Part Three of a three part series –
Get rid of dead wood. If an employee isn’t working out, get rid of him. If you want to give to charities, great, but do it in your personal time. Don’t blow money on an unmotivated employee. Especially in this labor market. There are plenty of hard working people out there who would give anything for a good stable job. If you have an employee who you have spoken with time after time, and he still hasn’t corrected the problem, you’re only hurting yourself by keeping him.
Training. Make sure your technicians are trained in the latest hot trends and services. If they stagnate, customers will move on to more modern, up-to-date garages. If you only have one tech trained to do alignments, what if he has a car up on the Automotive Lift and suddenly has to go home for a family emergency? Who’s going to take over? You need to have a back up plan.
Poll your customers. Send out a questionnaire by mail, or if you have a web site, ask them to visit it on their receipt and complete it. This can provide you with valuable insight into what you may be lacking. There’s nothing like looking at a situation from a fresh perspective from the outside. It may hurt to hear criticism at first, but it can be healthy for the long term prospects of your business.
Public relations. There are ways to get your name out there with local causes that allow you to offer something to the local community and receive good will from it as well. Maybe there’s a fundraiser for the local library or playhouse. These are great opportunities to sponsor an event and not only get your name out there, but build a relationship with the community.
Many of these ideas can work in any number of business types. Applying these practices can help your auto shop not only save money, but also create revenue in brand new areas. Do you have any ideas we haven’t hit on? Post a comment below.
