Dsl_truck_tech

Would like to set up a cash bonus program based on profitability of the shop paid to mechanics. Cash bonus would be paid twice a year. Would like any ideas or some type of matrix. Thanks in advance for any advice.

I do call some customers that are new about 15 days after a repair. I ask them if their vehicle is running good and too make sure they were satisfied with our service. EVERY person I called was totally shocked that I called. They said they have received letters but never a call. They loved the call. I don't turn the call into a hard sell, but do tell them if they need anything or just have a question about their vehicle don't hesitate to call. I will be more than happy to answer any question.

In the state of California we are not allowed to charge a "shop fee". Everything is billed out as a part. Rags are part of my overhead expense. Everything else is billed out on the invoice as a part even if I bill .1 for the thread lock I used. So if a bottle of thread lock cost me $10 and I would charge lets say $18 for a whole bottle I just divide the $18 dollars by how many times I would think the bottle would last me say 25 times. So .1 billed out would be .72 cents on the invoice. This system seems to work out for me and I have never had a complaint from a customer over 72 cents.

Google has worked great for me. I am about 15 miles from an Interstate so when someone with a diesel truck breaks down and they search for diesel or truck repair on google search and I pop up first. Have one or two a month towed in. Can't beat that for free advertising. Thank you Google!

Sometimes there are no substitute for oem parts. Just last week I had a customer with a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500HD that complained about the front end wandering. After an inspection I found all ball joints worn out, front axle u-joints bad and a wheel bearing assembly loose. He said he just had all these parts replaced a year ago at another shop. During teardown I did confirm all these parts were replaced with sub par parts. I always use oem parts for u-joints and ball joints for heavy duty trucks. For some reason the oem parts just seem to last longer. The parts were twice the price of even the best aftermarketparts like Moog but I guarantee the customer won't need to rebuild the front end for quite sometime. I've seen cheap parts fail time and time again way before they should. Sometimes there are no substitute for oem parts.

What a great topic. So good I just had to register. I am a diesel shop owner also. At least that's what my business name says and how I market it. BUT.... that's not all I work on. If I did, I wouldn't survive. I work on just about anything. I found out fast you have to difersify to stay in the game. Sure if I could have it my way I would just be working on diesel pick-ups and semi trucks. Instead I'm doing oil changes and brake jobs on the family mini-van. Don't get me wrong, I still love what I do (and I still make money at it), but it's just not what I invisioned my company to do. Yes there is a special niche out there for the "diesel shops" or the off-road performance shops (which is how I advertise the business), but my bread and butter seems to come from the everyday maintenance items, ie: oil changes, brakes, tune-ups, window motors, diagnostics, wheel bearings, & ect. I'm sure you get the point. Oh, and most of those maintenance items are on the gas rigs my customers have not their "diesels". Yes there is a market out there for a good diesel shop. I've had customers tow there pick-up truck a 100 miles for me to work on it because they know I will do a good job and they can trust me and my work. I even had a customer haul his Toyota 4 runner with a diesel in it from PA, because he said he could find a shop to work on it, but that's for another story. My point being, you can be the best and only shop around with a niche, but sometimes you will have to take those smaller jobs that don't profit has good just to stay in the game, but in the end, it all pans out the same. Whither you do 5 jobs for $200 a job or one big job for $1000. Being diversified is the key. That's just my 2 cents.