Dennis R.

We want to do a short survey with our customers to gauge their reaction to newer trends in the repair of their car. We are only going to ask 4 Questions so that we can share the results on this forum and have other shops do the same. The 4 questions we thought of : still working of exact wording so help is appreciated. 1. - Personal Service Adviser to talk too. VS Virtual Artificial Intellegent service advisor ( no human interaction ) 2. - Check in with a Personal service advisor VS using a digital check in like Mc Donalds uses to take your order inside their restaurant then leave keys 3.- Personal phone call or text with updates and for authorization VS Computer generated text for updates and authorization 4. Personal phone call or text with Pictures sent as needed (trust in your shop) VS digital inspection form and pictures sent each time their vehicle is brought in Your input is important so we can all ask the same questions to help us keep our businesses thriving. One example of a survey we did a few years ago was would you like us to have a quick lube bay for fast in and out service or Leave your vehicle for the day for the LOF 96 % of our customers wanted to leave their cars so they could get a non rushed check over of the vehicle while it was there.

We pay $9.75 per hour plus any overtime after 40 hours and pay $16.00 per billed hour they produce also We always keep paint here for the shop walls or ceiling since they are the hardest tasks to get too , It helps make their bays bright, clean and shiny again and gives everyone a chance to sort out anything that has gotten left where it shouldn't be - we also have a task list of items that help organize the shop , fix equipment like power cords , extension cords , clean solvent tank , reorganize the small parts shelf from fuses , bulbs, clips not always getting put back where they go

Borrowed this section from Advanced tire and auto post -power steering fluid, brake fluid, transmission fluid of practically all types, anti-freeze, wiper blades, hose clamps, wiring and connector kits, butt loads of wire loom, push pin assortments, drain plug and drain plug gasket assortments, headlamps, mini-lamps, oil additives, fuel additives, several very good penetrants (Kroil, B-G, etc.) assortments of fuel, transmission, and vacuum hoses, and lots of supplies like pop rivets, etc. B-G Fuel kits and additives. WE ALSO stocking the top 10 delco batteries , about 50 different oil filters, top 25 air filters , top 25 cabin air filters , door panel clips , door lock rod clips ( when we have to run to the dealer for a special clip we buy 2 and put one in stock and charge enough to cover both , about 10,000 feet of different colors of wire and 10 drawers of electrical terminals ,( we do a lot of wiring repair) fuel line o rings , top 10 fuel filters fuel line clips , The little tiny parts take as much if not more time to locate and get then the $50 parts Time is money when something is stuck in the bay for a little clip or plastic body clip to get them off the rack All other parts for a repair we order as needed - having $500 worth of little clips, bulbs, fuses , etc has paid for itself over and over

Since this is something I might have to hurry and send an employee over to pick up because we don't stock as many as normal fluids I mark them up by at least 50%

When a customer comes in from auto zone with a printout and wants us to replace that part I tell them a story of a customer that had replace $700 worth of oxygen sensors and other items before they became so frustrated they brought it in for diagnosis. What we found was a broken vacuum line that we repaired for less then $50 . Also we tell them to think of the code pulled from their computer as a room full of 1600 people and one of them is raising there hand and telling you something is wrong up ahead of me and needs to be looked at. Or we tell them to think of the code like the zip code they live in and is the code telling you it is your neighbors front door that is broken , is it a piece of sidewalk that has collapsed , is it a tree that is caught in the power lines. etc. Yesterday I told a customer from comcast who had a free autozone test to think of him getting a repair order for someones cable system , is he going to just go in and replace the box or test all the incoming signals first , this was something that made sense and was an easy way to realize how us diagnosing his problem was the best approach I try and use examples that fit their profession which helps them understand what needs to be done first. Using these approaches I have been able to convince them of how important it is too their wallet to have a complete diagnosis first.

