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Joe do you have a R1234 machine?

You did not over react. I would probably asked them to never come back as well. The customer isn't always right. Last week we were asked to find a noise in a 2015 Mazda 3. The noise was coming from the transmission. What we found was that something had been ran over and smashed the transmission pan. When the customer picked up the car she was huffy and said she was going to get a second opinion. Seems her son-in-law had the car on a rack changing the oil and had seen no damage so we obviosuly must be either incompetent or lying. All in all her attitude was a stinker because: (1)We had charged nothing to look at the car and obviously that wasn't appreciated. (2)We suggested they contact their insurance and potentially turn this into an insurance claim (which we wouldn't do if we were trying to fabricate something because the insurance would have an adjuster look at it. (3) We had no reason to lie. I even offered to rack the car and show her which she declined. What she didn't realize is there is a plastic shield that covers the transmission pan. The shield is flexible enough to give, allow the pan to be damaged, and pop back in place. You do not remove the plastic shield to change the oil or filter. This customer was absolutely wrong in our attitude and conclusions. It would probably make me want to tell her I could set her up an appointment on the second Tuesday of next week.

That creates a lot of good will.

Not so much here guys.

Joe, you may find this of interest: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-sba-paycheck-protection-program/

Glad to hear you were successful. It really helps take some pressure off. Be sure to remember the bank that helped you.

Yesterday we removed a tail light to change a bulb! Surprise as this is what we found. Joe you may see a lot of this in the rust belt but here not so much.

The PPP money has bought me time and lowered my blood pressure. I really feel bad for a lot of shop owners that have not gotten the money and now the supply is exhausted. It's seems the key to getting paid besides filing early is you needed to bank with a smaller bank and have an existing relationship with your banker. If you didn't already have a relationship with your banker or banked with a big bank where you are just a number the chances are you didn't get the money. On other forums tha seems to be the situation and approximately only fifty percent got the money. If you applied on line with the SBA and not through a local bank you did not get the money.

We haven't had a tremendous response but we picked up a couple of new customers from it this week. One is suppose to be back in for additional work.

Joe, I feel for you because being near the epicenter you have a more difficult situation although it is bad for all of us. I respect what a leader you are and how you lead by example. I know you will do a great job under some very stressful circumstances. Thanks for all of the great advice and coaching.

I received the PPP money today.

This is an ad we have posted in Facebook and Google. Haven't seen any traffic from it but it will at least create some good will if nothing else.

My banker just told me that 1099s don’t count because 1099’people are eligible to apply themselves. I had quite a bit of 1099 last year and it don’t count.

Joe you are a good man! I am privileged to have known you for these years long distance!

Joe, I may chose to close or at least pass the reins to someone else.

Joe, if this continues another 2-4 weeks on shutdown I just don't see us ever being able to recover from it. The government is leveraged to the hilt and hasn't got enough money to make people whole.

Joe, I will continue this week but beyond that I am not sure. I have to have the stimulus money to stay open. If I don’t get it with 10 days I will probably consider shutting down completely. This is a fine place to find ones self in at 67 1/2 years old.

Tomorrow I will talk to my Banker and Accountant and will try to start a SBA Loan process. Do not have a choice at this point.

That is a great follow up post.

We have went to four days Tuesday-Friday. We will see what it is like after this week. Currently shop calls are being forwarded to my phone so I can speak with them and hopefully schedule them for the days we are open.

We have scaled back to a four day week. We were closed Saturday and will be open tomorrow. We will see how it looks the rest of the week.

I had a guy last week that had spent $600-$800 on his Grand Caravan having another shop throw parts at it. He then brought it to us to diagnose. Guess what low compression on cylinder #7. We told him $250 to test up front once we knew what we had to test. That should have been where he began not finished. I ask him before we took the van in if it was missing before the other shop worked on it. He lied to me and told me it was not. Initially I figured a cracked spark plug or the like. He knew it wasn't the case but lied to me hoping to blame it on the other shop. Some people don't want to pay diagnosis and then lie to you to boot. Makes for a tough situation. He has an extended warranty but I think they will deny coverage due to insufficient oil changes.

Our business was awful in January and February. The last two weeks we have been swamp but Alfred I am with you. I too expect everyone will stop spending money and going out very soon.

Everything went crazy on Friday. Schools are closed, all meetings of any size canceled. I am sure we will see a decline this week due to the craziness. My wife and I are staying in. She is high risk due to age, past chemo, and a weakened heart. Fortunately so far Indiana only has 12 confirmed cases and nothing close to our area.