David

HELP THE DACHSHUNDS!

Have I told you about my dogs? If you’ve ever seen me carrying around my two small Dachshund pups, you know that they mean the world to me.

This is why I’m writing today – a group that I support … Read the rest

PHONE CALLS CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR SHOP

Earlier this week, I was on the phone with my dentist trying to schedule an appointment for my next cleaning. The receptionist was polite, friendly even, but seemed distracted – it was obvious that while she was chatting with me, … Read the rest

AUTO REPAIR CONSULTING DOESN’T WORK! UNLESS….

Most shop owners come to consultants looking for some little "trick" or "gimmick" that's somehow going to magically support everything the owner thought he knew, and when they don't find it...they're unhappy.

SERVICE ADVISOR TRAINING… HOW TO MAKE IT STICK!

One of the greatest things that ever happened in our shop is service writer training. We have tracked our training experiences and how they affect each individual, and have at times actually experienced an increase in our sales, average repair order, and of course, our profits...sometimes as much as 30% after a single training!

BLOWING SMOKE AT THE BOSS OR DOING YOUR JOB

It's funny what I've learned now that I'm a business owner that I never would have been able to predict when I was working on the front lines and in the trenches as an entry level service writer many years ago: when someone tries to flatter me, it makes me want to fire them, run from them, slap them, or just laugh in their face while publicly calling them a LIAR!

WHY ISN’T MY MARKETING WORKING FOR ME?

It's really interesting to me how time after time, repair shop owners fall for the same couple of marketing "tricks" to try and fill their bays. The truth is, if there are "tricks" to marketing your shop, they're about how you run your shop and who you're marketing to...not about tricking people into bringing their car to you...

THE FIRST 3 QUESTIONS TO ASK A TECHNICIAN YOU’RE THINKING OF HIRING

Whenever I am hiring a technician, I've found that it's critical to ask a few questions before I even identify my business. It's important to make sure that "the word doesn't get out on the street" every time I need to upgrade or replace a staff member. No one wants to work for a shop that they have "heard" is suffering from a turnover of people. When they hear from the tool guys, the parts salesmen, and others that the shop is having "personnel problems," or "can't keep their techs," your shop is suddenly plagued by the famous Can't-Find-A-Tech-To-Save-Our-Lives disease.

MAKING IT HAPPEN vs LETTING IT HAPPEN

One of the oddest things I run into as a consultant and advisor to business owners, is the fact that so many just show up at work each morning like a security guard, and wait for the week to "happen."

JUST BECAUSE IT IS SLOW, DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T GROW!

There are certain times of the year that a bit of a slowdown in customer traffic seems inevitable. These times are the ones where many teams become unproductive and unhappy. If you aren’t concerned, maybe you should be! Your employees may not always outwardly demonstrate their dissatisfaction, and you may think that they ought to know by now that some weeks are just slow, but it’s when we relax and think we know what others are thinking that we really get in trouble!