.
Aniz Lavji: I'm still getting comments on my, was it that Tesla's, you know, wheel well that was packed with snow.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, that one? Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: I got like 43,000 comments on it and it's at 2.7 million views.
Frank Wiebe: That's crazy.
Aniz Lavji: And it's not even, it is because it's not a great video.
Olivia: That's crazy.
Aniz Lavji: That's the,
Frank Wiebe: Just now, three hours ago, another comment on that cruise video. Whatever, people.
Olivia: It's always like the dumb one, like the one that i I did that went, I guess like my biggest one right now was just like, I had no expectation of, I was like, this is probably the dumbest one I've posted yet.
Aniz Lavji: yeah, that,
Olivia: And then of course it gets the most views. So that's kind of how it works, right?
Frank Wiebe: always like that.
Aniz Lavji: who was I was pretty like confused because I was like, this video is going to do nothing. And then my phone started blowing up. And then I had a friend that's not even on my TikTok call. He's like, Hey, I saw your video. I'm like, which one? Like, Oh, random one with the snow. And I'm like, Oh my God.
Aniz Lavji: Like why?
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, like the most random thing, right?
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: and And I even.
Frank Wiebe: and will you sit
Aniz Lavji: Why?
Frank Wiebe: When you send it to me, I'm like, oh okay, whatever.
Aniz Lavji: i
Frank Wiebe: And then I saw it blowing up blowing up. I'm like, holy the cow, where is this going?
Aniz Lavji: why
Olivia: Yeah. Yeah, I started having like individual people coming into the into the shop you know that I work with coming up to me and like, oh, I saw your TikTok video last night.
Aniz Lavji: Olivia. oh
Olivia: just like, great. you know He's starting to merge into work life. And then one day I show up at one of our morning meetings and my service manager there and he's kind of like eyeing me every i'm like, I think he knows.
Olivia: like I could just tell something he' something's up with him. like He's seen something and... Sure enough, he had ah announced to the whole shop that they should all check out my TikTok page. So I guess i guess it's official now. Everybody in the shop knows.
Frank Wiebe: as as long as As long as your shop is cool with it, right?
Aniz Lavji: Brady, they're going to put a studio in
Frank Wiebe: Like I've seen, I hear some places where like they're not cool with it. And if I had to be honest, if if my techs were making TikTok videos, I'd be totally cool with it as long as it didn't interrupt the day, right?
Olivia: Yeah.
Olivia: Yeah. Right, right.
Frank Wiebe: If they're producing their hours or whatever, then I got a problem with it. But if if they're doing their hours and they're producing stuff like that, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But got to work.
Olivia: Right. Well, and I'm a pretty big, like, jokester.
Frank Wiebe: So...
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: I think he he was appreciative of, like, oh, yeah, you know, you got to check out these videos. They've got some of her, like, twisted humor. So I was glad that he didn't think, you know, I'm, like, dogging Toyota or anything because I really do.
Olivia: I like my job, and I like Toyota as a company, so I think they're pretty cool about it. as long as you just be pretty respectful, I think he's going to be all right.
Aniz Lavji: Well, it's also,
Aniz Lavji: it's bringing exposure to their dealership too, right? So, um you know, no publicity is really bad publicity unless you're really, yeah, like you said, dogging the the dealership, right?
Olivia: Yeah.
Olivia: Right. Yeah. I mean, if anything, we've all got grievances about the industry, and I've seen tons of texts that get into it a lot worse than me, and I'm just like, yeah, I'm fine.
Aniz Lavji: No, that's, that's,
Olivia: I'm not doing anything too bad here, so I think we're okay.
Aniz Lavji: Are you a million dollar question? you're I'm assuming you're on flat rate there?
Olivia: I am. i am on flat rate. So I did the – in my apprenticeship – I've kind of got off topic a little bit, but been in it roughly three years and two years of that was my apprenticeship.
Olivia: So we did rotations back and forth from ah the school was in Farmington, New Mexico. so it was about like a 250 mile drive back and forth.
Aniz Lavji: wow.
Olivia: And then we had, kids coming from all four corners of or all of the four corners states so there was like a kid from utah a kid from new mexico and then i think six of us from colorado and uh everybody that wasn't like within an hour of the school was staying at the dorms and you were rotating back and forth every eight weeks so we would be at home working for eight weeks and you'd be placed with a mentor if you're lucky and then um back at school for eight weeks at a time so
Aniz Lavji: Okay.
Olivia: It kind of was ah blocked. Like our first semester we did electrical, which I tell a lot of people that and they're like, that's crazy. But now everything's electrical. So they really wanted to start with like, you've got to have this baseline of electrical before you can learn anything else.
Olivia: So we spent the the whole entire eight weeks doing the electrical and like studying for that A6.
Aniz Lavji: That's good. Yeah.
Olivia: And then we took the A6 at the end. And then every other semester after that was split into two parts. So it was like a month per topic. So that was kind of tough after doing Like you had two months essentially to study and prepare for a test and then it changes to half that time and you're still covering basically the same amount of material.
Olivia: So we did have that opportunity to at least take all the tests and it was split up and blocked like that. But traveling back and forth, you had to save up that money and you were not getting paid for the time that you're at school.
Aniz Lavji: It's
Olivia: So. That was a tough situation, I guess, just being in that um like limbo environment.
Aniz Lavji: not easy.
Aniz Lavji: OK.
Olivia: And then while we were doing that portion, while you're in school, we were hourly. So making a pretty low hourly wage and then transferred over to flat rate after graduation.
Olivia: And then I've been flat rate on the line now for like a year, two three months ish.
Frank Wiebe: Okay. Was this schooling through Toyota or was this like an an ah like an outside, like actual apprenticeship schooling?
Olivia: No, so this was actually, it's it's Toyota's accredited program. And then they actually offer, it's, I think, offered mostly at state colleges.
Frank Wiebe: Okay.
Olivia: For my region, there was only one. um The other option was, like, to go down to a school in Texas.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: And then there's also Corps, which, So I think in Salt Lake City, there was a Job Corps location that they also offered like a similar T10 program. But the one at Job Corps, I mean, i don't know if you know much about Job Corps, but you're pretty much there for the whole entire time that you're enrolled.
