Wrench Turners Podcast

Bobby Beltz didn’t leave because he stopped loving the work. He left because everything surrounding the work slowly stole the joy from it.

In this episode of the Wrench Turners Podcast, Bobby shares what dealership life was really like, from flat rate pressure and favouritism to unsafe decisions, bureaucracy, burnout, and the lack of teamwork inside the shop.

But this isn’t simply an argument against flat rate or the automotive industry. It’s a conversation about why the same technician can struggle under one leader and thrive under another.

We also explore why fleet work gave Bobby the stability he was looking for, what trade schools aren’t telling future technicians, and why leaving a bad shop doesn’t always mean leaving the trade.

Maybe the work isn’t the problem. Maybe it’s the shop, the system, or the leader you’re working for.

If you’re a technician questioning your future in the industry, watch this conversation before deciding what comes next.

Subscribe to the Wrench Turners Podcast for more honest conversations about helping mechanics live happier, healthier, and more productive lives.

Negative pushes.

Positive pulls.

God Bless

j.

Follow Bobby

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

00:00 Why Technicians Quit

01:48 Bureaucracy Stole the Joy

06:22 Leadership and Safety

12:06 Bobby’s Automotive Beginning

14:55 The First-Year Reality

21:21 Flat Rate and Favouritism

27:08 The Industry’s Broken Promise

32:28 Why Fleet Work Wins

39:18 Safety Over Productivity

45:14 Hope for Burned-Out Technicians

Flat rate teaches technicians to treat every minute like money. But what happens when that thinking follows you home?

Bryan Collins is a BMW Shop Foreman at Braman Miami and a former Lexus technician with more than 15 years in automotive. He shares the early mistakes most technicians are afraid to admit, how a supportive shop helped him learn instead of quit, and why he left Lexus to pursue a greater technical challenge with BMW.

We discuss why technicians need processes, what it takes to move into leadership, how to motivate people who want different things, and why aspiring leaders should begin doing the next job before receiving the title.

Bryan’s final message may be the most important: flat rate can program technicians to see every doctor’s appointment, family responsibility and hour away from the shop as lost income. Learning to mentally clock out matters just as much as being productive at work.

If you’re a technician, apprentice, shop foreman or service leader, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe to the Wrench Turners Podcast for honest conversations designed to help mechanics live happier, healthier, and more productive lives.

Negative Pushes.

Positive Pulls.

God Bless

j.

Follow Bryan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-collins-743893b1/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

0:00 Meet Bryan Collins

2:19 Choosing The Trade

8:34 First Year Mistakes

14:41 Mentorship Builds Technicians

19:40 Why Bryan Chose BMW

23:46 Becoming A Team Leader

27:19 Leading Different Personalities

30:57 Understanding Dealership Business

41:14 Foreman Leadership Challenges

45:30 Escaping Flat Rate Thinking

There’s more to automotive than the bay.

A lot of technicians spend their careers seeing pieces of this industry. The repair. The RO. The part. The customer concern. The comeback. The warranty line. The job in front of them.

But automotive is a lot bigger than what we see from inside the shop.

In this episode of The Wrench Turners Podcast, I’m joined by Jacki Lutz, Content Director at the Auto Care Association and host of Auto Care On Air, for a conversation about the bigger world surrounding technicians, service advisors, parts people, shop foremen, and fixed ops leaders.

Jacki brings a perspective that a lot of dealership technicians don’t always get to hear. The aftermarket isn’t just parts. It’s training, education, content, marketing, technology, e-commerce, community, leadership, and opportunity.

We talk about how employee-generated content can help shops build real trust, why personal branding matters more than people think, how simple social media guardrails can give employees freedom instead of fear, and why AI should support the human side of the business instead of replacing it.

We also get into parts e-commerce, the importance of product detail, the difference between franchise and independent marketing, and why professional development matters for anyone who wants to grow beyond the job they’re currently doing.

This episode is for the technician who knows there’s more out there.

It’s for the advisor trying to communicate better.

