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It's as if people today are conditioned to get everything they want now.

 

I think you hit it right on the head. The narcissism of today's society is really appalling to me. It used to be I'm here, I'm ######, deal with it. Now it's I'm here, drop everything and wait on ME, to Hades with everyone else, those who got here before me, those who scheduled appointments, everyone but me. I'm here, I'm the only one who matters because I'm ME. No I am not ###### or ####ophobic, and I'm also not of the drop everything because I'm here crowd. I simply used the play-on words to illustrate my point that I believe Joe is right on the money with what is wrong with society in regards to how we can serve them.

 

And those are the customers you'd do very well do be without, if it were not that more and more of today's "constantly connected" society are getting that way. I'm a little different being a one man shop with two hoists and a flat bay, but I do almost everything by appointment. Even though today I am sitting here looking at an empty schedule and I would gladly take a walk-in. I think that a successful shop, if there were enough employees to even out the work would do like the brake and alignment shop I sublet my alignments to. They have six or seven techs and always have two slots each day dedicated to "Walk-ins/work-ins." I don't know if that is one hour each or two hours or how long but they built into their schedule two opportunities each day to accommodate customers who "it just started making noise." Or my doctor's office does the same thing. If you call first thing in the morning they have 3-5 appointments available for same day care. Either place can used unscheduled time as a buffer if the run over and those slots aren't filled, but it also isn't a large percentage of their available productivity so they don't hurt too much if they don't schedule those slots and they aren't filled by walk-ins. But the alignment shop has 6 or seven techs and my doctor's office has 7 or 8 doctors on staff, and late hours (til 8:00) too, talk about patient CARE! So if you have only one or two techs, one or two hours a day could be a substantial chunk of your productivity but if you have 6 or 8 techs, then it becomes a much smaller percentage and probably very manageable.

Posted

I keep a drive on lift open and monitor drop in business myself as often as i can. It's all about referrals! Even if you can't help offer them a cold drink and a idea on solving his/her problem. We shut down at 1:00 Saturday's. Today I let the men go for the weekend. I was just about to turn the key in the shop door lock when a frantic lady drove up with a low tire She was not happy with my answers to "our we open" and "Can you change my tire on this rental car that i am returning" No I said but I will do something. I opened the shop door, gave the lady a Rose,our business card, I aired up the tire and followed her to the down the street to Discount Tire . She gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek. Priceless!

 

 

 

The Frogfinder

  • 1 month later...

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         0 comments
      It always amazes me when I hear about a technician who quits one repair shop to go work at another shop for less money. I know you have heard of this too, and you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can this be true? And Why?” The answer rests within the culture of the company. More specifically, the boss, manager, or a toxic work environment literally pushed the technician out the door.
      While money and benefits tend to attract people to a company, it won’t keep them there. When a technician begins to look over the fence for greener grass, that is usually a sign that something is wrong within the workplace. It also means that his or her heart is probably already gone. If the issue is not resolved, no amount of money will keep that technician for the long term. The heart is always the first to leave. The last thing that leaves is the technician’s toolbox.
      Shop owners: Focus more on employee retention than acquisition. This is not to say that you should not be constantly recruiting. You should. What it does means is that once you hire someone, your job isn’t over, that’s when it begins. Get to know your technicians. Build strong relationships. Have frequent one-on-ones. Engage in meaningful conversation. Find what truly motivates your technicians. You may be surprised that while money is a motivator, it’s usually not the prime motivator.
      One last thing; the cost of technician turnover can be financially devastating. It also affects shop morale. Do all you can to create a workplace where technicians feel they are respected, recognized, and know that their work contributes to the overall success of the company. This will lead to improved morale and team spirit. Remember, when you see a technician’s toolbox rolling out of the bay on its way to another shop, the heart was most likely gone long before that.
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