mmotley

I got a quote for this sign, installed and everything, for $34.5K. Can have it financed for 60 months at $722.20, $0 down. Does this sound in line with what others have out there?

Yup, I had an insurance company come in just last week and try this with me. I got lucky and I left the invoice in my toolbox, so when the adjuster asked to see it, I really couldn't find it (wasn't in the folder where I usually put my receipts). I too was completely caught off guard. Looking back, it really pisses me off people think they can do that in our industry. They bring their cars to us because they have no clue what is wrong with them or how to fix it, but then expect us to fix their cars for next to nothing. Times like that is where you really just want to tell them to GTFO! But you don't, you smile, contain your anger, and give them a response similar to what others have provided here.

I started my shop as specialty shop that solely worked on Toyota/Lexus/Scion. I've decided we are going to add Honda & Acura to our line up, but I've run into one issue. I can't seem to find a concrete maintenance schedule. All I can seem to find is the owner manuals that say just to do whatever the maintenance symbol calls for. That's great, unless they have just been taking it to the 'time-it lube' places where they just drain the oil, spin on a filter, and reset the light. So how do I start to make recommendations for replacing coolant, spark plugs, brake fluid, etc? Does anyone out there have any input/experience with these cars and when to make the recommendations? Or do I just wing it and come up with my own schedule?

10-20 new customers a month for only $199!?! That's impressive!

I've had a recent issue with bolt on Monday, and I'll agree that the tech support I got definitely did not feel like what I was used to. It wasn't terrible, but then again, my issue isn't critical. I will say that I know Mitchell just rolled out a new scheduler, and from what I've seen, it isn't playing well with the Bolt On software. So if I had to guess, they are probably scrambling to work on that right now (I've seen it more than once where Mitchell changes something, and Bolt On has to come back in and clean up the mess they leave :/ ). Anyway, Mike seems to be pretty active on these forums and I'm sure he'll chime in shortly. I doubt they will leave you hanging. I've always had great luck with Randall in their IT department (Mike, if anyone deserves a raise in IT, it's Randall!)

Agree with gonzo. That's the first thing I thought of when reading your post. Make sure linkage is adjusted properly too if you replace it

Agree with mspec. What would be the difference between your group and this forum? I agree that having some financial skin in the game makes you more accountable like mspec said.

I can and will vouch for Robert's postcard effectiveness. Not only do they work in bringing customers into our shop, but the customers are very impressed with them. It took Robert a while to convince me, but he is well worth every penny. I had a customer this week bring in a card we mailed out almost a year ago. That should tell you how much his cards get people's attention. Not everyone may experience the results I did, but I can confidently say that his artwork and strategy will maximize your return. As for his honesty, Robert has actually advised me at times to wait on mail-outs to time seasons and holidays just right. Finding a marketing person who will tell you 'Hold on to your money right now, we'll get better results in a month or so' is extremely rare these days. FWIW, Robert has not told me I will get any sort of spiff or discount for referrals or my testimonial.

Not to highjack this thread, but M-Spec, are you doing these inspections for free or charging the customers for them?

I know it's not exactly what you asked, but another way to look at it is from the customer's point of view. In their mind, they are taking their car to a 1 man shop where they probably assume they will get a better deal since they came to a smaller shop. With that in mind, it may be that much more difficult to charge appropriately for parts, diagnostics, shop supplies/hazmat, etc... Just a thought. It definitely makes it harder to relate when talking with other larger operations. You miss out on the fun of payroll taxes, unemployment, I9 forms, etc...

I've personally had really good success with direct mailers. Better than online even. I didn't use mudlick though. I've considered trying them out, but honestly, I can see how their ads blend in with everyone else. Very bland. I use a guy from California who does phenomenal on my mailers. I've gotten tons of compliments them and it's brought in a majority of my customers.