It’s for the parts person who wants to understand the digital side of the business.

It’s for the foreman, manager, or fixed ops leader trying to build a team that can grow.

Because your career can be bigger than the bay too.

Negative pushes.

Positive pulls.

God Bless.

j.

Follow Jacki

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackilutz/

Check out Auto Care On Air

https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@autocareorg⁩

Check out Auto Care Association

https://www.linkedin.com/company/autocareorg/

https://www.autocare.org/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

00:00 Soft Skills Matter

01:33 Meet Jacki Lutz

02:22 Finding Automotive

09:27 Leadership Changes Careers

10:48 Employee Content Works

17:59 Simple Social Guardrails

22:41 Better Parts E-Commerce

24:48 Marketing The Shop

26:22 AI Needs Humanity

28:23 Invest In Yourself

Everyone complains about paperwork.

The best technicians, advisors, and managers understand something different: documentation isn't paperwork... It's profit.

In this episode of the Wrench Turners Podcast, Justin Gonzalez shares his journey from Apple and Lexus to leading warranty support for a growing RV manufacturer. Along the way, he learned that documenting repairs, telling better stories, and proving your value doesn't just improve warranty approvals. It can change your entire career.

We discuss:

• Why documentation is one of the highest ROI skills in the industry

• How selling service starts with understanding the product

• The mistakes shops make with onboarding

• Lessons from rebuilding a struggling Jaguar Land Rover service department during COVID

• How to present your value when asking for a raise

• The realities of warranty administration across 24 dealerships

• Why taking a moment to reset can make you a better technician and teammate

Whether you're a technician, service advisor, foreman, warranty administrator, or service manager, this episode will change how you think about the notes you write every day.

Negative Pushes.

Positive Pulls.

God Bless.

j.

Follow Justin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinremotevans/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:14 Why Automotive?

05:51 Learning The Product

11:28 Onboarding Matters

16:28 Warranty Career Journey

27:50 Documentation Creates Value

38:06 Warranty Mistakes

48:13 Mental Health Matters

53:48 Final Thoughts

What’s the biggest expense inside a dealership?

According to CFO Pete Fisher, it’s people. Not because people are the problem, but because payroll, compensation, benefits, and personnel costs make up one of the largest pieces of the dealership P&L.

In this episode of Wrench Turners Podcast, Pete breaks down dealership finances in a way service managers, fixed ops directors, advisors, and technicians can actually use. We talk about month-end pressure, open ROs, payroll, comp plans, forecasts, gross profit, expenses, and why service advisors need to understand that their job is sales, not order-taking.

The biggest takeaway is simple: if expenses are too high, you only have two real options. Cut, or sell more. And in a service department, selling more starts with increasing hours per RO, growing gross profit, and building a team that understands how the business actually works.

This is a tactical conversation for anyone in fixed ops who wants to understand the numbers behind the store.

The Wrench Turners Podcast is about improving the life, well-being, and productivity of mechanics everywhere.

Negative Pushes

Positive Pulls

God Bless

j.

Follow Pete

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-robinson-1b216b370/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:47 Getting Into Automotive

03:43 Accounting Office Reality

07:15 Month-End Pressure

09:16 Tracking Open ROs

15:47 Payroll Problems

19:12 Do Hard Things

22:18 People Matter Most

29:51 Comp Plans Explained

35:06 Reading The P&L

What happens when a dealership develops an exceptional technician but gives them nowhere to go next?

Nicholas Martin began his automotive career pushing a broom, cleaning tools, and learning from every technician in the workshop. He eventually became a Mercedes-Benz Certified Diagnostic Technician before moving into OEM technical support and dealer advisory, helping dealerships solve difficult technical and business problems across Australia.

In this episode, Nicholas explains why dealerships often lose their best technicians and what leaders can do to keep them. The answer isn’t always more money. Experienced technicians need meaningful progression, greater responsibility, continued development, and opportunities to use their knowledge beyond producing hours in a service bay.

