KMS

A full service shop shouldn't need to give away anything free to get customers in.

We just installed 16 cameras around our office and shop. It is a good idea. Better safe than sorry!

Those customers just make me laugh. They don't deserve anything, and I will let them know that. People like that believe they are owed something. We doesn't owe them sh*t!

Remember, we all started somewhere. Flat Rate mentality is learned. Someone right out of tech school will not be quick. They are taught to do it right, not fast and check it over and over again to make sure it is right. He will be nervous for a while. He will need to be taught how a technician in the real world needs to hustle. Good luck.

Good luck! We are all here to help anyway we can. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

We also do not worry too much about customers signatures. I can count on one hand, in ten years, how many times there has been an issue to where I wish I had a signed work order. Having a signed work order is good, except if they have an issue after they already okay'd work over the phone. The up-sold work doesn't have a signature. I guess it has its ups and downs. I do like the idea of having an outside hard drive or server to back up my accounting!

Sometimes we have to take care of our customers, the good ones that have been there when we were counting pennies and praying we had enough money for the rent the same month. Those same customers that have come back time and time again.

 

Had an incident somewhat related to this topic. I am in the middle of trying to transition my technicians to flat rate from salary (Joe probably knows lol) and my slower technician in terms of hours weekly and I had a bit of an argument today about certain services. He was taught in tech school that everything he puts his hands on he should get paid for. I agreed with him however the subject of wiper blades is what we were talking about. My policy is we install wiper blades complimentary for our customers. It takes a tech 2 minutes to do so and it builds a lot of good will with our customers. I was explaining to him that we are going to always get paid for work that we do however certain things we do for our great customers (all of our customers are great or else they aren't OUR customers) such as wiper blades, tire fill, safety inspections (visual) will almost always be complimentary. It is part of the value we bring to the table that sets us apart from our competition both independent and dealer.

We have the same policy here, and all of my techs understand completely. We also will replace some bulbs for free. What we did to make up for some of there time is pay them for a courtesy inspection .25/hr. It has not only helped with doing the small things for free, but also has help with upselling on every vehicle that comes through our door.

I type the plate # into Mitchell when they pull into the driveway, the customers name pops on the screen if the car has been in before. Hi Mrs Wilson... They can't believe my memory is so good. Hehe I cheat

I like that. Problem is I can't see the cars when they pull up from my desk. Great idea though!

I will have to look into these companies. Maybe they can help draw in more new customers. Great topic!

I think you need to talk to your technician. If his work performance has drastically reduced find out why. There is something going on in his personal life. There is a reason he lost motivation. If this doesn't help, find someone who is money motivated, or find out what motivates the tech you have now. Good luck and never let an employee be the fall of your business.

I feel the same way. It's not my warranty, so I will charge my normal price. The warranty either covers it or not, and the customer will pay any differences. If the customer has any issues they can take it up with the warranty company personally. I will not allow them to send me any parts. It's my way or the highway!

Customers are very appreciated to receive a good, clean loaner car. You don't have to put decals on then, but I can't even count how many times a new customer would call to ask about us because they saw our decals and were interested. I think it is a great idea.

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.

That is a fair assumption.

I have seen this many times. I get these phone calls daily. I have an X3 in here right now for that same reason. He's an engineer, yay, and a YouTube fanatic also. What a gem. He told me he had some warning lamps on, (SRS, 4X4, Brake, and Light bulb), and they all came on at the same time. Sure they did? Dealer to him he needed a steering angle sensor, DSC module, Heater Control Unit, and a passenger occupancy sensor, vehicle had no heat, and all the bulbs are working. Dealer told him it may have communication issues? Something definitely didn't sound right to me. He brought the vehicle to me. We went through the diagnosis. It had multiple faults in many systems. So, I decided to drill him a little, and found out the lamps did come on at different times. Also, he told me intermit. his low coolant lamp comes on. One of these days people are going to take responsibility of their ignorance.

What we found out:

1.) Needs a steering angle sensor (took care of his Christmas Tree dashboard)

2.) Needs a HALO bulb

3.) Needs a coolant expansion tank - coolant was way low and leaking externally! Not a control assembly.

4.) His valve cover was puking oil!

Thank you dealer. He bought everything. It just took a little extra time.

I don't know your clientele, but it definitely sounds like your ARO is way low, or your customer count is low, or maybe both. You sound like you work a lot of hours already. It isn't always necessary to work extended hour. I would look to see if how I could get my ARO higher before I would work more hours. Great Quote:

It's not the time you put into your work, it's the work you put into your time!

