TheTrustedMechanic

“Then, also, we want their mailing address. Everybody’s got a place they’re living. They’re not living in their car, chances are. So we want to make sure that we get their home address so that we can mail something to them.” You changed your terminology and if your audience doesn’t catch it, it’s a fatal mistake when contacting your customers. I know, I made it. I stopped asking for their “address” or their “home address.” I started asking for their MAILING address.” Because even though some people have an actual home address, they don’t or can’t get mail there. In my area there are several cities/towns/village/suburbs that have street addresses but all mail must be sent to a P.O. Box. Send your letters to their home address and it will get returned. So make sure to ask for their MAILING address. Likewise, when you’re writing up a work order, ask for a good number to contact them at TODAY. Their home number does no good if they are out shopping. Their cell phone number does you no good if they are like my ex-wife who has to leave her phone in her purse in her locker in the basement. “The next thing on the list is we want to make sure we get their e-mail address. We want to make sure that we’re getting the right e-mail address. Not the e-mail address the junk e-mail that a lot of people, including me, I have a junk e-mail address that I give to everybody because I don’t want them to contact me. We want to make sure that we get their actual e-mail address. The one that they actually do check. It’s very important you do that.” Do you really not see the irony, the hypocrisy? IF your customers wanted you to contact them by email, they would NOT give you their “junkmail” email address. So by demanding a good email address you are only alienating them and if they don’t want you to have their good address and you coerce it from them and then use it, you are only further alienating them. Marketing is supposed to build positive feelings and top of mind awareness, not anger and dissention. If they want you to contact them via email, they will give you their email address willingly, don’t demand it. Something I have noticed more and more lately is clerks asking for my phone number. I tell them they don’t need it. You know what? They don’t. They continue without my phone number. Just like the self-serve checkouts, ANY place that demands my phone number or my email address for me to give them MY money will instead get a cart of un-purchased items as I walk out.

I think there is a problem with the "no marketing budget" idea and mmotley just brushed it. mmotley mentioned annual sales vs monthly sales. Here's my thought, if you have a marketing budget based on ANNUAL sales then you have money planned to work with. Instead of saying your monthly sales are $25,000 so you should spend $1750 and the in the slow month your monthly sales are only $15,000 your marketing should be $1050, if you base your ANNUAL marketing budget on your ANNUAL sales then you bank the money in the $25000 month and spend it in the $15,000 month. By basing your marketing budget on your annual sales you have the budget and get to spend it when you need to. You also should remember, just because you have the budget doesn't mean that you have to spend it all (spend it just to spend it) or can't spend more if needed.

I agree that demographics play a big part, especially depending on how you are marketing your cheap oil change. It is great that the CHEAP is working for some members and I wholly agree with PherBag that talking to the customer and building a relationship is paramount. But it does not work for everyone and by everyone I mean the shops not the customers simply because of demographics. In my area there were at least 4 shops that tried the $18.95 oil change. Techs hated the oil changes, the shops have all but dropped them and with the exception of one but they are still $25.95. That shop is just a quick lube but you will not roll out of there without them trying to sell you every wallet flush there is. So when the victim tires of the cheating and unnecessary service selling and goes to a legitimate shop, they refuse ALL recommendations, even when you show them the tie rod end that's about to pop apart. Why am I pointing this out when it's a quick change place and not a real repair shop? Because that's the impression that is built in the customers' minds. the purpose of your cheap oil change is to get the customer in the door to find and sell extra services. How is that different than this quick change scam shop? It's not, not really. Not in the customer's mind. How you can make your shop different is not by not offering an oil change but by not using it as a loss leader in an effort to find and sell more services. Offer it as a legitimate service at a legitimate prices. Why do we feel the need to give our time away? Do we not value our time? If not why should the customer and why are we surprised when they come to us for the cheap oil change and then shop any recommendations we find and then pick the cheapest shop for each of them too? If you aren't willing to be part of the solution because being part of the problem is making you money, well, there's not much to say about the poor level of ethics involved.

