Motor Age and PTEN are committed to supporting young technicians in the automotive aftermarket and we want to shine a spotlight on those who are paving a successful path in the industry. This is part of a monthly series to showcase the best young talent in our industry.
Growing up in his family’s shop, B and D Auto Repair, Devon Jones became interested in the mechanics of how cars work from a young age.
After graduating high school three years ago, Jones not only went from working part time in the shop to now working full time, but he also helps mentor part-time high school students and is training to become a service writer.
When not training, mentoring, or working on repairs, Jones is always thinking of ways to enhance the shop. Whether that’s by managing the shop’s Instagram page, designing and developing employee T-shirts (and masks during COVID-19), researching apparel companies and designs to update shop uniforms, or suggesting new equipment to increase shop productivity.
Jones also took it upon himself to create a customer satisfaction survey last year during Thanksgiving time. Each completed survey was entered into a drawing to win a “Car Wash Bucket”. The bucket was filled with all the supplies needed for one to wash their car, along with a shop hoodie.
His appreciation towards his coworkers also doesn’t go unnoticed. Jones will often bring breakfast sandwiches in for everyone, and he has even created a shop playlist. Since many of the technicians and staff prefer different types of music, there were always issues with what radio station to listen to.
Jones found a way to please everyone by creating a playlist based on each person's likings.
“He inspires us all to appreciate each other and our differences,” notes Janna Jones, owner of B and D Auto Repair. “Devon also cares about his performance and checks periodically on his own accord to make sure he is producing his share of the work.”
For all his hard work and for all the reasons noted above, Jones made it into the top ten candidates for the second annual PTEN and Motor Age Best Young Tech Award, a program that aims to recognize technicians aged 35 and younger.
We recently caught up with Jones to learn more about his experience and future aspirations.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career?
The best piece of advice I got while learning was “it’s just nuts and bolts” which means to me that any job or any repair is doable and is just nuts and bolts.
What is the most random item in your toolbox?
The most random thing I have in my toolbox would have to be my assortment of lights which every tech needs, and I can’t buy enough of.
What are your career aspirations?
My career aspirations are to take over the family business and continue the legacy of what makes us B and D Auto Repair.
What is your favorite tool and why?
My favorite tool would have to be my clip popper fork as per what Snap-on calls it. With this tool, you can easily remove plastic clips but not only that, it can help pry up pretty much everything it can touch.
If you weren’t in the automotive industry, what would you be doing?
If I weren’t in the automotive industry, I would probably look into becoming an engineer or something along those lines because I like knowing how things operate and what goes into making them do so.
What is the most challenging or memorable repair you’ve worked on?
The most challenging or memorable experience I’ve had was doing my first timing belt. At the time it seemed like such a huge job and almost impossible to remember where everything went, but after slowly completing the job, I gained confidence and the second one was easy.
