Shop Owners! Establish your 2017 Goals!
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By Elite Worldwide Inc.
If you’re running (or have run) a world class auto repair shop, and would like to spend as little as 4-5 hours per week giving back to the industry that has given you so much, while earning a great income at the same time, then this is the perfect opportunity. Elite is looking for business development coaches who would like to share their knowledge so that other shop owners can have the opportunity to walk in their shoes and become more successful.
All Elite coaches must meet the following qualifications:
At least 5 years experience as a successful owner operator
A track record of verifiable business success that includes a 5-star reputation in the community
A strong commitment to ethics
A positive attitude
Great communication skills
A great personality A + references
A willingness to submit to a background investigation
A willingness to embrace and live by our mission statement
If you qualify, we would love to work with you to change the lives of shop owners facing challenges that you’ve already overcome. Please send an email that communicates your specific accomplishments as a shop owner and any statistics on the shop(s) that you’ve run to [email protected], or visit https://www.eliteworldwide.com/careers-that-change-lives.ht… to learn more.
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By Joe Marconi
A few years ago, some friends and I were having dinner at a local restaurant. There were six of us enjoying the food and having a great time. A few minutes after our waiter served us our coffee and dessert, the owner of the restaurant walked over to us, introduced himself and said, “I have people waiting for this table; how much longer do you think you’ll be?” Shocked by his comment, I hesitated for a second, looked up at him and said, “No worries, we’re done.” With just a few simple words, the owner of the restaurant wiped out the pleasant experience we were all having.
As we were finishing up, we couldn’t help noticing the stares from our waiter and the owner. Their eyes were laser-focused on us. They made it obvious that they wanted our table. We didn’t say anything to our waiter, or the owner. But we told each other, “We’ll think twice about coming back to this restaurant.” None of us ever did go back to that restaurant. And I heard similar complaints from other friends about that restaurant. About a year later, that restaurant closed its doors for the last time.
As a business owner, I fully understand what each table means in terms of profit. The tables at a restaurant are no different than the service bays in our business. The more people you can process through the restaurant, the more profitable the restaurant is. The more cars we can process through our service bays, the more profitable we are.
While I don’t fault the owner of the restaurant for recognizing the need to be profitable, I do fault the owner for not understanding a basic rule in achieving success in business. And that is: You build a business one customer at a time and by developing strong, long-term relationships with those customers. And to maintain that success, a business must continuously cultivate those relationships.
The owner of this restaurant didn’t get it. All of us had dined at his establishment before. The owner didn’t see us as an opportunity to strengthen the relationships. He saw the opposite. By asking for our table, he put the emphasis on his next sale and eliminated any chance of us returning again. Losing customers, and not understanding why, is the kiss of death for any small business.
What the owner determined important was profit per table, per person. The process to get people fed and done became the primary objective, when it should have been ensuring its customers were enjoying a nice meal and having a great time. It was a mistake that eventually led to his failure. Never think that customer quantity ever outweighs the quality of the customer experience. Making a memorable experience is the essence of great customer service.
If we dig a little deeper, we find another mistake made by the restaurant owner: believing that the customer experience was over when the meal was over. The meal was prepared, it was served and we consumed it. Then, at some point during the end of that process, we became an obstacle to his next sale. He failed to comprehend that the sale is not over when the meal is over, and that everything that occurs right up to the moment when a customer drives away from his parking lot will have an influence on whether that customer will return in the future.
The lesson for us is simple: Never lose sight of the importance of creating a customer. Establish a culture in your company that cultivates long-term relationships. Build a process that always strives for world-class customer service during the entire customer experience—and especially at car delivery.
Never think that when the technician completes the repair, your job is done. The customer experience continues right up until the time the customer is picking up their car. The time you spend with the customer after the repair is done is as important as making the sale.
Value each customer. Work on those relationships. Don’t worry about short term profit gain. Remember: building long-term relationships, builds long-term profit.
By the way, that restaurant has recently opened up again. My friends and I went there for dinner last Friday night. We noticed that the new owner was walking around greeting everyone. He eventually made his way to our table, introduced himself and said, “Can I get anyone anything? It’s great to see you here tonight and hope to see you again soon. Thank you.”
Now, you tell me: Do you think we’ll go back?
This story was originally published by Joe Marconi in Ratchet+Wrench on February 1st, 2019
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By [email protected]
This may be an odd topic but with the right strategies you can help workflow and prevent lost or misplaced keys. one of the most annoying things, other than that misplaced 10mm socket, is when you misplace a key.
Customer hands you key > place tag on key> place invoice and key in hanging plastic order> place on workflow rack(or hand to technician)> tech pulls car in> I prefer if a car is in the bay to have the key on the seat with the window rolled down(to prevent lockout) or have the key in the hanging plastic invoice holder hanging on the mirror> Vehicle finished and key makes its way back to front office> then given to customer.
This seems like a logical workflow. However my concern is what do you do with keys when cars stay overnight?
If the vehicle is parked outside, Do you put them in a Safe/Lock box? Drawer?
If the vehicle is parked inside and is currently being worked on, do you leave the key in the car? hanging holder on the mirror? Safe/Lock box?