I think I initially responded to the offer you are talking about. I was VERY quickly put off by the HARD sell tactics. Overwhelming email solicitations (you'd call them "follow-ups" I call them SPAM). If I am remembering the correct scam (there's so many out there) it was clear that the offer was promising the moon but not even willing to provide the telescope without BUYING on-going "coaching." My BS detector went off very quickly that the offer was NOTHING but a thinly disguised sales pitch to sell continuing coaching, NOT a clear, concise self-contained course. I don't remember the exact offer with complete certainty but I do remember it was from you and I do remember why I was put off and didn't follow through. Oh, and by the way, there may be enough people to make you think SurveyMonkey works but I know I'm not alone. The very offer of "Take our survey and be entered to win a gift card" SCREAMS that my time is of no value to the organization that is asking me to give them something they DO NOT VALUE, my time. If you want my time, if you want my opinion, what is in it for me? A "chance to win" is a definite LOSER proposition for all but one, and I'm never the one, not to mention that the $25 gift card for 100-1000 surveys to those of us who are smart enough to use our brains understand that you DO NOT VALUE us or care enough about our opinions to put any effort into it except what is in it for you. I'm sorry to be critical, but I'm just telling you how I see it. And like I said, I know I am not alone.

Naming names of your clients, NOT COOL! IF they gave you permission to use them in your marketing efforts, you should clearly be stating such instead of what appears to be breach of privacy. To anyone who doesn't think this is a big deal, how many of you tell your clients who your other clients are? How many of you use your customers' names in your marketing without first getting their permission? If one comes in and says, "My neighbor Bob comes here," and you acknowledge Bob is a client, you aren't volunteering the information, your new customer has already said they know. By confirming what they already say they know, you are helping to build a relationship and trust. Not only between the customer and you, but also between the customer and Bob. "Well, if they won't admit Bob comes here, is Bob a jerk to them? Will the treat me badly because they don't like Bob and think I'm the same?" I'm big on privacy and I think that, without express permission and stating that you have permission, naming names of your clients for YOUR marketing benefit is just poor form.

They who own the server, own the data. Remember that. When you use anything 'in the cloud' you lose control of "your" data. It is licensed back to you. One of the reasons why I will NEVER use AllData Manage Online or any other 'in the cloud' service. All that customer information provided to you in confidence to use to help support your service to your customers, when you go online you lose control over that date. Unless the Privacy Policy is "We will never use or access your data unless specifically authorized by you or required to in order to service you our client and then only to the extent necessary to provide a one time, non-precedential action on your behalf or as required to by an order of the court of competent jurisdiciton,": then you have not control over your data. You don't own it once you put it on 'the cloud." No privacy, no control and no ownership. Utilizing cloud services is irresponsible at best. As for QB integration, I use Manage Elite desktop and tried the QB integration once. I disabled it after one day. Without the integration the work order would post in less than 2 seconds. With QB integration it was over 1 minute and then the accounts were different than what I was already using. The accounts I was already using were basic, mostly standard QB chart of accounts. You would think that Alldata, intending to integrate with QB would have selected and titled their accounts the same instead of having to set up a new set of accounts in QB. Cumulatively I spend less time entering invoices and payments manually than Manage with QB integration would do.

Admittedly I own but never read the book the e-myth but then I bought it the audio book because of the hype. What a WASTE of time and money. Also the author contradicts himself form one chapter to the next. Buy the e-myth, buy into the e-myth ONLY if you want to buy into a franchise. That is ALL the guy talks about.

While the second one involves real people who your customers can relate to as opposed to the cartoon characters I think it’s too technical or ‘smart’ for the customer to really care. I also like the first one. But remember, the ONLY person who gets a vote is your customer. What is important or attractive to other shop owners is not necessarily what will connect with your customers. I would try to develop a focus group of your customers. You know the people who know you, trust you and who responded to your previous marketing efforts. The people you work for and you earn money from. They are the only ones whose opinion really matters.

Not meaning to be mean or argumentative, but do you really think that most customers like the ones being discussed care about you making a profit? As Matthew has told me many times, customers care about one thing, What's In It For Me? They don't care about your business. Sure some do, but most only care about their need and how much it will cost. Of course they all know that all businesses charge a profit but they don't want to think about it. When you explain your company's finances with them, they care but you are making them think about something they don't want to think about.

