kipp

My shop ALWAYS replaces the hydrolic tentioner or we wont do the job.

IMO the best way to deal with a crook is not to. I have had to tell a few lots that is they dont want to fix it right ie: new parts with warranty. then why would you sell it to joe public? Its not all about the almighty dollar! And when those lots send thier clients straight over and try to throw me under the bus I simply tell the client that…[Read more]

IMO: buying an existing business has pro and cons, if the p&l looks good and its produced by a cpa then odds are you have a chance. but what about the problems that business might have? I like to send in a spy once in a while just to see how my people handle things and I think this would be a very good way to gauge what kind of customer service…[Read more]

In my area there has been a shift (mostly at the state level) to a four day work week. So if you can put a number on what it costs you to just open the doors and then multiply by the number of days your open: 4? 5? 6? a lot of us would be suprised just how much money we loose by being open for a portion of the day on saturday! And cutting back to…[Read more]

Davis Edwards wrote:
> I do not wait long but I have all employees pay for the weekly rental. They do not mind because it saves them money in the long run.

Davis,

just FYI: it is against federal labor laws to charge an employee for uniform rental/use if your shop requires they be worn. It is ok to hold a deposit on every piece of those uniforms…[Read more]

Dennis Roennebeck wrote:
> I have seen a tool advertised that fits in your air hammer designed with certain bends to drive out hinge pins — does anyone know who the manufacturer is and where to buy one

I have a door hing pin tool kit. It does not go in an air hammer but I can change upper and lower pins and repalce all the bushings in about…[Read more]

> 3 of our kids are Marines. The room mate of one of them did the same thing last fall…lost it at 160 MPH.

My guy friend did the same thing.

> My guess is that you are probably going nuts, but your expenses have dropped to almost nothing. So, if you can cope with going nuts, you will likely be OK money wise.

Im sure it will work out.…[Read more]

Jeff Broderick wrote:

> Find a pleasant waitress or smart drive through attendant or sharp cashier at Home Depot and take them under your wing and teach them what you want. Otherwise, pay the big bucks and steal one from your closest dealership.

* I tried the Big Bucks way and I am still getting complaints about him. I hired a woman for a S/A…[Read more]

Rob Hopp wrote:

> Define gouging for me… Now define micromanagement…
* well Lets see if I can give you the big picture without typing for hours. I cought him gouging a client for about 500 bucks over what the job should have cost according to the pricing matix I have set up and published labor times from mitchell and if that werent bad enough…[Read more]

well right now I am the only staff! and I think im loosing my mind! I fired my S/R for gouging people and let one of my techs go for 30% production and then my A tech killed himself on his new bullet bike! Im not sure Im going to make it.

Well I let my very first SA go friday after finding out that he was gouging someone for over 300 bucks. and if that wasnt bad enough he was charging for premium parts (with premium part #s on the invoice) and installing econo junk! so we sent him walking

Tom Ham wrote:

> By the way…I like the name of your shop…very creative! How did you come up with it?

Tom,

Well I was trying to think of a new name for my company because I was taking the riens from my father in law. So while trying to get away from clients calling and asking for him and trying not to have a repair shop that had my givin…[Read more]

> Hey Kipp,
>
> Sounds like you have a good shop to work for. Just like diagnosing a vehicle, you took the time to “diagnose” your service advisor. I am currently speaking to some forward thinking shop owners who are open to marketing ideas and business building strategies.
>
> With this competitive market, especially here in Michigan, I…[Read more]

If you are already doing a multi point inspection on every car that come in then you are basically already doing the inspection (plus a few things) so why not get paid for that multipoint. And remenber every client you send to your nieghbor has that much more chance of not returning to you. DO IT!!

Jeff, I think that you were doing a great job and I wish you well in finding the nest. I also think that my SA is doing a great job over all. We figured out that he wasnt being PERFECTLY clear on the final bill mostly due to my clients that have the attitude that “if it needs it do it” because they trust us. I learned early that those are the…[Read more]

Jay Alfsen wrote:
> It’s very common for the owner to NOT charge enough. An employee will almost always get more for you than you can do yourself. I would definitely work on some procedures and limitations with your SA. Another thought, you might want to consider putting him on performance based pay. That will help keep him there to take care of…[Read more]

Well I sat him down and talked about all of my concerns and all of his concerns and I think things are going to be good. We both agreed that we need some policy and procedure improvement and he agreed that saying no to the boss is not an option. thanks for the coaching.

Tom, Thank you for the advise it helped put things in perspective. Unfortunetly, we are starting to see some complaints and I am finding that I am staying late to fix the problem while he goes home, and I have him on salary! Am I wrong for thinking that you should stay and get the customer taken care of before you run out the door?

I totally agree! But I have to wonder if we are under priced or if he is just seeing what he can get out of a ticket. I guess a price guide sheet is in order!