_2080

Wow. a little over $500 a week to work as a automotive tech.

Things in Texas must really be cheap.

Over here in Bellevue WA., Mexicans at Home Depot ask, and get $20 an hour cash for basic manual labor.

I should move to Texas to retire.

You have an excellent point of view.

Where as NCAUTOSHOP needs to get a new set of pantys.

Very much so.

Tell me I am not telling the truth.

I am getting pretty tired of shop owners crying about this and that , when at the end of the day it is all there fault.

Didn't any one ever told you guys that you get what you pay for??

Yeah I want to buy an S550 for a price of a Impala.

Not going to happen , no matter how much I piss and moan about it.

Many of you state , how generous you are by paying $15 per hour.

In Seattle over here it is minimum wage. I would rather go work in MC Donald's than being a grease monkey.

Merry Xmas girls.

You are all full of s.it

You play a numbers game with your techs, but in the end it is all about you getting paid.

Than you cry like little girls screaming why cant you get good techs.

Look, if this topic is all about screwing your workers than just say so, and I dont have a problem with that.

If you want to be fair and non of you do. But I will tell you.

Pay your techs 33% of labor. Period.

Work comes in , everybody makes money, no work no money for everybody. including you.

Plain and simple.

Can any of you handle that???

I doubt , and dont tell me about your expenses, Do you care about your techs expenses?

By the way , keep your bull sh1t comments to your self.

If you cant pay 33% it is no body's fault but yours.

Merry xmas you all little girls.

_2080, on 27 Nov 2016 - 9:09 PM, said:

I have been a tech for 30 years , 17 of them a business owner. I wholly agree with Steve's comments.

I became a shop owner because I got tired of being somebody else slave.

Granted , being a shop owner is tough. But at least I am nobody's boy.

Please, do share with us fellow shop owners how you are paying your techs 50% of your labor and still keeping the doors open! I'd love to hear more, because I must be wasting 20% of my labor sales somewhere.

So how many techs do you have working for you? Are they all paid 50%, or is that just like an average of all of them combined. Are uniforms, insurance, and other perks included in this calculation, or is all that additional to the 50% they are getting?

DID I EVER SAY ANYWHERE THAT I WAS PAYING 50% TO ANYONE????

You people are just a bunch of retards.

This what I have done in the past. Labor rate pays everybodys income and shop expense.

Mark up on parts pays for comebacks. Your mark up depends on how many comebacks you have.

A good shop should not have to mark up their parts more than 30%

So when the customer brings their own parts and they are quality, Just add 30% to the price and you will be just fine.

Yes your insurance will cover everything should there be a problem.

I never had any.

ASE is total bullshit. You give me a couple of days working for me and I will tell if you are good enough or should be delivering pizza.

I too was ASE master tech, but I was also young and stupid.

I have been a tech for 30 years , 17 of them a business owner. I wholly agree with Steve's comments.

I became a shop owner because I got tired of being somebody else slave.

Granted , being a shop owner is tough. But at least I am nobody's boy.

To put it simply.

I love working on cars but I should have kept that as a hobby.

Dealing with customers and lot's of other people for 30 years 17 of it having my own shop became too much for me to handle.

Too many techs become self employed, thinking there will be riches to come.

Yes I used to own all the top euro trash cars.Although the Jag I had was very reliable and trouble free, which was pretty strange.

Never the less, chasing that carrot was a big mistake.

I had the opportunity to become a cop in my early 20s.

I should have done it. Now I would have had one hell of a great pension. What do I have now? A tool box with half of obsolete tools

and problems with mental health.

When I was young , the older techs would tell me I should quit and do something else. I should have listened, instead I just got pissed off.

Well, maybe in next life.....I hope.

rockauto is great . Their prices are better than i ever got from WorlPac.

But it takes time to get them.

Now that I no longer have a business. I buy my parts at rockauto.. They sell ac delco for my chevy and motorcraft for my ford.

their prices are lower than I ever got from World Pac. So to tell the customer that they are getting a cheap part, no longer fly's these days.

In the past , if a customer would start asking questions about price or quality of service. It only meant one thing. They were thinking that you are

cheating them. Now I found that VERY disrespectful. I would always tell them that If there was a doubt in their mind about me doing the right thing

for them. They were free to go to another shop. Some left, most stayed.

Never explain to your customers why you charge so much. it's non of their business. It is a sign weakness on your part.

You need to make a certain number each day,week,month. If you don't you will go out of business.

As simple as that.

I closed two months ego. Could not be happier.Should have done it 10 years ego.

It is the fear of the unknown that makes us do things we really should not be doing.

