Frank

I agree and would like to add that people need to see there is a future and a light at the end of the tunnel. Too many shop owners are too busy getting through the day, they don't take enough time to sit and find out what makes their techs tick.

There are not a lot of good programs that focus on the independent. We use Mitchell and find it works great. We see Mitchell as a company dedicated to the independent and we need to support this.

Overwhelmed??? More like “confused fright” at times. I understand what you are saying, but why can't there be a feeling of self-responsibility from your employees. Do we need to constantly hold their hands and pat them on the back for things they SHOULD be doing because it's their job???

There is no doubt the housing problems will affect the auto industry. Together with high gas prices, the mortgage crisis and the customer perception of the economy, we may be in for rough ride this year.

I agree. The problem we have is that in our business there are too many variables. For McDonalds it's easy. You can get anyone to hit a key on a keyboard with a picture of a Big Mac and ask if they want an apple pie. In our business you need qualified people working on very different problems all day long. It's hard to write that into policy and procedures. But, I have to agree...we need to find ways to become more efficient.

Low productivity is the result of too much time being wasted between jobs, too much time generating estimates, not charging enough for diagnostic time and poorly written repair orders. Communication is another issue between the techs and service. And one final thought, are shops selling enough profitable maintenance work?

The way I see it, I don't know how any shop owner can run an auto business today without a computer management system. What systems are you using and what advantages or disadvantages do you see?

We use Mitchell Manager with great success. The company is always on the cutting edge. And I agree, no shop can survive today without a computer management system

I don’t want to complain, my people a great. However, it’s a constant struggle among my younger employees to get them to start on time. We have a saying at my shop, “We start at 8:00…we don’t arrive at 8:00”. I hear every excuse in the book: I got caught behind a school bus, there was an accident on the road, traffic was heavy today, I had to clear the snow from my driveway, the deli I get my morning coffee had a long line… on and on and on. Do you have the same issues and what are you doing about it?

I recently read a survey in a trade magazine showing the average national price on 4-wheel alignments. The survey contained mostly tire shops. What I surprised (and disappointed) to see was how low priced some shops charged for the average 4-wheel alignment. In some cases as low as $49.99. Don’t we give enough away? We all know that an alignment system with a rack can cost upwards of $35,000.

It’s funny, with bodywork, the insurance companies will either pay us a menu price or give us the time from a recognized published labor guide, which for some cars exceed 1.5 hours. Even at a labor rate of $70.00, a labor time of 1.5 is $105.00. Is the alignment service just another commodity doomed to be priced low such as the common oil change?