mmotley

Do you feel if you changed the offer on the mailer, it would attract better customers? Or do you feel mailers in general, regardless of the offer, tend to bring in lower value customers?

Just means more people will be holding on to their cars longer and fixing/repairing them instead of trading in for new cars. Great news for us all

Same, same, same. Granted we just moved into a much nicer location, but everyone else is slow from what I hear. We just had another all time record month and I'm looking to hire my first SA. Haven't even had a chance to send out our mailers yet either since we're still under construction.

Frank, think about how you would feel if you sat down in a restaurant and the manager came over and said you weren't welcome and that they refused to service you. Maybe next time you could try multiplying the labor time by 1.5 or more. Your tech would appreciate it, your wallet would appreciate it, and you might avoid alienating a customer. I've had a few customers who I don't get excited about seeing come through the door, so I do just that. Most of the time they stop coming in. A few keep coming back.

Meh, doesn't happen often enough for us to worry about it or be a big deal. I'd keep on providing the same great customer service. The real question is why they had it done somewhere else, then you can know how to best handle the situation. At most, if the customer blatantly says they use us for our expert opinion then finds the cheapest price, I'd start charging that customer for any future inspections and any diag

Just curious, do your guys use torque sticks or torque wrenches, or just hit them with an impact?

I haven't seen as much of a return for paid advertising on Facebook. As for reviews and testimonials, absolutely worth the effort. We encourage our customers to leave reviews through crm

I really think it's in how you present it to the customer. Take for example an oxygen sensor heater circuit code. If I had a customer walk in that had just left auto zone and said their car had that code, I'd start asking questions like "did they tell you if it was the actual sensor itself, or JUST the circuit or wiring to the sensor? Did they make sure the computer wasn't misinterpreting the data? Did they check for rat damage?" Usually questions like these help the customer understand the value in diagnosing the car. If they persist, you can always put the code into all data, Mitchell, or whatever you use and explain to the customer that codes really only tell you what tests need to be performed. Scroll through and show them how it could be the circuit, fuse, module, or component. Tell them you'd be more than happy to let them guess and spend money with you, but you'd rather see a happy customer leave you're shop and refer friends and family. Not everyone can be convinced though. Those are better left to their buddy who just bought a tool set and $50 harbor freight scanner and wasting 3 hours in their driveway making a mess.

That's a tough situation to be in. Is it a repeat customer or first timer? Can you see any reason why the customer would lie about who the last person to work on the vehicle was? If you're confident about your tech and see no reason to doubt the customer, I'd eat the repair and offer next 2 oil changes free. If you sell BG product, I'd throw in a road side card with the services too for their peace of mind. You could also tell them you've changed shop policy and now require all wheels to be torqued with a torque wrench or torque stick. All this to earn their trust back and show them how much you appreciate their business. However, if you're suspicious of the customer, I'd probably eat the repair and that's it. No additional recommendations, no freebies, just fix it, double check all 4 wheels with a torque wrench, apologize, thanks for the opportunity to make it right, and be glad it's just a wheel you have to replace and not ending up in court.

We don't use yelp. I personally hate the idea of paying yelp when Google and Facebook are free. I'm lucky I guess that I only have two reviews on yelp and both are 5 star reviews

I'm amazed out how many people on here really think that most of their customers could change their own filters and wiper blades. Maybe our shops have very different clientele, but I'd say about 25% of my customers don't even know how to open the hood on their car. Of the remaining 75%, maybe half would even get close to where the air filter is located, but they still wouldn't know how to access it without breaking a couple of engine cover clips and unknowingly disconnecting vacuum lines, etc. The way I look at it, folks come to us and pay us to do work they either don't know how to do or have no interest in doing it themselves. IE, you know how to grill a steak, but Outback doesn't cook it for free just because it's not that difficult or because it's a routine thing. You pay them for the convenience and they might even use some better spices or cooking techniques that you don't know about. I view it the same way.

Where??? J/K

I should have added, I never ever tell a customer how many hours the job calls for, or how much I've marked it up. I only speak in dollars to fix the car. I might indicate that the job is very labor intensive, but that's it.

On a 96 I probably would have charged at least 10 hours, plus evac and recharge, plus coolant service. So probably about 11.5

We always mark up book time 20%, except maintenance items. We also do our best to make sure we build an accurate quote before presenting to the customer. On big jobs like that, I usually ask the guys if the time I'm getting ready to sell sounds accurate and if we can think of anything else we should charge for. I've toyed around with marking up stuff more once they reach a certain age, but nothing in writing yet.

*double posted

Sorry, but the first thing that jumped out at me is you're installing filters for free. Why?!?! I mean, 75% of my customers couldn't install their filters on their own if their life depended on it, so why would we do it for free? That is exactly why people come to shops, because they can't or wont do the work themselves and are willing to pay for it.

We use bolt on. Definitely get a tablet that has built in camera flash for the techs. It makes a world of difference (don't try to use a flashlight. It will look like crap and is difficult to hold both at the same time and take a pic). We bought a Samsung 8.4 and a Nexus 9. The Nexus 9 takes better pictures. We use Gumdrop cases. Not cheap at all, but virtually indestructable

Is price the only deciding factor in where you get your car serviced or does trust play into the decision? Repairpal trains customers to focus on the price and assumes that the car has already been PROPERLY diagnosed and that all repairs are the same. I was a Master Lexus Technician, ASE Master Certified with my L1, and have over 9 years experience working exclusively on Lexus vehicles. I will tell you that the dumbest thing I can do is act cocky enough to give a price before properly inspecting the car. That's a sure fire way to piss off a customer. Quote them one price, then have them leave paying more, and that is exactly what repairpal does. *Oh, wait, they will also charge you to do it if you're willing to sign up.

Agreed, I've never had a customer ever bring it up. I only know of it because of this forum

I use it periodically to make sure I'm charging enough. I find some times I'm under charging for some things, even though I might be hitting my margins. I never lower my prices to match it though. My warranty is better than what they call for

That garbage seems to allow engines last well beyond 200,000 miles... Sorry, I'm no European oil expert, and sure, it might be better than what we use here, but garbage? Really?

Pay to have it towed. How much is a towing bill anyway? Have them sign the safety disclaimer, note it 8 different ways on the ticket, then call the tow truck company and pay to have it towed to their residence, or better yet, another shop. That's exactly what I did today. I told a customer they needed a power steering pressure line 3 weeks ago and they showed back up today after a family member installed (butchered) it for them. It's a miracle it made it to my shop. I found out a pep boys takes their 'car care one' credit card and I graciously paid the tow bill to Pep boys (no need to thank me for the referral). I had her sign the invoice that said not safe to drive.

Go for it now. If you wait for the perfect time, you'll never do it.

I pay $350/month. She comes and picks up the receipts that I keep in a file folder once a month. She provides P&L reports as requested. She is starting to scan all receipts to have digital back up copies. I was referred to here via my CPA. She communicates with my CPA to make sure all taxes and other legal BS is handled and paid. She makes all tax payments for me. If I want anything changed, she changes it. She also does payroll and direct deposit.