The boss knows the names of his
employees’ families, and knows what’s going on in their lives. When some- thing exceptional happens — little Johnny’s team wins the big champion- ship or little Suzie gets chosen for the lead in the school play — he’s the first to congratulate them. If something’s not going so well at home, he’s right there to offer to help. He recognizes the fact that his
employees spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else in their lives, and he wants those hours to be something they can be proud of… something they enjoy doing. And he’s going to make sure it’s something they’ll be willing to do for years to come.
Honoring Commitment In the October/November
2011 issue of GEARS, we met Donny Caccamise, owner of DMC Transmissions in Ventura, CA. He’s the shop owner who produced the car show to help reinforce the ATRA identity in his region. This past summer, DMC’s rebuild-
er, Roy Warner, decided to take the ATRA certification tests. As he looked over the prep programs, he started thinking it might be useful for everyone at DMC to become certified. So he got the ball rolling, challenging the other five employees to go for certification. Roy took the lead, helping every-
one study for the tests. It involved late nights and early mornings. But this past November they took their tests… and everyone in the shop passed! Here’s the list of DMC employees and their new ATRA certifications:
Roy Warner; ATRA Certified Diagnostician and Rebuilder
Fernando Hernandez; ATRA Certified Diagnostician
David Hernandez; ATRA Certified Diagnostician
Albertino Mateo; ATRA Certified Diagnostician
Randy Knox; ATRA Certified Diagnostician
Lori Knox; ATRA Certified Diagnostician
That’s a pretty impressive list, and
it deserves respect. So that’s just what Donny did: First, he went out and had
GEARS January/February 2012
plaques made for each of his staff, acknowledging their accomplishment. Then, on December 22, he rented
out a room at the Pierpont Hotel, and invited his staff and their family mem- bers, some of Donny’s associates from his radio show Horsepower for an Hour, and ATRA CEO Dennis Madden. During drinks and hors d’oeuvres, Donny awarded each of his employees with his or her own plaque. Then they enjoyed a sumptuous dinner together as they prepared for the Christmas holiday. That show of respect was impres-
sive enough, but Donny wasn’t done: When they got back to work after the holiday, he started hanging the plaques in the shop waiting room, putting them on display for every customer who walks through the door. Still not quite satisfied, Donny is
also sending out a press release to local new media, to share their accomplish- ment with the community. What a wonderful way to show his
pride and respect for his staff! And you can bet it’ll pay off in their attitude and professionalism. What’s more, the edu- cation necessary to earn those certifica- tions is already paying off in the respect DMC is earning from its customers.
More Ways to Show Respect While Donny’s approach to his
employees was inventive — maybe even unique — it isn’t the only way to show your employees respect. There are dozens of simple things you can do.
Like providing a clean, well-
equipped break room where your employees can stop and enjoy lunch in comfort. Or adequate heating in the winter, and some level of cooling in the summer. Or maybe just asking for their input on how to improve the shop, and then thanking them for their contribu- tion, when everyone else can hear it. One thing to remember is that
respect isn’t something you can turn on and off. You can’t take your staff to lunch one minute, and then berate one of them the next. The fact is, no one will remember the nice things you did; they’ll lock in on the negative. And that negative will overshadow all your bet- ter efforts. Think of the way you treat your
customers: Every customer that calls or comes in gets treated with respect every time they pick up the phone or walk through the door. You don’t sud- denly call one a moron because she couldn’t answer your question. Because you know that, no matter how nicely you treated her the rest of the time, that one lapse in judgment will be what she remembers… and it’ll be the one thing she takes away with her. The same is true with your employ-
ees: Treat them with respect, every minute of the day. If you aren’t happy with their work or something they’re doing, tell them, but do it privately and do it with respect. It’s that respect that’ll make the difference between whether your employees leave your shop… or retire from it.
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