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Are there any AfterMarket Shop Owners in here?


TTP

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Good Day Joe 

...We are a brake and front end shop.

I know what you are talking about. We don't do lifts for that reason.

We do leveling kits and considered the job as replacing Struts and it's base on the time plus some.

A lift kit leaves a lot of work with out been paid for.. 

I think is more of guess on the amount of work and hours combine. 

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  • 1 month later...

Perhaps have the vendors you use do the legwork for you.  That's an added benefit they can provide you, as a buyer.  I have a vendor that does just that...I can order parts online, see availability, and even check labor guides, interchanges, and fitment.  Because of that, it's my first place to shop.  Really where I get nearly everything, because it is consistent, and they have shown they take us seriously by providing us with tools to help the ordering process.  If I know part prices, associated labor, etc., it means many times I can make a decision on the fly.  We are a mom and pop and do straighforward stuff with some classics thrown in (and the occasional tractor dropped off in the lot).  It also helps in a small shop, if your front-end person is not necessarily a car guy (me).  By providing that info to the desk person, the wrench doesn't have to stop and weigh in on an estimate (increasing bottom line).  Just a thought...the information must be out there...ask and you just might receive, if they can see how it would cement a relationship with you!

Cheers

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         5 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
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