Complex Cars Demand Well-Trained Technicians
Because independent facilities perform service and repairs on nearly 70 percent of off-warranty vehicles, technicians and other mechanical staffers need to incorporate training into their schedules. Entry-level technicians receive an average of 25 hours of training annually at a cost of $880; experienced technicians receive an average of 29 hours, costing an average of $1,184; and management acquires an average of 33 hours of advanced learning a year, costing an average of $1,704.
The majority of educational funding continues to come from business owners. According to 2007 survey results, 84 percent of employers fund continuing education for technicians. Eleven percent asked for a funding partnership between business and employee. A mere 5 percent said they supply no training, down from 13 percent from 2006.
In relation to education funding, 63 percent of business owners allow their technicians to attend training during the workday. Of those, 47 percent compensate technicians who attend training during the workday.
Technicians garner a large portion of their training from jobbers/ parts suppliers (85 percent), followed by equipment manufacturers and independent training at 51 percent each.
- K.W.
For 2007, there are an estimated 78,567 independent general mechanical service businesses in the United States. These independent businesses employ an estimated 328,301 individuals who provide service and repair for more than 249 million motor vehicles. It is estimated that 70 percent (174 million) of out-of-warranty vehicles are repaired at independent shops.
The number of bays and size of the mechanical repair facilities has shown a stable balance the past few years. According to the 2007 results, the average business has seven bays and encompasses nearly 5,297 total square feet (including office and shop).
The independent mechanical service business continues to be a family owned (92 percent) business that has been in operation an average of 19 years. Broken down by the number of years a shop has been in business, categories include businesses open less than one year (2 percent), one to five years (12 percent), six to 10 years (17 percent) and 11 to 15 years (12 percent). Categories also include 16 to 20 years (17 percent), 21 to 25 years (9 percent) and 26 to 30 years (13 percent). Those being open for 31 to 40 years totaled 12 percent and more than 41 years earned 6 percent of the total responses. Although consolidation is occurring in other service industries, such as collision, the mechanical repair sector remains predominantly independent, according to 97 percent of survey respondents.
The makeup of respondents to the 2007 HYB? survey is evolving. Of the respondents who took the survey, 70 percent are business owners. Of the remaining 30 percent of respondents, 28 percent indicated that they were both owners/managers and 3 percent are managers only. Office staffers account for 1 percent of survey respondents. A few respondents (8 percent) indicated that they not only own and manage their shop but are technicians. Note: Respondents were able to select all that apply, averaging more than 100 percent.
With 98 percent of mechanical shops having Internet access in 2007, ASA asked respondents where their Internet connections were located within the facility.
The 2007 HYB? survey strives to present an accurate picture of the staff population within the independent mechanical repair business. The survey determined the number of employees per facility by job type along with the percentage of facilities having various types of employees.
The 2007 results showed 39 percent of businesses promoted an average of two technicians. Fifty-eight percent of shops polled reported that they had an average of two technicians leave, and 56 percent hired two technicians. It is important to note that 43 percent had no movement of technicians and that there was equality between shops that had hired technicians and those that had technicians leave.
Repair Orders Broken Down By Quantity and Amount By dividing the average ticket price and number of repair orders written into categories, it is easier to see where repair orders lie for the majority of respondents.
Decreases in profits were experienced by 20 percent. Twenty percent also cited a decrease in customers, shared equally with monthly repair orders. Collectively, an average of 25 percent saw no change in customers, profits or repair orders.
Independent mechanical business customers are a loyal group. Currently, 78 percent of mechanical business customers are repeat customers. Typically, customer loyalty is a reflection of the quality of service and the customer care that businesses are willing to provide.
Mechanical business owners have an average advertising budget of $21,347 for 2007, a notable increase from $13,170 in 2006.
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