Car Counts Down?

[Joe Marconi]

Many shop owners are stating that car counts are down. Is this the norm? Are we headed in a direction where there may be too many segments of the auto service industry wanting a share of the service and repair pie? In order to grow, a business needs opportunity. And opportunity starts with a healthy car count.

[xrac]

Many shop owners are stating that car counts are down. Is this the norm? Are we headed in a direction where there may be too many segments of the auto service industry wanting a share of the service and repair pie? In order to grow, a business needs opportunity. And opportunity starts with a healthy car count.

 

Our car count is trending flat to slightly down. The biggest thing we are seeing right now is a yo, yo on car counts. Gang buster weeks are being followed by very soft ones.

[Joe Marconi]

Do you have any plans or ideas on how to get those car counts up?

[xrac]

Do you have any plans or ideas on how to get those car counts up?

 

I detest doing cheap oil changes because of the type of traffic they generate. If you run a $17.95 oil change you generate about 75% who will not even consider fixing anything else on their cars. Some even tell you they don't want anything else looked at on their cars. We are trying to run value added offers that attract people interested in maintaining their vehicles. These are like a free tire rotation with oil change, summer vacation special with oil change, tire rotation, new wiper blades, and vehicle inspection, etc. We are also working on developing some new commercial accounts.

[Dan Reichow]

car counts up // hard to maintain R/0 figures where they need to be.

[Joe Marconi]

Do you mean that with the increase car, there is drop in ARO?

 

My car counts are up too, with a decrease in ARO. We implemented a "Just Say Yes" policy. With this policy we accept walk-ins and appointments based on the customer’s needs. It means we are doing more basic services, but the up side is we are becoming more convenient to the consumers and it's putting us on an even plane with the larger tire stores in the area. Overall, my sales are up.

 

I have 10 bays; it would hard to handle this policy with smaller shop.

[xrac]

Do you mean that with the increase car, there is drop in ARO?

 

My car counts are up too, with a decrease in ARO. We implemented a "Just Say Yes" policy. With this policy we accept walk-ins and appointments based on the customer’s needs. It means we are doing more basic services, but the up side is we are becoming more convenient to the consumers and it's putting us on an even plane with the larger tire stores in the area. Overall, my sales are up.

 

I have 10 bays; it would hard to handle this policy with smaller shop.

 

We too are taking more walk in stuff: oil changes, flat repairs, tire rotations. The only time we are saying no is if we don't have a bay free and then we try to schedule it ASAP. This is also helping our car count.

Edited June 25, 2009 by xrac

[Joe Marconi]

I think this a new business model formula, which is quite different from our thinking years ago.

[Dan Reichow]

I think this a new business model formula, which is quite different from our thinking years ago.

 

 

If you are in a depressed area with high unemployment , need to change your thinking . I have friends say I cannot wait for normal to return , really do not think normal will be found for many year's .

With the new cash for clunker's and the offer's out thier for cheap work will take a long time for clients to revert back to wanting to pay more for great service!. Do not get me wrong thier are many quality clients ,but even those are pushed to the wall due to hour's cut, and or a spouse has lost thier job.

 

Stay positive and create your own economy , has worked well for us , not saying it will be easy .

Marketing is the key and staying consistent. Say yes as often as you can.

 

Some on this site will say no to low offer's to motivate clients to come in , but some of us have no choice but to work on taking an [ d ] client with the hopes of moving them up to a client.

 

In Closing no one situation fits all , but try something if it does not work then move to the next one.

Thier are many things can be done for penny's so why not market.

 

Thanks Dan Reichow - [email protected]

[Joe Marconi]

You bring up great points. I need we need to find a balance between offering great package pricing that takes care of the customer's needs during these difficult times and remaining profitable. With that said, I also think we need to work hard to maintain our customer base too. And that means being able to be flexible.