mlilley1

We use 4% as our shop supply rate based on labor only capping out at $37.83. I've never had a customer complain or even ask about it. I had to adjust sales tax to comply with state laws on these items as Joe said that's different in different areas. There are shops in our 20 Group that charge 6% or more with no complaints. It is definitely an area that any shop owner should look closely at to make sure its not going out the door for free or even at a loss.

Been with ATI now for several years. I feel that I have benefited greatly. If I had been smart enough to look into a management training program when I started out 20 + years ago I probably would be retired by now.

I have only good things to say about ATI. I completed the 30 month program and continue now as an alumni and with a 20 group which is fantastic. Only wish we could get together even more often. I've had the same couch since I started. The investment was a lot but the ROI was dependent on how hard I wanted to push myself to work the KPI's. The increase has been more than enough to offset the investment and I stay with them because I still feel that there are areas that I can improve on and without the couching I'm not sure how hard I would push myself. One of the biggest benefits is the training for service managers and service advisers. i feel that the staff at ATI is a hard working group. my two cents.

We do a Courtesy Inspection on every vehicle. I became affiliated with ATI a few years ago and they demonstrated to me and the techs that a thorough inspection can be done in an average of 15 minutes. On the older or more used up vehicle it may take longer, but as someone posted above that usually means that there is more opportunity for additional work and an increase in ARO. Then we moved to tablet inspections, we like Autovitals, and found that an inspection that is emailed to a customer with photos of the item in question was a very strong selling point. Autovitals customers that track things closely, (I'm not so good at that), can document that more photos turn into more sales. The customer can see the split CV boot, or the oil leak, or the scored brake rotor and have a much better understanding of what is being recommended. I'm sold on tablet inspections. Most systems allow complete customization of your inspections and also you can have several inspection sheets set up so that choice can be made if there is need to deviate from your standard inspection.