How Do Spend Your Free Time?

[Joe Marconi]

The Summer is in full swing, a time when many people take vacations and also spend time engaging in their favorite hobbies and activities. 

How do you spend your free time?  

[xrac]

I am coming back from a week at the beach with kids and grandkids. Great fun. 

[Joe Marconi]

22 hours ago, xrac said:

I am coming back from a week at the beach with kids and grandkids. Great fun. 

Family. Number one, most important in my book. 

[Transmission Repair]

On 6/25/2022 at 6:43 AM, Joe Marconi said:

The Summer is in full swing, a time when many people take vacations and also spend time engaging in their favorite hobbies and activities. 

How do you spend your free time?  

My kids live out-of-state 1,500 miles away, so I rarely see them.  However, my wife and I spend time doing what we like.  She loves to cook, sew, work puzzles, and play computer games.  I spend my days sitting on our deck, reading books, reading the newspaper, watching YouTube news stories, watching TV and reading and answering forum posts.  It's a life of leisure with no schedule or commitments outside of the Honey-Do's.  I do occasionally go to the senior center to eat lunch and mingle with other retirees.

My sister once told me, "Larry, you do a whole lot of nothing."  And that's the way I like it. 🙂

[Joe Marconi]

38 minutes ago, Transmission Repair said:

My kids live out-of-state 1,500 miles away, so I rarely see them.  However, my wife and I spend time doing what we like.  She loves to cook, sew, work puzzles, and play computer games.  I spend my days sitting on our deck, reading books, reading the newspaper, watching YouTube news stories, watching TV and reading and answering forum posts.  It's a life of leisure with no schedule or commitments outside of the Honey-Do's.  I do occasionally go to the senior center to eat lunch and mingle with other retirees.

My sister once told me, "Larry, you do a whole lot of nothing."  And that's the way I like it. 🙂

You have earned the right to do what you like.  

[DonnieJ]

In the shop at least, because I'm there almost every day (by proud choice) I like to expect the next customer to call or come in while cleaning my tools and equipment. That way when the next customer miraculously comes in they're impressed by how clean everything is. Otherwise, I'm searching for forums like this lol.

[Joe Marconi]

18 hours ago, DonnieJ said:

In the shop at least, because I'm there almost every day (by proud choice) I like to expect the next customer to call or come in while cleaning my tools and equipment. That way when the next customer miraculously comes in they're impressed by how clean everything is. Otherwise, I'm searching for forums like this lol.

Ha! I can relate!

I was always been a firm believer in being in the trenches with my staff. I did my best to balance life, family, and business. Very hard at times. As I got older, it became more and more important to put more emphasis on the things money cannot buy. 

[Mark Adam]

In my free time, I immerse myself in two of my greatest passions: cricket and reading books. Cricket offers an exhilarating blend of strategy, skill, and teamwork, providing endless entertainment and a chance to stay active. Whether I'm playing with friends or watching professional matches, cricket always brings a sense of excitement and camaraderie.

On the other hand, reading books transports me to different worlds, broadens my knowledge, and enhances my imagination. I enjoy exploring various genres, from fiction to non-fiction, and appreciate the way books offer insights into diverse perspectives and experiences. Balancing these activities allows me to enjoy both physical and mental stimulation, ensuring that my free time is always fulfilling and enriching. Whether on the cricket field or lost in the pages of a great book, I find joy and relaxation in these beloved pastimes.

[Joe Marconi]

2 hours ago, Mark Adam said:

In my free time, I immerse myself in two of my greatest passions: cricket and reading books. Cricket offers an exhilarating blend of strategy, skill, and teamwork, providing endless entertainment and a chance to stay active. Whether I'm playing with friends or watching professional matches, cricket always brings a sense of excitement and camaraderie.

On the other hand, reading books transports me to different worlds, broadens my knowledge, and enhances my imagination. I enjoy exploring various genres, from fiction to non-fiction, and appreciate the way books offer insights into diverse perspectives and experiences. Balancing these activities allows me to enjoy both physical and mental stimulation, ensuring that my free time is always fulfilling and enriching. Whether on the cricket field or lost in the pages of a great book, I find joy and relaxation in these beloved pastimes.

Reading books is a passion on mine also. Cricket, however, that's another story. Growing up in the Bronx, New York, we didn't have much chance to play cricket. Thanks for sharing! 

[JustTheBest]

Now me! I got sucked into the photography game. There's always a new lens, filter or something. Almost as bad as golf! Anyway, I move around local car shows and try to create the picture that the car manufacturer may have used when they were trying to get you to buy the car! 

Expensive hobby, but I enjoy it!

Matthew

[Transmission Repair]

Sim

2 hours ago, JustTheBest said:

Now me! I got sucked into the photography game. There's always a new lens, filter or something. Almost as bad as golf! Anyway, I move around local car shows and try to create the picture that the car manufacturer may have used when they were trying to get you to buy the car! 

Expensive hobby, but I enjoy it!

