Tips

Interruptions eat away at productivity. Some interruptions are major, but many are minor and accepted as normal in most shops. While interruptions can hinder anyone in the shop, they are more of a problem with technicians who might be in the middle of something.

Stopping them for a few seconds may cause some techs to take several minutes to “reset”. Discuss the policy below at your next employee meeting, then post it at everyone’s work station – including the owner / manager who is often the primary interrupter.

When you are about to interrupt a coworker with any kind of question or other information, ask yourself:

1: Is an immediate interruption necessary right now?
2: Can it wait until a break?
3: Will an IM (instant message) get the job done?
4: Will an email get the job done?

Sooner or later someone will ask you what you won’t miss – what you will be happy to leave behind once your days of business ownership are over.  It might be just one thing (doubtful) or it may be a list – maybe a very lengthy list for some.

Let me ask you a different question. Why not eliminate the things on the list? Give all those things over to someone else involved in the management of your shop. That means whatever remains should be things that you either enjoy or don’t really mind taking care of. You will likely find that most of what is left can be done remotely from your favorite getaway.

For a lot of shop owners, the picture has now changed a lot. The list of tasks and hours required have often been significantly reduced. The yearning for life without the shop might be gone or greatly diminished.

So, before you pack it all in, you may want to give this approach a try for a year or so. The industry needs smart experienced owners to remain involved. More importantly for many, you need something that needs you.

A down side of many jobs is lifting things. For technicians, it’s often the constant lifting of wheels on and off the floor – something that has become much worse as the wheel and tire sizes have grown significantly. Solution? Wheel Wings™ from Rotary. These are foldable round arms that attach to the lift arms (should work on almost any brand of lift). When removing wheels, simply fold them out, then instead of placing the wheel on the floor, place it over the arm which is just a foot or two away and at about the same level – all but eliminating bending your back. Your techs will love you!

Hopefully, not much.  If your shop has not yet gone paperless for estimates, RO’s, inspections, and most other things that were once common to print, your shop has fallen behind.  Customers will begin to view your shop as not very high tech, behind the curve – regardless of your actual abilities.  Paperless operation has moved from one of those things you ought to do someday to one of those things you should have already done by now.

What about the cost?  Should be minimal if you have up to date management software and equipment.  If not, it’s time to move funds in that direction.  First class software and equipment can do much of the work you are likely paying employees to do now – you may be able to reduce your payroll!  Also, remember that it costs a lot of money for all that printing – paper, ink, equipment.  Most of that will disappear once you have gone paperless.

If you haven’t been using some type of ride and delivery service, it’s time to try it. There are lots of players, big and small. We’ll use Uber as an example since it is the best known, but search your area for what is available.

Uber for Business – Transporting customers to and from your shop is a few clicks away. Uber Rush – Need a part quicker than projected delivery? Drivers are waiting.

Sign up is simple and free. If you already have a personal Uber account, you can expand it to include Business and Rush. You will have a “dashboard” on your computer or mobile device where you can quickly request what you need. The estimated price will appear and you place your order.

When you consider the cost of loaner cars or your time or having an employee gone to provide some type of transportation need, Uber is often a cost effective alternative. We use it often and love it.

Whether your staff meetings are long and detailed, quick and simple or even non-existent, ask these questions once each week to keep things running as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
a)     What caused a slow-down of any kind during the past week?
b)    What part issues occurred during the past week?
c)     What IT items need attention in some way?
d)    What equipment or tools need maintenance or repair?
e)     What tools or equipment should we add to our wish list?
f)      Which certifications or classes have you completed during the past week?
g)    What suggestions do you have about anything?

Your management software is the single most important piece of “equipment” in your shop. The right or wrong software – or use of it – can significantly affect profits.

Place a recurring appointment on your calendar to take an hour or so once every 90 days to fully review any changes your software provider has made, then make the changes at your shop to best take advantage of them. If little or nothing changes over the period of a year, it may be time to go software shopping.

While you are at it, go through all of the settings. As things happen over time in your shop, you will often find that it would be better to alter a setting to better fit current conditions.

