HarrytheCarGeek

Praying for him and his family. Get well soon Gonzo!

Because this is exactly what business owners should be talking about the business side of the trade. Also, this is the side that mechanics that become business owners need to know, yet they shy away from it because it's perceived as superfluous. Case in point, and to illustrate, most don't understand numbers. If you ask them how much is a million, they would look at you puzzled. Instead of saying 1,000 x 1,000 or 100 x 10,000, etc. Or if you ask them what's half of 3/8 they couldn't tell you it's 3/16. So, what is so important about the numbers? Well, how would you know what is the maximum possible output of your shop if you have no baseline knowledge, how could you quantify your efficiency rate? What would be the point of investing another 2% of of gross revenue into marketing when you couldn't take care of the additional customers. I agree with you, great thread indeed.

I think every serious shop owner knows that marketing the business is an essential thing to do and requires work in it self. What most would like to avoid is the learning curve and the waste money on things that do not work or produce a sustainable result.

I haven't found a single system that works. I have tried so many things, one of them was cheap oil changes that brought me more grief than a curse upon my head. The value I received from the bottom feeders that cheap oil changes brought me was developing a thick skin. What are we doing now, that works? Social media, paper mail newsletters, billboards, email-newsletter articles, clinics, and participation on local events. Word of mouth comes through excellent customer service, and customized pricing. Without taking rents into account, our marketing budget runs between 6 to 8% of gross sales for the average six bay/lift shop. Could I spend less on marketing? Yes, but then I would go back to the seesaw of feast or famine work flow.

Exactly! People that nickle and dime you and have no clue about what it takes to deliver a great service will always waste your valuable time. I learn long ago not to waste my time with those people. One of the first things I teach the service advisors is not to feel bad when someone declines a service, specially people that have no clue how a car works. There is a certain segment of foreign people that now live here and this is their first time owning a car, they have no clue as to what it cost to have a car service, but anything that cost anything is too much for them, heck, even with the free maintenance option they don't have their car service. This as told to me by the Ford dealer down the street. Like one of the SAs told me, they want to get a free coupon for the free coupon inspection they are redeeming for next time. Next, they will want us to pay them to let us work on their cars, lol.

Excellent article, Gonzo! Great reading. I spend a lot of money on testing equipment and training, I also train my guys all the time, I hold formal classes for them. I have dealers send me their people, and I am picky on whom I train. What's the difference between my shops and the competition, 1. We strive to know the science better than anyone. This in turn delivers efficient service to our customers. I had an old guy deliver a great compliment to me yesterday, he said "Harry, you are expensive as Hell, but I be damn if I will go somewhere else to get my car fixed. I like it fixed right the first time with no bullshit." This was his granddaughter's car that had bounced around a few shops after a collision, the culprit? A forgotten ground strap that was left off at the collision shop. Yes my friends, electronics need solid signals.

Let's agree to disagree. The game is truly simple, if all you did were oil changes at your current practices, how long could you stay in business? I have no more to say.

IDK, that seem very low to me. How much are you paying your lube tech, and what is his average hourly production. Not being an ass, but your number seems too low for my area and the ongoing costs to do business here.

And no surprise, here are some news articles about the trend: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/sketchy-6-000-bill-leads-to-call-for-more-tow-truck-regulations-1.3340610 http://www.landlinemag.com/Magazine/2016/Feb/story/inflated-towing-bills.aspx Etc...

