Tech side jobs - do you allow it?

[robc]

I hate to be posting so much but here's another interesting topic. Do you mind, allow, or support your technician's doing side work?

When I was a service manager I didn't mind it at all. I thought whatever they could do to help provide for their family was just fine for me. But I also worked at a single point import store, and most of the work the techs were doing was domestic stuff that we would have never seen anyway. I would certainly draw the line at techs who actively pursue my shop's customers.

Besides, one of my technicians was my mechanic and he did all my repairs as side work, so it was tough for me to discourage this practice.

What are your thoughts?



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** Rob, Editor WD&S **
Help is only a message post away!
robc@dealersedge.com

[Doug]

No! I did allow it years ago in another shop and it got out of hand. Some of the guys spent a couple hours a day lining up that evening's side jobs. The next step is wanting to "trade" parts. Now I just plain won't allow it. In fact, it is one of the few issues which I am actually hard-nosed about.

Techs are allowed to use the shop to repair their own cars or those belonging to immediate family and that's about it. If a co-worker needs some work done, that's OK, but strictly on a "favor" basis and when time allows the job to be done without interfering with work flow.

Here's what I tell the guys: If any money is changing hands and/or the car doesn't belong to you or a family member, then you have a side job on your hands and you're in violation of the policy.

One of the biggest problems I have with some of the younger guys is them bringing their pals down on a Saturday so they can all work on cars, change oil, etc. That goes over like a lead ballon.

[RPMGeorge]

Side work is a deffinite NO. Techs have to be able to Concentrate on their Job, a Regular workweek takes enough energy without adding more to it. If he can produce 200% he should do it at his Job where its expectet.

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George Schmitz

[RICHLOWE]

I THINK WE NEED TO CLARIFY THE QUESTION. IS THE QUESTION "DO YOU ALLOW SIDE JOBS DONE IN THE SHOP?" OR IS IT "DO YOU ALLOW SIDE JOBS DONE AT ALL?"

WE DO NOT ALLOW SIDE JOBS DONE IN THE SHOP AT ALL. TECHS ARE PERMITTED TO WORK ON THEIR OWN VEHICLES OR OF THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY DURING CERTAIN HOURS IN THE SHOP.

AS FAR AS OUTSIDE WORK, IT IS NOT PERMITTED FOR OUR TECHS TO BE EMPLOYED BY ANY OTHER SHOP THAT WOULD COMPETE WITH US, BUT IF THEY ARE WORKING ON VEHICLES IN THEIR OWN GARAGE, THERE IS LITTLE WE CAN DO TO TRULY STOP IT.

IF A TECH PURSUES OUR CUSTOMERS, WE CUT IT OFF QUICKLY. WE ARE VERY NEAR THE LARGEST OLD CAR SHOW IN THE MIDWEST (IOLA) AND THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THESE CARS NEED SOMEONE TO WORK ON THEM. IT IS TYPICALLY NOT THE TYPE OF WORK WE DO IN OUR SHOP.

PLAINLY, I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH TECHS DOING SIDEJOBS SO LONG AS WE ARE NOT COMPETING.

[fburrows]

I think you have to have a strict policy for the shop that includes no "trading" of parts and nothing without a written repair order, authorized by someone in service management. Our rule was the same as another poster, only favors allowed. When cash is involved then it is not allowed. Soliciting customers for purchase of their vehicles was also forbidden.

If you don't enforce these rules it will quickly get out of hand. All these rules only pertain to what is done in the shop. What the tech does at home is out of my control.

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Frank Burrows
Automotive Business Solutions
frank@autobusiness.org

[technicians opinion]

I was a tech at a cheverolet dealer for six years and I saw many side jobs being performed under the managers nose. I will not lie I had to do some just to get buy. It was to a point where most techs would save old parts to return them for warranty to be able to sell the good parts for their own profit. There were also times they would get away with trannys and engines. I never went that far Lets face it some times you have to do side jobs because it would help out when work was low and since everything at a gm dealer is specialized there may be 50 cars coming in and no work for you. So I can understand why some techs try and do thier side jobs at work. Now that I work for a saturn dealer I have not have to worry about side jobs because work is plentifull. I guess what I want to say is side jobs can create greed and the dealer winds up loosing and have to deal with increasing warranty claims. Watch out for those techs they are out there,but dont forget the honest ones they seem to always pay for mistake of others .

[robc]

All the responses are great! I originally had in mind side work at home, but the convervation about work in the shop is good as well.

As far as "at home" side jobs, my thoughts are still that I wouldn't do anything to outright discourage it unless the tech was stealing work from my shop or leaving early all the time to go home to do side jobs. I would continue to support employee parts purchases at a steep discount.

In the shop, I am with most of you that I would only allow immediate family (personal vehicles, parents, grandparents, siblings, and children) but no aunts, uncles, second cousins, etc. Some people have very large families. In my shop (back in the day when I was in a shop) I allowed the technician to bring in any extended family or friend's work at internal rates and I would let them supply their own parts if necessary (again if the time was available in the shop). This way I thought the tech could stay busy and the shop could make a few bucks instead of all standing around.

To expand on the side job issue, what about other second jobs. For example, in Michigan I was very loose about this and many of the techs had seasonal side work. In the winter, some techs would plow in the morning (Meaning they got in about 11am, but would often stay late). In the fall some of my techs would drive grain trucks for local farmers and spend their evening waiting at the silos (meaning they left about 3:30pm) There were others as well ... but in addition to side work how about other "moonlighting"



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** Rob, Editor WD&S **
Help is only a message post away!
robc@dealersedge.com

[RandyN]

We discourage side jobs at the techs home.
We forbid any car in our shop without an open repair order, and if it is an employees car, the RO must be written by the Service Manager. As far as side jobs at home, I think most of our techs have done it but only when the customer was a neighbor who normally took his car somewhere else. If I caught a tech soliciting side work from my customers, he would be fired that day no matter how long he had been there or how good he was. It's no different than taking cash out of the register.

[Doug]

Re: "Moonlighting"....

We have a "moonlighting" clause in our dealer policy manual. In short, it states that if an employee's job is be compromised by other employment we will ask the employee to choose which job he really wants. We've usually have over 110 employees and this problem comes up very rarely. Working for an actual competitor, though, is prohibited.

As far as "side job moonlighting" with techs...well, how can you control what a tech does at home?

In some instances where an good employee is holding down two "real" jobs we've taken a hard look at their pay plan and realized we were under-paying them and doled out some raises.

On a somewhat different angle, i fired a service writer once...here's the scam. He was buying/selling cars on the side. A customer would drive in with what appeared to be a major problem but really wasn't. This guy would tell the customer that it would be, oh, $2500 to fix the engine but "I tell ya what, I'll give ya $500 for the car just to take it off your hands." He'd buy the car, spend an hour fixing it and then......well, you get the idea. That was years ago. I haven't come across a service advisor that bold ever since.

[robc]

Another comment received by email.

"I'm not an old pro, But I am a service manager, I dont find side jobs as a good thing for anyone. There is always some small conflict. Wanting to use shop tools at the house maybe??? And as for working on cars in the shop? the Techs car & his wife's...Or mom & dad if not married. Lets all try to remember who's shop, who's electric, who's equipment,etc.. Remember who writes the checks & pays the bills!!"