weighit

When I ran a Ford body shop and the paint reps wanted to put on a new paint product show they would offfer any shop in the given area to send their painters to my shop for the show. It was always held after hours during the week. They got to see first hand how that new product would help the shops make money. Problem was my shop was equipt with the best of equipment, supplies well run and clean. The other smaller shops didn't or would not upgrade to our level, so sending one of their painters into our shop was the kiss of death. They were really afraid I was going to take one or more to work with us, or the employee would go back to where they worked and complain that they didn't have the best of equipment to do the job. Attendance to the seminars was spotty, even though the paint company put out a really nice meal and gave all kinds of free items to the folks who came.

Had a customer that was a private OSHA inspector, traded some of what she owed me for the job I did for a inspection. Oh My, glad she was not there in her official capacity. Stuff she found or pointed out was astounding. Have to say after she left, I did start to try to correct some of the obvious things and worked on the harder to spot things over the year. Never did get to all the items, some I felt were pretty petty but I guess if it have been an official inspection I would have been in some real trouble. Believe me they can sniff out things you never ever think about.

Had a customer that was a private OSHA inspector, traded some of what she owed me for the job I did for a inspection. Oh My, glad she was not there in her official capacity. Stuff she found or pointed out was astounding. Have to say after she left, I did start to try to correct some of the obvious things and worked on the harder to spot things over the year. Never did get to all the items, some I felt were pretty petty but I guess if it have been an official inspection I would have been in some real trouble. Believe me they can sniff out things you never ever think about.

That is exactly why the charging stations are plentyful in larger cities. Apartment dwellers are not able to have their own charging point like a home owner or renter would. It goes back to the having a charging point where the person charging the car while having to sit in that spot for 20 or 30 minutes, or less would be able to go into a close by place to buy some food or drink. A auto service center would not be the best place for such a charging point. When i made my drive back with my Tesla I made a point to go into each local store where the charge station was and buy something, as a Thank You to them for allowing the space in their parking lots for the charge point. Many folks do the same thing when using those charge points.

I own a Tesla and other than the 2,300 mile cross country trip to buy it I have ony used a charging station twice, otherwise charge at home in my own garage. The places I have charged on the trips, the charging stations mostly were either where I could walk away from the car and eat, rest room break or buy something while waiting. Having a charging station in a auto repair faculity would not benefit the shop owner nor the car owner. Just my thoughts.

Years ago I learned how expensive it was to hire a new emp;oyee without any experiance in the field of our business. With the maistakes and costly errors in learning it didn't take very long to realize it was much cheaper to keep the guys I had without having a big turnover. Making them feel wanted, thanked them for their work and desire to do a good job. Then came pay, I paid the fellows I had dollars more than any of the competition paid. That ensured that my guys would not be leaving to go to the other guys and lose money. I made sure the benifits were way above the competition too. In the 10 years i owned that business, one fellow was there 3 week short of 10 years, the newest employee had 6 years seniority. the other guys fell in between 6 years and 10. Turn over was nil and over the years I felt paying them more made me more, Not all business owners feel the same way, But I had a very comfortable living and actually enjoyed going into work with a crew that also liked being there. Worked for me.

In my 10 years of ownership in my little business, I told a few different people to leave and never return. One guy started crying, begged and pleaded to please not ban him from the shop...I relented and said you give me one ounce of problem and your gone. He returned many times and was a perfect customer, I guess he really needed my services. A couple of guys I didn't chagre them for what I had done, and said your all done here, find another shop to take your money. I worked hard to give everyone the best possible workmanship for what I was charging and didn't I need a jerk to make the job any harder that it was.

The local auto mechanical repair shop I use now advertises on the local am & fm radio program. He rarely talks about his shop himself, but he does have his customers that are other business owners talk about who they are and why they found and use this shop. They say they are looking for quality, fair pricing and on time repairs, and hearing the actual owners talk about why this shop got theior business is a two fold winner. They both get positive review advertising and since this is not that big a community, between the 4 actual cities maybe 120,000 people chances are you either have been to the person talking or have heard about them.. This little shop is very busy and I have found the same positive response to the shop owner when we go in for service. He told me his thoughts were to let the happy folks tell others why they found him, not him telling you. Seems to work well here.