I love your answer. That's great. I will try to remember that next time I get a price objection. And we all know it will happen. I think your scenario and tact will work with some people but I don't think it will work with most people who are objecting to what we charge for that part. Their distrust, lack of respect and value of what we do is what drove them to doubt us and check the price of the cheapest part they could find. No amount of rational explanation will convert that consumer. The ones I think your attitude and approach will work with are the ones who aren't objecting to the price of a specific part but to the cost overall. And that may be caused by tight finances or an outdated idea of the cost. Such as a starter and dad's old truck only cost $80 installed and today we can't buy a starter for $80 wholesale. So when we quote them $205 for the starter and $187 to install (have to pull the axle shaft and disconnect the stabilizer bar comes to mind) they immediately question why it costs so much. They aren't really questioning why you're charging $205 for the starter when they checked and they can buy it for $120, they aren't distrustful of us or lack a sense of value in what we do, they are simply surprised by the cost. Or say their other car (hypothetically a GM 3.1) needed a water pump and it was $350 with a flush (purely fictional numbers) and this one is Quad 4 variant where you have to pull the exhaust manifold and timing chain and it's gonna cost $875. "My Grand Am was so much cheaper, why does my Cavalier cost so much more?" I have found that trying different approaches, explaining the warranty, the knowledge of what parts will ultimately provide the best value (reliable long-term service) and that I am not selling parts, I am providing a long-term solution to an automotive problem, etc. doesn't work for the consumer who doesn't trust and is only looking for the CHEAP. I have never won one of these arguments. I have tried the steak to the restaurant and that didn't even get an acknowledgement, "Well I have 5 kids so we don't go out to eat." You just can't win with the customer who already has so little regard for you and your profession that they see no value in the intangible value that you provide in a job done right instead of a job done. But as I said, I like your approach and will certainly try to keep it in mind the next time I have an objection. Maybe I can turn my losing streak into a winner.

After becoming literate on the subject he would ask you, "What special tax treatments that you receive are you willing to give up in order to simplify the tax code?" And by "special tax treatments" he would mean deductions, credits, write-offs, etc. I propose a modified flat tax. Allow a deduction for the size of your family based on the government calculated poverty level in your area and then tax the rest at a flat tax. If you think this still leaves room for chicanery then perhaps set a single amount, indexed for inflation and leave it alone. Or have it revisited every 10 years but the standards to be used are cast in stone, no alterations, no tweaks or exemptions. No other deductions, no other write-offs, nothing. If you make $100,000, and the "poverty level" deduction is $30,000 for your family size, you pay tax on the $70,000 "surplus." That way everyone receives the same basic allowance for the cost of living, or merely existing. Since the cost of living in California is higher than in rural South Dakota, the California resident has to earn more in order to simply survive. After that standard deduction, the more you make the more you pay. Capital gains would become regular income and corporate earnings could be taxed at a lower rate. Corporations/businesses still receive government services and protections therefore they should be required to pay something in tax.

