ncautoshop

I feel one member of management is at fault in this instance - district manager type deal. It's been a pretty vivid reminder for me - working the numbers and pushing for better numbers are great, but your customers make those numbers happen. Never forgo customer service and customer retention while pushing for better numbers. In this case only big volume shops have been taken care of. The smaller shops are now waiting hours on deliveries. We really only have 2 same day options, and we've got world pac. World pac charges shipping which hurts our margins in many cases! Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

As the title says, it appears what had been our main supplier for years is having trouble at their local store. It started with the loss of their commercial parts person to the competitor, loss of a manager (brought on to straighten the store out) - moved to another store and replaced with a fresh out of training manager, a loss of the commercial sales person that visited the businesses and to top it off a switch in their distribution - causing parts to arrive at 3pm instead of 8am. Obviously I'm not doing business with them anymore but it sure is a pain in the butt! From write up procedures in our management software to core returns and billing procedures it all works completely different. Anyone else ever experience similar situatuions? Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Be wary of customers, they are not known for always telling the truth lol. I've given my parts store a earful in the past, and then without asking the manager looks up the transaction and it turns out the customer wasn't being truthful. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Humans Need Not Apply: Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

My objection to ase is time. The nearest testing facility is 2 hours away. As a small shop that's downtime we cannot currently afford! Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=52 Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

It may may things tighter financially, but I work for myself so I can have benefits not commonly associated with working for someone else - in this case that benefit is spending time with the little one and wife. Their too important to choose work over them, I refuse to be the parent who looks back and says I wish I had spent more time with my child. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

We're closed all next week. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

We route our calls through Google voice which has a spam filter and a block feature. Bit more work than pushing a button to block but it's free and allows us to forward calls to cell phones and view voice mail from our cell phones. Also allows me to call out without anyone getting my cell number Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

With a non-profit just get their information and file it as exempt when you file quarterly. I ran into a issue with car dealerships requesting exempt status on repair parts. There's some gray area there, we decided not to offer parts tax exemption for dealers. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Feel like that's pretty high in the current market. There was a great pay plan in ratchet and wrench a while back http://www.ratchetandwrench.com/RatchetWrench/April-2014/Selecting-a-Technician-Pay-Plan/ Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

From my experience with block heaters they are stand alone units that typically go in the water jacket (be it at a freeze plug or areas provided by the manufacturer) with the exception of aftermarket units such as a magnetic heater. In all cases I've seen the heater is 120v and is in no way tied to vehicle electronics and wouldn't have the opportunity to melt any of the vehicle harness. We have a pretty stern policy, if you want it repaired on our dime and hour within a reasonable distance it must be repaired by us. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

In my opinion splice in a new piece of matching wire, use correct wiring procedures (solder or crimp - not the little insulated connectors in my opinion, uninsulated with ideal terminal crimpers) and heat shrink with marine style heat shrink, reloom and tape. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

We're going to pass on this opportunity and consider staying where we are. With all expenses, new equipment and building modifications we easily would be looking at $8,500-9000 a month. I'd rather spend that on something that's ours! I did have an option to purchase at 1.5m but to be completely honest, financially I'm not prepared for that. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Thanks Joe, We're the opposite. Tons of parking but only 1 lift that's somewhat unsafe and another low ceiling bay. About 60% of our work is outside and we've found ourselves spending more time moving cars than working on them. Another issue currently is the bays are not on the same level, making it more of a struggle at times. I'm meeting with the building owner today to determine some of the facts. I'll update when I know more. If I could invest the monthly rent on improvements here I'd rather do that. mspec, I must have clicked the post without knowing sorry for not replying sooner. Business plan - you mean the one in my head right? sure I know what my plan is! Just kidding, we're working on one, never needed one when it was just me with no overhead but I need one now lol. It can be hard to find the time but it's slowly but surly coming together. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

I had to address a rear glass hinge issue on a vehicle today with it 15f. Always a scary situation, had me nervous. If it's becoming a reoccurring situation might be worth putting a sign up and a disclaimer on paperwork. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Agree! Maybe even some type of program to motivate the techs and a rep to speak with each tech instead of management. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Cash flow should be fine with additional space/lifts, but it's still a concern for me. I'll do some planning and mock budgets and see what it looks like when I know more specifics on electric/heating bills, equipment financing etc...Employees are going to be hard to find, and even harder quality employees. With our current work mix we could continue to move bigger jobs, maybe even more productively and be OK on the employee front. If we were to take on alignments and possibly more tire work I'd have to do some hiring. Valid concern here - I can think of 4 local independent shops with 2 openings or more for techs/tire guys Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

The last two comments bring up two concerns of mine. 1:not in a position where the business can run without me and my wife - if something were to happen that would be mess and could possibly damage a long term family relationship. I really like being where I am, if something happened little harm would come from it. (Were working on the policy's and procedures to make the business self sufficient but I don't think the building would be available when we're done at the pace we're moving) 2: the work to pay for the building rent is literally in the parking lot. I couldn't pay for the building with current workflow (as in the weather and work mix currently at the shop for the next month), but the increase in volume should address that. That's why I was so astonished by your revenue with one bay - then some things came to light 1 our work mix falls on the heavy side and many shops here won't take on the work we do 2. I've got a little girl and she comes first. I leave work at 5pm. No exceptions. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Car count could exceed 150-200 with of a aro of 500+. We're right in a college town and popular vacation area with skiers bouncing us up through the winter months. I own my current shop, so no fear of it going elsewhere. We only have 2 bays (one upstairs and one down stairs) and one lift. Both bays are fairly small and the setup limit production. We can easily turn 40+ hours a week with good weather but we're severely limited during the winter months. If you ever intend to visit let me know. We've got cabins we rent! Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

We've got an opportunity to expand, in a big way. The expansion would require a somewhat significant investment in equipment, and monthly rent. That being said we're maxed out at our current location, with 2 week wait in some cases. This would allow us to have 10+ vehicles inside at any given time. Any advice? The opportunity was dropped in my lap out of no where. The building owner is a family friend, which scares me a bit. The building is on a major highway, lots of traffic, and no other shop for 5 miles in any direction. Another plus is the location is very close to our current location. I'd be concerned he'd market it to another shop which could possibly impact our walk in sales. Our profit numbers are the best they've ever been, and we're finding production (revenue) to be limited by shop size. When big jobs come in it literally can bring our shop to a halt. I'd rather not make a rash decision or a decision I won't be able to pay for, so I'll be taking a hard look at the numbers prior to making a decision as well. Just curious if you guys had a guideline for expansion. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Oh that makes more sense. I was thinking that it was only you and one other employee. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Would you recommend holding off on scan tool upgrades or replacements for a while for this reason? Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

Man! You keep me in mind if you ever decide to run a special on them! Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

That's very impressive. I remember seeing the industry average is only $1,000 a day per tech, so your well above that! What is your work mix like? What shop management system are you using? Must have a very high aro! Is that a typical month? Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk