Dennis
Forum Replies Created
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This was a great video when Doug produced it but you cannot just go by color coding.
We are not only a repair center but we also have a fuel injector cleaning and testing center that services injectors for shops all over the U.S. We actually own some of the machines Linder Tech used when Doug was working there.
We have injectors sent in all the time that have 2-3 different part #’s in the same engine where shops have thought they were all the same flow. So not only do injectors that look the same have different flows but the fuel pressure behind the injectors can change the flow considerably. One other note on GDI injectors most of them are directional and have to be put in the exact position they were in originally or the spray is not in the proper place on the piston. This will cause a strange misfire that is hard to pinpoint since the cylinder does have spark and fuel. fuelinjectionutah.com will give you other information and videos that you can show customers and technicians .
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Up 2% for the year. Felt good for that because of all the days I had an employee off
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We tell our fleets that we will give them priority service putting them ahead of others to get their vehicles back as soon as possible. Having their vehicles is how they make money why should you lose money when repairing them.
Our largest fleet is the post office they do charge us 4% of the invoice and we up their labor rate enough to cover the costs. We mark up all parts the exact same way as our other customers which is double our cost.
When doing fleets we get an automatic approval from the company for $300 on every vehicle they bring in so we can expedite the work needed.
Just like when we deal with warranty companies if they do not pay our regular labor or markup on parts we bill it to the customer when they pickup their vehicle. They know this up front and we let them know how much extra time we spend to get them as much as possible from the warranty company
You cannot stay in business by volume and that is how the fleet management companies try and force you to comply with their demands. Start by telling them NO when the won’t pay your higher fleet labor rate. Get a decent mark up on parts and do not let them demand you use a certain part for the repair.
If they will not let you make a profit on what you do let some other company take them on and deal with the headaches and loss of profit and work on gaining new customers that will pay what you are worth.
Talk to the companies involved and let them push the management companies into working with you. Give them excellent service and explain to them they can make more money when you can work faster by expediting their vehicles and not put up with the management companies demands.
We have found that the fleets that allow us to make a profit , expedite their work and we have pre authorization for appreciate us the most.
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Only about 30 minutes longer then normal – warehouses seem to have plenty of stock
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Dexron vi c. $7.33 s. $12.99
Merc V c. $5.26 s. $ $10.32
some fluids higher markup some lower like Nissan specific CVT fluid
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100% on our cost of the engine or transmission
100 % on any body part that needs painting
100 % on any out of town or internet purchases
100 % on non returnable parts
100 % of a part when a customer takes the car before repair
50 % of cost of repair on 2000 or older vehicles
C/C on file for classic cars and parts charged at list as we go.
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I have also broken my rule about installing customer parts. I recently designed a form for them to sign if they wanted to bring a part in. The form states NO warranty.
But the one deciding factor for them is that we will charge them $1.50 per minute if the part is wrong and this STARTS from the minute I make a phone call or text or email to them regardless if they answer until we have the right part in our hands this usually stops any further discussion about them supplying the part.
This has made the customer more aware that we cannot tie up a bay. We also add 50-100 % to the labor charge to make up the part difference.
Since we do a lot of classic cars into the 1920’s this does not apply to very hard to find trim parts or complete housings etc. – These customers are well aware of the costs they are going to incur for their repair anyway and never try and talk our labor or parts down
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As a shop owner for over 30 years my observation is that you are trying to be too big too soon. It will take time to build clients. Just because you have 20k set aside for marketing does not mean you will have instant customers. You want to avoid marketing just to drag someone in with a cheap oil change because that is they type of clients you don’t want. You want to build relationships with people as they come in and manage their expectations not yours. The hardest part of running a business is not fixing the car it is Employee’s and their daily problems attitudes etc.
My advice is start slower with maybe only 2 technicians , check vehicles out completely each time. Present to your customers the reason something should be fixed now or in the future and cultivate a customer base based on trust and relationships not just marketing for cars.
It is easier to add techs as you need them then it is to lay one off because of lack of work. No matter how long you have been in business there is always a slow day or week due to something we have no control of.
The biggest thing to remember is the daily expenses are there every day whether you have work or not.
