mspecperformance

I should have subscribed to this thread I didn't know I had a reply! The presentation went really well, there is a lot of info to absorb for sure. It looks like they do a lot of things somewhat similar to demandforce which I have tried. They however seem to be more all inclusive with an in depth website design and google analytics stuff to keep you high on the search engines. They also seem to do a better job tracking where your business is coming from. The way it was explained to me was that it is real data vs the inflated numbers the demandforce portal dashboard would show. If you ever used demandforce you would know what I am talking about. I also had a serious problem with the customer service I was getting with demandforce. The gentleman I spoke to said this was a huge concern for kukui and they take customer service as their top priority. He also said he used to work for demandforce and basically jumped shipped when changes were happening and they were bought by intuit... but anyway it definitely looks enticing and I think I am going to give them a shot either this month or next. In regards to mainstreethub, I think its a pretty great service for those who are really NOT in tune with online reviews and social media. Its a lot cheaper than paying someone who doesn't really know what it takes to keep up with their customers through social media and take care of their online reputation. I opted to cancel my service with them in preparation to pay the guys over at kukui my monthly house rent LOL. They do what they advertise, however is it going to drive a ton of business to you? I am not so sure (partially because I couldnt track what was coming in due to MSB). Will it help you from potentially damaging your reputation and also build your online reputation in a positive way over time, definitely. The people over at mainstreethub also treated me a lot better than those snakes over at demandforce.

I had a pit in my old shop. I absolutely hated it. Then again that shop was a dark cave so everything seemed claustrophobic. I would never choose to have a pit given a chance however I would also never run a quick lube business. Just my 2 cents

You have to develop a system that becomes a routine. Suggestions don't work so well trust me I know haha.

I've tried direct mail through mudlick mail that had failed miserably, Out of 5,000 mailers I got a response of 3 with only 1 person claiming the special. I will give them that the mailer did go out during Hurricane Sandy week which I guess had to been the worst luck of mine! Does anyone have any recommendations on where to get my own mailing list? What methods has worked with mailers without going through a direct mail company.

I can't say first hand how the business of a transmission shop works. Most of the customers you see are 1 or 2 times customers at best since how often does one need transmission work? I was actually speaking to a guy who owns a transmission shop not too far from my shop and he was telling me that the transmission business has definitely been a struggle for him (2 man operation, 1 lift, small 1500sqft shop at best). They did start to do some more general repair work. If I can offer any advice it would be to speak to a trade organization or a parts supplier that you guys work with. A lot of times they will have some sort of financial management or business classes/seminars that are somewhat subsidized by the parts supplier. I would suggest for you and your husband to go together. It can be enlightening, informational and empowering on what you could actually turn your business into with the right management techniques. I would suggest to do this through your parts suppliers since a lot of stand alone seminars are really just lead ins into their coaching services which can cost thousands upon thousands of dollars. I can't comment on their effectiveness however I know I would be hard pressed to spend that kind of money if my shop was already struggling.

For starters my shop is in a very busy metro area. There are cars everywhere, over 100,000's of people within 5 sq miles. I have a German specialty shop so my target market is a bit limited comparatively speaking. There are a lot of nice German cars around the neighborhood and the surrounding area. I have always toyed with the idea of placing flyers on cars or my business card. I feel awkward going up to someone's vehicle and snooping around it, possibly putting my hands on it to leave a flyer. Most people in my area can be hostile towards strangers so this has always put me off a bit. Also it seems most people don't like things being left on their cars. What would you u guys do? How would you approach this? From the sheer volume of potential customers, I think its worth it to find a way to make this work. Thoughts?

This has been something I've seen that has changed to attitudes of my customers dramatically and I will be employing it all the time now. It is something so simple and so basic but for one reason or another I never did it. It seems to be really getting a lot of positive feedback from my customers and I am hoping this will parlay into more business for my shop. The thing I am talking about is simply telling my customers how much I appreciate them and their business! For the longest time I thought if I told a customer how much I appreciated their business they would walk all over me!! Irrational thoughts like, "So and so is going to think I am really struggling is I am telling them I appreciate their business. They must think I am not doing so well." I must have been out of my mind!!! I got the idea from one of my techs so is an ace with people, he shakes all my customer's hands, runs them through what he did to their vehicle and at the end he would say, "And thank you sir or ma'am, we really appreciate your business." The positive feedback I got from this was tremendous! So me as the owner and the lead service advisor, I started doing the same... and BAM I have gotten so many nice and positive reactions its a wonder why in the hell I never told my customers! The crazy thing is, I really sincerely do mean it and I think they can tell. These people are allowing me to make a living and to live out my dream of owning my own shop and being a business owner, of course I appreciate them! I have also started complimenting my customers on their cars (if its warranted) and in every way try to convey a sense of honesty in the work that we do. I just simply can't believe I haven't done this more often. Just figured I would share, I am generally pretty good with people however I know how introverted some of us are in this business and the standoffness ( new word LOL) can really rub people the wrong way. I hope this helps someone out there, a simple, "Thank you sir, we really appreciate your business" or "Thank you sir for letting us work on your vehicle we really appreciate your business" Can go a LONG way.

