Auto techs increasingly use cell phones in the service bay — IMR research

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Nearly nine out of 10 automotive technicians at independent repair shops use their cell phones at work to access information relevant to their job, according to IMR Inc. an automotive market research firm.

"Smartphones and tablets play such an important role in how so many industries are doing business," IMR President Bill Thompson said.

"The automotive aftermarket is by no means immune to this trend. Technicians have more access than ever to the important information they need to provide excellent service, and it's critical for parts manufacturers, distributors and shop owners to understand how reaching technicians is changing in this digital age."

IMR said its research shows 87.4% of technicians use a cell phone at work to access technical information, technician manual sites, catalog information, parts manufacturer websites for technical or product information, ordering parts and watching training or instructional videos and content.

Cell phone use is high in repair shops with one to three bays across all categories, while technicians in shops with eight or more bays use their cell phones less overall, but approximately 20% more for ordering parts, IMR said.

With parts ordering being a critical function of cell phone use in the service bay, technicians ranked the overall visual quality of parts manufacturers' websites as follows: 83.5% answered "good"; 13.7% answered "excellent"; and 2.8% answered "fair."

IMR said these results show that technicians are satisfied with the way that parts manufacturers' websites are rendering on mobile or handheld devices.

When using social-media platforms, technicians are most active on Facebook and YouTube, IMR said, followed by Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Snapchat and Pinterest are not popular among technicians, with 4% stating they are not active on any social media platforms.