What auto technicians say their shops are getting wrong (and the fixes worth prioritizing first)

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Hey everyone,

John Hiester, dealer principal at John Hiester Automotive Group, just joined us for an episode of the CDG Podcast.

What to expect in this episode: Insights on how video and AI are transforming sales and F&I coaching, why Hiester moved toward salaried “product specialists,” and how diversification creates new stability beyond vehicle sales.

Catch it, here.

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Welcome to the Market Pulse—your cheatsheet to auto retail, built to help dealers price right, stock smart, and stay ahead.

Auto technician morale is slipping at dealerships: Only 36% of dealership techs say they’d recommend their shop, compared with 63% at independents.
Shop environment is emerging as a recruiting weapon: 87% of technicians say proper equipment is a must-have, while temperature-controlled shops jumped 13% YoY in priority.
And top operators are focusing on development pipelines: Stores are ramping new technicians through mentorship, internal training programs, and protected learning time vs expecting tech school grads to be shop-ready on day one.

(Source: 2026 Voice of Technician Report)

Dealership technician morale is falling behind the rest of the industry.

Over the weekend, we took a look at the 2026 Voice of the Technician Report from WrenchWay to understand how technicians are feeling about their workplaces.

One thing stood out quickly:

Only 36% of dealership techs say they would recommend their shop, compared with 63% at independents and 51% at fleets.

Per the report, this weakening in morale is rooted in multiple frustrations, not just one pain point.

Case in point:

Just 39% of dealership technicians say they feel valued by management
And only 28% say leadership communicates effectively, with the same amount (28%) reporting a clear career path

That disconnect is happening at a difficult moment for the industry, because nearly 58% of technicians now have more than 21 years of experience, meaning a large share of the workforce is approaching retirement.

NOTE TO DEALERS:

If veteran techs leave without recommending your shop to the next generation, the recruiting problem never ends.

To fix this:

Create clear career paths so techs know what the next 5–10 years look like.
Build consistent feedback loops instead of annual check-ins that never happen.
And invest in modern shop equipment and tool reimbursement programs.

Shop environment and equipment are emerging as major recruiting factors.

Other findings from the report suggest technicians increasingly view shop environment, equipment quality, and working conditions as non-negotiables, not perks.

For example:

87% of technicians say proper equipment in the shop is a must-have, yet only 54% of dealership technicians say they’re satisfied with the equipment they have
At the same time, temperature-controlled shops jumped to 43% as a must-have (+13% YoY).

Going back to our earlier point, 58% of technicians now have 21+ years of experience, which means many are deciding where they want to spend the final stretch of their careers, both physically and financially.

And when we shared this data with operators, one comment summed it up well:

“From one who successfully stole techs all the time from their stores — [I] literally walked up to them in public and handed them a card and asked if they wanted [a] change. The climate-controlled shop and tools provided will bring you more techs than nearly everything.”

WHY IT MATTERS:

Even recognizing that temperature control is partly climate-driven, this survey of 5,500+ respondents across franchise, independent, and fleet shops still points to a signal worth noting for dealers as they work to improve their shop environments.

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To see how some operators are responding to these technician trends in real time, we pulled insights from Fixed Ops Friday on Daily Dealer Live, featuring Gary Kaiser (LB Smith Ford Lincoln) and Matt Norris (Bozard Ford Lincoln).

Here are some of the Do’s and Don’ts they emphasized:

Do: Build structured ramps for new technicians.

Matt Norris said many dealerships make the mistake of assuming tech school graduates are ready to work independently.

Bozard instead focuses on mentorship and gradual responsibility.

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“What I've seen seems to be the biggest mistake is to bring entry-level technicians in and make an assumption that because they've been to school, they know how to go out and fix a car.”

Matt Norris

His POV: “You’ve gotta support them. You’ve got to pour into them. You’ve got to put them with a mentor if you don’t have a training program.”

At Bozard, this includes ramping new technicians through Quick Lane and its internal training program, where they split time between Ford web-based training and working on live vehicles alongside instructors and senior technicians.

Don’t: Rush coaching between repair orders.

The service drive is a department that rarely slows down, which is why shops often struggle to train effectively, according to Gary Kaiser.

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As he sees it: “You have to get [technicians] outside their environment to train them… if you try to train them while they're getting fast balls thrown at them all day long, they're not going to retain it.”

Gary Kaiser

That can mean off-site sessions, dedicated learning blocks, vendor workshops, or structured internal programs, but the key is to protect time for specific development.

Don’t: Treat technician roles as dead-end jobs.

Kaiser also pointed out that one of the industry’s biggest advantages is the number of career paths inside a dealership, but that many stores fail to communicate that clearly.

“Once you get into this industry, there are so many different careers under one rooftop,” Kaiser said.

Kaiser himself moved through multiple roles, moving from lot attendant to technician, advisor, service manager, and eventually general manager, all within the same dealership.

Why this matters: When technicians can look around the shop and see their own future, that sense of possibility matters as much as pay, and maybe even more.

At one store, the biggest factor driving technician morale might be the shop's climate.

At another, it might be tools. And down the street, it could be something as simple as on-site food options, so techs aren’t losing time running out for lunch.

My point is: You’ll never figure out what your team actually needs by asking someone else’s shop.

Have the conversation, send the survey, run the meeting—whatever it takes to understand what your techs are asking for and where you can meet them halfway.