http://bigwheeltowingandrecovery.com/recovery-billing-unlimited/ Recovery Billing Unlimited Instructors are Bob and Eric Fouquette from Big Wheel Towing & Recovery. They teach: Remediation of the accident scene Proper way of writing recovery invoices Billing liability insurance Billing for vehicles that only have property damage coverage Obtaining payment from insurance companies These classes are critical for you to remain in business. Your bottom line will double. These classes are essential for anyone interested in building a successful towing and recovery company. Other training institutions teach you how to tow and do recoveries the proper way; we teach you how to be more profitable using the techniques you’ve acquired by having the ability to bill for your services. Classes are limited to the first 20 companies, we recommend the company owner and the main billing clerk to attend, one price includes both individuals, class sizes are critical because of the tremendous amount of information that has to be gone over. Two repeat classes are absolutely free. The next class is scheduled for June 24th, 2017 at our Massachusetts facility. We personally guarantee that you will be totally blown away at how much more successful your company will become. Call today for your reservations: 508-763-5927 and ask for Linda. Thank You and see you at the next class! Just a few of the hundreds of testimonials… I had the pleasure of attending this class this weekend. The whole operation is a class act operation from top to bottom. Every company that performs any type of recovery service should take this class. The class will pay for itself on your first recovery after the class. They also teach you to be professional and take pride in what you are doing. I can’t wait for my next recovery and implement their practices. I also see a Rotator in our future. Thanks Bob, Eric, and Linda. – Matt Brown’s Truck Repair, New Hampshire The class is worth every hard earned penny it takes to attend. Go with an open mind and pay attention and when you get home be ready to change the way you do things. I don’t mean that they teach to use a Rotator on every job. It’s not about reinventing the wheel, just about getting paid for jobs you never did and to get paid for stuff you were already doing. I like to say I’ve been paid for several jobs since we have returned from the class that before I was taking initial tow plus title and calling the boss and being excited about getting that. This class has made our two locations stronger, and has had customers thank us for taking the time to go the extra step. Go…you won’t regret it. You will make friends for life. – Joe’s Towing & Recovery, Illinois We at Nelcon have taken this class and on a scale of 1 – 10,,,, its easily a 50+ that’s how good this class is. If you’re serious about this business then you need this tool in your toolbox. Eric and the entire Fouquette family are second to none. They not only care about their business they care about the entire industry and are constantly coming up with ways to improve it for everyone!!!! Please attend the class and I would be very shocked if you did not agree with everyone here. – Nelcon Service Center, Connecticut There is not a company out there that could not benefit from this training. We are primarily a diesel truck shop and truck road service provider. We are a small towing operation with limited equipment. Anyone that feels that without a rotator, payloader, lowboy and rolloff you are wasting your time and money has been poorly Misinformed! When you see the presentation and the hospitality they provide from Friday through Sunday in many cases, you realize their drive is not the money at all. It’s all about making the industry better as a whole. Lets face it, in this business TIME and MONEY are two things we can never have enough of, and sure as hell can’t WASTE! If you walk in with an open mind and tailor the class to your operation and resources you will see how quick the class can be paid for regardless of what you own. – Road Rescue Towing & Recovery, Inc., New York We Attended The March 19th Class And Were Completely Amazed on What We Learned In Just One Day. We Paid For The Class Before We Even Returned Home In Just One Job! The Whole Time We Were There, We Felt Like We Were in Our Own Home. You Are Truly Wonderful People! Thanks For Helping Our Industry As Professionals! To Anyone Not Sure About Taking The Class, You Can’t Afford Not To. – AJ’s Automotive & Truck Inc., New York

And I guess this is the company they are talking about: http://towprofessional.com/article/recovery-billing-unlimited/

You know, I just came to know that my views on towing are obsolete. Talking to another shop owner, he disclose that he owns a part of a very large towing outfit. I didn't press, but he seemed very happy with his investment. Then I found this out. There is this company that back in 2009 started teaching how to properly bill for towing services, insurance companies aren't too happy with them. Check this out: http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2012/05/14/206743.htm?print

We did record numbers! My people are a bit stressed but hanging in there strong. I keep telling them, let's shoot fish in a barrel while we can. We haven't seen the A/C work load I have been expecting due to the rainy weather, but I am sure it is coming soon. Congratulations y'all!

Hmm, I don't follow the question. Are you setting me up? Well, I have to know what's it I am selling, so yeah complementary to check it out. But if I have to diagnose an electrical issue, I give the customer a preliminary estimate before we teardown. Again, know your customer. Keep in mind, there are opportunistic people that will not buy from you, but get anything you give them for free. ( I am sure you know this, but I am being verbose for the young guys that are learning the ropes.)

5 Star, I don't have to tell you, everything is about communication. Know your customer is not only good policy for the banking industry, it is the same with us. For example, the cashier girl is more price sensitive than the IT engineer guy. So, when you offer a service, leave it open to additional work that may be needed. We do this all the time, " Joe, you have a light out, could be the bulb, but sometimes the connector melts or corrodes, we will check it out, ok." My point is to always manage expectations to provide the best customer experience.

