My experience is that a few price conscious customer head to a new shop when it opens taking advantage of some of the low price specials they are running. However, in the longer run I usual have them come back eventually.
According to what I was reading earlier in the year the average age of the cars on the road is higher than it has ever been and the actual number of repair bays overall is decreasing. The shops that seem to be suffering the most are the smaller shops because it is so hard to keep up we the investment needed for equipment, technology, and training. We are looking at a new Hunter alignment lift that would cost $31,500.
Business is a little soft in this area. Most of the shops are running at less than capacity. Discount Tire will only take tire sales since they do nothing but tires and wheels. You might be able to pickup some work through their referrals if you build a relationship. We had one for a while and then they starting sending stuff to Midas because Midas offer to repair broken studs for free.
Anderson, I think you just nailed it. You have excess capacity so driving higher car counts makes great business sense. However, if a shop has limited capacity then higher car counts can be counter productive. Our shop is somewhere in the middle. We have seven bays and could easily use 3-5 more. What I have to be careful of is spending advertising dollars to attract new customers only to have to be able to turn them away due to lack of bay space. We have reached a point that we can handle only limited walk in oil changes. 80% of what we do are appointments. In an ideal world I would have two dedicated quick lube lanes plus 8-10 additional service bays. I envy the space you have.
That was what I thought. I am glad you could verify it. Gobbles, I haven't heard from you in a while. How is business in Cleveland. Our daughter is now down in Kennesaw, GA . How much does Protractor cost monthly?
What about all the cars that have oil consumption issues, PCV system blow by, intake gasket leaks, oil pressure senders, etc.? How about all the timing chain issues we are seeing? http://www.import-car.com/five-timing-chain-warning-signs/
I recently could get no help on a Sunday morning (emergency) due to a store associate fooling around trying to change an old lady's battery. Nobody could bill out an alternator I had ordered online on our commercial account. It was a joke. The DIYS who go in on evenings and weekends do so at their own risk.
WE sell NAPA batteries manufactured in the USA by East Penn not Johnson Controls as I first stated. We use to sell Interstate but have had fewer warranties with the NAPA plus we get a better adjustment when we do need to warranty.
What do you think about the Mobile 1 Annual Protection oil tha Ismail suppose to be good for 20,000 miles or one year?
https://mobiloil.com/en/article/why-the-mobil-advantage/mobil-1-performance/mobil-1-annual-protection-oil-tested-results
Gonzo did the lady apologize for getting upset at you. Most of the time when a customer does something stupid like that they don't even apologize. Like the time we were accused of stealing a customer's booster box. She later found out her husband had moved it and it was still in the car. We had a woman call and chew us out for smoking in her van. Then 15 minutes later her husband calls and says it wasn't my guys smoking it was him. His wife thought he had quit was but he had sneaked one on the way home. Don't know that he ever told the woman.
I think the vacuum pump has failed on one of my Robinair AC machines. IF I buy a new pump and we insntall it ourselves there is no warranty on the pump from Robinair.
Without this forum I would not know people like Simon, Jay, Jeff, Gonzo, Alec, Joe, Al, Spencer, etc., etc., Although we haven't meant in person I feel like you are all friends, compadres, and allies.