Mavis $79.99 brake pads installed special

On 2/16/2020 at 11:37 PM, TheTrustedMechanic said:

@GENUINE - I work with JustTheBest and I can tell you that he knows what he is talking about, but I also know that you are 100% correct.  Good customers are not everywhere, some places do have too much low-ball competition and there simply are not enough good customers to go around in some areas.  You presented your REAL WORLD facts and JustTheBest presented fancy buzzwords but you are both right.  For example, on the point of Henry Ford, his words were correct, but he operated a business on a far grander scale than most of us will ever achieve.  And that gave him great opportunities that we will never have. 

I know two things from experience,

1) You will get a lot of "hate" and negative feedback telling you that you are wrong, that you can change your situation and your customers if you want to, if you try hard enough, if you put in enough effort, if you try this latest fad advertising. 

2) I have been exactly where you are and deal with exactly what you express that you deal with.  I have overcome some of it, but some of it I simply do not have the means, methods, opportunities or privileges to use to overcome.  So in some ways, I can, in other ways, like you, through situation and circumstance, I simply can't.  Not because I think I can't but because I do not have the means, opportunities or privileges to do so. 

For example. let's say even though you own your property, let's say you are renting, as I am, even if you wanted to move and you have the money to move and the bank approval for a purchase price that is at a level that is competitive, ALL of that is you thinking that you CAN, However, if there is no property available to buy that will allow your repair shop business (in my community it is not only "industrial" zoning but it also has to be approved for auto repair) then you CAN'T.  You CAN'T not because you think you can't but because you do not have the privilege or opportunity.  Sure, you "can" move your shop 100 miles away where there are buildings for sale, but that is not a wise opportunity or truly feasible unless you truly want to start over from scratch.  However that was of little concern to Henry Ford, he didn't have to move his family or his business, he just moved a manufacturing facility or a dealership or an office complex, he moved a fraction of the operation, not the entire operation.  That is where you are 100% correct, "The pie in the sky Apple, Starbucks, etc philosophy just doesn't always work, not at the small level of most independent repair shops. At least not here." And no matter how accurate JustTheBest and Henry are, it does not apply and does not change anything in your situation. 

 

I have worked with JTB for several years and he and I have disagreed on things and I had doubted other things would work but tried them anyway.  The things I tried usually worked and had positive ROIs, some much to my surprise.  Some didn't work very well (only X/10% ROI positive) while others worked extremely well and were 10, 20, 30x ROI positive.  I have flat out refused to try some things because they cut against my personal beliefs.  While I would not say they were dishonest, they were not consistent with who I am.  Other things I have declined to try simply because they are not conducive to my business, like pushing LOFs HARD.  I lose money on every one compared to selling that rack time for a full rate parts & labor job since I am a one man shop.  If I was a big enough operation to have a dedicated LOF rack and tech, it would be a different deal, but I am not. So I "can" push LOF's hard and fill my day with oil changes, but I CAN'T make any money at them.  That is not me thinking I can't that is just cold hard reality,  Just like it is with you in your situation. 

 

So I suggest you "man up," put your flame suit on and be prepared to get torched with all these "The pie in the sky Apple, Starbucks, etc" philosophers.  Not all are that way, but enough are and they are happy to tell you, "You can, but only if you are willing to work hard enough," not recognizing that you are working hard enough, you just don't have the right resources to draw from or build with.  Others will tell you, "I was in your shoes, this is what I did and it will work for you, but only if you do it EXACTLY AS I DID."  You and I both know that just because it worked in their shop doesn't mean it will work with yours.  But there is still a great deal of knowledge here and JustTheBest has a lot of great ideas and systems to try, some you will stick with, others you might try and decide you either don't have the time to work or the interest in spending the money for help to do.  But don't give up.  You can't get blood from a turnip, but that doesn't mean you can't make it into a decent meal.

Wow, so well said on every level ThetrustedMechanic. Thanks for such a well written reply! It doesn't help pay the bills but knowing I'm not completely crazy or alone in my circumstance does ease that "turnip stew" a little. And I have spoken with JTB - and have his book. Nice guy, well intentioned, and many of his methods may work in many places...I just can't explain it, nor does anyone believe it unless they've walked a mile in my shoes....I operate in that corner of the twilight zone where things just do not react like the rest of the world. I'd pay dearly if someone could come in and change it and prove me wrong! I'd like to retire on an up note! Best success to you as well.

On 2/17/2020 at 12:37 AM, TheTrustedMechanic said:

@GENUINE - I work with JustTheBest and I can tell you that he knows what he is talking about, but I also know that you are 100% correct.  Good customers are not everywhere, some places do have too much low-ball competition and there simply are not enough good customers to go around in some areas.  You presented your REAL WORLD facts and JustTheBest presented fancy buzzwords but you are both right.  For example, on the point of Henry Ford, his words were correct, but he operated a business on a far grander scale than most of us will ever achieve.  And that gave him great opportunities that we will never have. 

