And now we have, Repair Jungle?

[Joe Marconi]

Internet auto repair bidding is here. There’s a new online service called Repair Jungle, recently launched this past January. Its market area at the present time is Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Repair Jungle is a web based service that allows shops to compete for jobs through a bidding Process.

 

Now, are you ready for this? Consumers upload photos, describe the problem, give other vehicle information and local shops can bid for the job. Is it me or does this sound a little over the top?

 

Fred Yu, the founder of Repair Jungle says, “The goal is drive down prices and drive up customer satisfaction by creating a competitive market place for automotive repair.” There are 70 repair shops signed up and the service reaches 1,000 customers, thus far.

 

Please reread Fred Yu’s statement, “…drive down prices and drive up customer satisfaction…” Hey Fred, “You can’t have both, please choose one of the two.”

 

My first fear; we are headed in the wrong direction. We are not discounters, nor do we market our shops solely on price. What type of customer does Repair Jungle target? Yes, you guessed it, the price shopper. And are shops so desperate that they will bid for a job, just to get traffic to their bays?

 

If shops engage in this form of marketing they are telling the consumer: Please judge me on price alone. Not quality, not service, not the culture of my company, but on price alone.

 

Bidding may work for commodities, but what we do is hardly a commodity.

 

My worst fear? More and more shops will sign up for this.

 

Please, tell me your thoughts on this one!

 

[nmikmik]

I agree with you Joe,

 

The statement above sounds like an oxymoron, but unfortunately does not surprise me a bit.

What i think (and hope) this will achieve, is to do exactly what it is intended - give the "price shopper" customers the lowest possible price and give the "car count only" shops what they want - the car count.

It should also give us another boost to remind us why are we in this business and why we should give our customers reasons to not even consider a service as "Repair Jungle" .

I'd really like to see the Yelp (and alike) reviews of the business after it goes through the "Jungle". They may as well call it a "Bait and switch Jungle" imo

I am also wondering how much this "service" cost to the shop. I doubt it's free even to the customer, considering his "satisfaction"

[Joe Marconi]

I agree with you Joe,

 

The statement above sounds like an oxymoron, but unfortunately does not surprise me a bit.

What i think (and hope) this will achieve, is to do exactly what it is intended - give the "price shopper" customers the lowest possible price and give the "car count only" shops what they want - the car count.

It should also give us another boost to remind us why are we in this business and why we should give our customers reasons to not even consider a service as "Repair Jungle" .

I'd really like to see the Yelp (and alike) reviews of the business after it goes through the "Jungle". They may as well call it a "Bait and switch Jungle" imo

I am also wondering how much this "service" cost to the shop. I doubt it's free even to the customer, considering his "satisfaction"

From what I understand, Repair Jungle charges the shop a fee that gets the bid. But I agree with you. This opens up the door for price shoppers to choose the cheapest shop. Is that how we want the consumer to judge us?

[nmikmik]

So the "winning" shop not only gives up the very last bit of possible profit (please note I am not using it as a dirty word) but also has to pay for it. I mean, that's a great business model for the Mr. Fred Yu, but for the shop is literally and figuratively speaking a loosing proposition. If the "bait and switch" tactics used to be pretty much a move out of despair, now with the "improved system", it will become a rule of the road for these shops.

[Joe Marconi]

I hope not. But I can't help believing that if a shop owner is going to engage in bidding, it stands to reason that in order to win the bid, he will price the job cheaper than normally would. The other thing I am trying to get my head around is the fact that consumers upload photos and give other information to the site. The shop then has to make a decision based and give a price on partial information. It's sometimes hard when the car is in front of you, let alone thru photos and communications from the consumer.

[FROGFINDER]

The customer is armed with more "knowledge" but little wisdom. In most cases people just hear BLAH BLAH BLAH PRICE. Check out what your GOOD customers tweet about you. It might surprise you. I saved a customer $1000.00 on a repair only to have her daughter curse us on twitter. Wait until the Liars app becomes common. The customer will be able to record your voice pattern and scan your face to be able to tell if your employees are lying or not.

