A lot can change in a matter of days.

Some of us have been homebound for a while, now. These last two weeks a personal highlight for me has been gearing up to (cautiously) make the rounds at the local grocery store. Now even that is discouraged, if possible, for the next two weeks.

Right now, most of us have pretty much no place to go and all day to get there. And if you need evidence of this, just look at the price of gas. Unless you have a job deemed ‘essential’ there aren’t many places to go, as the world continues social distancing, quarantining, and isolating in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic. For now, and for who knows how long, it’s safer to be at home.

I’ve been out on leave the past few months as we welcomed a baby girl to our family. I’d like to thank my PTEN family for helping to pick up the slack while I was away. This week, getting back in the swing of things, I chatted with a few shop owners and technicians and asked how business was going. What I heard is that, despite uncertainty, this industry is weathering the storm.

 As the number of COVID-19 cases ticked up in the United States, automotive repair business owners began taking stock – and taking action – in response to the many changes brought on by the virus. Some shop owners are using this time to market to municipal customers and fleets, getting them in the shop for maintenance work while their regular shop traffic slows. Some businesses are offering pickup and delivery options for their customers, with new and enhanced sterilization procedures firmly in place. Many of you are taking this time to do a deep clean of the office and bays, and even tackle some of those larger shop repairs so you can come out of the gate strong when things get rolling again. In some cities work was just fine, business was steady ... before grinding to a near halt these last few days. 

I recognize that many of you are having to make some tough decisions right now, in your work and personal lives. On behalf of the entire team at PTEN I want to say ‘Thank You’ to our essential technicians, as you work to keep the world moving and our families safe. You keep emergency vehicles running, delivery trucks driving, and the cars of other essential workers on the road. The PTEN team thanks you for all you do for our communities and our country.

Stay healthy and be safe.