Also see my article in Motor Age magazine July 2002 entitled WAKE UP CALL dealing with this exact problem

This is just the scenario I saw that caused me to develop procedures for techs and service writers and to teach shop owners on how to write procedures for all aspects of their business , such as a opening and closing procedure, credit card refund , snowy day procedure, all of the stuff that as a shop owner you just take care of and not think anything more of it until you get hurt and cannot be there for awhile. Dennis Roennebeck - Shop owner and Developer of MasterTech Procedures www.autoshopprocedures.com

We charge $42.95 for our standard oil change 5 qts and filter - and we have customers leave them for the entire day just for an oil change because they know we will look over their vehicle and make sure it is safe -- We even polled over 1000 customers and asked them if they wanted us to put in a quick lube bay so they could wait and get a quick oil change by a margin of 20-1 all wanted to keep the oil changes just as they are and would rather leave their vehicles As far as oil , we have always had bulk , the oil companies paid for all the equipment 20 years ago and gave it to us -- we have a 500 gallon oil tank but usually only fill it with 100 gallons at a time since oil is so expensive right now -- using store brand oil we pay $2.23 per quart buying it 100 gallons at a time -- we are planning on buying more and more this summer and fill the entire tank before winter hits to not have to put out $1000 each time we buy a 100 gallons during the winter if business slows down.

I just finished a Northstar Cadillac that was done by a backyard mechanic. By the time I finished the vehicle to make it driveable he spent more then what he would have In the first place by bringing it to us to begin with. I never try and compete with the backyard mobile mechanics because I know that a reputable shop will eventually get the job to repair whatever was done wrong in the first place. Also getting something done under warranty from one of these places is not going to happen. We have a new customer that had her Cadillac AC fixed supposedly this way, they told her they replaced the compressor and a line and made it work great when all they did was fill the system wash it off and collect $600.00. One week later with no AC and no call back from the mobile mechanic she brought it to us where we found that the compressor had not been changed just washed off from the top side ( It is nearly impossible to change this compressor without a hoist ) --- Well a new compressor later we fixed her AC and she had a warranty now that would take care of her. We now have a new customer that has sent in 2 other customers for repair work . Do good work and word of mouth will keep you busy forever.

We only rarely run into this problem , when this problem does show up it is usually someone that has already bought the parts and wants me to install them. I agree the internet price should be comparable to our normal cost plus at least 10% - When we have installed a part purchased elsewhere we mark up the labor to give us the same margin as if we had our normal markup from the part , and no warranty to the customer. This stops most customers from even buying parts offlne unless it is a specialty part for a classic car that is not readily available anymore. The internet shopper is here to stay and I buy over the internet for a lot of different items in the house or shop just because it is faster and not always less expensive but more convenient then calling and shopping around the town for something. As shop owners we all need to unite and stand up to the DIY and still make up our profit even if they do find the part themselves.

As the shop owner I am the one who usually buys all of the special tools after talking to the techs to see if there is a way around buying the special tool to complete the job. But even better then this is we have about 10 shops that will work with each other when a special tool is needed and borrow that tool from each other. We are careful to not duplicate a tool another shop has unless it becomes one that is used on a consistent basis. I recently had a Mini Cooper in that needed a special oversize insert for the cylinder head, after being quoted $5000.00 from the dealer she called me and after some research I was able to find a special tool for $450 to complete the job the customer was more then willing to pay for the tool for us to keep knowing that if the problem ever happened again we could take care of her. She considered it a blessing to be able to save that much money and was more then willing to give us the tool afterward.

Since you are close to a residential area , you might try printing up a really nice flyer that introduces you to them, let them know what you can do to help them , what your qualifications are etc, put a coupon in for $10 off of service work and let them know when they come in that you will do a courtesy 27 or what ever check over to let them know what is working good on their vehicle and what needs attention , Call Great American at 1-800-231-0329 for their 27 point inspection for with your shop name printed on them , they are cheap and bring in a lot of work , Always keep your copy and at the end of every 2 weeks to a month send them a reminder card of what was needed still on their vehicle Also always collect complete addresses, and email addresses so you can send out a weekly email with a special or just to give some advice and let them email you with any questions they may have , Set up a Facebook page and make a small flyer to staple to every invoice sending them there to Like you and post news, information, specials , classic cars that come in for repair keep in interesting enough for them to always open it , their on plenty of You tube videos that you can post concerning car care, winter driving etc on you facebook page. On the flyers you will have to walk them thru the neighbor hood and put them on the door with an elastic band do not put them in the mail box , that way you can also talk to neighbors as you walk around pick one or more streets to target each week until you have covered them all

We also take the employees and spouses out for a nice dinner. I keep track of what tools each tech has to borrow at different times during the year either from me or another tech and get specific tools for each tech to complete their tool inventory. I usually spend about $2-300 per tech and give the same amount in gifts or gift cards to the front office staff.

