Latest / Downshift With Tonnika / ATTENTION: Shop Owners - Buy Back Your Time | Dan Thieken - Ep 24
Transcript
- Dan Thieken [00:00:00]: You should offer tires for two reasons. The first, you shouldn't. You don't. Your customers should never have to go to another shop ever. God forbid there's another shop out there better than you. And there is. If they happen to find that shop because they need tires and you don't offer them, someone else is going to take your cheese. The second reason is I should coin this phrase. Dan Thieken [00:00:18]: Tires are the window to the car's soul. Tonnika Haynes [00:00:21]: Welcome to Downshift with Janica Haynes, the automotive auntie. The thing about Tanika, she gets to know you. She'll laugh and cut up with you, but then she'll hit you with some knowledge that you may not want, but that you need. Let's downshift. Dan Thieken [00:00:41]: I met my brothers in Colorado. I went to the my little apartment I'm sleeping in. Ashley Kaplan [00:00:46]: Cool. Tonnika Haynes [00:00:48]: That's nice. Ashley Kaplan [00:00:48]: I was saying your last name. Thinkin. Rhymes with thinkin. And what's Dan thinkin'? Dan Thieken [00:00:55]: I'm thinkin that you don't know that H is silent or is silent. Tonnika Haynes [00:00:58]: It's Tekin. Dan Tekin. Ashley Kaplan [00:01:00]: Well, there we go. School me right away, Tonnika Haynes [00:01:08]: Dan. Good morning. What time is it? Where you. Wherever you are? Dan Thieken [00:01:12]: 8:30. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:13]: Oh, you just. You chose to hang out with me at 8:30 in the morning on a Friday. That was a choice. Dan Thieken [00:01:18]: I didn't have this trip scheduled when I scheduled this recording with you. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:24]: I was feeling special, so. Damn it. Dan Thieken [00:01:27]: Plus I've been, you know, I came out on the spring forward time change. Plus we're two hours behind out here so I like my sleep's all jacked up anyway. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:39]: All good. Dan Thieken [00:01:40]: Yeah. So I'm gonna like four in the morning out here every day. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:44]: Did you make it a productive 4am wake up to go out and exercise and stretch and do yoga? Dan Thieken [00:01:50]: Maybe. Maybe next week. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:53]: Lion Lies. All lies. Ashley Kaplan [00:01:56]: All right. Tonnika Haynes [00:01:57]: So welcome to Downshift with Tanika. I am your host Tanika and that is Ash. Ashley Kaplan [00:02:03]: Howdy. Tonnika Haynes [00:02:04]: All right Dan, you got to tell everybody in the world who knows, who don't know you, who you are, what you be about. Dan Thieken [00:02:11]: My name is Dan Tekken. I own Craig or Tire and Service in Millersport, Ohio. I've been in this industry since 1996. I started at the current shop I'm at now as a senior in high school and I bought it roughly 2122 years ago. Tonnika Haynes [00:02:30]: I was reading that. I thought that was so awesome. I didn't know that part about you. I didn't know that you were a lube tech and then you flew the coop, then came back home and Bought the coupe. Dan Thieken [00:02:40]: Yeah. I wouldn't even call myself a lube tech. Right. I just. I came in learning tires and sweeping floors and obviously changing oil. But I never really did any mechanical work to speak up brakes and things like that. But it was very limited. I became a tire guru. Dan Thieken [00:02:56]: And then when I got married, my first marriage, just thought we could go out and make more money in a bigger world. And they came back and offered to sell it to me a couple years after I left. So it worked out well. Tonnika Haynes [00:03:11]: I think that's a. That's a beautiful Cinderella story. Dan Thieken [00:03:13]: It's a pretty cool story. If I sit and think about it more, it's. I'm not special, but that's. That's a unique situation. So I'm very blessed that I was able to take part of it. Tonnika Haynes [00:03:26]: That is really cool. Like, what did you go out in the world and do? Did you stay in the industry or did you go different things? Dan Thieken [00:03:32]: Yeah, yeah. So I got a job with, at the time was a Bob Summerall tire. That was a retail and commercial tire business based out of Cincinnati. So they had a Cincinnati market, a Columbus market for the retail. But I ended up in the management there, bouncing around stores, helping different managers out that were like, out for medical leave or whatever the case may be. So. And then I had a clash with the general manager of the Columbus market. So I whistle blew him and I left. Tonnika Haynes [00:04:08]: You got that man fired and then left? Dan Thieken [00:04:11]: I don't know if he got fired immediately. I know he wasn't happy, but he wasn't. Wasn't a good person. Tonnika Haynes [00:04:20]: Call him out, Dan. Call him out. I love it. So you are not a technician that turns shop owner, really? Because you said you were a tire guy, but that's as far as you went. Dan Thieken [00:04:33]: Yeah, I wouldn't call myself a technician any stretch of the imagination. I think it's intriguing. The older I get and the more I grew the business into full service, I had to help find information for technicians that really weren't good enough to do the work I was bringing in. And over the last, I'd say seven to eight years, the technical side of the repair is very intriguing to me. Like, if I could go back and do it all over again, I would probably become a technician and be. Hopefully be really good at diagnostic work. I think it's intriguing. Tonnika Haynes [00:05:14]: So, like, did you think. So you did this out of high school? Did you love cars or you just needed a job and that's how you ended up there? Dan Thieken [00:05:22]: Like, I was. I was not a car guy. I Always knew I wanted to own a business though. I loved, I've always loved people, generally speaking. I always thought I'd own a restaurant or a bar, to be honest with you. But it just landed in the automotive industry. So here we are. Ashley Kaplan [00:05:42]: I think sometimes we are like bartenders. Tonnika Haynes [00:05:45]: Well, they say bartenders make the best, like really good service advisors and stuff. It's like people that you have to love people and you have to love like service and serving others. Dan Thieken [00:05:55]: I could believe that. Tonnika Haynes [00:05:56]: Yeah, I believe that. Because if I didn't do what I did, like, okay, no, I'm not going to tell my secret. I think I may have already told it on another podcast, but it hasn't been released yet. So if you didn't have this job knowing that you love people and you love service, what would you be doing? Dan Thieken [00:06:14]: I would probably be one of the world's best food servers. Tonnika Haynes [00:06:19]: Yeah, you'd be the guy making like all the tips. Yeah, I know everybody. Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:06:23]: I still joke with my wife now. I'm like, I want to just go be a bartender or serve food because Tonnika Haynes [00:06:28]: dude, I love my bartender. She's amazing. Dan Thieken [00:06:31]: They struggle. I mean, they're at their attitude, a lot of their attitudes struggle, their personalities and they do it for the tips. Right. But the way they behave is counterintuitive to, you know, maximizing their tips. And I'm not saying that you don't deal with. You probably deal with more difficult people in a restaurant setting than you do in our setting. Tonnika Haynes [00:06:52]: If I had to guess, I think so. But it's a different difficulty. I think the people, if you're being mean in a restaurant, you're just a jerk. Like, go cook your at home. But if you're being jerky at our shop, it's probably because they're in a bad situation to begin with and they're mad about the car and they're trying to take it out on you. But how mad can you get about a dang on hamburger, right? I don't know, I probably get pretty mad. Yeah. Cuz you were thinking about that hamburger all day, like, oh, that's gonna eat this. Tonnika Haynes [00:07:23]: It's gonna be right. The pickle's gonna be right. Tomatoes, right? And then. And they put some damn onions on your hamburger and it mess up your whole and you only want it no more. Dan Thieken [00:07:32]: I can imagine that one of my previous employees, years ago, if his lunch order didn't show up the way he ordered it, he wouldn't like take the stuff off that wasn't supposed to be on there. He'd throw it away and he would not reorder. He gets so mad. Oh, my God. Tonnika Haynes [00:07:49]: My dad gets mad about. My dad hates mayonnaise. He hates mayonnaise. And I remember him telling the story that he got mayonnaise on a sandwich at a restaurant. Not a restaurant, just like McDonald's or Wendy's or whatever. And they actually scraped it off the sandwich instead of remaking it. You talking about something to laugh at. To listen to my dad tell that story. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:09]: I'm surprised he didn't get locked up for that. But, yeah, people are crazy. But if I didn't, I don't know, what would I do? I know that if I did not do this, I would have a funeral home. Dan Thieken [00:08:22]: That's a different money and death. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:23]: It's a lot of money and death, and you can't ship it overseas. But when I lost my grandparents, each time it was like, the service is absolutely amazing that you can help people in one of their worst times, you know, one of the most difficult times. Dan Thieken [00:08:39]: That's an interesting perspective. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:41]: So actually, I think that's the reason why I like it. Dan Thieken [00:08:43]: You met Ted, my new manager. You met him at Ratchet. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:46]: I met him at Ratchet and Wrench. Dan Thieken [00:08:48]: His family in West Virginia owns a funeral home in the small town, and they own a lot of other small businesses, but they've had that in their family for years. Tonnika Haynes [00:08:59]: Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:08:59]: And been a. It's been a good business for them. And they're. They're super, super personable. They're extra, extra country nice to you down there. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:07]: So, see, that's what I like. I like to be country nice and like, maybe calls it sticky sweet and good old auntie vibe and. Come here, baby. Give me a hug. Let. Let me help you. Ash, what would you do. What would you do if you had to get a whole another job? Ashley Kaplan [00:09:21]: Yeah, so I've been on both sides. I've been in the restaurant industry. Before this. I would go into medicine. That's what I originally was going to do. Probably animal like that, be a vet or something. Because humans are just humans and they're hard. But I love medicine. Ashley Kaplan [00:09:41]: I love everything. Like, I love fixing problems. And so I think that's another way to, like, fix problems and still help people. Tonnika Haynes [00:09:48]: All right, so Dan is all about service. But tell me more about the not funny on Facebook, Dan, like, you have been doing this for 20 years now. Dan Thieken [00:10:00]: Ownership. Tonnika Haynes [00:10:00]: Yeah, yeah, ownership. So tell me more about that. Dan Thieken [00:10:05]: Well, I think I'm funny all the time, Tanika. Ashley Kaplan [00:10:07]: Thank you. Tonnika Haynes [00:10:08]: Your little Facebook jokes. Funny. Man, I know you're not. Are you the funny man at work? Are you the funny boss? Or do you put the hammer? Dan Thieken [00:10:17]: The older I get, the more stringent I am at work. But I'm not at work anymore. Really. I'm not allowed to be. Tonnika Haynes [00:10:24]: That's a good problem. Dan Thieken [00:10:26]: So I'm balancing, I'm balancing that new facet of my life. But what do you want to know? I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm like, how Tonnika Haynes [00:10:33]: do you, how did you build that before you were able to step away and not be there all the time? Like, how did you build the team? How. How did you do that? Did you take a whole bunch of leadership classes? Is this. It's just in you being a good. Dan Thieken [00:10:49]: Being a good person is innately in everybody. Okay. Leadership classes are very beneficial. I've taken a handful of them. But at the end of the day, you just have to be good to people. You have to be a good listener. You have to think before you speak. And you have to be proactive and not reactive. Dan Thieken [00:11:11]: And those are all things that can be learned, should be learned, if you don't do them naturally already. But as far as how I build the team, I don't know, just people. My guys would recommend someone come to work and, you know, before. What are we in 26? I would say 15. Before 15, we weren't like super. I wasn't super orient focused on doing the proper channels of diagnostic and stuff like that. It was back then we were more of a parts cannon shop. And I say that caveat. Dan Thieken [00:11:51]: We got the problem fixed. The customer didn't pay for our mistakes or the wrong parts. We just still fixed the problem and charged them what we would normally charge them to fix it. Right. The first time. Right. Tonnika Haynes [00:12:05]: Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:12:06]: So it became harder to get the right team in place from on the floor. When we started to want to do more in depth repairs, if you will. Our shop, it does not have the best curb appeal. There's technically no running water in the shop. We have to go next door to the other building on the property. There's no restrooms in my shop. They're next door. My shop is not the most appealing shop to work in. Dan Thieken [00:12:34]: Right. Outside of the culture and just it's very small town. I think the actual town population is around a thousand. Tonnika Haynes [00:12:44]: But really, that's a good town. Has a cool name. Miller Sport is a pretty cool name for town. Dan Thieken [00:12:49]: Yeah, it's right. And it's right on a little, little, little touristy lake. And there's other Communities around it. But my immediate community is small, but it's a lot of population around it. So yeah, building the team, just you get the. You try to get the right people on board. It hasn't been an issue. Typically we have. Dan Thieken [00:13:08]: We had to have a couple higher, slow, fire, fast cases over the last few years. Now, as far as getting the staff in place for me to get out Four years ago, probably right after Covid, because we all saw a fairly big spike in business during and after Covid. I think that's a fair statement. Tonnika Haynes [00:13:30]: Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:13:31]: About four years ago, going into the office started to affect me physically. Within two hours, I would start to feel my heart beating in my chest and I was running the front of the house by myself. So we're doing. Back then, we were doing one point, I don't know, 1.6 million. Four. Four racks. Generally four to five people on the floor. And I was handling everything up front. Dan Thieken [00:13:59]: I couldn't take that anymore. So I started looking, hired a service advisor. That worked out fine until there was some personal stuff and he had to leave. I've been recruiting Ted for effectively seven years. Tonnika Haynes [00:14:14]: Yeah, he told me about that. He really likes working for you. Dan Thieken [00:14:19]: He does. He, he, like it's 10 minutes from his house. It's. It's small town. It's more his people. He's dealt with city people for his entire career. But once that landed, yeah, it's been, it's really been a godsend. And with the service advisor and other people helping me out over the last few years, I've had time away, don't get me wrong. Dan Thieken [00:14:40]: But I'm. I'm effectively not allowed to be there now because as good, as good as friends as Ted and I are, we work together years ago for about a year. That started off real rocky. We were both alpha personalities. His experience is vaster than mine. My experience is pretty vast and very unique for, as he likes to call it, the island that we're on. So we, at the end of the day, we want the same goal. We want to grow, provide the best service for our clients, take care of our employees the best we can. Dan Thieken [00:15:17]: Can. But we have different views on how certain things happen. It can get volatile real quick, Real quick. So I just said, you know what? I think it's best if I just don't come around unless I have to be there. Tonnika Haynes [00:15:31]: Yeah. I mean, if he's getting the results that you want, he's just not doing it in the sequence or the way that you want. Like sometimes let somebody else make the Kool Aid. Dan Thieken [00:15:41]: Oh, 100%. Tonnika Haynes [00:15:42]: Yeah. Though because it was hard for me and my ego to let, to walk away. Dan Thieken [00:15:48]: Well, it wasn't an ego thing for me. It's. I've just, I've groomed that community. Like, I've trained that. Yeah, I've trained that community in every sense of the word. And it's really hard. Think, just think about this. It's really hard for someone to put that much effort into building the business and then effectively just stop coming in because that's what has to happen. Dan Thieken [00:16:14]: That's a lot of trust. Tonnika Haynes [00:16:15]: Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:16:17]: And I'm okay with it. Tonnika Haynes [00:16:19]: But that's. You, you did that though. You did that. You, you found the right people and put, I mean, you built it and you found the right people and now you can just walk away. And I don't, I don't go to work as I haven't been to work as much this month. But usually when I'm there in the back office, I don't go up front as much. When I go up front it's just because I'm bored and I miss them, but they've got it. And so, yeah, it is hard because that's your baby. Tonnika Haynes [00:16:41]: That's. You built it. Dan Thieken [00:16:43]: Yeah. There's going to be, I think there's going to be natural, some natural shrink shrinkage. When you have a new management team come in place and run it and the owner isn't around, there's going to be just some natural decrease. There's going to be some people that just refuse to come in. They don't want to give the new management staff a try. They don't want to not deal with me. So there's going to be some shrinkage. Right. Dan Thieken [00:17:12]: But overall it's going to be fine. I'm not concerned. Tonnika Haynes [00:17:15]: Well, they respect you. I was able to, I think I found that a little bit. But I sent out emails, I made social media posts like, hey, this is part, this is part of the team. This person is my right hand person. This is who I chose. And yeah, I needed it. I remember I was walking out the office actually, I was leaving, coming to Vision, getting ready to go catch a flight and the lady said, hey, Tanique, I remember you used to do all of this. You almost died twice. Tonnika Haynes [00:17:40]: And she had been a customer for 20 years and she was telling the truth because I was, you know, our customers know all our business. Anyway, like, I had some medical issues. She was like, yeah, you almost killed yourself trying to run everything by yourself. Had the shop, three texts, doing everything Going to work at six, going home at nine, forgetting that I had two. Not to forget them because they were there when I got here. But you get so busy trying to build everything. But it's kind of like, like you said, it's your baby and then you have to trust somebody else with it. But if you do a good job in hiring and firing, then it'll work out. Tonnika Haynes [00:18:12]: And then you get to go to your brother's house for a couple weeks and just chill in a bonus house. Dan Thieken [00:18:17]: Well, this was supposed to be a relaxing trip, but the weather. The weather took a turn. Tonnika Haynes [00:18:21]: So was it like right now? Dan Thieken [00:18:24]: Right now it's probably 40. Tonnika Haynes [00:18:27]: Nope. Dan Thieken [00:18:27]: I was supposed to golf all week. I went down and visited. So he's north of Denver. I went down and visited Nathan Bryant and Matt Rder on Tuesday. Spent the day at their shops, then we went to dinner. But yeah, so this, this turned into actually a very emotionally taxing trip because I dove into a project with my brother that he's been working on in the technology field and it's something I've never done before and I've got a crash course and my brain hurts and ouch. I think it'll be, it'll be. It'll be really good stuff. Dan Thieken [00:19:05]: It's going to be across. Across industries type of technology