Jay Huh

Yesterday I gave away our own branded magnetic cell phone holders. I have 1000 of them and get cost me about $1.20 each. I have them in all my cars and there's a big logo staring back at me everytime I get in my car before slapping my cell phone on it. Customers LOVE it bc those things work really really well. I saw a while back someone was giving away air freshners with oil changes and I thought that was a great idea. For some reason small things make customers happy. On a side note, bulk of the $10k is from long double ended box wrenches that are awesome

Thanks, i will do some calculation tonight. But you are right. I have people coming out of woodwork calling me a friend when it's time to get their car repaired. You and Joe have been doing this a long time and I appreciate the advice on the discounting - might not be able to stop it completely but I will try and nip it where I can

Thanks Joe! Love the way you put it about friends and family. Looking forward to seeing you in person in Sept!

Haha, yes I think I do have ADD but never been correctly diagnosed I am surprised you remembered all my posts, but yea I have been through a lot these past 2.5 years. I love and I hate it lol

Make sure to have a "schedule appointment" on your webpage where it is convenient. 70% of our appointments are through online scheduling. People love doing things online nowadays. Me too, I rather schedule online rather than call in. Keeps our phones from ringing off the hook too. On our specials page, I have a "schedule appointment" on every single box. http://carmedixnc.com/specials/ This is also our landing page for our google adwords. It's been working extremely well as customers love knowing prices upfront and avoiding interaction (esp the millennials)

Got my own branded flashlight, ordered 500 of them from Alibaba.com - talked to a bunch of suppliers and bought 500 for a good deal. I got my own branded long double box end wrenches as well being manufactured right now. Also ordered magnetic phone holders (1000 of them) and 200 OBDII wifi code readers. Spent about $10k, trying to get my name out there and earn some extra money on the side. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carmedix-Super-Bright-Rechargeable-LED-Water-Resistant-Flashlight-for-Mechanics-/272713331814?epid=16002924438&hash=item3f7efb3466:g:JzIAAOSwrfVZPg0r https://www.amazon.com/Carmedix-Rechargeable-Resistant-Flashlight-Mechanics/dp/B072MPMQ5P/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501210798&sr=8-1&keywords=carmedix I am new to listing products and advertising, what do you guys think? I took all the pictures myself. Thinking about giving away the magnetic phone holders with oil changes. Has a nice big logo on it and customers will see it when phone is removed. I like the idea of arming my loyal customers with code readers. I know it's controversial but for my loyal customers, it'll be good. When making a appointment, they can tell me the code in which I can tell them it's a emergency or schedule them my next available. I will also know if I need to schedule for a smoke test or diagnosing a misfire.

thanks for sharing, I live 10 min from Cary - I am going to the R+W conference held that same week in Chicago - going to both might be overdoing it but I definitely want to

I am struggling with GP. My master tech gets paid $28/hr plus bonus and he hits bonus every week. He is the only one that is really producing at my main shop - hit 72.25 hours last week. My labor rate is $80 but we have a $60/hr option for friends/family. Waaay too many people are becoming friends/family.... also with flushes and canned jobs, some equal out to be $50/hr labor rate. With some customers, we give $50/hr bc misquoted labor times and such or giving away discounts. Started with my techs making $17/hr.... now minimum they make $22.50. I have to raise my prices.... again

Hey tyrguy, definitely appreciate your concern. Yea it's tough when you have a car with ball joints about to pop out or severe tie rod play and they can't afford it. Once, I had a customer with the front inner pad completely gone - gone as in MISSING. I have actually seen several of those but only one situation where they declined the work!!! I think back then, I was only charging like $140 for pads and rotors...... $60 for pads including parts..... they ignored my advice and demanded their car back. The husband gets in a newer car, the wife and kid gets in the car with no brakes.......

I pay them $425/month for my first location. I get a lot of views through them but I don't think it's worth it, I rather spend the $425 on Google Adwords on top of the $2k im spending already. Yelp would not freakin leave me alone so I finally gave in bc they offered to make a video too (which I had to heavily edit, they really do a sorry job). Yelp customers are also one of the most entitled customers I have ever seen and difficult to keep happy, I know bc I am one. Nowadays I don't leave bad reviews bc I know how it can mess up a business. My advice? Put money into Google. Also this might be controversial but I am having good results with Repairpal - it's only $199/month. I did a 3 month contract because I was afraid of commitment but it's been over a year now....... why am I still doing it? Don't feel like talking to them, I hate talking to Yelp and the pushy sales people. Also, I am ranked really high with them, if you search "auto repair durham," the first website that comes up is Yelp's top 10 best automotive shops in Durham, NC. We are number 4 on that list. If you search by zipcode (27713), we are #2 on Yelp page (second to one of the best shops in the area that's been there for over 20 years, we are only 1.5 years old). I hate visiting my Yelp page bc it's only 4.5 stars and some of the reviews on there make me cringe. It is embarrassing and it could get to the point where the bad reviews will make it so new customers don't come anymore.

Hey guys, so here's the update. A LOT has happened in the last few months and I have learned TONS. I have been super busy and haven't been on the forums at all - but I saw a lot of activity on the post and there's actually a worthwhile update. First thing to note was that once I opened my second and third shops, my car count went up as well. My Google rankings for the first shop is pretty good but it went up after opening 2nd and 3rd locations (not sure if google has algorithms for this). I opened 2nd and 3rd back to back months. All 3 shops I have running and self sustaining. I just drive from shop to shop to shop making sure all goes well and I fill in where needed. What I have learned is, location and demographics are really really really important for opening multiple shops. I've had customers drive 30+min away to come to me so I have a lot of loyal customers. Whether I have just the 2nd shop or just the 3rd shop, 75% customers would come anyway as they live between the 2. In my experience in these past months, I gained 25% new customers that were local to the new shops. The third shop has been doing much better because the demographics are better- my second shop is in a poorer neighborhood and sales have been abysmal from local customers - absolutely not able to upsell - even metal to metal rotors, they reject rotors and we have them sign a waiver.... I actually have had a few homeless customers. Now there are a small handful that drive from further South that are good but they would have came to me no matter what. I realized this last month so I decided to close the 2nd location and keep the third. It worked out because it wasn't too difficult to get out of the lease- worked it out so that I just had to pay 2 months rent upfront. Last official day open is this Friday. I keep my customers anyway and the 25% I lose out on are the customers that I don't want.... I think I will open another 3rd location though, but I think I have to be more strategic on the location - I will wait longer for better cash reserve and spend more on a nicer looking location with higher end clientele. Just to give you guys some numbers- my first current shop opened last Feb. Last month the first shop was around $6-$7k profit - (after all expenses including payroll for myself). 2nd shop which I opened Feb lost $3k 3rd shop which I opened in March showed profit just south of $1k (after all expenses) If you are planning on opening a second location, I'd do it as long as the location is good. I would make it at least 30 min away from the first one though and I'd only do it if your first shop is profitable. Do I regret opening the second location? Not at all, yes I lost money but going from 3 shops to 2 shops... 2 shops is now a cinch.