Standard Operating Procedures – Working Smarter, Not Harder
Maximize productivity by standardizing “best practices” across your organization. “Since we started truly implementing standard operating procedures, it’s a statistical fact that I only spend two hours a week in three locations and that we grew from five employees to 50 in a four-year time period,” says Troy Gates, owner of a three-shop operation called Gates
Quality Is Not Subjective
So what if the guy down the road will do the repair the wrong
way for less money? Don’t fall into the “locally acceptable quality” trap.
Even ‘Know It Alls’ Need Training
Take it from a reformed Mr. Know-It-All: You don’t know what you don’t know — so training is vital to staying ahead in an ever-changing industry.
Build a Better Mousetrap, and the World Will Beat a Path to Your Door
7 strategies for quality-driven shops to maintain profitability in a marketplace fixated on “fast” and “cheap.”
DRPs: Our Business Skills
Stop the finger pointing. How well we do in this trade has a lot more to do with our business skills than with how “bad” insurers are. In fact, direct-repair programs have, dare I say it, made many shops more efficient and profitable. It was more than 40 years ago, but I still remember sitting
Don’t Be a Jackass
Writer John Shortell’s opinion on the industry’s left-wing, defeatist attitude and the insurance industry
Is Your Shop Sick? The Preventative Approach
If you want your shop to have a long (and profitable) life, it needs to periodically see a shop doc.
Send Me Your Best Student – Partnering with Vo-Tech Schools
Looking to take the local vo-tech school’s best and brightest? Fat chance – unless you’ve been partnering with that vo-tech school all along. If you’re all take and no give, don’t expect instructors to do you any favors when you suddenly need to hire.
The Cynic’s Guide to Structural Repairs
After 30 years of working on critically wounded vehicles, I can safely say I’ve pretty much done it all when it comes to surgical frame and structure repairs. I can also safely say that timely, quality repairs can still be done in our time-and-labor-hostile environment.
Sold: Have You Ever Wondered What Happens to Shop Owners Who Sell Their Businesses?
Part four of a five-part series.