Joshua and Nicholas also discuss apprenticeship, mentorship, advanced diagnostics, technical documentation, customer trust, OEM support cases, and the value of using a whiteboard to work through complicated vehicle problems. Nicholas closes with an important reminder for every technician: nobody will advocate for your career more strongly than you will.

This conversation is for technicians, shop foremen, service managers, fixed operations leaders, dealer principals, and anyone responsible for developing and retaining automotive talent.

Subscribe to the Wrench Turners Podcast for more conversations designed to help technicians live happier, healthier, and more productive lives.

Follow Nicholas

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-martin-3779b4249/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

00:00 From Apprentice to Advisor

02:31 Falling in Love With Cars

07:38 Learning the Workshop

11:48 Becoming a Diagnostic Technician

16:10 Physics Behind Better Diagnostics

22:48 Why Top Technicians Leave

27:55 Communicating With Technical Support

32:21 Technical Decisions, Business Consequences

42:41 Whiteboarding Difficult Diagnoses

46:58 Advocate for Your Career

Jamie Robinson almost left the trade in his first year. He hated it. He felt like he wasn’t good enough. He wanted out.

Then everything changed.

Jamie found the right people. He asked for help. He chased the hard jobs. He learned diagnostics. He got better one day at a time. Years later, he won the UK skills contest and went to Seoul to compete for Hyundai on the world stage. He finished second in the world.

This episode is about what happens when a young tech is almost pushed out of the trade, but keeps going anyway.

We talk about bad first years, shop culture, mentors, foremen, apprentices, diagnostics, and why the best techs slow down before they speed up.

Jamie's best advice is simple: Don't be too proud to seek guidance.

The Wrench Turners Podcast is about improving the life, well-being, and productivity of mechanics everywhere.

Negative Pushes

Positive Pulls

God Bless

j.

Follow Jamie

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-robinson-1b216b370/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

00:00 Meet Jamie Robinson

00:53 First Year Was Brutal

03:39 Building Or Bullying

04:42 Protecting Young Apprentices

09:33 From Tires To World #2

15:30 Slow Down To Win

18:28 Diagnose Before Touching Cars

23:21 Notes Get Techs Paid

28:29 Using Pain As Fuel

37:12 Seek Guidance

What separates a great shop from everybody else?

Patty Ruggia has spent years seeing dealerships from the recruiting side. Jade Price sees the industry from inside the workshop. Their answers point back to the same things: leadership, recognition, communication, customer experience, and the culture created inside the shop.

We also get into why constantly correcting people can destroy trust, why great shops make customers feel like part of the community, and how the attitude of one leader can spread through an entire team.

What did the best shop you’ve ever worked in do differently?

Drop it in the comments.

Negative Pushes.

Positive Pulls.

God Bless.

j.

Featuring:

Patty Ruggia

https://www.linkedin.com/in/patty-ruggia-07913863/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/autocanada

Jade Price

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-price-4675016b/

https://www.instagram.com/theautomotivecapture/

https://www.tiktok.com/@theautomotivecapture

Hosted by Joshua Taylor

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Chapters

00:00 Season 4 Finale

01:05 What Great Shops Do

02:08 Leadership Starts at Top

03:42 Praise Before Criticism

06:49 Make Customers Feel Welcome

08:49 Your Shop Has a Vibe

09:57 Leadership That Spreads

11:47 Negative Culture Costs

12:27 The Biggest Change

13:28 Closing Season 4

We spend a lot of time talking about what’s wrong with the automotive industry.

So Jade Price asked a different question:

What’s actually gotten better?

Patty Ruggia talks about the growth of dealership support teams and the increased respect being given to technician education.

Jade shares what she’s seen from more women entering the trade and how social media has created a much bigger community of technicians willing to help, share knowledge, and support each other.

And the conversation eventually comes back to something simple:

Maybe we need to spend a little more time recognizing what’s improving.

What’s the biggest positive change YOU’VE seen in automotive?

Drop it in the comments.

Negative Pushes.

Positive Pulls.

God Bless.

j.

