carolinahigear

Whenever I see a shop with U-Haul's I have these thoughts: 1) Client cars could be using those parking spaces 2) A heck of a LOT of aggravation for little money ** Think 1st of month renters moving, etc. 3) Dealing with non-client folks that probably will never spend money with you on their cars 4) The shop must not have very much business if they need to rent U-hauls. I wonder why they don't have much business. 5) See item #2 6) Just my 2 cents

That's about GROSS!!!

Please tell us what you're doing to have two $2000 loaner repairs. Do you have some pricey loaners? Or is this what it takes to keep them running and not replace them?

We hired a guy named Ricky. Was supposed to be at shop the next day to start work. Never showed. At 8:20 I told my assistant that "Ricky lost that number." The next two hires never showed so we called them "Ricky." The next hire is named Kyle and he was our top producer his first month. Moral of this story.....there are lots of "Rickys," but sometimes you have to go through them to get a Top Producer!!! If you don't understand "Ricky lost that number", ask Gonzo or Xrac!!!

I also use Instant Checkmate.

I count on my shop supplies to pay the credit card fees. I changed processors in Nov. 2015 (chip reader) and fees increased. I raised my shop supplies and now my shop supplies charge per month is more than double what my fees are. I don't recommend upcharging for the client's card use, nor recommend giving a discount for cash or check. Cards are the way business is done today. Don't muddy the waters and open yourself to questions and why this and why that. Recently I had a day where my sales were almost $7000 and my cards were exactly what my sales were. *** Remember the KISS method when dealing with your clients and their money (cards). *** Also, when it's time to pay, the client wants to hand you their card, sign their card receipt, and get on with their day.

Do you have shop management that tracks each tech's volume, Gross Profit, hours turned, etc??

Find a book keeper who works with small businesses and turn it over to them. You can make $200 to $300 per hour (with parts profit) on lots of jobs. Pay a service provider for accounting so you don't have to spend your VERY VALUABLE time doing it. Thank me later!! Hi-Gear

I would rather have a few profitable cars (jobs) in the parking lot than to have the lot mostly full with low-profit non-profile jobs. I need to meet my profit margins, ARO, CSI, and sales goals, and it's hard to do with "broke-minded" and/or $broke vehicle owners.

Advance, Autozone, NAPA, and O'Reilly's are within 1/2 mile of my shop, and I get a good many folks that have been referred. Some have had scans, some have just been talked with, but quite often I get some good business (AKA money) this way. Many times I will just be upfront and ask them if they are prepared to invest several hundred dollars on their vehicle. Many say yes. Last week I did a $1972.00 job on a referral from O'Reilly's. It's all in how it's handled and whether they have access to the funds and/or financing. Hi-Gear

Hi, Don!! Welcome to the emporium of automotive shop ownership tips and tricks. Please join in!! Hi-Gear

Most of my clients have never played an LP Record, and if I used that term most would not have a clue what I was talking about. I have not seen one out of its protective sleeve in well over 30 years!! With that said, When I give a price on performing the brake job on a vehicle that is in the shop with wheels off and inspection finished, I give the price for the brake job. I do not mention pads or more importantly, rotors. I tell them that the price for the front brakes is $388 for example, and that the rear brakes are ok at this time. I would say that on 80% or more of my brake jobs I install new rotors. We do not machine rotors.

Our intercom uses our phone system. Once you install an intercom, you will wonder how you got along without it. If I need someone, I simply intercom them to come to the front counter. Sometimes it sounds like the dispatcher at the fire dept. and we believe in adding humor to our day. IE: Jaime to the front, Jaime to the front, please. Brad to the front, Brad to the front, please. Uncle Buck to the front, Uncle Buck to the front, please. Engine 5, Ladder 9, Rescue 1, Engine 4. This usually gets a laugh from any waiters in the office. Sometimes it can sound like a grocery store intercom: Tire repair in Lane 2, Pressure check in Lane 3. Please notice the flashing blue light across the street and be glad it's not for you!!!

