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Episode 32- Frank and Aniz speak on Processes, estimating, and taking care of the customer concerns
47 Plays9 days ago
Brand new podcast hosted by a Shop owner and a Shop owner/Technician . We dive into shop ownership and how it all began for the both of us. We will be featuring special guests every week from the automotive industry and also a few surprise guests we have lined up in the not so distant future. We want this podcast to be fun but informative about the automotive repair industry. We are not perfect in what we do but operate with integrity and have been doing so for years. Sit back and listen in for some fun banter and conversations about the automotive repair world!
Today Frank and Aniz get into some conversation about processes and the customer experience. The process from when the customer calls to them leaving your shop is super important. Take care of your customers and they will take care of you!
Sit back and enjoy this one! Please like and subscribe! You can also follow us on Facebook @ The Shop N Tread Talk Podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:00
Aniz Lavji
Welcome everyone to another episode of the Shop and Tread Talk podcast. We've got a familiar face with the clock. Oh, the clock is back.
00:00:11
Frank Wiebe
The clock is there.
00:00:11
Aniz Lavji
We've got Mr. Frank from 3D Auto, the famous shop in Aylmer, Ontario.
00:00:16
Frank Wiebe
That's right. That's right.
00:00:20
Frank Wiebe
That's right. But you won't recognize me. got a sunburn today. like i got a sunburn yesterday. A little bit red. was at a car
00:00:28
Aniz Lavji
I...
Political Aspirations and Community Impact
00:00:29
Aniz Lavji
so I was going to mention to Frank, we should get Margarita on for today's, but i think she's out shaking hands because she's ready running for president, is it?
00:00:29
Frank Wiebe
show all day.
00:00:39
Frank Wiebe
yeah Yeah, yeah, she's going to be president one day.
00:00:42
Aniz Lavji
Just about.
00:00:43
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, she's, uh, I think she's yabbing with her friend, but yeah, she is, uh, she is running for council, but, uh, I'm not, i don't know what I'm allowed to say, what I'm not allowed to say about that, but I do know that she's running for council and, uh,
00:00:51
Aniz Lavji
amazing.
00:00:59
Aniz Lavji
What? We'll leave it with the, if you want to make changes in your community, you know, start with yourself if you're able to. How's that?
00:01:08
Frank Wiebe
That's right. Yeah, absolutely.
00:01:10
Aniz Lavji
<unk> We'll leave it with that
Automotive Processes and Customer Service
00:01:11
Aniz Lavji
and then be the change.
00:01:11
Frank Wiebe
yeah Be the change. Be the change.
00:01:13
Aniz Lavji
And then when Frank and Margarita can talk more about it, we'd love to hear more about it. But yeah, like that.
00:01:19
Frank Wiebe
ah just
00:01:20
Aniz Lavji
Be the change.
00:01:21
Frank Wiebe
I just don't know squat about politics, right? Like there's so many politics about what they're allowed to do and not allowed to do when they're campaigning.
00:01:27
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:01:28
Frank Wiebe
And it's like, oh my gosh.
00:01:31
Aniz Lavji
So Frank and I were talking, you know, for a topic.
00:01:32
Frank Wiebe
Okay.
00:01:35
Aniz Lavji
And I mean, you know we can both gab and talk for hours at a time about nothing. But, you know, we had one one important topic, I think, today that I really want to talk about because maybe I even need a refresher.
00:01:50
Aniz Lavji
i mean, I've been using my software for a while, and sometimes I kind of fall off the boat when it comes to process. And, you without process, you got nothing. Um, so we're we were, want to kind of go over each of our process, kind of when our customer finds us online or if they're a referral, they phone us. And basically from the moment we talk to them till, um,
00:02:15
Aniz Lavji
you know, we, you know, we fixed their car, hopefully fixed their car and give them the key back in their hands. So I think it's, I think it's important because not everybody unfortunately has this process.
00:02:24
Frank Wiebe
that
00:02:27
Aniz Lavji
I mean, some, some people's process, maybe they get the phone call, And they say, yep, come on in. And, you know, they basically have the customer sitting there. And while the customer is sitting there, they go and check over the car, write down a piece of paper and say, yep, this is what's wrong with your vehicle. And again, the process for stuff like this, the way the the industry is now, everything's very automated, computerized and,
00:02:53
Aniz Lavji
Depending on your customer, you know they may want to actually see a proper estimate.
Auto Parts Quality and Customer Education
00:02:57
Aniz Lavji
They may want to know kind of what quality of parts you're putting in, not just, well, you know you need front brakes, it's going to be $250 for cheapies, or it's going to be $600 for premium. I mean, our customers, at least my customers, and I'm sure Frank's customers, they want to know kind of what's going on in their vehicle, what kind of parts you're putting in.
00:03:19
Aniz Lavji
you know The days of the white box $16 rotors and in my area, at least, those are gone. and People don't want that stuff.
00:03:27
Frank Wiebe
That used to be such a thing back in the day when I was working at the used car dealership, like everything got put on as a white box, like the the lowest brand.
00:03:35
Aniz Lavji
Yep. Okay.
00:03:36
Frank Wiebe
And then it then it evolved into that he was selling some of that stuff to the customers. And I'm like, why are you doing this to the customers? Well, they want a cheap part.
00:03:47
Frank Wiebe
I'm like, okay.
00:03:47
Aniz Lavji
But you're technically selling it to the customer anyways, because you're putting it on the used car.
00:03:51
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, exactly. Right.
00:03:52
Aniz Lavji
Right?
00:03:52
Frank Wiebe
but
00:03:52
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:03:53
Frank Wiebe
But then then that then his mentality always was, well, like,
00:03:53
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:03:57
Frank Wiebe
as long as it gets it out the door and it's a cheap part and it works, then it's okay. Like, yeah, but what if they come back in six months? Yeah, but it's got a year warranty. Sure. But what if they come back in six months?
00:04:10
Frank Wiebe
Then I made that decision when we opened our shop. I'm like, we're not going to be putting inferior parts on.
Transparency in Pricing and Customer Decision-Making
00:04:16
Frank Wiebe
We, we tried one brand for a while cause it actually had good ratings, good reviews.
00:04:22
Frank Wiebe
And, um, And it it did well. Like, it was a good price point. It was okay. But then then the comeback started coming. It was, I think, just over a year.
00:04:33
Frank Wiebe
And we started to have comeback after comeback.
00:04:34
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:04:36
Frank Wiebe
So then I talked to the rep.
00:04:36
Aniz Lavji
And they're out of warranty.
00:04:38
Frank Wiebe
And I'm like like, what the heck is with these comebacks? And he's like, oh, i don't I don't know what you're talking about. so
00:04:44
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:04:44
Frank Wiebe
So, like, they have two different lines, right? They have this line and this line. And he says, well, we sell... This much of this one and this much of this one, but percentage wise, the return is about 10% of each line.
00:04:57
Frank Wiebe
So it doesn't matter.
00:04:57
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:04:58
Frank Wiebe
Even though this one is 10 times higher than this one, it's a 10%. So they're okay with that. And I'm like, I'm not okay with that. So forget that. So we go to this one.
00:05:06
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:05:06
Frank Wiebe
But like customers, customers rarely ever ask us anymore. What about, what about a cheaper part? What about white blocks?
00:05:14
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:05:16
Frank Wiebe
Because we've trained them. We've conditioned them and said, look, it's just not worth it.
00:05:19
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:05:20
Frank Wiebe
we don't want to see you We don't want to see you come back in a year to replace that exact same part again, even though it's got warranty.
00:05:20
Aniz Lavji
Well,
00:05:25
Aniz Lavji
yeah, it's like,
00:05:27
Frank Wiebe
We don't.
00:05:27
Aniz Lavji
It's not really, you know, a lot of times from from my experience now is they're not really asking, like, if it's a cheap part or not. It all comes down to the end number.
00:05:37
Aniz Lavji
Like, what is this whole process going to cost me?
00:05:38
Frank Wiebe
Yes.
00:05:40
Aniz Lavji
They're not asking whether you put a $19 rotor on there or a $97 rotor or $167 rotor for them. It doesn't matter. They just want to know like, okay, I need front brakes. What is the total?
00:05:55
Aniz Lavji
How much is it going to cost me?
