I'm curious,,,,Question for you guys

As some of you guys know, I am a one man show now. Dad left a dealership and went into business for himself backin '86 and worked until personal issues (ie-a bad divorce)caused him to pack it in and go to work for someone else a few years back. While I've worked on equipment of some type nearly all of my life, he and I were basically together for just about 12 years until his situation pretty much forced him to bow out about 3 years back. Like many others in the repair business he and I were feeling the strain of the recession even before he packed it in. Trying to keep things going, by myself, through it all, I'll admit I went through a few really lean, and difficult years as customers downsized, and work went from wide open to nothing. Through the recession I was lucky enough to be able to hang on to many of our old customers who were lucky to make it through the mess too. As expected I also lost a few as managment and equipment changed at their operations, or, worse, they simply went under like so many others. The nice thing is for every one I lost I picked up a replacement, and now actually have a much broader customer range than ever before. While the majority of my work now is for small to medium sized contractors, my largest (as of the other day) is now the local operation of a multibillion dollar, international company. Granted the company I'm speaking about only has two pieces of equipment at their local operation, but you have to get your foot in the door and start somewhere, right? LOL

One thing I have found over the years is that every customer I work for, regardless of the size of the company, called, and continued to call Dad and me, (now just me) for basically the same reasons. Too, all of our previous customers came to us, and the newest ones to me, soley by word of mouth from other customers.


That said, I understand that there are times when the OEM is going to be the only choice on some of the newer equipment, wether you (or I) like it or not. I say this because very few independents, me being one of them, can afford to specialize in one specific brand of equipment. As a result the purchase of special computers and programs is cost prohibitive for nothing more than occasional use on multiple brands of equipment. Still, I manage alright by basically specializing in 'not specializing'.

All that leads me to my question to ya'll. When you do have the choice of an OEM/dealership mechanic vs an independent, what all do you look for before you call? Too, once the guy comes out the first time, what does he do/say, or not do/say, that influnces your decision to call him back again?

Given the responses to my last two posts I'm not going to say anything about the reasons that have been given to me by my customers for calling me. Instead I'm going to leave it up to you guys to school me as the way things are nowdays since it's obvious the things I have always been told that were considered good in the past must be changing all around me, for many more than I would have thought, and I am just plain oblivious to all of it........


Like I said in the post' heading, I'm really curious, so any serious answers would be greatly appreciated. Wayne

I'm getting in on the tail end of this but I think I get the gist of where you are.

I think your answer lies in the past relationship your customer/potential customer has had with OEM personnel and independents.

The guy needs RELIABLE help to solve a problem to get him back up and running (to meet his obligations) and will seek it if it's available......regardless of the cost if he feels what he gets is worth the expense.

In making that determination, sometimes it's as simple as a firm hand shake with a steady look in the eyes.
Maybe a simple "Yes sir" for an answer.
Maybe because you look him directly in the eyes when discussing things.
Maybe it's a "sir I don't know but I'll find out".
Or it's a 2am call on Sunday morning and his OEM doesn't feel like getting out of bed but you are "there for him".
Maybe a comment about a past experience of yours where you didn't know the answer to a question but kept at it until you got the answer and got her fixed.
Maybe it's giving proper credits for work or information supplied to you by others that has made your work successful on a particular project.
Maybe it's being punctual with a clean and pressed uniform "looking" like you are ready and willing to help him solve his problem.
Maybe it's because you don't try to BS him about something that he knows more than you.
Maybe it's because you find out how he wants the problem solved: Basic functionality, or a complete teardown looking for other things that might cause problems in the future. ASK HIM up front and keep him posted as to progress and your schedule for completion.

I learned a long time ago that you get hired because the hiring authority either can't, won't, doesn't know how, doesn't have the resources, or doesn't care to do what it takes to get the job at hand done. You have to provide the inspiration to him that you DO have those lacking resources and are ready and willing to exercise them.

Then when you get your pat on the back, maybe a bonus in the pay check for you doing your "above and beyond the necessary" a polite "sir my business is based on word of mouth and I would certainly appreciate your sharing your feelings about my work with others interested".

A few things that come to mind.

HTH,
Mark

NC Wayne: Almost all business is a relationship basis drive one. The OEM dealerships are going to get the real new stuff because of technology like you stated and warranty issues. The independent shops are going to get business because of their prior relationship with their customers.

The independent shops usually have more flexibility. In your case that could be several things. 1)You can work on multiple brands rather than just the OEM one many dealerships do. 2) Hours, you are the owner, your more likely going to stay and finish the job over a guy just drawing a pay check. That employee may just say I will be back Monday to finish the job when you will stay and finish the job so the customer has the machine to use Monday.

Another reason many people use an independent shop is value. The customer feels they get a better value from your work. This maybe a lower hourly rate or just the fact that you bust butt and get the job done faster.

I many times got work just because I could get the work done faster than the OEM dealership. Example of this is clutch jobs on the regular JD tractors. I usually could turn the tractors around in under 24 hours if the customer really needed it. The OEM dealer would say a week and I would say one or two days.

You wrote just recently about driving a long distance to do a simple repair on a customer piece of equipment. Do you think that customer is even going to bother trying another local repair guy when they can just call you and know it is going to be done correctly??? I bet that they are going to just call you.