Matthew

Another great post, Matthew.  Similarly to you, I got into shooting videos a lot during the waning years of my career just before I retired.  Yeah, the equipment was expensive, but I loved it.  I started only after I learned of YouTube in 2006.  I started posting on YouTube in 2007.  Most of the videos were short, 3 to 5 minutes explaining what I found on the customer's transmission.  Basically, I originally started using YouTube as a sales tool.  Eight years later, I had over 2,100 videos on my YouTube channel.  https://www.youtube.com/c/LarryBloodworth

 

[JustTheBest]

Ha! YouTube as a sales tool! 100% Agreed! 
Just can't understand why repair shops don't do a lot more of that. It's not a quick win, but people get to know, trust and like you... then they bring their car in for service. 
Sheesh... sometimes feels like you gotta literally draw it out for them!

Thanks!
Matthew

[Transmission Repair]

Matthew,

I originally would send the video link in the same Email as an Adobe .pdf attachment.  I quickly learned that was not a good strategy because some of my customers would only look at the .pdf to get a bottom-line price without ever looking at the video.  Using this method, I had an 86% closing ratio.  Unless people look at the video, they have no idea of how involved the job is.

The strategy I eventually adopted was to only Email the video as a private video, first.  While I was waiting for the customer to view the video, I would write the estimate.  ONLY AFTER the customer viewed the video (by the number of private views being 1 or more) would I send the .pdf of the estimate.  Using this method, I had an astonishing 98%+ closing ratio!  Half the time, I would get a return Email asking when they could expect their vehicle to be ready.  The other half would call me and either have questions or they were calling to give a verbal OK on the job.  For me and my shop, YouTube became our 'secret weapon'.

As cell phone technology advanced, I would eventually just put the video link in a text to the customer.  Due to the big-ticket nature of automatic transmission repair, it made it well worth the extra effort required to go through the hassle of a video to close the sale.  I can't say how effective using video would be for small ticket repairs.  There were some of my customers that would forward the video link to friends, family, & spouse to "prove" what a good choice they had made.  I can remember a few customers that the view counter would be in the double-digits.

From what I'm reading, there's Shop Management software that uses a tablet to send customers a video or photo link from a DVI.  I've never used such, however, I know they're out there.

[JustTheBest]

Actually, I was recently on a zoom meeting hosted by Joe (Marconi) and the focus was about selling service and maintenance. The discussion quickly escalated to booking the customer's next service appointment. In the discussion, people talked about educating the customer... you know... why do I need my brake fluid changed or flushed; do I really need to get my oil changed every XXX so many miles, etc. 

I couldn't agree more! In fact, just staying in touch with the customer is HUGE! Current stats prove that over 68% of repair shop customers leave businesses because of INDIFFERENCE! In other words, they think that you don't care! 

My comment was based on the fact that because today, video is so easy, could anyone send me a link or show me the bunch of "customer support videos" they made - and I'm talking about YouTube Shorts - 1 minute or less - made on a phone- where you can say (and show) a customer... this is what happens with whatever... this is what it looks like... and here's how to prevent it! 

Guess what? Nobody had anything! (Boy... that was a surprise!) 

Lot's of talk - no action. Then they wonder why....

Look, I could go on and on... but I've got work to do. 
As for your comments on DVI and pictures, I don't know a shop using that technology... I run a Text Message platform that is guaranteed to put car count in the shop... (as in it works your your money back guarantee!) and I can't tell you the struggle it is to get repair shops to even listen! 

Matthew
"The Car Count Fixer"

[Transmission Repair]

Matthew,

Thanks for the detailed reply.   I believe everything you say as it pertains to a G/R shop.  Remember we were a transmission repair specialty shop.  For example, we only wrote about 25 R.O.s a WEEK whereas a G/R shop would write that many, if not more, PER DAY.  We had only 3,000 sq. ft. of shop space with just 4 lifts.  Yet our annual sales were consistently $1.2M to $1.3M.
I compare our shop more to a collision shop than I do a G/R shop.  It's "one and done" if everything is done correctly.

If we have a repeat customer, it's usually either a customer with extremely bad luck, or has lots of vehicles, or it's a warranty job.

The attitude of indifference that so many shops inherently have is largely fueled by a technician turned shop owner.  They also tend to hire the technical type in the customer-facing positions.
In my technical sales videos, I always tried to make 3 important points, 
A. What the failure was.  
B.  What it's going to take to fix it.  
C.  What are we doing to make sure it doesn't happen again.

I retired before YouTube shorts were conceived.  However, I would use it today if I was still working.  I still try to keep my head in the game because anything and everything automotive still excites me.  Yet, here I am, 9 years after selling my shop and if the truth be told, I'm not much better than the Monday morning armchair quarterback. 🙂

Lastly, here's a random FB post about giving customers pictures with a DVI tablet. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1170301943452267

Every major metropolitan city has at least one investigative reporter standing up for consumer rights and Salt Lake City is no different.  We have Bill Gephardt.  I used him to shoot a 3-minute video endorsing our shop.  I had the video on our home page, as well as any landing pages.  His name recognition was off the charts in our market area.  The very first month we had his video on our website, we saw an immediate $40K improvement in sales.  Check it out for yourself.  https://youtu.be/Loo6V7Nln-o

We also had a killer location with 265K vehicle count per day, a huge parking lot, which was double-fenced.  Take a peek at this 1-minute video... https://youtu.be/V89FJzM7KCg

If you need to contact me, here are several ways to contact me... [email protected] | https://www.facebook.com/larry.bloodworth.5  | (801) 885-2227