If I could give you any advice it would to be a to take a service advisor training course. I started off my shop 7 years ago and I would say the first 3-4 years were a disaster. I was more concerned with what I thought my customers wanted more so than making sure the business and the owners (ME!) needed out of it. After taking a service advisor training course I understood the business from a business perspective. Proper parts pricing (using a parts matrix or making sure you get a certain amount of gross profit) was something I never realized. Also selling the job and the value of your service opposed to labor hours was pretty crucial. If you are trying to sell your customers "labor hours" they can easily go and price shop anywhere. Sell them on the unique value of doing business at your shop opposed to price and labor hours. Also never EVERRRR offer warranty on parts brought in by a customer! I have recently instituted a hard policy on no outside parts. I used to have a soft policy however bad experiences have led me to really crack down hard on this problem. Most people who bring their own parts are not worth being your customers. You don't bring your own ingredients to a restaurant why should our business be the same. Also you are using parts you stand by so you should be offering a confidence based warranty. If you are charging an appropriate mark up on parts and you know the parts are quality and the job is quality then there should be no reason why you wouldn't offer at least a 24k miles 24 month warranty. This builds confidence with your customers as well as gives you a basis to sell only your parts due to warranty issues. The service advisor course I took was put on by WorldPac but I am sure there are other trade organizations that have classes. Don't get caught up in expensive programs that costs thousands of dollars. They may help I can't cross them out completely however the course I took was a 3 day course that cost me somewhere around $800 if I remember correctly. I have just recently blew the dust off my material I got from the course and am reviewing it again in order to write my operations and employee handbook and i have to say, the BEST money i have ever spent. Sorry if my rambling is a little incoherent, I am typing as I am thinking LOL best of luck to you! P.S. I was just thinking, your shop is named Exclusive Auto Repair... it is not so exclusive if you allow customers to bring their own parts! I would seriously consider nixing that ASAP!

Should have seen it coming with a Saturn Ion! Just kidding. Yep get those all the time, its amazing. I have come to the realization you can't change greedy selfish people. They are impossible to deal with and do everything you can to steer clear of them.

If Euros are going to be your speciality, you'll be dumping a lot of money into the odd specialty tool you'll need for suspension components, bushings & ball joints, engine timing tools, and all kinds of specialty jobs. Its hard to put a price tag on this stuff since you'll eventually come across a car (monthly at least) you'll need some other unique tool.

when I get slow (or what I percieve as slow), take the time to evaluate your marketing. You'll come to see how poorly you are doing in that area and how much more you could be doing! If nothing else, there is always another person that doesn't have your card, go hand out some cards!

This looks really promising and i have been looking for an inspection sheet that can be based off a tablet. There is another company AutoVitals that does something similar. My question is there any plans on integrating this with existing shop management software? My understanding is you have to manually input customer info such as name, phone number, email address and VIN correct? That would mean that info would have to be entered twice, once in the shop management software and then again into the inspection sheet database.

running a DIY shop is a terrible idea IMO. Although not all but some of the idiots you get in there are the same idiots who are going to work on their cars on your lot! Its not so much the stupidity that pisses me off (and oh yeah they are some dumb POSes!) but its the selfishness. These people are down right pieces of garbage who care nothing but themselves. These dumb selfish low life scum deserve to have a car ran over them on a steep hill while they are trying to work on it! Imagine the liability implications if they get hurt in your shop. They will absolutely pursue a lawsuit.

I tell ya, my new tech is not THAT mechanically inclined however he is very book smart and gosh the manners on this kid! He makes every customer feel great and he always thanks them for their business and comes off as very genuine. He also says sir and ma'am like he means it! I'm hoping by making my rounds i can instill some good vibes in the community which I think will go a long way. Immediate results are probably too bold to expect however I think it should plant the seed for the future.

I am having a presentation tomorrow. $1000 a month is steep. I wonder if they have any type of guarantee or trial period. I'm wary of what companies I chose to work with for marketing. Right now I am paying this company called mainstreethub to help with my social media stuff. I am actually pretty good at staying on top of it. I think their main benefit is that they set up a mobile site for me that I think has gotten some good responses. I might just revamp my marketing efforts to focus solely on SEO and handle all the social media efforts myself.

