Gary A

Congrats Alex, I'm a father to 3 girls myself. They're the best!

Only advice I can give is do not let these rare instances influence you moving forward. there will always be that 1 out of a million that really rubs you the wrong way. Unfortunately we can let these rare instances influence our future behavior. Apologize, do the right thing and move on....

I use Bolt-on Technology's software with Mitchell. They have done a great job of giving shop owners what they need and they listen. The Mobile Manager makes the write-up process easy and with less mistakes with their vin and license plate decoding features. I think they are also working on a product where the customer gives their contact information on a tablet at the counter which then goes directly to the Management system.

Persistence is key. I just hired a second tech and things are going well. Use multiple methods, it's just another marketing effort. You have to have what a good tech is looking for as well. Craigslist seems to be the most amount of bang for the buck, you just have to weed through and interview many. Have a good interview process in place and keep practicing it. It gets easier with experience just like anything else. Hope this helps, Good luck!

Hey Joe good plug for BG. I just printed your post and gave it to my BG rep

Sure Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

I use the lubesticker Pro software that Mike talks about. It is very accurate in determining the approximate next oil change date and allows me to review the calendar to see who is due for service. We can make phone calls to those customers in advance of their appointment date.

Sorry I didn't know how to use the quote function from my phone so here's how my post should have went If I were from the West Coast I would definitely look into the programs that Elite has to offer. Are you currently enrolled in ATI or just inquiring about the process?

Good one!

Hey Frank like 50-50? What do you offer?

Guys, I would like to know the best way to offer health benefits. This is for a single employee, not a family plan. Do you guys think it's better to pay them in full as part of a total package and reap the benefit of a tax break or have the employee contribute a percentage? Just wondering what makes the most sense.... Thanks, Gary

I've seen this name a few times Magneti Marelli a division of Mopar. Never thought much of it and today I saw this piece of junk mail and never heard anybody comment on this before. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Being 30 minutes west of NYC I am very fortunate to have good parts availability. As far as starters and alternators any that are purchased from the parts stores seem to be reman with inferior parts hence they do not last. Nothing is worse than a customer getting stuck because of the cheapo part. The original lasts 150k, 10 years maybe and the cheapo one goes bad in a few months. Not good for my reputation. I am fortunate to have a suppler of new OE starters and alternators. It is his only business and ships worldwide carrying automotive, medium and heavy truck, heavy equipment basically anything that has a starter or alternator. I have only had one comeback that I could remember and I think it was damaged out of the box, like it was dropped hard. Now that is quality! Also what I like is they are small business and independents like us. If you can wait they can ship. Here is a link to their website https://www.therobson.com/page.php?view=about-us. .

Just curious about the SEO stuff. To those that are familiar with web results please google auto repair in Little Falls NJ and tell me what you think about the results and take a look at my website. I feel that I have good results and it's nowhere near 1K a month

Follow-up calls are a great thing. One more way of showing that you appreciate their business and are concerned about their satisfaction with the service you performed. It also gives them the opportunity to let you know if there is a problem that maybe they would have never otherwise came back for. We keep it short and simple and don't try to sell anything. Anybody that I have talked to about doing this has always given positive results

Best January in a long time I'm up 39% from last January. Same amount of employees as well. Just had some really good jobs and more cars than last year

A woman ran over an innerspring mattress on the highway, And decided not to worry -- and kept on driving. It caught on the undercarriage of her Ford. The ensuing jumble finally whipped around enough To tear a hole in the fuel tank. The subsequent lack of fuel is what finally Brought her vehicle to its knees. She had managed to drive 30 miles, With a 60 pound tangle of stuff wrapped around her drive shaft. She had it towed to her Ford dealership, and complained That the vehicle had a 'sort of a noise' When she was driving at high speeds. Below are the photos of what they Found at her Ford Dealership.................... The last photo is by far the best. "Sort of a noise" -- I'll bet it did! They Still Can't Believe Their Eyes. And Still Wondering How To Remove It! IM guessing she wanted goodwill as well…J And the best

Happy New Year guys! Great video Frank.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20131003-in-praise-of-micromanagement Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year Joe & Alex and all of you guys on this forum!

Would have to say, not our customers. If it is one of mine and it's Saturday afternoon and he needs a set of wipers or a battery, what could I say? I'm not open, I'd probably do the same thing. When he has a more involved issue though he will come to me. Convenience means a lot today because everyone is so busy.

Each diag job or trouble code is a separate charge. I don't know how we could ever be profitable giving discounts on the most difficult work.

Chicken salad for the soul, isn't there a book on that? Great job Mike and great job Joe - when things go bad it reflects on the leadership, when things go good it reflects on the leadership too. I've been to Joe's place a couple of times and Joe walks the talk and has a great group working with him

This is the most bizarre thing I've heard of. Just keep building solid relationships and trust with "the right customers" and this will not even phase you. Drive down prices? When the parts manufacturers, insurance companies and tax collectors lower their prices I'll lower mine. Even though more people seem to be price conscious with the information on the internet we must stand our ground to remain in business. As an industry we must not give in to these types of customers for they make up a low percentage of work that we really don't need. It is always the high maintenance, price shopping, high demanding customer that give the most grief and least profit. Why do we fall for this?

I have made increases in labor rates and have never seen customers leave. I have lowered my parts mark up as well because of the economy and only hurt myself. The supermarkets and the sporting goods stores have not lowered their prices...... One thing that is hard for me is the fact that my customers are always happy because I give them a quality service no matter what. When I don't charge what I should, my family pays for it - crazy isn't it? I do think it is important to be in line with price sensitive items though, brakes oil changes etc.