For those with bodyshops, here is some interesting reading: http://www.bodyshopsolutions.com/WordPress/?p=111 bodyshopsolutions.com/WordPress/ John Shortell I’ve taken a part time job working at an independent body shop close to my home writing estimates and supplements and harassing insurance companies. I’ve been at it for a few months now and up until recently I haven’t seen or heard from a Progressive appraiser. Finally, several weeks ago, I had a customer who was hit by one of Progressive’s insureds. Because I’m in a different area of the state now, I’m unfamiliar with the local appraisers. More importantly, they are unfamiliar with me. What fun! First let me admit that I was spoiled working at a high line dealership body shop. Those evil rich drove nice new cars that demanded nice new OEM parts. Now all I see are Honda’s and Hyundai’s. Old ones at that. I’ve never seen so many junk cars in my life. But I guess the poor have to drive too. Anyway, I had a customer who was hit by a Progressive insured. I wrote an estimate and asked the customer to make arrangements to meet the Progressive appraiser here at my shop. Progressive people hate that. They’d rather look at the vehicle somewhere else. Any where I am not. When the Progressive appraiser showed up I knew there would be trouble. He looked to be about 12 years old. He fit Progressive’s archetype for their ideal appraiser: young, naive and no experience in the collision repair industry. His estimate was several hundred dollars less than mine. No surprise there. But it was a small repair, and that several hundred dollars amounted to about 30% of my estimate. Of course, the labor rate was an issue, but what really got me wound up with this moronic “blend within the panel” crap. I basically told the kid he could take his “blend within the panel” and have his first sexual experience with it. I wasn’t going to accept it. There were some other issues too, and it all added up to the 30% deficiency. I was beginning to lose my cool because this prepubescent putz couldn’t figure out how to meet my bottom line, so I told him to do what a lot of other appraisers do: make something up and put it on the estimate. Of course, I was being sarcastic, but being so young, this kid didn’t understand the sarcasm and took offense to my suggesting he commit fraud. Well at least the kid is honest. I asked the kid for his appraiser’s license number and the name of his supervisor and explained that I would be filing a complaint with the insurance department, which I did immediately after he left (And don’t we all know how effective that was). I told the customer not to worry about the difference–I would take care of it. I had her sign a repair authorization, a direction to pay and a power of attorney in case I had to sue the bastards. Working at a dealership I never had the opportunity to sue an insurance company because the owner didn’t want the trouble, but now that I’m working at a small independent shop, the owner is willing to go after insurers who don’t play nice. I spoke with the kid’s supervisor over the phone about the situation. For the record, she was very pleasant, just like talking to sweet high school girl. I didn’t meet her in person, but by the sound of her voice she was another Progressive clone–too young and inexperienced in anything to be dealing with these issues. But she promised to look into it. I knew I was wasting my time, and I was. After three days of haggling, the young girl managed to come up with another hundred dollars. She was still a couple of hundred short. I explained to her that I was going to sue her insured for the balance. She responded with a perky “OK” like I had just asked her if she wanted to go hang out at the mall. She was trained to perfection. Great job Progressive behavior modification department! With little effort I was able to locate the guy who hit my customer and promptly mailed him the following letter: Dear Mr. XXXXX, On November 29, 2007 you were involved in an accident with XXXXXX, damaging her Honda Civic. Mrs. XXXX brought her vehicle to us for repairs. Your insurance company, Progressive, refused to pay the amount needed to properly repair Mrs. XXXXX vehicle. Mrs. XXXXX has given us her Power of Attorney and we are collecting the remaining balance directly. The total repair cost was $xxxxx, but Progressive has only agreed to pay $xxxx. Your insurance company has left you owing us $xxx. Your liability insurance is supposed to cover all damages up to your coverage limit, but ultimately you are responsible for any damages not covered by your insurer. We have filed a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Insurance, and we suggest you do the same. If you need help filing the complaint we will be happy to assist you. Progressive has already refused to pay the balance. If you do not pay the difference we will be forced to bring the matter to small claims court. Please contact us to discuss this matter, and for payment options. Our phone number is xxxxxxxxx. Enclosed is a copy of our invoice, paperwork showing what Progressive is willing to pay, and a copy of the Power of Attorney signed by Mrs. XXXXX. Sincerely, John Shortell A few days later I received a phone call from Mr. XXXX. He wanted to discuss the matter. I explained the situation to him in more detail, and he agreed to pay the balance owed and then deal with his insurance company. I again offered to help him in any way I could with filing a complaint with the insurance department or recovering the money from Progressive. He didn’t take me up on the offer, but he did send a check the next day. I’ve yet to hear from him or Progressive so I have no idea if he was reimbursed or not. I do know the gentleman was not too happy about having pay for repairs to someone else’s car after he had been paying premiums for liability insurance. Something tells me Mr. XXXX will be finding someone else to send his hard earned money to for insurance in the near future. I fully expected to have to go to small claims court. I knew Progressive would not give in, and I never expected the insured to cough up the money so easily. I feel sorry for the poor bastard. But I’ll be damned if I will become a cheap whore just because Progressive is too profit driven to treat my customers fairly. It’s ironic. Progressive was started by a left wing socialist. The name Progressive is not a coincidence. This nut job and his dope smoking kid, who recently stepped down from running the company, preached the progressive movements dogma, and heavily funded many of its whacked out causes. Progressives are supposed to be more fair than the evil rich. They are supposed to care about the little guy and scorn the evil corporations, yet here they are now acting as bad as any corporation ever did. They only care about their profit and share holders. Kind of makes them big time hypocrites. Just my humble opinion. Lesson learned? Never sell yourself short. If you’re going to be a whore, at least be a high priced whore. Stand up for yourself. Had I gone to court, I most certainly would have won. It is astonishingly easy to demonstrate to a judge how labor rates are artificially suppressed by insurers, how they manipulate the system for their corporate financial gain, and that they will do just about anything to save a buck. To be fair, I would probably do the same if I worked for Progressive or another insurance company. It is all part of their survival. When your cat eats a cute little bird, you may think it horrific, but it is only natural. And it is only natural for collision repairers to fight to survive. What is not natural is when collision repairers give up and play nice at the risk of losing everything. That’s agonizing suicide. If you’re thinking that I spend a lot of time talking about Progressive, there’s good reason. First, they deserve it. Second, I know my audience–and it’s Progressive. For this past year, Progressive Insurance has been my number one visitor to this website. State Farm has been catching up lately. They are the top visitor this month. Way ahead of everyone else. The only other entities that generate more traffic to this site are the large ISP’s like Road Runner and AOL. I’m flattered. Hopefully some of what I talk about is subliminally sinking in. Oh yeah, remember my prediction about CCC’s announcement that it would get rid of the prompts for bumper covers? I said it would be slow in coming. Well here we are a couple of months and updates later and it’s still there. Your complaints forced them to make a public acquiescence, but now that the hell raising has died down, no need to rush things. We’re still waiting CCC. Wassup? One more thing. Apparently there is a lawsuit going on in Arizona against Progressive. The plaintiffs have deposed a former Progressive employee. The deposition is interesting reading. For an inside look on the pressure and incentives to steer vehicles to network shops give it a read. It is only a partial transcript. If anyone has the entire document or a link, please send it to me or link to it in the comments section. http://www.bodyshopsolutions.com/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/nobile-iacano-docs.pdf

