[gcauto]

Thanks for your response! There are times I have to refer to Greg (tech) but most times I’m able to answer the customer questions. I guess it’s all about “training” our customers and proving to them that I do know what I’m talking about and am quite capable of doing my job as the service writer/office manager.

Thanks again! If you ever want to “chat” about daily shop stuff, please give me a shout at gcauto@dejazzd.com.

[gcauto]

Robert, I like your idea. I’ve attended several seminars and have been able to take away a couple of key points, but would rather have ongoing training available online so I don’t have to leave my business to attend. I would be looking for textbook and online training that can be done on a self-paced basis. After attending several seminars, I’ve left with more questions that I went in with because the “meat” of those seminars come at a very hefty price, on top of what I’ve already paid for the seminars.

In my case, ongoing service writer training and management training would be a great idea.

Thanks for your post and good luck!

Cheryl

[gcauto]

This is an idea I will share with Greg. We are a small, Mom and Pop shop. Greg is the tech, I run the front office. So, I do approach the customer as the Service Writer. This customer has been here before and I believe is aware that I am the contact person for scheduling, repairs, authorization, etc. Sometimes I feel certain customers would just prefer talking to a man.

Thank you for your idea though. I’m going to work on implementing that type of form/program for those that insist on talking to Greg.

[gcauto]

Tom,

I love your waiting area and even though our area is much smaller, I plan on sprucing up based on your pictures. I would like to present a much nicer, more welcoming waiting area for our customers comfort. Thank you for sharing!

[gcauto]

Bob,

May I use your response for our shop?

Thank you,

Cheryl

[gcauto]

Rob,

May I use your response at our shop?

Thank you,

Cheryl

[gcauto]

We just encountered this yesterday. A new customer came in 2 years ago and requested a sensor replacement because the parts store pulled the code and told her that’s the repair necessary to address her check engine light. She declined any testing to confirm the problem. She was back yesterday with the complaint that the check engine light is back on and the parts store told her it is the same code so it must be due to our repair. I explained to the customer that she declined any testing during the initial sensor replacement and that we would gladly proceed from here with proper testing. She once again declined testing but feels we should fix her problem since the parts store told her it is the same code as 2 years ago. After explaining to her that there is no magic tool that tells you exactly what is wrong when the check engine light comes on she still declined testing because she knows she just needs this sensor replaced again.

Lesson learned. Our policy is that we will not install a part at the insistance of a customer without authorization for testing.

[gcauto]

I’m not sure how to attach pictures, but over the last 2 years we have painted our office/waiting area, added curtains (we have floor to ceiling windows in the office), added a Keurig coffee maker with a variety of coffee and hot chocolate and a flat screen TV that shows a slide show of the work we do here at the shop along with a recent community event held here.

[gcauto]

I have a combination counter/desk. It seems to be working out well for the last 3-4 years as it gives a “shelf” to put the customers RO while we’re reviewing repairs but it also helps hide other customer information that I may be working on on my desk.

[gcauto]

My original post about no call, no show clients offered many options and I thank you all for that! I wanted to share with you what happened since my initial posting.

I happened to run into our no call, no show customer that I had politely “fired” after their 3rd missed appointment. We are now back on great terms with the understanding that if they would like to schedule, we will set 1/2 an hour of time aside for them, regardless of why they are scheduling. If they drop their vehicle off and it requires more time, we may not get to it the same day, depending on our schedule. The customer loved this idea and said they are very flexible and agree to the terms as they didn’t want to lose us as their shop.

We both felt great after further discussion, which occured on neutral ground (we by chance ran into each other at a yard sale).

Thanks again for all of your options, I do plan on adopting the deposit option for future no call, no shows.

[gcauto]

Let me please re-phrase my comment. We have many customers that don’t understand the time involved in some repairs. In trying to explain to them that we must set aside a certain amount of time, especially on bigger jobs, I have had customers become irritated with me. I get the feeling that they think I’m being “pushy” when in fact, I’m just trying to work our schedule to better serve everyone and ensure our technician has the proper time available to care for their vehicle. My customers are the reason our doors are open, so when I have a no call, no show it becomes a financial issue for us, especially on bigger jobs. I was just wondering how everyone else dealt with this issue. We used to make pre-appointment reminder calls, but I had several complaints about the reminders, so I discontinued the phone calls as a courtesy to our customers.