Edited October 9, 2013 by FROGFINDER

[xrac]

Internet auto repair bidding is here. There’s a new online service called Repair Jungle, recently launched this past January. Its market area at the present time is Washington D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Repair Jungle is a web based service that allows shops to compete for jobs through a bidding Process.

 

Now, are you ready for this? Consumers upload photos, describe the problem, give other vehicle information and local shops can bid for the job. Is it me or does this sound a little over the top?

 

Fred Yu, the founder of Repair Jungle says, “The goal is drive down prices and drive up customer satisfaction by creating a competitive market place for automotive repair.” There are 70 repair shops signed up and the service reaches 1,000 customers, thus far.

 

Please reread Fred Yu’s statement, “…drive down prices and drive up customer satisfaction…” Hey Fred, “You can’t have both, please choose one of the two.”

 

My first fear; we are headed in the wrong direction. We are not discounters, nor do we market our shops solely on price. What type of customer does Repair Jungle target? Yes, you guessed it, the price shopper. And are shops so desperate that they will bid for a job, just to get traffic to their bays?

 

If shops engage in this form of marketing they are telling the consumer: Please judge me on price alone. Not quality, not service, not the culture of my company, but on price alone.

 

Bidding may work for commodities, but what we do is hardly a commodity.

 

My worst fear? More and more shops will sign up for this.

 

Please, tell me your thoughts on this one!

 

This is bad for all of us and for the consumer. First, how can anyone know what needs to be done to a car before it enters the shop. How often does the price shopper customer appear at our counters with a diagnosis based upon what a shade tree mechanic, a friend, Autozone, or someone on the internet said and they are wrong. Recently, I had a call from a woman wanting a price on an oil pan gasket and a valve cover on a 4 cylinder 1998 Toyota Camry. Both a tire shop and a quick lube had told her this is what she needs. I told her on the phone that we have rarely ever see an oil pan gasket leaking on this car but we had saw many of them with leaks from the oil pump area behind the timing cover. I convinced her to bring it in for us to check. We degreased the engine and adding dye to the oil. They drove the car one week and brought it back in. We confirmed that it was the oil pump leaking not the oil pan gasket. On a place like Repair Jungle they would have wound up with the lowest price on the requested repair and would still have the oil leak. Higher customer satisfaction? I don't think so. My experience is that the lower the price usually the poorer the workmanship and higher risk that the work will have to be done over. This whole concept pushed the consumer in the wrong direction and further erodes the trust factor between us and our customers.

[mspecperformance]

I'm embarrassed this Fred Yu character is of the same ethnic decent as me...

[Joe Marconi]

I agree Frank (xrac). We just had a customer reffered to us by two other shops for a decarb service. He wanted a price for a decarb induction service and fuel system cleaning. He actually mentioned the other shops. We were recommended because we use BG products.

 

We refused to give him a price until we saw the car. Make a long story short....he had a broken valve spring!

 

After a few more questions, the reason he was calling around for a decarb and fuel service is beacuse he READ ON THE INTERNET THAT HIS CAR MODEL HAD CARBON ISSUES!

[5 Star Auto Spa]

Hey Joe, in that situation you described above with the broken valve spring, do you charge the customer a diagnostic fee to find the "real" issue or just the parts and labor required to fix the issue after you have found it? If you do charge a diagnostic fee to find the issue in these type of situations, do you think you lose out on some customers who feel as though they do not want to pay for the diag. fee because they THINK they already know what the issue is?

[Joe Marconi]

Hey Joe, in that situation you described above with the broken valve spring, do you charge the customer a diagnostic fee to find the "real" issue or just the parts and labor required to fix the issue after you have found it? If you do charge a diagnostic fee to find the issue in these type of situations, do you think you lose out on some customers who feel as though they do not want to pay for the diag. fee because they THINK they already know what the issue is?