This is one of those things you will come to learn through experience. I charge it, but before you make any decisions let me tell you how is it that I have arrived at my position. -How well do you know this customer? I have learned through experience that a light bulb out, is not always just a burn light bulb. Teach this to your Service Advisors, and techs, although techs should already know this. I learned early on that Mercedes and BMWs would suffer from defective sockets, VW, Fords, whatever. So before you offer and service, make sure you have an idea of what the worse case scenario can be. So, in this particular case, I would have had the tech check to make sure it was only a bulb that was needed before calling the customer or would have told the customer that a light was out and we didn't if it was a burn bulb, fuse, or socket. That way you would have not surprised the customer if he declined the repair. So depending how good this customer is, and how well I know them, I would charge them for the install and tell them I would give them a credit when they want return for the complete repair. The point is, you want to keep the customer if he is worth it.

Our marketing strategy is working extremely well, all our shops are having record numbers. We have had to implement a technique from the medical field and have had to triage the incoming vehicles to provide the best service. I have had the competition stop in and ask why are we so busy, but we just tell them we don't know. What they wouldn't understand is the massive amount of research and planning we did before launching our strategy. In another note, have you seen the new Toyota commercials touting their free maintenance plan? We are in for some interesting times with the incoming used vehicle glut and the manufacturer's pressure to keep their new car sales numbers. Stay the course, keep reaching out to your profiled customers, keep delivering great value and make yourself indispensable in their car care needs. June is coming, we should get some hot weather then that will bring in the air conditioner work, you should be prepared already, have your gauges cleaned, your a/c machines clean and ready to go, your supply stocked and your A/C tech up to date in their training. Your special should already be out the door, even though people will not pay attention until they are suffering in the heat.

I am trying not to neglect this thread as the shops have me really busy. I wanted to share with you this: body-shop owners should be seeing recent model cars with the HFO-1234yf refrigerant, more so than independent repair, have your guys ready trained and knowledgeable. Make sure they are pricing the jobs right, and taking into account a premium for the new equipment you have to get. Also, don't let the insurance companies push you around, charge your jobs right. You should not subsidize their profits at your expense.

xrac, In my view is all a matter of education. People that work at shops where they like to denigrate other shops have not being taugh that it damages our industry and reputation collectively.

Thank you for writing this article, wish more of us were involved in writing a labor guide that would benefit us shop owners.

If it is such a great location, why are they moving?

We are doing extremely well this season, we are breaking all time records. I am conscious we are in the middle of tax return season and that is helping us keep the revenue rolling in, like shooting fish in a barrel. This is the time to save and cushion your reserves for the slow season. Try as much to avoid the feast or famine cash flow, stay marketing so you can keep your guys well employed.

Yes, North and Central Jersey. From Paramus to Piscataway.

I have suspected as much, but that's why I have my SA shop the best price/quality. There are these guys https://www.partstech.com/ They were supposed to help get the best pricing/availability.