I earn now minimum wage. More than enough to pay all my bills.

Still got all my tools. The biggest problem now is working on my own cars with out a lift.

Can't seem to find a comfy creeper.

Gene.

 

 

Since we are taking out the measuring sticks my shop is in a much bigger city than yours, the population in my city is larger than your whole state. I know plenty of shops that run their business's like yourself. They are either too old to change or blissfully ignorant like yourself. Don't even know what more to say other than please find some better use for your time because no one here wants to hear your BS. thanks buh bye.

• Middle Village, NY a large city?
• Tell it to some one who never been there before.
• Gene.

How many bays in your shop, how many lifts, and how many techs?

2,1,1.

Gene.

Very sensitive arent we. I am thinking you are one of those who is looking for slaves and your wife is fat.

As I said before , truth hurts and most can't take it.

I got emails from people saying that I should continue posting.

I guess I am not that bad after all.

and remember tomorrow is saturday, so when you get drunk , stay away from your cousin. or at least wear protection.

For the rest of the people.

Running an auto repair shop in a big city is very tough to say the least.

One needs to be a hustler in order to make rent.

I have been doing it for 28 years and getting tired.

Like I said before , I got 3 other shops right next to me.

Being a princess just aint going to work.

For the most part I like rednecks , except the ones who have cousins for parents.

Enjoy.

Waiting for all the feedback , positive or negative.

Gene.

I dont get it. Ignorant of what?

You guys maybe the only shop in 5 mile radius. If that's the case than you can play hard to get.

In my case there are 30 shops in 5 mile radius.

If I play hard to get , I will go out of business.

Block option?

So if I say Something That you dont agree with. That means I should be banned?

Seems to me that most of you wont survive a month in a large city.

I think Iam wasting my time posting here. Just wanted to see how the red necks would react to my posts.

and the reaction was just as expected. No more different than World Pac forum.

Too bad .

Gene.

I should have. Probably be making more money than I do now. Plus benefits.

I wish I could go back in time and kick my self in the ass.

Gene.

Does anyone know where McDonalds gets their beef? I want to see what it cost's so I can argue the price of my Big Mac.

 

The point is that no one does this to most other businesses. Why do they do it with their auto repair shop?

How has it come to be where customers think this is okay? I had a hot water heater installed this fall at my house. It was $632.56. I didn't tell my plumber that Home Depot had the heater for $239.

 

I am on a quest. A quest to find 1,200 customers who will cheerfully pay me any price I ask.

How come you didn't get it done your self? The water Heater.

"I am on a quest. A quest to find 1,200 customers who will cheerfully pay me any price I ask." There was a black man ones who also had a dream.

We all know what happened to that.

Gene.

Gene I think you are missing the big picture. If the customer's real reason for wanting a new battery was because he was experiencing electrical or voltage issues, you did not do him a service. In fact there is a chance the customer will put some blame on you as the shop for not advising him better. Because that customer's needs were not properly met, they could also end up going to another shop that will ask questions and service them properly which totally makes you look bad.

 

I believe as auto care professionals it is our duty to look out for our customers. To ask questions and find out what the customer actually needs. Doctor's don't leave it up the patients to determine the course of treatment to cure them. We shouldn't either.

 

In the particular case I made a post about, the customer would surely get stuck with a vehicle that did not start again due to a dead battery. We are looking at the bigger picture. Long term instead of short term.

He didn't ask me to do any diagnostics. Just The battery. So I gave him what he wanted. Iam in the service business I am not his mother.

"I believe as auto care professionals it is our duty to look out for our customers" I think you live in a fantasy world.

I gave up on that idea decades ego.

I have three other shops next to me. If I dont make the customer happy , the other shops will be more than happy to do it.

Gene

I have a shop.

Negative?

Maybe.

Working in auto repair is not easy. Seen too many people burn up and some become negative like my self.

Gene.

I dont know why you all guys all cry like little babys.

I would have done that job for $211 and be very happy.

The labor is $180 and it takes what? a half hour to do it?

If I could I would be doing that kind of work all day long .

Gene.

More often than not I use repairpal.com Prices 98005 area code.

You guys charge way too little. I charge 130 on newer European stuff and 110 on older.

90 the rest of cars. And customers still tell me I got low prices.

Gene.

I didn't expect any one to like my answer. Truth hurts and most people can't take the truth.

Paying your techs 15% to 18% is a joke. The fair pay is 33% of labor.

If you treat your tech with respect and fairness, they will come on time to work and they will clean up after them self.