Featuring:

Patty Ruggia

https://www.linkedin.com/in/patty-ruggia-07913863/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/autocanada

Jade Price

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-price-4675016b/

https://www.instagram.com/theautomotivecapture/

https://www.tiktok.com/@theautomotivecapture

Hosted by Joshua Taylor

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Earned Influence

00:50 What’s Getting Better?

01:29 Better Dealership Support

03:36 Supporting Technician Education

06:25 More Women in Automotive

07:26 Mechanics Helping Mechanics

08:40 Looking for the Positive

11:14 Change Your Mindset

11:53 Final Thoughts

Being the best technician in the shop doesn't automatically make someone ready to lead it. But across the "we fix things" industries, that's often exactly how shop foremen are chosen.

They're great diagnosticians. They're productive. They're experienced. They know the vehicles. Then one day they're responsible for leading people.

In this episode of Earned Influence, Patty Ruggia, Jade Price, and Joshua Taylor dig into what actually separates a technically capable shop foreman from an effective leader.

We talk about why communication matters just as much as diagnostic ability, why empathy should be treated as an operational tool, how trust is earned through action, the importance of one-on-one conversations, and why the difference between saying “my team” and “our team” might matter more than you think.

Jade also shares a personal example of what happened when a leader took the time to listen, understand what she was dealing with, and create an environment where the rest of the shop supported her too.

The question isn't whether your shop foreman can fix the hardest car in the building.

It's whether anyone ever taught them how to lead the people fixing them.

This is Earned Influence on The Wrench Turners Podcast.

Send this episode to a service manager, shop foremen, advisor, technician, or fixed-operations leader who wants their departments to work better together.

Negative pushes.

Positive pulls.

God Bless

j.

Featuring:

Patty Ruggia

https://www.linkedin.com/in/patty-ruggia-07913863/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/autocanada

Jade Price

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-price-4675016b/

https://www.instagram.com/theautomotivecapture/

https://www.tiktok.com/@theautomotivecapture

Hosted by Joshua Taylor

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Chapters

00:00 Earned Influence

01:11 Are Soft Skills Operational Tools?

03:49 You Can't Checklist Leadership

06:55 Trust Is Earned Through Action

09:12 Leaders Have to Listen

12:43 Why Foremen Get Promoted

16:20 Communication Reveals Priorities

19:04 “My Team” vs “Our Team”

21:06 The Words Leaders Use

23:31 Humans Are Complicated

24:41 Teaching Foremen to Lead

26:15 Are We Training Leaders?

Dealerships have added BDCs, technician videos, digital inspections, AI, warranty processes, new software, and more administrative responsibilities.

So why does the customer experience often feel the same—or even worse?

In this Ten Mil Mastery conversation, Marshall, Josh Arnold, Brent Osmond, and Joshua Taylor compare automotive and heavy-duty service departments, examine how the service advisor role has changed, and discuss the administrative work increasingly being pushed onto technicians.

The problem may not be the technology itself.

The problem is adding tools without delivering the training, expectations, leadership, and measurement required to use them successfully.

The practical takeaway for dealers is straightforward:

Map every task your advisors and technicians perform.

Separate customer relationship work from purely administrative work.

Train each process clearly.

Measure whether the process improves communication, productivity, customer satisfaction, and profitability.

Every new tool should make it easier for your people to care for the customer. It shouldn’t simply become another task they’re expected to manage.

What’s one process in your store that has become more complicated than it needs to be?

Leave it in the comments and join the conversation.

Subscribe for more conversations about technicians, leadership, fixed operations, and the people responsible for keeping the world moving.

Negative Pushes

Positive Pulls

God Bless

j.

Follow Brent Osmond:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-osmond-7b8302149/

Dynamic Diesel Solutions

https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamic-diesel-solutions-canada/posts/?feedView=all

Follow Marshall Sheldon

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshall-sheldon-981349176/

Briggs Industrial Solutions

https://www.linkedin.com/company/briggs-industrial-solutions/

Follow Josh Arnold

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-arnold-%F0%9F%A7%B0-aa249b349/

Continental Automotive Group

https://www.linkedin.com/company/continentalautomotivegroup

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

0:00 The advisor role changes

3:34 Should administration be separated?