Olivia: So that was a big kind of detour for me. I was interested in that just because it is it's free school. You can go to Job Corps and get put through that for free, get a trade and master it.
Olivia: But you are like, pretty much there the whole time. You don't have a personal vehicle. You're leaving on their terms. I was just kind of too far into like living independently.
Aniz Lavji: Mm-hmm.
Olivia: I felt like to do that if I had started right out of high school, that would have been a great option for me, but I really needed to have like a car and I had an apartment I was still paying for when I wasn't at school or wasn't at work.
Olivia: So, um isia It really was better for me to do the Toyota accredited program.
Frank Wiebe: Cool.
Olivia: And then they offered also, since it was a state school, I was able to get my associates. So I got the Toyota certification that they offer plus an associates degree. And it's like an applied sciences or something like that.
Olivia: And then I actually came out of school completely debt free. Also, i was able to apply for the Pell Grant and my dealership provided basically the rest of the costs that we were ah given as a scholarship as well.
Olivia: So all four of us from my dealer were given like pretty much half tuition granted to us from the dealer, which was awesome.
Aniz Lavji: Wow.
Aniz Lavji: Wow.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, that's incredible.
Aniz Lavji: Were there any like stipulations on that?
Frank Wiebe: that
Olivia: Oh yeah.
Aniz Lavji: or
Olivia: Sorry. Say that again.
Aniz Lavji: but Were there any stipulations on that or was this kind of like a free and clear work X amount of time or something?
Olivia: Um, yes, so we have a contract, I'm pretty sure that I think it was like two years after.
Frank Wiebe: They've got the contract.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: and'm I'm pretty much like, you know, a little over halfway into that now and and really have no plans of leaving.
Aniz Lavji: Hmm.
Olivia: So that's not a big issue for me.
Aniz Lavji: That's the thing. Like they've, they've treated you so nicely from what I can see doing that for you. Like you, a lot of times when you start working and like they've done such a nice thing and helped you that much, you don't even, doesn't cross your mind to leave because they're investing so much in you.
Olivia: Right.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: Right. And it makes you feel like you're not just that number on a piece of paper, like they are investing in Olivia to go to school, finish it and then I can work.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: So that's, ah you know, good on that dealership for doing that for you. That's really nice.
Olivia: My service manager is is pretty cool. He's been super supportive. There's, i think, five other female techs, so I'm not not like a special case or anything.
Olivia: He's super into hiring women and really into hiring people that don't know anything too and giving them a chance, training them up.
Aniz Lavji: great.
Olivia: So he was super apt. I went in. Actually, to get into the program, you have to be dealer sponsored. So really, most of the time, people are already working for a dealership and they hear about the program that way.
Olivia: But just because I was... new to the industry and doing my own research, I ended up kind of going about it a different way. And I had to actually reach out to the school first. And the school told me, yeah, you've got to work for a dealer and have them sponsor you so that you can do that apprenticeship while you're at home.
Aniz Lavji: Right.
Olivia: So I actually went, had the interview with him, told him my plans.
Aniz Lavji: right
Olivia: And he was like, yeah, let's do it. Come start work whenever you want. Let's start you doing oil changes. And then whenever you get back from school, we'll put you with a guy. And he put me with this awesome master tech that was like so perfectly paired to me.
Olivia: and I had like a ton of questions about literally everything. I was just so scared of blowing something up or like shorting power and ground.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Olivia: you know just like I need to know everything about everything that I'm doing before I'm doing it so that I don't break anything. and He was 100% the guy for that. He was just like...
Olivia: super detailed, showed me the right way to do it, showed me a way to like do it a little faster that's still the right way. And then he'd tell me like, okay, here's what other people do. That's the wrong way. You pick how to do it, you know?
Olivia: And that was just super, super helpful.
Aniz Lavji: But see, if you, for any reason, and you know knock out what, thank God you didn't, got paired with a technician that was not like that. Maybe it was complete 180 from that.
Aniz Lavji: You know, just imagine what your experience coming up in the industry would have been like.
Olivia: Oh, yeah, 100%. And I you know have to credit, I'm sure, some of that to my service manager also. It's like I think he probably saw the need for that in me and then was like, yeah, this is probably the guy to do that for her.
Olivia: I mean, we have a ton of great master techs there, and there's really like four or five of them that are solid that would be great to learn from.
Aniz Lavji: Mm-hmm.
Olivia: But the way that he happened to pair us all up, it was just kind of like –
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: it was almost like you submitted your information to a like a website and then he was like, yeah, this one goes here.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: And like he just knew. like I really feel like, yeah.
Frank Wiebe: swipe left swipe right
Olivia: and
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: And the other three, I think, felt like that too.
Aniz Lavji: Like Tinder.
Olivia: like they They really related to their mentor and and liked who they were with. So that's important too, having a good mentor and then you continue to work with that guy after. It's really important.
Frank Wiebe: oh yeah having having someone that like that especially just someone that already to knows the industry that you can bounce ideas off of it makes such a huge difference in there and if if you're working in a shop and you don't have that
Aniz Lavji: Yes.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Go find someone that does, like somewhere out of the shop that that you can call.
Aniz Lavji: yes
Olivia: Oh yeah.
Frank Wiebe: but um We've had so many good guests on our our podcast already that have exactly your story. Man, I got in here. I have a great mentor.
Frank Wiebe: That makes such a difference. Some people that get in there, if I look at myself back in the day, my first...
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: six years, I had a really good mentor. And after that, I was completely on my own. I was always in the shop where I was the lead tech, but I didn't know squat.
Olivia: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: and And not having somebody to bounce ideas off just makes things so much harder.
Olivia: Yeah, 100%.
Frank Wiebe: And, man, you know, that's amazing that your service writer or or your manager does that because He knows, right? He knows that if you if he wants you to succeed, that this is what he's got to do and he's got to put you with someone else.
Aniz Lavji: set you up for success basically.
Olivia: Absolutely.
Aniz Lavji: Right.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. And that's awesome to hear that somebody's actually putting that effort in where instead of being like, some people get so ornery and be like, oh, you know what?
Olivia: right
Frank Wiebe: I don't want to help this person out. and And then hearing somebody being actually being helped out like that, that's amazing.
Aniz Lavji: Because, you know, they're, yep.
Olivia: I think it helps too because he used to be a tech. So that really puts him in a position where he understands.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, definitely.
Olivia: yeah
Aniz Lavji: But that person that's helping you out, you know, at that point there, i'm I'm assuming if you're paired up with them, they're flat rate. So if they're kind of, you're kind of under them. So if you need help or something, they're there to kind of lend a helping ear. Is that pretty much how it is or.
Olivia: Yeah, so when I was doing the apprenticeship, um most of our master techs have two bays. So I was given one of his bays basically and just got his work dispatch from him.
Aniz Lavji: Hmm.
Olivia: And he would just kind of give me whatever came through. And then it really helped because he was hybrid and super certified. So I got to do like super oil changes and learned really a lot about that hybrid system before I did the hybrid class.
Olivia: So that kind of excelled me to like knowing where that that Plug is, you know, to pull the the plug inverter, whatever it's called, interlock switch.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: And um just like kind of knowing how that stuff works, it really helped because that would have been way more intimidating just hearing about that for the first time versus doing it with him.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Olivia: But um we were still working like.
Aniz Lavji: But he's technically donating his time, right? In a way.
Olivia: Say it again.
Aniz Lavji: Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you up He's he's technically technically donating some of his time every day to help you as well.
Olivia: Oh, no, you're OK.
Aniz Lavji: Because if he's on flat rate, whatever time that he may be helping you, he's kind of going away from his job as well, right?
Olivia: Right. So he had to worry about his own jobs in his bay and then I would get his work.
Aniz Lavji: So that does... Yeah.
Olivia: So what we would do is close out anything I would do under his number and then he would get paid, I think, like a pretty good portion of what I was making.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah. Yep.
Olivia: So that was his incentive, at least, is like. he probably would have been way more productive just working out of those two bays himself. So getting the work that I'm getting, it's kind of like, well, that benefits him, but he's probably taking a loss still.
Aniz Lavji: That's what I'm saying,
Olivia: And I think there were several times he took a loss.
Aniz Lavji: yeah. And that's the thing. like That just shows the kind of technician that your service manager paired you with.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: Someone that is
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: is concerned about helping is concerned about bringing up another tech and not just about the money.
Frank Wiebe: Was
Aniz Lavji: I mean, that's, that's why i was kind of, uh, going in that little circle there because the way I thought about it is, you know, everyone's on flat rates.
Olivia: Right.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: So now they all of a sudden get paired with, um, you know, a coming, uh, you know, a new and upcoming tech that costs them money.
Olivia: Yeah. Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Technically. Yes. going to be doing some of their work, but they're not going to get paid that full amount. So for them to build you up and for X amount of time, that just shows what kind of cultures in that shop, because there are some dealerships that have technicians and, and then they're not going to be too happy about that because it's burning a little hole in their pocket and they could be more.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: was
Olivia: Right.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Right. So,
Frank Wiebe: ah Some places, the way that they do it is they'll have the lead tech on flat rate and then they'll put the apprenticeship or the apprentice on hourly. So they still get the lead, gets his flat rate hours and all that.
Olivia: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: And then you get the hourly.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: Or in some cases, they'll just split it, and especially if you're if you're really good. And if you're doing a real good job, well, then it'll just help boost the tech's hourly or flat rate hours anyway.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: So then they can just split it off after. But either way, having that mentor and working together like that is is hugely beneficial.
Olivia: Yeah. no that
Olivia: Oh yeah. He was super unselfish with training me. I mean, he's like I said, a super certified guy. So he was getting kind of a lot of, unfortunately the more certified you are in these dealerships, the more crap you get, right?
Olivia: Like you're, you're certified to do these warranty recalls and warranty diagnosis.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Olivia: And most of the time you are not getting paid for that Diag unless you're like justifying everything that you do. So because of how certified he was, he's getting like a lot of these warranty timing cover reseals or like diagnosis and stuff.
Olivia: And
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Olivia: that sucks for him, but kind of good for me, because that's a good learning experience. And then also he can kind of pawn that off on me. And he can do gravy or, you know, something to to kind of pad those hours while we're doing those tough jobs.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: So that was just like,
Frank Wiebe: ah like all that All that crap he doesn't want to do where he's like, I don't think I can put my hands in there.
Aniz Lavji: No, just give it to Olivia.
Olivia: Oh, yeah, no, ah like, at least five times, he's like, man i don't want to do this.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: I'm giving it to you. But it's like, that's fine.
Frank Wiebe: now Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: This going to be too much of a mess on my bay.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, yeah.
Aniz Lavji: You know what? Why don't you handle this and see what happens?
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: but yeah
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: I do the same thing now. i I'm still wrenching on the floor, even though I'm a shop owner, but wrenching on the floor with the guys. If there's a job I don't want to do, i I'm paying you to do that.
Olivia: Yeah. I'm paying you. You do it. I would do the same thing. Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: I do it every every single day.
Frank Wiebe: i don't want I don't want to do that job.
Olivia: Yeah. Yeah. I'm the boss.
Frank Wiebe: AC compressor on my truck.
Olivia: And yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Nope. I'll let you do it. They did it while we were going weekend.
Olivia: Yeah. Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: So, like, score, i didn't have to do it.
Olivia: yeah
Aniz Lavji: Here.
Frank Wiebe: Is this a real pain to do?
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Olivia: Well, and get no hard feelings from me.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, that's it.
Olivia: That's my bestie. So I appreciate the the effort he put into training me, even if it was some crappy jobs every now and then. It's always a good learning experience.
Frank Wiebe: Well, I always say, i always say, if you, if you never have a crappy job, a job that really frustrates you, you really hate you. you stop appreciating the business because like, like the trade is, is a really, really great trade.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: It's so much fun. It's so rewarding, but you got to have those good ones and you got to have the ones that really feel good. Like I always say the best one is something that gets pushed in the bay as a no start, regardless of what the no start is.
Olivia: And drives out.
Frank Wiebe: what article wire And it drives.
Olivia: Yeah. Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: And when it drives out, it's just like,
Olivia: and guys
Frank Wiebe: Man, that feels so good. And if you could absorbed that feeling all the time, even on those really crappy jobs, but he absorbed that feeling, you're like, you know what, it's fixed. And then you take pride in your work and you take ownership of the fact that I did that and it's good and it's going to last a long time.
Olivia: yeah
Frank Wiebe: Then it's like, man, this is really kind of a good trade.
Olivia: Yeah, there's nothing like that feeling.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: really enjoy it.
Olivia: And on the opposite token, nothing like that feeling of driving a car in and pushing it out too.
Aniz Lavji: But you know, it's...
Frank Wiebe: It's over.
Olivia: so
Frank Wiebe: ah Yeah, we've all had that.
Olivia: yes
Frank Wiebe: We've all had that. But
Olivia: It happens every now and then. What can you do? Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: hey, sometimes, you know what?
Aniz Lavji: No, it's...
Frank Wiebe: i The worst part is honestly when something breaks on the car while you're working on it. Like, no, I kid you not.
Aniz Lavji: Oh God.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Changing a radiator and you go to start it up and the starter doesn't work. That stuff happens.
Olivia: Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Then it's like the customer's like, well, you drove it in.
Olivia: You suck.
Frank Wiebe: I don't know what to tell you. It just quit.
Olivia: Yeah, I'm actually-
Frank Wiebe: you I mean, be thankful it happened right here instead of on the road somewhere.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: those are the worst conversations I have.
Frank Wiebe: It literally quit right here.
Olivia: Right.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, it's, it's so terrible. And, and they, most of the time they don't understand, but sometimes they do, but ah that's, that's a dumb feeling.
Aniz Lavji: know.
Frank Wiebe: And it's like, what did I do?
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: of course, my first thought is always like, what's the last thing I touched? So is there something that I did that could have caused this?
Olivia: Right.
Frank Wiebe: And, but, That's what I try to teach all my guys to. I'm like, if something isn't the same or better than it was, like you did a wheel bearing and now you're leaving and the ABS light's on, why is the ABS light?
Olivia: me That's your fault. Yeah. Yeah, you did something.
Frank Wiebe: What did I touch last?
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: And and I mean, if it's completely not your fault, it's somewhere else on a different wheel, that's whatever.
Olivia: Right. Yeah,
Frank Wiebe: But definitely,
Olivia: right. Right.
Aniz Lavji: With the light on after you did the wheelbarrow, you got to take a look.
Frank Wiebe: exactly.
Olivia: Yeah, the speed sensor is probably hanging out.
Aniz Lavji: be a pinched ABS wire or plug it in or whatever.
Frank Wiebe: Take a look. That's always Always check your work and make sure that you can check your off your list and say, yeah, it's done. It's done.
Olivia: Right.
Frank Wiebe: It's done. Everything has been checked off. Yeah, that's that's ah that's a hard one to learn for some people.
Aniz Lavji: You'd be surprised how many times...
Olivia: Well, then I'm sure that's tough for you as an owner, too, because you're the tech and you're the service writer, basically.
Frank Wiebe: torate
Olivia: So you're having to deal with, you're like, not only, no, you don't have to talk you'd have to call them.
Aniz Lavji: No, he doesn't write.
Frank Wiebe: I'm not the
Aniz Lavji: He doesn't write service.
Olivia: Okay, cool. I was going to say that sucks to them.
Aniz Lavji: No, his his wife, he's got a whole team in the front office.
Frank Wiebe: service. No, I'm not the service writer. No, I've got, my wife is in the office and her son-in-law, is so, ah oh, she does an amazing job, yeah, and has to put up with me.
Aniz Lavji: yeah
Olivia: Oh, bless her heart.
Olivia: Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure. It's a tough job, bill
Frank Wiebe: Well, she has to put up with me, so that's the worst part.
Aniz Lavji: Oh, that's enough. That's a whole job in its own, Frank.
Frank Wiebe: It really is.
Aniz Lavji: Jeez.
Olivia: though.
Frank Wiebe: But, no, man, I i don't, oh, yeah, well i have I have okay, I have okay customers customer interaction, but,
Olivia: But yeah, at least if I break something, I get some other guy to call and tell him. I don't have to talk to him, so that's good.
Frank Wiebe: i'm I guess I'm too soft-hearted being the owner. I'm too soft-hearted i be like, oh, that's okay.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: we'll we'll take We'll take some off the bill. No, it's just, ah let me just just fix the cars.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: I'm really good at that. And you sell the jobs and do that. So no, I stay out of the office.
Aniz Lavji: You got to have ice in your veins to be a service advisor.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: I work better if I stay out of the office. Let's put it that way.
Olivia: Ice in your veins is true, that's for real.
Aniz Lavji: hey frank You got to have ice in your veins to be a service advisor.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, yeah, really.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: And I don't.
Aniz Lavji: i don't even have blood anymore. i
Frank Wiebe: I'm too kind.
Olivia: Yeah, that's fair.
Frank Wiebe: I'm too kind. No.
Aniz Lavji: no
Olivia: It's been replaced.
Aniz Lavji: i the Discounts and stuff like that, i mean, very rarely now because I'm already giving you know i'm already giving a a very reasonable price.
Aniz Lavji: And then, know, when they start asking for discounts, heavy discounts, especially, they're never going to be happy with any work you do.
Frank Wiebe: no
Aniz Lavji: And, you know, I kind of tell them, unfortunately, I've tried multiple times, multiple years.
Olivia: Yeah. Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: If my techs would take a pay cut to help out on these jobs, they say no every time.
Olivia: shit Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've been taking pay cuts for years, enough, yeah.
Aniz Lavji: so
Frank Wiebe: oh Always blame the cut.
Aniz Lavji: Like, I mean, i can i can radio them in the back and see they'll do it cheaper. Like, if they don't want to clock in on the job, we'll see what kind of reaction they get. But I'll make sure it's not on speakerphone.
Olivia: Yeah, this guy, he just had a newborn, but I'll see if he can put it up for adoption. I mean, that should help with his cost, yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah, I mean, we like, you know what? They've got enough formula to last until tomorrow evening. It's fine. Yeah.
Olivia: Yeah, I mean, yeah.
Aniz Lavji: but like what What do you want? like you know My flex, they get paid. They get paid well. We're one of the few shops in this area that actually pays over time. A lot of places, you know they get upset when they go over 40 plus hours a week because then Now the tech's making more.
Aniz Lavji: I'm like, let them make more. Who cares?
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: If they're working more than 40 hours, that means that you've got freaking work and you're making money.
Olivia: ah We are for sure encouraged.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Let the mechanic, let the tech make some money.
Olivia: Oh, yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Time and a half. Who cares?
Olivia: We're doing four day four day weeks, 10 hour days, and we're fully expected to hit 100 hours per pay period in an eight day period. That's that's like ah a bare minimum expectation is to hit around 100. And if you're not doing that, then I think they kind of think there's something wrong with you. So
Aniz Lavji: If your tech's making money and your tech's happy, they're they're able to pay their bills and they're able to buy a new pair of boots because they need them or need they need tools.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. And it should be. Yeah.
Olivia: yeah, you should be able to.
Aniz Lavji: They go and buy a tool. But if they don't have access to those hours, even those extra hours, Right? i mean, how are they supposed to, you know, enjoy the fruits of their labor?
Aniz Lavji: If all their money is just going into rent and going into, Pokemon cards, I don't know whatever people are into these days, but...
Olivia: Right.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Not Pokemon cards.
Olivia: It's Pokemon cards.
Frank Wiebe: Nothing.
Olivia: No, it's Pokemon cards again. haven't you They're popping up at the the grocery stores now. I got this guy in my shop. He's 40 years old. He goes on his lunch break and goes to the Pokemon machine.
Olivia: I'm not even kidding. He's 15 years older than me.
Aniz Lavji: There's a Pokemon machine.
Olivia: He's going to buy Pokemon cards and resell them online. is There's a lane for that.
Aniz Lavji: tell me Tell me that his car is yellow and has a tail that looks like Pikachu.
Olivia: I don't know what's going on.
Aniz Lavji: Oh,
Olivia: I think it, I blame Pokemon Go.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, it makes no sense. But that my kids played that game and my kids are all into Pokemon cards and what is all the other ones?
Aniz Lavji: man.
Frank Wiebe: Magic the Gathering and all, like, what the heck is this stuff?
Olivia: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Like, go out and...
Aniz Lavji: My kids are into Pokemon, but now if they want cars, they can use their... their piggy bank money they get from Christmas and Zucks. I'm not, I'm not dishing it out.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: It's like you, you want to spend your, uh, not, I wish shouldn't say hard earned money.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: You were donated money from your bankers.
Frank Wiebe: they're They're spending your hard-earned money.
Aniz Lavji: Nope.
Frank Wiebe: you if you're given i give yep you're giving you're giving You're giving them allowance.
Aniz Lavji: why It ain't needint coming from my harder money. I ain't buying cards. Nope.
Frank Wiebe: That's your hard-earned money that you're giving them.
Aniz Lavji: No, who gets allowance? They get an allowance. They working.
Frank Wiebe: They're your kids.
Aniz Lavji: No, Nope.
Frank Wiebe: They have to have an allowance. Kids always get an allowance regardless.
Olivia: How are they getting this many? Are they getting it out of the couch cushions or?
Aniz Lavji: Nope.
Aniz Lavji: No, they've they've got grandparents that, you know, will make when they come over, oh, you're breathing.
Olivia: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, my God. Worth it. Worth it.
Aniz Lavji: Here's 20 bucks. And, you know, here's 40 bucks for, you know, take my crap.
Olivia: Yeah. Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: I don't know. Like, they're they're loaded. So I'm like, no.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Well, the Tooth Fairy has been pretty generous lately, I heard.
Aniz Lavji: The what?
Frank Wiebe: The Tooth Fairy gets to be pretty generous some days.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah. the Apparently, i think we left like 20 bucks 30 bucks. And like, well, my friend got 50. And I'm like, well, why don't you go live in their house?
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, really.
Olivia: ah Go on, git!
Aniz Lavji: What are you doing here? you know with with the with kids and stuff like that, i try to make sure that they understand that.
Aniz Lavji: the money don't grow on trees and it's here today and it is gone tomorrow.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: And i kind of try to, you know, full circle going back to previous conversation with ah my, my younger techs and they're getting this overtime pay and everything.
Aniz Lavji: I have conversations with them Like, look, you got a really good check this week. Put some of it away on Monday.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Don't be broke on Monday.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Because, you know, yes, you you made, you know, 25, 30% more than you did last week, but that's fine because there may be some weeks where there aren't as many hours.
Aniz Lavji: And I hope that doesn't happen.
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: But, you know, if us as owners, Frank, if we don't kind of talk with our younger and even sometimes our older techs, about saving some of that money and kind of putting it away.
Aniz Lavji: i mean, we would be doing our team members a disservice, I think.
Frank Wiebe: ah tell I tell you, I wish I would have had financial advice when I was a young tech. um I would have a different situation than I am now, but that's what I tell my guys too.
Frank Wiebe: I'm like, look, you got to put money away in your life. Don't joe don't just live day to day to paycheck to paycheck, right?
Olivia: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: And even my kids, I tell them, like I'm like, you have to start investing now while you're young.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: don't wait until you're 40 and then be like, oh crap, I got to retire one day.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: I mean, you.
Frank Wiebe: that's That's what happened to me. That's why that's why we run a shop now. was like, I turned pretty much 40 and I'm like, oh crap, I got to retire in a few years.
Olivia: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: So I better do something about this. And in the shop I was working at, well, and I never worked at a dealership.
Olivia: I tried saving.
Frank Wiebe: I just worked at a small independent used car dealer and wasn't a
Olivia: Right. No 401k, no retirement plan, I'm sure.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Nothing, nothing, no big money and not even getting paid big money either. Right. So it was like, you know, it raised I raised, raised a family on it. I bought a house. I did that, but further than that, nothing.
Frank Wiebe: So now it's like, okay, now I've got 20 years. I got a really kick butt and build something so that I have something to retire off of.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: So sometimes, ah you know, a lot of people, not only tax, but even owners, they, they, they live to work instead of working to live.
Frank Wiebe: But.
Aniz Lavji: Right.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: And when you really think about that statement, it it'll, it'll hit home. It's like, you know, you're going to work for what are you going to work to just get onto the next day?
