APM

Pricing is a complicated concept that is hard to advise on because so many factors go into it. Your pricing has to: Reflect the quality of your techs work (If your techs aren't providing quality work then setting prices does you no good anyways because your customers won't ever feel like they got their moneys worth regardless of how much they've paid.) It has to make sense financially for you (You need to make above and beyond your break even point so that you can grow your shop and pay yourself.) It has to be enough to weed out the bottom feeders, yet low enough to be reasonable to compete with your customers other needs (You're competing against their kids getting braces, finishing their basement, landscaping their backyard, or even that cruise they've been dying to go on.) It seems to me that there are a lot questions to be asked about why the shop is failing that will have to be answered before you can even begin to set your pricing. I recommend reading the article in Ratchet + Wrench about creating a successful shop. http://www.ratchetandwrench.com/RatchetWrench/May-2014/Creating-a-Successful-Shop-Culture/

It’s hard to give any real feedback without seeing the flyer. I don’t know what it looks like, what the language says, or what the offers are. The real issue is trying to get customers interested in it, to hold on to it, and to bring it back in. It might make more sense to create a newsletter/flier with worthwhile information in it, a recipe, crossword puzzle and a couple coupons, and hand that out. Or hand out a punch card where customers get their 5th oil change free. Customer hand outs will only do so much though. If you're looking for other ideas to help keep your business at the front of your customers minds, and get them to come in more often, send me an email. I can get you some information.

Joe and Mspec have it right. In order for you to remote manage your shop, your employees need to understand what their responsibility is to the shop and most importantly, your customers. A couple of elements go into making this possible: incentives and accountability. Your techs should be incentivized to do their best work and more of it. Instead of being paid to just be there (aka hourly), they should be paid based on how many quality inspections and repairs they are doing. This also allows you to hold them accountable. If your tech is only getting through 2 cars a day with a below average ARO, then you should be able to track that and hold them to an established standard. The other element is having a 10 minute meeting every morning to reestablish the shops culture and goals. This is also a great place for employees to let you know their concerns that might otherwise be holding them back from being productive. Ratchet + Wrench had a great article about establishing a successful shop culture, which I highly encourage you to read. www.ratchetandwrench.com/RatchetWrench/May-2014/Creating-a-Successful-Shop-Culture/

A high car count is easy to attain. Any shop that has used bottom feeding coupons has probably seen just how many bad customers will show up to claim their free thing. Bad marketing means losing money on all of that increased car count, too. (Paying money to print and mail the ad, only to pay money to inspect vehicles that will never turn into paying customers, only to lose money from the coupon.) A high ARO, on the other hand, is the culmination of good marketing, good inspections and write ups, and quality service writing. And there's no sustainable shortcut to improving those three things...improving them takes measurement, accountability, and training on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Years ago, our shop tried the first route. 40 cars a day, sub $200 ARO. Inverting those numbers (25 cars, $450 ARO) means less stress, less chaos, and more profits. A high ARO is harder to attain, but it's well worth the effort. If you're interested in how to change this in your shop, feel free to email me: [email protected]