00:05:56
Frank Wiebe
Right.
00:05:57
Aniz Lavji
Is it going to cost with me 650 bucks?
00:05:57
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. that
00:06:00
Aniz Lavji
And that's what you're saying. Okay. that Is that the best you can do or, and then they may, wonder or ask a few extra questions like why is it this much and then you can kind of tell them from there like hey you know what we're putting premium platinum rotors and the best pads and if you want something a little bit cheaper you're going to save 80 bucks and nine times out ten they're like you know what just put the good stuff on there because the labor is the same i tell my customers the labor is the same whether i put this 20 brake pad or 120 brake pad
00:06:24
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Labor doesn't change on the quality of the park.
00:06:33
Aniz Lavji
They go in this, well, I shouldn't say they go in the same because depending on where they're punched out of, they don't go in the same. But the labor to try and get the brake pad seated is the same.
00:06:39
Frank Wiebe
What kind of hardware they have in them.
00:06:44
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, that's right.
00:06:45
Aniz Lavji
So, you know, you're better off. It's in your better interest, your best interest to put on a good part. And then you don't have see me as often for brakes.
00:06:54
Frank Wiebe
exactly
00:06:55
Aniz Lavji
It's good for you, bad for me to put on a good part.
00:06:58
Frank Wiebe
We had a customer come in today and he needed a muffler and he just said, he said the only request he had, well, he wanted to know how much it was going to be, but he didn't want a stainless steel muffler. So he already knew that a stainless steel muffler was going to cost him more money. So he must've, he must've done his research or whatever.
00:07:16
Frank Wiebe
So he just said, I'm like, okay, well, there's only one brand of muffler we can put on. So i had, I had the service writer look up this, whatever i muffler. And I always have to direct them on the exhaust because exhaust is a little bit peculiar that way.
00:07:24
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:07:29
Frank Wiebe
And I grew up in the muffler shop, so I understand it.
00:07:29
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:07:33
Frank Wiebe
So whenever it comes to exhaust, I just get her direct them a little bit and they're learning.
00:07:36
Aniz Lavji
yeah
00:07:37
Frank Wiebe
So they're getting better. But anyway, I just told her, like, just look up from this supplier, a muffler, and that's what you quote them. And then then once you had the quote, he was there. Yep. Go ahead and do it. Ordered it in, got it done.
00:07:49
Frank Wiebe
But that was a situation where, like, It's the same quality of muffler, essentially, but really one's going to last two years and one's going to last 10 years.
00:08:02
Frank Wiebe
So that's a choice he made. But I think that in the aspect of what his car was, he didn't want to spend the extra money for the 10-year. But,
Customer Service Challenges and Empathy
00:08:10
Frank Wiebe
you know, that's what do you do.
00:08:11
Aniz Lavji
We go.
00:08:12
Frank Wiebe
So you can't change that.
00:08:13
Aniz Lavji
It's, No, it's tough. I mean, what we've been noticing, i was even telling you for the past couple of weeks, certain cars that we usually get approvals on every time because, you know, we're kind of the only place that'll fix this particular vehicle. And we're getting a lot of people declining. Like on Saturday, we had we had a Tesla come in with the lower lateral link.
00:08:39
Aniz Lavji
You can literally... with you Put your hand on it just pull on it. And the top of the ball joint in there was literally moving up and down with barely any pressure.
00:08:50
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:08:51
Aniz Lavji
And, you know.
00:08:51
Frank Wiebe
Well, it's getting harder out there for customers.
00:08:52
Aniz Lavji
All
00:08:54
Frank Wiebe
I tell customers and i maybe I shouldn't be so vocal about it, but I feel bad for them.
00:08:57
Aniz Lavji
right.
00:08:59
Frank Wiebe
I was with a friend of mine today and I said, if I was on the other side of the counter, i feel I'd feel heartened because I'd be like, I can't do this. I can't afford this.
00:09:10
Frank Wiebe
i And I understand that the times are tough and the money's tight and all that stuff. And if they're on the other side of that counter, it's tough. Hence why it's a good thing I'm not in the office because I'd have such a soft heart.
00:09:22
Frank Wiebe
and I'd be like, yeah, I'm okay giving a discount or something like that, but my pockets are only so deep, so I can't do that.
00:09:28
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:09:29
Frank Wiebe
So that's why I just stay in the shop and fix the cars and let the girls and David deal with the office so that they present it, present it professionally, give them the quote, say, this is what's wrong.
00:09:35
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:09:38
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:09:40
Frank Wiebe
This is what we found in that. So back to your, your thing about how the process is, right? Like,
00:09:46
Aniz Lavji
It's so important.
00:09:47
Frank Wiebe
it's a It's a very basic, simple process. Customer comes in with their complaint. They have either their call or they come in. And you, just like everyone else, you bring it in. Test drive. Test drive is important, especially if somebody, had a customer today ask me, so did you test drive it after you did the brakes and tires?
00:10:03
Frank Wiebe
I'm like, yes, of course I test drove your vehicle.
00:10:04
Aniz Lavji
Of course he did. Yeah.
00:10:06
Frank Wiebe
Like I would never put brakes or tires on a vehicle. I would never have a tire off and put it back on. and not do a test drive. But especially since it was a vibration concern um in brakes
00:10:19
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
Efficient Shop Processes and Specialized Roles
00:10:20
Frank Wiebe
and tires, yeah, I'm going test drive it after.
00:10:20
Aniz Lavji
if feel Especially if it's like a concern like that, it's getting test driven for sure.
00:10:25
Frank Wiebe
Oh, absolutely. So test drive test drive before, bring it in, verify the complaint, make a list, quote it.
00:10:31
Aniz Lavji
It's quality control.
00:10:33
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. i've i've I've made the mistake, like a few times I've i've caught that I haven't test drove it after. And, and the texts, the guys, they, they're maybe not aware of a certain concern or whatever, even though it's written down in tech metric.
00:10:53
Frank Wiebe
I, I feel like it's a little bit off the rails here, but I feel like we're going to get to a point where I've heard a lot of guys talk about, I think Zeb was saying this in one of his podcasts. He's got one guy that does just DVIs.
00:11:06
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, he does.
00:11:07
Frank Wiebe
So, okay. So, That's probably where I'm going to have to get to is where I just do the DVI, test drive it, inspect it, DVI, send it off for the repair.
00:11:15
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:11:20
Frank Wiebe
After the repair, I drive it again. right like like i see the I see the value in having one person do that.
00:11:22
Aniz Lavji
So. Huge value, man.
00:11:28
Frank Wiebe
One person that that diagnoses the complaint, sends it off for repair.
00:11:32
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:11:34
Frank Wiebe
Once it's repaired, drives it to verify the complaint. I see that and I think I would love to be able to get to that point or if I could train somebody to do that.
00:11:43
Aniz Lavji
Yep. So that's
00:11:45
Frank Wiebe
But the thing is, how do you train somebody to be, have that knack, right?
00:11:49
Aniz Lavji
you.
00:11:50
Frank Wiebe
To have that understanding of it. Like I'll get in the vehicle, I'll drive a vehicle and within 30 seconds, I'll be able to tell you if it's a if it's a tire breaker wheel bearing noise, right?
00:12:00
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:12:02
Aniz Lavji
How's that? that
00:12:02
Frank Wiebe
i've had I had a customer that one day, the same one that we fixed today, actually, we diagnosed it last week. And he's like, oh, it can't be the tires. It can't be the tires because I put my winter tires on and it does the same thing.
00:12:14
Aniz Lavji
yeah. Yeah.
00:12:15
Frank Wiebe
And I said, okay, well, the problem is you have two different concerns that we have to deal with here. We have a brake vibration, ah a heavy pulsating of front and rear brakes, both.
00:12:29
Frank Wiebe
And you have a tire old vibration. I said, I would bet all the money in my wallet right now that that's a tire vibration. Well, he didn't take me up on it, but if he had, I would have been richer, right? Because of it.
00:12:44
Frank Wiebe
But anyways, his left front tire had a separated belt and the cords were showing. Like I knew that just driving it. But if you don't if you don't know that, you haven't learned that or you don't have that knack to understand that, that would make that hard.
00:12:57
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. So I'm i am basically that guy when it comes to all the Tesla's.
