[hoauto]

Good afternoon Karl.

I am going to suggest a different approach.

Develop a process from point A (when the customer is written up) to point Z (when the vehicle is delivered). Cover all bases on service write-up, dispatch, parts requests (use a form for the tech to list parts he needs for the job.) That will help with accuracy in estimates. Also include the selling process and scheduling. Every shop is different so processes will be different. Something that we do after the job is sold is to reprint the repair order and keep the original attached. Then we put a note to tell the tech when the vehicle should be completed. (That does not mean when the job is ready to deliver, it is when the S/A needs the paperwork back so that it can be ready when the customer picks it up.) We also mark which jobs are already done and a quick note about where the parts are coming from and ETA of said parts.

This is an off the cuff answer, but you get the idea. If these types of things are covered in a process it can help reduce some of the communication issues. Work with the techs and service writers to develop a plan and then use it.

I hope this helps.

Andy

[hoauto]

The margin on batteries is smaller than repair parts margins. That said, you can probably get your local parts supplier to supply inventory at no cost to you. properly trained technicians should be able to do that for you with few issues. If the vehicle needs additional work, you can decide if you want to deal with it or not.

I hope this helped.

Andy
Hockett & Olsen
Bainbridge Island, Wa.

[hoauto]

What a great discussion!

We do a combination of the above. We will do a “scan & go” (just read and document the codes) if that is all the customer is looking for. That equates to .5  We will generally quote between $60 and $170 for any MIL. This gives the tech room for minor additional testing if required. For electrical trouble shooting, we will generally start with 2 hours time. By the way, time is only used for this discussion. With any diagnostic testing, we quote $$$, NOT time. Time is a way to help us manage our labor inventory.

It is going to get harder and harder to find quality diagnostic techs. As that ‘commodity’ gets scarcer and scarcer, the price will need to be adjusted as needed.

Andy

[hoauto]

What a good reminder for us all. Sometimes it is tempting to give away the diagnosis at the front counter. Especially when it looks like a common problem. In essence when you do that, you are taking money away from the technician and the shop. You could almost say stealing money from all whom get paid based on hours billed.

The doctor analogy is always best. Would you want an experienced nurse or front desk person diagnosing your medical issue? I know that I would not!

Would you steal from the shop?

[hoauto]

We use  the Zebra. It works well. I have not used any of the others so  cannot compare.

[hoauto]

Thats a great idea Tom! Do you just have the techs put them in a box, attach them to their work order and have the adviser handle it, or…..?

Thank you for the idea.

Andy

[hoauto]

Good questions Tom.

A paid day off (except for holidays) would be considered a paid day off, regardless of weather it is a sick day, vacation day.

No change to the holidays at this point.

Uniforms are  paid for by the shop.

Andy

We are still discussing the performance based health benefits. No real idea yet what we would do.

[hoauto]

Me-where do you see yourself in 5 years? a: I would like to be a goat herder.

Like wow man is there a test for that?

Andy

[hoauto]

I just did a quick tally for 2013 and found that cash and check were less than 20%. I did not include debits or money orders
Andy

[hoauto]

We will be closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. We may shut down early on ‘the eves’, depending on work load. We will be open the Fridays  after.

[hoauto]

We use Mitchell Management. I would give it a 7-7.5

For the most part it seems to work ok, Parts ordering is ok. Are we the only shop using Mitchell? I do not see any other shops so far rating it.

Andy

[hoauto]

Not sure at this point. If it is to help ensure competence of the technician, we already have ASE.

What would be the advantage to us as a service provider? I am not sure that I want bureaucrats deciding guidelines for how we do our jobs. They have some of their own challenges in that area.

I would be open to more discussion on this topic. I have not followed too closely the recent approval of automotive technician licensing in other  parts of the country.

Andy

[hoauto]

We have a hybrid warranty. First 12/12 is 100%, balance of a 36/36 is  prorated.

[hoauto]

1 Very important
2 Somewhat important
3 Not important

__2___ Caller ID for customers in database

__3___ Email customer from the RO

___3__ Integrated paperless inspections

__2___ Instant view of all maintenance service history and services due

__3___ Job pricing (invoices display total prices only for individual jobs)

__2___ License plate to VIN decoding

__2___ Labor matrix

___3__ Oil sticker printing

___1__ Service advisor event reminders (call customer, check parts arrival, etc.)

__3___ Signature capture

__2___ Technician time clocking

__2___ Text customer from the RO

___2__ Works on tablet and smart phones

___2__ Other : We use Mitchell management. Would like to see on the monthly picture of the schedule an additional box at the bottom for planning. (this would include notes about closure due to natural disaster, snow, and the like) A place to note if we had any specific events such as car care seminar, open house, etc. Maybe even a spot for a quick look at promos run that month and a spot to identify which ones worked well. This would not be all inclusive, but somewhere to have quick reference when looking into the future.