5:22 More tools, worse results

6:23 Has service gone backwards?

6:55 Automotive versus heavy duty

7:37 The service mindset

8:58 Why customer trust matters

10:21 How dealers can improve

Attilio Guidetti has gone from automotive school and race-team work in Bologna to leading Ducati service operations across 15 Asia-Pacific markets. Along the way, he’s worked as a technician, service advisor, international trainer, business owner, and aftersales leader.

In this episode, we discuss why skilled technicians can still struggle inside poorly managed shops, why customer experience and profitability must work together, and why service improvement has to begin with ownership, leadership, clear expectations, and meaningful KPIs.

Attilio also shares how he learned English in three months to earn an international training opportunity, why technicians should begin developing for their next role before they feel ready, and what it actually takes to move from the workshop into management.

This conversation is for technicians, foremen, service advisors, service managers, fixed operations leaders, and shop owners who want to build stronger careers, teams, and businesses.

Subscribe to the Wrench Turners Podcast for conversations designed to help technicians live happier, healthier, more productive lives.

Negative Pushes.

Positive Pulls.

God Bless.

j.

Follow Attilio

https://www.linkedin.com/in/service-manager/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

00:35 The Crash That Started Everything

09:41 Racing Teams And Service

14:44 Learning English In Three Months

22:47 Building Businesses Worldwide

24:35 Joining Ducati Across Asia

33:45 Customer Satisfaction Is A Tool

38:42 Leadership Starts At The Top

47:59 Begin Before You Are Ready

52:48 Final Thoughts

Your customer doesn’t experience your dealership as service, parts, sales, and BDC.They experience one dealership.When an appointment is mishandled, a call isn’t returned, a part update never arrives, or departments blame one another, the customer doesn’t care which team caused the problem. They only know the dealership failed to solve it.In the season finale of Earned Influence Season 3, Mindy Williams, Kaylee Felio, Wendy Reeves, and Joshua Taylor discuss how service, parts, and the BDC can stop working in silos and start winning together.Wendy explains why dealerships are underusing their BDC teams. Beyond setting appointments, the BDC can support advisor overflow, missed calls, special-order parts updates, recall communication, customer retention, and relationship building.Kaylee discusses the importance of understanding the person behind the department. The parts employee who appears difficult may be managing technicians, advisors, warranty claims, inventory, and customer requests simultaneously. Sometimes the most useful question is simply, “Are you okay, and how can I help?”Mindy brings the conversation together with one clear message:“Just seeing each other as a whole rather than breaking it up into departments.”This episode covers departmental silos, internal communication, BDC utilization, employee workload, customer follow-up, cross-department relationships, and why every dealership must organize around the customer instead of its org chart.Send this episode to a service manager, parts manager, BDC manager, advisor, technician, or fixed-operations leader who wants their departments to work better together.Negative pushes. Positive pulls.God Blessj.Featuring:Wendy Reeves of BDC Angelshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-reeves/https://www.linkedin.com/company/bdcangels/Mindy Williams of Carter Myers Automotivehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mindy-williams-700b791b7/https://www.linkedin.com/company/carter-myers-automotive/Kaylee Felio of PartsEdgehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleefelio/https://www.linkedin.com/company/partsedge-inc-/Hosted by Joshua TaylorListen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45ebInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/⚠️ Disclaimer:I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.Chapters00:00 Why Departments Become Silos02:18 BDC as the Glue03:14 Parts Communication Gaps03:56 Service Call Overflow05:11 Help Us Help You06:54 Helping Departments Win07:21 See the Human09:18 The Cost of Silos

Who loses if you don’t win?

That question changed how Mindy Williams thinks about leadership, responsibility, and every decision she makes. Because when a leader isn’t performing at the level their people need, the consequences rarely stop with the leader.

