Welcoming new team members shouldn’t feel like every time a Targaryen is born: “Every time a new internal customer is hired, the Gods flip a coin.” We can do many things to ensure we make the right pick during the hiring process, and there are plenty more we can do once they join us to help them adjust to our culture, work rhythm, and philosophy.

In this episode, I’m joined by a dear friend and Automotive Industry veteran, Al Sutherland. Al is the Owner of Al’s Certified Auto Repair, which opened its doors in 2001, moved by the selfless desire to help as many people as possible fix their car issues and, at the same time, enjoy a great experience while doing it.

Throughout his episode, Al shares his thoughts on setting clear expectations with internal customers to maximize good results, the importance of being ready to re-educate them on specific aspects of their lives, and how to help new team members adapt to our auto repair shop’s culture.

In addition, we chat about how to avoid adopting a “mob mentality” during interviews, Al’s toughest lessons learned as an auto repair shop owner, and much more.

In this episode, you will learn:

• About what made Al start his own business (2:10)
• Al talks about how they handle hiring processes at his auto repair shop (6:00)
• How to establish healthy boundaries with internal customers (10:10)
• Al shares the most challenging lesson he learned as a shop owner (16:30)
• Sometimes, we must re-educate internal customers (21:20)
• How to help new internal customers adapt to our company’s culture (23:30)

Resources

• Connect with Al on LinkedIn
• Al’s Certified Auto Repair website
• Connect with Al’s Certified Auto Repair on Facebook