Fleet Work?

[gravysuckinpig]

Just wondering how much of everyone's work comes from other local businesses. Do you actively recruit their business or do you just wait untill they come to you for service? What type of discount do you offer them if any . We do not work on vehicles for the general public - i save all those for gonzo - ha ha. It does keep the "price shoppers" and crazies to a very minimum level- and in todays economy there are alot of those types. We do not do semis or large box trucks - cars and trucks up to 3500 series only- i am located in a fairly large city with more than enough large companies that have a fleet of vehicles - the business model of ONLY doing work for other businesses is a great selling point - it gives the companies the impression of a more personalized relationship with their repair vendor.you would be surprised how receptive they are to not having to share a shop with the general public. And did i mention the stress level is almost non-existent... no price haggling, minor damage complaints,parts price whining - they just want to know when will it be done and how much... so... what is your fleet customer base like? and what discounts if any do you give them?

[xrac]

Just wondering how much of everyone's work comes from other local businesses. Do you actively recruit their business or do you just wait untill they come to you for service? What type of discount do you offer them if any . We do not work on vehicles for the general public - i save all those for gonzo - ha ha. It does keep the "price shoppers" and crazies to a very minimum level- and in todays economy there are alot of those types. We do not do semis or large box trucks - cars and trucks up to 3500 series only- i am located in a fairly large city with more than enough large companies that have a fleet of vehicles - the business model of ONLY doing work for other businesses is a great selling point - it gives the companies the impression of a more personalized relationship with their repair vendor.you would be surprised how receptive they are to not having to share a shop with the general public. And did i mention the stress level is almost non-existent... no price haggling, minor damage complaints,parts price whining - they just want to know when will it be done and how much... so... what is your fleet customer base like? and what discounts if any do you give them?

 

Our business is 95% retail. Most of the fleet business we have is national account stuff that comes through corporate. Those discounts which are negotiated by corporate range from 5-20% and may vary some for tires and may be less for tires and batteries.

[Joe Marconi]

Our business too is about 95% retail. The fleet work I have is ok, but many of them are demanding (which is understandable). Contractors are another thing. They want bottom line prices and want it yesterday. By the time a contractor brings in his pickup, it needs a ton of work and it's a hard sell. Any work we get from the local towns has to be approved as part of their budget, so we don't actively seek that work.

[gravysuckinpig]

Our business too is about 95% retail. The fleet work I have is ok, but many of them are demanding (which is understandable). Contractors are another thing. They want bottom line prices and want it yesterday. By the time a contractor brings in his pickup, it needs a ton of work and it's a hard sell. Any work we get from the local towns has to be approved as part of their budget, so we don't actively seek that work.

 

Thats not too unusual for the small contractors - they are like any small business struggling to survive. The larger companies like cable, satellite, landscape etc are usually great to work with. Part of my model is ONLY doing fleet work - I guess that helps - each company thinks they are "special" and we drive home the fact that we dont try to gouge them simply because they are a business account. They feel like they belong to their own exclusive "club", for lack of a better word. We also do all their vehicle mods when they buy new ones. As far as the contractors you mentioned - they are no different from the customers with the same attitude - we try to weed them out when they first come in. - We dont do much work for the towns or the city either - they mostly have their own garages.

[CollinsAutomotive]

I'd really like to move out of the retail market. If you could share what it is that you are doing/have done to build this side of your bussiness I would really like to know more. I have several fleets now but I am not sure of how to really go out and get more and what types of fleets tend to be the most profitable.

 

I have a well equipped 3 bay shop with everything you could ever need to fix a damn car/truck down to fabrication tools.

 

So I would gladly take any input in this direction.