We always close the day after Thanksgiving , not worth coming in for one day -- and it is nice periodically to get a 4 day break We also close the day after Christmas and close 1/2 on Christmas Eve

We sure need a change, I believe we need to elect business men to congress and president, and not just business men but someone who has had to make a payroll and worried if he can make the next one. This will help to stop the out of control spending that is happening now. So far Romney has shown he has experience in turning business's around which is what we need for the entire out of control government. I here customers everyday that struggle due to job losses and not being able to find jobs. We need someone that will give small business owners some breaks to kick start the economy. If every small business in America was able to hire one more person we could reverse the unemployment and get so many people off of the worker's unemployment insurance and start spreading more money around to each sector of the business's all over the country not just a few select industries. And quit bailing out big business's and then letting them take bonus's from the taxpayers money that saved them.

I agree on the 20 foot high ceiling it is very expensive to ever add it later, I have six bays with 6 doors , yes doors need maintenance but the convenience of being able to access any bay with a tow truck to move a vehicle in is well worth it. Also we can pull 6 cars in front of the bays for small work while you wait for parts or authorization on the bigger jobs inside. I would leave 3 feet or more between each bay door this makes it easier to move equipment around and tool trays and engine hoists around. We have our training and break room above the office since our current shop is 17 feet high which utilizes the space well. Putting in all of the doors upfront is a lot cheaper then retrofitting them later , Use at least 12' doors on some of the bays. I would build my new shop with at least 15' clearance from the front of a vehicle to the wall , Go out and measure some crew cab super duty's and box vans to get an idea of where to place your hoists so you have enough clearance at the rear of the vehicle when the door is closed. Currently our bays are split on 2 sides with the office in the middle which is sometimes good or bad, If you do this allow at least a 6 foot hallway between the two sides and 8 feet of height in the thru way then it is easier to put in a waste oil heater in the future and run ducting to each side. Looking forward to seeing what you can come up with. Industry experts say it now takes 6 bays to turn enough work to afford the diagnostic tools needed to keep up with the current vehicles. Having at least 6 bays allows you to leave a vehicle on a rack while waiting for parts rather then pushing them in and out. We utilize all 6 of our bays and the outside of them everyday with only 3 technicians.

Thanks for the upload of our shop , I sent everything in this morning, You can also put a link on your site for our procedures that we develop for shop owners if you would like. It is autoshopprocedures.com and I will get yours up on our website also if you would like Thanks Dennis

You should go for about 53% on your parts margin which is just over double your cost on every part that comes in , some big items you cannot mark up that much so on the smaller stuff you need to sometimes triple your cost , Don't worry about the price shoppers just explain to them you use a higher quality part and warranty it both parts and labor, We have averaged about 51% parts margin over the last 3 years and now that the work is coming in steady we will shoot for that extra 2% on parts margin. Above all else don't give that parts margin away it is the difference in staying in business or going out of business

We use the OEM plan as a guide , we move up the oil change schedule and transmission services on SUV's and Trucks to every 15K and cars 30K -Transmissions are too expensive to go with the factory recommends, We also change all accessible fuel filters at 15K , part of that reason is we seem to end up with a very fine silt at times in the fuel I think the OEM's are going after the you do not need anything on your car for 100K so they can sell more cars A little more maintenance gets our customers over 200K of reliable service. We have never had a customer in 24 years not want to do the oil change when we recommend it versus the OEM schedule

We pay a base wage of about $8-10 per hour plus $10 and up per billed hour depending on their ability. I worked flat rate at a dealership and some weeks we starved and some weeks we made a lot of money but the ups and downs really sucked. We have paid this way for the last 24 years and have had a good reception of it from our techs. By paying them an hourly wage if we do have a slow day they are still being paid to spruce up the shop and make it even more organized and looking great. We have them give lots of input on doing any reorganizing of equipment, parts, supplies, oils etc. and when it is there idea they are gun ho on making it work.

I charge for single items like light bulbs and fuses - we charge for brake clean if we use more then 3/4 of a can on a job billed by each can used. We charge 5% of the labor only with a maximum of $30 We have never had anyone question this charge . There are some invoices where charging for shop supplies doesn't really fit with the job , I still leave it showing on the invoice but then show a discount for that amount in the misc. column which I circle and the customer can see they got a little bit off which makes them happy. I don't think it is appropriate to charge for shop supplies against the parts total since you are already being paid for them.