Does it seem that your advisors just can’t seem to keep up? Maybe this just isn’t their thing. Or, maybe they need training or better systems or – maybe they need better tools! We are always looking at better equipment for the techs, but what about the advisors? Are they due for an upgrade? The following should help – plus it will impress your customers who assume your level of mechanical ability matches the IT hardware that they see up front.

*Large touch screen all in one computer with the latest version processor and OS. (Today in 2016 that would be 6th gen I-7 and Windows10 Pro – soon it will change, so find out what it is when you are reading this.)

*At least one additional monitor (maybe two).

*Adjustable height sit/stand desk that holds at least two monitors.

Cost – $1500 to $2,000. Your advisor will love it and odds are that it will pay for itself relatively soon. The time wasted by advisors each day dealing with slow outdated hardware – and slow internet while we’re at it – is significant in most shops. Make sure yours isn’t one of them.

Maybe it’s when the car arrives, maybe when it leaves. Customer says these lights were on, tech says otherwise. Oh, boy – here we go! Let’s eliminate this fire before it occurs.

More and more shops are performing inspections electronically on a tablet or phone, and usually the ability exists to take a photo and attach it to an inspection line. So, add a “Warning Lights” line to the initial courtesy inspection you do on every car when it first comes in, and add the same line to the quality inspection you do on every car when it is done. Take in and out photos of the instrument panel. Now we can see who remembers correctly, and we can review it in the future should the question arise.

How often did they change the oil? Is the mileage accurate? How many owners did it have? Request the VIN of the vehicle that the engine is from. Then run it on CarFax Service History. On one engine we checked the mileage did not match. We declined it and informed the vendor. Another engine was from a one owner car and they religiously changed the oil twice as often as the manual recommended. We bought it and it worked out great.

1 – Location – Don’t fight a bad location – Move

2 – Facility – Stop in the local Lexus dealer – Then make your customer areas look like that

3 – Service – The way that your employees treat your customers must be exceptional

4 – Product – The quality of the repairs comes after #s 1, 2, 3

Some type of daily check of the previous day’s RO’s is mandatory to maintain control of your shop. If you can’t seem to find time to get into detailed RO auditing, at least do these three things.

1: Gross Profit – Are there any GP percentages that are significantly off, and why?

2: Ratio Sold Work vs. Unsold Work – Is the sold exceptionally low, and why?

3: CB’s and Other Issues – Are there any comebacks or other issues that required special attention, and why?

Set aside any that need further explanation and find the answers the same day.

At some point in time most shop owners have heard the suggestion to do alignment checks, ideally on every RO and usually no charge, in order to find cars that need an alignment and maybe some related service. Even if the alignment is OK, customers usually appreciate knowing that you have verified it. When purchasing one of the higher end aligners, this idea is often part of the sales pitch – and it sounds like a great idea!

But, a problem often occurs when trying to implement the policy. While it may only take a couple of minutes to perform the check, getting the aligner and the vehicle together is not always as simple as it may seem. Typically, the new policy is put in place and after a few weeks of wailing and gnashing of teeth it is discarded, and very few (or none) alignment checks occur. If that sounds like your shop and you are somewhat irritated every time you walk by that shiny aligner that was supposed to reel in some additional sales, here is a suggestion that just might help reduce that irritation.

Many shops use their alignment bay for all kinds of services. If that describes your shop, adjust the policy to state that all vehicles which are put in the alignment bay must get an alignment check. While it won’t cover all cars, the check is likely to show up on 10% to 25% of your RO’s when this easier to follow approach is used. That’s way better than zero or the occasional random check – and it will generate some additional sales.

During at least one of the interviews that you have with a potential employee have your spouse present. They do not have to ask anything or say anything other than hello and good bye (but if they do, that could be a plus). He or she will almost always pick up things that you missed, and don’t be surprised if your spouse says “NO WAY!” to someone that you think is just great. If they do say that don’t even think about hiring that person.

