mmotley

I actually just download some additional software today from Mitchell 1 that has the ability to print out MP inspection sheets. I think it's a great extra reminder to look the car over. I can't tell you how many cars I've checked over, and when they leave, I realize I forgot to check the wipers... Or some other little small thing that I should have remember to do. I doubt I'll do carbon copies, I'll probably just give the inspection sheet to the customer with their invoice. We already provide tire and brake measurements, battery test results, and state inspection due date on the invoice, and all of that is saved in the computer on the RO. Anything else we find gets a revision or estimate made for the repair and is saved to that vehicle. So keeping a copy of the inspection sheet for me doesn't seem necessary. The form that comes with the software is completely customize-able. It can have all the customer and vehicle info pre-printed on the sheet, along with vehicle brand logo, green, yellow, red, black, wipers, tires, brakes, body, etc I also see that it works with a few other shop management programs too. Here is a link to their site: http://www.boltontechnology.com/report_pro.html As far as liability, no way. Nobody can predict the future, that inspection sheet simply says that at the time the vehicle was in your shop, it was good to go (or not if you mark it accordingly).

Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, and Mazda are just a few I've found to have these. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm missing a few though.

Length of time for test drive will be dictated by what kind of problem the car is having, and the technician. If the technician is out joy riding, that's a different story. Do not drive if the car is not legal. In some areas, the car will be impounded, no questions asked, if the car is not insured and/or registered.

Let the private insurance company operate how they want. Just like any shop owner has the right to refuse to work on certain cars or refuse to use certain parts. You can also refuse to work on cars that fall into this situation. Just like John Eaves did, the guy heading up the lawsuit. To quote John Eaves from the article "Shops have ongoing business relationships, and this program is designed to destroy them. And that’s against the law.” No, it is not against the law. It is perfectly understandable from the insurance companies perspective to dictate what parts you can and can't use to repair cars under their policy. This sounds a lot like aftermarket extended warranties, which everyone here seems to dislike (for the most part), but nobody is heading up a lawsuit against them. If the program was as terrible as Eaves makes it out to be, I would think there would be more pushback from other shop owners, and State Farm would drop the whole idea.

I agree with Joe about technicians not being able to pick their work. Your foreman would probably be best to dispatch work. Have him communicate with the service advisors and technicians and dispatch accordingly. Also consider sending your technicians on the test drives instead of the foreman. The foreman should pick who should go on the test drive, and whoever does go on the test drive needs to be the one fixing the car... That's kind of the whole point of going on a test drive, so you can hear the noise/feel the vibration/whatever that the customer wants fixed. Doesn't do any good if the foreman goes on the test drive, then gives the job to someone who hasn't heard/felt the complaint.

Dustin, would you mind sharing how much the upfront costs were for a set of uniforms like you described?

Are you technicians paid salary, commission, or what?

It's all in how you sell it. Advise the customers to go with the better parts. Give them the option with a fair warning that they might end up making 2-3 trips back to your shop to finally get it fixed right.

Slave driver here, so we will be open... Granted I only have 1 part time employee..

What brand do you use and why? Who is your supplier? What type of warranty, if any, do you offer? Do you keep them in stock? *How do you handle some of the newer style wiper blades that come on cars? I've seen some that cost $45+ from the dealership (per side!). All because they have some shield built onto them e.g.

I'm still a one man show, but you can find just about any uniform online. Shirts for under $20, pants for under $20 (or just use Dickies from Wal-Mart). I wouldn't think it would be to difficult to do the laundry in house. Reminds me of high-school football and how they did laundry with practice uniforms and such. I would think you could do the same, maybe with a cheap, used washer and dryer. Or you could just leave it up to your employees to take care of their own laundry. It's not hard to explain in the hiring process that your pet-peeve is cleanliness and appearance. Explain they get 1 warning and after that, they are sent home for the day. 3rd time is 3 day suspension. ***If you go the route of stressing the importance of looking professional and sending guys home for looking like crap, be ready to actually call some of your technicians up front from time to time and have them speak/work with customers. This will reinforce why they need to look sharp, other than you just being a hard@$$

I could forward you my agents information if that would help any. Shoot me a PM if your interested

Installed a steering rack from Worldpac on a Toyota Avalon last week. It was not an OEM brand, it was aftermarket. New, not a rebuilt. After the rack was installed and aligned, the steering effort was noticeably more than before. I explained to the customer it might be just that the rack is new and needs to break-in, and that the old rack was old, worn out, and leaking. In the back of my mind though, I couldn't help but think I wouldn't have encountered this problem if I had used an OEM part. I know it's not a 'Tough One' brand like you mentioned, but I'm finding out aftermarket parts are starting to be more and more a gamble. Like you said, they can reimburse you for the labor all day long, but that doesn't keep you from looking like a jack@$$ when a customer has to come back for the 2nd or 3rd time.

