The 10-Minute Conversation That Keeps Your Best Tech

Chris Lawson

23d • 📜Shop Culture📜

You've heard me say that retention isn't pizza parties. It's a system.

And I'm about to give you a reminder about the simplest one that exists.

THE STORY

Here's how you lose a good tech:

First, they stop suggesting improvements.

Then they stop laughing.

Then they stop caring.

Then you get the text: "Hey, got an offer. Putting in my two weeks."

And you're standing there thinking, "Where the hell did that come from?"

It didn't come from nowhere. It came from 60 days of silence you didn't notice.

See, techs don't wake up and quit. They drift. Slowly. Quietly. And by the time you see it, they've already mentally checked out.

The dealer didn't steal them with money.

They left because something was grinding on them every single day—and nobody asked about it.

THE LESSON

I've watched owners try everything:

"We bought the team lunch!"
"We gave a small raise!"
"We posted something motivational on the wall of the break room, above the doorway of the shop and even in the bathroom!"

None of that fixes the thing that's actually driving them nuts every day.

Here's what does:

The Stay Interview.

It's not complicated. It's not HR nonsense. It's 10 minutes, once a month, with one rule:

You're not allowed to defend yourself. Only listen and fix.

Here's the exact script—

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

"What part of your day is harder than it needs to be?"
"What's one thing in this shop that wastes your time every week?"
"If you ran this place for a day, what would you change first?"
"What would make you excited to still be here a year from now?"

THEN YOU ASK THE MONEY QUESTION

"If I fix ONE thing from that list in the next 7 days, what should it be?"

And here's the part that makes or breaks this whole thing:

You actually fix it.

Not 12 things. One thing. In 7 days. And you tell the team you fixed it because your tech brought it up.

Follow-through is louder than any speech you'll ever give.

THE ACTION

Here's your challenge for this week:

Schedule ONE stay interview today. Not with the squeaky wheel. With your best tech.

The one you assume is fine. The one who never complains. The one you'd be devastated to lose.

Because that's the one who's drifting and you don't even know it.

10 minutes. 4 questions. Fix one thing.

That's it.

Dealers pay people to tolerate nonsense.

Independent shops win when they remove the nonsense.

Poll: If you could only do ONE retention move consistently, what would you choose? Answer below👇

Monthly Stay Interview (10 min)

Fix-One-Thing-Per-Week (follow-through)

Morning Huddle (daily blockers)

Growth Path (training/specialty/lead tech lane)

2 votes

5:51

2 comments

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