Vehicle Diagnostics and Technician Support
00:13:03
Aniz Lavji
We've we fixed so many of them that, and I drive one, so I know how it should drive.
00:13:06
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:13:10
Aniz Lavji
So I'll drive pretty much
00:13:11
Frank Wiebe
Automatically how it should drive automatically. Let's just get that out there. We saw a guy the other day on the 401 Texting Cars driving I was so tempted I was so tempted to in front of him and hit the brakes just like that and the guy would have smacked his nose on the steering wheel I Would have laughed my ass off anyway back to your story
00:13:16
Aniz Lavji
automatically.
00:13:21
Aniz Lavji
Oh yeah. yeah oha
00:13:34
Aniz Lavji
But, but, you know, I drive most of them because, you know, I don't have a crazy amount of people working in the shop. Right. So David, our our tech that works on them all the time,
00:13:43
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:13:47
Aniz Lavji
you know Basically, I'll go and drive the car and I'll be like, you know what, David, this one needs a left front upper control arm. You can hear it squeaking. And then I can hear noise going over bumps. Probably needs lateral links, compliance links, and wheelbarrow.
00:14:03
Aniz Lavji
And he'll put it up and be like, yep, yep, yep, peppp yep yep. And it also needs this and this. But... Again, I'm not a tech, but with those vehicles, i've I know enough to do at least some of the hard work.
00:14:20
Frank Wiebe
The preliminary.
00:14:21
Aniz Lavji
And I'm i'm using air quotes, hard work ah for my tech.
00:14:21
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:14:24
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:14:26
Aniz Lavji
So that way it's just less for him to get into. Because again, like the the the guys or women that are doing the hardest work are the techs. It ain't the people in the front office, in my opinion.
00:14:39
Aniz Lavji
you know
00:14:39
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:14:40
Aniz Lavji
In the front office, we're sitting there in AC making work orders and on the phone. I mean, the techs are you know in the back wrenching. And if I can make their life a little bit easier by doing a test drive and kind of giving them the lowdown, like, hey, look, this is what I'm very positive is wrong with it.
00:14:59
Aniz Lavji
they can They can verify it. We can send off the estimate and they can go back to another vehicle while the customer is looking at it. Right. So it's it's workflow, right?
00:15:07
Frank Wiebe
uh yeah very often my day would be so so much easier if i had somebody that would just drive a vehicle in and out of the shop for me like if i could if i could hire a junior man that wasn't going to hit something with a car run into something and destroy something i would literally have him just bring a vehicle in
00:15:08
Aniz Lavji
Workflow.
00:15:31
Aniz Lavji
Racket.
00:15:32
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Well, that that i rate that I usually get.
00:15:34
Aniz Lavji
Right this.
00:15:36
Frank Wiebe
I rarely bend down and put something hoist anymore. um but I drive it in. I'm like, put this on a hoist.
00:15:42
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, but I'm saying, like, if black person if that person you're just talking about that came, you know, they drive it and then they racked it for you, it shook the rear of it, it's not falling off, you know, got it up in the air and say, okay, Frank, you know, hoist two is ready for you.
00:15:42
Frank Wiebe
That's the first thing I teach my co-op to Right.
00:15:56
Aniz Lavji
Bam. You go in, you check it it out.
00:15:57
Frank Wiebe
Right.
00:15:58
Aniz Lavji
And, you know, you can tell him, okay, you know, John Smith, go ahead pull the wheels on it. I'll be right back. And you go, because you've got another car that you can work on. And by the time you get back, he's like, okay, I pulled the wheels. By the way, there's, i noticed this, this, and this.
00:16:15
Aniz Lavji
And again, you didn't ask him, but since he noticed it, now it's in your mind, i better check it. So he's doing stuff for you without you even asking and saving you time, right?
00:16:20
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:16:25
Aniz Lavji
Because that's that's what we're trying to get more of every day.
00:16:28
Frank Wiebe
Well, then the beauty of it is that if you have TechMetric and everyone's logged into their different perspective, they can pull it up and add it into the DVI real quick and then it's already there.
00:16:33
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:16:36
Aniz Lavji
Oh, for sure.
00:16:38
Frank Wiebe
So you don't even have to think about it afterwards.
00:16:40
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:16:40
Frank Wiebe
But that's that's a beauty. if i had If I had five bays or six bays or something like that, I'd be doing that. I'd line them up in, check it out, go fix that. Check it out, go fix that. Check it out, go fix that. right
Customer Interactions and Service Efficiency
00:16:52
Frank Wiebe
That's what I'd be doing.
00:16:53
Frank Wiebe
But I mean, that works that works in a perfect world.
00:16:53
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. Like, a
00:16:57
Frank Wiebe
and and then And then you could like check it out and send it off to the ah advisor and then they could quote it, send the customer.
00:16:57
Aniz Lavji
yep.
00:17:04
Frank Wiebe
And when it comes back, then go to repair, right?
00:17:04
Aniz Lavji
Sure.
00:17:06
Frank Wiebe
Like, you know, get in that process going.
00:17:07
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:17:09
Frank Wiebe
But it doesn't always work out in this world, right? Like.
00:17:12
Aniz Lavji
No, my right now, you know, the process on my end, again, you know, I'm the one that writes all the service and everything. So, you the customer calls from wherever. And the first thing I asked them is, you know, how can we help? Right.
00:17:28
Aniz Lavji
And not, yeah, you want to bring it in now? It's like, no, how can we help? What do you need? What do you need us to help you with?
00:17:32
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:34
Aniz Lavji
Because at the end of the day, we're there to help. we're not We are there to make money and profits is not a dirty word. But you know I always try to say, how can we help? Because that's really what they're calling for. They're calling for help.
00:17:45
Aniz Lavji
So we, I mean, instead of saying, yeah, well like what like I've heard some people say, hey, yep.
00:17:46
Frank Wiebe
yeah you're Yeah, definitely.
00:17:54
Aniz Lavji
All right. Sorry. Yeah. What do you need? Jeez. I didn't call asking for a freaking lawnmower. Like my car is broken down.
00:17:59
Frank Wiebe
I'm always like, I'm like, what can we do for you today?
00:18:01
Aniz Lavji
Like need help.
00:18:03
Frank Wiebe
That's that's what I generally would say, yeah.
00:18:04
Aniz Lavji
That's perfect. but But when someone answers the phone, like if you called and you know you needed to get something fixed and the guy answers, hey, yeah, all right, yeah, what do you need?
00:18:13
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:18:14
Aniz Lavji
what
00:18:14
Frank Wiebe
that's
00:18:16
Aniz Lavji
Click.
00:18:17
Frank Wiebe
That's like that's like when i when I call the shop, like if I'm on the road or something i call the shop and David answers, he's like, hey, what's up?
00:18:21
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:18:25
Frank Wiebe
And I'm like, I know he doesn't answer the phone like that when a customer calls, but it always throws me off when he says that to me. And I'm like, i like okay, i guess's it's cool or right whatever, but I have a very strict policy that they have to say, hello.
00:18:43
Frank Wiebe
What the heck did they say? Or like, yeah, hello, 3D Auto, this is Margarita speaking, or Jaden or David, right?
00:18:50
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:18:51
Frank Wiebe
So they introduce themselves, so they know who who they're speaking to.
00:18:55
Aniz Lavji
That's important because when the guy calls back or the woman calls back, i was talking to Frank or was talking to a Margarita because you said...
00:18:56
Frank Wiebe
Oh, it's very in important.
00:19:01
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Well, I had and someone the other day drop a vehicle off, and I was just ah happened to be out in the parking lot.
00:19:02
Aniz Lavji
me
00:19:08
Frank Wiebe
And if i'm if I'm walking through the parking lot, and customers come, and they're like, oh, here's the keys. And I'm like, nope. I don't touch keys. You have to bring them into the office.
00:19:17
Aniz Lavji
Just tell me you how to drive.
00:19:18
Frank Wiebe
Well, I was just talking you on the phone. I'm like, no, you weren't talking to me. You were talking to David.
00:19:22
Aniz Lavji
So say, Frank, just say you don't have a license.
00:19:23
Frank Wiebe
So,
00:19:24
Aniz Lavji
You only have a license to fix the cars, not to drive them.
