jfuhrmad

Wheelingauto, can you comment on the response from customers to your price increase? We've always made small increases successfully but we've never tried a larger jump. However, it's harder and harder to find techs so I think this type of increase may be warranted soon.

That sounds terrible! Have you thought about a boneyard PCM? Then you can experiment with flashing on a disposable one instead of burning up a new one.

Yesterday I ordered a TPMS sensor at 3:15. This dealer can usually deliver in 30-60 minutes. They called at 5:42pm to say that their driver didn't show up for work. Ended up putting a rubber valve stem in temporarily to get customer on their way. At least the customer was understanding.

Hi torquedwrench, First of all, good luck with your new venture. I hope it goes well for you. I can tell you that AutoValue is my primary supplier and they are awesome. Not sure if all their stores are like mine, but mine is faster, smarter, more organized, more reliable and more stable than the NAPA, O-Reilly's, and Advance we have in town. Plus, in the last year they have overhauled their vendors and carry some really high quality product lines that you've probably never heard of. They aren't very marketing savvy so they don't look all flashy like O'Reilly's or Advance but their operations are smooth and well-oiled. As for their website, I know their old website was a pain for ordering, but their new one isn't too bad. Well, at least the variation that integrates with Mitchell1 isn't too bad. I also want to 2nd Jay on Identifix. It will more than pay for itself especially for doing mobile repairs.

I think the core of this discussion revolves around communicating with the customer. If they understand what they are paying for then they are fine with it and it builds trust at the same time. When we go through an invoice with a customer we just tell them what we used for shop supplies, "we used some brake cleaner, a few rags, the paper floor mat, a gallon of windshield washer fluid, and a scoop of floor dry." If people know what they are buying they are really okay with paying for it. Most price objections occur soley because they customer doesn't know what they bought. If you tell them they are fine with it. Better yet, if you tell them up front and again when they pick up the car you begin to build trust with transparency, and the next time they don't push so hard. We've actually converted quite a few upset customers by doing this. Now they are great and they don't question anything because they know what they are paying for and they trust us. Bottom line, if your customer doesn't know what they are getting, then they will think you are randomly adding money to their bill. It is up to you to make sure they know what they are buying. You have the power to manage and avoid price objections for shop supplies (among other things). Side note: some of my customers actually pay us more than we charge. They bring us cupcakes, donuts, coffee, gift cards, beer, refuse change etc... because they are grateful for our transparency and the time we take to help them understand what we did and what they are paying for.

Hi all, Been in and out of here from time to time over the last few years but wanted to say hi. I'm feeling like I may have something to contribute at this point so looking forward to building a better industry with all of you. I'm somewhat independent in my thinking and I'm not from this industry so sometimes I do things differently than industry norms. But, I measure everything and the numbers are improving as we get better at what we do. A little about my operation currently: 4 bays Car count up 30% over last year Sales 400k in last 12 months (on track for 500k this year) 130-160 cars/mo depending on seasonality Market of 8000 households Definitely not the cheapest game in town A little about my goals: 800k in sales 2nd location $350 ARO Highest quality game in town

I feel like my area is extremely competitive. My area is a small town with about 8000 households (includes town and rural areas). We have 6 legitimate 4-8 bay shops, 1 Chevy dealer, and at least 3 hole-in-wall/backyard guys (800 households/shop). The next town over has 8000 households, 1 legit 8 bay shop, 0 dealers, and 2-3 hole-in-the-wall/backyard guys (2-3000 households/shop). Just wondering what some of you are dealing with out there so I have some reference point. Also, for those of you with multiple locations, does this sort of thing impact the success of individual locations?

Here's a trick we learned. Stop using the word "diagnostic". For some reason people match that up with computers and think you can just plug a computer in and it will show you what is wrong. We use the word inspection. For example, A/C Inspection, Brake Inspection, Runability Inspection etc... Then we quickly describe all the things we inspect during that inspection, we tell them what the inspection costs and ask if they want to do it. We have no problem billing 100% of our time. And yes, never mention time. Just make sure your inspection prices match up to the actual time by checking every now and then. Works great and nobody bucks us at all.

Great Q1 2017, right on budget. April car count was under budget by 24%. The parts stores are slow and so are the other shops in town. May is tracking slightly better but still under budget for car count. Keep in mind, April was 10% shorter with 19 business days as opposed to the typical 21. I expect to make some of that up in May with 22 business days. But I still think something is happening out there. Both my new customer and returning customer numbers were down the exact same percentage. Cars keep breaking but nobody seems to be stopping by to fix them.