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Hello from newbie! 6 months in business-need some ideas

enurenberg
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enurenberg Newbie

enurenberg

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Hello to everyone, been checking things out for a while around here, and felt I could benefit from some of your collective wisdom.

 

I opened a two bay repair shop in southeast PA after 15 years as a tech (same area I have always worked in). Doors opened in August 2012, and there was an initial rush of work, side work I had put off until I opened, etc.. Now things seemed to have stalled, and I cant seem to get the phone ringing. As far as advertising goes, I'm up on on the google, yelp, facebook stuff, I did a post card mailing to the developments closest to the shop, I'm on the place mats at a local breakfast place, and starting this week I am on the shopping carts at the closest chain grocery store. My walk in business is very low, partially due to the fact that I am slightly off a main road. After 2 year of looking for a shop, I rented this which the rent is more fair due to the location. This is in a fairly rural area, but there are many houses in the general area with an average of at least 2 cars each. Once customers are in, They seem very happy and say they will refer everyone they can, but it seems to never happen. I also have an oil change special for referrals I have posted in the office for them. Anyway, thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

Erik

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

    • Joe Marconi
      Want to End Your Technician Shortage? Focus on Retention!
      By Joe Marconi in Joe's 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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