Employees can lose. Customers can lose. Families can lose. The business can lose. In this episode of Earned Influence Season 3, Mindy, Wendy Reeves, Kaylee Felio, and Joshua Taylor discuss the questions that changed how they lead.

Wendy explains why giving instructions isn’t enough. Leaders must verify that people actually understand what was communicated, give them opportunities to apply it, and avoid overwhelming them with information they can’t yet use.

Kaylee discusses the courage required to lead up, clearly communicate what needs to change, and move leadership conversations beyond repeatedly discussing the same problems.

The conversation also explores why leaders must see the person behind the employee, why generic questions create generic answers, and how specific follow-up questions prove that you were actually paying attention.

Good leaders don’t just provide answers.

They ask questions that create understanding, uncover what their people need, and turn conversation into action.

So, before your next important leadership decision, ask yourself:

Who loses if you don’t win?

Subscribe to The Wrench Turners Podcast and share this episode with someone responsible for leading people, whether leadership appears in their job title or not.

Negative pushes.

Positive pulls.

God Bless

j.

Featuring:

Wendy Reeves of BDC Angels

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-reeves/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bdcangels/

Mindy Williams of Carter Myers Automotive

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindy-williams-700b791b7/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/carter-myers-automotive/

Kaylee Felio of PartsEdge

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleefelio/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/partsedge-inc-/

Hosted by Joshua Taylor

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Chapters

00:00 Earned Influence Returns

00:36 A Leadership Question

00:56 Verify Understanding

04:06 Listening Isn’t Enough

05:48 Learning to Lead Up

07:17 Turn Talk Into Action

11:07 Who Loses?

13:11 See Your People

14:18 Ask Specific Questions

15:27 Questions Build Trust

Parts can make or break the rhythm of a service department.

In this episode of The Wrench Turners Podcast, Shawn Parrett joins me to talk about the real life of the parts counter, how parts leaders support technicians, and why communication between parts, advisors, and the shop matters more than most dealerships admit.

Shawn has nearly 30 years in automotive parts, from wholesale parts to parts manager, and he brings a direct message for technicians, advisors, parts people, and fixed ops leaders:

Always have an answer.

We talk about obsolescence, lost sales, inventory decisions, technician trust, service advisor communication, leadership, humility, consistency, and why the best parts departments remove friction instead of creating it.

This episode is for anyone in dealership fixed operations who wants the shop, parts counter, and service drive to work better together. Shawn explains how a strong parts department helps technicians stay moving, helps advisors sell with confidence, and helps the dealership win.

Negative Pushes

Positive Pulls

God Bless

j.

Follow Shawn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-parrett-48390b79/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

0:00 Meet Shawn Parrett

1:52 Getting Started in Automotive Parts

7:00 Humility, Drive, and Consistency

11:38 Learning Through the 2008 Recession

21:11 What Technicians Need to Know About Parts

27:46 How Parts Managers Think About Inventory

32:17 Training Green Parts People the Right Way

37:28 The Best Parts People Always Have an Answer

40:59 How Parts Helps Service Sell More Work

42:26 Shawn’s Advice for Technicians

AI can improve your writing, organize your thoughts, analyze reports, and remove hours of repetitive work.

But what happens when everyone starts sounding the same?

In Season 3, Episode 1 of Earned Influence, Wendy Reeves, Mindy Williams, Kaylee Felio, and Joshua Taylor discuss how leaders can use AI without losing their authenticity, judgment, privacy, or connection with the people they serve.

Kaylee explains why she stepped away from social media after AI-assisted content started feeling too polished and predictable. Mindy shares how she uses AI for training, reporting, KPIs, and customer follow-up while making sure the final message still sounds like her. Wendy breaks down practical dealership applications, including BDC coaching, performance reporting, data analysis, and the risks of employees entering dealership or customer information into unsecured tools.

The conversation also explores how AI can reduce administrative work, summarize overloaded inboxes, improve leadership preparation, and help technicians turn frustrating processes into prototypes that management and engineering can understand.