When I had my business I always said if I could live my life style I was living without a single employee I would have none of them. BUT, I knew that was not ever going to be the case, so I treated them with the most respect I could muster. I paid them more than any of the competition paid their guys and instilled in every one, that when a customer entered our building, that was their payccheck coming in. They were to treat and talk with those customers, if they were involved with them, as I did almost all the interactions, with respect. I also let them know if they for some reason were to tick off that customer it would be said our business was the problem, not that employee. Anything they did was a true reflection on our business and conversly, their payvheck. Seemed to work for the 11 years i kept that business.

When I had my little business, for the first three years all we did was pay off loans, but at the end of those three years we were debt free. Then we started putting anywhere from 3 to 5% of the gross sales each month into that side account savings for what if expenses. It would grow and grow and if we needed some surprise un accounted for purchase, we had the money. No sweat, no more loans for us. When we decided to sell the business, that extra money was moved in to the bonus for the owners account! Worked out well and have suggested that approach to a relative that has a small business and so far they are doing it too. They want to buy a bigger building and are planning on using that money for expansion. Also they do not want loans.

Well congratulations on your kind of retirement. Have enjoyed all your input and thoughts over the years I have been here as a reader. I sold my stripping business and "quit" at 53 and got into a RV and full time traveled for 8 years till we bought another home after we sold everything to travel. All my friends and other business owners I worked with said your too young to retire when I let them know I was going to sell everything and travel., I said I never said retire, I QUIT....have a whole different attitude. That quit lasted a total of about 5 months and I started another business while still traveling. So I do understand you selling and "retiring' Kind of.... have a Blast and hope you enjoy the new life being "retired"!!

In the last business I owned I stripped paint and rust off anything with low pressure blasting of recycled plastic, walnut shells and glass bead at no more than about 30 psi. Had many folks come in and ask how much to strip this item, I would give a price and say you can have it back tomorrow. They would sometimes say, naw, i will just strip it myself and I would say OK, if you end up not getting it done, I will be here if you need me. Off they go, then a few days later in comes the part 1/2 done, and they ask if they get a discount for working 8 hours on the item? Nope, same price as before, but you can see how much work was involved and you only got it partially done, and not all that well either. On a few occasions I told them it was now more than the last quote as they buggered it up and made it harder for me. Some folks learned a lesson that paying for someone else to do the work is the right way to do it.

When I had my business there were jobs I really didn't care to do nor want to do, but reluctantly did. One day my wife asked, for that job you don't like, how much more if you charged would you like to do it? I gave her a figure, and she said Ok starting today that is the new base price. I started to actually like doing those jobs and funny thing was, not one person said Oh that is too much, they just said OK do it. You have to not only make money working, but like what your getting paid for that job. She was a LOT smarter than me somedays.

When I owne my body sho[ it was a good thing as I wrote and submitted the estimates and got paid off that. We were able to start repairs fast and things went through the shop quiclly. Then an inspector would hand pick a few final repaired vehicles to go and reinspect to ensure all that was paid for was done. That worked well, then they started hiring outside adjusters / or hiring their own and then it turned bad. Seemed to me they must have been paid a commission to low ball all repairs. No way to make any money, they tied up the shop waiting for them to come inspect, or come back for additional missed repairs. Demanding repairs that were not the best for the customer or the vehicle. I kicked them out of my shop and actually made more money without them. Things might have changed, but it would be up to you to give it a try and see if they are worst, or better.