that can be very beneficial to many, many different people. But we'll see where it goes. Tonnika Haynes [00:19:16]: Yeah, I don't like new brain stuff that hurts. Like, I need a new cell phone right now. Not doing it. I'm not learning it. I don't want to. I'm too old for it. Ash is laughing. You keep, keep living. Tonnika Haynes [00:19:29]: Keep living. As soon as you hit about 4950, you're just stupid. It's just like. Ashley Kaplan [00:19:34]: I mean, I'm pretty stupid with technology. I'm not gonna lie. I'm supposed to be like, really good at it and I'm not. Tonnika Haynes [00:19:40]: It's just like. No, what is this? You get kids. That's why you have children, so they can program stuff. That's the only reason. That's all they're good for. That's crazy. So you're down there visiting other shops. You are a good owner. Tonnika Haynes [00:19:56]: You think you should be a coach. You should become. You should turn into a coach. Ashley Kaplan [00:20:02]: Why? Dan Thieken [00:20:04]: I think I would be glad to lend advice to people, which I did this week, actually. Tonnika Haynes [00:20:09]: Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:20:10]: Visiting shops and listen, if someone wants to pay for my flight out somewhere and, and I'll hang out with them for a week, whatever, I don't care. I don't I don't need paid for it. I just. It's everything. This is a slippery slope, Tanika. It's a real slippery slope. I would be. I would be more than happy to help anyone that wanted help. Tonnika Haynes [00:20:34]: You hear that? Dan Thieken [00:20:36]: I don't know. I don't know what the compensation would look like, nor would I particularly want it. Tonnika Haynes [00:20:41]: Well, what you basically said is send him a ticket. Spirit put them in a red roof in. Dan Thieken [00:20:48]: It's got to be a first class ticket somewhere. Tonnika Haynes [00:20:50]: Spirit Airlines, red roof in. They'll leave the light on for you. You'll come in there, change your shot, change your life, whole thing. Dan Thieken [00:20:59]: Yeah, I'm happy to help people. Tonnika Haynes [00:21:03]: But you're young. You're so young and you almost are you. Do you consider yourself retired? Dan Thieken [00:21:09]: I don't know what I consider myself. And that's the problem. I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. Tonnika Haynes [00:21:15]: Me too. That's why I'm sitting here on a DAG on podcast like, the kids are gone. The shop is running itself well. It's running very well. I'm just. What we gonna do, Dan? Dan Thieken [00:21:26]: I don't know. I mean, I still have my role. I still have things I have to do for my company, but they're so minimal. Right. Right now. Tonnika Haynes [00:21:31]: Yeah. I still only trust myself with payroll and accounting and that I do marketing because I get bored, you know, and Dan Thieken [00:21:41]: the marketing and there's other stuff that I've neglected over the years due to time constraints that I'll have to start doing more of. And I've been doing that. But I don't know. Tonnika Haynes [00:21:49]: I don't have a T shirt. I'm kind of. I just thought about that. I don't think I have a T shirt from you. Dan Thieken [00:21:54]: I think I might. What size you want? Large, medium? Tonnika Haynes [00:21:57]: Medium? Medium. Dan Thieken [00:21:59]: I'll have to look. I have a few people that want medium. Ashley Kaplan [00:22:01]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:02]: So you should do better. So tell me about. Okay. So are you basically just a tire business or do you guys. What's your mix? Dan Thieken [00:22:11]: So we're a tire centric business. We were. We used to be. Probably 35% service, 65% tires, and now that's actually swapped, which is where I want it. I want to be a 65, 35 split. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:26]: I'm scared of tires. I'm not scared. I just never saw the profit in it. But now I do because people. Dan Thieken [00:22:34]: That's actually what I want to help people with. If I was going to. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:36]: People tell me they tell lies about the tire because they're like, oh, you don't make any money. Yes. The profit dollar per hour is crazy. You should be Dan a tire coach. Dan Thieken [00:22:48]: Well, I'm. Well I'm doing that breakout class at Tectonic with. Tonnika Haynes [00:22:55]: I'll be there. I signed up yesterday. Dan Thieken [00:22:57]: Yeah. And then I'll be at. We're doing tools, a longer class at Tools. And then if you guys approve that class, we'll do it at ASTA too. You should come into the breakout class in Tectonic. Tonnika Haynes [00:23:10]: Okay. Because yeah, I've learned a little bit. Not as much as I want to because the. That it's a myth that you just don't make money in tires. Like I have a whole new line machine. I got the balancer, I got. I just don't market it at all. Dan Thieken [00:23:24]: Well. So tires. Tonnika Haynes [00:23:25]: Yeah, yeah. Dan Thieken [00:23:26]: Tires can be their own profit center by themselves. Right. Which is great. But fundamentally I don't look at it that way. The gross profit per hour can be really nice. Better than a lot of your service work. But if you offer tire. You should offer tires for two reasons. Dan Thieken [00:23:46]: The first, you shouldn't. You don't. Your customers should never have to go to another shop ever. You don't want that another shop, God forbid there's another shop out there better than you. And there is break it to you. There's a shop out there better than you. If they happen to find that shop because they need tires and you don't offer them, someone else is going to take your cheese. The second reason is I should coin this phrase. Dan Thieken [00:24:14]: Tires are the window to the car's soul. Tonnika Haynes [00:24:19]: Elaborate there, Mr. Daniel. Dan Thieken [00:24:22]: If you, if you offer tires and your business as a destination for tires, you now have free access to look at that vehicle where if you didn't offer tires, you're not going to get that potential customer. The wheels are going to be off for brake inspections. You're going to be up in the air for a front end inspection. You can see the old tire where you have alignment and then whatever else, whatever. It just gives you the opportunity to do your already in place inspection process. It's just, it's just a window to the soul of car, period. Tonnika Haynes [00:24:56]: That sounds so simple. That is crazy that I've never heard it put like that before. Maybe I did and I just ignored it. But you should market. Yeah, market. Coin that right. Do get online and do that right now. Have your brother to help you since you don't like technology. Dan Thieken [00:25:11]: He just. Tonnika Haynes [00:25:12]: But I don't. I mean I don't. Well, I guess I don't have to Worry about selling ties. My newest service advisor came from a tire store. Dan Thieken [00:25:18]: So, dude, you've got the