ATSAutomotive

Well said ^ I am currently enrolled with ATI and I have found it to be one of the best things for ME and MY business. This is not for everyone but being a technician with NO management background this program has really helped understand what I need to charge in order to pay all of my overhead and still make money. This honestly has equated to a college degree in Business Administration for me. XRAC is this the best thing for you? Probably not, I believe you have had enough experience in the field to understand most concepts. Their 1 day courses are really good and really light that fire under your butt too. If you ever have questions feel free to contact me or Tires Too. I believe I am about 18 months in to the program. I have seen some very close minded guys walk out of the classroom. They believed that they were being told to just raise your prices and fire everyone in the shop. You are most certainly not being told that. These guys have helped me tremendously not only with my financials but also with my leadership ability. It has been well worth it in my opinion. Of course it does cost quite a bit but like I said, I equate it to going to college. Edit: Just now noticed this is originally from 2009! Talk about brought back from the dead....

I think we would all need more dumpsters.

I rarely run in to this anymore because we are insistent that we MUST diagnose it ourselves. I have, however, done a few replacements where our customer requested it to be replaced and would not pay for diagnostics. I always write up workorders as "Customer requests ...." NO MATTER WHAT THEY ARE ASKING FOR. If I recommended to replace struts I still write "Customer requests replace stuts....." So if a customer comes in asking to replace this and will not pay my diagnostics and after all attempts to convince them otherwise still request it. I will simply write it in the workorder. "Customer requests to replace Throttle Position Sensor. Customer states they had vehicle diagnosed elsewhere and declines diagnostic time to confirm needed repair." Customer signs the workorder and there you go. Its all in writing, now of course you may have some jerks but a lot depends on how you approach the situation.

Alex I think creating an "off limits" sub forum would clear up a lot in this discussion. Maybe one where we need to PM you or Joe in order to receive permission to access it.

You forgot to calculate the loaded cost of a tech. He doesn't just cost you $25 an hour. There's taxes, uniforms, health insurance, paid time off, vacation, etc.....

I use Alldata supplemented with Identifix. Mitchell was just too weird for me.

Looks fantastic! Congrats!

Almost seems like you are frustrated with your own team. Something going on you want to talk about? I believe there are many different kinds of techs and different kinds of shop owners. There are many shop owners out there who don't do anything for the business. The employees are the ones struggling to keep the business alive. Then on the other hand, there are many shop owners with staff who just don't care to try. Everyone on this site is from different walks of life and it's important for us to remain open in order to never become "that guy" Listen, Think, Speak

Wow I had a demo with CustomerLink too. Haven't had any issues with DemandForce but CustomerLink had a great setup as well. Cheaper and no contract..... P.S. I have customers who love the text messages and some who could care less. All they need to do is opt out at the first text and they will never receive one again.

We are slow but it has still been a good month for us.

We don't own a brake lathe and we sell brake rotors with almost every job we do. I just feel if we are doing a proper repair this customer shouldn't be having a brake related issue for approx. 50k miles or more. (well worth the money spent) I also don't use cheap brake parts.....

Just had $200 stolen from the cash drawer up front the other night. Nothing was broken in to, cops said it seems like an employee. Not a very good feeling in a small shop with 4 guys. Everyone you have known for years. Good Luck, atleast mine was only $200 but I have taken steps to change our money handling procedures.

Just keep in mind, if you keep building these after hours clients. When you do go full time you will probably lose a lot of them if you don't stay open for them late. Double edged sword. Ill tell you that when I first started there is no way I could have made it if my fiancée hadn't of supported me personally. She kept me afloat while the business grew to a point where it could then cover me. That was just over 4 years ago. Now I have four full time employees, it was a scary ride but its been fun.