 

Yes, we do charge a diagnostic testing fee. We must. We knew from the sound of the engine and the way that is was running that it was an engine related problem. We sold a compression test, leak down test and once we determined the cylinder, we went back to the customer to ask for time to remove the valve cover.

 

The customer was actually greatfull at that point, for not just doing a decarb. Many shops fear charging for diag testing. If explained correctly you will not have the a problem. We always give the customer a visual inspection and a road test, with pulling any codes and a consultation before we start, for no charge.

 

But, after that we sell Diagnostic Tests...not time...we don't sell time. No likes to buy time. You go to the doctor with a pain in your shoulder and the doctor orders an X-ray. You pay for the X-ray, not time.

 

Then, as with a doctor, we disucss the results of the test and then the repair to get the car fixed.

 

Make sense?

 

Oh, the only fear I have with diag testing is doing work for the wrong customer. Again, when explained correctly and offer them a visual inspection and consultation first at no charge, they are fine.

 

The ones that I cannot reach...well...Starbucks does not sell everyone coffee...does it?

[Gary A]

This is the most bizarre thing I've heard of. Just keep building solid relationships and trust with "the right customers" and this will not even phase you. Drive down prices? When the parts manufacturers, insurance companies and tax collectors lower their prices I'll lower mine. Even though more people seem to be price conscious with the information on the internet we must stand our ground to remain in business. As an industry we must not give in to these types of customers for they make up a low percentage of work that we really don't need. It is always the high maintenance, price shopping, high demanding customer that give the most grief and least profit. Why do we fall for this?

[Jeff]

UNBELIEVABLE!!! It is hard enough to keep a customer satisfied today with all the internet and "shed" shops out there. Now we have to deal with this? I remember a friend of mine tried a similar program with his home remodel biz. The discounts and fees about put him out of biz! I have heard it referred to as the "Wal-Mart" mentality.

[mspecperformance]

I do my best to brush off the price shoppers but here is a better question... Do you give out phone quotes? If the customer says "I've had it check and I need this" do you just give them a price?

 

I have been debating on a policy of not giving phone estimates however I don't think that would go over well without the right approach. I've seen it done in the martial arts business industry, many franchise schools don't give phone quotes to get people to come in rather than price shop.

[phynny]

Yes, we do charge a diagnostic testing fee. We must. We knew from the sound of the engine and the way that is was running that it was an engine related problem. We sold a compression test, leak down test and once we determined the cylinder, we went back to the customer to ask for time to remove the valve cover.

 

The customer was actually greatfull at that point, for not just doing a decarb. Many shops fear charging for diag testing. If explained correctly you will not have the a problem. We always give the customer a visual inspection and a road test, with pulling any codes and a consultation before we start, for no charge.

 

Joe I'm confused at your posts. I seems to me that you clearly don't charge for diagnostic time... Could you further elaborate on your reasoning?

[ATLAuto]

Joe I'm confused at your posts. I seems to me that you clearly don't charge for diagnostic time... Could you further elaborate on your reasoning?

 

I asked myself the same thing. However, read further down, and Joe explains it. They don't sell generic diagnostic time; rather, they sell diagnostic tests, like a charge for a leakdown test or a compression test (see below).

 

With that said, I am very interested in hearing this elaborated upon myself.

 

But, after that we sell Diagnostic Tests...not time...we don't sell time. No likes to buy time. You go to the doctor with a pain in your shoulder and the doctor orders an X-ray. You pay for the X-ray, not time.

 

Then, as with a doctor, we disucss the results of the test and then the repair to get the car fixed.

 

Make sense?

 

Oh, the only fear I have with diag testing is doing work for the wrong customer. Again, when explained correctly and offer them a visual inspection and consultation first at no charge, they are fine.

[phynny]

For example, a customer comes in the shop complaining of a noise in the wheel when they turn right. To "diagnose/troubleshoot" a noise like that you would test drive the vehicle. So would you charge for that or no?