[gcauto]

Do your customers appreciate you telling them that you have time set aside for their job? Some of our customers would be offended if I told them that.

[gcauto]

We have (2) local used car lots we do work for, (1) we’ve been doing business with since we opened our doors and the second one we just started working with last year. Both have been very easy to deal with and they don’t question our pricing. If they can do the work cheaper themselves, they just come and pick up the vehicle. We fill in our slow times with this work and it works out really well.

[gcauto]

My budget is finished for 2012.

[gcauto]

Jim,

Have you lost any customers with this policy?

[gcauto]

Is that fee the same as the original inspection fee?

[gcauto]

Thanks for the advice Jennifer, I’m looking into that today!

[gcauto]

I check our online reviews monthly. I also update our website monthly with any customer testimonials. We have 1 bad review from a former customer on his personal website. Any other reviews I personally respond to monthly.

4 reviews on Google

3 reviews on Yahoo

1 review on Angie’s List

[gcauto]

50/50 split. I send out potential newsletters to people that live in the immediate area via traditional mail. I email newsletters to current customers that have provided their email address. (I ask every customer for their email address for newsletters and service reminders). We do very little advertising in the phone book and local papers as experience has shown that has not worked very well for us.

[gcauto]

We have also decided to reduce/eliminate our yellow pages ad although we won’t see those savings until early next year. Our book offers free 1 line phone/address in bold in the yellow pages and the white pages, so customers can still find us.

I review our budgets on a monthly basis, so this is an on going review to determine what else we can reduce/eliminate to save money.

[gcauto]

Our shop is small, 2 bays and an office. Looking straight at the building, the 2 bay doors are side by side from left to right, then we have an attached small office. We have a desk and file cabinets in the office (for me), the file cabinets seperate my desk from the customer waiting area. We have an antique stand with coffee, a water cooler, a small magazine rack and 2 chairs for waiting customers. At this time, the set up seems to work ok, although I really could use more space. The 2 bays work for now since we only have 1 tech but if we were to hire another tech, I believe they would trip over each other. It doesn’t seem as if our shop area has enough room for all of the equipment, but there is no option to expand due to limited property space.

If we were to ever move, I have a better idea of what to look for. Also, our bathrooms are located outside (years ago this was a gas station with bathrooms outside), that’s something I would change. And we don’t have an employee area for breaks/lunch. That is also something I would change.

[gcauto]

Lorraine,

I’d love to “chat” via email with you if you’re interested. My email is gcauto@dejazzd.com.

Thanks for the post!

Have a great day!

[gcauto]

We also use a tiered parts matrix. Our average is around 40% but I would certainly like to hit somewhere around 45-50.

[gcauto]

Hi Tim,

If you’re still interested in chatting via email, send your email address to gcauto@dejazzd.com.

Thanks!

Cheryl

[gcauto]

Jeff,

Where is Shaw AFB?

[gcauto]

Hi David,

Send me your email address and we’ll “talk”. gcauto@dejazzd.com

[gcauto]

With as much as the conference call sounds like a great idea, I’m the only person here in the office, so I don’t think that’s an option at this time.

However, if your interested in bouncing ideas off each other via email, that’s more what I’m looking for.

Thanks!

Cheryl

[gcauto]

I’ve heard that quote before and love it! Thanks!

[gcauto]

So far there’s been no problem with the check, but I agree, that’s my gut feeling too. What if something else comes up that they need the money for? Sure, we have a check, but if it bounces, we’re out of the money, no vehicle to hold for collateral and time/fees involved with collecting.

Thanks, I’m going to go with my gut from now on. This is money that MY family needs too!

Cheryl

[gcauto]

Not a bad idea. What do you do in the case of customers dropping off before/after hours or scheduling/approving by phone? Do you fax the estimate to them?