[Craig]

Nextdoor is great for hyper local but you can also buy zip codes in your target area. Car clubs are a great way to network. We work on a lower car count and high ARO with a detailed focuses program for our clients. Deep reach to locate our target avatar clients has been very important pulling in clients from beyond 20 miles on a regular bases. We switched from an in house managed marketing to provider based system. We can provide recommendations as requested.

[Craig]

Lots to unpack here,

We offer 4 years or 40,000 miles parts and labor.

Our labor rate and effective labor rates are set to support our warranties

Our labor rate and Parts GP’s are set to support our warranties.

No client supplied parts.

Warranty on street legal performance applications (on or off road) as far as parts are 12/12 unless it is clear it was a crap part.

We use the absolutely best parts we can get. We buy a lot of tier one OE parts unless not available then we can drop down.

We no longer work on vehicles over 20 years old unless it is from a very good existing client. Some time some of these parts have to be used and in most cases we will rebuild that used part to maintain the warranty.

Alignment’s are 12/12

The national affiliation we belong to offers 3/36, if a client is out of town between the 3/36 and out to the 4/40 and it is determined that it is our responsibility we will deal directly with the shop at what ever their rate is..

Negotiated fleet and municipality contracts (discounted) are 12/12.

Full pay fleet are 4/40

Engines and transmissions are per the manufacture warranty 5 year/100K etc,

Bottom line for us is we know what percentage of warranties we will have in a given year and how much it will cost the business and becomes a part (no pun intended) of what we must bill for our 20% net. It is just the cost of doing business.

[Craig]

Hi Tom,

I am with the others before me. We built our client experience to not be what todays “norm” is. The norm has been the client is a number or a paycheck that is there to serve the business. Not a week goes by that we do not have clients tell us everything the dislike about the OE’s. Chains and even many independents. When we call out clients at the two day follow up /thanks you we ask if they were “Completely satisfied” We also actively look to provide what others do not. It is no longer uncommon for clients to by pass warranty work and opt for our team to do the work for in more than one case to the tune of over a thousands dollars, rather than have to dealer with the dealer. With that said almost everyone has an SRS inflator recall to have done. The dealer we worked with had poor communication (as in none) truck came back with an SRS light that was from “The tech forgot to plug in the new part” and just about a key toss of “here ya go she’s all good now” service. So Yeah, interesting idea but we will stick to providing exceptional service and always be looking and asking for how can we do better. Also with this thought in mind have a females perspective grade your own place, as a place to start in house. Thanks for the topic and keeping over the top service first and foremost. CZ

[Craig]

The viewpoint of the observer will be based on their level of confidence in their ability to lead the team or individual. No clear training or “natural” ability in leadership will feel like “baby-sitting” if the subordinates are not self-motivated and or lack respect for the supervisor. Natural ability will only get you so far for so long, and works better when the role is more of a mentor.

When true leadership training has been received along with gained experience in the field (for our conversation it is the automotive industry) does the viewpoint of baby-sitting change to supervising and all the nuances and “tools in their tool box to solve challenges”.

A place this can be a trap is when the trained supervisor reaches their peak level of training and experience but no longer seeks further self-improvement that they miss the que and find themselves frustrated at a lack of forward progress with the “team” they are supposed to be taking some place special. You can often spot this person because they are jaded by the years passing them by and feeling the things, they used to have by the tail have now run off and left them. An example is an owner that gets a good dose of business training for a few years then goes out on their own no longer using the “coach” or ongoing training. For a short while, things go well, but all to often things go back to the way they were before and the bay-sitting starts all over again.

[Craig]

Most owners agree having the right equipment to do the job is very important. Most owners I talk to about being able to provide the best equipment for their teams day it usually comes down to cost. This makes another great conversation for why owners must know their numbers and bill the correct labor amounts to be able to provide the tools for a safer work place and employee health. The pay back is an team member that will feel better, be healthier and more productive and a better all around technician for more years than one doing the old way of muscling through the work while we all get older and our bodies worn down. We are overdue as an industry to also think about a health and safety plan. Morning stretching and regular exercise are things we should start encouraging each other to do. Back braces before we really need one is another idea also.