Automotive News Canada - October 2021 - F28

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
YourMechanic offers mobile
repairs and maintenance. More
than 30 percent of its techs
previously worked at dealerships.
UPWARD MOBILITY
E
xperienced technicians are quitting
franchised dealerships and other
brick-and-mortar facilities to join mobile
service companies such as YourMechanic
to deliver mostly light repairs and
maintenance at a customer's home or offi ce.
Circumstances vary for why technicians
join the YourMechanic online
platform, says CEO Anthony Rodio.
Th e company estimates more than 30
percent of its techs previously worked
at dealerships.
Some middle-aged techs for YourMechanic
say they want to make
more money per hour, work fewer
hours and have more fl exible schedules.
Others complain about the pressure
at dealerships to sell additional
services to customers. A few of the older techs
want out of the dealership environment to cut
down on the wear and tear that turning
wrenches can take on their bodies.
" It does catch up with you physically, when
PAGE 28 OCTOBER 2021
you're wrenching, " says Peter Pryke, 60, an experienced
mobile tech in the Phoenix area
who also works as a YourMechanic coach.
Plenty of experience
Rodio says YourMechanic requires fi ve years
Pryke: Physical
work takes toll
of experience and at least one certifi cation from
the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence
. In fact, the average experience
level is 10-plus years and multiple
ASE certifi cations, he says.
Th e average age of technicians on
the platform is late 30s to early 40s,
Rodio says, but there are " plenty " in
their 50s - and older. He says YourMechanic
only hires experienced
hands because it's not set up to train
or supervise green techs.
" Because of the nature of what we
do, we need experienced techs, " he
says. " We can't have an apprentice model or a
service manager or foreman to show somebody
the ropes and train them. "
Rodio also says YourMechanic is attractive
to older dealership techs who may have
Some techs leave dealerships for the fl exibility, pay of mobile platforms
JIM HENRY
foj@autonews.com
 Q&A: How the pandemic left a deep
impact on mobile service I PAGE 30 I
" priced themselves out of the market - or at
least in the view of a dealership, maybe. "
" Th ey are not getting raises. Th ey are looking
for ways to make more money, " he says.
Robert Bietz, 52, a mobile mechanic who
works out of Bedford, Texas, near Fort Worth,
says the pay with YourMechanic is good. He
has worked in auto repair for about 22 years,
including at new- vehicle dealerships.
" At a dealership, it usually works out to $20
or $30 an hour, " he says. At YourMechanic,
" I'm at $48. "
Th e company says its compensation tops
out at $70 per hour.
Gig workers
YourMechanic, of Mountain View, Calif.,
has been in business since 2012. Since the
spring of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has
greatly increased consumer demand for mobile
service, Rodio says.
YourMechanic's platform lets consumers
Automotive News Canada - October 2021

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