Marinucci: Tough tire techs respond to recognition

Coping with automotive technicians' hard-nosed attitudes often requires abundant respect, empathy and patience.

A capable, hard-working tech may test a boss' patience with a world-weary demeanor and/or confrontational style. Some tire dealers or service shop operators may describe this tech's manner as being abrasive or jaded.

This grizzled tech also may display a surprising intolerance of other techs' opinions and especially their mistakes.

An important but overlooked first step toward smoothing techs' rough edges may be heartfelt recognition: Commend their industry service and compliment their know-how.

Try praising them in public — especially in front of existing customers as well as prospective new ones.

Some owners and managers treat these simple steps as obvious professional courtesies — foregone conclusions. Unfortunately they are neglected at some businesses.

Over the years, I have talked to many techs who had landed a new job. Among other factors, the overriding issue that motivated them to move was a boss' apparent indifference to their experience and knowledge.

These techs cited a sense that the boss disrespected their street-smart insights into the finer aspects of proficient auto repair and customer retention.

For example, a tech would move to a new job that offered pay and benefits equal to the last job. However, the new boss treated the tech like a treasured asset who made practical suggestions for improving the business.

Remember that when bosses listen, techs tend to feel much more involved in — committed to — the success of the business. A sense of involvement also fosters employee loyalty.

So, recognition is one initial way to thaw an icy relationship with a hard-nosed tech.

The next step, which I will discuss in a moment, involves insisting techs make positive, meaningful suggestions for improvements.

My field experience involves more than 40 years of personal interactions with techs across the country. This includes work as a reporter, equipment salesperson and technical instructor.

These jobs always entailed observing and listening to bosses and techs as closely as practically possible.

Owners and managers already have many obligations. Therefore, observing and listening to workers may be challenging tasks for busy bosses.

Simply being on-site does not guarantee that an owner or manager hears and sees the most-significant things about their workforce. And the last thing some bosses readily admit is that they do not have a finger on the pulse of the techs out in the bays.

Adversity may hurt some people, but it also toughens and matures them. But adversity of any kind hurts — and embitters — other folks.

Years of scorn and derision from the non-automotive world has scarred some techs. The result is a hard-nosed outlook on their trade as well as the motorists who depend upon it.

Mind you, the auto repair industry has a long history of self-inflicted wounds. There are reasons why the motoring public has grievances with auto service facilities.

For as long as I can remember, improving and maintaining a positive industry image has been a big, ongoing challenge.

During the course of many conversations over the years, techs have told me that they willingly chose their careers; they love working on cars. They believe they are cut out for the tasks of diagnosing and repairing vehicles.

Techs' perception — whether accurate or not — is that the public does not respect them as much as skilled-trades people outside of auto repair. Hearing this, I sense a lingering bitterness in some of them.

Some grizzled techs have said that they take the grief the outside world gave them and flip it onto irritating, unsympathetic managers and customers.

Ultimately, of course, there is no justification for some techs' needless outbursts and confrontational attitudes.

But it helps when managers understand potential sources of this temperamental behavior.

A hard-nosed, experienced tech may be a chronic complainer. To be fair, this personality type appears in any walk of life.

Regardless of the occupation, however, a chronic complainer's negative attitude may poison an otherwise-wholesome work atmosphere and hamper productivity.

In previous columns, I have urged bosses to politely but firmly challenge the complainer: Do not gripe about something unless you offer potential solutions in the next breath.

Therefore, a grumpy but knowledgeable tech can posture and pout — but then they have to deliver the goods by recommending solutions.

Where appropriate, offer the complainer a bonus of some kind for delivering solutions to the issue at hand.

Thankfully, the majority of people who turn wrenches for a living are hardy, resilient, respectful and kindly folks. They certainly have made an impression on me.

A savvy service manager told me that some techs simply have more rough edges than others.

Recognition, respect and encouragement just may — may — smooth those rough edges substantially.