We are currently doing a little bit of remodeling. Our walls in to our shop and doors were not well insulated nor somewhat soundproof. So we have done most of the work to the outside walls in the shop and replaced doors leading in to the shop from the office. As we get closer to finishing we are going to remodel the office. I just can't decide on what flooring to use. I was wondering if anyone could post pictures of their office or let me know what they decided on flooring, paint colors, etc. My current though process goes a bit like this: Carpet - easy to vacuum but is easy to be destroyed as well Tile - mopping up is easy but slipping customers are a concern and the need for area mats arise (trying to stay away from Aramark and other uniform services. Could purchase our own mats locally) Laminate wood floor - Easy to clean and look great - concern is how well they would hold up with winter weather etc. Do these fake hardwoods get destroyed by water, etc? Colors - ........ (that's my thought) in all reality I would assume "earth" tones, grays, tans, browns, etc. Thoughts? Suggestions? My entire staff and I also believe we are all worrying about this entirely too much....

What are the storage fees for 4+ years. I charge a measly $5 a day, but 4 years would add up quick.

Stock Valvoline wiper blades equivalent to Anco 31 series. Everything else is ordered in, VW and Audi have a lot of specific wipers too.

NET30 is pretty typical around here. I also service the Department of Transportation in our area. They WILL NOT accept any late fees and will pay when they get to it. So I basically just bill them they usually pay it pretty quickly and have only once or twice taken 2-3 months to get payment for. This is mostly because there is only one lady who does this job and I have seen her desk.....STACKED with invoices to pay. Agree with Wes but also might want to find out if this is for a school district if THEY have any specific billing requirements. Also don't school systems typically have their own bus mechanics? P.S. Wes, that is the damn fleet manager's job, but with a lot of invoicing systems you can set it up so they can access all of their information.

We have a vehicle inspection form we fill out with every car. The form is built in to our invoicing program (TABS Autobiz) we print a color copy for the customer and go through it with them when they pick up their vehicle. Everything is saved and I can pull it up later. I have found that its great for us. You will always have people who just don't care. They can't wait till you are done talking so they can rush out the door. What makes up for it is the customers who ask questions and follow up with you. They look forward to seeing all the checkmarks being GREEN!

In order to achieve 50-55% Part margin you must be marking up atleast 100% on stuff or you wouldn't even be close. (Just want to make sure we are on the same page) I can't believe your dealers are only at $70/hr. Are you a very rural farm area or how would you describe your sales area?

That's unfortunate, in my area there is a independent chain that sells these quality parts and I get them at cheaper prices than most of what Advance Auto Parts, NAPA, CARQUEST, etc can sell them to me. I truly will not use these products because they have caused me WAY TOO MUCH of my shops time. That time will eventually add up to be a lot of lost revenue. I don't know your market and I won't pretend to but you may want to take a second look. Revamp yourself and serve your higher end customers if possible. I will not bend to price shoppers anymore. If you have work done at my shop, it will be done once and correctly the first time. Just read your last post, 10-15% mark up!!!!! How can you survive or even make a profit? I honestly don't think we can help you here. My shop would not be open with 10-15% mark up on parts. You sell a part that costs you $100 for $110-$115?

No need to reimburse me because I won't use your product! I learned with their Worldwide line of starters and alternators. I only use AC Delco, TYC, Denso, Bosch, etc.

Never been a big fan of Snap On but I looked in to the Solus and I have to admit for the price it works extremely well. I think I paid $3k for a brand new Snap On Solus Ultra a year or two ago. I looked at the Verus, it's definitely a flashy product but just couldn't justify $10k.....

She would be paying for the gas in her own car! What's the difference! The entire populace should be required to work in retail at some point in their life. Most humbling jobs you will ever have. I feel bad when I go places and you can tell someone is just having a shitty day or dealing with terrible customers. I always reinforce them that I am fine, take your time and when you are ready to assist me, I will be right here.

Hope it goes well!

I am currently in the same boat. I actually just picked up a 1997 Toyota Camry for $150. Was a great customer who has come to me for years. The oil pump seal is leaking and its due for a timing belt. He decided he just wanted a new car and wanted to give me the car. I talked him in to letting me give him $150. Have decided I am just going to use it as a loaner car, would work perfectly. Definitely get insurance info and license copied. I would personally get with a lawyer and have them write up a form for anyone to sign stating their insurance covers the vehicle and they are liable for any damage they cause to others or the vehicle themselves. Oh and how about they MUST fill the vehicle back up or suffer the wrath of $8.29 a gallon fill up service! We can do it too Enterprise......