"We just lost another road tech because the dealer down the street offered him $1.00 more an hour."
We hear some version of this from service managers regularly. And every time, the instinct is the same: match it. Join the bidding war.
But here's the hard truth: he didn't leave for the dollar. He left because he was already checked out.
If a veteran tech who knows your customers, knows your software, and has his routine down is willing to pack up his service box, change uniforms, and start over at a new shop for an extra 40 bucks a week before taxes — the dollar wasn't the reason. It was just the convenient excuse.
- The real culprit?
- He feels like a number on a dispatch screen.
- His service van's AC has been broken for three weeks and "parts are on order."
- He's tired of being sent to the worst, grease-caked accounts while the favorite guys get the clean warehouse PM contracts.
Pay has to be competitive. But in a market where labor availability is the real constraint, trying to win retention by outbidding the shop down the street is a losing game.
The dealers winning the talent war right now aren't the ones bidding highest. They're the ones investing in 90-day onboarding, clear OEM training paths, and actually listening when a tech says his routing is burning him out.
If this hits home, let us know and comment.