[hoauto]

We just signed on to Demand Force for this type of thing. In the first 3 days, we have gotten 5 appointments, 4 reviews and our satisfaction survey looks very good. In the past we were only getting 2-3 per month. We are marketing the idea as a benefit to them for time savings, convenience, and special offers only for those that share their emails. We are also doing an email only newsletter thru them.

Time will tell. This is a customer retention system and we will still have other acquisition things that we do to bring in new clients.

We will also be able to send birthday cards out to our customers, either an actual postcard or email.

I have read reviews about Demand Force and the results are mixed. I would suggest to anyone looking at this type of program to review what you want from them and see if it will be a good fit for your business situation. It will take effort from the front end staff to make it work.

I hope this helps answer your question.

Andy

[hoauto]

We buy from 5-6 regular parts suppliers in addition to online sellers and dealers.

We buy over 50% from our #1 supplier

Andy

[hoauto]

Thank you for the information Adam.

What is the cost to the merchant? Is there a monthly fee as well as a cost per transaction?

We have looked into a couple of programs that have monthly costs associated with them as well as transaction fees. We had the Car Care One card at one time, but the number of customers declined was pretty high. There was also a $35/month charge just for the privilege of having the card available to our customers. It has been several years since we dropped the program, but it seemed very expensive at the time.

We are even considering a limited “in house” financing program. We would of course prefer paid when picked up. There was a recent article in Wratchet and Wrench that discusses this topic.

I am interested in what other shops are doing too.

Andy

[hoauto]

Ollie, that sounds like a good program. Does it integrate with Mitchell Manager? Do you have a link to their website? I would like to investigate it more. We currently get less than 10% online appointments. Thanks in advance. Andy

[hoauto]

I just wanted to put my 2 cents worth in on the productivity. You cannot stay in business with 28%! It sounds like your shop is in transition. That can make it frustrating, but be patient. My suggestion would be to cut 1 tech if they cannot produce. Ticket average needs to go up. We pay a flat hourly with a spiff per flat rate hour produced. We are trying an additional incentive if productivity is above 75% that will increase depending on where it sits. 75%, then 80%, then 85% and so on. Until you can make the actual change, I agree with Tom, which was the path of least resistance.

Also, lose the overtime and show the techs what the shop gets out of your hourly rate and what it costs (including Labor and Industries, unemployemnt benefits, etc) so that they can see the bottom line. It may help open their eyes to profit not being collected. Maybe they will realize that they won’t have a job because the shop can’t pay its bills.

I would urge you to join a 20 group like that offered by Gary Gunn. His email is- info@turnaroundtour.com You can get help from other shop owners that may be dealing with similar issues. They are also a safe place to bounce ideas off.

I hope this helps.

[hoauto]

We have tried to limit the times we take waiter appointments. We shoot for 8, 10, 1, and 3. We have a dry erase board that we use to keep the techs in the loop and based on schedule will try to assign the tech so that they can plan for it. We also tell out waiter customers to plan on about 1 hour, which gives us time to prepare estimates and sell additional work. That gives us the opportunity to offer loaners and leave the vehicle for the upsold work.

Attitude at the desk and in the shop do make a difference. My guys sometimes have to be reminded that they are all opportunities, not just a drain on productivity.

Don’t know if that will help or not.

Andy

[hoauto]

Thanks for your information Joe. We are up for renewal soon and this may help us negotiate a better lease.

Andy

[hoauto]

Interesting information. Does anyone have a variable rent/lease agreement based on a percentage of gross sales? We do not, but it is an interesting concept.

Andy

[hoauto]

2012 was about the same.

December 2012 was about the same

Andy

[hoauto]

This is a tough issue.

Several years ago, we made the decision NOT to work on vehicles that we would not make money on, just because we were slow. Many times those cars will bite you in the behind when you get busy. If you would not take it when you are busy, you probably should not take it at all. I know it is a tough call, especially when you need some cash flow to keep the doors open.

Consider it give it some thought. We have not been sorry that we made the call.

Andy

[hoauto]

Add me to the list! We are on an island (there is a bridge on one end) and it would be nice to bounce ideas off other small shop owners/managers. Email or chat is fine with me.

Andy

[hoauto]

Basic numbers, we were up for the year about $200. I think that makes us even. Still going thru gp and net numbers. We had some office changes and I am catching up.

[hoauto]

We have several that we use, including Google places. About 10-15