BAIT AND SWITCH!!!! HAHAHA, I kid, I kid... kinda Give them a 'best case scenario' quote. I feel I run an honest business, but if a customer is calling and price shopping, you know they are looking for the 'best' price. So I give them a 'best case' price. e.g.: 'How much to replace an oxygen sensor?' '$xxx.xx, but I might be able just to repair the wire to it and save you a bunch of money! Or it could be a fuse! Bring it in and I'll see if I can just solder the wires back together.' 'How much to replace my leaking steering rack?' '$XXX.XX, but I might be able just to replace the boot for a lot less, and it would be a lot quicker too. Bring it by later today and we'll see what we can do.' Once it's in your shop and on the rack, then sell your value. Walk them out under the car, show them the leak, the broken wire, the bent exhaust, coolant hose swelling, etc. Then show em your certifications on the wall, butter em up with how you only work on BMWs or whatever, your an expert, a professional, yes ma'am, no sir, please and thank you, and here is some free coffee, etc. After that, mention anything else you find on the car, because your a BMW expert and know what to look for on these cars. But, you can have it fixed in no time, because your a BMW expert and know these cars like the back of your hand. You might even have the parts in stock, because you specialize in BMW, and that's all you do. I think you get the point. If nothing else, you get added traffic into your shop, customer information for future advertising, and it could all turn into a lot bigger job than you think. If nothing else, at least you're not having to tell a potential future customer 'no, we don't do that' right off the bat.

Absolutely great story! Being a new shop myself, I often find myself wanting just to make the sale, only to realize I sometimes end up barely making enough to profit to justify the work. Then you find out late that you just price matched 'John Shade-tree' down the road! Couldn't agree more. I'm in a similar boat, specializing in certain vehicles. I find some of my customer's would rather get everything done in one place, at one time, instead of price shopping and driving all around for the lowest prices. Also, the peace of mind they get from having someone who knows their make/model of vehicle like the back of their hand is an added bonus.

I wen't out and bought a car. It was a car on a used car lot. I was out handing business cards and the salesman said they had a car in the back that would barely run, but the interior and body was in great shape. I took a look at it, and saw the repairs that were necessary were mostly labor intensive. I bought it for under 2 grand, spent a weekend on it, and now I have a loan car. I get a copy of driver's license, insurance, and have them sign a little loan car form I typed up 'will not smoke, responsible for damage, etc'. I loan it out to cars that are having a lot of work done, or spending a lot of money at least. Can't tell ya how many t-belts and water pumps I've done because I have a free loan car.

Since I'm a one man shop right now, and not exactly super busy, I'll reference my dealership days. A roll would last 3 guys roughly a month. It depends a lot on how frugal you and your guys are. If you use a clean one to wipe some mustard from your mouth after eating, then trash it, they obviously will go quick. One towel will usually make a few oil changes for me (wipe off the drain plug, brake clean any oil dripping from the filter and wipe, wipe off hands). If your smart with them, they will last a while. They are pretty strong too for a paper towel! If it helps any, guys at the dealership would replace a roll 'early' so they could take what was left of the old roll home with them. Not many products get my endorsement, but these things are great! I would bet money that whoever gives them a try, will have nothing but good things to say about them. They work great for cleaning glass, seats, engines... no streaks, doesn't leave fuzz behind Ok, I'll stop raving about them now. Try a roll!

Very true. I think in the article I had read, it said KlearGear had a "F" rating from the better business bureau at one point, but has since then brought it up at a 'B'. I love the idea about asking for reviews on Google+ and Yelp. I have been a little unsure about doing this; afraid I will come off as desperate. However, being a small shop that just recently opened, I think folks would be more than happy to contribute to the growth of a business they are happy with.

