Featuring Guest Contributors Lisa Coyle and Samatha Freeman from Promotive
One of the biggest frustrations I hear from shop owners right now is hiring. More specifically, finding and keeping good technicians.
And honestly? The rules have changed.
I sat down recently with Lisa Coyle and Sam Freeman from Promotive, and the conversation opened my eyes to just how much the hiring landscape has shifted in this industry over the last few years. What worked 10 years ago—or even five years ago—isn’t cutting it anymore.
The shops winning today aren’t just offering a paycheck. They’re building careers people actually want to stay in.
That’s a big difference.
One of the first things we talked about was PTO. I know some shop owners still look at paid time off like it’s a luxury perk, but the reality is today’s technicians expect it. Especially experienced A-level techs.
Lisa made a great point when she said, “We have to stop competing with the neighbor next door that gives three days of PTO… we have to compete with Tesla, Rivian, and the local gas and electric companies.”
And she’s right.
The best technicians today are usually in their 30s or 40s. They have families. Kids. Lives outside the shop. They’re not interested in grinding nonstop with one week of vacation after a year.
Lisa also said something else that really stuck with me: “You want your people to take PTO. You want them to have some time off. You want them to enjoy their families and their lives.”
That mindset is a lot different than the old-school mentality this industry used to have.
What surprised me most was hearing how often technicians are willing to walk away from higher pay for better quality of life. Shorter commutes. Better schedules. Better culture. More flexibility.
That would’ve sounded crazy 15 years ago.
Another huge takeaway from the conversation was this idea that most shops are trying to replace the exact person who left instead of evaluating what they actually need.
That’s where a lot of hiring problems start.
A shop owner loses an A-tech and immediately says, “I need another A-tech.” But maybe what the shop really needs is a strong B-tech with growth potential. Or maybe the workload has changed entirely.
Sam said something that really stuck with me: “Everybody wants the unicorn.”
They want the master diagnostic technician who can produce 60 hours a week, mentor younger techs, fix everything, and probably do a backflip while they’re at it.
The problem? There aren’t enough of those people.
The shops that consistently succeed with staffing aren’t relying on unicorns. They’re building systems that grow technicians internally.
Sam shared one of the smartest training ideas I’ve heard in a while. Instead of having A-techs constantly train entry-level employees, she explained that shops should let B-techs train C-techs while A-techs develop the B-techs.
As she put it, “The Bs are training the Cs and the As are training the Bs.”
That creates a much stronger development pipeline and helps everyone grow faster.
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That’s something I see constantly with my own clients too. The shops with the fewest hiring problems usually have strong training cultures. They bring younger technicians in, invest in development, send their teams to training events like Vision, and create a real career path.
They’re not constantly scrambling because they’re always developing talent.
And honestly, culture matters way more than some owners want to admit.
A technician today is interviewing you just as much as you’re interviewing them.
They want to know:
- Is the shop organized?
- Are the advisors competent?
- Is there enough work?
- Is management stable?
- Can I grow here?
- Am I going to enjoy coming to work every day?
Lisa talked about how Promotive even includes things like ARO, car count, and shop information in job ads because serious technicians want to understand the opportunity before they make a move.
That’s a massive shift from the old-school “Help Wanted” sign in the front window.
We also talked about something shop owners hate hearing: speed matters.
If a great technician applies on Sunday and you wait until Thursday to call them, you already lost.
The best candidates are interviewing everywhere.
Sam said it perfectly: “If you’re interested in somebody, I want you to interview them within three days. Max.”
The other thing I loved from this conversation was how creative compensation is becoming.
It’s not always about hourly pay anymore.
Some shops are offering gas allowances. Tool reimbursements. Daycare support. Vehicle programs. Healthcare stipends. Better PTO structures. Training opportunities.
The smartest shops are figuring out ways to improve technicians’ lives—not just their paycheck.
At the end of the day, hiring isn’t just about filling a bay anymore.
It’s about building a place people genuinely want to work.
And the shops that figure that out are going to dominate this industry for the next decade.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Hunt Demarest, CPA, is a Partner at Paar Melis & Associates and a leading financial expert in the auto repair industry. As host of the Business by the Numbers podcast and a published author of Beyond the Bays, he educates auto shop owners on how to improve profitability and cash flow through proactive tax planning and practical financial insights.