[Frank]

I couldn’t do it because I am so particular about my vehicle service. My Lincoln is still under warranty and the dealer purchased at does such a mediocre job, I now use a dealer 30 miles away.

[Frank]

I think a bonus for the entire team based on total hours produced vs sharing hours would be more effective. I have seen high producers slow down because they fell like the effort they put in rewards others

[Frank]

Hydrogyn

Range anxiety is real! Most people will not settle for stopping for long periods to recharge, we WILL stop by a hydrogen refueling station, as we do now-  if you think about it the oil companies are not going to close all the gas stations, it makes sense to convert them to hydrogen stations.

[Frank]

I struggled with this for a long time and decided not to offer a sign-on bonus but create a better workplace. Then I gave everyone here a $1000 thank you for staying bonus.

[Frank]

I have sat on a number of non-profit boards, including treasurer, Non profit or for profit is a tax designation only and as a company is run for POSITIVE  cash flow,

So, a Non profit entity is not zero profit

[Frank]

YES! I love doing this – we just updated our hunter aligner (35K) and we are getting quotes on door openers for the bay doors so each tech can have a remote to open/close doors when pulling in or out, and a car pusher is next

 

[Frank]

Great information, I will be reviewing options with my professional team – I will add a personal note. Just the thought of all the depreciation value of those vehicles makes me wonder if you were getting good advice from your CPA?

 

[Frank]

We have it as one of many options – We have found most aftermarket scanners for European cars do not perform as well as factory scanners. For example – recent jaguar repair:

Diagnose bad throttle body, still have a problem after replace – aftermarket scanners did not show reset was needed, only the JLR scanner did.

Tech support is OK, depending on your level of diagnosis in the shop – there have been MANY times they could not help us.

[Frank]

I see this more than ever, A young person that was not held accountable in the past will do this (Mom likely ran home to get the forgotten homework or lunch!) I agree- we are also a premium shop and accountably starts at the top.

[Frank]

I have had the opportunity to talk to young people looking for a break, now we have our first phase of a written program to help them in the learning curve – and I think I will get involved in the local high school and colleges again – we need young men and women that WANT to work in automotive.

 

[Frank]

We are up 25%

Would be more, we need 2 more techs

[Frank]

within 1% of last year.

[Frank]

NO! Never advance pay, I would rather create a process everyone can follow to track partly completed work – We use autovitals for this now.

[Frank]

In Las Vegas, there are two companies that offer ADAS calibration services, one of them is owned by a Bodyshop chain. We looked into the cost ($25-30K ADAS only) and the space needed to do it correctly and the competition – and the demand, and what if only the factory scanners will be effective to calibrate, and what will manufactures change in the coming years.

This is a very fast-moving target and I expect there to be many system changes in the coming years.

For our company, ADAS doesn’t make sense

 

[Frank]

The more you try to save here, the more it will cost later – hire a flooring professional and expect to pay around $5 a SqFt (or so) for a high quality epoxy

[Frank]

I would never be comfortable with a firm quote on a repair like this. I would be more comfortable giving the motorist a “RANGE” and then I would bill at 1.25 times my rate x time spent – I would trach the tech and be sure he was uninterrupted for as long as possible.

[Frank]

What tom said will work, but I expect my shop supply cost to be 50% of what I actually charge for.

I wish I could find an affordable bar code system that would allow us to scan and place an item on the RO for supplies.

 

[Frank]

I was also at the conference, I am coaching with Transformers institute. please check out the site and let me know if you have any questions:

https://www.transformersinstitute.com/

[Frank]

Autovitals, it is more than just inspections – CRM and Workflow management – all working together.

[Frank]

autel for sure, it will show ADAS on the component lines as well

 

[Frank]

any car I do not want to own (lien for the title )

and repair over 2,000

every single part ordered for a vehicle not here (100% deposit)

 

 

[Frank]

I find that when I tried to do that manually, I would forget or get behind – I use a digital process with Autovitals for tracking available hours, sold hours and completed hours –

We do have a whiteboard that shows the sales countdown for the month as no bonus is paid if sales are short

[Frank]

there is a lot of discussion on the new labor laws regarding tech and advisor pay- we are required to pay for training time, and it varies by state. I highly recommend you check with your local labor board and see what the laws are and compare them to the federal laws. Many shops are being audited by the department of labor due to overtime violations  – 

[Frank]

Why not include it (.1 or .2) in the component replacement and replace the belt every time?

[Frank]

The asking price seems way out of line for a company that nets the owner 200k

 

you really need to look over the PnL balance sheet and cash flow statements. Something looks fishy. If his gross profit is 60% 200 to him leave 100k for all other expenses. Dig deep.

[Frank]

Smoking

For the safety and the safety of others, it is the intent of Frank’s European Service family to create a smoke-free environment within our company.

 

Background: Smoking is the major preventable cause of premature death today, killing 1/3 to 1/2 million Americans annually. Nonsmokers, who comprise more than 70% of the adult population in the United States, are harmed by secondhand smoke. The hazards range from immediate reactions (eye irritation, headaches, and breathing difficulties) to long-term serious effects. Nonsmokers exposed to smoke may develop lung cancer and may lose lung capacity. Some employees already suffer from respiratory diseases, heart diseases or allergies; these especially susceptible individuals may be at risk in a  smoke-filled environment.

Therefore, no smoking will be the policy in all company areas except where smoking is specifically allowed. The far back of the building, against the fence (WEST wall) This will eliminate an unnecessary toxic substance from our workplace and support all employees in choosing a healthful, nonsmoking way of life. Smoking permitted areas may be established where smoking does not endanger life or property or cause discomfort to others or violate local laws. Smoking permitted areas will be designated in and will be limited to outdoors.

Human Resources will provide a variety of services to help employees who want to stop smoking, including literature, information on quit smoking clinics and referrals for other sources of help.

Employees who violate this policy on smoking will be subject to the same disciplinary actions, that accompany infractions of other company rules, up to and including Termination. This policy is one of the most important steps that our company can take to improve our work environment. We rely upon cooperation of all our employees.

[Frank]

100% of the cars are inspected 100% of the discovered work is estimated 100% of the estimate is presented to the customer

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-every-car-should-inspected-frank-scandura/

 

[Frank]

What did you switch to from pace, and why?

 

We have pace now and it looks like they were purchased by a bigger company.  Not getting the same service.

[Frank]

If we don’t educate the customer, they will educate themselves. And in searching for answers they will invite confusion, and then you need to deal with “i Googled it and what I really need is x, not what you told me. Mother Google would never have misleading information, I know –

[Frank]

Without any experience in automotive you’ll want to be sure the shop is properly staffed. For example if the old owner did a lot of diagnostic work who does it now.  If he writes most of the service, how does it now.

 

Also so you said it’s a chain, what does that mean? Franchise? Are the any fees?

 

Is is there an advertising fee for all the show that share the same type of adds?

based on your numbers, the Shop has over a $700 average repair order, that is very good for general repair, more along the lines or a European Shop  and will be difficult to duplicate without experience

finally check the online reputation of the shop, that’s where you’ll see how customers are treated.