Charlie 16 Report post Posted January 15, 2018 (edited) Is it just me? or does it seem that lately there are a lot of businesses being started that insert themselves into the flow of existing transactions only to harvest your profits and lesson the margins of those doing the work and accepting responsibility (us). I am referring to technology companies: Repair Pal, Openbay, CarFix and now Blockchain to mention a few. It is frustrating to me after having built a business (brick and mortar), purchased equipment, hired employees, provide training, accepted full responsibility and risk, supported my community only to have a startup backed by money hungry venture capitalists attempt to erode our profit margin. I find the statements from co-founder Vladimir Lupenko of Blockchain in this months Ratchet & Wrench extremely arrogant: "The repair industry is huge, and people always get cheated" "We use reputable and undisputable technical data to set the market and price rate". Vladimir goes on to say "Based on our contractual agreement , the repair shop will have to provide the service at the price we have calculated". As good shop owners, protective of our future, we best rally against this technology, this Wolf in sheep's clothing. My research of these companies leads me to believe that no good will come from their involvement in our businesses. We, as independent shop owners, are operating in an industry some see as ripe for consolidation and this technology is just one of the signs. I ask that anyone reading this post refuse to participate. The involvement of these companies is not a 'quick fix' for a shop needing car count. Their intention is to drive down your prices, recruit price shopping customers only and mine your data base for their benefit. If our industry sees their existence as a threat and together, refuse to become a member of their organization, they will disappear. Without shops to refer to they lose all value to the consumer and will not be able to return a profit to their investors. To read the complete article, follow this link: https://www.ratchetandwrench.com/articles/5504-how-blockchain-technology-could-affect-your-shop To support this research here is a seperate article from this months Ratchet & Wrench magazine discussing how to price your services for long term health and growth: https://www.ratchetandwrench.com/articles/4841-how-to-price-to-gain-customer-loyalty?utm_medium=email&utm_source=utm_code Edited January 15, 2018 by Charlie Added additional research 3 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dux 6 Report post Posted January 15, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robert Crawford 5 Report post Posted January 15, 2018 (edited) We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. Edited January 15, 2018 by Robert Crawford 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stevens Automotive Service 14 Report post Posted January 16, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndersonAuto 170 Report post Posted January 16, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 3 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3PuttFever 42 Report post Posted January 17, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie 16 Report post Posted January 17, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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JustTheBest 66 Report post Posted January 21, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pam 4 Report post Posted January 22, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gandgautorepair 50 Report post Posted January 28, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gandgautorepair 50 Report post Posted January 28, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JustTheBest 66 Report post Posted January 28, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gandgautorepair 50 Report post Posted January 28, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie 16 Report post Posted January 28, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alfredauto 399 Report post Posted February 6, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hands On 30 Report post Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. Edited February 7, 2018 by Hands On Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carolinahigear 118 Report post Posted February 9, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie 16 Report post Posted February 12, 2018 We allow visitors to read the first post of each topic. To read this post, please login or register for a membership. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
