mastertechlex

"You mean to tell me that after taking 1 hour to find a faulty mass air sensor, you will add the 1 hour to the 5 minutes it takes to install a new mass air? Come on, we all know the truth." Original Content From: For us......yes. How often do we find the diagnostic process results in a 5 minute fix? For us its alot of the time. Also after performing and charging for the diagnosis we have had customers fail at attempting the repair themseves and blame our "diagnosis". So we moved away from the label diagnosis and started calling it a repair procedure. Customer calls in and ask how much to diagnose an overheating concern we explain that repair starts at $97.50 and once it begins they will owe that fee along with any additional charges they agree to in order to complete the repair. Customer says they only want the diag we tell them we are not interested.....we are here to maintain and fix vehicles not diagnose things for other people to fix. We also feel its bad practice to make repairs based on others "diagnosis" if you are confident they correctly assessed the issue you should let them make the repair. More than once we have made a repair "diagged" by the dealer only to find it wasnt the needed repair leaving the customer unsure who to hold accountable.

I have the snap on verus pro, the snap on ethos edge, Snap on modis, autel maxi sys pro, a cheap harbor freight $89 code reader and the bosch mastertech j2534 passthru. If i could start all over again i would probably ONLY have a few obd2 dongles that work with smart phones, a j2534 pass thru and a pico scope. 90% of the time obd2 dongles would be used, when i needed deeper capabilities the j2534 would come out and the customer would understand the NEED to pay more and in about 2% of the cases the pico comes out and the customer REALLY understands they need to pay more! Its been my experience with the big aftermarket scanners with updates and maintenance, well they just are not worth the investment.

We always start with the "quick" FREE check. This allows us to qualify the customer and gives our techs time to determine the next course of action. We then we sell diag testing based upon the tests the tech suggests we need to perform.

any suggestions on motivating techs to take better care of shop equipment?

Ok guys, an update on my RLO experience. Parts GP has risen from 24% to 42% and I have seen a 20% increase in labor GP. So really the program has paid for itself already. At this point I would say its been as simple as gaining the confidence to improve and implementing a few new procedures and not a miracle fix or complete turn around but there is still room for improvements and Im only a little over half way through the GSM program

Thanks Rich F. I decided to go with RLO based mostly on my personal experiences with Barry Barrett and the good reviews I have seen on RLO (including yours).

but thats coming from Barry and another rep for a different co. John Bishop of ATI......Im a 5 bay shop with 3 techs and an SA. 700 thou really? a car count of about 110 a month

about 50% lower than they should be. Im at 350 when I should be at 700.....?

Hey guys, I would like to know if anyone has an opinion on RLO Training? I am in a unique position because I have known Barry Barrett (one of their newer sales trainers) for a few years BEFORE he went to work for them and I can say he was 100% supportive of RLO as a client. Now that he is employed by RLO, he is eager for me to buy into the same program including Bottom Line Impact Group. I know for a personal fact that Barry is a believer in this system, I just dont know if it will work for me. I know it was great for Barry because he comes from a sales background not automotive but I am a former tech and just feel like I may not really need anything they have to offer!

jwidener, I have been looking at a way to offer gift cards as a total shop bonus myself but havent figured a way yet.

I have only been a shop owner for about 2 years now. My tech pay plan is as follows. I have a $10 per hour plus 5 hours overtime maint tech. a $13 per hour plus 5 hours overtime plus 10 percent of all billed labor hours after the first 20 he produces. and another $13 per hour plus 5 hours overtime plus 15 percent of all billed labor hours after the first 20 he produces. Essentially I told my techs to earn $13 per hour plus overtime you "owe" me 20 hours of production per week. If you cant do that I dont need you here and if you cant earn more by the production incentive well..........you shouldnt want to be here. Dont know if its the best but seems to be working so far.

Hey guys, Bob Colemire here, owner and on-site manager of Master Tech auto repair in Lexington, Ky. Just want to start by saying I have already gained some useful knowledge from this site and I hope that as my business grows I can contribute some of this knowledge back but for now I simply offer a thank you to those who take the time to share their expertise.