mspecperformance

Like I said it have a volvo shop near me, he uses launch. Very busy shop and the go to volvo guy in the area

Launch is not going to give you full factory functionality. Not nearly enough what you need to cover the car line.

Jeff, you should do some simple google searches like auto repair in [your area] and see where you rank on the search results

Jeff, what is your car count looking like? Maybe you need to find something in terms of marketing to bring in more quality customers.

The best way of online advertising is Organic SEO. There are a lot of factors that change your ranking and what exactly helps your ranking. Blogs, Review sites, proper content on your website, updated content etc all help. I am not going to pretend to be an expert which I certainly am not. Google Adwords do also help. I have also seen in my area (NYC) Yelp to be a big factor and ways potential customers qualify shops.

I know you techs out there hate to hear this but a SA worth his/her weight should actually make more or close to a tech. Remember a SA is the face of the shop. They are the people who greet customers, manage the front end, estimate and sell service, etc. Essentially they are and can be the manager of the businesses.

 

 

I agree, I just smile when my customers say they have their oil changed at walmart and they want me to inspect their vehicle for an oil leak and its coming from the double gasketed filter.

 

At that point I try and explain to them do they want a high school student or college dropout changing their oil, someone that has very little training and no experience. Or do you want to spend 20 dollars more and have me do it? Normally after that they tend to come back.

I try not to talk badly about anyone else's business. Lots of that "oh that shop, they are a bunch of hacks" goes around and I don't want to be bunched up with the rest of those dudes. I do think you hit the nail on the head. I kind of do it in a subtle way so they get the hint. For example a customer comes in with a brake problem and says they had Pepboys do their brakes, I respond with a, "....Oh.... I see" and I usually give them an oh well look. They usually get the idea they messed up.

Yes, every single day. We book appointments 2-3 days out in most cases. It is extremely rare that we take in a drop-in waiter oil change. Our business model simple cannot support it.

 

Thankfully, there is a phenomenal Express Oil Change in our city that I can actually recommend. We send folks there if they absolutely cannot wait another 2-3 days.

I sincerely hate it when my good customers go anywhere else for service. It is an opportunity we lose them. Not necessarily because I feel anyone can match what we do but there are a lot of dishonest shops out there that will undermine and undercut you any chance they get. For this reason alone if I can't book them I apologize for not being able to meet their expectations and offer my services on a day that I can meet them. The impatient ones never call back most likely meaning they were not going to be an ideal customer anyway.

Wow I wish we had the volume/business to NOT take in walk in customers. A LARGE portion of our current customers are walk in non appointment customers, especially for services such as oil changes. I do think that it gets a bit hairy at times when we get a lot of walk in's while there are already current customer vehicles in for repair. In our area at least, it seems as though the general motoring public have been trained to expect oil changes as a waiting type of service.....

Yes it is a shame. What I try to educate my customers on is that we perform an Oil SERVICE not an oil change. Meaning we take the time to inspect the vehicle and give a professional inspection every time which saves time, headache and money in the long run. The good ones understand the ones I don't really want walk. It still doesn't feel good letting anyone get away though. I guess its the days with little business and wondering where am I going to get the money for rent that month are still fresh in my mind lol

If you want to be full functioning on Volvo the only option is the factory tool. Unless you are working on a high volume of Volvo it is not profitable to purchase the scanner and keep up with the subscription.

I agree, I try my best to get in cars that need immediate attention as soon as possible. The ones that i usually say no to are the impatient ones that need quick service. I have to weigh out the pros and cons. I have customers that are on deck whilst I have a potential time waster on the phone. Hate to call them that but i find the impatient ones to be the ones that will neglect most or all service recommendations.

$3735 seems steep for a base salary and commission over 50k.

blackstone, what is their hourly rate.

I have been running into this situation recently. Right now (thanks goodness) we are fairly busy with a lot of work and a lot of cars. I have been stuck in a position before where we have been slammed and I would still tell customers YES. There is a philosophy that many follow that is to say YES to all your customers as much as possible. When I would do this I would be stuck with a lot of cars and under delivered promises. In an effort to keep to the motto of "under estimate and over deliver" I've had to say NO to a few phone callers.