Just read a short article about a couple who left a negative online review about a business. A few years later, they got a notice in the mail, stating they will be facing a $3500 fine if the review wasn't removed. They contacted the site where they posted the review and the REVIEW SITE said it would cost $2000 to remove the review! The company had a small clause in the 'terms of sale' that read: 'In an effort to ensure fair and honest public feedback, and to prevent the publishing of libelous content in any form, your acceptance of this sales contract prohibits you from taking any action that negatively impacts kleargear.com, its reputation, products, services, management or employees.' Just curious how others feel about this clause used by the company. I'm not defending one side or the other, I'll keep that to myself for now. Who here is going to copy and paste that onto their estimates or quotes tomorrow???? On one side, it might save you from a negative review that was out of your hands. The other, how shady are you going to look if someone catches that clause before signing? Or how about, how bad would you look if you had to enforce it, justified or not? I've seen some pretty bad reviews left online, some even mentioning sexual harassment and theft of personal property. What if you were that company, and the review completely false? Being accused of sexual harassment, especially in a smaller town, could end your business... Maybe even make church extremely awkward next Sunday (or chamber of commerce meeting, w/e) Curious to see what others think, here is a link to the full article I read: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/18/this-couple-found-out-the-hard-way-that-writing-a-negative-online-review-could-land-you-a-3k-fine-and-wrecked-credit-score/

http://www.amazon.com/Kimberly-Clark-Wypall-Disposable-Wiper-Length/dp/B0040ZOFTI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384828540&sr=8-1&keywords=wypall+x80 Wypall X80: I love these things!!! You can get a little dispenser/roll holder for them too. I don't think I'll ever go back to shop rags after using these

Not really a big deal, but some folks should be ready for phone calls if they put their phone number on their profile. Didn't really bother me, as most were helpful, but some might not be a fan. Actually, I'm really glad one of them contacted me, just saying...

I was thinking the same thing last night. The customer brings me their car and pays me to look it over and inspect it with their oil change. Avoiding delivering bad news doesn't help the customer at all. I do like the idea about putting a sign up, stating we do pre-purchase inspections. Thanks everyone for the input

Just curious as to how others handle the customer who comes in with a car they just bought recently. They may come in for just an oil change. Once you get the car in the air, you find the subframe covered with oil. Or you find the transmission leaking fluid. How do you approach the customer with this information? You know they are gonna be upset. You know they will probably deny the work right now, and probably take it back to the lot they bought it from, trying to get the salesman to pay for it. But they bought the car 'as-is'. I'm just not sure what the best way is to hand over a $1000+ quote to someone who hasn't had the car for more than 3-6 months. Haha, and then to start to mention maintenance items on top of all that! Any advice is greatly appreciated. *On top of that, what if the car lot they bought it from recommended they come see you to have the car worked on and serviced?

I don't have a particular brand in mind, but there are different style kits out there. Some have just a simple plunger to inject the resin, others have a pump with a gauge. Personally, I liked the style with the pump and gauge for 2 reasons. 1. It made it easier to apply pressure or vacuum to the resin. The style with a plunger is a little more cumbersome, and can be bumped or moved with applying pressure or vacuum. 2. The style with a pump and gauge makes it easier for someone new to use. You can tell them to never go past X psi, and never go past X mmHg. Also, less likely for the unit to move around while applying pressure or vacuum in my experience. I would call around and see what others around you charge, then decide your prices (prices here might not be the same as in New York or California). However, ALWAYS sell the rock chip repair as a preventative measure against further cracking. DO NOT sell it as a way to make the crack disappear. Some cracks will almost be invisible when done, others will still be easily visible, but the point of the procedure is to prevent further cracking/damage to windshield. As for warranty, I would offer to credit the charge towards the purchase of a new windshield if the crack comes back, or is made worse during the repair (it can happen... I know).

Haha, I'm on the complete opposite end of the spectrum! I see older cars and think "Uh oh, cap & rotor, points, ignition wires... what the heck is a carburetor!?!?!" It is cool to see someone work on these older cars though. No reaching for the scan tool, just pure diagnostics. And like you said, to see how they designed and built some of the things back in those days can be impressive! Great article!