tyrguy

I also think this is a valid topic of conversation. I would think if you value the opinions of your fellow shop owners on business related topics, you would also value their opinions on this topic.

I haven't hired a tech in 22 years. Currently at $34/ hr billed with a minimum of $938 per week. Insurance contribution $850 family/ $425 single / mo. 3 weeks paid vacation, uniforms, unpaid time off as needed. My first tech [also my first employee] just retired to a home business after 36+ years with me. Attempting to go forward with just 2 service techs and 2 tire techs.

NAPA is our main supplier that pays those labor claims.

Some are Sonsio. The others, I don't know if the manufacturer or my supplier is paying. Doesn't matter to me as long as I get a credit. My point of view is I don't buy from the manufacturer, I buy from my supplier. How he gets it handled is his problem.

Develop the relationship. We don't jump around and buy parts from multiple suppliers. We use our first call supplier [10k per mo] for everything unless we absolutely have to go elsewhere. He knows this and responds accordingly. We average about 2 labor claims a month with him. I have another supplier [2k per mo] that we use that supposedly doesn't pay labor claims. If we have one with him [once a year] and he balks, I just tell him that I'll instruct my guys to cease doing business with them immediately. It works.

Pretty simple really. If it's the tech's fault, he works for free. If it's not his fault, he's paid to redo the job at regulars hours. We offer a 24 mi/24 mo parts and labor warranty. Other than dealer oem parts we make our suppliers pay for parts and labor [at 75% labor rate] within that period.

After 37 years I still don't.

Just another day in paradise. Here is a Facebook review I received today and my response. You would think that if a customer had a problem like this they would at least make a call to the shop before posting something so inaccurate. And before you chide me for not doing a complete inspection [wheels off], as you can tell from her first comments we were really stretched for time and when that happens we do sometimes perform a more limited inspection. The customer's review: I swore by Defer Tire for many years and always had my work done there. Took my car in recently for an appointment that I made a week in advance. They called me and tried to move my appointment but I was unable to move it because of work reasons. They rushed through my car, did not fix what needed fixed, charged me for a front end alignment I didn't ask for, and now my wheel almost fell off because they didn't tighten my lug nuts on 1 wheel. All because they took on more then they could handle. We will never go back again. Disappointed and ticked. Now I have to spend a whole bunch more money to have my car fixed, may have to contact a lawyer LikeShow more reactions CommentShare Comments Defer Tire Sorry we didn't meet your expectations. The car came in 2 months ago for us to check the coolant hoses and spark plugs. It needed both. We changed the spark plugs but when it came to the hoses, there was a metal tube needed that could only come from the Toyota dealer and would have to be ordered. Because of that, we couldn't complete the car on that day. We got the tube in a few days later and called to let you know but you have not called to reschedule. As far as the alignment, you had not had it checked in 4 years so we suggested that be done. You gave permission to do the check which we did. In this case the alignment was fine so you were only charged for the check, about half of the price of an alignment. As far a wheel coming loose, we never had the tires off on this visit. However, a year ago we had suggested that you needed 2 rear tires. When it came in in July, we noticed that you had purchased them elsewhere. I would suggest that you contact that shop about the loose lug nuts. I called you and left a message today if you wish to discuss any of this. Like · Reply · Commented on by Mark Defer · 6 mins · Edited Write a comment...

I know that there is a lot of buzz about fully autonomous cars sometime in the near future. Personally, I don't see it happening. There is a great article in the July Car and Driver magazine that agrees with me. It's titled "How we see it: Autonomy". It talks about the 6 stages of autonomy [we are in the third stage] with the last stage being "complete absence of driver involvement". Their point is "unless every object in the streetscape if fully automated, nothing can be". It goes on the say "the unfettered movement of fully automated cars among free agents will require a system that contains some element of risk, and risk is antithetical to automation". But that aside, think of the implications if full autonomy is achieved. I'm talking no pedals, no steering wheel. A customer could send the car to the shop by itself. Also, they would have to have some kind of wireless leash so you could guide the car into your bay. Crazy stuff..... http://en.motorwebs.net/motor/how-we-see-it-autonomy-and-self-driving-cars