Typicality I would start asking the vendors you have coming into your shop, the tool man in the truck. He is in and out of many other shops and would have a feel for who is good and who is not so good. Next time a insurance adjuster shows up for some insurance claim, afain another person who should know who they think is doing excellent work and who to stay away from. Once you get a coupke of good ones, call and make an appointment for a one on one visit to see for yourself. Ask them for the run down on what makes them a good shop and see how the "sell themselves to you". Just my suggestions. If you came into my shop, I would want to show you the frame machine and how the tech was trained by that factory to use it 5 times in some other state. That we use the German paint system and the painters are all expert in the applications. What warranty that paint companies gives. How we have an office staff that keeps control of all the billing with the comuter system that is state of the art. We only try to use orignial factory parts, when we can. The parking ,lot is monitored by 10 cameras and a guard stays on property over night. You get the idea, let them brag. You should get a feeling of good, well run and quality or poor everything.

As a past body shop owner I used to visit service repair shops to get the "tour" so i could use them when needing some mechanical repairs we could not do. Talking with the owners, asking questions and seeing with my own eyes, giving you the good feeling or bad feeling. If I was a customer, would I feel good about spending my own money here. Many smaller bodys shops are always fighting to get customers away from the big national chains. Take a few hours one day and go visit what is in your area. Many of the smaller shops will not be on the main highways but off on a side road/street. They may need you for things they can't or don't want to do just as much as you could use them. Could be helpful for both of you to build a relationship.

I started out as an assistant body shop mgr under a good leader, he was patient and honest to teach the new guy the right way and worked my way up learning the ropes. I had asked way back then why there was no training center for either body shop mgrs or estimators? There may be now, but back then there was none. You maybe could start asking all the paint supply store salesmen who in thier opinion would be someone maybe willing to switch jobs from where they are to your shop. Knowing a good paid and appreciated employess would not be willing to move, you just might find a good replacement close to you? Worth a try. Those salemen know a lot of folks doing exactly what your looking for. Letting them know your willing to pay a finders fee to the person who puts you in touch with that new hire might be a lot chaper in the long run?

I no lomger have a shop and the one I did have was totally different from yours. I just thought for anyone on here to help they needed more info on what it was exactly you were going to be doing. I hope someone can give you a better idea on what your looking for.

I cannot believe anyone can give you an educated guess with this as there is just too much information missing. But I could be wrong.

Recently moved to a new town, about 30,000 here and with the surounding towns about 100,000 folks. There are many radio stations I can listen to but have narrowed in on a conservitive one that is all talk radio. Many local businesses advertise in 30 second spots. I have had the pleasure of meeting some of these business owners and letthem know I heard their spot. I then ask how the radio is doing for their business? Everyone said they are or have seen a tremoundous increase in business and for the cost they are paying per month is a no brainer. The one fellow gets other local business owners that use his auto repair shop to to give in their own words how they have been treated and what a great service this shop provides to the community. The battery shop i was in yesterday said his business has increased 40% in the past 2 years after using the radio station. Are any of you advertising this way?

I always looked at as they are working for and with me, they make me a good living, giving up profit for an employee was a no brainer. They got cost on parts, they did their own labor without my paying them, so off the clock. All family members got a cost plus on parts and 25% off labor. And they got scheduled as to not disrupt the normal business we had. Helping employees was what helped me keep a crew together for years. I learned a long time go it was very expensive to hire and train a new person, much cheaper to keep good guys happy.

I know this fellow, Keith, he has helped untold new business owners with his videos dealing with landscaping and other small businesses. Really a nice fellow and wants others to learn from his mistakes. Have never seen a body shop owner or service center owner ever talk this way and try to help the 'new guy' start up.

Years ago I woirked for Hertz Rent-a-Car and the whole management team was sent to a seminar for 2 days to learn to do exactly as your describing. I know it changed my attitude and outlook as a manager and it did make a difference in my groups work output. We seemed to 'click' as a team in a short period of time after that 2 day work shop. When I left Hertz I made it a practice to carry that new learning on to my own businesses.

I'm sure we would all toss out a figure now, but back when I was young and knew everything, no way would I think I could learn anything from some old guy!! Its amazing how smart we get as we grow older.....