[Tom]

We did not have a decent private room for any type of meeting or phone call or whatever. We started the project a few weeks ago and just put the final touches on it over the weekend. Compact, but way better than what we had!

[Tom]

You too, Lowell.

Changes…

#1: Decent employees significantly harder to find.

#2: Competition stiffer, marketing more sophisticated.

#3: Technology screaming ahead….not just the cars, but the technology of all that goes into running the business.

#4: Available resources to deal with all of the above vastly better.

I assume that you guys are going to take your previous model and fine tune it…which should work out quite nicely.

[Tom]

The answer is more obvious than it may seem to be.

Personal attention from nice people is far more likely to occur at the mom and pop shops in any industry due to the lack of politics and egos and internal competition and ignorance and silly standards, etc.

However, any company of any size can reasonably duplicate what the mom and pops do. It’s just rarely done because so few people in the big companies truly “get it”…or want to. 

Disney did at one time. 

 

The large companies today who do the best at it tend to be high end hotels and restaurants. 

[Tom]

An ongoing thing that we do is give each tech an budget of $20 per week which is used to buy shop equipment and tools. Spending in this area is now more accurate and efficient as they carefully plan what to buy for the shop. Might be a $25 item, might be a $500 item if they let it ride for a while. Great way to save money on wasted tool and equipment spending since they only get what what they will definitely use.

[Tom]

We have a set of questions that we mostly came up with on our own. Most are not designed to get specific factual answers as much as to get the person to talk about that subject. Bring up a topic and let them talk until there is a long silence. It’s amazing what people will say. 

As far as a list of questions goes….what do YOU want to know about them. As them that.

[Tom]

The tech working on the car. I know a lot of shops do it differently, but this works for our shop.

My belief is that the person doing the work should be responsible for making sure it is done right. I don’t want them to figure that someone else will check it and catch any issues…therefore they can skip double checking their work.

When something comes back, I want one person holding the bag.

I don’t feel comfortable having people work on cars who have to be watched because they just aren’t capable of making sure things are done right. 

The only exception to this would be during training.

[Tom]

It has been a while since I have worked with this…basically gave up. 

We were able to post replies, but when checked a few days later they were gone. 

Occurred repeatedly. 

[Tom]

There are so many that come to mind that a top 10 list is a bit difficult. 

Here is what we do:

An issue of some/any kind comes up.

We create a relatively brief and to the point procedure/policy on how to deal with it. 

We ask for a quick review (today) from others at the shop.

We edit it accordingly.

We include it in a weekly email to all staff making it clear that this is how we will do things.

As time goes on, we make adjustments as needed.

Over time we have accumulated well over 100 of these which are specific to our shop.

We have them grouped/indexed for easy reference (oil changes, comebacks, shop care, etc).

We email an updated complete list to employees regularly.

At one time we would try to create policies and procedures in advance, however we found that for most issues the result came out better if handled right when it came up. 

[Tom]

Which best describes your labor charge system?

__X___ Labor matrix

Which labor guide(s) do you regularly use?

_____ AllData

__X___ Chilton

__X___ Mitchell

__X___ Motor

[Tom]

Can you go into a bit more detail on what you see as the issues and why?

[Tom]

Here is a link to a newspaper story that tells more about George and his shop:

http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2012/12/staten_islands_zalooms_auto_re.html

[Tom]

Ask your other employees (both shop and office) for input.

Ask your spouse, too.

Perfect situation for a 30 day trial period.

[Tom]

Wittneben:

How do you do your background checks?

In what way to they not pass?

On the drug screening; do they just refuse the screening or do they actually submit to it and then not pass? 

[Tom]

Depends on the time period. The longer the time, the larger the list. 

The basic weekly list includes: 

*GP% for parts and labor and total

*New customers

*Effective rate

*Average RO

*Car count

*Hours billed

*Discounts

*Mix of makes

*Sales

*Trending of above #s

[Tom]

Yes

About a year

Not presentable to customers, lack of motivation, lack of competence.

Getting applicants is not a problem…it’s the lack of quality.

[Tom]

The procedures on this vary greatly from state to state. Generally you fill out some forms, wait for a certain period of time, and so on. To find out exactly how it works in your area, try contacting the following to get the information or point you towards it.

The towing service you use.

The collision shop you use.

Your local trade association.