Olivia: right
Aniz Lavji: or are you trying to build something up, build, build yourself up, build up your finances for something bigger. You know, a lot people don't have aspirations.
Frank Wiebe: You know, the other the other piece of...
Aniz Lavji: They just want to come to work and at the end of the day, they go home and, you know, they got nothing to do and they're just waiting for the next day at work.
Olivia: right
Aniz Lavji: But you've got to have some hobbies. You have stuff and time for yourself. Build yourself up. I mean, you know, when you come to work, yes, that's your job and and everything. It's all fun, but you got to have bigger plans.
Frank Wiebe: the The other good piece of advice that I recently heard, it said...
Aniz Lavji: You can't,
Frank Wiebe: um to get to be successful in life, don't ever stay up late for something that you wouldn't get up early for.
Olivia: Absolutely.
Frank Wiebe: I'm like, holy, it's a great one.
Olivia: That's a good one.
Aniz Lavji: What is that one trying to say that again?
Frank Wiebe: Don't ever stay up late for something you wouldn't get up early for. and And a lot of it, I think, was in context to so doom scrolling social media, like you're up, oh, just whatever, another couple of minutes.
Frank Wiebe: And all of a sudden you've sat there for three hours and it's 11 o'clock at night at 12 o'clock at night. And he's like, oh, crap.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: and I got to get up at 6 a.m. And it's like, well, if you wouldn't get up at 6 a.m. and doom score for three hours, don't do it at night.
Olivia: Why do it at night?
Aniz Lavji: But now you have get up at 6 a.m.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: just to prove your point of you know it being important that until 11 o'clock at night. Then you better force yourself to wake up at 6 and do it again. That's important.
Frank Wiebe: well And that's just it. Right. And, and, and I was like, man, that's, it's honestly like so simple, but it's such smart advice.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: Yeah, absolutely.
Frank Wiebe: So, uh, yeah. And we can think of that It's like, hey I'm going to work, I'm going to work late on my car, but I didn't get up early to work on my car too. So that I'm okay with that. But,
Olivia: Yeah, that's that's okay.
Aniz Lavji: Yep.
Olivia: But yeah, we ah we have a pretty good schedule. At least I do like the – I really like the four-day, the 10-hour days. those are Those are nice because it does allow you to have like three-day weekends.
Olivia: And then I think you had said – I don't know if you your guys are on rotations. So I'll have like Monday, Tuesday off for two weeks, Wednesday, Thursday off for two weeks, Friday, Saturday off for two weeks, and it just does that throughout the year.
Frank Wiebe: Yep.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, my God. okay
Olivia: So you have the opportunity like every few months to have –
Aniz Lavji: Nice.
Olivia: pretty much every day of the week off. You need to schedule a doctor's appointment. You can make that work. You need to have a weekend day off. You can make that work. So that's really helpful.
Frank Wiebe: Okay.
Olivia: And then being in Colorado, there's tons of stuff to do.
Aniz Lavji: You're really planning your schedule.
Frank Wiebe: Is your dealership open seven days then?
Olivia: I think the sales might be open on Sunday, but we're pretty solid six. So there are some guys that do five days that try to do like five, five days, eight hours, but it is really hard to get out of there on time.
Frank Wiebe: 6, okay, yeah.
Olivia: i mean, you're usually there 10 to 11, 12 hours a day, depending on what you're doing. So it's tough.
Frank Wiebe: what What time do you start in the morning then?
Olivia: We used to start at 7.30 and then we started having this morning meeting. So now we're starting at 7. And then I'm usually there from 7 to 6, 6.30. um If I've got to stay late though, I mean, I've been there sometimes as late as like 8, 8.30.
Aniz Lavji: Oh, geez.
Olivia: So that's well over a 12-hour day. And that that sucks. But it kind of just feels like normal at this point. Like I am there so much. I mean, if I'm going to be there for the day, I'm there for the day.
Olivia: And then I'm not coming in on my days off. So...
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, exactly. Well, that's that's a good way to do that.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: If you have the amount of time off, hey, put in the effort, put in the work on the days when you're there and then just get it all, all that work slammed out then you don't have to worry about it the rest of the time for sure.
Olivia: Yeah.
Olivia: We have limited good weather here in the Rockies, so you've really got to take advantage of those days off.
Aniz Lavji: Well, we're at, uh,
Olivia: We have like four months of summer, and we're in like the last two of them right now, and I've done nothing.
Aniz Lavji: yeah. Well,
Olivia: So I'm going to start getting out this year, hopefully.
Frank Wiebe: Yep,
Aniz Lavji: we're at work, you know, more than we are at home. So whatever, whatever time that you're spending at your place of and employment, make it worth it.
Olivia: Oh yeah.
Olivia: Yeah, I rent this apartment for my cat for sure.
Aniz Lavji: Right. I mean, and, and,
Frank Wiebe: definitely.
Aniz Lavji: hey
Frank Wiebe: One of those.
Olivia: This is not for me.
Frank Wiebe: Okay. Yep.
Olivia: if This is all for the cat. Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: Frank, when we make a snippet for this podcast, that's the snippet right there.
Olivia: Oh, sweet.
Aniz Lavji: i work I work and I go to work so I can rent this apartment for my cat.
Frank Wiebe: okay
Aniz Lavji: That's perfect.
Olivia: Yeah, I hope she likes it.
Frank Wiebe: All right.
Frank Wiebe: As soon as you upload it, I'll i'll make the snippet for sure.
Aniz Lavji: Yes, by the time I get time to upload it, it'll be, you know, August.
Frank Wiebe: It'll be six weeks from now. we We were chatting about that before. She's like, oh, yeah, i just watched the latest episode that you had. I'm like, if you're on on YouTube or Facebook, that's not the latest episode.
Olivia: It's not the latest. Yeah, I think I did get on YouTube.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: if you're on Spotify, that, that sucker is up to date, but I just, I got three, i don't know Frank, I got three kids.
Olivia: So, and I'm going to share, of course.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: So my schedule can be so demanding with, uh, with the kids and work.
Olivia: That's totally understandable.
Aniz Lavji: And, uh, basically I'm the service advisor slash operator for the whole show.