Channeling some more knowledge from the gurus, wanted your take on this guys. Last year we moved to our new location which is about a mile or so from our old location in the neighborhood over. I am located in New York City so being one neighborhood away is almost like being another town over for those who don't live in a big metro area. Anyway I have not really done a great job in making our presence known in the area. Even at my old shop we didn't proactively go out and meet other local businesses and introduce ourselves. I've recently ramped up our "brand recognition" efforts by getting shirts and polos printed up with our logo embroidered. I know probably baby steps for you most of you guys but its little thing we are catching up on now! I've also recently hired a new tech whom is short on common sense but is a wiz at being a theory mechanic and is really a step ahead on the customer service/manners department. Hes from the south so his manners are a breath of fresh air and I have gotten more comments about how much they like my new guy in 2 months than my guys who have been with me for 5+ years! I am basically thinking about taking my new tech on a mini campaign to hand out cards and introduce ourselves with the local business (restaurants, bakeries, cleaners, deli, nail salons, etc). I was also thinking of introducing ourselves with some of the shops in the area. We are German car specialists with a full service shop with tire and alignment capabilities. A lot of shops could potentially be great sources of referrals or farmed out business as a lot of shops don't have alignment machines and the ability to really work on BMW/Mercedes/Audi etc. My question to you folks is what do you think is best way to approach these businesses? Should I send a specific message to them? Do I do more than just give them a few cards? Do I pitch an incentive program? What has worked for you guys?

How is craigslist working for you guys? I have steered away from craigslist as it seems to draw in the bottom feeders exclusively. We operate an German Car indy so our rates and parts are generally higher and *gasp* we charge for diagnostic work. We are also in the NYC metro area.

I have wrestled with the same issue. I am not much of a tire shop at all, I pretty much got my tire equipment to give a better overall service to my customers and to provide every service in house. I have learned though the mark up on tires is abysmal. Most of my customers are savvy with what they can get from tire rack and such and its a tough sell a lot of times. I have not figured out a good way to sell tires and actually dread having to recommend them to my customers. I will often try to recommend the other services needed on their vehicles before mentioning tires (unless they are terribly chewed up) just simply because the profit margin on other services is significantly higher.

Hey guys, I recently put an ad out for a new tech (B Level and/or entry level) and I've got a decent response. I am going to be scheduling a round of interview tomorrow however I don't yet have a formal set of interview questions for these potential guys. This is my first time going at this so I was wondering what some of you other pros have experienced. Whats the best questions to ask? I was thinking scenario type of questions, thoughts? Any input would be appreciated, thanks! -Adam

I am having the same issue as well. I put in an ad for an entry level OR B level tech with experience on German vehicles. I have received a handful of resumes however mostly fresh tech students and truck mechanics. I have been pondering taking a chance on a tech student however I feel that we would be basically paying into a young kid who wouldn't really be able to produce for us for at least several months. I will let the ad run for a few more days and then start interviewing. If all else fails I will try to take on the top candidate out of the tech student lot.

Any other places other than craigslist to look for techs?

Hey guys, wanted to know if I could get some feedback from those who are experienced. I currently run a 5 lift/1 alignment German Car Specialty shop. We moved into our 5,000sqft location about 8-9 months ago from a small 2 bay shop. One of the nice perks of my currently location is the ability to legally run a body shop. If you are from NYC you can attest to the ridiculous rents and the abhorent zoning laws. It makes it a very very expensive investment to start up a stand alone body shop. I still have sufficient room to install a paint booth and prep stations. I want to get my feet wet in the body shop business, I'd like to get some advice from some of you pros. Is there a resource where I can learn about how to effectively run a body shop? What management software do you guys use? Estimating software? Training courses? Any advice would be appreciated.

Awesome advice, I try my best to do this with my customers. Going back to the "I can't do it right now" customers, I just finished a series of e-mail in which we replaced a customers water pump where as the warranty covered most of the costs. The T-stat was stuck open and I recommended to replace that as well. When I informed the customer the warranty company would not be covering this part, his reply was of course, "I can't do it right now". This is after I explained to him the dangers of over cooling etc. Customer also said "I am not keeping this car passed the summer." Everyone has different priorities and for some people its drastically different.

I've learned to steer clear of this question. I am not sure how it is in other markets however in New York City, it seems that many of my customers are always looking to either save money and get into something newer, bigger, better. Although most of these customers who claim they are "getting rid of the car in 6 months" very few do however they will be adamant on not spending money due to the fact that they are "selling the car" or "trading it in". Its kind of annoying to hear this because it really derails any type of recommendation selling of services the car actually needs. Even explaining repair costs vs car payments doesn't really help. Unfortunately most of these customers are people that will not care about leaving the car a lemon for the next buyer. I know the response will be "these are not qualified customers for your business" however most of these people are either customers who have spent some money with me (over $1000) or over time spend a nice amount of money ($2000+) but they will always give you the same stupid story. There is also a balancing act of not pushing too much Recommended service on them to give them more of a reason to actually buy a New car.

I understand what your trying to say. Very good advice. My goal should definitely be to focus on the value of the service and how to properly convey that to my customers. I have been debating on the wholesale alignment thing. I suppose it shouldnt be too bad considering its a straight forward service compared to diagnosing/programming for other shops which I do on occasion. Thanks for the input, I will try that.