Have plenty of money saved to cover your self as you get yourself established
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25.,26,30,59
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Here is the form I wrote up for the customer to sign and I photo copy their drivers license to it also so there is no mistake who signed the form. Since making up this form not one customer has decided to use their cheap part.
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We moved our shop only 4 blocks 25 years ago and it was the best thing we did. But you need to really calculate the expenses to move. We spent over $20,000 to move. and added 3 bays
Sign removal and reinstall, phone change over , larger phone system, new business cards, new repair orders ( before we used a computer form) , Scrubbing new shop, painting, Security System, More outlets, compressor move, new air lines, more shelves, workbenches, office redo , Hoist remove and reinstall , move hoists if needed , Forklift, just to name a few -
Close early on Nov 26 closed 27,28,29,30
December close early on 23 , closed 24,25,26Close early on dec 31 , closed jan 1st and second -
12 months 12,000 miles – soon to change to 24 months 24,000 miles for AAA customers
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Look at autoshopprocedures.com they have driveability and customer questionaire forms for service writers and techs
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Look at autoshopprocedures.com there is driveability and questionairs for the service writer and tech’s to use.
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What should the % goal be?
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5-7 vendors
more then 50%
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I am sure tired of 6 different processors calling me everyday to switch
my credit cards , so I started telling them we don’t take them any more
only cash we can’t launder the money from credit cards and that stops
them from calling anymore after they get thru gasping at what I said
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We average 50-53%
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Able to search customer history easily, System that is easy to learn
and use, has technician reports for billed hours, Will not let you
close out an invoice unless your parts costs are listed, technician #
entered and mileage entered. Easy to add information too like email
addresses, can designate a time period that you want a printout of and
address labels for newsletters, able to add shop supply percentage and
epa percentage , easy to change labor rate amount.
Safety system so only administer can reopen a repair order so someone
cannot reopen it and change the amount and take the extra cash.
just some of the things that are important to me and I have been using
Master Repair by Summit Ordering System for over 18 years
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We have used Master Repair by Summit Ordering Systems , for 18 years ,
they are great to work with and will even do custom work for you.
The system just works and works , The only time I ever call them for
technical help is just to better understand a section of what the system
can do that we haven’t tried previously, You can even talk to the owner
of the company if you have a problem his name is John Didione . The
system is not expensive , updates are about $2-300 every few years is
all and best of all your information is kept all in house and there is
no monthly fee.
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about every 2 weeks or after a supplier gives us a promotion to pass on
to customers , newsletter quarterly
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Same answer for our shop
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We moved 5 blocks from our old location and it was about $20K by the
time we got done , moving hoists, transferring telephones and a new
phone system , moving our large sign and remounting it, new invoices and
address stamps, painting and remodeling new building , It is best to
look at each item and start finding out what it will cost in your area
also forklift rental – trailer rental for hoists and heavy equipment
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When a vehicle gets left and the customer will not reply to phone
calls, mailings etc. We send a certified letter with delivery
confirmation ( make sure you make a copy for yourself) If it is
returned to you or not you can file for a mechanics lien or we just
apply for a title to the vehicle , This is easy to do if you show
storage charges from the first time you tried to contact them ,
invoices not paid, pictures of incomplete vehicle. Once we have a
title to a vehicle we call and leave messages for the customer letting
them know we now own the vehicle and have a new title from the state
it is
amazing how fast they come up with the money to retrieve their
vehicles so that we do not sell them. Also another shop that does
restoration and custom work has them bring in the title up front and
puts their name down as the lien holder and keeps a copy of it in
their files in case the problem you are having comes up.
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We also sell tests not diagnostics , We have a level 1,2,3 diagnostic
procedure.
We mostly sell the concept of testing to see what is working not what
is wrong – Documenting what is working according to the tests
performed keeps you from having to ever refund the charges.
I have also worked in the medical field on an ambulance for 20 years
and explain it to them in medical terms like they get at the Dr’s
office which makes it easier for them to grasp the necessity of tests.
This concept of verify what works allows you to move to the next level
of testing which gets more and more involved as you move thru each
level.
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6 inside 1 outside and 3500 sq feet
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6 inside and 3600 sq feet
