Transmission Repair

I used QB 100% and didn't have an SMS because it was way cheaper.  It took a lot of hours to figure out how to design estimates, invoices, reports & more, but after I got a grip on QB, it was all downhill from there.  I ran QB in parallel with our SMS for 2 years just to get the hang of QB.  It took me almost 2 years of learning (part-time.)  The learning curve is atrocious but pays off in the long run.  At least I'm not married to some mega-buck SMS program for ungodly monthly payments that never end.  Screw that.  We were paying (2015) around $700/yr. for annual updates, including payroll files.  That's less than $60/mo.!!!  BTW, QB did all of our payroll, too.  No matter what you pay, just figure it in with the cost of doing business.

For most shops, the shuttle driver position is underrated.  Nothing else could be further from the truth.  The shuttle driver needs to know and feel he/she is an integral part of the shop operation.  The shuttle driver’s job is to both make the customer feel comfortable and to glean information and snafus about our business operation.  The pluses, and the minuses, if you will.  Don't make it sound "forced" or like "you're just doing your job."  Use regular conversational English.

At no point should the customer feel like he/her is being pumped for information.  That would destroy the value of any information we do collect.  All of these talents can be taught in-house.  However, training time for this training should be set aside, more than just general conversation.  To reiterate, make the shuttle driver feel he/she has an important part in the operation of the shop/business.  That is key.

On 2/16/2023 at 11:18 AM, Ruben Van Zenden said:

Thanks for this valuable insight. Can you provide me with the link to the results of this survey? 

The author of the article is Editor Chris Jones.  He did not provide a link to the survey.  I'm guessing that's an internal document for Ratchet and Wrench magazine.  All I have is a link to the article.

https://www.ratchetandwrench.com/articles/13071-numbers-preferred-social-media-platforms

I bet he and his brother-in-law aren't on the best of terms anymore.  His brother-in-law thought we were overcharging.  (If they want too much for a pinion seal, I wonder if they didn't do the same on the transmission?)  So much for the do-it-yourself pinion seal job.

No apology needed, Victor.  I have an "overcharging" story for you that might smooth things over.  I had a customer with some bad luck.  His wife's transmission went out and 2 months later, the transmission in his Dodge truck took a dump.  In less than 90 days, he had over $6K in unexpected transmission repairs.  His truck also had a pinion seal leaking in the rear diff.  I called the customer to get the additional authorization for $300 and he declined.  His brother-in-law said he could fix the pinion seal leak for $50 bucks.  So, we did just the transmission and noted on the repair order that the pinion seal was leaking and we wouldn't be responsible for low fluid damage to the rear diff.  He paid the bill and left.

Two weeks later he calls to get his truck towed in.  Our manager took the call and had no idea we had worked on the truck before.  As it turns out, his pinion nut had come loose and slung the rear driveline out of the vehicle.  The damage was extensive.  So much for the "brother-in-law pinion seal job."  Take a peek...

3 hours ago, newport5 said:

Regarding “My strategy was to price the (European) work so high, the customer would be the person saying "no" and not me.”

While that strategy makes sense to a shop owner, let me add this.  I want to encourage a panel discussion at an upcoming auto conference on improving the perception of our industry. I started a list of talking points and overcharging is one of them. And that strategy looks exactly like overcharging. When the customer checks a European repair shop, they obviously decide you are overcharging. And our industry looks bad. I believe we need to fix that. For the benefit of all of us.

Thoughts?

Side note: we're a German car repair shop in Orange County , California and German cars are EVERYWHERE !!!

You need to go back through this conversation and read ALL of what I said.  Just as an example, I said:

"Rethink your business model.  If you are in or near a big city on the coast, you may not want to eliminate Euros.  They seem to be over 10% in those locations.  However, we did not turn Euros completely away.  We are a transmission repair facility and many specialized tools we buy are for a 1 or 2-time use only.  We have to pass those costs on and is why we price European units so high when compared to domestic transmissions.  Because of that, we did few European vehicles.  And without exception, they were always a hassle."

I agree we need to improve the image of our industry.  However, I don't believe pricing needs to be in the discussion.  In my opinion, the vast majority of automotive shops UNDERCHARGE, not overcharge.  Nobody is holding a customer hostage when giving pricing information.  It's always a negotiation.  Watch a few episodes of TV's Pawn Stars and you'll start to get where I'm coming from.

Great webinar!

A different topic but, here's a local diesel shop in my area that was made to be "the example heard around the world."

UPHE Sues Diesel Brothers

In 40 years in automotive, I've never had, nor know anyone, who has had an OSHA inspection.  I've heard they do happen.  Or... perhaps I and my shop owner friends are just lucky.

We're a transmission repair shop and slow Februarys were expected.  We still did the normal volume of major rebuilds, but the minor stuff, or elective stuff, would go away in February.  It was highly unusual if it didn't.  We would get very few leaks, noises, vibrations, and transmission services.

I've tried for years to make sense of it and find a cause.  This is the only thing that made sense to me.  People are straining to pay their credit card bills for Christmas in January.  I just figured that would make most people more austere in February and they would curtail spending on things they absolutely didn't have to have.