00:19:26
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, right. Yeah.
00:19:27
Aniz Lavji
All
00:19:28
Frank Wiebe
No, i i always tell them that I lose keys. I'm not allowed to have keys because I lose them. So it was funny the other day, a guy it in the in the driveway says, oh, here's the keys.
00:19:34
Aniz Lavji
right.
00:19:37
Frank Wiebe
I said, no, you have to give them to the office. So he goes in and talks to Margarita. And then I just happen to be walking in too, right? So he comes in this way. I come in the back way. And Margarita's like, oh here's the talk here's the keys. So she hands me the keys. And he's like, oh, you are allowed to take the keys. And I said, only after they have a tag on them.
00:19:56
Frank Wiebe
so So they brought in, gave it to her, checked in, right, because not everyone's checked in They know you're there, blah, blah.
00:19:58
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:20:03
Frank Wiebe
The key is tagged. Now we're all good.
00:20:06
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:20:06
Frank Wiebe
ah He chuckled about it. He thought it was funny. But I tell customers, I'm like, hey, look, I don't take i don't take keys in the parking lot. i used to, but I won't anymore.
00:20:16
Aniz Lavji
yeah It's.
00:20:16
Frank Wiebe
Customer comes in, nope.
00:20:17
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:20:18
Frank Wiebe
you You don't take keys in a parking lot. You go in the office. you You check in at the office. You announce that you're there. You let them know so they can start the process. They can tag your keys. they can They can check your information, make sure the DVI is started, make sure all that.
00:20:34
Frank Wiebe
Then they'll hand the keys. We'll usually hang them on the rack, and then we'll grab them from the rack and go from there, right? if we don't If we don't do those steps, something gets lost.
00:20:39
Aniz Lavji
Frank, in yep.
00:20:43
Frank Wiebe
Like the other day, that one step got missed. The customer, customer A, didn't come in.
00:20:49
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:20:49
Frank Wiebe
Pulled up in the front of the shop and just sat in their vehicle and waited. I'm doing my work. I'm doing my work. And all of a sudden, I'm like, when are we working on that vehicle? And Margarita's like, what are you talking about? I'm like, he's been sitting out there for 15 minutes. And she's like, i guess when he wants his car fixed, he'll come inside.
00:21:07
Aniz Lavji
Oh my God.
00:21:09
Frank Wiebe
i It was an older gentleman. He's got some health issues. So eventually I walked out and I'm like, okay, we're here. you know and then we took the service and did the job.
00:21:21
Frank Wiebe
But special clients get special privileges, I guess.
00:21:21
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:21:25
Frank Wiebe
Maybe that's one way to say it. Maybe that shouldn't be a thing, but.
00:21:28
Aniz Lavji
You know, one thing which I, you know, in now that I'm about to say it, I really need to implement it because I did learn it at the greatest um expo there is coming up in North Carolina, the ASDA expo.
TechMetric Features and Parking Management
00:21:43
Frank Wiebe
Let's go.
00:21:45
Aniz Lavji
So key tag, really simple. Do do you use key tag on tech metric?
00:21:52
Frank Wiebe
What?
00:21:54
Aniz Lavji
Okay, you might like this.
00:21:56
Frank Wiebe
I guess not.
00:21:56
Aniz Lavji
so So there's a key tag feature where it's such a good idea, and I don't know why the hell I don't use it. So, you know, sometimes you'll finish with one of your Chevy Cruises, and you've got, you know, 76 of them, right?
00:22:10
Frank Wiebe
I do actually.
00:22:10
Aniz Lavji
and you're and and And you're like, where is this car, right? Like, realistically, or any car, you're like, but where'd you park it? So on each vehicle, you go under key tag.
00:22:21
Aniz Lavji
It's right in the... uh, if you go into your RO and you go under the RO number, it'll say like time in, um, save parts, no marketing source, appointment, uh, option. Then it goes RO notes. When you click add, there's a spot that says key tag on there and you can actually enter in,
00:22:44
Aniz Lavji
um you know, front lot, left side, or front parking, or back parking, or side parking.
00:22:50
Frank Wiebe
Oh, like that. Okay.
00:22:51
Aniz Lavji
so So whenever that car is done, you can write like in would be like, okay, it was dropped off in the front parking, right?
00:22:52
Frank Wiebe
Yep.
00:23:02
Aniz Lavji
Because you can ask the customer, where'd you park your car in the front?
00:23:05
Frank Wiebe
Yep.
00:23:05
Aniz Lavji
and And then you can write on there slash out, and you can put back lot. So imagine if you never had to go look for a car, you look on the r RO and you know that that car coming in is parked, you know off to the left or, and when you're done with the vehicle, you know where, youre like after you're done parking it, you park it and you go back in the RO or you tell Margarita, like, Hey, you know, RO2659 is right.
00:23:38
Frank Wiebe
like I could see that being very beneficial if you have a large... like My friend was telling me he worked when he worked out a dealership, he said it would take sometimes 10 minutes to go and find a vehicle and bring it into the shop.
00:23:51
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. But sometimes you do have quite a few cars on your a lot.
00:23:52
Frank Wiebe
and I'm like...
00:23:56
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, but it's all it's all within like an L-shaped role. You walk out in the parking lot and you do a 360 and you're pretty much going to find it. right
00:24:05
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:24:05
Frank Wiebe
Unless it's parked outside the gate, which... It happens every once in a while.
00:24:09
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:24:10
Frank Wiebe
But.
00:24:10
Aniz Lavji
I'm going to start using it more because like sometimes, like you've been in my shop, I've got the front parking and then I've got the side parking and then I've got like
00:24:18
Frank Wiebe
You
00:24:22
Aniz Lavji
10 spots across from the garages. And then I've got another more space behind it where people sometimes park. So like it it's difficult.
00:24:31
Frank Wiebe
know, if you're going to go to that extreme, why don't you number each parking spot?
00:24:38
Aniz Lavji
I could. Yeah.
00:24:40
Frank Wiebe
Like if you're going to, if you're going go to that extreme, if you, if you have lines, I don't know if, I can't remember if there's lines, but
00:24:45
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. They're kind of still there. Yeah.
00:24:48
Frank Wiebe
yeah, if you, if you had the lines painted at each number, each part spot numbered, that would be a fantastic idea.
00:24:55
Aniz Lavji
But you'd have to um you have to redo those lines very often, every year, every year, year and a half.
00:25:02
Frank Wiebe
No, I don't think so. If you get good quality paint, like look at the road. If you had the same yellow paint that they have on the yellow line on the road, that lasts for years.
00:25:10
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. Got to get the right company.
00:25:15
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, well, the crap that they spray on just in the parking lot is no good. But that, I mean, yeah, i if I had a large parking lot, I would 100% do that. every single Every single one would be numbered.
00:25:28
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:25:28
Frank Wiebe
And then then when you go park it, this is number 24. You could even write it on the T tag and then go ahead and they could enter it in. And then when they give it back to the customer, they could say, oh, your vehicle is parked in parking spot number 24 so they don't have to go and look for it.
00:25:45
Aniz Lavji
Exactly.
00:25:46
Frank Wiebe
Oh, hey, Anise Jr.
00:25:48
Aniz Lavji
Charlie. this is This is my, I guess my firstborn you can call it because he was here before all the kids.
00:25:55
Frank Wiebe
Ha, ha, ha.
00:25:56
Aniz Lavji
So for for anyone that's listening, I just got my dog with me. And he's a good boy.
00:26:03
Frank Wiebe
nice
00:26:03
Aniz Lavji
But, you know, a little things like that. Yeah, and I agree. If you have a big lot, and I'm not saying my lot's big, it's not. But the way that my place is kind of situated, it could come in handy even just the extra second to write down on the key tag that, you know, vehicles here, are vehicles there, right?
00:26:15
Frank Wiebe
yeah it's a little different yep right
00:26:25
Aniz Lavji
but But, you know, little little golden nuggets, I call them. This is what you learn at these trade shows. And, again, in Canada, you know, most of our shops and people that we know, they don't have these big old lots like they do in the States. You talk to all these guys that have, you know, how many
Demolition Derby and Staffing Dynamics
00:26:43
Aniz Lavji
cars can you fit on your place? Oh, you know, not many, 80. Yeah.
