Hi everyone,
There's a brand new article in the October 2015 Ratchet & Wrench magazine
that suggests price shoppers are bottom-feeders - and should be fired.
Click this link to see why looking at the situation, from a different viewpoint,
may be beneficial to you and your business.
Two of the most common questions I see shop owners asking are centered around
1) How to hire techs and service advisors and
2) What's the best form of marketing for new customers.
The better question should be:
What's the easiest way to attract these people?
The simplest answer is by becoming a magnet by way of your core philosophy.
In order to thrive (not just survive), the auto repair business model must be based
on a core philosophy of "win-win-win".
What that mea
Hi everyone,
Something happened recently that really pushed my buttons.
Weeks later, I'm still angry about it.
Not for me.
But for all the shop owners, like you, who are trying to build a profitable
auto repair business, in today's economy.
What gives them the right to decide what you should or shouldn't be told?
Here's what happened.
I was scheduled to speak at a business conference for auto repair shop owners.
This had been on my calendar for months.
Two we
Hi everyone,
What I'm about to tell you will either excite you - or offend you.
At first glance, you may think I'm going to talk about a subject that has been
hashed and re-hashed.
And there couldn't possibly be anything left to say about it.
So, you may be tempted to hit your back button and go on about your day.
However, if you're like most shop owners I speak with...
This is a problem they've been struggling with - for years...
And it's still not "handled".
As
Hi everyone!
It's ready now...
Episode 2 of our new series called, "The Secrets of Building a Profitable Auto Repair Business That Runs On Autopilot!".
Are you losing customers to the dealerships?
Now that the economy is improving in some areas, more people are buying new cars.
That's having an impact on the independent auto repair shops because...
Most dealerships have put together aggressive service and maintenance programs for their new car buyers.
For example, the
Hi everyone!
I wanted to share a video that is the first of many I plan to record,
in order to answer some of the most common questions I get.
The idea to produce these videos came to me, as a result of an
article I wrote a few months ago called:
"How To Build An Auto Repair Shop That Runs On Autopilot."
If you're like many of the shop owners that have contacted me,
the idea of having a business that is profitable and runs smoothly
with - or without you... Is at the top of their pr
BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY’s digital multi-point inspection software was selected as an innovator in the computers and software category of the Professional Tools & Equipment News (PTEN) magazine annual Innovation Awards.
Mobile Manager Pro auto repair software was chosen from a pool of 117 product nominations. In all, the magazine chose 26 products from 21 companies as innovation award winners for 2015.
Nominees were evaluated by a panel of judges comprised of technician and auto repair shop owne
With summer still very much in force, fall is already shaping up to be busy as our team prepares to meet you - and your repair shop staff - at five tradeshows in the coming weeks and months.
Of those, four shows will be happening within the span of eight days.
Here’s an overview of where we will be and what you can expect. Be on the lookout for more detailed information as events get closer:
1. From Sept. 24 through Sept. 26, Frank Dragoni, our Director of National Sales and Corporat
Ian Hanson’s German auto repair shop Ingolstadt West has seen its average repair order increase so dramatically that he said it’s too “hard to measure.”
That was not the case with ClearMechanic, the software that the shop had used before switching to BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY in December 2014.
Based on 819 digital multi-point inspections in the seven months his California shop has been using BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY's Mobile Manager Pro, the shop’s ARO has jumped from $194.36 prior to inspections to
Our Mitchell 1 customers have been asking for years about the possibility of booking appointments by technician. Later this week, the long-awaited feature request will be available through Report Pro.
This is a huge improvement to the Mitchell 1 stock calendar. With the update, shops can book appointments by technician.
Service advisors will be able to easily manage a busy workday and ensure technician availability, which helps to improve productivity and leads to shops becoming more efficie
It was common for Holt Auto Service and Machine Shop Service Manager Mike Chase to leave a message for a customer and “wait, wait, wait” for a call back.
In the hours that typically followed until Chase talked to customers, the technicians wasted time taking vehicles down from lifts only to begin the seemingly unending cycle again with another vehicle.
Since the nine-bay shop began using BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY's Mobile Manager Pro, customer communication – and repair work authorizations – have mov
Our Mobile Manager Pro digital multi-point inspection tool will be discussed during the upcoming NACE/CARS Expo & Conference in Detroit, Michigan. The auto repair software will be referenced during our partner, Mitchell 1’s 90-minute training session, “Shop Management Unleashed.”
Tim McDonnell, Mitchell 1’s National Training Manager will lead the training on July 22 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the COBO Center during the annual event, which runs from July 21 through July 25.
Focused o
At Bud Wildman’s Germantown, Md., shop, Precision Auto and Tire Center, digital multi-point inspections have replaced the previous paper and pencil versions. The paperless vehicle inspections are much more thorough, consisting of 10 vehicle condition photos, an in-depth color-coded report and a $525 average repair order.
“Would you rather slip through 20 cars and sell an ARO of $150 or go through five cars and sell an ARO of $600 each?” Wildman asked. “It takes more time to present the repor
When he’s not helping auto repair shops learn tasks to automate their business and become more efficient, BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY™ Director of National Sales and Corporate Sponsorships Frank Dragoni, of Yardley, eats, breathes and sleeps baseball.
A Pennsbury Athletic Association baseball coach, Dragoni has been gearing up for the Philadelphia Friends of the V Foundation’s annual Jimmy V Home Run Derby, set for June 28 at Trenton Thunder Arm and Hammer Park following the Thunder’s 1 p.m. game.
Facebook and Google are constantly changing its algorithms making it more difficult for auto repair shops to gain traction online. Direct mail can be expensive and traditional advertising nets little returns.
So, what’s a shop owner to do?
Use your shop’s customer invoice to market your business.
Compared to other ways of promoting your business, creating a unique, customized invoice is by far the least expensive, quickest and easiest method of sharing information about your repair s
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