Olivia: Right.
Aniz Lavji: and um it' It gets pretty demanding. It's funny because I've told Frank, Frank, I'm uploading right now. And I'm like all excited. And then I don't go back to it.
Aniz Lavji: I don't get a chance to click the next button to get the freaking thing.
Olivia: Well, you you got close. That's all that matters, right? And yeah.
Aniz Lavji: ah but I got in close. And and Frank's a little message with me later and be like, so what happened? I'm like, oh, crap. Yeah. and
Olivia: I forgot. Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: I was was right there. I just needed to –
Olivia: Hey, well, I'm childless for now and unmarried at the moment. and So I don't even have time hardly to edit like my two minute TikTok video. So no shame or judgment here.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: I can completely understand not having time to post and upload.
Frank Wiebe: see that's why you just don't edit videos i might my video my videos are usually just raw i just record post record post i'm like rarely i'll record two sections and then stitch it together but even that's too much work i'd rather just record one post it ah
Olivia: Yeah, I'm starting to feel that way.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: you know what if it isn't perfect i don't care
Olivia: Yeah, sometimes you set the phone up and it's recording for like 30 minutes. You're like, I gotta find like a minute clip out of this video that's decent and,
Frank Wiebe: No, I don't do that. If I'm going to record, I'll just grab the phone, hit record, record what I got to do. That's it. But I have been thinking well i've been thinking about getting up a camera set up like on a tripod or something like that.
Olivia: Yeah.
Olivia: yeah
Frank Wiebe: Maybe do some lives or something like that. But man, I just, I don't got time for that.
Olivia: Yeah, it' it really is tough.
Aniz Lavji: That's the thing.
Olivia: That's another reason I edit too, is just like so many things at the shop go wrong all the time and just like mishaps or people walk through my camera frame because they don't know I'm recording. I mean, we're at work, why should they, you know, be aware of something like that?
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Olivia: But I do have a lot of instances where I'm like, I'm working on something and I walk away for 15 minutes because I'm in parts looking for something. So stuff like that, I'm like, yeah, yeah, I better cut that out of the video where it's just the car sitting there by itself for 20 whole minutes.
Olivia: But yeah. Yeah, that's a good ah that's a good one.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. The conference that we were at this the conference that we were at this week and the speaker had this tiny little camera that, you know, followed around and stuff like that. I'm like, well, that'd be kind of cool. Like then I could just set it up in one spot and it followed me around.
Aniz Lavji: Oh yeah, those are nice.
Olivia: Yeah, those are neat.
Aniz Lavji: i think it's made by DJI.
Olivia: I've seen those.
Aniz Lavji: DJI, I think, makes them.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. I got to find out what it is because that, if I got one of those,
Olivia: Oh, is it DJI? Is that the drone company?
Aniz Lavji: Probably. Yeah, but they make really good really good camera setups and stands and stuff like that.
Olivia: Yeah. Okay.
Aniz Lavji: I'm pretty sure that camera is probably probably them more likely.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Olivia: Yeah, my boyfriend's got the DJI 3 or 4 Mini Pro or something drone, and that camera is like incredible.
Frank Wiebe: I have
Olivia: That's the best camera I've ever seen on something that size, like a 4K camera. It's fantastic, so I'm sure they're great.
Aniz Lavji: ah one ah One question, Olivia, I wanted to ask you is if you had to go back when you were first starting to be the superstar mechanic you are, what kind of advice do you, where someone would have given you when you first started?
Olivia: Well, I didn't quit, so that's important, but i think I think it was important to be told a few times to not quit, and I i did get told that from several people.
Frank Wiebe: ah
Olivia: I mean, it was tough. like I really felt like a few times that... Man, I should have taken like a like a basic, generic, general automotive course before I did this. I should have done something in high school. You know, there was a lot of the people that were in the class with me had already done something like that. They were in their second education level of automotive. And this was the first one for me. So there was like...
Olivia: multiple times where I'm like, yep, I am not passing this ASC. And that was that was the next step to pass into the next semester is you had to have those finals passed and that ASC pass.
Aniz Lavji: Yeah.
Olivia: So you didn't have those tests, you were not moving forward. And I was like, yeah, okay, I'm... a I'm going to fail like multiple times. And I, a few times was just like, I should just save myself the trouble and just go back home. Like I can, I can go back to the dealer and start working. Like I knew that he was probably still going to let me do some training and and have some type of position there, but I wouldn't have had the same position. So really just like, if you're feeling that way and you're, you know, in schooling now, we're just kind of on the ledge of I'm going to get into it, but I know nothing. I mean, I really just,
Olivia: Do as much as you can. Do all your research. Do what they tell you to do. And don't quit until you get kicked out. That's the best way to go.
Frank Wiebe: That's good. good Good for you. Good for you for sticking it out and making this ah an amazing journey that you're on.
Olivia: Thank you guys so much.
Frank Wiebe: Because it really is. It's a lot of fun.
Aniz Lavji: Are you planning on going to any of these training events that are across North America?
Olivia: So I don't know about anything yet. I'm still pretty new. I mean, Toyota sends us to some specific training and stuff. I think we're kind of all like waitlisted for most of that stuff, but I'd be super interested in going to pretty much anything that I hear about.
Aniz Lavji: So Frank and I are going to ASTA in September, which is going to be the greatest automotive training expo of life.
Frank Wiebe: And it's in North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Olivia: Where is that? Oh, okay. I've heard good things about North Carolina. I'm not East side educated, so i'm ah I'm a West side.
Aniz Lavji: It's end of September. And, um, I think it would be really cool if you were able to make it. And the, uh, The technical training for technicians is second to none. You get to really, you you get to be in the same room with some of the greatest, greatest teachers there are. I mean, there's some really big names that come out to teach there too.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, yeah.
Olivia: That sounds awesome.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. It's incredible training. It really is. So, yeah, definitely look into it. It's called the it's called ASTA Expo.
Olivia: ASTA, okay.
Frank Wiebe: ah I'll say I'll send you some information on it.
Aniz Lavji: Okay. the ah The website's ASCAUSA.org.
Olivia: Yeah, that'd be great.