It might be an issue with a customer, a former employee, a vendor, a review, a neighboring business, local government, insurance, a warranty – or dozens of other things that can drive you up a wall and keep you awake at night. With rare exception, spending significant time and mental effort on these will cost you money in the long run – more than you might recover or save. These are “business expenses” in the real world today. While it may be against your inclination, it is usually best for the health of your business – and your health for that matter – to make it go away as quickly as possible and get on with making your business better and making money. As to the rare exceptions, if they are truly evil and need to be stopped, hire an attorney and crush them.

Efficiency often suffers and mistakes are sometimes made simply because everyone is not on the same page. An easy way to address this is to have a five-minute meeting first thing in the morning and first thing after lunch. Make it to the point, quick and simple. When are parts expected, which cars have to be done when, which cars are coming in, who is handling what, and so on. We get there faster when we all know where we are going.

Set up a remote office (or two). Not so you can work more hours, but so you can free yourself from being physically tied to the shop all the time. While it certainly can be set up at your house across town, it can also be 1,000 miles away. Duplicate your shop office completely if need be to feel comfortable. If you don’t already have cameras at your shop, add them. Look for the fastest software and hardware resources for working remotely as this will make a big difference. The technology available makes working remotely easier every week. Take advantage of it, lower your stress, enjoy your shop more.

If no one complains about your prices, they may be “too low”. Most businesses have at least some price complaints. No complaints or very few could mean that your prices are attractive to even the cheapest misers in town – customers that most businesses prefer to avoid. Sometimes pressure from this type of customer causes a business to undercharge everyone including those who would be just fine with paying a bit more. On the other hand if you get constant price complaints all day long, your prices may be too high – or it could be time to move to a different area – a massive undertaking, but almost always well worth it in the long run.

#shopmanagementtips

Showcase every area of your building and grounds – because ”beautiful sells”.

Start by making the entrance extremely nice, and then match that everywhere throughout the facility – the shop and equipment, the restrooms, the offices, the dumpster area – all of it. Make each one look exceptional. Even the back lots of first class businesses look good.

To customers these visuals are your service. They say how good you are at everything that you do.

#shopmanagementtips

Here comes the holiday stretch – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. Shop owners often complain about how slow it is during the holidays, especially around Christmas.

Implement a marketing campaign starting October 1st aimed at your customers and other potential clients in your area who have students away at school. Many of their cars will be home between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, and some of them will need a lot of TLC.

Offer inspection specials just for those cars. Get them fully fixed up so the kids have no issues when they return to school. Just a few invoices like that could make a big difference in your holiday sales.

#shopmanagementtips

If it’s typical, it’s pretty nasty looking. “Is that how you’ll treat my car?”

Customers notice the strangest things – including the minute details. Someone who is into the small details needs to be constantly monitoring everything visual about your shop.

Mice need to be cleaned frequently and replaced (or moved to a less visible location) when they no longer clean up well. The same applies to several hundred other items which are readily visible to customers.

When it comes to customers, there’s no such thing as the little stuff.

#autoshopmanagement

How you dress determines how good you are at car repair, how good you are at completing repairs on time, how accurate your estimates are – bottom line – how professional you are.

Assemble a group of technicians and advisors and then ask customers who they want to work on their car strictly based on how they look. You can bet it will be the ones who are best dressed. If you don’t currently have the best dressed employees of any repair shop in town, you should.

#autoshopmanagementtips

Characteristics of an exceptional customer area – which says to customers that this is a first class shop.

1: It is professionally designed – hire a pro.

2: It has a focal point.

3: It has a consistent theme.

4: Auto repair related things are subtle (or not there at all).

5: Less is best.

It will take square footage (which most shops have one way or another).

It will take money.

It will likely be one of the best “equipment” ROI’s you’ve ever experienced.

#autoshopmanagementtips

…I’ll have a really cool looking shop.”

Or should it be the other way around?

The coolest looking shop is perceived to be the best shop – one that is likely to become wildly successful sooner than later.

Don’t just sit there!

Someone is in your customer area waiting while their car is being serviced, or they may be waiting for a ride.

Engage them!

Stop what you are doing and take a moment to chat. Where do they live or work? Where are they from? Do they like their car? As our culture is getting less personal, you get more personal.