knowledge and it's just like any. It's just like any other car repair that needs done. We're not selling the work. We're just saying, hey, you know, your, your brakes are worn out. If you'd like to have them done, here's the price. Hey, your tires are worn down to 3:30 seconds. And you need an alignment due to the tire wear. We have that option. Dan Thieken [00:25:38]: Here's the pricing. What kind of tires are you looking for? It's. We got to take it. So many people in this industry have that mindset of we gotta sell work. It's not selling. You just didn't. I think I saw. I think I heard Ashley say something on one of the other episodes about. Dan Thieken [00:25:52]: We're just advising. We're just advising. If you want to turn it into a sales pitch, then you're going to be. Don't turn it into a sales pitch. Yeah, that's just how I. That's how I operate now. Some people are successful with sales pitch type stuff. I get it. Dan Thieken [00:26:06]: But yeah, a lot of people want Tonnika Haynes [00:26:09]: you to have a script. I don't like scripts other than answering the phone. And I really don't like that to be scripted. I want you to say certain things, make certain points, but scripts sound scripted. Dan Thieken [00:26:20]: Yeah, it's all. And, And I said it before. And everyone else says this too. It's. It's. This isn't about the cars. It's about people just say, hey, Mrs. Smith, this is what you have going on your vehicle. Dan Thieken [00:26:29]: You tell me what you want me to help you with and I'll get you prices and we'll go from there. It's not, it's not. You come in and here's $6,000 worth of stuff that needs to be done. Tonnika Haynes [00:26:42]: Take it or leave it. Dan Thieken [00:26:43]: Yeah, that's not how. Yeah. All right, next. Ashley Kaplan [00:26:47]: Have you. Tonnika Haynes [00:26:48]: Yeah, yeah. You got kind of aggravated with that because it seems like you've heard that from a coaching company or two. Like some coaching companies will tell you to throw the kitchen sink in them or whatever, but you'll just end up losing the customer if you don't make that connection, see what they really need and go from there. What were you going to say, Ash? Ashley Kaplan [00:27:08]: I was just saying it's a fair thing to be frustrated about. Tonnika Haynes [00:27:10]: Yeah. Ashley Kaplan [00:27:11]: Especially if you're in a small community or just a community centric shop anyways. Like going after it as a sales pitch is the wrong way for you for that type of shop. Tonnika Haynes [00:27:22]: Yeah. Ashley Kaplan [00:27:22]: It is a relationship. And you can kitchen sink it if you have a relationship, because it's not, hey, let me see if I can get ten grand out of this person. It's, hey, we need to talk about the condition of your car and where you want to take this. Dan Thieken [00:27:35]: Exactly. And I don't. I've never worked with a coach directly, nor will I probably ever. But you hear it indirectly through all these groups. Right. And you can have a transactional business. You really can. Tonnika Haynes [00:27:51]: I know some. Dan Thieken [00:27:51]: If it's designed around relationships. Okay. So relationships are still key. Ashley Kaplan [00:27:58]: Yeah. I agree. Dan Thieken [00:28:00]: You treat the people are key. If, if, if, if I, if I took my shop and put it in the big city with my personality and went and ran it myself, I don't know, I don't know what would stop me from like owning the whole city. Because the type of service they get in the city is different than where they get in my shop. Ashley Kaplan [00:28:19]: Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:28:20]: It's like if anyone comes in, it's like their family. I talk to them like family or an old long lost friend. And that, that's worth its weight in gold. Tonnika Haynes [00:28:28]: Yeah. Ashley Kaplan [00:28:29]: I'm with you, Dan. Tonnika Haynes [00:28:31]: So you say you've never had a coach, you never had a coaching company. You never dealt those things? No. Why? Dan Thieken [00:28:37]: And we've, we talked about this on. Briefly. We touched on this. The original confessions of a shop owner meet and greet. It was you, Brian, Lola and Mike. We talked about this. Well, I think everything that we need to know is already out there right in our networks. Tonnika Haynes [00:29:03]: That's a lot of. Yeah, we're leveling. That's a lot of free stuff. Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:29:06]: The only thing that I think coaching can bring to the table is a form of accountability from them actually directly reaching out to you. Plus financial accountability. Hey, you owe us money every month. Right. So that's an accountability factor. Tonnika Haynes [00:29:27]: You're, you're smart. You're a smart man, Dan. Some people. Yeah. I'm not saying hold their hands. Dan Thieken [00:29:34]: Yeah. And I'm not saying it's not for everybody. Right. There's some people out there that need it. But yeah, yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:29:42]: It's not for you. Dan Thieken [00:29:44]: I don't think so. Never been. Tonnika Haynes [00:29:47]: Oh. Because I, I enjoyed my coaching experiences, but I knew when it was time to walk away. Also, you don't want to pay for somebody to hold your hands and just be your friends. Get all the information I can get and leave. Dan Thieken [00:29:59]: And I know of a certain real time scenario. Someone's working with a coach. The shop owner knows that he's gotten the most out of it, I assume. I'm pretty certain the coach knows that he's gotten the most out of it. But there's no conversations from the coach to say, hey, this might have run its course. Maybe we should stop. And I definitely think there is some form of responsibility that needs to be laid on the coach's shoulders to one, fire the shop owner if they're not sticking to the plan, and two, if they do see that the it's maximized its return on investment, we should end our relationship. That's the only ethical and fair thing to do. Tonnika Haynes [00:30:43]: I definitely believe in that. I believe in that with anything. Relationships, employees. Also like Ashno. My dad tells the story why he had to fire Curly because he thought he was holding him hostage. He wasn't able to grow because our shot was too small, our collision shot was too small. He thought he deserved to go to bigger and better places and learn all the things that he should learn. So I agree with that. Tonnika Haynes [00:31:04]: I've seen that situation. I've asked a coach that question, like, when do you know when it's time to let him go? And what kind of person would sit there and keep taking the money for a shop that once that's not performing are not doing the work? You know, you're telling them, do this, do that, do that, and they're not doing anything. They're just using that hour session as a crying and whining and the bitching and moaning session instead of actually doing the