Olivia: Okay.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: But yeah, I can send you some more info. We're both registered to go. we're i'm I'm super excited. This is my second year going. The first year I went, it was a game changer for me. So I think it'd be something interesting if if you're able to make it out that way in September.
Aniz Lavji: the besides the amazing training that you'll get, the connections you'll make with people in the hallways and in the evening, if you drink, having a beer or something, that's, that's where the heavy duty training happens because you may be talking with another tech about something that, yeah yeah, I had trouble with this Toyota with this and that.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, yeah. That's unreal. It's unreal.
Aniz Lavji: They're like, Oh yeah. Well, you should have done this. You're like, well, shit.
Olivia: Yeah.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. 100%. It's unreal, the people that you meet, the connections you make.
Aniz Lavji: And they're lifelong connections.
Frank Wiebe: And like, yep.
Aniz Lavji: Like, I mean, I still, pray Frank knows.
Olivia: Absolutely.
Aniz Lavji: Like, I still talk to so many people that I met last year and a lot of the people I introduced Frank to and Frank's probably talking to them more than I am now. So.
Frank Wiebe: Oh, yeah. Well, like I said study earlier, i i'm I'm on a journey to make make so many more connections in my life. And it's been unreal. like it's It's overwhelming how many people I know now that I didn't know six months ago.
Frank Wiebe: It's unreal. and and go
Olivia: Well, and we're all pretty like-minded as techs too. Like I find at least a lot of the guys in my shop are like, it's like we were made out of the same manual, you know?
Frank Wiebe: Well, that makes a whole difference. Yeah.
Olivia: Like they just copied and pasted all of our horrible humors into a bunch of different guys and gals. Okay.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah, exactly.
Aniz Lavji: But, you know, side note, they do have, I believe, there's a a women's dinner, I think, at the STA.
Olivia: Okay.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: I have to double check. Don't quote me on it.
Frank Wiebe: I think they are because they had it at tools, but I'm pretty sure I heard that say that they they have it everywhere. They have it at ASTA and at Vision.
Olivia: Okay.
Frank Wiebe: But
Aniz Lavji: Yeah. So there's going to be a lot. of Now I have to check because there's an event calendar. There is.
Frank Wiebe: But yeah, that's, that's, you'll, you'll hear names like, like Tanika Haynes.
Aniz Lavji: or
Frank Wiebe: I don't know if you, if you're listening to a lot of podcasts, there's, there's a one called Downshift with Tanika. um
Olivia: Maybe, yeah I might have heard of that actually.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah. So, so we, we met her, we met her in Pennsylvania.
Olivia: Downship is familiar.
Aniz Lavji: She's awesome. She's really cool.
Frank Wiebe: She's awesome.
Frank Wiebe: Coralie Humberg is her name. She's from the,
Aniz Lavji: Yeah, I didn't want to try the last thing. i don't want to butcher the last thing.
Frank Wiebe: I'm pretty sure that's how it is. Forgive us, Coralie, if we said wrong, but she's in British Columbia, so she's a service advisor and she does service advisor training.
Olivia: Oh, sweet. Okay.
Frank Wiebe: um She's top notch, so lots lots of good information that way. Yeah,
Frank Wiebe: yeah anyways, but you know yeah, look into it.
Aniz Lavji: There's like,
Frank Wiebe: it's it's You'll find all kinds of information that way.
Olivia: Awesome.
Aniz Lavji: like, do you, do you do any ADAS stuff there?
Olivia: Yeah, that sounds great.
Olivia: Um, no, we have, like, I mean, ah a little bit, yes and no You kind of just, you like, obviously do whatever comes through the door, but I do have, uh, I don't have the ADOS ASC or whatever certification that it is, but I have, like, the Toyota ADOS certs, so I don't have the specific, as far as I know.
Aniz Lavji: a lot of times they've, I've,
Olivia: i have a few. I'm not sure what all I have anymore, but...
Aniz Lavji: I don't know if there's a Keith Perkins, which he's huge in in training for that. i don't I don't know for a fact if he's going to be there. But like I said, there's some major players that are going to be at this training.
Aniz Lavji: And you get to be in the same room. And then in the evening when everyone's going out for drinks at below at the bar downstairs, all these people are there.
Frank Wiebe: the watering hole, they call it.
Olivia: This is right up my alley.
Aniz Lavji: And you literally can just hang out with them and pick their brain and just make connections. like it's It's really, really cool.
Frank Wiebe: Yeah.
Aniz Lavji: So yeah,
Olivia: but Yeah, that sounds great.
Frank Wiebe: Anyways, we're not advocates. We're not advocates. We don't get paid for advertising or anything like that, but we've we've done it.
Aniz Lavji: yeah we, we don't get paid for them. We just believe in training.
Frank Wiebe: We've been there and just really believe in it.
Aniz Lavji: Right.
Frank Wiebe: So
Aniz Lavji: But, um, you know what, uh, Olivia, we can have this chat even offline, everything, but Frank will give you the information for it.
Olivia: Sweet, yeah.
Frank Wiebe: I will.
Aniz Lavji: Um, I just want to say thank you so much for joining us on the podcast tonight. And, um,
Olivia: Yeah. Thank you guys so much for having me.
Aniz Lavji: Definitely keep in touch. I'll get your contact from Frank and I'd love to keep in touch. And if you have questions about the training, you reach out to us and let's ah let's definitely keep in touch.
Olivia: For sure.
Aniz Lavji: But thank you for joining us, everyone, on the Shop and Treg Talk podcast. You can find this on Spotify, usually every Tuesday, as long as I upload it on time.
Frank Wiebe: Don't forget.
Aniz Lavji: YouTube. We're on YouTube as well. You can search the Shopping Tread Talk podcast. We're a few episodes behind, but I can blame three kids for that. That's no problem. But thank you everyone for that does listen.
Aniz Lavji: You know, we we do really appreciate Frank and I, everyone that does tune in and contacts us, you know, that they listen.
Frank Wiebe: we do.
Aniz Lavji: just Just hearing the people listen to the podcast and, you know, we're able to help one person, it's all worth it. So thank you everyone.
Frank Wiebe: That's right.
Aniz Lavji: Olivia, hang on the line here and good night to everyone. Thank you.
