Patrick McElroy
Forum Replies Created
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Last year we purchased a sandblasting cabinet from ACE Automotive Cleaning Equipment in Grand Haven, MI. Has a shop vac with large filter. Now we can clean caliper mounting brakets quickly and more efficiently without all the dust created from air grinders. Also finding it very usefull for cleaning rotor hub surfaces.
Also purchased a Robinair Cooltech 34788 A/C machine. Sooo much faster than my 13 year old White Industry machine. Has worked flawlessly all summer.
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I have been using Alldata Manage for about ten years now. My
dislikes are 1. You can not write a refund invoice. 2. Michigan
requires tax on core values and Alldata can not ( will not ) provide
this function. 3. Alldata welcomes suggestions for improvements but
has NEVER followed up on my suggestions. So why have I stayed with
them ? Support has been good when I have computer issues. I like the
invoice layout and the service history.
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There are some cars that just need to be retired. Some customers
just need to hear it loud and clear from the professional that they
are spending their money unwisely. I agree with Tom that some
vehicle owners will pony up to fix their vehicle when presented with
all the information they need. This is a real balancing act that
each shop owner has to deal with. I have found that some customers
are relieved when I inform them that it’s time to “let go” . I use
the following list to measure up a vehicle and it’s owner.
1. Can I make this vehicle safe to drive ?
2. Am I going to marry this vehicle if I work on it ?
3. What is the value of this vehicle on Kelly Blue Book ?
We print out the KBB report to show the vehicle owner.
4. Write a list off all the issues you see of the vehicle. Both
safety and non safety. What maintenance is due and overdue.
5. Would I let my wife or children drive this vehicle ?
6. Re-inforce that fixing this vehicle does not make it new. Some
customers think that spending x amount of dollars fixes everything
for a couple years. Fixing x does not mean that y and z will not
present problems in the future. Y and Z could show up tomorrow .
Only after communicating all of the options to a customer can he/
she make an informed decision about their vehicle. Sometimes, their
informed decision may not agree with our opinion. ( that would be
the “crazy” customer )
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Aaron, thank you for posting this issue. I hope everything works out for you and your customer. I really want to thank Doug ( as well as all the other responders ) for your insight to protecting ones reputation on the net. I am copying your post and giving a copy to all my employees today. Great post.
PaT
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I feel your pain Aaron. What are your cylinder leakage test results ? Is it an engine issue or is it a fuel delivery problem ? I would want to prove where the miss is coming from before I swag an engine at it. In my opinion, the customer is not responsible for the head gasket labor since it did not fix his problem. The customer should only have to pay for what fixes the vehicle. If you charge him for the head gasket labor, he will tell everyone he knows.
Pat
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I would think that the general public would like a “one stop shop” to take their vehicle to. What little I do know about the collision industry is that it is a whole different animal. Talk with SEVERAL collision shop owners in your state. How do they feel their industry is doing ? Are the Insurance companies dictating how they repair cars, and, at what price ? ( the insurance co price or your price matrix ) There have been new EPA regulations on painting. Is the shop your interested in compliant ? Are there Google comments about this shop ? And if so, are the comments good ? I hope this is helpful and I wish you good luck.
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Hi Petro,
One methode I utilize is to use a cooking timer with a bell for some of my “slower” techs. When he starts a preliminary diagnosis, I’ll set the timer for say, a half an hour. When the time is up I’ll check up on his progress to make sure he is staying “on track”.
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If I may quote Tom Piippo of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, ” I made a deal with my bank, I won’t make loans to customers and they won’t fix cars.”
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Dan, Bosch is nowhere near as good to deal with as Vetronix was. I have a VCI and it is slow slow slow. There is a new universal scan tool out from Hanatech that covers many vehicles at a reasonable cost. I bought it from CAS of New England (goolge them) and it does a decent job. BUT, not many scan tools on the market can do what the OEM scan tools do. Ex.- If you work on many fords, buy an IDS. Audi and VW, buy the vag-com. etc. etc. Talk with someone from CAS because they sell them All and may have a rep in your area. Good luck.
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Hi Lenny,
My two cents says to install fans either in your roof or up high in the walls to ventilate your shop and create a cross breeze. The minute you change your work hours, I believe, your techs will not want to go back to a five day work week when the weather gets cooler. Just human nature.