AI should eliminate repetition, not responsibility.

It should help organize your thoughts, not manufacture your beliefs.

And it should make you more capable without slowly teaching you to sound like everyone else.

Negative pushes.

Positive pulls.

God Bless

j.

Featuring:

Wendy Reeves of BDC Angels

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-reeves/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/bdcangels/

Mindy Williams of Carter Myers Automotive

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindy-williams-700b791b7/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/carter-myers-automotive/

Kaylee Felio of PartsEdge

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleefelio/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/partsedge-inc-/

Hosted by Joshua Taylor

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Chapters

00:00 Earned Influence Returns

00:53 Why Kaylee Stopped Posting

02:41 Using AI Authentically

03:36 AI Inside the Shop

05:11 Humanity Builds Trust

06:47 Wendy’s AI Workflow

09:30 Dealership AI Integration

11:51 Writing With Less

13:55 Automating Daily Work

15:26 AI Creates Opportunity

The parts department is expected to identify the right components, manage inventory, prevent obsolescence, handle warranty returns, navigate supply chains, source emergency parts, and keep technicians productive.

Yet in many dealerships, parts people are still treated like an afterthought.

Marshall, Brent Osmond, and Josh Arnold discuss what changes when parts becomes a recognized skilled trade rather than a position people are expected to learn through trial and error.

Brent explains how Canada’s Parts Technician apprenticeship can include component identification, engines, transmissions, hydraulic systems, inventory control, logistics, customs documentation, customer communication, and Red Seal certification.

The conversation then moves into the larger dealership problem: inconsistent training, limited mentorship, low professional recognition, and compensation that may not attract or retain highly capable people.

A great parts person can understand what a technician is asking for, recognize related service information, anticipate required bolts and consumables, reduce mistakes, and prevent unnecessary downtime.

The question is not whether parts people affect the repair process. They clearly do.

The question is whether dealerships are willing to train and treat them accordingly.

Subscribe for more conversations about technicians, dealership operations, leadership, training, and the people responsible for keeping the industry moving.

Negative Pushes

Positive Pulls

God Bless

j.

Follow Brent Osmond:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-osmond-7b8302149/

Dynamic Diesel Solutions

https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamic-diesel-solutions-canada/posts/?feedView=all

Follow Marshall Sheldon

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshall-sheldon-981349176/

Briggs Industrial Solutions

https://www.linkedin.com/company/briggs-industrial-solutions/

Follow Josh Arnold

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-arnold-%F0%9F%A7%B0-aa249b349/

Continental Automotive Group

https://www.linkedin.com/company/continentalautomotivegroup

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

Chapters

00:00 The Parts Credentialing Debate

02:18 Inside Red Seal Training

03:44 Inventory and Obsolescence

04:30 Emergency Parts Logistics

05:58 Great Parts People

08:36 Certification, Talent, and Pay

11:11 The Missing Apprenticeship

13:03 Parts Pay Versus Technicians

In this special panel episode of Wrench Turners Podcast, we sit down with Dale Pettigrew and Nicholas Martin, two former technicians who moved into OEM technical support, to talk about what actually makes a support case easier or harder to solve.

This conversation gets into the stuff technicians deal with every day: vague repair orders, skipped diagnostic steps, intermittent concerns, “no fault found” visits, missing values, customer descriptions, communication gaps, and the pressure to fix complex problems quickly.

Dale and Nicholas explain why “all good” isn’t good enough, why exact numbers matter, why documentation can protect you years later, and why tech support isn’t there to fix the car for you. They’re there to help you build the process, ask better questions, and become stronger at diagnosing the hard stuff.

This one is for technicians, advisors, shop foremen, service managers, warranty admins, and anyone who wants to understand how to get better answers from technical support.

Negative Pushes.

Positive Pulls.

God Bless

j.

Featuring:

Dale Pettigrew

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dale-pettigrew-1532165a/

Nicholas Martin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-martin-3779b4249/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

What if you’re not stuck because you lack talent, ambition, or discipline?

