FROGFINDER

Pay was not the issue. The problems were: (1)I did not have a bunch of good ones to start. (2)The best one I had started sleeping with another tech's wife and he became completely undependable plus it destroyed morale. That is the second time that has happened in the last few years. (3)Another tech I had developed heart trouble and could no longer do the work. (4)The replacements we hired didn't pan out. (5)Plus three of these were guys we hired as apprentices who just weren't worth hanging on to either due to attitude problems or lack of aptitude. The apprentices all had some experience and technical school.

Well you could adopt some teens to train or get some foster care teens to train.

You gotta give the good ones and offer they can't refu$e. The good ones don't always quit, They fired you.

Thank goodness we are having an incredible season!

 

I just drop by to share with you this little bit of info:

 

THINK TWICE BEFORE PULLING THAT CAR INTO YOUR BAY FOR A CHEAP OIL CHANGE!

 

 

 

 

Check the oil level ,last oil change sticker if it has one, fluid levels and report on leaks at check in when people come in for service. Many cars come in low on oil or fluids and it is good to document that on the invoice. When people then blame you for a blown engine or fluid leaks you will have a record.

I'm ready to see more positive posts on this forum, so I'm starting with one tonight!

 

On Wednesday, a lady called and said she had a blowout and wanted her car towed in. Once the 2006 Buick Lucerne got to the shop we found that it needed a

 

new tire. We had sold a set of 4 tires to her in July 2016 with road hazard warranty. So she's getting a free tire now on the house. Along with the tire purchase in

 

July we also performed $1400 in repairs and service. So on Wednesday my technician jacked it up on the floor and installed the new tire. Then he told me he

 

was putting the car on his lift to do an inspection. The car had been well maintained, but while doing his inspection he found that it needed repairs.

 

It had a timing cover coolant leak, oil pan leak, rt. rear caliper leak, cracked serpentine belt, needed an oil service, and a couple of other things. I called her and

 

told her that the tire needed replacing. She asked if it was warrantied, and I replied that I had good news....she had purchased warranty coverage and I was

 

replacing it free. She loved that. Then I told her that we performed a safety inspection and told her of our findings. I didn't wait for her to ask "HOW MUCH?" I

 

immediately told her that I could get started on the work the same day and it would be $2150. She then asked if I had something she could drive, and I told her I

 

would provide her with a loaner car and could have her car ready by Friday. She asked if I could put the work on a credit card, so I said "SURE!!" Just come on

 

by and pick up my Altima to drive while your Buick is in the shop. She got a ride and came by about thirty minutes later. Today she picked up her Buick and

 

handed me her credit card. She was one happy lady, thanked me for finding what her car needed, and left smiling. Ladies and Gentlemen, I call that a

 

VICTORY in MY LIFE!!!

 

We need these victories daily in our businesses. Do you know any shops around your town that would have replaced her tire, done no inspection, eaten the

 

cost of the tire, and would have been in a bitchy mood after eating it?? So remember, Be an Optimist, Be Positive, Be Excited, Service Cars Properly,

 

Make Money, and Achieve a Victory in Your Life!!

 

Thank you for listening,

 

Hi-Gear

 

Good Job. Keep a watch on that car's cooling system, Intake and Throttle body coolant housing area. Don't ask me how i know!

Happy New Year!

 

Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy, and Successful 2017!

Health is wealth!

 

I am still in the trenches, and I am not giving away my work. Yes, i do complementary work and services to those customer that value my work. I do depend on referrals too, but I am not losing money on my bread and butter work.

 

Again, for those of you still in the trenches, do the math, print out the report listing all the oil changes you have done up to date in the last five years and do the math. Then tell me you think you can survive the next five years doing the same.

You are not giving it away if you use it as a tool for your advertising and salesperson recruitment expense. I would give a tire shop a pizza on fridays in my area. I kept track of referrals. In a year it developed into $250k per year of business. I gave a bike shop a box of donuts every couple of weeks and serviced their fleet of vehicles and trailers. I gave a body shop a pizza a month and referred that body work that i made a profit on every job. They repaired two wrecked personal vehicles and minor shop caused customer car dings n/c $8k.

 

I am still in the trenches, and I am not giving away my work. Yes, i do complementary work and services to those customer that value my work. I do depend on referrals too, but I am not losing money on my bread and butter work.

 

Again, for those of you still in the trenches, do the math, print out the report listing all the oil changes you have done up to date in the last five years and do the math. Then tell me you think you can survive the next five years doing the same.

The fact that i was located in and near one of the richest zip code in Texas helped alot.

No buying it. We all have that unicorn account, too. simple math. 1+1=2. How many oil changes did you do last year? How much did they cost you? How much revenue did you receive? Simple as that.

I duplicated that "Unicorn account" so many times that i was known as the "Richest Car washer in town" My very first customer in 1969 brought me a car that needed $75.00 to fix. When i quoted that repair he said i was too high and wanted to pick the car up. I told him give me 30 minutes. I washed his car and cleaned the windows so good it looked like a new car. The customer came up the driveway and asked where his car was because he could not believe that the cleaned up car was his. He asked me why i cleaned up his car when he did not buy anything. I told him that Jesus washed feet and i wash cars. I told him that i don't need his money but i need his referrals! He never spent a penny with me but over the next few months referred $4k worth of work to me. Our business is all about referrals. I spend my "Advertising money" on my customers and ask everyone for referrals. I even cut customer yards for referrals. The last time i did that before i retired it netted me a $25k mechanical restoration.

