Spence

Reznor is what we have been using for 7 years now. Make sure it is serviced at the beginning of the season and you'll be good to go.

A lot of us here are good technicians. Now who here thinks that one may wake up one day, buy a tool set and start fixing cars and be good at it? Sounds crazy right? So it was the same on that day that many of us decided to take the leap into our own business. I would advise anyone who is a technician to wait, take it slow and start reading as many business related books as possible to get an idea of what will be required of starting a business and it being successful. The same I would say to you John13, take this opportunity and as Joe said make it a blessing - take these next weeks while your not able to work and buy some books or audio books (audio is my preference). A good place to start is the E-Myth by Michael Gerber. And yes surround yourself with the right people! Keep us posted and hope you recover quickly.

Great post Gary! Well said.

Ever since we started to issue Sponge Bob Square Pants band aids our cuts/scrapes have gone down 70%.

We'd be looking forward to putting them bad boys on a cut! Gotta get me some of them.

We have more then one digital camera at our shop. Plenty of photos and yes I do use them to market our shop. It goes a long way to help show why something cost so much when a customer comes in to pay a bill. Put their vehicle on a computer monitor with some pictures of what it took to do the service on their vehicle goes a long way. We also email pictures to customers from time to time to help sell jobs. It's easy and works great.

I don't do the photos as much for insurance companies unless I need to make a point or cover my ass.

Here's a bit of good news from Florida. Gunder's Auto Center, Inc., has announced that some insurers are now willingly paying its increased labor rate, which went from $42 per hour to $48 per hour in June 2012. It's not much of an increase, and in my opinion, way below what's needed to run a quality Body Shop, not mention paying the staff a decent wage. But I guess it's a start.

 

Here's a link to the entire article.

 

http://www.bodyshopb...labor_rate.aspx

It's just under 15% of an increase. You say in your opinion it's way below what's needed. What do you think is needed?

Gunder mentioned in the article he raised it to what he thought was necessary.

I look at our P&L twice a month to keep an eye on things. I look more at the quarter marks and look for trends and make adjustments as necessary. We are mechanical not body so I do not have a handle on what a body shop needs like I do with a mechanical. We have had adjusters come in when there is a body shop repair at our shop. We also have had discussions with adjusters when they do not wish to pay our rate. Some good... Some not so good... It goes something like if you only pay to this amount then the customer will just have to pick up the rest. It's an interesting conversation (so to speak) when an adjusters thinks he can tell me what I am going to charge the insurer...

Thanks for the link to the article.

Liked the use of "mechanic" through out the story. You changed it to "tech" in the next to last sentence. When "tech" started to be used in place of mechanic I just couldn't hang on to it. I have used it but not often. The public might like to hear Tech but as you said we are mechanics. At least us with many years in this business.

The article started having me count my battle wounds... ugh...

$40k w/ install, warranty and the pit to make the lift flush mount.

Are you new to alignments and by that I mean actually doing them or have you been doing them for how long?

We may have the right to repair the car but will the customer be able to afford us to perform the repair?

Do you feel this bill will cost customers? On the other hand

Can they afford not to...

Wow Spence, great way to reply to post. I appreciate the detailed feeback!

Thanks for the reply Joe. I was hoping it would be taken ok.

I Can't Afford it Today

 

Recently, at one of our service advisor's meeting, I questioned why a customer declined doing the timing belt. This customer was informed at her last visit that the timing belt was overdue and she also received a post card reminder from us. The customer's response when the advisor mentioned the timing belt? "I know, I know, but it's the start of the school year and I just can't afford it today". It was a busy day, and the advisor simply informed her that we will set up a reminder for the next visit. Good customer service? Of course not!

 

Joe with all due respect I disagree. Your adviser did there job and gave the customer the necessary information and let them make the decision.

 

This customer is already overdue for the timing belt and if it breaks and does internal damage, who will she be looking at and blaming? You bet; US!

 

I don't think so. And if they did then for one you have the reminders as proof of such. Second a customer with an attitude such as this is not a customer... They are a consumer... They consume your time, efforts and just make stress. Weed them out!

 

I constantly reminder my service advisors that we are not peddlers at a county fair trying to sell our products and need to convince people that our product is in their best interest. We are selling services and products that the customer absolutely needs in order to maintain a safe and reliable vehicle. And equally important, what we recommend will save the customer money down the road by decreasing the odds of a costly mechanical breakdown.

 

And if they did this and the customer choose not to have it done then I don't feel you should pressure your advisers to push your customers to the point they may walk out the door.

 

When a customer states to you that they can't afford what you are recommending, it may be true from their perspective. But do they really know what the cost of the repair will be if they choose no? Does the customer know that if the timing belt breaks, without warning, it may do internal damage which will lead to a repair that may be 4 to 5 times higher than replacing the T belt?

 

Then make sure they know and let them decide.

 

When communicating with customers, ask the right questions; Is this a car you plan on keeping? Do you use this car to commute to work each day? Is this also a family car you use on weekends? If you get a series of, yes, yes, yes, you are making the customer understand that what you are suggesting is in their best interest. Lastly, let the customer understand the down side of not performing the service or repair today. If you have done your job correctly, the customer will be saying, "Well, I really can't afford Not to do it".