What if you’re surrounded by people who cannot help you become the person you’re trying to become?

In the final episode of Earned Influence Season 2, Kathleen Long, Kelli Verdi, and Kaylee Felio share the hurdles that forced them to rethink their careers, environments, health, relationships, and definitions of success.

Kathleen explains how an outside coach and a new peer group helped her understand what she needed to change to move from the VP level into the C-suite.

Kelli discusses the importance of finding leadership that recognizes the value of having several connected skills instead of forcing someone into a narrowly defined role.

Kaylee shares why achieving her professional goals still left her questioning what came next, and how focusing on her health, children, family, and personal development became part of reaching the next level.

Joshua also shares how losing his clients and career direction during the beginning of COVID humbled him, brought him back to his faith, and helped him build a life centred around purpose, family, friendship, and service.

Sometimes you don't need to work harder.

Sometimes you need a different perspective, a healthier environment, and people who will challenge, support, and trust you.

That's Earned Influence.

Earned Influence is a roundtable series featuring women leaders in service who have earned trust the hard way through their character, actions, relationships, and results.

Subscribe for more conversations about leadership, trust, service, communication, and the people working inside the automotive industry and skilled trades.

Negative pushes.

Positive pulls.

God Bless.

j.

Featuring:

Kelli Verdi of Team MXS

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelliverdi/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/team-mxs

Kathleen Long of RepairPal//Yelp

https://www.linkedin.com/in/longkathleen/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/yelp-com/

Kaylee Felio of PartsEdge

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleefelio/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/partsedge-inc-/

Hosted by Joshua Taylor

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

Chapters

00:00 Perspective Changes Everything

01:22 Reaching the C-Suite

04:07 Finding the Right Environment

07:45 Kaylee’s Current Hurdle

10:18 Boring Things Create Results

11:48 The People Around You

12:18 Humbled by COVID

14:23 What Earned Influence Means

What happens when showing up online begins taking more from you than it gives back?

In Episode 3 of Earned Influence Season 2, Kaylee Felio opens an honest conversation about social media burnout. After years of consistently sharing her career, podcast, and life online, she’s reached a point where she has to ask: What am I doing, and do I still want to do it?

Kathleen Long and Kelli Verdi join Kaylee and Joshua Taylor for a candid discussion about the pressure to remain consistent, the hidden workload behind content creation, and the fear of building something you may eventually want to leave.

The conversation also explores why taking care of yourself is an act of generosity, how curiosity can restore creativity, and why your work doesn’t have to become your entire identity.

Then the discussion turns practical: capturing the conversations you’re already having, creating content without constantly manufacturing topics, and showing people what actually happens inside your business.

Because people don’t build trust by seeing only what you want them to see.

They build trust by seeing what you live.

Earned Influence is a Wrench Turners Podcast series featuring honest conversations with leaders who have earned the trust required to influence what happens next.

Subscribe for more conversations about leadership, trust, service, communication, and the people working inside the automotive industry and skilled trades.

Negative pushes.

Positive pulls.

God Bless.

j.

Featuring:

Kelli Verdi of Team MXS

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelliverdi/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/team-mxs

Kathleen Long of RepairPal//Yelp

https://www.linkedin.com/in/longkathleen/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/yelp-com/

Kaylee Felio of PartsEdge

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayleefelio/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/partsedge-inc-/

Hosted by Joshua Taylor

Listen to The Wrench Turners Podcast:

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/1ScwRP0DFMtDsp83JxPhPK?si=26aeb4be65da45eb

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mrjoshuataylor/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjtaylor/

⚠️ Disclaimer:

I’m a licensed mechanic. That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing, whether it’s fixing things or filming things. Do your own due diligence.

0:00 Social Media Burnout

0:57 What Matters Most

2:35 Consistency Becomes Pressure

5:03 The Hidden Content Workload

8:16 Give Back To Yourself

11:49 Create From Real Life

18:37 Marketing Without Constant Selling

20:48 Raw Content Builds Trust