Somebody sold that "oil change customer" a car,clothes,watch,sell phone,place to stay,etc. I figure it costs $100.00 each to get a new customer to brag about my shop. Give every oil change customer a reason to sell your shop to others. I would change oil with filter, hand car and clean windows, place $2.00 bill with discount card behind his fuel door and ask for their referrals. I keep track of all referrals. After years of doing this i a few customers just swing by for a free hand wash, fluid level and tire air checks. My co-worker scolded me for wasting my time. I then pulled up the "time wasting" customers account showing that in the last few years they spent $6k but referred $40k worth of work to our shop.

Tell me more about the $2 in the fuel door. So when the customer adds fuel he or she sees the bag with cards. I get that part but how does that get more cares in the door?

It gives them something to talk about. I've even had people buy a used car, Find the $2 bill and come to our shop for service. A couple of customers told me that their young driver ran out of gas with no money and was able to use the $2 to get home.

Man o man I know it is Christmas but where the heck is everyone. I can even give away repairs. I do not recall seeing it this slow in recent years. I am throwing everything out there and not seeing any response. Just paid over $200 to text blast an oil change special and have only gotten 2 responses for unrelated items. This is scary.

Try this asap. Go to the bank and get $200.00 worth of $2.00 bills. Get a box of clear snack bags and business cards . Write $10.00 off any service on the business cards and place a card with a $2.00 bill in the snack bag. Hand wash customers vehicle and clean the glass inside and out until clear. Place the snack bag underneath the door in fuel fill area. Do it for three months steady and get back to me.

ps. When customers tell you that your free Hand car wash looks better than the other guys detail you are doing it well.

Keep watch on customer feed back and chances for you to make appointments or ask for referrals.

You all have a new year coming up. Your customers are your best sales people. Business is like fishing You gotta keep bait on your hooks at all times.

Merry Christmas from Houston Texas!

Watch A Christmas Carol with George C Scott as Scrooge. After being visited by 3 spirits he Doubled his employees salary.

I think that offering a mini detail service (hand wash,vacuum and spotless glass) with any service makes one less stop for the customer. A clean vehicle makes for a happy customer.

Dress up as Santa Claus and pass out candy canes and cards! Have ladies day special with Chippendale mechanics on staff.

 

That was my first thought when I started considering what self driving cars mean for our industry. I think about this subject quite often as I have a young son that is really interested in our industry.

 

I agree there will be parts to replace and repair, but it could be a very different market. Look at all of the changes to our industry over the last 2 or 3 decades and you see that some adapt and others go away. This particular issue may be a little different than what we have seen in the past though. Google and Apple are both interested in the self driving car market. If we have learned anything from watching them change the world, we have learned that they will do it in a way no one else has. I do not feel that self driving or electric cars will ruin our industry, but it could be a very different place. Here is my concern: If the cars can completely drive themselves, then I am willing to bet there are very little reasons to own a car if you live anywhere near a metropolitan area. Why have a payment and one sitting in the driveway when you can use an app on your phone and a car will come pick you up whenever you need it? You will pay for what you use and all of the other hassles of car ownership are no longer a burden to you. The companies doing this (think Apple and Google) will most likely have their own facilities and probably will not need the independent repair facility at all. These cars may not go to the dealer, but they won't come to you either.

 

There will always be those of us who love to drive and own our own vehicles, but the more customers that I run into that have no idea of what year/make/model of the car that THEY PURCHASED, makes me wonder how many people really care to own one.... I'm willing to be that the majority of people only own vehicles 100% out of necessity. That necessity may be a little less necessary in the future.

 

(disclaimer: these are just my thoughts with no real data to back it up!)

Bingo! Not owning and maintaining a vehicle is gaining ground. Heck if you tell a customer they need Tires they are ready to trade it in.

Self driving cars that drive themselves back to the dealership for service could be a concern.

Old saying by an old employer " If your customer is not calling the police-you are under charging"

or promote you are open on saturdays.

Cleaning wheel hub surfaces, inspecting lug studs and nuts for wear, checking for tsb's, torque with torque wrench, road test and recheck torque, document recheck warning in 25 miles on invoice and have customer initial solved these issues for us.

Election Result? The Digital world lost to the Real World. I've told people for years that sooner or later they will look at their smart phone with terror and run away screaming in despair.

Hire attitude and Train skills. I look over all cars that were checked in and see many issues upon writing up the car. I would have pointed out the leaking radiator to even my lead tech. I research each car for tsb's and recall's . I look on Identifix and use a tech hotline if search for an answer is a struggle. All things being equal we paid good people wage that they could not refuse. If a person has a good heart , asks questions and is not tearing up things it's cheaper to keep them.

You have to give customers something good to talk about. I used free hand car washes that looked like a detail service, $2 bill's with a business card with $20.00 off next service under fuel door, Flowers to the ladies, free hot wheels cars to the kids , sent birthday cards and Christmas cards. We got a lot of hand written letters and referrals.

PS. rather than ask my customers to leave feedback when they check out i always thank them for their feedback and referrals up front.

It's the reality of dealing with the unknown public. Good people, good customers can go unnoticed at times, but those bad ones you'll never forget.

I "retired" after being in auto service/parts since 1960's partly because so many of my great customers have died, in care home or don't drive any more. It's not an easy job to be of service to anyone that walks in the door. My check in sheet had customers sign and acknowledge check out fee's. I kept my conversations with problem customers short and sweet. I offer them a cash discount which they accept. I bring around their hand washed car and wish them well.