Jeff

My minimum is 5 bucks each haz and shop.

5% parts and labor..max 20.00. Thought about raising it. On big jobs...engines and such I will include an install "package" that is roughly 20% of engine cost. If I overlook something in the est I can generally cover it in that. And if I don't use it the customer gets a lower bill. Haz waste is fixed at $5.00 per ticket.

Bobcat here also

I have found that the "like" is good but I encourage folks to "share".

Ya is gonna hafta talk to Sum Guy...I hear he has the keys to that gate!

Yes the forums are great. As far as direct support, if not an emergency, I will e-mail a support request with the time to call back.

My Mitchell eCRM post to Facebook once a week. I try to post at least twice a week. School started here today so I will try to post something along the line of school zone safety, watch for buses, etc. Been a hot summer so I throw out the check you tires, watch you temp kinda stuff. Has been working for me. You just gotta stay on it. 2-3 hours a week is what I try to allow. I have alos set up a Google+ page but that is not getting the traffic that Facebook does. I intend to try to work it more.

I switched back in Jan. Been great so far.

I offer Saturdays. Come Thursday closing if I don't have appointments for Sat. I wont book any unless it is a very good customer. I have come in on Sat if the call came in and I was still close to the shop. You have to play to your customers. A lot of my regulars just cant get in on Saturdays. And many times I will have a fleet in for minor services so they don't have to be down thru the week. But I will add I offer late nights also. I have made appointments for as late as 7 pm. The down side to that is they may have to come back due to parts availability, Its all in how you want to provide your service. I will add that I am single with grown children so not much home life.

How do they back up the guarantee? Facebook has been working some for me but it takes time. You can spend money on getting new customers BUT it is cheaper to keep your current clients in the loop. I forget what the ratio is but it takes a whole lot more to get 1 new than to get 5 current in the shop! Moving Targets might be good to look at for new client acquisition. Just my $2.98 ( 2 cents with inflation and obama care).

I use eCRM through Mitchell. It has been an investment to say the least. Started in Jan and finally seeing some return. I plan on continuing the service till Dec and then looking at total return. If I wasnt seeing something I would have dropped it already, very costly (at least for a broke hillican like me ). If the numbers prove out I may add postcards after the first of the year.

I cant understand working so hard to become a AAA shop them have to give them a discount. And I have talked to shop owners in the past that dropped the AAA status due to the disputes and such. And I cant remember how many times a client has called to tell me they are getting towed in by AAA only to call back in an hour saying they sent a battery truck first and now have to wait on the tow (no start aint always a battery). And many times I will get them in with a new battery that needed an alternator, cable repair or such. I really cant see the benefit.

I wish for a curve balll...they are THROWING AT ME!! And I cant seem to dodge fast enough!

Welcome..and check in often!

If you are not experienced with quikbooks I would at least have an accountant that is experienced with it set you up and give you some training. I was lucky in that my ex was an accounts manager when I started out. She was more than capable at setting up all the correct accounts. Then I would find myself a competent tax adviser or CPA. I still call on my ex for book keeping help and now, after learning the hard way, a CPA. Just my 2cents. HTH, Jeff

My problem was I worked at Dealers mostly until I opened my own shop. From 93-04 I worked for Chrysler dealers. I had the mindset the more I learned the more I could make. The problems started when I got to the Chrysler "Gold" level. When you are the best trained tech in the shop you 1) get all the problem cars no one else could do 2) My morals would not allow me to plunder the customers 3) I would work on the problem cars...upsell the easy work and have it shipped off to the next tech so I could deal with the next problem car. I finally got fed up and opened my own place..in 2004. 2005 we got tore up with hurricanes...folks houses tore up, no money to fix car. About the time we started gettin over that the "recession" hit. This area is still tryin to get over that. My locale still leads the country in foreclosures. Then on top of all that I have 4-5 unlicensed "repair" shops within a stones throw that work for 20-30 an hour and sell parts at cost or have the customers supply their parts. Like I said if I had known I would stayed in that old Freightliner I was herdin down down the road! As far as typical...I have more friends that have quit this trade than I know have joined! One fella got into real estate, another cashed out everything and took early retirement, another got a 9-5 working in a machine shop. I am just waiting for Mcdonalds to start payin 15 an hour!

I gotta say I probably would have never entered this field had I known the cost. THOUSANDS in tool expenses, busted knuckles, creaky knees, numerous pulled backs, the list goes on. I have never made over 50k a year...many jobs with no benifits, six day weeks, 10 hour days. The worst was working at dealerships where the managers "demanded" you sell at least 3 hours work on every car, needed or not! Warranty repairs that took days to diag and fix that only paid 3 hours, the list goes on. The only thing that kept me coming back was the love of fixing cars and the hope that tomorrow would be better!

Thank You...There is a GOD!

A little trick that was shared with me loooonngg ago....A phillips screw head or a bolt head that is rounding...use a small dab of valve lapping compound on it. Bits and sockets will "bite" and possibly save having to pull out the drill.

Check in often, a lot to learn in here. Welcome!

ya need to keep "Some Guys" number handy to pass along to those folks! LOL!

Example....I have a PT Cruiser in for A/C and a 3K service. Last was performed at a long standing shop here in town that recently closed. Fella had a super reputation. Retired now. Anyhow lift it and find an expansion plug in the oil plug hole. Thinking now I need to sell an oil pan. Get the plug out and THE THREADS ARE FINE!!! Put in a new plug, It torques fine. Now do I inform the customer, basically throwing the closed shop under the bus, or do I just finish and let it go? These are the things that drive me buts!

Even if I have a customer that is bad mouthing another shop I will try to defend them. I feel that with the publics view of us we need to do what we can to improve that, not tear each other down. Maybe the shop was in over their head, lacked the tools, whatever. It does no one good if we all start badmouthing the other shops. I took on my first 6.0 diesel injector job a few weeks ago. It was a learning experience to say the least. Took waaaayyyy longer than anticipated. The customer was very understanding. And I didn't figure I would ever see him again after that. But yesterday he called to schedule his wifes car. I kinda joked that I was surprised to hear from him. His reply...You were honest with me.

I use Mitchell and love it. I have used the other guys and I never thought they performed up to M1. Along with Mitchell, I use their CRM and the Pro Pack rider from Bolt On. Might want to take another look. Just my 2 cents.

My Snap On rep saved me! I have a 6.0 diesel we installed injectors in. Also installed updated stand pipes. Afterwords it would not start. Snappy put me in touch with a Tech that worked for Ford. Turns out I installed one of the pipes in the wrong port, causing it to not build oil pressure. Switched it to the correct port and it fired third try.