D.M.V.

[Tom]

Three.

No charge to customer.

State Auto Insurance.

We advertise several types of transportation assistance, but we do not advertise “Free loaner cars”. I just don’t have a warm, fuzzy feeling about doing that.

[Tom]

This is the type of thing that is perfect to have an industry trade association handle. 

Anyone reading this…please forward the link for this message/post to your trade association official and see if they can assist.

I will do so with our local association.

[Tom]

Certain businesses/buildings catch your eye (in a positive way) when you are driving. Drive around your area and take notes on which ones stand out and why. Then do those things to yours.

The best/nicest looking business of any kind (assuming the location quality is equal) will get the most walk-in traffic. Find the three best looking auto repair shops in your area. Then make yours look better…significantly better.

Like these….

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/111160991?access_key=key-iuhhobo7qbcl1exs6jp&allow_share=true

[Tom]

We made a video of the incident, sent it to local TV station, they ran story several times, yesterday Sheriff calls us to come and get the patio set, anonymous tip found him, they will charge him soon. 

Sometimes things work out nicely!

[Tom]

We make it very clear that the car is not safe to drive. We have a disclaimer that goes on the invoice, we highlight it in red and point it out. We do not make too big of a deal of it…we just make sure they understand and that they SIGN indicating that they do.

If they still want to drive it, it is their car and if the state deemed them bright enough to drive then they can take the responsibility for the brakes.

In some states you would likely be liable, in others the judge would throw it out.

Know the political flavor in your jurisdiction…that has more to do with these scenarios than facts….seriously.

[Tom]

Addressing the question: What should I do considering that I don’t call the shots?

You could just ignore it all and concentrate on other things until you get control.

Or….

Consider getting a job at another shop. You will learn a lot by doing this….especially if it is a well run shop, and it will become clear that you are serious about making changes. Eventually you might return depending on how things go.

Or…

Start your own shop. Not easy, but doable if you are determined. There is enough info on this website to make a new shop a success. There are more than a few techs out there who do sales of $300K+ per year with the tech by himself in the shop and his spouse running the front counter. Personal income for these folks is generally 6 figures plus.

[Tom]

Cutting to the chase…3 people (let’s say one adviser, 1 experienced tech and one basic tech) working 40-45 hours per week should be sufficient for the amount of sales that you describe. Pay based on production…total for the 3 people $6K to $8K per month. Bottom line….you now have 2 extra people….and currently everyone works way too many hours.

[Tom]

As you say, lots of things to cover. What type of change would encounter the least resistance? Start there. If I had to pick one to start with, put everyone on a 40 hour week. 

[Tom]

1: How many different parts vendors do use regularly (more than once per week)?

___5-7

2: What percent of purchases do you get from the vendor who you buy from the most?

___40-50%

[Tom]

We have very few people ask about or mention warranty. While it is important to have a solid warranty, could it be that it is not as critical to the marketing/sales process as we might believe?

[Tom]

Gary:

The best indicator is what is it doing for your bottom line. You want

the site to be found and for it to get profitable customers in your

front door. How you like it or how I like it is not very important.

As soon as people start talking about how cool a particular site is,

immediately think of Craigslist…one of the top 5 sites in the

world…and in competition for the most boring.

The trick is to get a good website “geek” and follow his or her

direction.

[Tom]

Jeff:

Try to get them on board with an “autopsy” as to why it failed.

Probably have to be an indie shop as most Honda dealers only R&R.

It’s good that they research the net…because of what they will find

about older Odyssey transmissions. It is unusual and the exception to

have an 02 Odyssey where the trans has not yet been done at least

once, if not several times.

What you want to pay, if anything, is between you and them…every

situation is a bit different.

FWIW…the Honda recommended procedure for trans fluid service is bit

unique. Very few shops or even Honda dealers will do it. Do it the

Honda way in the future which will help your credibility when

situations like this arise.

HTH

[Tom]

The range that I have heard most often is 4% to 6% of gross sales.

But, if the building is in such a great location that you can take 2%

off your marketing budget, then 6% to 8% makes sense to me.

The reverse is also true. A weak location could require an additional 3%

in the marketing budget. In that case 1% to 3% would be about right.

[Tom]

Both about the same, however the trend during the latter part of the

year was up significantly. January so far up quite a bit compared to

last year.