Okay, I’m going to be blunt here, the sheer stupidity of your list would be astonishing if it weren’t so typical. But do tell us, what propaganda site did you lift your list from? But as to the list itself, I won’t bore everyone with a long diatribe addressing each and every individual item but let’s just pick a few, and I bet you will deny the facts I am about to put forth simply because you are told not to believe the truth. #1 – All actions of government cost money. The users should pay. Do you think the TSA, for good or for bad, is free? Do you think the airlines pay the whole cost? What about the regulations that govern the maintenance, safety and other requirements of that aircraft? Do you think the airlines provide those oxygen masks out of the goodness of their hearts? I don’t see you complaining about the airline’s fees, such as boarding fees, checked bag fees. #5 – Income is income regardless of source. It should all be taxed as income, not some special cave out for those who do not work for that money. Of course we need capital, and we need investment but you can’t honestly sit there and say that the Capital Gains rate isn’t exploited unfairly. #9 – Do you want your neighbor’s dog running around? Or do you want to know that dog that just bit your kid has an ID traceable to the owner and that the owner has had the dog properly vaccinated do your kid doesn’t’ contract rabies or other diseases? #10 – Do you think it’s free to issue your driver license and maintain the database that is connected with it? Do you know how many things use your driver license? Our local library uses your driver license as your library card. Seriously, they take your license and swipe it through a reader like a credit card. #23 – You complain about the government wanting a tax to ensure that the franchisee isn’t abused by the franchisor but you’re okay with the exorbitant fees some franchisors pay? #2, #25, #44, #85, #86, #91 – ALL contribute to the infrastructure that supports the use of automobiles. And from the condition of our roads, bridges and tunnels, those taxes aren’t sufficient. How do you think your business would fare if there were no road for your customers to travel on to get to you? “I would just build it and maintain it myself,” you say? Well isn’t that far more costly than the all of these taxes combined? #22 – Go ahead, drink that drink that was just poured before the glass was dropped and shattered. Not knowing if the shards landed in your drink or all went on the counter. Go ahead and eat that food made with milk that was left out on the counter overnight with rats scurrying around and cockroaches in the cabinets. Eat off that plates that were just rinsed and wiped off instead of washed with real soap. #32 – You do know that import taxes or tariffs are used by nearly EVERY COUNTRY on the planet right? They were even a large source of funding for the government in the early days of this country. Not to mention that inspecting the cargo being imported to ensure that invasive species are minimized, dangerous goods are being mishandled and such costs money. Or don’t you care that a load of fruit came in with an invasive beetle that will destroy all the trees on your property costing you thousands of dollars to remove. #40 – This tax is intended to deter you from looting your retirement funds. Not to mention that the money put in that 401(k) was untaxed when it was invested. So since it wasn’t taxed then it is now. #60 – This is how most local governments gather the funds to operate. You know, clear snow in the winter, fund parks and offer fire and police protection among a multitude of other services. But you thought all that was free, didn’t you? All of your footnotes whine and complain about the complexity of the tax code. But did you know that the tax code is as complex as it is because of the special interests that control our government? Simplifying the tax code would require many oxen to be gored. Which of your sacred cows are you willing to sacrifice for a simplified tax code? Regarding the footnotes #9 & #10, back then, the US government did not serve as the world’s police, we did not have the security concerns we have now because among other things we didn’t have Computers Nucular weapons (since you seem on par with W’s mentality, I thought it appropriate A destabilized Middle East because of the shenanigans of the baby bush (mis)administration Likewise in that same era a family could be supported well on one income. Costs have increased significantly. The population has increased significantly. The demands on government services (and NOT just welfare) has increased significantly. When you can conduct a serious, intelligent, honest discussion, let’s talk. But as long as you are going to post this idiotic, ignorant tripe, you are proving yourself to be nothing but a weak-minded parrot, mindlessly repeating what you’re told to say and believe.

You're right, they voted for Trump. As I've written before, every legitimate complaint you can lodge against Hillary Clinton is also true, often to a more egregious degree, regarding Trump. The only difference is when the list against Hillary ends, the list against Trump continues for miles.

I was pointing out that the Electoral College gave Trump the win despite lacking in the popular vote.. But when the Electoral College wasn't in their favor, likewise with the popular vote, the republicans wanted to abolish it. Seems they want things ONLY their way. Can you keep up with facts and reality?

You are correct. But one thing that proves out once again is that HATE is an extremely powerful force. It was HATE that propelled Trump to his win. From his acceptance speech I am also cautiously optimistic that he will be a better president than he promised to be on the campaign trail. One thing I am curious of, you say we, "...desire is the chance to live free and to profit from the work of our hands and sweat of our brow without being told everything we can and cannot do or to have what we labor for all taken away." How is what we labor for taken away? Do you mean by taxes? If so do you not realize all of the intangible ways the government serves the people and that we owe a debt for those services, even if we don't realize that we benefit? Or are you also unaware of the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson regarding progressive taxation? If this is not what you meant by having the results of our labors taken away, I apologize and humbly ask that you alliterate your thoughts. Otherwise, Yes, I agree with the rest of your comment.

“You can never underestimate the stupidity of the general public.” - Scott Adams Also consider that the system, the very system that the republicans attempted to dismantle, the electoral college, screwed the popular vote. Hillary is still ahead, this time by .2% of the popular votes cast. Earlier today it was only .1% btu she still has the greater percentage.

