UsedTireShop

I don't know about your state but here in Rhode Island we are struggling for Auto Techs. Every dealer is looking for qualified techs. This makes it even more difficult for smaller shops like mine to find qualified people. It seems that every applicant I get is either in between binges or a felon. I am not at the level yet to offer medical, dental or 401k. I am willing to offer top dollar to the right person. Does anyone have a classified ad they use that works well or some input to help me find a good tech?

I hate the term mechanic. You say mechanic to me and I think of the guy who fixed my fathers 1974 Dodge Dart. We are technicians. The modern day vehicle is a highly computerized, technologically advanced transportation device that requires a technician to diagnose and repair. If your air cleaner has a wingnut holding it on the carburetor you need a mechanic. If you need the purple and white wire at pin 128 checked for power then you need a technician. Mechanics fix mechanical things and technicians fix technical things. BTW - For you young people. A carburetor was a mechanical device that mixed fuel and air then delivered this atomized mixture to the intake manifold that was usually made from cast iron.

1 hour to 2015 and I am felling so excited for my shop in this new year. If you are new you must make it a habit to view this web site very often. ASO is so very powerful and I want to thank the creators and the members for giving me new life. My name is Jeff and I own 2 companies. RI Used Tire and Used Tire Shop. Used Tire Shop is a software company I started a few years ago. It provides software for used tire shops to manage their inventory. I joined ASO thinking it would be a good venue to find new customers. I had no idea then what I had joined. After reading a few posts and attending a few Sunday night chats I was hooked. Fast forward 8 months.... I am changing my shop from RI Used Tire to RI Tire and Service. We are rapidly transforming into a customer service oriented complete car care facility. All because of this web site and its members. So thank you. From all the help, support and leads we are now in service adviser training and our sales per car is climbing daily. We are helping people repair and maintain their vehicles in a calm orderly fashion. We are no where near perfect yet but we see a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel. I am learning how to manage a successful shop, my service adviser is learning how to treat customers and recommend needed services and my tech is busy and starting to make some money. I never thought this was possible. Old members - Thank you. New Members - Read, Ask, Learn and Contribute. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Jeff

1. Insomniac is DEFINITELY being taken advantage of and should not repair anything. 2. Get Dropbox on your phone so every picture you take is automatically uploaded to the cloud with a name which is the time/date stamp. 3. Studs snap when a car is driven with a loose wheel. The weight of the vehicle pushes the rim away from the hub 1 time for every tire revolution. At 30 mph this is allot of force on the lug stud and eventually snaps clean off. Kind of like bending a coat hanger fast until it snaps. If your lucky the customer will pull over when they here the "THUD", "THUD","THUD","THUD". This happened to me just yesterday on a 1998 Mercury Mystique. I reviewed the video for December 1, 2014 and I can see the tech getting side tracked and skipping the wheel torque step. Fair is fair so I am paying for the complete repair including the fender. We use a torque stick on every wheel. My tire tech uses a torque stick and then he verifies the torque with a torque wrench. Our invoice disclaimer states: "Lug nuts should be re-torqued after 200 to 500 miles. Call (401) 681-4994 to schedule your re-torque." 2 people in 5 years actually read it and came in.

This always irritated me. My daughter needs a license to cut hair and my brother need a license to be a plumber, but anyone can slap pads on a grooved rotor and then hurl the 3,000 pound car down the highway at 75 MPH. Never made sense to me. I can not believe that feds or the states have not picked up on this. Especially for the fact that their can be huge dollars in it for them. Do I want more government in my life? NO I do not. But we need someone to make this industry more of a safe professional industry. In 2012 there were 33,561 deaths from car crashes. I can not find that stats but I think it is far to say that no one died from a hair cut or leaky sink.

I would not be very helpful answering your exact questions because my people, product and process are broken. We have a Cemb alignment machine and I do not regret purchasing it. http://cemb-usa.com/DWA1000XL.html I have read many many posts of yours and I think an alignment machine would be perfect for your shop. Your shop definitely has what it takes to successfully make good money with alignments. Sorry I wasn't as helpful as Joe. Joe and his shop are light years ahead of me but a shop just like his is my goal.

I didn't care for the Google reviews for Auto Vital so I have spent all weekend looking for a different solution. Every one here seems to like Bolt On Technology so I am taking a hard look at them. I currently use Omnique but I am bailing on them after 2 years because of errors and design flaws. Omnique has some big upgrade which will get rid of silver light which may help them but I can not wait. I am moving to Maxx Traxx at midnight December 31, 2014 and I was wondering if Bolt on works with the Maxx Traxx system?

I am implementing this delegation system now. I started with having my lube tech in charge of ordering wheel weights. Next week he will learn how to order oil and filters. Saves me 30 minutes a week which adds up to 26 hours a year.

Welcome to ASO. Your journey to success starts here.

Thanks for the valuable input Elon. 2015 is my big year for change. I WILL be the go to shop in my area. Jeff

I was wondering how to get customers to give reviews. It seems that upset customers are quick to leave a negative reviews. Happy customers never seem to give any reviews. Although we try very hard we cannot make every single customer happy. Any ideas on how to get more favorable reviews?

