TTP

XRAC you are so right, most of the custom market is catered to the DIY guy, and they are the cheapest customers out there. But there are quite a few especially in the Jeep market that will pay to have things done. Those are the customers I go after, then ones who have the money know what they want but dont have the time to do it themselves, but are willing to pay someone else to build their dream. The problem is that they are very few of those types of customers. I have to deal with a major chain store,(4Wheel Parts) that is also one of my suppliers. But they are always priced below me, and sometimes even priced below my cost when they hold a sale. The markup over jobber is usually about 10-15%, on a few products I get lucky on and get about 25-30%, but its a rare. And dont even get me started on tires! If I make 10-20 bucks above cost I'm doing good. Our diesel market is much better, most people in general dont have a clue how to work on a Diesel. I once had a guy come in and ask me where the spark plugs were and why he couldn't find the distributor. We tend to be able to make better profit on the diesel work, when parts on a diesel break it usually not cheap to repair, you are usually looking a $1000.00 or more in most cases.

TEXAS TRUCK PERFORMANCE TEXAS CITY, TX We are a off-road/diesel truck performance shop that specializes in Jeeps. We do anything and everything related to them. Motor work, transmissions, gears, suspensions. We have small fab shop that we can make alot of the specialty parts that we need. We do motor swaps and long term builds. Here is a link to our Facebook page gallery. www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Truck-Performance/110471795674179?ref=hl&sk=photos_albums I look forward to hearing from others on here. TTP

{I put this in the General discussion forum, if its not the right one please move it.} I was wondering out loud today, if there were any other off-road, diesel or truck performance shops on here struggling with the same issues that I do on a daily basis, so I just thought I would ask. I know that we are a special niche in the marketplace and our own struggles and issues. Alot of the information on this site we can incorporate, but some of it just doesn't apply to us. Now don't get me wrong, this site has been invaluable to me for answers to some problems that I have been struggling with, not to mention dealing with customers and techs. Just the answers I have received has helped me to save my shop from the brink of disaster and closing my doors. But in our line of work, we have to deal with the DIY guy that thinks he knows everything because he either read it on the internet or one of his buddies told him how. And no matter what we tell them, they are always right. I would love to know how you are generating sales, dealing with customer issues, how you price out a big build that is going to take more than a couple of days...etc I was thinking if there are enough of us in this forum we could band together and help each other out. I know down here in my area, the competition is fierce, our markup on our parts is barely above jobber cost, because of the internet sites. I feel we have some other issues that these general mechanic shops do not have to deal with. if you are interested in pursuing this idea then post up with your shop name and location and we will see how much interest this generates. TTP

I was trying out BBT's Smart Auto software. At first the support was great then as time went on it got worse. I was really impressed at the simplicity of the program but I could never get it setup to work properly, so I finally just gave up and went back to Quickbooks. Has anyone else tried it out?

I agree with you on that one Gonzo! That movie had so much taken out of context it was hilarious! But scary, thinking that it might really happen...

I appreciate you sharing those thought with us. For years I was taught that the best advertising was word of mouth, after reading this I see this ol dog needs to learn some new tricks.

Joe brings up a really good point, especially for all of us with a highly competitive market. Normal repairs have to be priced within a reasonable amount in order to stay in business. BUT on a specialty niches, you can, no you must charge more. Thats the only way you will stay in business and make alongside the low ballers. Trust me I know, I am in a very competitive market dealing with offroad and diesel performance. Everyone her is a DIYer- they can do it better than you, faster than you and cheaper than you...BUT run into trouble and the internet idiots can't give them a good answer, you are a GOD then. SO, for all those idiots that ask you every question under the sun, and have NO intention of using you are purchasing anything from you...You have to have a way to make up that time you lost and were unprofitable. OK I will get off my sopabox now...just my nickels worth of advice from the school of hard knocks.

Man you aint lying there, that gives me a headache just trying to decipher all that information. But I have to do it so I can get my life back. I started this business with a dream and so far that dream is a nightmare...LOL I owned a cabinet shop before doing this for 20 years,(I know you are now asking yourself what an I doing in this business) did pretty good, 15 employees at one time, running two jobs at once or more all over the state. So I do understand what you are saying its just a bit more complicated than before, but I will figure it out, with you guy's help. Thanks so much for all the advice. JOE

Well I tried BBT software but I could never get it to work properly. I have heard of Mitchell, is it expensive? Right now I have access to ALL DATA, so thats what I use to set our labor rate. I also use Labor Guide to check the numbers. Any input on the first question? I have heard numbers from 22.00-29.99 per flag hour fare these about right or too high/low?

I own/run a truck, diesel and offroad performance shop. I have been paying strictly by the hour, but its really not working out. I want to be able to pay my guys better but I cant afford to be hung out to dry on the hours. I have been reading on this forum about flat rate and a performance bonus, I really like the concept, it will keep me in the black and my guys can make more money. I am just not sure how to accomplish this for my business. We do alot of high performance work that requires more than one tech to accomplish. How do you pay? I cant charge the customer double time to make up the difference and I want to be fair to my guys, but on the other hand I have to make a profit also. So my question is this; 1 How do you come up with a fair number to pay on the flat rate? 2 How do I split the job between the two techs, without going broke? 3 What do you base the percentage on to come up with a performance bonus? I welcome any and all input to these questions. I need some answers quickly, before I lose one of my best techs to another store. He wants more money, I want to pay him more he is definitely worth it, but increasing his pay scale by-the-hour is killing my profit margin. I know that flat rate is th way to go... JOE

Thanks guys, glad to be here. I spent all day yesterday going through the archives, soaking up alot of information. Great site, wish I had found it sooner!!

Well said, I closed a company for this very reason. Lots of "friends" no customers. You don't need the headache associated with that. And on top of that those "friends" will want everything done for either very cheap to free, and expect you to give them a big discount on parts. DON'T do it!! JOE

I use LaborGuide. It works great its cheap and its accurate. I have checked it against All Data and they are either spot on or very close. They also give you the option of low, high or average, which helps if you have a good client that you want to give a special deal to. Hope this helps you out. JOE

Hello to all. I am a shop owner but not the normal type of shop that you guys are running. I run a performance truck shop. Where we work on gas and diesel trucks. We install mostly performance enhancements to the vehicle. I have found in our type of business that we dont have many repeat customers, after we have gotten the truck to the performance level the customer is looking for. Now I'm not saying that they never come back, thats not true, we usually dont see them back until they want another upgrade or they purchase a new vehicle, but that in general is not getting it done anymore. In this latest economy, we are seeing lower sales than ever, since what we do is a luxury service not a necessity. So I am looking for ways to expand into other markets related to the industry, to grow my business bigger and more profitable. I stumbled upon this site doing research on the net. I hope that I can glean some tips from this forum to help me accomplish this. JOE