xrac

My initial thought is this guy is not a keeper. He will cost lost business and reputation.

The wheels of progress at work. Thanks for keeping it fresh.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

First The Basics - Diagnostics starts with powers and grounds NOT with parts and labor. That statement should be posted on a banner and hung up in every shop. A car diagnosed (actually not diagnosed but purported to have been) with a bad transmission by another shop was found to simply have a voltage problem caused by a bad battery and alternator.

After 15 years of working in the non-profit world I went to work in the environmental remediation/consulting/engineering world. The non profits spend weeks talking about spending $500. The average job in this new business was probably $10k-$20k with jobs up to $1,000,000. It took me a while to adjust to the kind of numbers I was quoting. However, it was the best training I could have ever had for starting my own business. Even with that experience charging enough has always been more of an issue for me rather than charging too much. I think that is an issue for the majority of owners.

Love it. Wish a shop owner will do a video like that.

I am also interested on what others do with fleet pricing?

What do you guys think about this statement?

Great feature. Don't know if it will be utilized but it is a great idea.

Gonzo I give this 👍👍. Good job.

Just had an almost identical situation except the rear axle was moving out of the rear end and binding the brake caliper. The guy just wanted to fix brakes but we didn't want to do anything due to the possibility of him losing the wheel.

Great post and a quote we should all remember.

Almost an identical experience to what I have. Be wary of independent sales agents telemarketing Mitchell. They will lie to you and Mitchell will hold your feet to the fire on the contract. I hate Mitchell. They are liars. They have no integrity!

Gonzo all I can say is now that you have hung up the wrenches a technician among technicians was lost. WOW! What a difficult swamp that very few could have ever drained.

Guts and brains is what it takes for us to succeed. A lot of us owners lack the guts to charge what we need to charge to really succeed.

For those of you who are seeking donations or giving donations for the hurricane victims I urge everyone to seek out charities that are effective at helping the victims. The more of your dollar that actually goes to aid the victims and the less that goes to fund the organization's operation the better. A good starting point would be Charity Navigator. Personally I favor organizations such as Samaritan's Purse or the Salvation Army over the American Red Cross. https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=5239&order=charity

If you have a financial dispute with Mitchell they will never do anything to fix it. They just talk and do nothing. I am with mspec completely. Just hope you are never in that situation because I can guarantee you that Mitchell will do NOTHING to fix it. I am not sure that anyone has autority to do anything.

Same story here. Quality hires are not available. Too many techs have left the industry and went to other jobs where they can make more money. Young people are not interested in jobs that get their hands dirty.

We did not have a good AC year either.

Gonzo, that is a great article. Every DIYer should read it but sadly they won't. All of the time all of us get cars or have people want us to work on their cars where they have already hacked everything up.

MEN ARE JUST HAPPY PEOPLE This needs no explanation - and is a fun read, no matter your gender. Men Are Just Happier People! What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress - $5,000. Tux rental - $100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Two pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes - one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes. No wonder men are happier! NICKNAMES If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah. If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba and Wildman. EATING OUT When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back. When the girls get their bill, outcome the pocket calculators. MONEY A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale. BATHROOMS A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel. The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items. ARGUMENTS A woman has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument. FUTURE Awoman worries about the future until she gets a husband. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife. MARRIAGE A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't. A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does. DRESSING UP A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, or get the mail. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals. NATURAL Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed. Women somehow deteriorate during the night. OFFSPRING Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

Amen! Harry this is going to be a disaster rivaling Katrina. We all need to do all that we can.