I'm hardly anyone that is qualified to speak to agricultural/construction type stuff these days, but I think it all carries over into other fields. When I need someone to do some work for me on something and it's a choice between "The Company" or a private contractor, it comes down to efficiency, value and how they treat me. The first 2 are pretty clear cut. The last is all the difference in the world to me. We all know what it's like being put at the end of the line when a BTO comes barging in needing something right now! You might do that to me once, but only once. They expect me to pony up the money right now, not to be put off waiting while I take care of other things or when I get aroundtoit. Works the same way for them IMO. The other end of it is quality. I won't do business with outfits that can't do the job right- period.

I run an independent, one-man-show, auto repair shop. I don"t pretend to be the cheapest or the fastest. Small jobs I can turn fast, major engine repair may take awhile depending on work load and family, family being the most important. My customers have told my wife and I a few reasons. First of which, I tell them what is wrong and what it will take to fix it without grocery listing the vehicle. I will work on stuff other independents won"t. I listen to my customers and can carry on a conversation with them whether they want to talk about their car or their latest medical procedure. The biggest thing I make sure I don"t do is get involved in a customers" drama. I don"t care who worked on it before me or how they got stiffed by so and so. They are here now, they either want me to fix the car or they don"t, and I have told people such. It is usually the blind calls from people that I have never met that will try to drag me into a disaster.

My cousin has a fairly large dairy farm in northern VT. He buys a tractor approx. every ten years, almost always used. He and his mechanic do almost all repair work in his own shop. The last tractor he bought was new and he bought it because it was non electronic, facilitating repair in his own shop. This tractor is NH, and probably Fiat built. I see this as a possible new direction in tractor/equipment purchasing. BTOs buy new and turn equipment over before problems start, while the smaller operator deals with problems themselves. Electronics changes that. Many of us have seen first hand that the dealers are consolidating with smaller ones going out and larger ones getting larger with multiple locations, eliminating competition, and displaying desire to stay away from older stuff and penalizing the owners with higher prices and poorer quality work. Wayne, It looks to me like your future should be bright, catering to the smaller operators. maybe you can set up a business model and franchise repair operations and eliminate the need to get your hands dirty. LOL.

I get farm tractors and a couple pieces of Industrial worked on from time to time.The reason
I"ll try someone new to work on something is usally because they have been doing work for someone I know and its been good work at a reasonable price.I call them back a 2nd time for the same reasons.A fellow I didn"t use a 2nd time was a guy that I took a tractor over to his place to remove and then put back on the tractor an injection pump I had it rebuilt.He took the pump off,I got it back to him in a week and he was over 3 months getting it back on the tractor and the kicker was he put it on 180 degrees out the first try and then charged me for the time it took to remove the pump and reinstall it right.
I usually like to try someone new on a couple small jobs first that can"t cost but so much and can"t be screwed up but so bad.Also I try to judge what their limits of skill are and not give them a job I"m pretty sure they can"t handle or haven"t done before as I don"t want to be the Guinea Pig.Also if they are easy to work with personally.There are some really good independents around and there are some really bad ones too these days unfortunately.

Fun wearing all them hats ain"t it! lol I"m in same boat you are . One man show, but,,I am to the point of needing to hiring someone. Too much work piling up , Raised prices some , still coming in . Like you say the worst ones are cold calls over the phone , price shoppers or fixing other drama

My main truck mechanic with my old truck was an independent. I used him to save a little money, because he was available on short notice most times, and because he knew what he was doing. We also are friends, but that wouldn't have kept me coming back if he did things wrong. Getting the job done right is most important to me followed closely by fast. I just recently changed my dealership for my new truck because I didn't like the service I got at the dealer that sold the truck. Down time is critical for me and dealers lots of time just don't get it done fast enough. I think that with all the computerized stuff now that independents are going to have a tough time staying in.

I use independents solely. I have learned over the years, not to price shop. I find someone I can trust, and go with it. Only problem I have run into recently, is a coolant leak on a Dodge pickup. I should have done it myself, but got lazy.
What I look for is someone that will tell me the truth. If its worn out, and will cost more to repair, and still have issues, then tell me that. If its going to be 2 weeks to get it done, as long as I know that going in, I can live with it. What I won't stand for, is a parts changer. I can throw new parts at something myself.

My dad has used a guy for years that will start 10 jobs and let all sit while he does oil changes and quick tuneups. While the guy is probably the least expensive in the area, still doesn't put wheels rollin'. I can't stand someone who will sit on my job to get the big guy's fancy truck out by this afternoon. This is my ONLY truck and I need it just to work. Don't know if that answers the question or not. Appreciate the chance to rant.

My only jobs are taking care of my own stuff, being retired this isn"t much, a couple vehicles and old tractors. My shop area is not clean or well organized; however I award a lot of points to a neat appearing mechanic with well organized tools, truck and shop. Anyone (like me) that fails in those areas, may or may not do sloppy work; but for sure it will take them longer.

Competence, competence, competence. I am not willing to spend a $1000 fixing the mistakes some clown caused on a botched $200 repair. So many repairmen cause $500 damage to roads, etc just doing a $300 repair.

Reliable. Do what you say you are going to do, when you said you were going to do it, at the price you quoted. If you can not quote an exact price...explain why...up front.

Trust. I don't want to worry about you and the skuzball tattoo'd druggy riding with you stealing all my stuff, while you are on the property. Look and act professional.

Expect to be inconvenienced. If going water skiing this afternoon is more important than my repair, you have sent me a strong message about what you think of my business.

Personality...way down the list. Don't be a jerk, but i am not hiring yo to be my buddy.

Last. Answer your phone. It may be the biggest job of the year.