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Saturdays by appontment?

carbtech72
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carbtech72 Contributor

carbtech72

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Ive been having Saturday hours from 9-2 since I opened 4 years ago. Its never been a great day, every once in a while im busy but mostly its small stuff and not really worth staying open. Does anyone do Saturdays by appointment only and if so how does it work out for you? Im not opposed to working on sat. just want to make it worthwhile. and also have the option of having 2 days off if I want.

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mmotley Proficient

mmotley

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I was working Saturdays, 9-3. I got tired of playing on Youtube and Google the whole time, so I changed to Appointment only. Now, I have someone scheduling work every Saturday... Seems like I can't win. However, appointment only does let you come in, knock the work out, then head home!

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Stephen Rookie

Stephen

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I tried being open Saturdays 8:30 - 2:00 for 8 months with advertising through emails and Facebook and all we really got were DIY'ers wanting us to bail them out at 1:59, a few oil changes, and lots of State Inspections (which the State of Maine mandates cannot be over $ 12.5 [i added on a Saturday $12.50 Saturday convenience fee which people gladly paid]. The only tech willing to work Saturday was an apprentice.

 

Occasionally we got a decent paying job. I thought with so many Boston area commuters, we would be busy but no. Once summer came, it died because people want to play and not be without their car (even though we have a fleet of loaners) and with summers being short and winters long, I figured I would rather play on the weekends like my customers. Having started in 1976, being open on Saturdays is not going to improve the remaining years I have left.

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mspecperformance Mentor

mspecperformance

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I used to be open during the week from 10AM to 7PM. Then I scaled it back to 9AM to 6PM. We are currently at 8AM to 5PM. We also changed our Saturday schedule from 10 to 3 to 8 to 1. I found that some customers had a hard time dropping off and picking up at our times. Saturdays is convenient for customers to drop off, pick up and for minor services. We also occassionally set up a few bigger jobs on Saturdays as some customers really prefer the Saturday time slot. There have been times when the work was slow. I would say average 1 Saturday a month we are pretty dead. I will probably reevaluate our situation once I get my management more on point.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Gary A Community Regular

Gary A

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There is no right or wrong on this one. It depends on your clientele and business model. We only open 5 days but have done this since the beginning. As long as you are making money being open Saturdays it is good, but if your not making money then why?

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