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By Gonzo
LET’S MAKE A DEAL You know everyone wants a deal, something cheaper, something “thrown in” to sweeten the pot. Money (as always) is always the driving force, and I don’t think that will ever change. A deal is a deal, but if you can’t make a deal… well, then, deal with it. One bright morning, a mid-90’s Subaru showed up at the shop on the back of a wrecker. It’s one of my regular customer’s young teenager’s car. The phone rang, it was the dad, Oh, and did he have a story to tell… a real whopper of a story. “My son told me he was driving along when the car bumped the curb and flattened two tires. I haven’t seen the car, but my son said there wasn’t any real damage. So, I don’t think it should take you very long to get it back on the road. Do what you can, and call me with the estimate.” I only saw the driver’s side of the car when the tow truck pulled up. The tow driver came in and tells me, “Wherever you put this, you won’t be able to move it again. You’ll have to drag it or put it on “dollies”, it’s pretty messed up. If I were you, I’d stick it directly on the lift.” Ok, ya got me, no real damage aye? But, the tow driver tells me differently… now I’ve got to go look for myself. No real damage? Hmmm, let’s see…the whole passenger side of the car looks like someone tried to peel the sheet metal off with a can opener. Underneath the car was even worse. The upper and lower passenger side control arms are bent. The wheel, spindle, and tire are sitting on the oil pan area. The sway bar looks like a pretzel, both rims on the passenger side are beyond reuse, the tires are torn apart and shards of rubber are peeling off of the steel belts, and the transmission has been ripped off its mounts. Yea, you’re right……he just bumped the curb……..yea sure he did. Looks more like he rode the edge of the curb like a bucking bronco for a long-long way. My guess is somebody was trying to drift around corners or slide it sideways with the emergency brake on, and probably took out every bus stop, park bench, and light pole for a block or two. Ok, the tow driver gets a “thumbs up” on this one; let’s put it on the lift. I told the customer what I had found and the estimate for the repair, and as always I let him know about any “hidden” problems that might be lurking under all this stuff. He was not a shocked as I thought he would be even after I gave him the price for all the work that needed done, but definitely concerned. He kept hinting around as to what I thought might have caused the problem. From the conversation on the phone he was hoping I would say something like… mechanical failure, slick road conditions, defective part, or something like that. The farthest thing in his mind was that the kid might be the problem. I told him what I thought had happened, he didn’t want to believe it, but he was going to check into to it. In the mean time, order the parts and start getting it ready to get back on the road. Several days later all the parts showed up, and I could get a better idea of the damage with parts that weren’t bent like a pretzel. It wasn’t long before I found a few more flaws in the little “Scooby-do”, nothing major but the kind of thing that should be replaced. The extra parts were just a few brackets that were bent, but I knew dad’s pocket book was getting tight. His main concern now was how much I was willing to chew off the original bill to help him out, and to my surprise he confirmed my suspicions as to what caused the accident. Oh yea, the kid was trying to drift the Subaru. (DAH! Now how do ya drift a front wheel drive car… ah, slide with the e-brake???) Now I can do a lot of things, and lower repair costs in order to save the customer money is one of them. Money, or not, I think there is a lesson to be learned here. I thought it was appropriate to make a small request to good old dad. If he wanted a cut on the price of the job, then let’s make a deal. “You bring the little ridge runner to the shop dressed for work. He can earn his keep and save you a few bucks in the process. Maybe even take a different approach to driving in the future,” I told the dad. My customer was a little taken back by my deal to save him some money, but it sounded like a good idea. Now his only job was to get the lad down to the shop ready to fulfill his part of the bargain. Work stopped until I heard back from him. In the mean time, the car is stuck on the lift with no wheels and only half a suspension. With a service bay tied up, it’s starting to cost me money. 2 days go by, then 4 more, another week and still no answer. Finally on a Monday morning when I reached the point where I wasn’t going to wait any longer… the dad calls, “Just fix it, and call me when it’s ready. My son doesn’t want to do it, and I’m not having much luck in getting him to your shop to help at all. So I guess I’ll have to deal with the cost of the repair instead.” A little different deal than I expected. Well, a deal is a deal. I’ll handle my end of the bargain, and old dad has decided on how to handle his. There’s an old saying that comes to mind, it goes like this; “If you want to save a dollar … do the job yourself, but if you have to pay someone else to do it… don’t ask for cheap work, unless you’re willing to share the cost in some way.” After another day of getting everything back into place the car was ready for the road again. Sure there are few battle scars still showing, but mechanically the car is in great shape. That only leaves one more deal that’s not quite finished. … … the father needs to deal with the son. . . .
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By CAautogroup
Hello all,
We currently pay our techs by the hour until business starts to pick up on mechanic jobs. Techs normally get a 1 hr lunch break (no paid). However, we have noticed that techs are leaving early and showing up late. As an off site owner, I find it difficult to keep track of hours, and would not like to pay for hours techs are not there. We have tried to use the honor system; however, may times techs are "forgetting" to note time in an out on the calendar.
Any suggestions? Do you use an electronic clocking in an out system? Have the manager in charge do it?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and opinions.
Regards,
Nick
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