00:26:46
Aniz Lavji
wolf
00:26:46
Frank Wiebe
Eighty.
00:26:47
Aniz Lavji
yeah And they've got 10 bays and 15 bays and stuff like that. So it's it's geared...
00:26:53
Frank Wiebe
I've currently probably got I've probably got 30 cars in my lot right now. And room for a good 10 more.
00:27:03
Aniz Lavji
So, I mean, really you could use that key tag feature.
00:27:03
Frank Wiebe
So that's.
00:27:08
Aniz Lavji
Cause I mean, if, if they're mostly in the back lot, you could write first row, second row, third row. Right. And if you're trying to find that car quickly, if it's on the key tag, you're not going to be wasting time. Right.
00:27:24
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Well, after next month, when we get rid of some cars, we got we got a few cars there that we're going to run through the demolition derby. So after they're after they're gone, we want to revamp our parking lot and change the layout of it.
00:27:32
Aniz Lavji
Oh, yeah.
00:27:40
Aniz Lavji
Crap, do you still need cars for that? Because I had a customer, i think they just got rid of their Corolla.
00:27:45
Frank Wiebe
Oh, that would been perfect car for it.
00:27:49
Aniz Lavji
Literally last week.
00:27:50
Frank Wiebe
Odd. Dude, anytime that you have something four-cylinder like that and somebody is is wanting to trade it in or something, like let me know. I'll come out and get it because those are perfect cards for them.
00:27:59
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, he just got rid of it because it ah What did it need? I can't remember. It needed did something crazy. But yeah, I'll tell you next time for sure.
00:28:11
Frank Wiebe
Yep. Those are good. I've got Honda Fit, a Volkswagen Jetta, Two Chevy Impalas, as long as they're going to let me run. I think I run the V6 in the four-cylinder class.
00:28:28
Aniz Lavji
what When is this demolition derby?
00:28:29
Frank Wiebe
Two Chevy Impalas. second weekend in August, usually. So it'll be a friday Friday night when we're going to run in the banger race.
00:28:40
Aniz Lavji
In Elmer?
00:28:41
Frank Wiebe
Yep.
00:28:42
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, to text me the details. ill I'll see if I can come out there. That'll we' be a lot of fun.
00:28:47
Frank Wiebe
That'd be cool. I've, I've got, like I said, I've got four, four cars. If, and then, you know, a caravan, if they'll let me run a caravan, you know, two. and then we still got our Honda from last year. So we might even have five or six cars if we can get them already.
00:29:02
Aniz Lavji
Wow.
00:29:02
Frank Wiebe
And, and then, uh, yeah, my, I got two junior guys at the shop.
00:29:02
Aniz Lavji
Wow.
00:29:09
Frank Wiebe
They'd love to run it. My, uh, our new service advisor, Jaden, she said she'd love to run one. So, uh,
00:29:15
Aniz Lavji
Nice.
00:29:16
Frank Wiebe
And then I might run one, so we'll see.
00:29:21
Aniz Lavji
How many people are you running now the shop?
00:29:24
Frank Wiebe
We've got
00:29:27
Aniz Lavji
Three service advisors now, right?
00:29:28
Frank Wiebe
one.
00:29:29
Aniz Lavji
Technically.
00:29:29
Frank Wiebe
one Yeah, so technically, like, we got one full-time, one part-time service advisor. And then Margarita is the bookkeeper slash customer service representative, I guess.
00:29:44
Frank Wiebe
So she, like,
00:29:45
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:29:46
Frank Wiebe
Customers need a ride, that kind of stuff.
00:29:48
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:29:48
Frank Wiebe
Parts need to be picked up. That's her. Then we've got two full-time in the shop plus myself and one part-time in the shop.
00:29:57
Aniz Lavji
Okay. Yeah. Good stuff then.
00:30:01
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Yeah, we're staffed pretty good. Now we just need more car count.
00:30:05
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:30:06
Frank Wiebe
it's it's I don't know. I've never seen a July as slow as this. like I guess it's usually a little bit slow, but this is crazy. But then we had crazy busy February, March. So it's kind of balancing out.
00:30:21
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, this, ah I'm kind of excited because it's it's officially been a year since we've had
Business Performance and Customer Care
00:30:28
Aniz Lavji
TechMetric. So
00:30:30
Frank Wiebe
Okay, really.
00:30:31
Aniz Lavji
so so the funny and the funny reason I'm excited is because now I'm actually able to compare properly, like last July on the system compared to this.
00:30:41
Frank Wiebe
yeah.
00:30:44
Frank Wiebe
okay ye
00:30:44
Aniz Lavji
And like last July, we were just kind of learning the system, kind of figuring things out and i'm I'm looking at the numbers and I'm looking at the end of the month. I'm like, oh my God, like were we even open?
00:30:59
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, I'm doing month-to-month comparisons right now, and it's it's interesting to see how it changes month-to-month even.
00:31:06
Aniz Lavji
one little change here, one little change here and a little more, um I don't want to use.
00:31:10
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:31:15
Aniz Lavji
the wrong word, but, you know, just, just standing ground on, on certain aspects of your labor and your parts percentages makes such a huge difference at the end of the month.
00:31:29
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. yep
00:31:30
Aniz Lavji
You know, sometimes you think, okay, know, I can't ask that much for this job, or, you know, I, let me cut down a little bit of labor on this. They might sign the job. They may you go for it. But you know, a lot of the times they're they're coming to your shop because it's you, because they know that you're going take care of them. So if even if your parts or your labor's padded an extra 0.5 or 0.7, whether it's an old car or whatever it is, nine times out of 10, they're not going to really fuss about and extra 50, 60 bucks. Because again, sometimes...
00:32:07
Aniz Lavji
you may spend an extra hour on the vehicle because of something's rusted or, or whatever. And you're not in, you know, you've already got 5.5 or 0.6 in it. You're probably just going to just take care of the customer if they're a good customer.
00:32:19
Aniz Lavji
Right.
00:32:20
Frank Wiebe
uh well and that's and that's key is taking care of the customers keys is is really what we're after and what we're like i know you said said earlier nerds it's everyone wants to make a profit and we do and that's the whole reason we open shop i'm to make money right but
00:32:21
Aniz Lavji
But you know,
00:32:29
Aniz Lavji
yeah.
00:32:38
Aniz Lavji
why you're in business to make a profit. Yep. It's not a dirty word.
00:32:44
Frank Wiebe
But the way you're going to make money, and here's the keys, the way you're going to make money is taking care of that customer.
00:32:48
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:32:49
Frank Wiebe
Because if you're if you're not taking care of the customer and you're just being like a, I say i would say fly by night, right?
00:32:50
Aniz Lavji
No. so
00:32:57
Frank Wiebe
One-stop shop, you know, one-time customer, all like that.
00:32:58
Aniz Lavji
yep
00:33:00
Frank Wiebe
that's not that's not That's not what you should be after. You should be after looking after the customer, retaining the customer, making sure that their vehicle is going to last as long as possible.
00:33:11
Aniz Lavji
yep
00:33:12
Frank Wiebe
and be efficient about it right and that's how you're going to make money yeah 100
00:33:14
Aniz Lavji
and And giving them right advice and and and telling them, you know, like giving them honest advice like, you know, mrs Mrs. Johnson, like if you were looking to purchase another vehicle, you know, this would be the time to start looking because this vehicle is getting to the point where it's beyond repair.
00:33:38
Aniz Lavji
Because a lot of places won't say that because they want to keep fixing the crap box and keep making money off it when that thing, you know, you could lean on it the wrong way and the damn frame would break.
00:33:38
Frank Wiebe
hundred percent
00:33:49
Frank Wiebe
Well, that's and that's exactly the Honda Fit that I mentioned that we're going in the derby with.
00:33:54
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:33:54
Frank Wiebe
It was exactly that. i sat her down one day and I said, look, this car, and you know it's rusty. I said, it's at the point now. You really need to consider that you're going to buy another car.
00:34:07
Frank Wiebe
And she's oh, okay, okay, okay.
00:34:07
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:34:09
Frank Wiebe
Well, then it just so happened, I think it was three weeks later, i was driving through town and at one of the used car lots, I saw this car. beautiful looking Toyota Corolla, 19... 2005.
