Mark: Hi, Mark from Remarkable Speaking. I'm here with Bernie Pawlik, and we're gonna talk a little bit today about a need at Pawlik Automotive. So, Bernie, what's going on? What are you looking for?
Bernie: I'm looking for a technician to join our team.
Mark: So what are the requirements? What are you specifically looking for in a technician?
Bernie: Well, the biggest thing I'm looking for is someone who's got skills, mechanical skills and skills to look things up, figure out how things work, and has got experience working on cars.
Mark: So from what I know of the 10 years we've been doing these, you guys really put an emphasis on troubleshooting, on finding the root cause of an issue. Not just swapping parts in and out and hoping for the best. So how does that affect what kind of skillset a technician you would prefer to have?
Bernie: Yeah, you need someone who's got some troubleshooting skills, but it really is about developing a mindset to actually look for the cause of the problem before you actually just start swapping in parts. Not guessing, but actually having a procedure in a way to do things.
Mark: Well, why would a technician want to come and work at Pawlik Automotive?
Bernie: Well I mean first thing I'll say is we pay well. Our business is open, it's an 8:30 to 5 Monday to Friday business. We don't work evenings, we don't work on weekends. Your hours are pretty well set. We pay a salary. It's not flat rate, so you don't have to compete with your fellow technicians. We work as a team. I really encourage my team of people to seek out help when you don't know something. Talk to me I'm available. Work as a team to solve things. We got a friendly crew of people. I think everyone's happy.
Mark: So tell us about the history of Pawlik Automotive.
Bernie: So I started the business myself, actually working on myself in a little one bay shop about, Jesus, it's gotta be over 30 years ago. 19, 19 no 19, I can't remember. It's over 30 years anyway. So I started by myself and just slowly growing the business.
We now have a team of six staff. You know, and we've got more capacity, we can expand it. So that's a bit of the history. We won Best of Vancouver many times, awarded by our customers. So yeah, that's a few things.
Mark: So voted Best Auto Repair in Vancouver 24 times. That's pretty amazing. Yeah. What do you think has contributed to that? What's the values that are important to you that makes your business different from other auto repair businesses?
Bernie: I think doing the job properly and taking care of our clients and really seeking to understand what they want to do on their vehicles. And also doing maintenance and maintenance work to make sure their cars are reliable and fix things before they break.
Friendly, honest, disclosing what we do and how we do it, are some of the valid things we do.
Mark: And what about the, you know, one thing that people care about a lot is, you know, what about pressure? What about how busy is it? Is it a really relaxed environment? Is it a lot of pressure environment? What kind of a place environment are they gonna be working in?
Bernie: Well, I'd like to say it's relaxed, but I mean, there's a lot of work that goes on here. We're a busy shop, so it's, you know, if you want to just sit around and relax, that's definitely not the place to work. You know, there's work going on all the time. We're busy. And we we do like to keep things productive.
I will say too, we do pay a productivity bonuses as well, but we're not just about let's pump the cars in and out. I'm really keen on let's do the job right so the car doesn't come back and the customer's satisfied. That's the most important thing to do. We want to keep things going, but there's not really a competitive pressure. That's not the only ultimate thing that we need to do is keep pumping the work out.
Mark: So what should someone do if they're interested in exploring the opportunity?
Bernie: You can email me, bernie@pawlikautomotive.com. You can call us (604) 327-7112 and speak to me. I'm Bernie, I'm the owner. Love to talk to you.
Mark: And on the website there's a form as well.
Bernie: There is a form. That's right, that is a new thing. There's a form you can fill an application online. I'll review it and call you and we'll talk. Love to speak.
Mark: Thanks Bernie.
Bernie: And thank you, Mark.
