Trade secrets

Motor,  Dec 2001  by Cerullo, Bob

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Maintenance work not only adds significant numbers to your bottom line, it also allows you the luxury of choosing which customers you want to deal with.

Peasonal mailings have been a very important source of income for our shop for more years than I can remember. In cold weather, for example, we offer a winter checkup that includes LOF service, a brake check, tire rotation, a cooling system pressure test, up to a gallon of antifreeze, gas line antifreeze and a bunch of other items designed to get cars ready for cold-weather driving.

The price this year is $69.95. We mail flyers to everyone on our computerized customer list, and they never fail to bring the people in. Some even walk in holding the flyer like it were a subpoena. Our mailings draw in the type of people who care for their cars but need a reminder as to what services are due. Our winter checklist is just what the doctor ordered for these folks. (As you might imagine, our spring checks work equally well.) The really beautiful part of any seasonal checkup is that this maintenance work often turns up problems that need to be fixed, which can translate into increased profits for your shop.

In my experience, drivers are generally in a far more receptive mood about needed repairs when they've paid for a checkup than when they've come in for, say, just a lube job or an inspection. Seasonal checks are an extremely good way to bring in bread & butter work while minimizing the hassle of time-consuming, minimal-profit problem jobs.

Of course, I've never been one to shy away from tricky technical problems, either. In fact, I've dug into many on which more than a few shops had given up. Solving problem jobs is gratifying, and can be great for your reputation and good for business-provided you get paid fairly.

Unfortunately, some problem jobs are a nowin situation from the get-go. Like the one brought in by a couple I'll call "The Paranoids." One afternoon they drove in with their 4-cylinder Toyota Camry. Mr. Paranoid spoke in measured sentences that rambled on so slowly that I was on the next page of the writeup before he finished. He felt it necessary to include street names and landmarks while describing the problem. And if he missed a detail, the Missus took over. All through the description, they kept dropping scarcastic comments about mechanics in general, and about what a bad guy the technician was who had repaired their car previously.

It seems the Paranoids were about 30 miles from home when the Camry's engine cut out. The invoice they showed me from a local shop indicated that a new timing belt, tensioner and camshaft seals had been installed the previous day. When I listened to the engine, it was making a barely perceptible noise that sounded like the timing belt might be strumming against the cover. A road test revealed a noticeable lack of power and a slightly rough idle. Without doing any further testing, I ventured a diagnostic guess (to myself, of course) that it was a jumped timing belt, possibly caused by a tensioner problem.

After patiently listening to the "harrowing" details of the near-death experience of having the engine stall out so far from home, I guess I wasn't acting horrified enough to suit Mr. Paranoid. So he tried to make me understand that they both could have been killed if the engine had cut out on the highway. In fact, it died in a parking lot.

I suggested that the Paranoids call the shop that had just done the work, which seemed to be the most logical thing to do. In fact, I suggested they tell the owner the story, then put me on the phone to explain what I had observed on the road test. I could feel for the poor guy as first Mrs. then Mr. Paranoid rehashed their story in painful, excruciating detail, then laboriously described why they had come to my shop. Hearing the description, you might think the car was about to blow apart. Truth is, if it were me, I would have driven the car back to the shop.

Finally, I.got to talk to the shop owner, "Jack," a really nice fellow with a great attitude. I told him that the problem sounded like the tensioner had popped and the belt had slipped a tooth or two. He immediately offered to have his flatbed pick up the car within a few hours-at no charge. That seemed reasonable to me, and I relayed the message to the Paranoids. They both looked as if they had been shot in the heart, then asked me to tell him they'd call him back after they thought about it.

The next morning, Mr. Paranoid called to ask me how much it would cost to fix the car. I explained that I'd have to do some checking to make sure the problem was actually what I suspected before I could determine the exact cost. I again suggested that it would be wise to take the other shop owner up on his offer to pick up and repair the car at no charge. I reminded him that Jack's shop was only 30 miles away. Since Jack had already offered to be so cooperative, given the circumstances, I told Mr. Paranoid, I wouldn't be surprised if Jack even delivered the car to them after it was repaired.