Once in a while, an idea for my monthly MTD column seems to happen out of nowhere. Then it hits me.
It didn’t happen out of nowhere. The times have changed and I hadn’t noticed. Culture changes from one generation to the next. It’s been happening in America — more than other places I have traveled — forever. It’s the way of American life.
As a baby boomer, I grew up in the 1960s. I was in my teenage years. When I met someone I didn’t know, we had a name for that. That person was “a friend I haven’t met yet.” Today, some members of the younger generation have renamed that person as “some random dude.” Changing the name of something we experience happens about every 20 years. “Reframing” is another term that essentially means the same thing.
So here is what happened that got me thinking about the subject of hustling versus helping. As you may know, I own and operate a hybrid/electric vehicle training company, Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC), in Massachusetts.
We offer hands-on classes and most classes include three books that we have written about EV and hybrid technology. Pre-study is an option, so we often send the books out.
Recently, I was delivering our books to a shop about 30 miles away, as I had wanted to visit this business. They were new to us and the class was a few weeks off.
After I met the shop’s staff, I stopped at a few shops on my way back. This is a Friday routine of mine. There is free training at ACDC for some shops in my state if they qualify and many shops are unaware of this, so when I share the news with them, I am usually welcomed.
My last stop was a newly built, full-service shop. Tires and alignments were advertised on its sign.
When I walked in at around 10 a.m., the two service writers did a great job of making me feel welcomed. They listened well, took my flyer and explained that the owner/manager was busy. (It was Friday, so no surprise there!)
“Just click on the QR code and fill out a form,” I told them as I got ready to leave.
Then the boss came rushing into the waiting room and told the two happy people I was talking with to do something and they stopped smiling.
One of them explained who I was. At that time, two customers walked in and seeing as the room was quite small, I moved out of the way to let them by.
The owner, whom we will call “Neil,” jumped back from me.
Then I asked, “Should I just leave?”
Neil said, “No. Lets go outside.” I was OK with that, so we exited onto the driveway. I complimented him on the appearance of his shop.
He then said, “You must be one of those people who must be really close to other people when you talk to them.” (All the while, I was thinking, “You need a larger waiting room!”)
Neil, who had never heard of our program, did let me explain what it was about. The interruptions were many, but I think he was interested. It was a Friday and I ran my own shop for over 25 years, so who knows what kind of day or week he had?
Our five-minute chat ended when he asked me why I was “hustling him.” I was taken aback, but he wanted an answer. I said, “I am not hustling you. I am trying to help you.”
He replied, “You’re hustling me.”
I said, “Thank you for your time,” and headed back to my car 10 feet away.
I sat there for a few minutes, taking in what had just happened.
I later learned his father had a shop down the street.
In the 1960s, if a technician made some extra money on the side, he was “moonlighting.” Any extra income was a job of some sort outside of your full-time job. Today, people call this a “side hustle.” Is it really “only about the money?” That’s a moral question that everyone must answer for themselves.
One thing I know for sure is that we all need more educated and trained help, especially in the world of computerized vehicles and in addition to that, EVs.
Is the language that you choose to use keeping you from relating to someone who isn’t like you? Is someone’s appearance or culture keeping you from hiring them? If so, you have not kept up with the changes in the America of 2025.
I hired a new employee last year. The advertisement was simple: must be fluent in both Spanish and English, with a background in video production and social media engagement. By keeping up with the times, my company continues to evolve. How does your dealership stack up? Are you hustling or helping?