[Jeff]

ANY time spent with a tech in a car is billable, in my opinion. Now with that said I am probably the worlds worst at giving away time. Yesterday I had a first time customer with a suziki no a/c. Was a compressor. had about 15 min in it. Turns out they were here on vaka and her husband had a stroke. Really felt bad for her. Comped the ticket and asked her to see me when or if she decoded to have ot repaired.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Jeff

[Dan Reichow]

I got online and reviewed Repair Jungles site , not sure what the issue is we have a half a dozen sites out thier now , some of us as shop owners use software that are partners with these estimating sites.

The one thing that did shine on thier site is that the client will have reviews to look at and lets face it , most clients our already looking at reviews to help determine the shop they will use.

 

My belief window is that clients our still looking for Quality first , Convienance ,Warranty, Then Price.

With this said I think you can use any of these sites without being the lowest.

 

We as shop owners have a tough road to follow with the internet influence. We still have not even touched the surface of what one will do and what is to come out of the internet.

 

I do not belong to any of these sites nor do I intend to. I still like the most of who is on this forum believe to keep a clean , well trained staff and give more then is asked for will win the majority of the time.

 

Thanks Dan

 

 

[Joe Marconi]

I guess I caused a lttle confusion with my testing diag policy? Let me explain. If a customer comes to us with a check engine light, one of the first things asked is, "How much will it cost to fix" or "How much to diagnose it". Years back I would tell the customer to read the codes and diagnose the problem is $xx.xx. That would lead us down a path of no return, "How Much, just to see what's wrong? Will you take the diag fee off the repair? Other shops don't charge diagnostic charges!" On and On and on.

 

Soooo, now when the customer comes in with a check check engine light, here is the process:

• Educate the customer about the check engine light
• Inform the customer that until we access the on board computer, we really do not have a direction
• We inform the customer to access the codes, a road test (if possible) and visual inspection will be performed at no charge
• After the intial checks, we will then discuss what testing is needed to start the diagnostic process
• We then sell the tests after the intial no charge checks
• Perform the tests that were authorized
• We get back to the customer after the tests are done
• We sell the repair
• End of process

There are other variables, such as more testing needed, intermitent problems, etc. But this process has been a gold mine for us. We give a little in the beginning, and we end up selling the needed tests, with very little push back, if any, from customers.

[FROGFINDER]

I guess I caused a lttle confusion with my testing diag policy? Let me explain. If a customer comes to us with a check engine light, one of the first things asked is, "How much will it cost to fix" or "How much to diagnose it". Years back I would tell the customer to read the codes and diagnose the problem is $xx.xx. That would lead us down a path of no return, "How Much, just to see what's wrong? Will you take the diag fee off the repair? Other shops don't charge diagnostic charges!" On and On and on.

 

Soooo, now when the customer comes in with a check check engine light, here is the process:

• Educate the customer about the check engine light
• Inform the customer that until we access the on board computer, we really do not have a direction
• We inform the customer to access the codes, a road test (if possible) and visual inspection will be performed at no charge
• After the intial checks, we will then discuss what testing is needed to start the diagnostic process
• We then sell the tests after the intial no charge checks
• Perform the tests that were authorized
• We get back to the customer after the tests are done
• We sell the repair
• End of process

There are other variables, such as more testing needed, intermitent problems, etc. But this process has been a gold mine for us. We give a little in the beginning, and we end up selling the needed tests, with very little push back, if any, from customers.

Treat others as you would want to be treated.

 

 

"You have to attract the minnows or the BIG FI$H WON'T COME"

[mspecperformance]

Joe,

 

When you say "visual inspection" does that include time on the lift if something needs to be inspected? What if you are required to remove SOME or A LOT of covers, shields, etc to properly visually inspect. Do you charge then or do you still comp.

 

I am intrigued by your process it looks like it would work really well for those on the fence customers that can be good customers. I am just worried about all the wasted time with cheapy price shoppers. One of my pet peeves is I HATE dealing with price shoppers so my initial fee for checking, inspecting, diag usually turns them away. It has been my philosophy for the last few years that giving things away is devaluing your product/service so I always try to throw a price on anything we do as long as there is value and work that has been put forth.