Words I live by!

I am just starting to figure out how all of these back-end links work through SEO. Thanks for your responses. I did look into Yelp a little and I will some more.

I use Google AdWords express. Costs me $130 a month or so. It seems to be working, when I pause my ads the phone stops ringing so much.

Do you know how many clicks or leads you get a month?

We sell a 4W alignment with every new set of 4 tyres purchased. We let the customer know that it is the only way to get the manufacturers thread wear warranty.

At age 6 my Dad opened a NAPA AUTO PARTS store. When I was about 10-12 years old, which would have been 1964-1966, a customer needed a fuel pump to carburetor line. I cut some copper tubing for the fuel line, slid 2 inverted flare fittings on it, and flared both ends. The total charge to the customer was 50 cents. After he left. I complained to my dad that I did a lot of work for only 50 cents. My dad replied that the man who spends 50 cents today may spend 50 dollars tomorrow. After he enlightened me, I did start looking at it differently, and still think about it today.

That is a good way to look at it, but I think it is a lot different these day. There are just way to many people out there that keep searching for the $0.50 deals. They will bounce from shop to shop always looking for the cheapest price. These are not the customer's I search for. I want the customer's that understand what it takes to maintain a vehicle properly. I have realized that you don't have to give away cheap or free services to gain new life-long customers. I would say if I were a newer company, you may have to, to get noticed and get your name out in the community.

I am super sad right now, we had a customer that we have done a couple winterizations for, a couple repairs, couple more auto starts for came in saying their car was overheating at -40 and she thinks the coolant froze (if so our fault for not getting it rich enough) so we take a look at it and there is no coolant in it because the water pump is leaking on a 2005 tahoe with 145k on it. what does she say? She is going to have to talk to her old tech that she used to have before moving here before doing it because she thinks it might be our fault her water pump failed.

 

Why at this point are we being questioned.

This does happen. Some customers are easily discouraged. It sounds like you failed to earn her trust somehow? If she is a multi-vehicle customer, just take car of it to try to earn her trust back, but find out what happened for her to lose your trust. Make sure you emphasize that failures just happen, and it wasn't anyone's fault. Good luck!

I am super sad right now, we had a customer that we have done a couple winterizations for, a couple repairs, couple more auto starts for came in saying their car was overheating at -40 and she thinks the coolant froze (if so our fault for not getting it rich enough) so we take a look at it and there is no coolant in it because the water pump is leaking on a 2005 tahoe with 145k on it. what does she say? She is going to have to talk to her old tech that she used to have before moving here before doing it because she thinks it might be our fault her water pump failed.

 

Why at this point are we being questioned.

This does happen. Some customers are easily discouraged. It sounds like you failed to earn her trust somehow? If she is a multi-vehicle customer, just take car of it to try to earn her trust back, but find out what happened for her to lose your trust. Make sure you emphasize that failures just happen, and it wasn't anyone's fault. Good luck!

I am super sad right now, we had a customer that we have done a couple winterizations for, a couple repairs, couple more auto starts for came in saying their car was overheating at -40 and she thinks the coolant froze (if so our fault for not getting it rich enough) so we take a look at it and there is no coolant in it because the water pump is leaking on a 2005 tahoe with 145k on it. what does she say? She is going to have to talk to her old tech that she used to have before moving here before doing it because she thinks it might be our fault her water pump failed.

 

Why at this point are we being questioned.

This does happen. Some customers are easily discouraged. It sounds like you failed to earn her trust somehow? If she is a multi-vehicle customer, just take car of it to try to earn her trust back, but find out what happened for her to lose your trust. Make sure you emphasize that failures just happen, and it wasn't anyone's fault. Good luck!

Do you plaster your shops name and contact info on your loaner cars?

We did on all our loaner cars, but did get some negative feedback when the customer/s had to go to business meetings. For as little negative feedback as we got, I would always put decals on loaner cars. It is free advertising, just don't get ridiculous.

I have read many stories that insurance companies put out that more accidents, whether FWD or RWD, are caused by poor rear tyre tread. We always put the newer tyres on the rear of the vehicle when only two are purchased.

AI have been on both sides of the counter at a dealership. I was a technician and a service advisor manager. I have seen technicians get pushed out because of their wages. It's ridiculous! This has been going on the past decade to reduce the cost, and raise profit. Dealers / Manufacturers want you to do more work these days and want to pay you less for it. The whole dealership framework is flawed. It's nice to see other people out there with a similar experience. Dealerships suck!