What do you say when your customers ask how many miles are on your car? Are you a member of your state’s automotive trade association? When is the last time you checked your shop for heating and air conditioning leaks? Check out the latest Auto Shop Monthly Management Tips from the Automotive Management Network to get inside secrets on managing your shop and increasing your bottom line.
Is your Response Time Exceptinal?
Customers generally have some kind of timeline in mind when they deal with automotive service.
How fast do you answer the phone? One ring?
How fast do you say “Hello!” to people entering your front door?
Before the door closes as they enter?
How fast do you reply to emails? Within minutes?
“No one does that!” you say.
Exactly.
Get an Outside Assessment
Someone from the outside will notice things that you and your staff may never notice. Not only the little details; but huge things sometimes. Think of the places that you do business with, and think of the things that you see time after time and wonder “Why don’t they do something about that?” Because no one there is aware that it exists. There are things like that at every business…including yours.
Try Dumb Ideas
Lots of ideas seem dumb. Maybe they’re not. Maybe you should try them. Many incredible successes began with dumb ideas that no one else would think of, consider or try. Avoid worrying about someone else thinking that your ideas are dumb. Worry about whether or not they have a chance of increasing your income.
Meeting your family
What impression do customers get when they meet your family of employees? Is this a family they would like to see move in next door in their neighborhood? Do they get along with each other? Are they polite? Are they friendly? Not just the people up front, but everyone who works there regardless of what they do.
If you could start your shop over, what would you do differently?
We all ask this question from time to time. Most of us can come up with a number of things. There are likely excellent reasons why you can come up with this list. Why not do those things now? Usually the answer is because of how difficult it would be to make those changes. But, the sooner you make them, the sooner you change your trajectory and reap the rewards.
How would you compete against you?
If you were opening a shop across the street from yours, what would you do to take business away from you? What would you offer? How would you beat you? Make a list and then address those things. Not because a shop will open across the street soon, but because there are other shops in your area which to customers is not all that different from being right across the street.