I think that Southards should follow procedure. Write the customer up. Pull the vehicle in and diagnose why the tire needs air. Air doesn't just disappear. Most likely the tire needs a $25 flat repair. It is a WIN WIN. If the customer had a nail and you fixed it then you may have just gained a customer. If the customer just wants a free quick service then you may have just became less attractive to him because there is a check in and out procedure.

I am constantly educating my customers that the BEST 2 TIRES go on the rear. I have never used the weight f the engine theory but I will definitely add it. I currently tell them that the best 2 tire go on the rear because they don't want the rear to spin out and come around the front. After they hear that comment 99.9% of them agree.

I have been giving flyers to customers after a sale. I know this is a good concept but I see very little return. I know this because I have some coupons in this bi-folded flyer and have not seen any coupons come back. Like I said I know the concept is good so my problem must be the flyers content. Has anyone done this successfully? If so what type of content works? Should I write a short article about maintaining their vehicle for the up coming season? Should I list the services we perform or a paragraph about who we are? How do I get this flyer to be read by the customer? My customers do not even read the invoice we give them. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I really like the fact that you are think outside the box. I recently starting purchasing some lubricants and glass cleaner from a different supplier. The reason I switched is simple. The sales woman gave me free samples of their product and I really liked them. Besides that she comes to my shop at least 3 times a month. I guess when she walked in with a can of silicone spray and a can of glass cleaner and told me to try it free of charge my door and ears where open. I stock their oil filters now too. Try to leave a sample of something to get your foot in the door.

I have been reading stories all morning about installing customer supplied parts. As of January 1, 2015 my shop will no longer install parts purchased elsewhere. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the forums about this issue. I have read your stories and taken your advice. My answer to why we no longer install outside parts is: "We take our craft seriously and we want to warranty the whole job."

Mspec - Rhode Island is a small state and I am in the middle. So 30 miles would be the farthest distance. Motley - Adding the value customers get on the invoice is the reason I am switching to Maxx Traxx. Allot of shops will have this on their invoice: Mount and balance. This is a value mount and balance description: Dismounted the tire(s), inspected the wheel(s) for cracks and corrosion on the sealing surface. Clean the tire sealing surface when needed. Mount and balanced the tire(s) with a computer tire balancer. Replaced valve stem as needed. Set air pressure the manufacturers recommended air pressure.

My shop in on the Apponaug circle which is a mile long one way circle which has mostly businesses on it. The state started this massive project which will make the circle more of a "J" and it will be 2 ways as well. It will be awesome when it is done. The project is scheduled for 3 years. Since the start of this project (July) my sales have increasingly dropped. So far this month we are down over 60% vs. last year. Last year was primarily tire sales but this year it is tires and I have really been concentrating on repairs as well. I use to have 6 employees and now I am down to 2. I had to step up to the plate and roll my massive tool box out into the shop and repair vehicles myself. To try and keep my business from folding I have done the following. 1. I purchased a 16 foot uniform company truck. I am in the process of building this truck into a mobile tire installation unit. 2. I have added a free 15 point inspection which we use to sell needed repairs and maintenance. 3. I am slowly but surely adding the value my customers are getting to every job on the invoice description. and finally the reason for this post. 4. I am going to offer a pick-up and delivery service. RI is a very small state and I think this will work well. A huge hurdle for customers is simply finding the time to get their vehicle serviced. I plan on hiring a shop hand who can pick up and deliver these vehicles. My questions are: Can anyone tell me if they have tried this and what are the pros and cons? What should I charge? Is it a good idea to offer this free for repairs over a certain amount or should I charge a flat fee or fee per mile? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Jeff (If they can't come to me... I'll go to them)

I did allot of research and although I never did get one I was looking at the Omni. http://www.econoheat.com/

I have a simular situation with my local AutoZone. I lost a battery sale to them this week. I called the store manager to express my anger and I was informed that he agreed with me but corporate wasn't going to change. This week my guys are instucted NOT to purchase from them so I hope they enjoyed the $99 battery sale. I think it is wrong for these auto part stores to play mechanic. Free installation of wiper blades, batteries, lamps and scanning CE lights hurts shops like mine. (I want to weld the battery hold down bolt and send the car to AutoZone for a new battery out of spite) LOL

Thanks guys. This was a real good topic and I got allot out of our responses. This is definately the best forumn for any Shop Owner. I get so much help and so many ideas from it.

I really like the idea from SMMotors about finding out what motivates them and then let them work towards that. My head tech is always taking days off. Especially if he worked over 40 hours the week before. My tire tech love tools. and my SA loves money. I am going to work on a program that will give them all some incentive to perform.

I recenlty purchased test stips se we can start checking the antifreeze. 1. What PH level is good? 2. The bottle does not recomending using strips on orange or red coolant. Is there a special test strip I can purchse that can check every type of coolant? TYIA, Jeff

I used Omnique for the repair shop and UsedTireShop.net to manage my tire inventory.