CARMandP

I had X-charge through Mitchell but I am pretty sure I signed up quite early and was getting raped on the fees. I am currently with Heartland and have been very happy with the consistent 1.6% across the board average every month even with American Express. I have to use a seperate terminal which was one of the downsides to getting rid of X-charge but we have gotten use to it.

I have thought about one myself for several years but the time lost waiting for the rotors to turn verses just replacing them has kept me from buying a lathe. By the time you add the labor to cover the time spent to turn the rotors, its almost even to just replace the rotors with new ones and you don't normally have to worry about if you will have a vibration when you are done.

Unless you can get the pads in your stock on consignment, I wouldn't stock them. If you stock them it means you put the money out yourself and you have investment tied up in something that might not move. I stock almost nothing because I have two auto part stores within a mile of my shop. Like was mentioned above unless you know exact numbers you sell on a regular basis I wouldn't do it.

You can also talk to companies like Mudlick Mail who specialize in mass marketing mailers. I got a great study from them for free of my local homes in the area. Pretty cool idea and it was free I will probably be going with them for my mass mailing as soon as I can get the money set aside.

Welcome to the site. Its good to have you here. Don't be afraid to ask questions. That is what we are here for.

Welcome to the site. Its good to have you here. Be sure to really search the site and learn from the experience on this site. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Although we may not be in your exact position most of us have learned the hard way what works and what doesn't work.

I use Oreilly's as my first call. I have been using the local store here for the 6 yrs I have been in business. They have the "normal" brands that your Advance or Auto Zone carries. For me it comes down to personal relationship with the supplier. We had a very good local rep till about 6 months ago and then Oreilly's didn't replace him and now the Advance rep is really after our business. Since both stores pretty much carry the same parts it comes down to stock and price for us. Oreilly's house brand brake pads are made by Wagner. Their house brand filters are made by Wix. They carry of course BWD and Cardone...I have had better luck with the quality of Oreilly's parts over the Advance parts.

I have two "young" techs in my shop. One grew up working on a farm and has a very high mechanical ability and the other one is learning while we go. I like you Joe searched out the younger guys as I was one (about the same times these guys were born. LOL). I enjoy training guys who are willing to learn to the way "i" want things done in my shop.

I close the Friday after Thanksgiving. I don't want to be at the shop that day and I can't expect my guys to be either. I am looking forward to spending a bunch of free time with my kids.

I got rid of my IATN and went only with Identifix. The best month I spend every month. There is no way to keep up on all the changes and if you have any questions someone a lot of times has already solved the problem. Example, had a GM car with the pass side seat air bag code. A bunch of responses said to check the plug under the seat for something specific. Solved problem. Would have taken me hours to figure that one out. Identifix is one of the first steps in our diagnostic tree and to have access to the actual factory wiring diagrams and factory manuals is worth every penny.

I buy Mobil 5000 as my bulk and get it in 55 gallon drums which costs me $485 a drum. I am happy to use a name brand oil for my bulk.

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I spoke with Lance Howard (877-659-9353) when I talked to the rep. The site has been open about two weeks and is just now starting to see results. They told me it would take a few weeks. No complaints so far.

Great article.

I have been changing my labor rate by $.50 an hr a month for about the last year. It puts the labor price up slow enough that most people wouldn't notice it. Your labor price needs to be based on what you have to offer not so much by your competition. I started by pricing my competition but decided I needed to know what it costs me and then price the labor around that. I really don't care much what my competition charges because I am offering things that my competition can't/wont. We also almost always charge at least 1/2 hr for diag time. You must get something for that time invested, especially if they decide they don't want to fix it. You also need to be able to pay for that scan equipment, updates, ect. We also price labor on the bump. 1.2 hrs is 1.5 We do everything in 1/2 hr labor increments. Makes it easier to price as well and also gives you the bump when the labor is an odd time.

I have used Demandforce, Customerlink and now am trying Kukui. Can't comment much on Kukui because I haven't had it long enough. Demandforce didn't impress me due to the fact that they required a year contract with no option to drop so when I really struggled one fall, I had to pay them anyway. They don't do post cards unless you want to pay more. I had much better luck with Customerlink. They are a month to month program and were much more flexible and I got a discount with them because I am part of the Oreilly's Certified Auto Network. I also didn't get my cancellation in time to demandforce and got stuck using them another year. Felt kinda cheated and won't use them again or recommend them.

I had exactly the same experience with Demandforce. I had much better service and luck with Customerlink but they still don't do as much as I wanted done.

The site went live this week. It took about 2 weeks to get the information to them and get all the stuff setup. So far I have been impressed with what I have seen but time will tell. I have seen enough of this type of stuff (between Demandforce and CustomerLink) to know if they are working the numbers. We will see. I will give you guys an unbiased update as we go along.

Welcome to the site. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

We are in a small southern town where everyone knows each other So glad I moved away from NY state. Anyway I have sent my service writer out around the community to hand out cards. You would be amazed at the number of business that will allow you to place a business card holder on their counter to advertize for them. I also have a bulletin board right inside my front door that says we support local businesses and its full of cards. Networking with other local businesses is a great way to get more business and as a small business owner I am always interested in "trading" services

Not sure that is something you will be able to "quantify". I have thought of it myself but never did it. Those ads are on the carts around here to keep your name in the front of their minds. Who knows the customer that stops at the store and while shopping remembers that they need to do car work and see your ad. Its the same idea behind why you see big name business logos everywhere. (Coke, Pepsi, Mcds) Are these ads causing you to purchase at that time? Probably not but it keeps brand awareness in front of people.

They use mitchell1 as well. I am in the process of having them setup for me. I will let you guys know how well they work as I have my experiences.

I don't normally carry at work because its too hard getting in and out of cars with it but its always close and so are the 3 others in the shop

I refuse to take any kind of payments anymore. If you approved the work, you can come up with the money to pay for it. If we do the work, who do I say doesn't get paid since the work wasn't paid for when the vehicle left the shop? Been burned too may times because I am a "nice" guy.

Welcome to the site. Don't be a stranger