00:34:22
Frank Wiebe
That's what it was, 2005.
00:34:26
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:34:28
Frank Wiebe
An older Corolla. And I'm like, man, this would be like perfect for her. So anyways, that's what we ended up doing. So I ah helped her buy it.
00:34:41
Frank Wiebe
I helped arrange the details and get it for her. But it was it was exactly that. I'm like, I could have fixed your car. But honestly, you really need to just replace it.
00:34:54
Frank Wiebe
It's it's at that point. It's going to save you money to buy a new car. How about that?
00:34:59
Aniz Lavji
and and and And, you know, that's the right thing to do as an ethical shop owner and business that, hey, look, we've we've trucked this car along as far as we we can.
00:34:59
Frank Wiebe
that's If you have to sell it that way.
00:35:12
Frank Wiebe
Yep.
00:35:15
Aniz Lavji
From this point, I mean,
00:35:16
Frank Wiebe
No, no, that's not true. We can always go further.
00:35:20
Aniz Lavji
yes, we can, but we won't.
00:35:21
Frank Wiebe
We can always go further. But is it feasible? And is it is it beneficial?
00:35:25
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, but it's... But sometimes these cars come to the point where we won't go any further than this because it is not right.
00:35:31
Frank Wiebe
Yes.
00:35:34
Aniz Lavji
And, you know, it's not easy to make a buck, but it's very easy to spend your bucks.
00:35:34
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. That's the right word.
00:35:39
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:35:40
Aniz Lavji
So, you know, we've gotten to the point where we've told customers, I'm sorry, but we're, if you want it fixed beyond this, like we're not the right shop for this vehicle for you
Effective Customer Interactions
00:35:49
Aniz Lavji
because i have to sleep at night, you know.
00:35:49
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:35:53
Aniz Lavji
um But, you know, going going back to processes, I'll just kind of touch on it quickly. i think it's extremely important but when you get the customer on the phone, you know try to try to address what their problem is on the RO notes.
00:36:09
Aniz Lavji
alright And if you're going to ask them too, too many questions, well, you know, have you had this done yet? Have you had this done yet? Have you had this done yet? A lot of times they just want you to fix what they're asking for.
00:36:20
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, i don't I don't say asking, have you got this, have you got this, have you get this, but what I am...
00:36:25
Aniz Lavji
But, you know, like some advisors will try to try to hit them with seven more things because they'll look on the they'll look on the Carfax and, you know what I mean?
00:36:29
Frank Wiebe
No.
00:36:35
Aniz Lavji
And they'll say, oh, they haven't done this, this, this, and this. But the main thing is give them – don't
00:36:38
Frank Wiebe
No, I always say, like i heard heard this in one of the trainings, like, okay, somebody brings a vehicle in and this is their concern.
00:36:43
Aniz Lavji
know. know.
00:36:45
Frank Wiebe
Like that say that caravan with the pulsating. and we knew it needed brakes and tires. But let's say I had found an oil leak or something on it. The very first thing you do is you sell them the job that they came in for, the the concern that they have.
00:37:01
Aniz Lavji
Yep. Yep. Yep.
00:37:03
Frank Wiebe
Then after they have agreed to that concern and you say, okay, this is what it's going to take to fix your brakes and your tires and blah, blah, blah. Just so you know, we also found this. If you're wanting to do this, this is how much this would cost, right?
00:37:17
Frank Wiebe
That's how that's to me. I, when I heard that, I'm like, that's all it's how I've always done it, but that's the proper way to do it. Cause if you're like your customer brought in for tires and brakes and you say, Oh, by the way, like why you're giving them the quote, here's tires and brakes. And Oh, we found this oil leak and there's this quote and there's this quote and there's this quote.
00:37:37
Frank Wiebe
And now all of a sudden they're like overwhelmed. And they're like, I, that's not what I asked for. Right. And that's where you get the shady, i shady shop. from race like You beginning.
00:37:47
Aniz Lavji
But then again, if if they came up with tires and brakes and they did the tire and brakes, right? And then you're like, by the way, you know, you need this, this, this, this and this.
00:37:58
Aniz Lavji
Then they're going to the hell did you tell me to, you know, why didn't you tell me that in the beginning? Because I wouldn't have done the tire and brakes.
00:38:04
Frank Wiebe
oh You say, no... you tell em you tell him in a beginning you say no
00:38:08
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, it has to be in the beginning. Yeah.
00:38:10
Frank Wiebe
has to be in the beginning, but you you say, this is how much it's going to cost to fix your tires and brakes. Okay. And they say, oh yeah.
00:38:16
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:38:16
Frank Wiebe
Okay. Well, that's the price. So let's say it's a thousand dollars. It's going to cost a thousand dollars to fix tires and brakes.
00:38:20
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:38:22
Frank Wiebe
We also found this and that would cost you.
00:38:24
Aniz Lavji
Yes. As long as it's it's right, it's in the next breath.
00:38:27
Frank Wiebe
It's in the next breath, right? Once they've agreed to say, oh, that thousand dollars.
00:38:29
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:38:31
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Okay. But we also found this and this would cost you another 500, right? Now, does it complement this?
00:38:37
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:38:39
Frank Wiebe
Maybe not. But if it complements that, then you really have to be adamant about that. Because let's say you have an i-rod loose.
00:38:45
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:38:47
Aniz Lavji
yep
00:38:48
Frank Wiebe
You fix your brakes you fix your tires, but we can't put tires on unless you fix your tie rod and do an alignment because otherwise your tires are going wear up, right?
00:38:52
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:56
Frank Wiebe
You know, different scenarios, different processes that way.
00:38:56
Aniz Lavji
See, there's a lot of, there's tons of shops that'll, you know, go they'll do, you know, they'll sell them the the brakes and tires.
00:38:59
Frank Wiebe
But...
00:39:05
Aniz Lavji
And then when, you know, it's all done, they give the car back to them and say, oh, by the way, going to send you this other inspection that you need all of this work. And let me know if you want to get, then that customer is either going to like lose their mind or they're never never coming back.
00:39:17
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, exactly. then then Then you have what I call a one-time customer because they came in one time and you just didn't treat them right and they'll go somewhere else, right?
00:39:27
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:39:30
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. what What we do is that when the customer comes in, you know, with their concern, we'll, we'll tell them like, look, our process is we're going put it up. We're going to do a DVI digital vehicle inspection, and it's going to be this much. We're going to check your car and we are going to,
00:39:51
Aniz Lavji
quote you on your concern. Now, if there are any supplementary items that we find on top of this, we're going to quote you all of it, but we are going to focus on your concern that you came in for today. How does that sound? That's great.
00:40:07
Aniz Lavji
So, so when we, we do the DBI, we send it to them, we go over it.
00:40:07
Frank Wiebe
See you.
00:40:12
Aniz Lavji
I'm like, look, you know, we found that your, um, your lower control arm, ball joint, is completely out of it and the bushing is gone so you really need this.
00:40:24
Aniz Lavji
Also I want to make sure you're aware that you have no front brakes and one of your tires has a bulge in it.
Air Conditioning System Repairs
00:40:33
Aniz Lavji
I know those other two things are not what you want to hear right now but my job as a shop owner And, you know, we want to make sure that we're informing you about it.
00:40:43
Aniz Lavji
I can, um I want to definitely quote you on those two items, but what you came in for today, here is the quote for that. And then from there, i let them talk and nine times out of 10, they're going to say, okay, let's take care of that.
00:40:58
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:40:58
Aniz Lavji
And either give me a quote for this, or you know what, I might be able to come back next week and then we can talk about it. but but i mean But I make sure that it's spoken in the same breath and not after they've already said, go ahead and do the control arm, and then you hit him with another 800 because then you're a jerk.
00:41:07
Frank Wiebe
That's how...
00:41:12
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Very much so.
00:41:17
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Then you're a jerk. Yeah. That's that's how we've we've had to create that process for air conditioning.
00:41:20
Aniz Lavji
Right? Yeah.
00:41:23
Frank Wiebe
cause like Air conditioning is is a tricky subject because...
00:41:25
Aniz Lavji
Very, very.
00:41:27
Frank Wiebe
like like it's it's so hard to say the come system is empty and yeah how do you know the compressor is going to work right so like we have we have a very like we won't even we won't even touch the ac unless the customer agrees to a pressure test or leak test diagnosing so if it comes in and it has pressure
00:41:49
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:41:52
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:41:52
Frank Wiebe
If the compressor isn't working, right, then we'll go further and then we sell an electrical test. But if it's got no pressure, they have to agree to a leak test so that we can find out where it's leaking.
00:42:04
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:42:04
Frank Wiebe
If they won't, we we just won't.
00:42:07
Aniz Lavji
Don't even start.
00:42:08
Frank Wiebe
Right.
00:42:08
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:42:09
Frank Wiebe
So we had a customer the other day and we we told them, like like, we just won't do anything to your AC system unless we find where that leak is.
00:42:20
Frank Wiebe
Oh, no, but you've you've topped it up in the past.
00:42:23
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:42:23
Frank Wiebe
We may have, but regardless, that's not our process anymore. We refused, right?
00:42:28
Aniz Lavji
You know,
00:42:29
Frank Wiebe
there's There's too many liabilities for that. There's too many concerns with that.
00:42:32
Aniz Lavji
yeah.
00:42:34
Frank Wiebe
So we won't. Unless we can find the leak, we don't touch it. And if you're not agreeing to that, then like this we're not the right shot for you.
00:42:38
Aniz Lavji
I, yeah.
00:42:42
Aniz Lavji
I even, I had a customer that came in and, and they were saying, my AC is kind of cool.
00:42:42
Frank Wiebe
And that's fine.
00:42:51
Aniz Lavji
but not very cold. Okay. So i was like, look, this is what we have to do for the first things. First, we have to evacuate the system. Like, okay. So we have to evacuate it And then we're going to do a nitrogen test on the system.
00:43:05
Aniz Lavji
We're going to test. We're going to make sure there's no leaks in there. And i hope it's just a recharge because it's cheaper for you. And it's, you know, everyone's happy, but if there is a leak, I cannot put whatever Freon or whatever that was in your compressor back in because there's a leak.
00:43:28
Aniz Lavji
Right. And they're like, well, what do you mean? That's my Freon. I'm like, yes, but we, we can't just put back the whatever ounces or whatever you had. So you could go for, from kind of cool to nothing.
00:43:43
Aniz Lavji
So they, well, that's not fair. I'm like,
00:43:46
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:43:46
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, but that's right. Am I am i right about that, Frank? or
00:43:50
Frank Wiebe
Well, I would, I do that a little differently because if the system has Freon already in it, like, and, and it's not efficiently cool. Um, I have a free on leak detector that was stupid expensive.
00:44:08
Frank Wiebe
And so then I will find, and and I found many, many leaks that way.
00:44:12
Aniz Lavji
But if they don't want to fix it, you see I'm saying?
00:44:15
Frank Wiebe
Oh, like that. Yeah, if they don't want to fix it, like that you you you agree to.
00:44:17
Aniz Lavji
That's what I'm saying.
00:44:19
Frank Wiebe
You're right.
00:44:20
Aniz Lavji
Right?
00:44:21
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:44:21
Aniz Lavji
That's what I'm saying. if they If it's kind of cool, right, and then you you evacuate it, you do the nitrogen test, and let's say it's got leaking high-pressure low-pressure lines, and the compressors, you can just leak.
00:44:24
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:44:33
Frank Wiebe
Yeah. Well, you can't fill it back up again, for sure.
00:44:38
Aniz Lavji
so So, right, like, that's you can't put whatever was in there back in it because you're you're not allowed to, if I'm not mistaken, Right.
00:44:46
Frank Wiebe
It's true.
00:44:47
Aniz Lavji
That's what I'm trying to that's the point I'm trying to make. Most of the time they're going to want to fix it because you know, it's hot as crap outside. But we've had customers that like, well, it was kind of cool before. And now, now it's not, and you've tagged it that there's a leak. I'm like, yes, because we can't put that back in.
00:45:06
Frank Wiebe
I love the customer. I had one today come in and we had put a compressor on it recently and his wife complained that it wasn't getting cold enough. said all right well we'll check it out maybe we've got a defective compressor or something like that that brought it in checked it i got a little thermometer that i stick in the in the vent and within just like 30 seconds it was down to 30 degrees fahrenheit or 32 degrees fahrenheit i pulled it out and i showed him i said how much colder do you want it to be he's like
00:45:18
Aniz Lavji
Yep, it happens.
00:45:34
Aniz Lavji
Yep.
00:45:38
Aniz Lavji
Mm-hmm.
00:45:40
Frank Wiebe
I guess that answers the question. And that was it. We were done. I'm like, I don't know what to tell you. It is cold. It ain't going to get any colder and it's just going to freeze up.
00:45:49
Aniz Lavji
Yep. Yep.
00:45:51
Frank Wiebe
Like it's working out. He's perfect. He says, okay, I'll go home and tell her. The evidence was there. But I mean, yeah, if if it hadn't been working, like then then you have to make that decision.
00:46:05
Aniz Lavji
yeah
00:46:05
Frank Wiebe
Are you willing to invest into fixing this? This is what it potentially could cost. We don't know. This is step number one. And we always tell our customers, this is step number one to diagnose air conditioning.
00:46:20
Frank Wiebe
Once we have passed this step, then we go to step number two this is like a graduated licensing system right you can't jump to the end it's impossible if the first step fails we don't go to step two if it passes we go to step two if that fails we stop there right like there's a process and once we get to the end and everything is good you'll have cold air and then you'll be happy and you'll pay for it
00:46:35
Aniz Lavji
right
00:46:46
Aniz Lavji
And sometimes, you know, these customers don't realize that, you know, you've got, you have a lot of players in the game when it comes to AC components. You've got your compressor, you've got your condenser, you've got high pressure line, low pressure line.
00:46:55
Frank Wiebe
it yep
00:47:01
Aniz Lavji
um You know, you could have bad rear lines that are screwing everything up and leaking. And then to do those, you know, God help you. If you've got, what was that?
00:47:12
Frank Wiebe
you know oh yeah you got to take three differential loads change them yeah
00:47:13
Aniz Lavji
Ford Explorer rear lines or something like you know, it can be a nightmare.
00:47:21
Aniz Lavji
I think we, we had these things called shark bite. We had a couple customers that just wanted to just cancel out the, I think it was canceling out the AC for the rear.
00:47:30
Frank Wiebe
block off the rear lines yeah yeah
00:47:32
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. There's like a tool called shark bite or something. I think we, we used it a year or two ago and the customer was super happy because they, they used to care more when they had their kids with them. Now it's just them two.
00:47:44
Frank Wiebe
yeah it's it's a common practice to do that and and i have no problem doing that there's there's shops that will refuse to do that like oh unless we're fixing and replacing the lines it has to be a No, I have no problem doing that.
00:47:45
Aniz Lavji
yeah,
00:47:48
Aniz Lavji
Yep. Yep.
00:47:56
Frank Wiebe
If it has a dual system and you simply don't want the rear system to work anymore. We actually had a customer recently.
00:48:00
Aniz Lavji
I
00:48:01
Frank Wiebe
They asked us if we do that, is that reversible? And I said, no, if we do this as a permanent, it's it's like getting a vasectomy. It's permanent.
00:48:12
Frank Wiebe
It's not reversible.
00:48:13
Aniz Lavji
um i mean you're some doctor i mean, there's some doctors I'm sure that could...
00:48:15
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, we'll talk about that. But I said, but I said, like, the problem is that the rear system is now open to the atmosphere. And all that stuff in there is going to rot away.
00:48:26
Frank Wiebe
So if if a year from now you decided that, oh, we want to reconnect the lines and we want to put the lines in the back, now you have to do a condenser. light or Sorry, an evaporator core in the back, an expansion valve, all the lines.
00:48:40
Frank Wiebe
Like if you want to do it, do it now. If you don't want to do it, this is a permanent repair. It'll have front AC, not rear. And once they understand that, that's fine.
00:48:48
Aniz Lavji
Sorry, Frank. So what part of the vasectomy is the the cooler lines and i and which one is going to be beyond repairs?
00:48:54
Frank Wiebe
It's the line. it's the
00:48:57
Aniz Lavji
Just so you know our listeners can understand for the clip that you're going to make from this.