work. Because that's going to make the coaching company look bad either way. If it's out. If I found that out, I was like, ooh, that's messed up. Why would you do that? Dan Thieken [00:31:35]: So, yeah, and I find the most value for me, like, when we go, when I go to these expos, I'll sit down. I typically always sign up for an institute class or two or whatever, the. Whatever is on the docket out there that keeps the numbers and stuff fresh in my head. That's probably where I'm most comfortable doing that type of thing. And a lot of shop owners could benefit from that. But yeah, like you said, some people just need help and if they need to have like a onboarding and kind of just go through all your financials and see how your operations are running and that's. That's different, I guess. Tonnika Haynes [00:32:10]: But, you know, so, like, what kind of advice would you give, like a young person that was in your shoes or in your boots that long ago if you had to start all over, what would you Tell young Dan about getting into this business. Like you said, you haven't had a Dan Thieken [00:32:26]: coach, but my replacement now train your replacement now. Find someone that can run your operation 90% with 90% efficiently. In the event you can't be there, medical reasons, whatever the case may be, you have to hire, hire and train your right hand man. That's the first thing I would say. And then everyone's, you know, everyone's going to say charge, you know, determine your labor rate right where you need that to be to be profitable and take care of your staff and your clients and offer a good warranty. But honestly, yeah, get your, get your shadow in there, Train your, train your counterpart, your equal, if you will, immediately. When, when it's financially possible. Tonnika Haynes [00:33:12]: What kind of advice would you give them about the personal side? Like how running a shop can take over your life and your health and all of those things. Like, Dan Thieken [00:33:21]: well, for me, being where my shop was, it was very personal. And I think I said this on another podcast if, or maybe a Facebook video. If this is a person business, like I mentioned, it's very personal, it's emotional. If it doesn't hit you that way, in my opinion, at least from my perspective, where my shop is, and you don't show empathy, have empathy and truly don't care, I don't think you should be in this industry. For the longest time, I didn't compare. I didn't separate work from personal. All my clients were practically, like I said, I treat them like friends and family. It was just that kind of a connection. Tonnika Haynes [00:34:09]: So, yeah, you're lucky because it's a small town, you can do that. But if I try to do that, even in Chapel Hill, which is a small town, I'd go crazy because I had to stop. I'm so glad I don't live, I live this next city over because people, some people will take advantage. But your population is like two and everybody's everybody's friend. And that's unusual. But if you try to do that, you should do that in a bigger city. Have the personality, be that person in the neighborhood, help your community. But if you don't cut it off, people will. Dan Thieken [00:34:43]: Oh yeah, they're definitely. Tonnika Haynes [00:34:45]: Yeah. Dan Thieken [00:34:46]: I actually had to put an auto reply on my cell phone last year after Ted hired to transition and because I would say 100% of my agricultural customers have my cell phone. Several of my retail customers have my cell phone and I can still respond to them if they're some of the really, really good ones. No, I hear what you're saying, and my perspective, I know it's unique and it's, it's small, which is beautiful, as Ted points out to me all the time. But I, I, I genuinely think my view on how you treat people, it transcends really kind of any market. And it's not, it's, this theory's been around since the Bible. Right. Tonnika Haynes [00:35:31]: Treat others like as you want to be treated. Ashley Kaplan [00:35:34]: Right. Dan Thieken [00:35:35]: So yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:35:39]: But yeah, everybody can't be as cool as you. Dan Thieken [00:35:42]: I'm not cool, damn it. Tonnika Haynes [00:35:44]: You are cool. You're cool, man. I like, I really, I don't know, I think you're like so cool. I like watching your interactions with people on social media. You're like a cool uncle. Dan Thieken [00:35:56]: It's fun. Tonnika Haynes [00:35:58]: You're a cool uncle. That's what, that's what it's, that's what it's like. That's how it comes off. Dan Thieken [00:36:02]: Babies at home too. So I'm a cool dad too. Tonnika Haynes [00:36:05]: You've got babies. How old are you? Dan Thieken [00:36:07]: Nine, nine, seven and five. Tonnika Haynes [00:36:09]: Blows my mind. Like, I just assume Everybody's kids are 20 because minor kids are 20. Dan Thieken [00:36:13]: Well, I have a 19 and an 18 year old as well, but my littles are at home. Tonnika Haynes [00:36:17]: My mama did that. I'm 49 and I have a 23 year old sister. That's crazy. And it's five of us. Yeah. So you are, you stay at home. Your stay at home dad because you're not working in the shop. How did you, what is your involvement with your kids now? The littles versus the 19 year old. Tonnika Haynes [00:36:43]: Because in the 19 year old you were in the shop a lot. Dan Thieken [00:36:47]: The 19 and 18 year old, they live with their mom. Tonnika Haynes [00:36:50]: Okay. Dan Thieken [00:36:51]: My first marriage and they're, they do their own thing. My son Luke comes to me when he wants money and Reese comes to me when she needs her car fixed. So I don't see them a bunch because they have their own lives. They're busy. Yeah, very busy kids. As far as the stay at home feature, what's interesting is I finally convinced my wife to stay home. I've been begging her for three years to stay home. And last, last April, right before Ted started, she, she agreed to that. Dan Thieken [00:37:21]: And then we didn't know I would be home like I am now. So that's, that's a fun dynamic. My wife and I are now home together during the day. And you have two people that have worked full time, effectively not working anymore, Tonnika Haynes [00:37:37]: sitting there looking at, we're like, we're Dan Thieken [00:37:39]: like in this empty void. What are we supposed to do? We're not cleaning the house because we don't feel like it. We just. It's. It's a really weird dynamic. So weird. Tonnika Haynes [00:37:49]: But that, that is really weird at such a young age. Like usually people working 65, 70 about to fall apart. You did. Look what you did, Dan. And then you probably don't know that you're probably. You both are probably better parents that you have that time to be there with the kids whether you want to or not. But I can't imagine the mom I could. I would be if my kids were young now. Tonnika Haynes [00:38:12]: Like they spent a lot of time at the