ATLAuto

Some yes, some no.  I really don't care.  If they are the type of people that claim garbage like that, I really do not want to associate with them.  Another higher-quality customer will certainly take their place.

We upload the security footage to YouTube and send them the link showing that we did not cause the damage.  Most will drop it right then and there.

This is great.  Thank you for that practical information!!

Saw this on twitter the other day.  So true.

Out of your list, R.O. Writer is the best, BY FAR. I have researched every single one of these plus many more. Go with R.O. Writer - you will not look back.

I say this as a shop owner who has run MAM VAST for a number of years (VAST is used by tire stores, particularly Goodyear) and recently switched to R.O. Writer. It has improved every aspect of our business within 2wks of implementing it. I am beyond happy with it. PM me if you want any details.

We have a building on a busy road - 38,000 vehicles daily. We do zero advertising and have more business than we can handle.

You can either pay for expensive real estate or pay for marketing. We chose the former, and it has worked well for us.

Would HIGHLY recommend RLO. $1,900/month is crazy!!!

 

Edit: If you want, PM me with any specific questions you may have

Never heard of RLO. Just had to look them up. Are you using them?

In regards to Elite, I am a client with them. I have nothing but GREAT things to say about them. If anyone has any particular questions you can always msg me.

We are on Elite's email list, which has been PHENOMENAL. We are considering using them based purely on the advice given in their emails. If you're not on their list, I highly recommend it.

Our NAPA pays labor claims.

100% labor rate?

The probability of something going wrong goes up dramatically when people decide to wait. What happens when something breaks and isn't readily available and they are camping in the waiting room? I encourage everyone to drop off their car.

Yep. Thinking through the pros and cons of waiters:

Cons:

- Techs feel rushed, since the customer is tapping their foot

- Customer gets upset if the tech is not 100% devoted to their car every time they look in the shop

- If a part order is wrong, it's another hour of waiting for the next delivery

- No additional work added, as that means more time

- Customer hears every interaction with every customer good and bad

Pros:

- One more free parking space when the car is done

It's simply not pleasant having customers waiting in the lobby. For everything other than a basic 30min oil change, we strongly encourage coming back in 4-6hrs and even provide a shuttle or Uber to get them somewhere. We spend $200-300/mo on Uber to make this happen.

I'm still confused how the gun got INSIDE the tire?? I understand running over it and getting stuck to the outside ... possibly. But inside??

Strangest thing we've ever found was a PVC pipe full of meth in an air box. Called the guy to come pick his car up and never saw him again.

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.

Same. You should never make a tech install a failed part again for free.

Auto zone pays 100% labor claims if you do at least 1000 WK with them

Didn't know that. Although, we do not buy much from AZ at all.

I'd like to see a summarized list of each supplier and what their labor claim policy is. For my part, I know WorldPac pays zero labor. Same with NAPA.

Activant / Epicor already does this, and it's built into almost every shop POS system.

The lower your prices are the more of this stuff you have. I haven't had anything like that for years except for an employee who went nuts.

Agreed. Our building is nicer looking and in a nice part of town. This attracts high end customers and scares away low-end customers. If you look expensive, it only attracts customers that are willing to pay for it.

I even test this theory out every time I get a ride in an Uber. Without fail, they will have their TPMS light on, maybe a CEL, and a few other odds and ends wrong with their vehicle, showing that it has clearly not been maintained. They don't know I own the shop, so I ask them, "you ever brought your car to that shop down the road to get that stuff looked at?" Without fail, they always reply, "oh no no, they look too expensive."

Pretty sure you can find them used on Amazon and/or ebay. I saw the entire set on there a few times.

Last week I got an email from a repair shop in Ohio that used this story as a way to fix their customers car. Almost identical situation.

Makes a guy smile from ear to ear thinking that a silly little story helped out a fellow repair shop.

 

awesome.

Great story, and I agree - that's the best feeling in the world getting an email like that.

 

 

Yes we do. We currently have 55 reviews and an overall 5 star rating. We don't respond to all reviews but certainly respond to the negative ones (I think we only have 2 total).

Wow. That kid's story is just nuts.

We had a similar one.... Acura with 200k miles on it and nasty burnt transmission fluid was slipping going up hills. We typically either recommend the customer to go to a transmission shop for this or possibly drain and fill the trans as a last-ditch effort.

He elected to go to the trans shop, and we let him go for $0.

A few months later, he calls stating we tried to rip him off by "selling him a transmission when he didn't need one." Apparently, all he needed was a tune-up. He was calling from the lobby of another shop where the tune-up was taking place.

Turns out that didn't fix it at all. Still slipping

He then called up saying "all it needs is a trans fluid change. You ripped me off. I'm going online right now to tell everyone."

Have not heard back from him. Probably still slipping.

Good point on the valves. Are you guys adjusting these on Honda and Acuras?

We have not. I'm not really convinced that it is necessary.

We use this bad boy. Never had an issue with it.

http://www.bartecautoid.com/tech500sde.html

As for sensors, we always buy OE or OE equivalent. We've had quite a few issues with the EZ / Redi Sensors, all to save $10-20.

We don't do many tires, so it's not a big issue for us.

There is no concrete schedule, since it is all based on algorithms and driving behaviors. For example "A12" will pop up at different times for different people based on how they drive.

A lot of shops dislike the Honda/Acura system, but I personally love it. It removes the liability from the shop and makes it a really easy sell. People walk in and say, "My car says B12345 service, can you do that for me?" Then, we translate that to what it means on paper and get it done. No selling, just doing. Works great, as timing belts and spark plugs are included in that.

With that said, if a customer has skipped services (ie done just an oil change and reset the rest), we stick to the following with Hondas and Acuras:

- 5k oil change (synthetic)

- 30-60k trans fluid

- 100k spark plugs

- 60-100k timing belt

Whoa. What'd the owner say?

The other thing I find odd is that all the injectors would go at the same time. I dont do a lot of diesel work tho.

yeah, something is odd here... there is more to this story.

I cannot answer for Andre, but we opened using an SBA loan. Shoot me a pm, and I'll walk you through the process.

Sounds like you are looking to expand. I'm in the same boat. We have several key neighborhoods picked out and are waiting for the next recession to buy. I know that sounds odd, but now is a terrible time to buy commercial real estate.

Looking forward to the rest of the responses.

Agreed. We pass on jobs every day. It's on a case by case basis. Our only firm rule is nothing pre 1998 and even state that on our website.

Most customers understand policy when it's explained clearly. We also have another shop we refer them to, so they are not left wondering where to go next.

Regarding that Cadillac engine ... I asked our master tech to fix three oil leaks on one a few months ago. Turned out great, but never again....

(apologies, as I know this has been covered before. However, I could not find much when searching...)

We are currently in the process of standardizing the time we pay technicians for diagnostic work. We currently have no standard, so a typical Check Engine Light diagnosis will vary between 0.5hr and 1.5hr depending on how complex it is. Most is an ad-hoc discussion with the service adviser on "what's fair?"

Naturally, we would like to standardize this to something firm. Curious if your shops have a set policy on this?