Good thought, but like most blanket statements, this one leaves a lot uncovered. Such as, at what point does a discussion end and a quarrel begin? If we are going to be subject to such a far reaching notion as this proverb, let's apply it to this outlandish, but still realistic (it's happened) scenario. You are in a room and someone finds a grenade. It's undisturbed, pin still in, spoon still in place. You say it should be put back and the authorities called to handle it. The other person says, "Naw, let's play with, ti's neat. Besides, it's old and probably no good anyway. Why else would they have been allowed to bring it home?" You care about this other person and don't want to see them get hurt. So do you just leave so you "drop the matter before a dispute breaks out" or do you engage the other person and fight for the grenade and risk deploying it? Or do you argue with the person that just because it's unexploded doesn't mean anything, all grenades were unexploded until the pin was pulled and it blew up? So just exactly at what point does a discussion become a quarrel and the person should drop it? Is it when you are discussing matters of fact and someone tells a lie, a blatant lie? You leave them uncorrected and allow that lie to be retold and retold and soon it becomes more believable that polar bears and penguins are best friends than that they live at opposite poles? Regardless, I appreciate your effort to diffuse the situation. But sometimes life is too complex for simplistic solutions and witty one-liners. All the same, I thank you.

Agreed. I define those who patronize our businesses as consumer, customers and clients. We all want clients but we deal with consumers too. And it is the consumer we should be most wary of and concerned with. They will have a far greater impact on our reputation than any of the other two. Client = They know you, they like you. They trust you. They advocate for your or refer friends, co-workers and strangers to you. They value what you do and typically don't question your price although they may ask, "How much," just so they can budget for it. They have a broken car and know that you will take care of it for them, and trust that you have their best interests at heart. They pay the bill without question. If there is ever a question or problem you will the first person they talk to, because they know you, they trust you, they are comfortable with the thought that you care and you will make it right. Customer = Again, They know you, they like you. They trust you. The may refer someone but typically only if they are asked. They trust that you will do what you say you will do but they don't fully trust that you won't do more than is needed. They have a broken car, they want it fixed and are willing to pay what you charge. They really don't place much value in what you do for them, it was broke, you fixed it, that's that. If there is ever a question or problem you might hear about it but more than likely they will either not bring it up but not trust you the next time they need your services or they will simply just go away. Consumer = They have a broken car and think it is your responsibility to fix it for them. They don't really value you or your skill, your knowledge or what you do for them. They reluctantly pay what it costs to have the bare minimum fixed to get their car back on the road but nothing more. If it's not broken they won't fix it. But when it breaks it's your fault because you didn't fix it last time they were in. They consume, that's why I call them the consumer. They consume your time, your patience, your goodwill, your happiness and anything else they can get for cheap or free. But they are also the first to tell everybody else what a horrible experience they had instead of telling you, even if you did everything right but they were too cheap and distrustful to have you fix it right. It used to be we didn't need to worry about these people because the adage was, "You don't need the aggravation and the people who know them know how they are and won't trust what they say about you or are just like them and you don't want those people anyway." But with the internet today the people who listen to the consumer don't know them but they sure do trust the Yelp! review. That last part is why I feel the consumer is the worst but the one we need to pay the most attention to. Because you could do everything the consumer approved, do it to the best standard possible but since they don't value what you did none of that matters. But boy, you screw up one little thing and they will sacrifice you on the altar of Google Places. And all those 5 start reviews won't mean anything. They're all plants anyway, right? Now we get back to your point and the point I was trying to get to. These Diy'ers aren't our clients. They aren't even our customers, they are the consumers who visit us. You could charge $50 for a diagnostic process while everybody else charges $150 but because the consumer has been brainwashed that there is no value to it because the garbage parts stores do it for free, then you are "Ridiculously overpriced and charge for work you didn't do and for work other places do for free." What they don't reveal is you said it was $50 and might take up to an hour and you were done in 35 minutes. You charged them for 25 minutes you didn't work on their car. They also don't admit that those "other places" who do it for free are the parts stores and only read the codes, they don't do any testing. But to the consumer, the audience that these parts stores are advertising to, all we do is "Plug that thing into my car and it tells you what's wrong with the car." Just where do we think all these people get this notion from? As I wrote before, it's not just the consumer or the "D" and "F" customers (consumers) who are hearing this cr@p, it's the customers and clients too. These parts stores are brainwashing the listening public to devalue our worth, our skill, our labor, our industry. And some shops reward that effort by putting their hard-earned money in the marketing budget of these corporate entities by buying parts from them. If a shop owner doesn't think that Advance Auto Parts doesn't take profits from WorldPAC to market AAP stores then they deserve what AAP is doing to us. It's just the rest of us who don't deserve to have our hard work and professional, ethical efforts devalued like this.