It happens. I'm fanatic about records so yes I have file on this. In the last 11 years we have had 20 instances of loose wheels. Sounds like a lot but we are talking 15 to 20k wheels off and on a year so the % is really low. Anyway, of those 20, 5 actually resulted in a wheel coming off. The rest were all just loose. The miles from service to problem was 20 to 7002 miles with the average being 1616 miles. Only 8 were under 500 miles and only 3 were under 100 miles. 4 were over 3000k miles. We hand torque every wheel and the guys are pretty good about cleaning the corrosion on the mating surfaces. There is no doubt that the 8 under 500 miles were probably our fault. From 500 to 1000 miles it starts to get questionable and I really don't consider those 4 over 3000 miles our fault. However, if the customer believes it was our fault it's best to just handle it and apologize. Non of the wheel off instances resulted in an accident, just some body damage. Over half the time no repairs are necessary. The other half we might have to change some studs or buy a used wheel. Again, it happens. Don't beat yourself up about it.

Very possible [i assume you're talking about the pistol, not the drugs]. I'd bet a million bucks it was found in the rear tire. The front tire kicks it up and the rear tires hits it as it's tumbling. We've found all kinds of things in rear tires. Vice grips, tie rod ends, sections of coils springs or brake rotors, you name it. Once found a pair of scissors in a tire. It was in three parts, both halves and the screw. Took the pieces out and reassembled them. We have actually kept everything taken out of tires for the last 37 years. Keep saying I'm going to put them all in a glass case for viewing. Maybe tomorrow......

I pay my guys per hour billed or a minimum whichever is greater. Their hourly flat rate per hour billed is $34/ hour. Their minimum is 60% of that which is $20.40 per hour. They work 44 hours a week. The flip from hourly to the flat rate works out to be 27.6 hours billed. If they bill over that, they get the flat rate amount. If they bill under that they get the hourly rate. So their minimum is $938.40 no matter what.

We do tablet inspections. Nearly all oil changes are sold with a courtesy rotation. I always schedule a full hour for the service. Could it be done quicker? Sure, but scheduling an hour gives a us a bit extra time in case some small extra service is performed.

What do you contribute the 65% increase in RO dollars? Using estimates, if your labor was $115/hour and just to make the calculation easy, lets say your parts were $75/ hour, that would be an $190/hour parts and labor x 2.0 hour = $380 ARO [your stated previous ARO]. So if you raised your labor to $150, the calculation would be $150 + 75 = $225 x 2 = $450 ARO. That's a long way from $628. Did getting rid of the bottom feeders mean you upped the average job from 2.0 hours to 2.80 hours? I could see that because the better customers are more willing to approve more work. Plus, with 33% less vehicles you can spend more time with each customer. Lastly, you might be able to sell more premium parts. Did I answer my own question?

Well not really. If the yearly maintenance number per vehicle is $766.50 and you're seeing the vehicle twice a year, the average ticket should be $383.25. That's a more realistic number.

Of course prices change. The point I'm trying to make is create a process and stick to it. The bigger the shop, the more people involved, the more this is necessary. Not just in pricing but in all areas of operation.

You say it won't be a problem but if you're making it up as you go, there are bound to be inconsistencies. It reminds me of the old saying, "always tell the truth and you won't have to remember what you said". Develop a matrix. Use one labor guide. Use these to build your quotes and you'll never have to remember what you quoted.

The problem with randomly varying your price from the matrix is you possibly end up with inconsistent pricing. This is especially true when you have more than one person pricing jobs. You might have one of your people quote a job over the phone at one price, then a week later when the guy makes his appointment and comes in he's told a different price by a different guy. Actually, this could even happen with only one guy quoting prices if he doesn't remember what price he came up with last week. Consistent pricing is VERY important to to the public perception of your shop. Set up your matrix that will yield a fair profit and stick to it.