shop and I'm pretty sure they don't have any grass. I don't. I spent all the time at. With my father at the shop, Son up, sun down. And there are lessons to be learned there. But I can't imagine what kind of mom I would have been if I could pick them up from school every day and all those things and sit there and just. That's. Wait a minute. Tonnika Haynes [00:38:31]: That's a lot of time. Dan Thieken [00:38:33]: I get to take my little one to preschool. Little redhead Marin, she goes to preschool. I take her most mornings. And that's. That's the highlight of my day. Tonnika Haynes [00:38:40]: That's so wonderful. A lot of shop owners don't get to say that. Dan Thieken [00:38:45]: They don't. Tonnika Haynes [00:38:45]: But yeah, you. But like you said, you have to hire that right hand person. You've got to buy back your time because you're business owners and you're not supposed to sit there and let the business run you. But you got to get to that point too. A lot of people don't know how to get to that point because they don't take the steps early. Early on. Dan Thieken [00:39:00]: Well, yeah. And that brings up another point. I think we have to be careful. The shop owners especially, and I'll probably ruffle feathers here, but if you're, if you're only a few years into shop ownership, your focus shouldn't. On your focus should not becoming an absentee owner immediately. Tonnika Haynes [00:39:19]: Absolutely. That's what I'm talking about, Dan. I truly believe that. Dan Thieken [00:39:23]: Yeah. It's not how it should work. I mean, you got to put in your time and you got to do it. Not, not that you're. Not that you're not allowed to be an absentee owner. But the only way you're going to be an absentee owner is if you devote time to build a successful business and that requires you on site to do it. Tonnika Haynes [00:39:41]: I think when they hear work on your business and not in your business that they Take it too seriously. Like, no, at this stage you have to do both, dear. Yeah, you have to do both. You can't, you can't just go open the shop and then say, I'm clocking out at 5. I'm clocking out at 5:30. Yeah, that ain't gonna work. Dan Thieken [00:39:57]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:39:57]: So I think, yeah, the coaching companies preach that, which is for me, that's where I am now. But it took 10 years to get there. Well, seven, eight. Dan Thieken [00:40:08]: Yeah, just take your, put in your time, build your business. If, if the American way has changed so much that our goal and a blue collar society is to not work and be wealthy. I don't know. I don't know where that disconnect started happening. Tonnika Haynes [00:40:27]: I don't, I think after Covid people, I don't know, I think it's post Covid people thinking like, oh, I could just sit at home. I was working at home. I want to be at home. Where you going? How you going to get your money? I don't know. But I should be able to do it all from home. Dan Thieken [00:40:43]: I quit. Tonnika Haynes [00:40:43]: I quit. Ashley Kaplan [00:40:45]: I'm in the wrong conversation. Tonnika Haynes [00:40:48]: Well, yeah, well, she knows the shop Ashley Kaplan [00:40:50]: for 10 years to now, being at home. Tonnika Haynes [00:40:53]: Well, you're starting a business. You're. You're in a different spot. And I fuss at her all the time about it too. About. Ashley Kaplan [00:40:59]: Yeah, I'm learning these. Tonnika Haynes [00:41:00]: You're gonna work 12, 15 hours a day. Ashley Kaplan [00:41:03]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:41:03]: And then you're gonna work 10, 12 hours a day. Then you're gonna work six to eight hours a day. And then you might work it, you might not. You're not gonna go on vacation for a year. You're not gonna go on vacation for maybe two years. Ashley Kaplan [00:41:17]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:41:17]: You're gonna miss a couple games and you're gonna be tired and you're gonna eat baloney with a dirty mechanic's hands and you're gonna cry and you're gonna pray and you're gonna get up and you're gonna do it again tomorrow. And. But you got to keep going forward. It's not like magic. There's no microwave. And so I think people look at different shop owners on social media and then they listen to comments in ASOG and changing industry and they, they go and ask questions just so people can answer them the way that they want to be heard to validate what they're thinking. Like, no, that's stupid. You just didn't put in the work. Tonnika Haynes [00:41:50]: So, yeah, it's going to come, but it's not instant. It's not guaranteed on how quickly it's going to come. Dan Thieken [00:41:56]: Yeah, everything. And I want to be clear. My goal was not to become an absentee owner. Tonnika Haynes [00:42:02]: You got kicked out of your shop. Dan Thieken [00:42:03]: I mean, I, I wasn't. I, I didn't. I didn't plan on being this disattached from my shop for another seven or eight years. Tonnika Haynes [00:42:10]: Yeah. I think I want it to be out by 55, but it works better. It does work better when I'm not there. Dan Thieken [00:42:20]: Why is that? Tonnika Haynes [00:42:20]: Well, because it's our baby and we need to let it walk. It's like making up your child's bed every morning. He's like, cause, oh, never mind. Yeah, the first time he made it up, he made it up terribly. The second time he made it up terribly. And then as a mom, you want to go in and just make up the bed and get it over with. We want to micromanage and do all those things. And if we keep micromanaging, they're not going to learn from their mistakes. Tonnika Haynes [00:42:44]: So. Because we hold it up. Ashley Kaplan [00:42:45]: I'm so guilty of that. Tonnika Haynes [00:42:46]: Yeah. Because we close. Hold it so close to our hearts, just like a child. Because like we said, it's our baby. You don't want any mistakes to happen. You don't want that service advisor to make a mistake because one, the mistake is going to cost you money, and two, the mistake could cost you your reputation. And you just don't want mistakes to happen. But if they don't fall off the bicycle. Dan Thieken [00:43:06]: Yeah. Tonnika Haynes [00:43:08]: So it's very hard and it's easier for us to walk away and walk away and walk away. And the one time that I really knew that that was true. I've been told that a whole lot. But when I was ill one time and I literally could not go to work and the shop did not die. Nobody died. Nothing burned down. Everything was handled. It's like, okay, stop micromanaging. Tonnika Haynes [00:43:28]: Stop micromanaging. And I still micromanage, but I know when I'm doing it. And then they look at me like, would you please leave? Like, they will look at the clock and say, it's three o'. Clock. Ms. Tanika, you can, you can go now. Wait on the feeling, though. We don't. Tonnika Haynes [00:43:42]: We don't need you, lady. It's a good feeling, but you have to get there first. Yeah, you've got it. Dan Thieken [00:43:48]: I would still like. I would still like to be there a few days a week. Honestly, I'd still prefer to be there a few days a week, but it's fine. Tonnika Haynes [00:43:54]: You want to be there because you need a job, you need something to do or. Because that's been so such a big part of your life. Dan Thieken [00:44:01]: I think it's. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that's who I. That shop is who I am, period. And like you said, it's your baby. So like, even if I just went out there and sit on a stool in the shop and watched, but apparently, apparently my. That gets on my technicians heads and they. We have it documented. Dan Thieken [00:44:22]: They. They make. They make. They're making fundamental mistakes when I'm on site that they don't make otherwise. Tonnika Haynes [00:44:28]: Oh, no. Ashley Kaplan [00:44:29]: Serious? Tonnika Haynes [00:44:30]: That's crazy. Yeah, that's crazy. Ashley Kaplan [00:44:33]: I can see that though. It's like you make them put the pressure on them, but the pressure's there. Dan Thieken [00:44:38]: Yeah. Three of them have been with me for years. So it's not like they're. They're a new technician. They know me. They've known me for at minimum five years. Four or five years. Tonnika Haynes [00:44:51]: That might be disrespect. They don't want to disappoint you. And they get so nervous because. Oh, Lord, dance here, dance here. Then. And then they start making mistakes because they're nervous. That's so cute. But no, I sit in front of the shop and the other day I sat in front of the shop and ate chicken wings and watched the cars go by. Tonnika Haynes [00:45:10]: Then I walked in the back office and looked around. I was like, okay, I'm going home now. But you do have to find something to do maybe. Okay, so don't become a coach, but give out like, donuts, like Becky does. Becky Whit. You know how she comes up with her things? You can help people that way. Dan Thieken [00:45:32]: Yeah, I can just put my cell phone number in all the groups and say, call me. Ashley Kaplan [00:45:35]: Oh, don't. Don't do that. Tonnika Haynes [00:45:37]: Call me. Look, I'm gonna hire you to come to Chapel Hill and help me get this tire thing started. I can't wait for the breakout, but I'm definitely going to take on it and check out this breakout session. Because tires is just something that I know nothing about. Just because I always thought you didn't make any money. And the reason why I thought that, because the Internet said you don't make any money and the people said it. But that is a story. Another story that I have told myself. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:00]: And I need some of that tire money, dog. Dan Thieken [00:46:03]: I'm coming down your way. Well, not your way, but I'm coming down North Carolina around my birthday in May to play golf. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:09]: Where you going to Pinehurst. Dan Thieken [00:46:11]: No, we did that a couple years ago. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:13]: You didn't like it? Dan Thieken [00:46:15]: I loved it. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:15]: Okay. Dan Thieken [00:46:16]: Balsam. Balsam Mountain Preserve. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:22]: I've never heard it, but I don't play golf. Okay. That's up there by Lucas. Dan Thieken [00:46:27]: No, that's why it's. It's about an hour and a half from Knoxville. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:33]: Okay, so that's near Lucas Underwood. Should go teach him some stuff. He needs help. Dan Thieken [00:46:39]: No, he knows everything. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:40]: He knows everything. He walks into. He tells us every day all the things that he knows. Every day. Every day. Dan Thieken [00:46:48]: All right. Tonnika Haynes [00:46:49]: Well, Dan, I was good to talk to you. I can't wait to see you at Tectonic. What else you got going on? You're going to Tectonic, then you're going to go to Tools. Coming to asta. Dan Thieken [00:46:57]: I'll be at Asta, and then, I don't know, we'll see. Ashley Kaplan [00:47:01]: You're like, wherever the wind takes me these days. Tonnika Haynes [00:47:04]: Yeah, because you got. Dan Thieken [00:47:07]: I got to be careful. I can't travel too much because it might upset my wife. Tonnika Haynes [00:47:10]: Yeah, don't do that. Dan Thieken [00:47:12]: Although she's going to Bar harbor in September. She text like, hey, we're going on a girls trip to Bar Harbor. Ashley Kaplan [00:47:19]: I'm like, man. Dan Thieken [00:47:19]: And she's like, september. I'm like, I think I have a go. I think I have a golf trip. Tonnika Haynes [00:47:24]: I bet you don't. Dan Thieken [00:47:25]: She had. She had to reschedule. She had to reschedule the bar. Yeah, because this is a yearly golf trip that can't be changed. So she had to push her Bar harbor trip back to the following, like, two weeks. Yeah, because I'm going golfing, and then I'm going. I'm supposed to go fishing with my father in law the same week as asta. So let me rephrase the ASTA thing. Dan Thieken [00:47:51]: If you guys approve the class that Anders applies to teach with me, then I'm going to be at asta. If you don't approve the class that I'm going fishing in Michigan, I don't Tonnika Haynes [00:48:03]: know if that's a cry for help. Are you winking at me like, no, Dan Thieken [00:48:07]: I'm leaving this to chance because my father in law's been wanting me to go fishing for the last five years. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:12]: You're not getting me in trouble with that man Dan Thieken [00:48:16]: now. I already told him. I said, listen. I said, I may be teaching a class that week in North Carolina, so if that happens, I'm not coming. He's like, that's fine. It'll be always next year. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:27]: Thanks. Thanks. That is something to end on. Thanks for the pressure. Dan Thieken [00:48:31]: Push the. Push the class through and we'll call it good. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:35]: Understood, Lieutenant Dan. Dan Thieken [00:48:38]: All right, ladies. It's been fun. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:39]: It's been fun. I enjoyed funny paper. Dan Thieken [00:48:44]: We'll see you later. Tonnika Haynes [00:48:45]: All right, bye. Downshift with Tanika is where we slow down long enough to have real conversations. Hosted by myself, second generation shop owner Tanika Haynes. This goes beyond your car count, your KPIs. We want to talk about leadership, legacy mindset, and the messy, beautiful journey of building something that lasts. You will hear stories from shop owners, technicians, and other industry leaders who are figuring it all out by themselves in real time. This is a space for growth, tough love, laughter, and leveling up.