phynny

Don't take offense from me I'm merely giving business advice. Remember, things that work for a one or two man show aren't going to work if you have a full crew. How are you going to explain why you suddenly mark up parts because you have more overhead? I've always believed that you should run your business like you have many employees so you have your policies and procedures are already in place.

It's your business so do what you what you want but it seems more dishonest than anything. As a customer I see it the exact opposite of what you're trying to portray. From the outside it looks like you are closer to a back yard mechanic than a real shop. Not saying this to be mean but I want others real perspective and opinions so I will give the same. I agree it would make some things easier, ex. Parts markup matrix.

we understand, it's just not good business at all. Just imagine being a shop around him where everyone wants to brig there parts to you because your labor is cheaper. And don't forget that he doesn't mark up parts so now you're the thief even though you're cheaper in the end... No thx

Integrity, IMHO that is a horrible business practice. Giving customers parts at your cost...?

It's a privilege, use it responsibly or lose it.

We had a similar problem awhile back. We replaced an engine and a small coolant leak due to the old hose clamp caused a sensor to fail and the car went into limp mode. After that everything that happened to the car was our fault. There where 2 brake switch recalls and though we never touched that system we replaced it twice more for the customer. They also had an airbag light coming on intermittently and it was on when we received the car they wanted us to fix it... I finally told them we would gladly work on their car but they would be paying from then on. I explained to them that he engine also ran fine until the day it didn't and just because we replaced the engine did't mean we warranties the whole car. I don't believe you can please a customer like that and really don't want their business.

Don't think it's possible. It seems the more you push them away the stronger they hold on.

Thats actually a great idea. And we currently will only do full synthetic oil changes so although it's not a super money maker it's not too bad.

Touchy situation. Almost all of our repairs are authorized over the phone and we do not have the customer sign anything but a receipt and we have never had an issue. Possession is 9/10's of the law right? In your situation if they are not a good repeat customer which I'm sure they aren't I would charge them time involved. Why should you pay to have their vehicle looked at? I'd rather choose my charity.

We absolutely will not do it over the phone. I can't stand trying to diag something over the phone let alone comparing prices etc. The only thing that's different with us is that almost all of the local shops, especially chains, are robbing people and not fixing the issues. So we see things daily that just boggle the mind.

Haha that's an awesome story. I have never known of any dealer that did not charge diagnostic fees.

I print every customer a copy. You can email them a copy with pictures if you prefer.

Jeff why not talk to a larger establishment and as them to go with you? No offense but you a business consisting of only one person. Politicians never care about only one person, it's sad but true.

If you think government will help you are truly clueless. They have not helped any industry grow. Laws only affect law abiding citizens so if you think 10 more laws will make those non licensed shops give up.... You are clueless

So I've implemented this program and have been using it for a month now and just wow. It easily paid for itself the first use and has continued to impress all of my customers and has made many many sales. I hate gimmicks and such but this program has made life easier in me and sells a ton of work by itself.

I believe that ASE doesn't get much merrit because it doesn't deserve much in my opinion. They are simple tests that anyone can take and pass and really means nothing but that you can pass a test. My customers feel much more secure in the fact that I have engineering degrees than they do about some ASE certs. I've noticed that the higher end cars people just want to know if you are a "certified BMW" tech and know nothing about having ASE certs. I can't even think of a way to make customers feel secure because our techs are ASE certified and I've tried. So now I just use ASE certs internally for raises and to insure my techs have a clue.

My goal is to have my master techs making half of the labor. I don't mind making less on the back end in order to have my employees lead good financially stable lives and I believe this will show in quality work and happy employees.

I have a partner and we pay ourselves a nice salary and then split the rest later.

Same here, I've never had a vehicle come back after installing an after market cat. Keep the government out.

HAHAHAHA, so very true. We replace so many cats and o2 sensors due to autozone and advance auto wanna-be techs.

Acutally that happens to us a lot. They will get the car "diagnosed" at Advance Auto or by Google and they come and want us to replace a part. I actually don't mind it anymore as in the end it almost never fixes the problem and we end up charging them and correctly fixing the car. Those customers actually become some of our best because they finally realize only a real mechanic can fix a real problem.

I have no idea what it is.

A couple of weeks ago we had a SUV sitting in the sun for about 2 weeks. I get inside and almost vomit, come to find out it was a sippie cup with extremely curdled milk. So me being me I take the lid off and walk up to my partner from behind and stick it an inch from his nose. I have never laughed so hard as he dry heaved over and over. Even the mention of it now gags him, heck, I'm laughing out loud as I type this lol

Some idiots rantings, looks like a ploy to get customers in my opinion. If when a person takes a car to Jiffy Lube and they tell you that you need all your fluids flushed and you fall for it, you're an idiot. I may seem a little harse but I'm actually the complete opposite though I feel that people should accept responsibility for not having any common sense. How do you spend 30+k and not have a clue as to what it takes to keep it in tip top shape? They even have books that tell you exactly what they recommend and when they recommend it.

I don't blame them at all. Just had a new customer bring in a 2002 pt cruiser he bought from a dealership. He has had it for 2 weeks and it spent a week at the dealer putting a new PCM in at his cost! Best part is that it didn't fix his tcm to pcm code. So te guy brings it me for a timing belt and water pump and I quoted him $800. When he brought it in for the service he kept asking if I was using Chrysler parts. After explaining the differences and the fact that we warranty out repairs he tells me that he got a quote from the dealer for 1400 and they said its because they don't use garbage parts... This is the same dealer that has to call and I've their work because they are not qualified to do it...