I know two things from experience,

1) You will get a lot of "hate" and negative feedback telling you that you are wrong, that you can change your situation and your customers if you want to, if you try hard enough, if you put in enough effort, if you try this latest fad advertising. 

2) I have been exactly where you are and deal with exactly what you express that you deal with.  I have overcome some of it, but some of it I simply do not have the means, methods, opportunities or privileges to use to overcome.  So in some ways, I can, in other ways, like you, through situation and circumstance, I simply can't.  Not because I think I can't but because I do not have the means, opportunities or privileges to do so. 

For example. let's say even though you own your property, let's say you are renting, as I am, even if you wanted to move and you have the money to move and the bank approval for a purchase price that is at a level that is competitive, ALL of that is you thinking that you CAN, However, if there is no property available to buy that will allow your repair shop business (in my community it is not only "industrial" zoning but it also has to be approved for auto repair) then you CAN'T.  You CAN'T not because you think you can't but because you do not have the privilege or opportunity.  Sure, you "can" move your shop 100 miles away where there are buildings for sale, but that is not a wise opportunity or truly feasible unless you truly want to start over from scratch.  However that was of little concern to Henry Ford, he didn't have to move his family or his business, he just moved a manufacturing facility or a dealership or an office complex, he moved a fraction of the operation, not the entire operation.  That is where you are 100% correct, "The pie in the sky Apple, Starbucks, etc philosophy just doesn't always work, not at the small level of most independent repair shops. At least not here." And no matter how accurate JustTheBest and Henry are, it does not apply and does not change anything in your situation. 

 

I have worked with JTB for several years and he and I have disagreed on things and I had doubted other things would work but tried them anyway.  The things I tried usually worked and had positive ROIs, some much to my surprise.  Some didn't work very well (only X/10% ROI positive) while others worked extremely well and were 10, 20, 30x ROI positive.  I have flat out refused to try some things because they cut against my personal beliefs.  While I would not say they were dishonest, they were not consistent with who I am.  Other things I have declined to try simply because they are not conducive to my business, like pushing LOFs HARD.  I lose money on every one compared to selling that rack time for a full rate parts & labor job since I am a one man shop.  If I was a big enough operation to have a dedicated LOF rack and tech, it would be a different deal, but I am not. So I "can" push LOF's hard and fill my day with oil changes, but I CAN'T make any money at them.  That is not me thinking I can't that is just cold hard reality,  Just like it is with you in your situation. 

 

So I suggest you "man up," put your flame suit on and be prepared to get torched with all these "The pie in the sky Apple, Starbucks, etc" philosophers.  Not all are that way, but enough are and they are happy to tell you, "You can, but only if you are willing to work hard enough," not recognizing that you are working hard enough, you just don't have the right resources to draw from or build with.  Others will tell you, "I was in your shoes, this is what I did and it will work for you, but only if you do it EXACTLY AS I DID."  You and I both know that just because it worked in their shop doesn't mean it will work with yours.  But there is still a great deal of knowledge here and JustTheBest has a lot of great ideas and systems to try, some you will stick with, others you might try and decide you either don't have the time to work or the interest in spending the money for help to do.  But don't give up.  You can't get blood from a turnip, but that doesn't mean you can't make it into a decent meal.

I've learned a few things on my own, but this:

Not because I think I can't but because I do not have the means, opportunities or privileges to do so. 

This is probably the most accurate phrase I've read in a while.

But you know what I did have when I didn't have means, opportunities or privileges?  I had time to pick a discipline and learn it.  Then I enacted it.

While I let that run it's course, I found the next thing I knew nothing about and couldn't afford an expert, I learned that to the best of my ability and enacted it.

I've run this gauntlet for almost 12 years now over 3 locations and on the brink of watching it all vanish at least twice in those 12 years.

Through those trials were and sometimes still are a sh*tload of tears, but tomorrow is always a new day and as long as I conducted myself with integrity today... I'll sleep just fine.

Not to discount Genuine, location surely is a strong variable in success, but that doesn't mean you can't find a form of success in a sh*tty location.

I've done it, with the most laughable budget known to man and in a miserable part of town all by making a plan and enacting it one day at a time. Plan has a fault? Something doesn't work? Adjust. Repeat.

Some of the best advice I ever got was exactly this:  Your shop is no different than a factory, a factory has to have X level of output to be sustainable.  Your shop has to reach X level of output just like the factory does.  I'm not going to tell you how to do it, but if you want to survive you have to have to figure out how to do it.