I don't know if this is really true or not, but it's the only thing I could come up with that made any sense to me.  February was a short month to boot and I always expected a slowdown.

While I do like EVs very much, they aren't going to "take over the market" any time soon.  Total volume of aftermarket parts and service on EVs will remain at less than 10% until at least 2030.  Most repair parts for EVs will stay in the realm of the OEMs.  However, most maintenance-related parts and fluids will be available from the aftermarket.

Many shop owner/technicians rush out to get the "latest and greatest" in tools and equipment.  I also believe that many of those same shops will rush out prematurely to procure EV and ADAS service equipment before the aftermarket can justify the cost of such equipment.  To me, the aftermarket demand would have to be 15% or more to justify such an investment.  Ideally, a cost/benefit analysis would be in order.

I remember the industry's transition from carburetors to fuel injection and the length of time it took, 15 to 20 years.  The transition to EVs will take a similar path.  In our local (SLC, UT) area there is a shop that specialized in nothing but carburetors named Carbmasters.  As carburetors faded away, they had to shift their business model to general repair, yet kept the name of Carbmasters.  If you think about it, any major shift in major automotive technologies takes about 15 to 20 years for adoption or transition.  EVs will be the same.

In closing, you can conduct a survey of your existing customers and ask them how soon (if ever) do they plan to eventually get an EV.  The results of that survey will help with the cost/benefit analysis and the information from your customers is free.

I never was good at predictions.  I have a saying, "Forecasters were created to make fortune-tellers look good."  So be it.  I did, however, run into a couple of 2023 prediction articles in Motors.  Take a read...

https://www.motor.com/2023/02/looking-back-on-2022-and-ahead-to-2023/

https://www.motor.com/2023/01/what-does-2023-look-like-for-the-automotive-industry/

I wholeheartedly agree that the service advisor would speed up the process and build value by doing those tasks.  It also help to build a better relationship and rapport with the customer.  Great idea I can't improve on.  Enough said.

This wasn't really a problem in our shop because of the low volume of vehicles that came through our shop.  Yes, our service advisors had the same whirlwind of tasks, but with only averaging 25 tickets a week, it was not overwhelming.  Conversely, general repair shops will write 25 or more tickets a day.  I can easily see how all the tasks could be overwhelming.

I would however, still help out the service advisor in a background capacity.  What I mean by that is that I would help doing tasks that didn't involve speaking to the customer.  We had a rule in our shop that "Whoever first talks to the customer, stays with the customer." meaning the customer never ever talks to more than one person unless it was a complaint of some kind.

I would help mainly road testing and diagnosis.  I also, from time to time, I would be helping out writing estimates and ordering parts.  I would occasionally do those tasks to set an example for my service advisor in a "monkey-see, monkey-do" atmosphere.  In closing, I do agree that if a service advisor is overloaded, it will certainly hurt sales.

This is a great survey taken from shop owners by Ratchet and Wrench magazine.  Amazingly, 17% of shops surveyed don't harness the power of social media.  By a large margin, shops prefer Facebook.

This is a story about a lady, Jesse Jackson, and her Mango Automotive's mission to build a network and reshape the industry.  From February 2023 Ratchet and Wrench magazine.  A very good article.

If you read the article, Jesse Jackson comes from a California tech company background.  She acquires shops from shop owners who are retirement age but have either no, or little, retirement plans/funds.  The shop also needs to have at least 7 bays and at least $1 million in revenue.  She then converts the shops to the Mango Automotive name which is big on EV repairs and maintenance.

https://www.ratchetandwrench.com/articles/13061-acquired-with-taste

I've talked about this before, but it does bear repeating.  Does your shop work on European vehicles?  Here’s some validated facts.  Did you know if you added up all European vehicle makes and models they would add up to less than 10% of the U.S. vehicle population.  When I first saw this in the Automotive News Data Center (https://www.autonews.com/data-lists) I couldn’t believe it.  It seemed like I personally saw more European vehicles than 10%.  After seeing the same results year after year I finally determined why that was.  

It’s because European vehicles are head-turners.  You sit up and take notice.  However, over 90% of the vehicles on the road are mere traffic to me and most people.  These percentages are for the entire U.S.  Some parts of the country have a higher or lower percentage.  Where I live, in Utah, the number is 6%.  However in my suburb of SLC, Draper, the number is 8%.  I don’t have the numbers for other states.

Do you realize if you thought servicing European vehicles was too much of a hassle worth pursuing, and eliminated Euros from your job mix, you would still have over 90% of the market?  Food for thought.

Rethink your business model.  If you are in or near a big city on the coast, you may not want to eliminate Euros.  They seem to be over 10% in those locations.  However, we did not turn Euros completely away.  We are a transmission repair facility and many specialized tools we buy are for a 1 or 2-time use only.  We have to pass those costs on and is why we price European units so high when compared to domestic transmissions.  Because of that, we did few European vehicles.  And without exception, they were always a hassle.

Think about it and determine if European vehicles can fit into your business model.