Open a blank excel spreadsheet, start working down your bank statement, and start listing all the fixed operating expenses, i.e. Rent, Loan Payment, Website fees/online ads, Insurance, software subscriptions, phone, internent, etc. (employees really shouldn't be figured into this as they are considered a cost of labor and affect your overall GP%). If you have annual subscriptions, divide those numbers by 12 and put them on the spreadsheet. Anything on the bank statement that didn't get put onto your list of fixed operating expenses is where your money is going. Outside of the fixed operating expenses, you should really only have payroll for YOU and your employees (start taking a weekly check if you're not already, you might be taking too many owner draws and don't realize it) and parts purchases. Odd things will come up... You buy a trans flush machine, you buy a new lift, you had to get a rental for a customer, etc, but for the most part you shouldn't have much else. If you do, that's where your money is going. If you don't, well then, your expenses, payroll, or parts are to expensive for the amount of business you are doing. Hope that helps. I'd say, so far you have gotten great advice. I don't post much on here because the others that have responded provide enough solid feedback. I also add, if you notice, almost everyone is asking for numbers (ARO, Car Count, GP%, YTD sales, etc). If you don't know your numbers or where your money is going, you can't fix it.

Personally, an excel spreadsheet and some calculations combined with your bank statement would be the easiest way to find out where your money is going. Make sure your hitting your GP% on parts and labor. If your not, you either need to raise prices (parts or labor rate) or lower costs (seek cheaper parts or cut payroll somehow). Once your making your necessary GP%, start looking at operating expenses. Figure you want to keep 20% net. Subtract that and COGS and what you have left is your operating expense budget. If your operating expenses are over budget, start making the tough choices on what has to go. Based on the numbers you provided, I would say you're most likely over-staffed. I am currently a 2 man shop and work on more cars than you with time left to sweep the floors and clean up. That's good news though, since payroll is likely to be your biggest cost.

We were using manufacturer specific sites before, but have decided to transition to identifix 100% next year

I've considered getting signatures more recently due only because I've had a few customers take weeks to come pick up their vehicle after we're done. Ive never had a problem with work authorization or anything like that, just getting them to come get the dang car. I feel having them sign acknowledging there is a storage fee of $XX per day might discourage this behavior

Yes, I charge for the drain plug gasket. We install one on every oil change and is listed on the invoice

Voip

Charge for diagnosis properly

Carl Sewell's book 'Customers for Life' is an excellent read and would be a cheap place to start. I have taken a select few courses from Elite, and I would say the customer service aspect of Sewell's book is better (and much cheaper) than what I have seen from Elite. Elite does a great job at teach sales from what I saw, but Sewell literally wrote the book on customer service. If your employees are paid based on commission, Sewell does a great job at explaining how much a customer is worth over their lifetime. That should give your employees a good idea at how much each customer is worth to them in terms of paychecks, and in turn, encourage them to really work for customer satisfaction.

We start with charging 1/2 hour ($49). We make it clear from the beginning that we may need more time. We use a timer that we start from the test drive, and we don't go one minute over. Starting at $49 keeps anyone from really complaining about the charge, but is usually enough to get started and catch simple things real quick. This means we get it on just about any complaint that comes in. It also opens up the conversation early on that if it seems like a complex issue, we get approval for additional time (2 hours or so). All that being said, I intend to increase our diagnostic rate in the near future, but remain at the 1/2 hour mark. Diagnosing at 1/2 hour intervals isn't as profitable as timing belts, trans service, etc.

Anybody else have feedback on Autonet TV?

Strongly recommend you check out the mitchell forums. Make it a habit that when your get bored or have nothing better to do, check out the recent posts made on there. A lot of useful info on there.

Stow, I know I'm a little late to the conversation, but we use Bolt On Technology digital inspections. I have never said this about another company, but I will be a Bolt On customer for life. That's how strongly I feel about their product and service. PM if you would like more feedback

I'll likely buy the survey this weekend. I think with just the free information provided, most shops can probably make a few informed changes to their business and see a return. I myself just added 2 charts to my spreadsheet of KPIs

Definitely keep me posted on your experiences. I'm locked into a contract with kukui, so I have a few months before I have to decide to jump ship or stay with them.