Situation today a 2011 BMW X6 called in for an oil change. My schedule is packed at the moment and when we perform an oil service we give the car at least 1 hour between our thorough inspection and the oil change itself. It also gives a chance to upsell any work. Since we were completely booked I tried booking him for an appointment next week. He was of course the pushy type of customer that needed the service done NOW and said he'd call back. I don't feel too bad about not booking him as in my experience the pushy customers are very hard to deal with and will only buy that they deem is important, meaning they will not be "sold" on additional services if their car is still running and driving.

I fully understand the principles of having "reserve" time in the schedule to deal with drop in customers. It has been a challenge for me to implement such techniques when there are times such as now where I have good customers that need work done and I can't push them off to even out my schedule.

What are your experiences? Do you ever tell customers no? How do you feel it affects your business?

Okay, now that you and I both have "Made Stuff Up" (otherwise known as MSU)

about this customer and why he bought his own oil...

 

How do you find out if the guy needs your help in maintaining his vehicle?

I hear what your saying. For the sake of generalizing for other shop owners, my viewpoint is not ideal I get that. I really hate to assume the worst of people however in my experience I try my best to avoid pitfalls. Time is money and unfortunately if I am getting a bad vibe from a customer then I will immediately assume things based on what I see. When I see a customer try to be pushy and want to do things on their terms without even giving me a chance to speak that sends a red flag. When they have their own oil, red flag. When they don't want to pay someone in the dead of winter to perform an oil service for them, red flag. Lets be honest here, the customer drives a BMW. Not a 1985 toyota corolla. The cost of a dinner in this city can exceed $30 easily. I am just making observations based on my area and my experience.

In regards to your question how do I find out if he needs our help? I really don't know. Actually a better answer is I really don't know without wasting my time and my patience.

Good point Elon.

I am still of a mind that this guy is a time waster. This person was a call in and actually had to call back to say he wanted the appointment. His exact words were "uhhhh.... I think I'll do it myself then thanks" during his first call. So you are going to perform an oil change on your back in 15 degree weather? Could he have had a heated garage? Possibly. The probability of that is minuscule. There has been a lot of talk about pre-qualifying customers by upfront charges of inspections and full value oil changes. I read an article and spoken to shop owners whom charge upwards of $200 for a 7 Liter Synthetic Oil Change. They call it a "minor service" and perform a comprehensive inspection, top off fluids etc. I am not saying I subscribe to this mentality necessarily however I can understand the mindset. If someone is not looking to spend $30 for an oil change LABOR (Filter is additional) and literally considered performing the oil change themselves in this frigid weather, how likely are they to buy? I agree you can go through 10 of these type and 9 of them will be a bust but 1 will maybe turn out to be half decent and not a time waster. We spend upwards for 45 minutes to 1 hours during an oil service which includes our inspection process. I just don't know if its worth my time investment to mine the good ones out of the time wasters if they even exist.

I just booked a oil change that I totally will regret... guy calls up has his own oil. I told him with filter the price will be around the $45 range (he provides his own oil). He hesitated and said, "o forget it I'll do it myself." Super enthusiastically I said, "OK! Thanks have a nice day!" and I hear, "waittttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On second thought I'll make that appointment." Now the question is do I perform a courtesy inspection for him just because? Definitely sounds like a DIYer cheapy. Chances are its going to be a pain in the ass customer and also someone who won't buy anything. What do you guys think???

I should have told him we don't perform oil changes with customers providing oil which is what I normally do. Doh!

It can be good and bad. Not sure if there are data out there to show the trend in used car sales are. I am going to assume they are up as well which is good for the indys.

Our labor rate is 15.00 more per hour for warranty companies. We also absolutly refuse them supplying the parts. We inform our customers from the start that yes we will deal with their warranty company and wait to get paid from them but they usually wont cover the complete repair and they,the customerare responsible for the balance. We've never had a problem, my buisness , my rules. If the warranty company refuses we call the customer and inform them,some we lose and others have us fix it and fight the warranty company on their own.

ive had some warranty companies contact the owner after receiving our estimate which can cause problems with the process.

agreed.

I never give the customer an option of waiting and always speak to them assuming they are going to leave the vehicle. You are training them that it is normal procedure that leaving the vehicle is the process in which to fix their car. Of course you will get push back when they say, "well can't I just wait for it?" or "how long is it going to take I don't have anywhere to go." At that point I say, "oh of course you can't wait for it! We actually have a waiting area if you'd like to sit and wait or we can give you a ride to the mall so you aren't bored waiting around for us to finish your vehicle." I find that the customers that respect what you do understand that waiting for anything more than an oil change is no good and the ones that insist on waiting for everything are the ones that pretty much don't respect your business or your profession. Repairs take time as well as diagnostics. Make it as easy for them to leave the car with you. Offer them rides, offer them a loaner or rental if they are getting major repairs.

I've spoken to many shop owners about waiters and even those with taj mahal waiting areas. Their response always is, "I don't want waiters." Think of yourself as an educator and teach your customers to drop their cars off.

I hear ya this is certainly a struggle for everyone. I think the best answer is as you change your shop culture, the type of customer you will bring in will start to match your business model a lot more. Also education about how your shop is different from other shops due to precision, professional and care which also require additional time with the vehicle. Thats when you offer courtesy shuttles, loaner cars, etc.

Took your advice M-SPEC and haven been having my lead technician "show" him how we would like our 24 point vehicle inspection performed. He seems to be getting better at it......

Awesome! Yeah everyone needs a chance to succeed and a lot of times we as shop owners are the only ones with the plan in their head LOL

As much as it hurts i know were Gene is coming from. Many of us were mechanics before we became shop owners/managers and we know what the public thinks of us. In the working world there is You, Me ,Us and THEM!

Frog, its not so much the jaded attitude we are all annoyed over. Its more about how insulting this character is as well as literally adding nothing of value to this forum. I consider myself a very open minded person. I recognize things that work for me may not work for someone else and vice versa however I do see merit in differing philosophies. I've forged some good friends on this forum and really do consider this forum to be a valuable asset to me and the shop owner community at large. I learn a lot on here and there are a ton of very smart guys willing to share their knowledge. I can say with all honesty this Gene character as of now is a detriment to this community and to put it plainly, talks out of his ass. I think its particularly damaging to the uninitiated shop owner that might see what he is posting as a possible right point of view. It is absolutely not and I don't think its something that should be tolerated on here. I apologizing for acting as the ASO police it is certainly not my intention. I guess its the NYer in my that has to say something when something needs to be said.

I should have. Probably be making more money than I do now. Plus benefits.

I wish I could go back in time and kick my self in the ass.

Gene.

I guess every person on this forum, all the shop owners and techs out there that keep this country running are a bunch of idiots then. You remind me of the old hag in Princess Buttercup's dream. Gene the heckler, "booooooo! boohoo!"

Very sensitive arent we. I am thinking you are one of those who is looking for slaves and your wife is fat.

As I said before , truth hurts and most can't take it.

I got emails from people saying that I should continue posting.

I guess I am not that bad after all.

and remember tomorrow is saturday, so when you get drunk , stay away from your cousin. or at least wear protection.

 

For the rest of the people.

Running an auto repair shop in a big city is very tough to say the least.

One needs to be a hustler in order to make rent.

I have been doing it for 28 years and getting tired.

Like I said before , I got 3 other shops right next to me.

Being a princess just aint going to work.

For the most part I like rednecks , except the ones who have cousins for parents.

Enjoy.

Waiting for all the feedback , positive or negative.

Gene.

Since we are taking out the measuring sticks my shop is in a much bigger city than yours, the population in my city is larger than your whole state. I know plenty of shops that run their business's like yourself. They are either too old to change or blissfully ignorant like yourself. Don't even know what more to say other than please find some better use for your time because no one here wants to hear your BS. thanks buh bye.

Also, I love extended warranties. That 45min on hold translates to free $$, since all the work will likely get approved.

never been my experience. our Margins and labor rate is too high for them to cover even the majority of the repairs. It becomes a big time cluster...