As far as getting guys that can do 40 hrs in 40 hrs. When you offer crap, you get crap and you end up with crap.

The rules are that easy.

I had former employers give me crap because I failed to say HI to their fat wives, when they came in to the shop. Maybe because I was trying to solve an electrical problem

that three other shops could not. Maybe because I had no Idea that kissing your fat wives ass is part of the job requirement. I had employers give me crap because I had a cell phone and others didn't (that was years ego when cell phones were rare). Employers gave me crap because I drove a Mercedes and they didn't.

The list goes on and on.

The fact that I was 200% on average was not that important. It was all about I must kiss ass and bend over.

Deep down inside you all know what I am talking about. Whether or not you can admit it is whole different story. That takes strength and from some of your answers I can

see that most of you are weak.

In the end if you are going to reply to what I have written , just write if you agree or disagree, I will respect that. As far whining is concerned, save it for your wives.

You all have a nice day.

Gene.

xrac, red flags all over the place. I know the battery swap is a rather expensive endeavor on a newer BMW but seriously what do these people think they are going to do? Change the game? It is how the vehicle was designed and it is the ONLY proper way to repair. Dealer told them first. Then I told them. Probably off to auto zone to get whatever they can get and throw it in there unregistered and bound to fail again.

Some customers are not your customers!

 

Just another story in the #shoplife that loosely pertains to this topic.

 

Had a guy call up today 2006 530XI. Wanted to bring the car in today for a battery. Gave him some possible times to bring the car in but got right down to why he thought he needed the battery. "I brought the car to the dealer a few months ago and they had told me I needed a battery" FIRST RED FLAG! "Also I have been having to jump start my car with a booster pack for a while but now thats not even working" SECOND RED FLAG! Anyway I schedule the guy in. He ends up canceling the first appt and reschedules for later on in the day. Customer drops the car off for a few and leaves. Before he left I told him I would take a look into his battery situation a bit further because the electrical and charging sys on newer model BMWs are very sensitive to voltage. Turns out as expected that he really needed a new alternator (leaking diodes), IBS cable and a new battery. Gave the guy some options on what we could do for him today which was either an IBS + AGM battery or IBS + Lead acid battery. Both options were north of $600. His response was "wow thats expensive, about the same price as the dealer" and finally "I think I am going to decline both" BIG SURPRISE! At that point I said, "ok sure no problem we can have your vehicle back together for you in 10 minutes. We normally charge a diagnostic fee however we are going to waive that for you today." He came 15 minutes later thanked me and left. Before he left he had mentioned he had called a few weeks ago and got an approx price of $300-400 for a battery. Yep a phone shopper and the worst kind. My fault for giving out prices over the phone.

 

GOOD RIDDANCE! Customers like that have no respect for themselves and the vehicles they drive. He was jump starting the car with a booster pack for months and he expected to get away with a $200 battery. GTFO. These types of people are a danger to themselves and you are better off wishing them well and sending them down the road. I didn't even bother charging him and its the best money I never made. Who knows what kind of vindictive nonsense would have came out of that if I would have charged him a charging sys diag. Wouldn't have been worth it. Instead I threw a smile on my face, shook his hand and sent him down the river.

 

 

Point of the story is there are plenty of people out there that will appreciate you and your service. Those are the customers to give your attention to. Send the yo-yos away.

 

Of course there are people out there that have to decline work due to economical situations. Totally understandable and i have bent over backwards for a lot of my customers. The problem with bending your own rules is what if that person comes into a better job and their financial situation changes? Do you think they will magically start paying you for your parts and not bring their own? Hell no. They got away with it the first time so that is now their expectation.

 

Anyway that is my rant on crappy customers which wasn't really the main point of your thread but I hope to have entertained some of you guys with that story.

I don't get you guys. I always give a customer what they want. Had a guy coming with a 2010 Audi A6 asking for a new battery. I gave him a good price on a Bosch battery.

He went for it. Later that day I checked his old battery and it was in fine shape. Took that one home to use it in my boat. In the end the customer was happy , and I am happy.

Why mess with that?

As far as why he wanted a new battery, I don't know and don't really care. Maybe he read something on the internet. You know how that goes.

Gene

You know , I find it very funny how you all can't find a good tech.

When I was looking for a job. I could not find a shop that did't want a slave.

Even working for Mercedes, it was the same story. You must give and maybe we will pay you what we think is right but still less than what you deserve..

In the end and with having no other choice I opened my own shop just a block away from the same Mercedes dealer I worked for.

Never looked back on that decision.

So maybe you all should look at your selfs first and then maybe you will realize why no one wants to work for you.

Gene.