I close out the job when completed. If the customer doesn't pick up on that day, I just put in on account. Then when they come in and pay, you do a paid on account. This gives you a more accurate idea of where you are at any point in time. Also, if we have an uncompleted in process job at the end of the week, I make an invoice out to an account called "work in progress " for the hours actually completed on the job. That way I have an accurate record of actual hours completed that week, even if not all are billed. It also makes sure my guys are paid for their hours. Example:10 hour job not finished on Friday to be completed the following Monday. I ask the tech how far along on the job he is. He answers that he has 2 more hours to completion. I invoice 8 hours to the "work in progress" account. Monday when he completes the job, I write a credit to the "work in progress" account. So he gets paid for 8 hours for the Friday and 2 hours for the Monday.

Remember, the retail prices derived from this matrix include everything. We do run monthly sales off these prices ranging from $40 to $60 off per set. We seem to be fairly competitive with this matrix. In fact, even pricing against Tire Rack and such once you add their shipping and our mounting and balancing often times we are withing the sales tax difference. And if congress would ever get the internet sales tax thing figured out that Tire Rack advantage would disappear. cost 0-50 39% [divide by 61] cost 50-75 36% cost 75-100 33% cost 100-125 29% cost 125-150 28% cost 150-175 26% cost 175-200 25% cost 200-225 23% cost 225-250 22% cost 250-275 21% cost 275-300 20%

We stock upwards of 2000 tires as well even though we get twice a day delivery from ATD. I think that's why we sell quite a few more tires than other shops I' m familiar with. There are just a lot of people that come in without an appointment and want tires NOW. Plus, we sell quite a few tires to the local car dealers and they need them NOW. As far as Frostytire's comments about completing a 4 tire installation in 30 minutes by himself, well maybe. If the tires are not low profile, are mounted on steel wheels and the TPMS is auto reset. But install 4 30/35/40/45 series tires on aluminum wheels, cleaning the corrosion from the bead area, cleaning all the old tape weight adhesive off the back of the wheel [because all the other tire stores never did], cleaning the corrosion from the wheel and hub mating surfaces, and possibly having to reset the TPMS and I challenge him to do it by himself in 1 hour. By the way, yes we do mark our tires up using a matrix just like parts. A different matrix but a matrix non the less. And we average about $150 a set. That's using the invoice cost and doesn't take into account program dollars.That includes everything we do at that time plus all future tire services including rotations, re-balancing, flat repairs and pro rated RH. A free alignment check is included as well. About 30% of the checks do not need an alignment.

Update. For whatever the reason, someone turned the switch back on last Tuesday and we've got work coming out our ears now. I just can't explain why everyone was staying away for the last 4-5 weeks. I've had some long time customers come in and say "you mentioned some work I needed done a while back, I'd like to get it done now". So I've actually asked some of them, why this week? Why not last month? I had hoped to shed some light on what this collective consciousness was that was causing everybody to stay away. You know, maybe something like "I just haven't felt comfortable spending money with all the uncertainty with the economy and the political climate right now". Instead just a blank stare and the comment "I don't know, here's the keys". Whatever, hope it continues. I really believe it might just have been the weather.

double post

I realize that the absolute best situation would be for each tech to work on 1 car a day and bill 8 hours. That's 1 customer to write up, 1 car to rack, 1 car to test drive, 1 customer to take care of at checkout. Obviously that can't happen day in and day out but the idea is still sound. Work on less cars but bill the same hours. That's always been my thinking. But getting back to this April thing. Car count this year to last. 2016/2015 January 209/207 February 185/199 March 226/217 So first quarter totals 2016 619cc vs 2015 623cc. Basically flat However April 2016 171cc to 2015 250cc. A 32% decrease. BTW, I only count cars my service techs touch, not tires only cars. Anyway, I just got back from a meeting in Akron with a bunch of tire dealers and everyone was down last month. Many over 20% down. So I feel a little better.

Internet problems today. Sorry for the double posts.