Sorry but the whole thread was one great big troll.

“MY thoughts are as small business owners we should figure out our Unique selling points. If ours are weak or non existent we need to create or strengthen them. Figure out what you need to do to be successful. Whining about what they are does nothing for you. “ You have a legitimate point, as far as it goes. But it ignores a great deal of reality too. You are defending your business practices because you do reward the enemy. Yes I know AAP owns WorldPAC. As for our USPs, guess what? When your so-called ally, your partner, your supplier is actively and aggressively trying to tear down your USP, your competitive advantage, your value-added part of the equation, continuing to reward their assault by continuing to buy from them is foolish and self-destructive. We all know that what they are selling (free code scans) is not what the customer thinks they are getting. And the DIY stores are dishonest in that they are banking on that ignorance from the customer. But instead of working WITH us to build up the integrity of auto care the DIY stores are working AGAISNT us, just as Joe and I explained above. But keep it up, keep rewarding their efforts to devalue what you and we do and maybe you will find yourself only doing $5k a month with them and not by choice. Sorry, but you still don’t have a valid argument.

To the tinfoil hat wearing inhabitants of alternate reality, no they are as real as you need to believe them to be.

If I were Glenn Beck, I couldn't have honestly written that I hate liars. But then again if I were Glenn Beck, I wouldn't be honest no matter what. Regardless, I see you can't successfully refute the message so you are attacking the messenger. Typical desperate tactic. You seem to be in the same camp of hindered reading comprehension skills as lmcca because I clearly wrote, "IF Jesus were a candidate," as in a hypothetical situation. Regarding morals, that's rich to insinuate that Trump is more moral than someone else. If you wrote down every deplorable, despicable, unethical, immoral thing about Clinton, and there's scores of items, you would have a list that applies at least equally to Trump as well. But where Hillary's list ends, Trumps list continues on for miles more. What "blue pill" are you referring to? Naproxen sodium? yeah, I take it about 3 times a month for the pain we all develop in this business. Or were you referring to the "little blue pill" to help old fools feel manly again? I tried it once. I didn't drink enough water and it got stuck about halfway down. I had a stiff neck for a week.

@lmcca “Wait, so, we are wrong about hilary and your right about trump, lol, this is what i am talking about, you are wearing blinders when hilary is in question. I guess all those wikileaks are made up too? You think just because she hasnt been indicted that she is innocent? You think the fbi and the justice dept arent protecting her? So, you say she is good to go but trump isnt because you say so, unbelievable, truly unbelievable, she pay you for your post?” I don’t know what’s worse, your lack of reading comprehension skills (I NEVER said ‘you’ were wrong about Hillary.) or your grammar and spelling. I never said anything except that Hillary has not been indicted so the calls of corruption are all based on fantasy, however Trump has been indicted. It seems there are two standards at play and all that matters is what you “think” and say are true but facts are not. I also never used the word “innocent” because I do not believe she is. There is a world of difference between “not guilty” and “innocent” just as there is a world of difference between right & just and “legal.” I also never said Hillary is good. There are plenty of legitimate things to be upset with Hillary about. But I defy anyone to give one honest, legitimate example of Hillary being evil that isn’t equally or more egregiously true of Trump. What we seem to have with these two candidates is dumb and dumber, horrible and evil, sinister and vile, deplorable and despicable. The only question that seems so difficult to answer is which is the lesser of two evils? It is crystal clear that the pro-Trump crowd never needed to consider any facts or weigh the evidence when arriving at their support for him. So I defy you to come up with one provable, legitimate, credible complaint about Hillary that isn’t also true to a worse degree about Trump.