Have you wondered what a career as an automotive technician is really like? There’s more to being an automotive technician than hands-on vehicle repair and maintenance. To be successful as an automotive technician, you need hands-on, technical and soft skills. These soft skills will help you successfully stay on task as an automotive technician training:
Soft skills are often forgotten about however apart from the technical skills of an automotive technician, you should possess soft skills too. In this blog post, you are going to see the list of soft skills that you need to excel in your auto work.
If you have the education, skills, knowledge and experience to be a great mechanic, there’s a good chance you’ll have a long line of loyal customers who come to see you on a regular basis. They’ll depend on you to keep their cars, trucks and SUVs on the road–and to keep themselves and their passengers safe.
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- Customer Service Skills
Automotive technicians must be able to effectively communicate automotive industry problems in plain simple english without the technical jargon that way all customers will be able to respond in an informed manner. Interacting with customers and answering their questions in a good-natured and courteous manner is important to retaining their business.
Being a great mechanic involves more than identifying problems, repairing or replacing worn parts and knowing the difference between the camshaft and crankshaft.
You’ve got to be able to deliver exceptional customer service. After all, people invest a lot of money in their automotives, motorcycles and motorhomes, and they want to work with a mechanic who they can trust and build a good relationship with over time. As we all know trust does not come easy who have to earn it.
Related Article:- Tips To Improve Customer Service For Your Automotive Shop
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- Attention to Detail
When inspecting and repairing vehicle systems, automotive technicians must be aware of all of the small details. Avoiding easy-to-miss causes can prevent mechanical and electrical malfunctions this is why you need someone with impeccable attention to detail.
People don’t want to wait to find out what’s wrong with their vehicles so identifying the problem and finding the effective solution for it almost immediately. After all, they depend on their vehicles to drop the kids off at school, get to work and take care of their personal responsibilities. Great mechanics are able to effectively and efficiently use diagnostic tools to figure out what’s wrong as quickly as possible.
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- Work Ethic
This aspect is one of the essential aspects of every field. Old fashion work ethic should be mandatory, you should be able to roll up those sleeves and get under the hood ready to repair almost anything at any point of the day. Getting greasy is a part of your work, and you shouldn’t be hesitant to do that. There will be some emergencies where you have to work late, you should be prepared to do that for customer satisfaction, in short you should be ready to go the extra mile to provide proper service for your customers.
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- Organizational Skills
Having the right auto mechanic skills isn’t going to cut it for you. You should also have organizational skills that help in running a business. You need to adequately manage the workspace and your fellow workers, streamline the projects and manage them effectively. It is important for automotive technicians to stay organized while working. Keeping workspaces clean and organized helps maintain safety and ensure accountability of parts.
Related Article:- How To Manage An Auto Repair Mechanic Shop?
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- Problem Solving Skills
You’re going to need to know how to deal with problems–both under the hood and inside the office. In addition to quickly identifying problems, great mechanics can come up with the best–and less expensive–solutions. Then they need to be able to communicate the proposed fixes to customers, who aren’t always thrilled with the information. Being able to address customers’ sometimes uninformed opinions and questions with honest, reliable information is important. Do not worry you can master this skill with experience it just takes time.
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- Technical Aptitude
Sure, you’re going to need to know your way around a toolbox, but you’re also going to need how to use the latest technology to solve problems. Today’s automobiles are more complex than ever, and the technology used to repair them is constantly evolving. Knowing how to use advanced diagnostics systems and work with vehicle electronics differentiates the great mechanics from those that are only good.
The same applies to office work too. You will need to use and understand workshop management systems as they improve efficiency and accuracy. Digital processes have now removed the need for paperwork in the office and customers love the fact they don’t need to carry paper service reports in their glove box.
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- Experience
You cannot learn automotive repairs without getting your hands dirty or your clothes greasy. As you work on different vehicles you will learn by trial and error. There are so many types of vehicles with different kinds of repairs on each. Some things you just can’t learn until you’ve experienced it. The great mechanics have worked on a wide range of cars, trucks, and SUVs. They’ve gotten their hands dirty, experimented, and seen a lot of problems. They have the experience that results in the confidence to take on any challenge. Mechanics get this experience over time, but the great ones get the experience by enrolling in a great auto mechanic educational program and keep on learning in order to keep up with technology.
Key Takeaways
These are 2 types of skills that an automotive technician needs, soft skills and technical skills equally as important.
These 2 skills will provide a strong foundation in building a long-term career these skills help in automotive technician jobs and training programs. 5iQ workshop software provides great analytics to track the performance and productivity of your mechanic and auto shops.