John Kelly of Weber State University and I are personal friends.  IMHO, he had the best transmission and EV training in the nation.  He lives and works about 50 miles north of me.  He recently traded in his Chevy Bolt for a Tesla and has A LOT of EVs in his transmission lab.  We both share our LinkedIn profiles and posts.  Here is a great opportunity to get involved in online EV training for a certificate in EVs.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7027713973886095360/

Most insurance companies consider Teslas unrepairable... except the Tesla insurance company.

Here is a course taught by my friend, John Kelly of Weber State University.  He has an incredible number of qualifications and credentials.  https://www.weber.edu/automotive/j_kelly.html  He regularly teaches transmissions but for the last 2 years, most of his videos are for EVs, Hybrid, and Plug-In Hybrids.  https://continue.weber.edu/professional/programs/evtraining/

Here's the shop tour... https://youtu.be/vHMuwzBM-4A

Here's his YouTube channel... https://www.youtube.com/@WeberAuto/videos

2 of his 3 courses are online.  Only the Phase 3 course is in-person.  This should be able to get anybody certified in EVs.

I asked ChatGPT the following question:

"How should an automotive shop market & advertise itself for Electric Vehicles?"

=============The Answer:==============

An automotive shop can market and advertise itself for electric vehicles by incorporating the following strategies:

1. Highlight expertise: Market the shop's experience and expertise in working with electric vehicles, highlighting certifications and training of technicians.

2. Offer EV-specific services: Offer services specifically designed for electric vehicles, such as battery maintenance, charging system repair, and software updates.

3. Use digital channels: Utilize digital marketing channels, such as a website, social media, and online advertising to reach a wider audience and educate them about electric vehicles and the services offered.

4. Partner with EV manufacturers and dealerships: Establish partnerships with electric vehicle manufacturers and dealerships to offer services and to get referrals.

5. Promote sustainability: Highlight the eco-friendly aspect of electric vehicles and the shop's commitment to sustainability.

6. Host events and workshops: Organize events and workshops to educate customers about electric vehicles and demonstrate the shop's expertise and services.

7. Leverage customer reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews and share their positive experiences to build credibility and attract new customers.

My comment.>>> Isn't ChatGPT really great? <<<   12:52

39 minutes ago, weighit said:

Why would a EV owner ever want to go to a auto repair shop to have the EV charger bought and installed? Many places either on line or through the vehicle manufacturer sell wall charger units, and can either be plugged into the dryer plug or contact any local electrician to hard wire. I got mine through Tesla and found a electician to install in my garage. I paid $500 for the wall unit and $350 to install. So my electric rate at home is .11 cents per KW, and I spend roughly $35 a  month to drive my car in electric charges. I have so far 23,000 trouble free miles driven, except one trip to the tire store to remove a nail. I expect to buy tires sometime later in the year and do not miss one bit the gas stations nor service shops with my old ICE cars. The small shops making a killing are the vehicle wrap places that are changing colors or adding window tints. Unless you are a trained EV guy and can open a EV only shop, where you would be able to get out of warranty vehicles, I don't see any other way to break into that market.

The vast majority of EV owners or soon-to-be EV owners owned an ICE vehicle beforehand.  I think planting the seeds in the existing customer base through marketing (direct mail, online, etc.) would be planting seeds for an existing shop's future.  Online PPC advertising with new keywords referring to EV chargers would be highly beneficial.   When people search online to get an EV charger installed, I would want to be at the top of the search results page.  That is the reason they would call us for charger installation.

To break it down, the first phase would include existing customers.  The second phase would be new EV owners.  Not every customer is destined to be an EV owner in the future.  We just need to be out there, in front, of those destined to be EV owners in the future.

You can get Hunt's book for a free download at 

1 hour ago, RYAN B said:

True, But once you charge the customer, and something happens such as a fire, you will be attached t the lawsuit. In our market now nobody wants to plow snow because the liability is way too high! insurance companies look for every loop hole and you get involved in that and something bad happens your done!  

That's a cautious, but pessimistic, viewpoint Ryan.  It borders on fear-mongering.  That is easily taken care of in a carefully worded contract.  To me, the pros far outweigh the cons.  It's planning for our industry's future.

I'm sure there will be EV-only repair shops in the future.  By letting our customer base know we do EV service & maintenance, we get a toe-hold in their collective minds with the charger installation.  Until EVs start showing up on the phone or in our bays, installing chargers in the customer's garage is the best way to capture the mind of the EV consumer beforehand.  Can you think of a better way?

58 minutes ago, RYAN B said:

In our neck of the woods, Master Electricians make anywhere from 40 to 60 an hour plus benefits. most companies charge 150 an hour with a 3 hour minimum plus travel.  EV hook ups around here average around 1500 to 2500.  There is a ton of liability in that as well.  

Ryan,

Thanks for the reply.  If $1,500 to $2,500 is the going rate to install an EV charger setup in somebody's garage, so be it.  While that cost will vary with different markets, I believe we should charge the customary and prevailing fee for each market area.

There's risk in everything we do and I wouldn't expect any different with an EV charger installation.  However, if we were to sub it out to an electrical subcontractor, they should have liability insurance.

Again, I want to thank you for your thoughtful reply.