Chris CollinsHelping Struggling Dealerships Build Profitable, High-Performing Service Departments | Automotive Coaching Expert | CEO

The #1 Rule for Effective Shop Foremen

21 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, the speaker advises shop foremen to adopt a questioning mindset rather than simply providing answers. When technicians bring problems to the foreman, they should first be asked whether they have consulted service bulletins and documented the steps they have already taken. The foreman’s role is to ensure that technicians run through a structured troubleshooting process before escalating issues. By refraining from giving immediate answers, foremen encourage technicians to develop diagnostic skills, preventing a cycle where problems are constantly passed up without learning. The overall message is that asking more questions and enforcing thorough preliminary checks leads to a more competent, self‑reliant service team.

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As a shop foreman, you should be asking way more questions than you are giving input. Like when they bring things to you, you should be asking a question because you know the. To. To Chris's point, like, the reason I bring up letting. Letting them be bad at the dishes, like, don't let them be bad at doing the dishes. Right? Like, one of the reasons they're. They're quote, unquote, bad diagnosis is we're not going through that thing with them. Like, they bring you a problem. Hey, have you checked bulletins? Have you? Like, there should be. If they're bringing you a problem, they should have already gone through all the things. Like there's no world where they should be bringing you an issue without telling you everything that they've tried so far and getting to a certain point. Right? Because if you're just giving them the answer all the time, then they just bring you more and more things and they're never going to get better that way.