shumsauto

@JimShelly agree, it's definitely worth the money but you have to be able to resist their sales tactics... 

any information that you get that would improve your shop is worth paying for, check out shop hackers facebook page, there is a ton of good info and shop owners willing to help for free. If you want to take your shop to the next level, check out shopfix academy. By far the best coaching company ever!!! They don't get you into a contract like everyone else, they earn their worth every month. But start with shop hackers, you will not regret it. 

If you want a great 20 group with accountability for shop owners check out Shopfix academy. We meet 4 times a year for 3 days and it's absolutely the best time you can spend among other successful shop owners. 

10X rule by Grant Cardone

Try cobra systems. It's an awesome and super reliable printer, you can print manually or set up to print automatically from bolt on pro pack and that also sets the next appointment.

I use a large white board that I use for daily/weekly goals. I keep track for the week on the white board but also fill out a weekly sheet so that I have a hard copy to look at later. I think it would be a good idea for scheduling as well as long as you keep a hard copy or picture of it. (I like to pull up previous weeks and see how they look, etc.)

I'm guessing you are with repair shop coach because my board looks pretty identical : )

I paid 9400 for a full color 4 ft by 8 ft board. Do your research before buying... http://www.philadelphiaautorepaircenter.com/

We actually had the best October and November ever (well in 5 years since opening) : ) ARO in those 2 month went up by $100 from average, the profit margin 2% up from goal and both months sales goals were reached with ease. It feels good to look at the numbers when they are good but you have to monitor them every day or at least every week to make sure you know the big picture and can adjust your strategies before it's too late...

Signed up for your class at ASA PA in October. Can't wait to hear you speak in person.

A am looking to replace my 5 garage doors before fall. If somebody knows a good dependable company, please let me know.

They will not just stop supporting it with thousands of units out there. They just have a new tool coming out that will support all the euro makes but programming will now be done through OE website. Blue box is still the tool to have for at least another 5 years if you work on bmw.

I got mine 4x8 ft full collie programable led for 9200. Installed it ourselves. Sign company wanted $27k for the same board without installing and 1 year parts warranty. I got mine on eBay. Company is experian advertising. 5 year warranty. It has brought in significant amount of business. Felt the surge from week 1. Now the city is trying to get us to take it down but we will fight to the end. AND WIN!!! By the way, they are ALL Chinese boards, no matter who sells it to you or for how much. Check out the pictures. Www. Shumsauto.com

If you work on Bmw please save yourself a TON of headaches and buy autoLogic (the blue box) capabilities are better than dealer, it's faster than dealer scan tool and all the coding and programming are a breeze to do. Support is better than ANYBODY!!! We love ours.

We are part of bumper to bumper and its a lot better program. 24/24 parts and labor warranty and all kinds of other rewards and discounts. People at advanced auto parts store next to us are so clueless that it's a huge frustration calling them if you run out of options looking for a part. One time I asked for tpms sensor and the manager said they don't sell that there and another time I was looking for a 14 inch wiper blade and after 10 min on hold I was told they don't have any. I drove up to the store and took one off of the rack myself.

They are 2 blocks away from me and would be very convenient if they knew what they were doing. I use them only as a very last resort.

I have though about extended hours on many occasions but I think it could be risky move because it can train your customers to try to come on that day and not figure out how they can drop the car off.

Also most customers during extended hours would be waiters and that would get the ARO WAY down.

Also parts delivery is an issue because most parts stores close at 5:30 - 6 pm so you may be stuck with a customer that needs his car back TONIGHT and you can't get a 2 dollar part that you accidentally broke till tomorrow = unhappy customer.

And last - I believe if customers don't consider it important to make arrangements during regular business hours to leave the car and service it right with no rush, they will try to get you to hurry up, cut corners, "just pass the safety anyways because I need the car back RIGHT NOW" and just overall not quality customers that we are all looking for.

At my shop we have night drop and late pick up option if the customer pays over the phone. We have a lock box outside that the customer gets a code for after paying the bill and they can pick up any time. That solves pretty much all of our problems with customers that work late. Just my 2 cents 😄

We have a fire extinguisher hanging on the right post of every one of our lifts. It only takes a second to grab it and put out the flames. We had to use it once in 5 years but I belive you have to be prepared. And also you can't forget about a solid insurance policy.

I think even if you pay flat rate there should be a policy in place for limiting cell phone use. Its not about baby sitting, if your tech gets distracted and forgetting something causes an accident or let's say a drain plug that's left loose causes a seized engine WHO IS PAYING FOR IT ? You as an owner or the tech that says "sorry I was distracted, I'll take care of it"? If the liability was on the tech for "sh*t happens" then yes, use your phone and I will pay you flat rate BUT if the liability is on ME as a shop owner YOU will follow policies or you are out.

I am not saying fire somebody for touching the cell phone but if it's a habit and it doesn't stop after "the talk" he needs to go.

And if somebody tells me that they can "multi-task" and not get distracted then I wouldn't even try to argue with them, it's a lost cause and they are not being honest with me or themselves. In either case its a waste of time arguing with that person and it's time to let them go.

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 have a shop in Philadelphia with 50-75 other shops in 1 mile radius. I don't "hustle" I give a fair price for high quality work that we offer. I don't compete on price with other shops I compete on value. we are about to turn 5 and I am absolutely thrilled with owning a business that is different from hustlers in the area. I have not had a single month where I struggled to pay rent or any bills. Struggling to pay rent after 28 years in business should be a hint to maybe listen to other shop owners that come together and build a site like this to HELP other business owners get to a higher level and become better. I hope you learn to respect other people's opinion and maybe learn something in the process because running a business should be fun and rewarding and it should not make your life miserable after so many years of putting blood sweat and tears into it. Good luck

Shums, nice shop view on ratchet and wrench!

I am one of the repair pal top shops. We signed up about 4 month ago. Their prices on jobs I found to be very accurate. I am usually in the middle or a little below with 60 profit margin on parts and labor. The problem is that people that call don't look at the price the website is telling them. They are usually looking for the cheapest guy in town. I've gotten some good customers from repair pal but majority that calls don't come in when you tell them we need to look at the car before giving any kind of estimates (even when I tell them that we are usually in the middle of the price range on repair pal)

I have a cobra system and we used it for 3 years as a stand alone system but now its hooked up to the computer through boltON lube sticker pro and we absolutely love it. Guys hit print on their tablets, The system figures out how many miles on average the car drives in a day and anticipates the date of the next oil change and sets the appointment up in the calendar automatically. I tell the customer at pick up when their next oil change will be due and that they will get a text reminder about their appointment. I could not be happier with bolt on system.

I have a pile of invoices and return slips that I go through and check against the bill my parts supplier sends me. We deal mostly with Eastern Auto Parts here (Bumper to Bumper) and I gotta tell you, in 5 years that I have been checking their bills I may have found 1 or 2 mistakes. They have good systems in place and me checking the bill every two weeks has worked great for me.

http://shumsauto.com/home

My brother is the one that built the site. I come up with different promotions, design them and he posts it.

I would like some feedback on what could be improved

Thank you!!!

We sent out cards to our active customers and for December we have a keurig 2.0 coffee maker giveaway. For every 50 customer spends they get a raffle ticket and one will get the coffee maker. We had an iPad giveaway couple of month ago and it worked out great

I would deff build a shop of my dream (about 10 million budget) and continue doing what I absolutely love - running a business and helping people. I would want to have a facility that techs would dream of working in and customers come to have all their vehicle needs taken care of by happy technicians that are proud of their work and of what they do for a living.

I guess it's more of a goal, not a dream. : )