00:48:59
Frank Wiebe
it's It's the two lines that run from the from the from the feed point
Finalizing Repairs and Payment Policies
00:49:05
Frank Wiebe
up to the use point.
00:49:05
Aniz Lavji
Oh, boy.
00:49:06
Frank Wiebe
of It's those two lines.
00:49:07
Aniz Lavji
Oh, boy.
00:49:08
Frank Wiebe
If you cut them off, that's permanent. Yep.
00:49:11
Aniz Lavji
Oh, boy.
00:49:11
Frank Wiebe
Wow. just
00:49:12
Aniz Lavji
Well, for anyone under underage listening to this, sorry for the crazy analogies. who Are still there?
00:49:20
Frank Wiebe
yep
00:49:20
Aniz Lavji
You still there? Okay. So, yeah. um So basically, I'll just finish off with basically once the vehicle is repaired, we want to make sure that before we even take a dime from the customer, we go over the complete repair order.
00:49:38
Aniz Lavji
And I'll, you know, Mr. Customer, Mrs. Customer, today we went ahead and took care of the front right lower control arm and and your right front outer tie rod. We did an alignment on there as well. And we let you know about your front brakes, which we took care of as well.
00:49:55
Aniz Lavji
And I know you've got the estimate, you've approved it. So this is your total. And what is the what is your preferred method of payment? So they'll pay. I'll text and email them the receipt and and tell them, like, if there's anything else I can do for you, you can text, call or email.
00:50:15
Aniz Lavji
We're happy to take care you. And that's it.
00:50:17
Frank Wiebe
Yep.
00:50:17
Aniz Lavji
you know You don't need any more fluff than that, really.
00:50:20
Frank Wiebe
No, it's it's it's when you start to it's when you start to make it sound elaborate and and over the hill, then customers start to be like, ah what's going on here?
00:50:26
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:50:31
Frank Wiebe
But if you're just straight up and truthful and honest and say, this is what it needs and this is what it's going to take and this how much it costs you. And yeah, we took care of it. it's It's all good.
00:50:42
Frank Wiebe
And that's, is you can stand behind your word and say, it's all good. It's not going to be a problem again.
00:50:47
Aniz Lavji
and
00:50:48
Frank Wiebe
That's what we need to do.
00:50:49
Aniz Lavji
And one thing we do tell customers, you know, sometimes we'll send, we'll resend for approval just because, you know, some customers, even if they've been to you for a long time and, you know, they know that their bill is going to be 540 bucks and, you know, you need, um if you're doing, let's say you're doing rear drums and shoes, you need a hardware kit, another 30, 40 bucks.
00:51:11
Aniz Lavji
And, you know, sometimes I'll be like, look, I'm just going to quickly resend the, the estimate, know, You know, some customers are like, oh, wow like that's thank you for doing that because a lot of other shops would have just thrown the 40 bucks on there.
00:51:24
Aniz Lavji
And then at the end of it, they would have just said, oh, by the way, now your bill's this much.
00:51:24
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:51:31
Aniz Lavji
it's it's So it's actually a little surprises that a lot of customers don't want to see.
00:51:34
Frank Wiebe
Yeah.
00:51:35
Aniz Lavji
but So, Frank, for for you, I know we're burning the midnight oil a bit here, but for your... for your process, basically once the customer gets the estimate for you, you know where does it go from there?
00:51:51
Frank Wiebe
After they get the estimate, as soon as it's approved, like like whether we text or email them they or call them the estimate, once it's approved, and it's pretty simple, get parts ordered.
00:52:04
Frank Wiebe
Whether it's on the rack waiting or if it's in the it's in the yard, then it gets in the queue, right? um But if it's in the rack, then you start tearing it down, waiting for parts.
00:52:16
Frank Wiebe
Try not to wait for parts, right? But once the parts get there, you stick it on. It's it's pretty simple. like We don't make it complicated. The customer approves the job, parts are ordered, it gets done.
00:52:28
Frank Wiebe
um
00:52:29
Aniz Lavji
Yep. Yep.
00:52:29
Frank Wiebe
After that, um
00:52:34
Frank Wiebe
then it's a matter of when the customer's coming to pick it up. But like you said, what what how are you going to pay? and And if they send an e-transfer, once the e-transfer is cleared,
00:52:44
Frank Wiebe
Okay, what do you want to do with the keys, right? you want us to leave the keys in the car? Do you want us to lock it in the lockbox? What do you want to do? Most of the time, customers like, oh, just leave the key in the cup holder with a bill in there, and away you go. No problem.
00:52:58
Frank Wiebe
As long as the e-transfer is cleared, right?
00:53:00
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:53:01
Frank Wiebe
Oh, I'll send an e-transfer after 6 when I get home. That's okay.
00:53:04
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, no.
00:53:04
Frank Wiebe
You can pick your car up tomorrow then. No problem.
00:53:06
Aniz Lavji
Yeah, exactly.
00:53:07
Frank Wiebe
Yep.
00:53:07
Aniz Lavji
i remember my late father-in-law, I think he had a sign, let's be friends, no credit.
00:53:14
Frank Wiebe
Yep. Yeah, really, that's the way to.
00:53:17
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:53:18
Frank Wiebe
And it's and it's it's not really friends that will ask you for credit. It's family.
00:53:23
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:53:25
Frank Wiebe
It's family and it's strangers. ah No, it's the weirdest thing. It's the weirdest thing. Some strange person will walk in and say, I'd like to do such and such and such. Sure.
00:53:37
Frank Wiebe
ah Yeah. um Can I make it on payments? Nope.
00:53:40
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. know ye
00:53:41
Frank Wiebe
Why not? That's what you have a credit card for. well I don't have a credit card. Somebody taught me that years ago, right? If a customer comes in and asks if they can put it on credit, you go, sure, which credit card would you like to use?
00:53:55
Frank Wiebe
No, I don't have credit card.
00:53:55
Aniz Lavji
Yeah.
00:53:57
Frank Wiebe
I would just like credit here. no
00:53:59
Aniz Lavji
Yeah. No.
00:54:00
Frank Wiebe
We're not a bank facility. It is not our business is to do that.
00:54:04
Aniz Lavji
in In the U.S., they do have... um financing that you can kind of put into your shop management system and offer it.
00:54:12
Frank Wiebe
You can do that here too. You can do it here too.
00:54:15
Aniz Lavji
I've never really looked into it. I don't really get into that situation often at all.
00:54:19
Frank Wiebe
I mean, in general, like the parrot repairs that you and I do, it's it's not... Like if you were going to be doing an engine job or something like that and you're you're talking like $10,000, $15,000, I understand what somebody would need to finance that, right?
00:54:33
Aniz Lavji
if you're if you're like in ah doing a Zeb caliber repair,
00:54:36
Frank Wiebe
Yeah, exactly, right? Like that kind of stuff. But in general, I think the work that you and I do, it's... it's
00:54:45
Frank Wiebe
not necessary to get into financing.
Closing Remarks and Listener Appreciation
00:54:48
Aniz Lavji
Nope. Nope.
00:54:50
Frank Wiebe
Yep.
00:54:50
Aniz Lavji
But, uh, all right, Frank, I know it's, uh, getting late. I'm getting a bit tired here as well, but, uh, yeah.
00:54:56
Frank Wiebe
You better go put what we said Charlie. you know Charlie better go put Charlie to bed.
00:54:59
Aniz Lavji
good I got to take him for a little walk outside and, uh, to have dinner. Did i have dinner? I think I did. Yeah.
00:55:11
Aniz Lavji
Yep. I'm going to probably have a snack and call it a night, buddy.
00:55:14
Frank Wiebe
All right.
00:55:15
Aniz Lavji
All right, Frank, we will talk to you later.
00:55:18
Frank Wiebe
Have a good one.
00:55:19
Aniz Lavji
Thank you everyone for listening and please tune in for the next episode as well. We are actually over 30 episodes in so far and you know, that's pretty exciting. So when we started this, we weren't sure kind of where it was going to go, but you know Frank and I, I think we're both having a good time. So thank you for everyone that's been listening. Follow us on the Shop and Chat Talk pat podcast on Facebook.
00:55:45
Aniz Lavji
And signing off. Thank you.