I had never thought about shop output as related to factory output.  That seed is what lead me to charging for diagnostic and thorough inspections.  But I didn't wake up the next day and go full rate.  I worked my way there.  Finding my footing along the way and over delivering to my customers in every way possible.

On 2/16/2020 at 9:57 PM, JustTheBest said:

Hi GENUINE, I respectfully have to disagree with some of your comments and I'll tell you why.
To start, let me tell you that after reading your entire post, you basically said that the "pie in the sky.... philosophy just doesn't always work".

Henry Ford said it best. "No matter if you think you can or you can't, You're right!"

With respect to customers "in your market" you said...
"While in theory it sounds good, there are parts of the country where the theory of "provide a superior service and the good customers will find you" just isn't true. I am in that part of the country."

I have two comments. 
1) You get what you attract. 
2) People are all "wired" the same (we've been that way for 1,000's of years) and I don't think all the people in your market are different. 

People do respond - if you present the offer correctly, and no, it's not about price. 
It's about value. 

I DO agree when you say "All of these things are commodities to them, not luxuries." I get it. Auto service HAS become a commodity to most. Again, that's why it's up to you to demonstrate the VALUE. 

You also commented "If you're in a niche market that can support superior, excellent service and you can send the price shoppers away - be thankful!!" Again, it's the way those shops sell their services and build the value. 

Look, I'm not here to start an argument and I'm not trying to "sling mud". I'm only commenting that I've helped hundreds of shop owners dig out of this "way of thinking" and start selling value as opposed to price. 

Then, they take their happy customers and leverage them for reviews and customer referrals. The good ones bring more of the good ones. (Birds of a feather... - ring a bell?)

And seeing that you've been in business as you claim for 31 years, I don't think you would have stayed at it if you were missing a lot of meals, right? 

Look, I understand that everyone's situation is different but it's not an answer to say that "all your customers are cheap". The answer is about firing the bad ones and attracting the better ones by selling and demonstrating value. 

Hope this helps!

Matthew
"The Car Count Fixer"
 

P.S.: Join me on YouTube at Car Count Hackers! FREE Help to grow your Car Count, Income and Profit!

P.P.S.: This may help you outline VALUE offers - ** FREE DOWNLOAD - My Kick-Butt Offers

P.P.P.S.: Get GO-MO 2 WAY TEXTING FREE!

 

 

Hello @JustTheBest, Thanks for your response as well. You and I have spoken in the past and I do appreciate your insight and experience. Let me pick your brain just a little more, and maybe throw my details out there for public input! Hopefully someone can see this from the outside and offer me an insight that I'm missing. "Can't see the forest for the trees" scenario.  I built this shop in 1998 (was operating out of another facility "in town" since 1989 before this). This was literally a brand new, "state of the art" shop (now built on the outskirts of town), on a main thoroughfare (17,000 car count per day) connecting the major metro of downtown St.Louis (5 miles west-I can see the Arch from my lot) and several thriving, prosperous communities 5+ miles to the east. We are 1/2 mile off of an interstate running north and south as well. BUT, the dilemma is what lies within that 5 mile radius. The local community that we are within, is literally one of the poorest communities in the state. Median annual income well under 20k. We knew this when building but had a plan. We had served - for a decade prior - essentially the same community at our other shop IN the heart of the city. While sustainable, we felt that we had maxed out our potential for any growth and were bound by our location. We were not going to be able to draw customers from surrounding, more affluent areas, INTO this poor, dangerous city for auto service other than our personal friends. The surrounding communities had plenty of shops.  Our strategy was, building on this main thoroughfare (less than two miles from the other shop) we were close enough to retain our current customer base AND grow exponentially from being located where 17,000 + cars would pass us each day. Very convenient, optimally visible, easy and ideal for commuters passing by to and from work.  On paper it looked great.

Since then we learned several things. Here's the consolidated situation 1) Less than two miles is sometimes enough to prompt many customers within our current customer base to NOT follow you. 2) Our local customer base was still working on the same, very low income and my competition locally is still the junk yard and the jack-leg working in his driveway. 3) This brand new, beautiful, clean building "Looked expensive" and kept many locals from coming in. New and existing customers both. I was told this many times. (and, yes we did have to adjust pricing some to afford this new facility). 4) The more affluent commuters that we were banking on, would NOT - despite the brand new, beautiful, clean facility - venture off of the main road to take a chance on this new shop in the "ghetto". We could not - and still cannot overcome that stigma.

Over the next 20+ years the immediate community has dwindled - significant population losses -  and exit, leaving many vacant homes and failed businesses. Within eyesight now are 3 "pay by the hour" motels, an ugly gas station, many vacant homes and lots, a closed school, and 2 salvage yards. For years we did what we could to fight both battles where it seemed most practical, but neither has been successful enough. Every day is still a struggle and no solution seems to work as intended. Several great fleet accounts have kept us going, but the battle is wearing us down. Just not worth the effort anymore, it seems.