[Jeff]

I HATE "free" work. BUT I have started thinking a little differently of late. I bought a low level scan tool that I can quickly check codes with. No diag work ( it does have some diag ability) just check the codes to get some direction. I felt like if I used the checker then the customer could see the difference in the tools therefore understand the cost to fully test. I don't advertise anything free like the other shops.

Here is the problem I and probably a lot of us face. Every shop in town and even some dealers are advertising "FREE". When I asked my lady friend and her friends what they were attracted to in an auto shop add they all said ""FREE". I certainly don't want to jam up my shop with bottom feeder freebie hunters BUT I am loosing a good market share to those who do the FREE. And I had a very wise man tell me "Ya gotta play ball in the field your in"

My take is get them in, give them the "free"..gets that warm fuzzy going. Then educate them. Some will learn and appreciate it..others will leave!! Either way I now have another customer in my data base I can direct market to. I haven't got it fully in place yet but still trying to figure the potential.

[phynny]

Do what works for your business obviously, but Joe, that is not charging for diag. It symantics right? At best your giving half off diag which really suprises me after reading most of your posts on here. The vast majority of the time the problem can be discovered by the handy-dandy scan tool so to me that is diag time. But hey, if it works then carry on .

 

Jeff, we are $80/hour and when someone calls for a "scan", I tell them it will either take 1/2hr or an hour to diag 95% of vehicles we see. If we need more time we call the customer but that is extremely rare and when it does happen the customer almost always knows it's coming because its normally an ongoing problem.

[Jeff]

Phnny I understand what your saying. I will not do a full blown scan for free. I WILL pull the codes and give the customer some some direction of the testing we will have to do. That will start at 1/2 hour and go up from there. Spend 10 min pulling codes 15 min explaining to customer the process. I believe that will help us to sell the work. They are getting codes for free at the parts stores, Why not spend that 10 minutes here? If nothing else it allows me to capture another customer to market to. The key is to limit any losses to the 10 minutes spent pulling the codes.

Edited October 12, 2013 by Jeff

[phynny]

Jeff, these free scans will be gone soon. I know of at least 2 if the major parts distributors that are stopping them. And the free battery, wiper and whatever else they do. Too much liability and kickback when the scan a car, sell a part and it doesn't fix the problem. Batteries are just too hard to get to for them.

[Jeff]

Yea I heard 2 years ago that AZ was no longer doing the free scan. Guess they forgot to tell the local stores!

[Joe Marconi]

Do what works for your business obviously, but Joe, that is not charging for diag. It symantics right? At best your giving half off diag which really suprises me after reading most of your posts on here. The vast majority of the time the problem can be discovered by the handy-dandy scan tool so to me that is diag time. But hey, if it works then carry on .

 

Jeff, we are $80/hour and when someone calls for a "scan", I tell them it will either take 1/2hr or an hour to diag 95% of vehicles we see. If we need more time we call the customer but that is extremely rare and when it does happen the customer almost always knows it's coming because its normally an ongoing problem.

I really think I am not explaining myself correctly, I am sorry for that. We do sell diag testing and not giving anything away. But we do that after we have a direction. We are not giving up any money. In fact our diag fees are the highest around, more than the dealer. Our approach is different, that's all. We all have different ways at arriving at the same place.

[xrac]

Jeff, these free scans will be gone soon. I know of at least 2 if the major parts distributors that are stopping them. And the free battery, wiper and whatever else they do. Too much liability and kickback when the scan a car, sell a part and it doesn't fix the problem. Batteries are just too hard to get to for them.

 

That would be great if that happens. The consumer and our shops would both benefit in my opinion.

[Jeff]

Yea when pigs fly. These guys are making way to much money to stop the freebies!