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If you drive Michigan roads it becomes obvious that the current road tax system is not working. First, we build roads that only last ten years. Then we increase our fleet fuel efficiency and collect less tax to fix those roads. Then we decide to build vehicles that don’t use gasoline and collect no road tax at all. I think it will be inevitable that we end up with a mileage tax.
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Hi Cheryl,
You must be doing things right that your business is starting to
outgrow the two of you. Have you and your husband considered
hiring a young apprentice to assist him in the shop ? Your husband
could then still help you along in your development while an
assistant could get things moving in the shop at his directions.
Perhaps the local high school auto shop teacher has a mature
student that is ready to help. There are also good kids at the
lube shops that may want to step-up. ( I don’t mean going up there
and stealing an employee, but an add on Craigslist may get a
nibble)
I will tell you, in my own situation, whenever I thought it was
time to hire a tech,or counterman, I procrastinated. But when I
finally made the move, not too much later, I wondered why I waited
so long. The key is to not just hire someone with a pulse. You
have to hire someone that you don’t have those “doubts” in the back
of you mind.
On the other hand, you and your husband may be happy with just the
two of you? As my accountant advises me, “if your too busy, maybe
you need to raise your rates”. Check with your vendors to see if
they have access to service advisor seminars for yourself, it’s in
their best interest for you to become more knowledgeable. Your
personal growth in this industry will hit a few potholes, but the
rewards will follow with effort. Best of luck !
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Hi David,
My wife happens to be my insurance agent. She tells me my policy could be dropped after thiry days if I retain an employee that they deem uninsurable to drive a vehicle for work purposes. A review with your agent should give you more answers.
My other point to make is, “Would I let this employee work on my wife and/or kids car unsupervised ?”
Pat
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___x__ Charge for both repair and testing, retain the original testing charge, and show each charge on separate labor lines
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There is a short book titled “You can’t send a Duck to Eagle school”
by Mac Anderson. You can google a three minute clip thay may help you.
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BE SURE TO CHECK WITH THE CITY. THE FIRE INSPECTOR, ELECTRICAL INSPECTOR, AND PLANNING DEPTS ALL HAVE THEIR OWN REQUIREMENTS BEFORE THEY WILL SIGN OFF ON A CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. EX: THE FIRE INSPECTOR WANTED A FIRE CABINET, CONTAINMENT FOR NEW OIL AND COOLANT BARRELS, DUEL WALLED CONTAINMENT FOR WASTE OIL. THE PLANNING DEPT WANTED DUMPSTER ENCLOSURE, PARKING LOT RESTRIPED WITH AN ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING OF THE LOT AND BUILDING. AND THIS WAS FOR A BUILDING THAT WAS ALREADY AN AUTO SHOP BEFORE ME.
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I’m sorry Phil. It was wrong for me to generalize. It will do my best to not let it happen again.
Pat
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Steve has the right idea, feed them once in a while. In the summer time, I have ice cream bars on hand for the parts drivers of my suppliers. These drivers tend to deliver to me a little more promtly when I need something fast. As far a training a tow truck driver I only have one comment, “They’re Tow Truck Drivers”.
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Mike Rowe from “Dirty Jobs”
Steve Irwin (deceased) “The Crockodile Man”
Dennis Miller “Sat Night Live & Fox Network”
R Lee Ermey “The Gunney”
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Hi Lenny,
Maybe it’s time to pay him only for the hours produced. There is no better motivation to work hard. He has been taking advantage of you and your other employees see it as well. Not only are you loosing their respect, they will soon follow in not working as hard. Real friends don’t sponge off their friends ( employer ). The situation sucks but it has to be delt with. Best of luck in your dilema.
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Hi Chip,
There are a couple of customers out there that just won’t, or just can’t understand the best of explanations concerning their vehicle. I have dropped the word DIAGNOSIS from my shop jobs on the invoice to now read TESTING. For example, we explain to customers that we need time to perform TESTS to gather information that will lead us to a recommeded repair. The invoice only shows the “tests” along with fees that were performed to gather the information for the repair. The medical field never says they are performing “diagnostics”, they run tests and come up with a diagnosis based on those tests.
I’ll bet the majority of your customers will give you the proper time necessary to fix their vehicle. Don’t let the occational “oddball” get you down. Accept them for who they are and just keep smiling.
