Many of us have been surprised by the way this recession has affected our businesses. Who would have thought OEMs would go bankrupt and so many new car dealers would close their doors? Then for every independent shop we see experiencing increases in sales due to lack of new car sales, there is a shop located in a challenging area of high unemployment experiencing decreases in sales.

Most of us who join the automotive industry at a young age end up spending our entire lives in the business. It just gets in your blood! Shop owners and technicians usually have a dream of achievement that is different for all of us. Some want to be the best, some want to be rich and others just want to be comfortable while helping others. All of these dreams require continuing education by investing in yourself, whether you are a tech or a shop owner.

Most shop owners get in trouble when three problems appear at the same time. Most of us do not get in trouble with one problem, but with a combination of multiple problems. A toxic employee is defined as one that pollutes the entire business and creates multiple problems in the blink of an eye. These problems can be very expensive to correct, and without a fat savings account you may not be even capable of proving your innocence.

The Banana Theory differs in all its various forms, but always deals with the same problem. How do businesses sabotage their own ability to sell their product buy not paying attention to the customer? This shows its face in the automotive repair shops with hurrying the customer who wants to wait for his car out the door by promising a finish time.

There are many shops in North America that are nominated for top show awards, and many that go unmentioned but certainly not unnoticed. While there is not one thing you can do to be a top repair shop, here are six ways to improve your shop's standing.

Since we all know the joke about opinions, I have one like everyone else, and I'd like to share my opinion on the economy in 2009 with you. I have been through a few tough times since I joined the automotive brotherhood in 1971. Actually, I went through rough times before then. While I am the CEO of a company that mentors 947 independent automotive service centers and tire dealers every week, I had three different colleges ask me to leave, and leave I did. So I have seen in our industry some shops doing better and just as many doing much worse. So what's my opinion on 2009 and what can you do to survive?

Today I will let you decide if we are in a recession, examine where we currently stand on your recession plan and decide what we are going to do about it. I received a great e-mail from a shop owner upset that one of our earlier articles might be blaming you guys for the recession. Although I do not feel that way, perception is reality, so I want to certainly apologize if any of you felt the same way before we get started.

I want to share with you 19 ways to stabilize your car count. Look at this as a quick review without taking the time to dig very deep into each strategy. My objective is to help you take an inventory of what you are doing in your shop and focus on the strategies you are not currently using in your business that can help you stabilize your daily car count. This is accomplished by doing everything you can to retain customers and get them to come back even in a recession and in a time of reliable cars.

I know a lot of you have been hearing the customers complain and grieve about today's economy, how the cost of everything is increasing and that it leaves little or no money to put into their automobiles. Every time they have to go to the gas station or just drive by and see the prices posted, they are reminded of it. That, combined with just turning on the TV, is what fuels their woes.