Gary A

We will be going out this year. It is also a good opportunity to build our relationships with our employees, and get to know more about them outside of the shop

Joe,

10 techs in 6 years and the 11th is the one who I needed. That goes to show you how difficult it could be, but I also learned a lot through those experiences. It wasn't money that did it, he did not have a lot of experience in what I do but the attitude is way beyond any of the others. Friendly, patient, well mannered and of good temperament. Self-motivated is the key word. When they keep going without being told it's a good thing.

Gary

I do hear of body shops doing other work. If I was in their shoes I would do the same. $45 to $65 per hour? I dont know how they do it. I hear that they must spend a lot of time on supplements and any additional work they could possibly get paid for to increase the time on the job.

Great post Joe. I too was on my way to a better October than last year. I was without power all week at home and the shop. I managed to finish a couple cars that were in the shop with the air left in the compressor. Nobody was really around all week anyway with all the chaos that this storm caused. I am very thankful, the inconvenience was the worst of it for me. My family is safe and I have great employees to be thankful for. I am also thankful for the many friends that gathered together and offered their homes (those that had power). Joe I would also like to say God only knows what may have happened if you were not there to help your neighbor. Asthma can be deadly. A friend of mine had lost his wife from an asthma attack. It is really great when people reach out and help their fellow man in times of trouble. I love these stories....

Here is a website that has Fluid Test Strips: http://www.fluidtesting.com/

 

 

Company products: http://www.gwrauto.com/gwrmain.html

The owner of this company is a close friend of mine. I have been collecting fluid samples for him as he has been developing these products.

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum!

We use factory scheduled maintenance found in our shop management software (Mitchell). Also we use BG products and use the lifetime protection plan as a valuable benefit to performing these services. Unfortunately unless you are doing a very high volume of product you will have to purchase the equipment or try to save some money and buy used equipment.

I have a good customer that bought 4 Ford edges for his family. used late model. They claim that they are getting everything for free. brakes tires everything. I am going to try to monitor this one closely to see see exactly what they are getting.

I was wondering what other shop owners are using to recommend brake fluid servicing. I just searched on line and came across a site that explained it and showed several tools and methods. They showed strips, a refractometer and also a tool I've never seen before, an electronic tester that measures the fluid's boiling point. After not doing these types of services in the past I am looking for ways to educate customers on why they need replacement especially with all of the negativity that some people have about changing fluids. Many people that come to our shops are sometimes worn out by the up sells that they experience at the dealer. I personally think the dealer does a better job sometimes of keeping people on proper maintenance schedules. I know it all boils down to the relationship with the customer. It can be hard though when it is a new customer. I don't have a problem recommending these services, I know that I want good fluids in my own car. I'm just wondering what others are experiencing and doing about this.

Joe,

With my new office help I am going to try doing insurance pictures. I will let you know how it goes. The name of the company that we wil be doing it with is Carco.

Gary

Yep me too after property tax increases on 2 properties I just had to tell my wife honey the wheels are just going to have to fall off! Lol

Good job Joe, We must try to put ourselves on the other side of the counter sometimes

In the beginning of August someone turned my switch off too, it happens. Now I am also scheduling the next appointment and will be proactive when those dates come to call them a week out and remind them of service due

Hi David and welcome to the forum. I started my business at the age of 22 and have been going for 23 years now. I'm sorry to hear of your loss. It is during these hard times though that our character will be molded and strengthened. When I started I had 5 years of full time wrenching and no business or customer interaction experience. So my advice to you would be to get as much business knowledge as possible. Good people are hard to find, but they are out there. Perseverance is the key. By the way I looked at the location of your building and saw it on Google Maps, it's a very nice shop. What is more amazing is how small this world is. I am up here in NJ and realized that you are right around the corner from my mother-in-law. She lives on 28th St. Next time I'm visiting I'll have to stop by and say hello!

Gary A

Do you have a means to stay in touch with customers? CRM program? Very important to keep your name in front of customers to keep them coming back. Email, text messaging online reviews are all more pieces to the puzzle of a marketing plan that must be used with today's technology. It is also very important to have people at the counter that will have the right attitude with your customers. They must give them a reason to come back.

A lot of us here are good technicians. Now who here thinks that one may wake up one day, buy a tool set and start fixing cars and be good at it? Sounds crazy right? So it was the same on that day that many of us decided to take the leap into our own business. I would advise anyone who is a technician to wait, take it slow and start reading as many business related books as possible to get an idea of what will be required of starting a business and it being successful. The same I would say to you John13, take this opportunity and as Joe said make it a blessing - take these next weeks while your not able to work and buy some books or audio books (audio is my preference). A good place to start is the E-Myth by Michael Gerber. And yes surround yourself with the right people! Keep us posted and hope you recover quickly.

Closed normally on Saturday anyway. Will be closed for Labor Day

 

I rent space out of a fix it yourself shop.

I'm just curious, what is a "fix it yourself shop"?

Well that's funny because I have a new customer with a similar problem it was at the dealer and had the brakes replaced in shortly after she had an accident. She said the pedal went to the floor

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=youtube+putting+up+the+flag&tnr=21&vid=5037808324313223&l=16&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fvideos%2Fthumbnail.aspx%3Fq%3D5037808324313223%26id%3Df65f2f0bb1d43f732cf378cf6003205c%26bid%3DwvLOAW28XJpUUg%26bn%3DThumb%26url%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.youtube.com%252fwatch%253fv%253dMh6raNzvRYI&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DMh6raNzvRYI&sigr=11ab0v3c0&newfp=1&tit=I%26%2339%3Bm+Putting+Up+the+Flag

Good one, thanks for sharing

I got an email from Mitchell about this one. Very interested in more info.

Ken is the manager there and has been very helpful. I see that he has joined the forum so I'm sure he will be able to help you out.

Now matter how you slice it and dice it at the end of the month we need to be profitable. Next time somebody complains about part prices I'm going to try moving the part profit over to labor and see what happens.

I just started using them. They have a lot of things to offer. They seem to get the weaknesses of Mitchell and come up with solutions. They have a lube sticker printing software program that calculates the next service by your choice of good-better-best oil change with intervals set by you. The next service due is calculated by miles per day if the vehicle has prior service history. Then it will automatically set the next appointment on the calendar. In speaking with them they have been very helpful when I have questions as there are many features that they offer. They have weekly webinars on using the program. They have different invoice layouts that are easier for the customer to understand like grouping each labor op separately by part, labor and total for each job. They are customizable as well.

That's why our shop is climate controlled.

Same here

28.00 + tax.

What I find is the only ones who complain are the ones who just come in with a flat and want a quick fix and probably won't be back for anything else anyway. I always start by explaning that the plugs from the outside are only temporary and that the patch plug is the approved method of repair.

The fact that most businesses offer mediocre customer service at best should make it an easy way to gain a competetive edge. Engage with customers, give them what they want and constantly educate and inform them of what you are doing and why. Tell them about the benefits of your service. Do this as the owner and then get your employees to follow your example.