[5 Star Auto Spa]

Joe,

 

Since you do the following for free: pull codes, test drive, and visual inspection, do you ever have issues where after the test drive and putting it on the lift to do the visual inspection you are able to find the issue without charging the customer for diagnostic testing? I think people are getting confused here as sometimes a test drive and visual inspection is all you need to find the problem but time is still spent in performing the test drive and putting the car on the lift and doing the visual inspection. To me, obviously this is part of the diagnostic process, and requires time and money to be completed even through a lot of the general motoring public does not think the same way. How do you handle these types of diagnostic charges?

[Joe Marconi]

Joe,

 

Since you do the following for free: pull codes, test drive, and visual inspection, do you ever have issues where after the test drive and putting it on the lift to do the visual inspection you are able to find the issue without charging the customer for diagnostic testing? I think people are getting confused here as sometimes a test drive and visual inspection is all you need to find the problem but time is still spent in performing the test drive and putting the car on the lift and doing the visual inspection. To me, obviously this is part of the diagnostic process, and requires time and money to be completed even through a lot of the general motoring public does not think the same way. How do you handle these types of diagnostic charges?

That is a good point, and again I apologize for the confusion. Those that know me, know that I try to help, not confuse. Let's go over it again:

 

A customer comes in with a check engine light and wants to know what it is and how much it will be. Before, we would say that the initial scan is $xx.xx. That would open up a lot of conversation, way too much, even before we got started on the job. And some first time customers would leave, and we would get nothing. Not so much for regular customers, I must admit.

 

So, now, we say. We really need to obtain some information, before we even talk about prices and repairs. We then will access the codes and give a visual under hood inspection. A road test is only for customers that can't explain a noise or rattle, not for a check engine light.

 

Once the code or codes are pulled we then speak to the customer and inform them what we now have a direction. We sell the appropriate tests. I am telling you, this has proven to eliminate 99% of the push back we get for diagnostic testing.

 

How many times have we tried to get diag labor prior and danced around with the customer and found that the gas cap was loose? Or the customer replaced his own air filter on a Toyota and left the vacuum hose off. My strategy gives a little up front, and gets a lot in return.

 

The initial scan never finds the problem, it only gives us a starting point to speak with the customer. We are extremely successful selling diag labor from this starting point.

 

Now, now if customer comes in with a drive train noise and after a road test we find the wheel is falling off, well that is different. We will adjust any time, for something that obvious.

 

I have to tell you, we went down this road on the forums a few years back on this very subject and it led to the same questions and confusion. I really don't know why and I wish I could explain myself better.

 

To sum up, only give a little time in the beginning to get a direction, then sell the appropriate testing.

 

The bigger issue I see is: Shops not charging at all, wrapping the diag into the repair or removing the diag charges if the customer agrees to the repair. It is for these reasons that I changed my strategy.

[Jeff]

That is the point I wanted to make Joe. Give them 10 minutes up front. You will spend that much or more trying to explain why you need the test time anyway. Then after pulling codes and doing a visual you are better "equipped" to sell the testing time. I will give 10 minutes to make 1-2-3 hours and the customer will be more comfortable with the process going forward.

[Joe Marconi]

That is the point I wanted to make Joe. Give them 10 minutes up front. You will spend that much or more trying to explain why you need the test time anyway. Then after pulling codes and doing a visual you are better "equipped" to sell the testing time. I will give 10 minutes to make 1-2-3 hours and the customer will be more comfortable with the process going forward.

 

Exactly, the customer sees value and understands the process. With no information, the customers sees no value. And as you said,selling the diag testing is a lot easier.

[mmotley]

That is the point I wanted to make Joe. Give them 10 minutes up front. You will spend that much or more trying to explain why you need the test time anyway. Then after pulling codes and doing a visual you are better "equipped" to sell the testing time. I will give 10 minutes to make 1-2-3 hours and the customer will be more comfortable with the process going forward.

