10 Thing Every Mechanic Must Absolutely Have In Their Shop

There essentials, and then there are essentials. Every mechanic must have tools, gloves, a register or card-reader, and a myriad of other items in their shop. But it's the stuff that we don't see or think of that can be the most important. The following list of 10 Things Every Mechanic Must Absolutely Have In Their Shop was compiled with help of some mechanic friends at the Wrenching Network. Feel free to enter your must-haves in the comments section below!

1) Coffee maker - This iron-clad rule should apply to every single workplace, not just a mechanic shop. Some of us, including me, would lose the majority of our friends if we went without coffee for more than a morning, and being a mechanic is physically draining. If you want to increase shop productivity, get a coffee-maker and something to put in it. It'll be the best investment you could possibly make.

2) Private area - Mechanics deal with an obscene amount of stress through the day, so a private are where they can go to decompress is essential. In many shops, this is the bathroom, or an outside smoking area. Wherever it is, make sure that this area is free from customers, co-workers, and bosses, since that's who everyone is trying to get away from.

3) Mini-fridge - We don't say that a mini-fridge is a good place to put beer, we will just say that a nice cold beverage after working on hot, dirty cars can be incredibly refreshing. One tech said that if his shop didn't have a min-fridge, he would buy his own and bring it to the shop. This is absolutely one place where you don't want to cut costs.

4) Music - This may come as a surprise, but the sound of eardrum-breaking high-powered tools, broken up by moments of painful silence don't foster the best working conditions. Music makes the day go by faster, gives a soundtrack to your life, and allows employees some satisfaction as they work hard through the day. And there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to blast the music if it's not a customer-area.

5) Television - A fairly obvious necessity, putting a television in your shop isn't a distraction as much as it is an opportunity for your employees, and customers to keep up to date on what's happening with sports, news, etc. No one is saying the mechanics should spend their lunch hour watching Saving Private Ryan, but a break in front of the TV lets employees recharge for the rest of their shift.

6) Comfortable couch - If you don't have a comfortable couch, you have nothing. The couch will come in handy for a break, of if your tech gets kicked out by his girlfriend and needs a place to spend the night. After contorting themselves in inhuman positions all day, mechanics need to be able to take a load off at some point. Just don't make the couch TOO comfortable or it will become impossible to get back up.

7) Air-conditioning / Heat - Mechanics have it bad enough having to work on cars in all weather. The bays open and close, and sometimes stay open for long periods of time, exposing workers to the elements all day. Don't make it worse by not having air conditioning or heat. In most parts of the country, at least 6 months out of the year become unbearably hot, or unbearably cold.

8) One piece of exercise equipment - This one may be surprising, but a stationary bike, weight set, or a punching bag can be a great addition to a shop. Obviously, it should be in an area not visible to customers, but it's a compact stress reliever, and allows some sort of exercise in between shifts, or on a break. Obviously safety should come first, but if you have room, it's worth it.

9) Wi-fi - It's 2014, and you should already have Wi-fi in your shop, but if you don't, get it! I know what you're thinking: then people might spend too much time on their phones, but guess what? They already do! Customers love free Wi-fi because they can access it on their laptop while they wait for their car to get serviced, and it shows that you care about them, and about your employees (if you have any).

10) Project car- Most shops have some car that's being worked on, whether it's the owner's, an employees, or one bought from a customer and getting fixed up to sell. Most of these project cars are slow work, since they only get attention during downtime, which is a rare occurrence these days. Sometimes you'll drive by a shop at night and see the lights on and these cars getting brought back to life.

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