[David Kellner]

Using the recommended maintenance schedule plus a generic code reader wont do anything worthwhile.  Would it not seem that the company who came up with with this scheme to be the one who is making false promises and misleading people.

I don’t over sell things in my shop and recommend based on visual inspection plus the maintenance schedule. I do show the filter and most people thank me for checking their cabin filter when its 2 years old and full of dust and leaves. Plus I do not pressure anyone. I try to work with them so that they can make a plan rather than merely calling the schedule as gospel.

I don’t feel threatened by this ploy. Perhaps my shop is not a good fit for them and they should consider a different shop if they feel the need for this scheme rather than trusting my recommendations plus their own common sense. I explain and show them and don’t pressure them. Yes there are some that never do any maintenance. Those are often the ones that come in Friday afternoon on a tow truck when you are leaving for home. Those are the ones that have to wait until Monday before I get a chance to look at them LOL.

[David Kellner]

Hello I have looked at this a few times and would like to give my opinion.
First of all the attitude in a shop or any environment is cultured.
So hence it is cumulative of what is communicated, what is tolerated and what is enforced.
Communication being the first and most important element of the equations.
Once bad morale and attitude has set in it is very difficult to change because people are
very resistant to change.

I would suggest meetings with staff to explain the situation is of concern and cannot
go in the same manner. Hopefully you can communicate with them and listen to them
they will engage in a helpful or cooperative manner.
Meetings and reviews and tracking both good an bad behaviour are important.
If the team becomes more profitable and efficient they should be rewarded plus individuals
who contribute should be as well.

Personally as a tech I have left environments when the agenda changes, they become too demanding or too pushy without the management listening.
It was usually because I only wanted to work smoother to to make it easier to get parts, to get parts on time and to get approval in a more efficient manner. To get the right tools when needed plus to have training and adequate repair information when needed.
Some shop owners did not see this element or how it fit into the equation, they either could not spend money on it or were unwilling to.

Allison I am not clear on how much financial information you have or it sounds like you may have too much work load without contributing help from the owner.
You need to decide on a plan how to turn it around and how long you want to be onboard a sinking ship. The owner should disclose full profit and loss statements.
Most of the industry operates on a genenerally average model of parts and labor model.
Lost or unbilled parts are unacceptable. You need to fix or streamline and enforce this.
Broken parts need to be dealt with on a one to one basis. Was it a problem due to vehicle age or seized ? Could the tech have informed you the part may break before he broke it could you have
given an quick answer ? Or do the techs not care because the agenda has become speed.
This needs to be corrected first. Quality and issues need t come first.
But my question is why are the techs so inefficient ?
Is the work, parts, repair information and tools available to do the work efficiently ?
Is the nature of the work consistent ? We cannot work at maximum efficiency when we scramble
from task to task for multiple makes for multiple vehicle types. There are certain jobs
I am not able to do myself as efficiently as perhaps another tech due to knowledge,
experience age and physical attributes.

The last thought is that you as service manager need to be available to focus on what is going on in the shop to monitor and communicate with the techs to be there first hand to see and deal with the parts and the productivity issue. You need to see if there are needs there and to enforce issues if it is merely based on attitude. You need to know if a part was broken for as a legitimate reason or if it was negligent.
Also when you are billing and processing you also need to be mindful and look at that.
For example if a car gets a rad and new hoses. You know it gets two hoses four clamps
and should have an idea or be able to look up how much coolant it needs how much time it
should take so that it can be be billed properly.
If the tech does not bill stuff out or takes too long without proper reason, and it could be they
do not have sufficient knowledge of that particular vehicle it needs to be communicated and dealt with.

I dont know if you have a service writer but it sounds like you need to have someone for that and you need to focus completely on the nitty gritty of the operations and financials.

I suggest checking a book on amazon its in kindle by Lloyd Paulson,
Auto repair shop first aid, help for a struggling business.
I would read that before hiring consultants.
He suggests ratios and a very common sense how to approach as to what
a auto business generally should be plus has many suggestions to the questions you have.

[David Kellner]

Hi I have a small 2 bay shop as well.

Can you expand or set up in such a manner that the vehicle can be moved out of the shop and brought back in.

I have a towing company that I use who I get move disabled vehicles from my parking lot to the bay and vise versa.

That is a cost that can be planned for and figured in.

As for letting cusotmer’s decide, you need to be the expert and guide the correct decision.

So from now on you need to say MR customer when we take heads off we send injectors out for testing.

If the customer balks or declines he needs to sing the RO that customer declined suggested procedure and then the onus becomes on him if the injector leak after the engine is put back together. But even best avoided by being firm that your shop does the job that way so it is done correctly and that is it.

Its not possible to avoid all changes in scope it is part of the nature of the job. Sometimes we learn by experience

what goes wrong with certain vehicles and certain jobs so that extra time and labor or extra for parts can be added on. You’re better off quoting a bit high and removing excess if the job goes smoother than planned.

Also be ware of what estimator you are using. Some times are simply too low for an older vehicle or if its not something you do regularly then perhaps extra labor needs to  added on.

You’re better off to concentrate on smaller jobs with a bigger profit margin than big complicated jobs or vehicle brands that are not.

 

[David Kellner]

Hi Wesley,                                                                                

Your Parts to labour correlation is correct. If you are taking over an existing business you should perform similar but just do some survival calculations of a 30 percent drop of the gross and see if you can make that work. Use diligence to verify that all the info you see is correct.

If you are starting from scratch it takes at least three years to establish a business. You may not even make an acceptable wage the first year. Depending on location and demographics. So if your projections are from starting from scratch they are way too high for year one. Plus its unwise to make such projections of hiring several techs. You need to calculate a shop that you can afford if it were just you alone with enough space to accommodate 2 techs if busy. With ample parking. That is what I would personally recommend.

Email if you want to chat about it.

But that is what I would recommend for the record.

Dave Kellner.

davesautomail@gmail.com

[David Kellner]

Hi Wesley.

Are you taking over an existing business or starting? If you are alone you might have a 50 percent efficiency but with techs you need to achieve 70 to 80 percent. If you are starting new from scratch your rent is a major expense and you may be planning to big, too much overhead. It is difficult to predict a start up. I Suggest looking at a kindle book Auto Repair Shop First Aid by Lloyd Paulson. He does a good job of explaining numbers industry numbers and benchmarks. How to reverse engineer analysis of financials. It is full of a lot of practical useful information. Undercutting your competitors rates will not ensure success. It will bring you the wrong kind of clientele. Take my word on that. Plus the more kinds of services you  decide to take on the more it tends to add to your overhead. If the other surrounding shops are always very busy you may have a chance. Or if you can offer a needed niche service that the others do not or don’t do efficiently you may be onto something.

Do your math. Can you survive with little personal income for a year or more? Do your projections work with your expenses based on 4 billable hours work for you and one other tech? Can you survive any length of time or cover expenses with just 2 hours billable ? And I am not suggesting it good but it may mean the difference of surviving if the projections don’t match. If you are looking at taking over an existing business does the math still work if the gross were to drop 20 to 30 percent ?

 

[David Kellner]

Hello,

Yes I purchased a Snap On one, they had a promotion when they brought them out.

I do not regret buying one. It does make it possible to see to view things like heat ex-changers electrical issues etc efficiently which would otherwise be impossible to detect.