 

I completely agree with Joe and Jeff. Just my opinion, but I think even saying that the customer is getting "10 minutes" is a stretch. A ~$50 scanner from Harbor Freight, that you keep in your desk drawer, and use to pull codes for free is GENIUS. I am assuming a lot here, but I bet this is how things probably go for a customer at Joe's business

 

Cust - "My check engine light is on. What does it cost to find out what is wrong with it?"

 

Joe - "Well, we don't charge anything to hook our scanner up to your car. Let's go out there real quick and take a look"

 

~Literally a 30 sec. walk out the front door and plug in the scanner~

 

Joe - "Hmmm, that's weird. It is showing a P0300. That is kind of a vague code, so we'll have to let one of the mechanics/technicians do some diagnostic work to figure out what is setting that code"

 

TIMER ENDS HERE. At this point, Joe probably walks the customer back inside and starts taking down customer information. Lets them know about a $49.99 fee to check spark plugs, fuel test, etc. All in all, he spent $50 on a cheap scanner and AT MOST 10 MINUTES. In reality, probably more like 4 minutes. And he will get more customers in his shop because he 'doesn't charge to check out cars'

 

Scenario #2:

 

Customer - "My car shakes when I drive down the road. How much do you charge to check it out"

 

Joe - "We don't charge just to take a look at it. Let's go for a quick ride"

 

At this point, you could walk outside and see a flat tire in the back on the passenger side. Skip the test drive and sell a flat repair. Inspect brakes while you have it in the shop. Or maybe the tire shop down road forgot to tighten a wheel and it's about to fall off. You see it and save the day! Now you are a hero, tightened the wheel for free, and probably have a customer for life. Or you go on to test drive...

 

Literally drives the car 3 miles and come back

 

Joe - "Hmmmm, I've never felt or heard something like that. Strange. I think we'll have to put it on the lift and get some diagnostic tools on the car to locate the source."

 

Again, Joe walks a new customer into his shop and starts taking down information. All while the other shops who told that customer they charge 1 hour diagnostic time to even look at it, are sitting around wondering why no one is coming in. And it's all because Joe is giving away FREE diagnostics

 

Let's admit it. Refusing to even look at a car without diagnostic time is really translated as "I want money up front because if it's something easy, I wan't to get that money for doing nothing." If it's hard or complicated, stop, ask for diagnostic time, then proceed. Something tells me Joe has given away more "free" diagnostic time that, in the end, made him 10x what a 'diagnostic fee' would have made him.

.

.

.

.

Or I could be completely wrong, and Joe will correct it... for free

[mspecperformance]

Been getting a lot of phone calls for price quotes and "check my problem" out. Lots are getting turned off by the initial diag fee. Wondering if I should try Joe's method. I can't help but think these are bottom feeder customers that I am trying to avoid.

[ExclusiveAutoCare]

Wow!! The shops that have sign up for the site must really be hurting for business.

 

I also agree with most of you guys!

 

I refuse to compete with other shops for any business.

[Jeff]

Been getting a lot of phone calls for price quotes and "check my problem" out. Lots are getting turned off by the initial diag fee. Wondering if I should try Joe's method. I can't help but think these are bottom feeder customers that I am trying to avoid.

you can filter out the bottom feeders in the 10 minutes. As soon as you pull the codes or do the visual they will want a quote with out the testing. Those are the ones that you probably will want to send on their way.

As far as phone quotes..I will do a quik est for them and tell them the final cost will be based on our complete inspection. You pay good money to make the phone ring,,,try to get em in!

[mspecperformance]

Jeff,

 

 

I am going to work on some phone scripts to try out. Try to get out the reluctant ones to come in. I always feel if the customer is borderline, I think the difference will be in customer service and showing how different our operation is than practically every other shop.

[FROGFINDER]

Like Bullitt said in the movie "You work your side of the street and I'll work mine"

[autoguy]

Doesn't look like repair jungle made it...🤣

saw this video on youtube from back in 2014

 

[xrac]

Good News as far as I am concerned. This approach isn’t good for the consumer or our shops. Imagine doctors bidding on medical procedures.