So, how does one market THIS situation? I am completely open to any and all suggestions and/or thoughts on this situation. 18 years or so ago, I spent almost $10k for a management course in California called Management Success ($8k + two trips to their place in CA) who said "every community can be marketed to - you just have to know what buttons to press". It sounded great, and that's the impression I get from many on here, but I still haven't found those buttons. As I said I am that one place in the Twilight Zone where nothing applies.

My wife's solution: It's time to try and sell the place and MOVE. Let's try it someplace different or get out all together. I'm ready to accept her advice, but I'd like to hear some input from others who may have overcome similar odds.

Thanks, all.

I'm willing to work with you, if you're interested.  No games, no gimmicks.  Complete and holistic evaluation with a structured action plan.

It won't be easy, changes recommended can be relatively cheap all things considered, but there will be work involved.

There are a fair amount of shops in your area (2 mile radius) and A LOT more just over the river. I see nothing but potential.  Just need someone willing to do some work and some improvements.  The only money I envision you spending is upgrading your website, the rest of what you will need can be done mostly from a computer with some time, effort and follow through.

Hi GENUINE! Thank you for your response and I will tell you that I’ve read it 3 times just to be sure I didn’t miss anything. 

In short, I understand your struggles and I’m NOT dismissing anything you’ve said.

In my own defence, you may find I don’t ‘beat-around-the-bushes’. I’m pretty direct and don’t typically ‘sugar-coat’ things. If that offends anyone - I apologize in advance. I mean no harm. 

From what you’ve described, I don’t think you really have the time to sit around the camp fire and have one of those should-a - could-a - would-a - discussions - but that’s entirely up to you. 

My approach is somewhat different. 

WIth that said, you may call this rather ‘direct’ and to the point. It may make you uncomfortable to respond to this publicly and I don’t necessarily expect you to. For that reason, I’m following this post up with a direct message to you.

To cut to the chase, my first question would be “what was the last time you did any type of advertising campaign?” That could be typical postcards, val-paks, or even a facebook posting. 

Next, can you share what that offer was? Do you have a copy of the actual ‘whatever-it-was’ you did? Postcard copy? Val-pak? 

Thirdly, I would be interested in knowing how many contacts (customers) you have on file. Now just before you scream out numbers that are as long as telephone numbers… I’m talking about the number of customers you’ve had IN YOUR SHOP in the last 90-180 days. 

So you  know, I’m asking that for a couple of reasons. On average, 10% of America moves every month. People in your database older than 180 days (6 months) may still be customers - but your information is probably not up to date. 

So I’ll let you determine what that actual “real customer count” is. 

Just for clarification, so many times I get on the phone with shop owners and when I ask that question, they tell me they have 2,000, 3,000, 5,000 or even more (like one guy told me he had 18,000 customers on file!) 

My response - if you have that many customers, what are we doing talking about it? 

The truth is, they may have that many NAMES, but that’s it. They aren’t customers. 

I would like to know a couple of other details (again, I’m not expecting you to share them here in public) like your ARO (Average Repair Order) and if you have any specialties or profitable services. 

So now, here’s my offer. 

I am prepared to work with you totally free. Yes, I mean that. No ‘send-me-money’ or anything like that. There’s no catch; no tricks; no gimmicks. 

Well, actually, there IS a catch. 
Actually 5 of them.

1-YOU have to invest the time - I am thinking about 1-2 hours but that will depend on you. 

2- You have to follow my blueprint. In other words, do what I show you to do. Just to confirm, I’m not going to ask you to do anything weird or anything (like dress up in a chicken suit and walk the streets with a sandwich board sign)

3-You have to be prepared to act now - like in the next week or so.  (The reason I say that is if it’s important enough to you - you’ll do it. If it’s not, then it’s not that important and that’s fine too - you can debate it for as long as you want to.) 

4-I ask that you share your results with me. No, I’m not going to ask you “how much money you made” or anything like that. I’m just interested in numbers like how many RO’s and total value - things like that. 

5-I ask that you don’t expect miracles. I’m not THAT good! If the details of "where you are" are what I expect, I’m going to tell you that you’ve got work ahead of you. I’m prepared to start the snow ball rolling - I’m not saying it’s an avalanche, okay?

And that’s it. We could talk about it - or we could do it - and since I’m prepared to put my money where my mouth is - I leave it TOTALLY UP TO YOU to decide.

See, that wasn’t too hard, was it? 

Hope this helps! Just let me know because right after I post this - I’m sending you a message on this forum. 

Matthew
“The Car Count Fixer”