Ratchet+Wrench Radio

In this episode, Travis Troy of Honest Wrenches in Des Moines, Iowa, talks about why he and business partner Josh Mullins hold culture within their shop in high esteem. He opens up about his methods, such as family outings, team outings and even cooking for his team members, why culture matters internally and externally, and how to lead the way as a shop owner. Lastly, he dives into another facet...

In this episode, we talk to Tim Suggs and Rachel Grewell of Turbo Tim's Anything Automotive in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We talk about how Tim got started in automotive, his love for cats, big shops, and his community. We also discuss how Rachel decorated the shop, some of its eclectic and fun touches, how they train the front and back of the house, their shop culture, and more.   

In this episode, Chris Cloutier of Golden Rule Auto Care and autotext.me visits Ratchet+Wrench Radio to discuss personal mission statements. Many shop owners have a detailed and comprehensive vision for the health and growth of their shop, but how many also apply this to their personal lives where all of that drive stems? Chris breaks down his four pillars for developing a personal mission stateme...

In this episode, Chris Knuth of APAC ATI stops by the show to talk about how his nonprofit auto technician training program can help shops across the country with labor shortages. He shares the background of the organization, how it finds technicians to train, and how auto repair shops can work with him.

In this episode, Mitch Moncur of Denny's Auto in Riverton, Utah, talks about how he finds, trains, and develops high school-age apprentices to be shop-ready by their graduation date.

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

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

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

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

This week, Mickie Kennedy, founder and president of eReleases, the small business leader for press release distribution, joins editor Chris Jones on Ratchert+Wrench Radio. Mickie is an expert at helping small businesses increase their visibility and credibility and he’s here today to share some valuable insights on why more shops should use press releases to draw attention to their shops. [2:28]:...

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

In this episode, David Boyes joins Ratchet+Wrench editor Chris Jones to talk about his company’s app, Today's Class , an online learning organization that has been supporting the automotive industry for more than 20 years. If you recall, Boyes was highlighted in the August issue Breakdown, A Classroom in Your Pocket .   We discuss:  (0:06): What Today’s Class is and how it works  (3:15): What the...

In this episode, Carolyn Coquillette talks about how she founded Shop-Ware while running her shop, Luscious Garage .  We discuss: (1:15): The pain points that conceived the idea for Shop-Ware (4:45): Going from analog to digital platforms in her career (5:48): Why shops are hesitant to go full digital on software (8:35): How she decided to create software for the industry (16:01): What's under the...

Deanna Bumgardner from Employer's Advantage LLC joins Rartchet+Wrench Radio to talk about why shop owners need employee feedback to build better shops and how to get people talking and sharing ideas. If her name sounds familiar, she was in the July issue story, " How to Get Authentic Employee Feedback ."  We discuss: (0:58): The benefits of asking for feedback (1:45): Why shop owners struggle to g...

In this episode, Alex Bunkers, head of operations at Tekmetric, joins Ratchet+Wrench to take a deep into a whitepaper she wrote called, “Quantifying Inefficiencies in Your Shop,” which is aimed at “helping shops maintain a strong awareness of every aspect of the shop, from inventory management to proactively keeping up with KPIs.” We'll discuss: (0:53): An overview of the whitepaper (2:30): Analog...

In this episode, Jennifer and Tony Ringham of Precision Imports , featured in the August 2022 story, "Keeping It Rural,"  offer a closer look at the life and work of rural shop owners and how they make it work. Jennifer and Tony have been servicing European cars since 2006. Tony is a graduate of Universal Technical Institute in Chicago, where he graduated first in his class and finished first in h...

In this episode of Ratchet+Wrench Radio, Cecil Bullard of the Institute for Automotive Business Excellence stops in to discuss how shop owners can overcome the technician shortage. Cecil discusses: Why raising labor rates is necessary to attract top talent A simple formula to raise rates today The need to create a career path for today's technician The importance of having the right atmosphere and...

As more EVs begin to enter the mainstream car parq, knowledge of how to work on those vehicles is becoming critically important for shop techs to have. Northeast State Community College in Blountville, Tennessee, recently received a near-$350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to integrate EV technology training into its curriculum to ensure local techs are getting that information. Do...

This week on Ratchet+Wrench Radio, Ben Johnson of Mitchell 1 joins the show. Ben is the director of product management for Mitchell 1 and is responsible for managing Mitchell 1’s portfolio of products for the motor vehicle industry. He maintains several ASE certifications and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International. He currently serves on the Auto Care Association’s...

Welcome to Ratchet+Wrench Radio, your podcast for strategies and inspiration for auto care success. This week, Josh Davis, chief revenue officer at MailShark, joins host Chris Jones as they take a deep dive into a new auto care industry customer survey Mail Shark conducted called Cracking the Code. We'll talk about:   How they gathered the data What they learned about consumers and trust as it per...

The ongoing Right to Repair legal battle in Massachusetts has been a fixture in automotive aftermarket headlines for almost two years now, and a lot has happened since state voters approved the measure on the November 2020 ballot. A decision could be coming down this Friday, but after numerous delays, it would come as no surprise if it were delayed again. Nevertheless, Friday is an important day f...

This week on Ratchet+Wrench Radio, Chris Jones talks to Autoshop Solutions CEO Margaret Palango about the ins and outs of on- and off-page SEO and what shop owners need to know about drawing customers from the web.

In this episode, Ratchet+Wrench Editor Chris Jones and Guy Robers of Sales Fix Academy dive into the inner workings of Sales Fix Academy, what service writers need to do to increase sales and boost profit, and why a highly-trained service writer matters to the health and success of the shop.

In this episode, Ratchet+Wrench editor Chris Jones talks to Shopmonkey founder Ashot Iskandarian about his back story, how and why he created Shopmonkey, his passion for hot rods, and his thoughts on now being a shop owner himself.

In this episode, Ratchet+Wrench editor Chris Jones and guest Aaron Stokes talk about how and when shops should prepare for electrification. The conversation then turns to marketing and how shops can build their brand image and voice through the ways they market within their communities and service regions.