Dustin Rutkowski

I just signed up with Elite a couple months ago and also am having a great experience! Look forward to getting to work on my business finally!

Not really worth it. Been doing it for 3 years and I'm about to drop them. Takes way too much space and time from business with very little return.

Your website is extremely important this day in age. But not only the site, you need to be easily found while searching for service in your area. It is worth it to spend a little extra to have a company that can handle it all effectively for you. We use net driven and have been very happy. Www.autodrx.com

We have had Mitchell crm for about 2 years now. Been with a couple others before that and definitely feel that Mitchell is the best bang for the buck. They really are helpful with obtaining positive online reviews for the business. The key though is obtaining customer emails, that is a must.

All we do is send out hand addressed and signed Christmas cards to all our customers. Little pricey but the feedback is excellent!

Just signed the papers this week for the new Hawkeye Elite alignment machine, w/their 18k alignment rack. Looking forward to getting it here because I know the ROI is there!

100% Agree, it provides the customer with another avenue for financing the repair. If they decline the customer then we did our best to help them out. They then need to figure out how to fund their repairs because we definitely are not.

Spot on Joe!! Sometimes you have to read something like this to bring you back into reality. Just because car counts, Average RO, or Visits per year are down does not mean you have to sit there and take it. Analyze and React!

Perfect, thanks!!!!

Joe, I am having issues with the link, can you check it out? It may just be me but it sends me to my gmail, to a conversation that is not there.

Awesome timing!!! I am currently trying to decide between Auto Vitals and Bolt on Technologies for the tablet inspection and work flow. I am interested in how it works out for you!

+1 on the CarCareOne Card. Been working really well for us and doesnt really cost us more than a normal credit card sale would.

We currently use Netdriven for our website (www.autoDRx.com) and Mechanicnet for our CRM. Other than that the only thing that has worked marketing wise is a monthly bulletin that is mailed to everyone in our area. But, all areas are different. Your best bet is to talk to other businesses in your area (preferably of the same trade) and see what works for them.

Question about that.... We have had great luck with these as well and are currently pricing them the same way about $450 with parts plus $50 for each that needs to be extracted. How would you go about telling a customer that a head job would be required after extraction failed? We have not had this happen, and all customers are warned of the problems with these spark plugs breaking. It just seems difficult that we sell the job saying that we can extract them then when it fails we have to go back and sell them a considerably more expensive job. How do you break the news to them without turning up on a milk carton?

We are here Saturdays 10-4. I have to say being a short day, it is actually one of our busiest days of the week! I would love to have a full weekend, but cannot justify it with the business that pulls through on Saturdays here

We have a procut and love it. We use it if we can, as we have virtually no comebacks after turning rotors on a vehicle. Yes rotors are cheap, but why replace if you can turn the rotors and save the customer money? I turn rotors for 1 hr labor per axle ($75). That is usually more that I make in margin from a set of rotors.

We just recently went with Net driven for our new website design. They do the work, I call them or email them with any changes I want and they get it up right away. Very happy with the work they do! Here is our site. http://www.autoDRx.com

BTW isnt it amazing how many people have "dealer tech" or "master mechanic" friends when these issues come about??

This is a tough one. Normally I would first be sure to get paid for the mirror. I would tell the customer that I will look into the airbag light if they would like me too but if we determine it was an unrelated component failure (Which it most likely is) that they will be responsible for all diag and repair costs. Make them sign it and see what happens. From the sounds of it, I doubt they would want to spend the money because deep down they know it was not you that caused the light.

All I can add is that if you go in with the mentality that you want to be like everyone else you will struggle everyday. You need to not let other shops dictate how you run your business. You alone know what you want to offer and at what price. You know what it takes to keep the lights on and what takes to keep food on the table. If you find yourself doing something a certain way just because it is how everyone else does it, then you will always find yourself competing. Trendsetters find their way to the top quickly. Followers will always be left to fight over the scraps.

2 Bays, 2 Techs, Daily average car count is 2.8 with an average ticket of $420

Thanks Xrac! You read my mind exactly. Fresh uniforms come in on Tuesday so it will be "Glamour shot " day for the guys!

So our new website just went live! I decided put a little more time and effort (and money) into it to make it truly a custom site. Not so much like the template ones that are offered. (Not that there is anything wrong with those sites, I am just looking to create a little more branding). Please take a look and let me know what you think! Good things, bad things, all are welcome! Thanks! Dustin http://www.autoDRx.com