 

Agreed a good way to present it and make your point.

 

Have a good day

Spence

BP has a claim system in place. They were pretty quick in setting things up, but I don't think they realized the size of the problem. I have already provided the estimate for the bad fuel related costs, and we are just waiting for a response to the claim. My research in regards to the symptoms caused by the BP gas has only provided vauge answers. Apparently, the damages have varied from just a tank and fuel system flush to an entire fuel system job (injectors, pump, filters, regulator, etc.).

 

I'm sure they do understand the size of the problem. They may be trying to nip this in the butt to keep it from becoming a bigger issue then it already is.

The car was already knocking on cold startup before it came into the shop. It became much louder and constant after the service. The customer didn't mention the prior knock until after I called him post-service. Likewise, he did not inform me of the BP gas until later.

 

This paragraph confuses me. Between your opening post and the first sentence in this paragraph it seems you knew of the knocking prior to service. Maybe it's me but it's what I got out of your post.

I don't believe I did anything wrong during the service that caused the knocking problem. Like I said, the only thing that could have made its way into the engine was the anti-ratte parts inside the upper plenum. Everything else was accounted for, and the lower intake was cleaned out before the upper was reinstalled.

 

I found the bulletin after the service while trying to diagnose the cause of the knocking sound. If I had found it before hand, I would have approached the job differently and probably would have refused it. If parts can come loose inside the intake plenum just as a result of tipping it aside during a simple tuneup, that's a headache I don't want to deal with again. Too easy for the worst to happen.

 

Here is the chance to learn.

 

First off make sure to interview you customer good and ask is there anything else you want to tell me about it. Also listen and ask questions that might lead them to tell you info that they not think is important but is.

 

Second to check TSB's

 

I would not turn work away like this. I would look into how to make it more profitable and avoid the stress part.

Spence's post about "let BP pay for they problem and the customer for theirs" makes sense because they are unrelated problems. The intake issue presented itself only after fufilling the customer's request to service the vehicle. It may have occured on it's own after driving over a rough set of railroad tracks... or it may have never happened for years. That's something everyone involved can only speculate on.

 

I already took the "extra mile" approach and offered to "eat" the labor on the repairs related to the bulletin. The customer is still happy with us so far. My only fear is that the cost of the parts will be greater than what he can afford, and that may encourage him to change his attitude and try to blame me for the problems in an effort to get his car fixed. Not that his financial problem is really my problem, but I still feel empathy for him, and also want to avoid a lawsuit or insurance claim. But, with business being already slow, a "freebie" is impossible.

 

I would be carfeful here. Eating work is eating profits. It also may look to the customer that you are admitting to doing something wrong. If you feel you are just making this go away it might come back to bite you. How so? Customers will figure with some stress towards you they can get some free work figuring you'll fold to keep them happy.

 

Maybe more later but gotta go for now

Spence

Nice lookin dog Gonzo.

Adjusted many of those hood latches on GN's because the guys hated hittin there hoods.

I have a shephard too. I think he is easier to train then a newbie. I show then until they say they got it. From there I'm letting them struggle at times with a leash that keeps them (and more so the customers car) out of trouble to help it sink in. Going over the path taken to see it there were un necessary steps is something I not only do for/with them but also myself.

Enjoyed reading it. Have a good day.

Spence

Ours is their personal cars being, their own, their wife's, their children and their parent's vehicles. It includes they can get the parts at our cost.

All others are through the shop's normal business.

We leave it in and pull it out in front of the customer when we pull their car up. It shows we care but would not want them to have to throw our trash out.

Spence

 

My reputation is my livelyhood here, so any sage advice out there for a troubled newbie?

1st off what does this vehicle need to put it back in service?

2nd You came across this bulliten after you serviced it? The issue was there before the service correct?

3rd My thought is to let BP pay for they problem and the customer for theirs. If you feel you did something wrong then cover your part. If your reputation is your livelyhood then step up to the plate and go the extra mile. It will pay off dividends.

Spence

Hey Everyone,

 

I am in the market for a new alignment machine for my shop...

 

New or accurate?

 

There are so many options out there and the price variance between brands is unreal. I have experience with the Hunter Hawkeye, but I don't think that what the machine does is justification for the price.

 

Have you done a ROI on it? Have you looked into other work it may bring to offset the ROI (most don't factor this in)

 

What machines do you guys use? What lifts do you use? Is your alignment bay also used for other work when you are not doing alignments?

 

I have a Hunter (non target). Hunter four post. Yes we use it for other work as well.

 

The Atlas Edge 601 is a great price, but I don't know anyone that used it. Anyone here have any experience w/ it?

 

No comment on this equipment

 

I don't want to get something used even though I am looking for something affordable.

 

It may be better then a new unit as well as affordable. You may wish to re think this one.

 

Let me know what you all think...

 

You got it

 

The target systems have had an issue for a long time. It may be cleared up soon but I'm not sold on them just yet. They have been pushing speed but not accuracy. This has been the main reason I have held back. 2nd, not much has really changed with doing an alignment that requires new. I have chossen to spend my equipment dollars on equipment that has.

Spence