Are you set up for debit and credit cards? All of them??

3000 Mudlick cards should bring some business!! I would not just wait for customers though...I would go get some!! Heat and Air companies, electricians, you name it!! We have a very good client who is a glass company with Chevy 3500 Express vans. Let them know you are open, tell them about your background and experience, and get them coming in. ***Warning *** On the commercial accounts, get a charge card or company check for services rendered, because you need cash now, not later!!!

I have been taking credit cards since the 70's, and debit cards since they got started. I have had ZERO problems with cards or getting paid by the card companies. One day recently I did $6977.82 (yes, I remember the amount) in business, and when I batched out that was the EXACT amount of my card purchases that day. I cannot imagine not taking cards. Here's a tip I use when I'm pricing a job for a client. I picture them having a $10,000 limit credit card available that hasn't been used lately. Being armed with that thought process, I don't hesitate to get complete inspections from my techs, and then write the estimate accordingly.

Yoda said "Do, Or do not. there is no try!!"

I would eliminate grounds being the problem right off the bat. We have seen many similar no-starts lately with bad grounds. They will fool you into thinking it's a NATS security problem.

OMG! All that's just about gross!!

Do you mean "Invest $4300 in engine repair or buy another truck?" That's a no-brainer. Invest $4300 and keep rolling.,

I've never heard of "Glovebox." We use the phone. At Lakeside Tire, your customers know you are a one-man operation, and they expect you to call them. Tell them the truth about their car, what it needs, and the price. That way you can get an answer right then, or they'll call you back in a few, and you can proceed with their job. The telephone i$ your friend. The telephone make$ a lot of money for you!! Everyone ha$ a phone!! The telephone i$ your friend!!!

When we have a car in the shop and give a price, we are giving our price on doing the job our way. This means using top brand parts and performing an alignment afterwards. We make a good profit on our strut jobs. If we are giving a price quote against another (mostly chain) shop, then we accent the fact that we use first rate American Made parts, and ask the prospect if the competition is using American Made parts. Most of the time they don't know. We work off of that and put one hell of a selling job on them to get the business. Sometimes we will discount our quote to get the business. We LOVE doing strut jobs. If Quick-Struts are available, we always use them and stress the benefits to our clients car and to them. We LOVE doing strut jobs!!!

To answer your question: 2 regular lifts and 1 alignment lift for your shop. We use our alignment lift for 4 tires and alignment, brake jobs, oil service, inspections, you name it. It's a real money maker!! Hi-Gear

I would recommend getting five (5) quotes. Commercial insurance quotes usually vary a lot, depending on whether the company wants to write you or not. I highly recommend Westguard, www.guard.com/west, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. They have written me for 3 years in a row and were about 1/3 the cost of others. I have garage liability, garage keepers, and completed operations coverage. To answer your question, 9k yearly or $750 monthly sounds VERY HIGH for a 2 bay shop, but I'm in South Carolina, and don't know about CA prices. Like I said, get 5 quotes. Other companies to check with are Auto Owners Insurance Co., Fidelity Insurance Co., and Main Street America. An independent agent can most likely hook you up. Hi-Gear

Well....Guilty as charged, Your Honor!! When I was 25 I bought a new Porsche. It was smooth driving all the way up to 150. After the tires got some wear on them a few months later, it started vibrated at about 110 & up. I went to a performance tire shop about 90 miles away and had them balanced, but still had a vibration on the way home. Now this was in 1980, before the internet, before I was in the tire business, so I looked in the back of Car and Driver Magazine for tire ads. I ordered a set of $800 (1980 price) Pirelli's and had them shipped to me. When they came in I drove to Atlanta and had them mounted and balanced. On the way home it drove smoothly up to 150, and I learned then that just because a tire is not worn out that it may not be balanceable to ride smoothly. This lesson has served me well through the years. So nowadays when someone tells me they have a high speed vibration, and they've had them balanced already, I can steer them toward investing in some new rubber! Hi-Gear