Dreamers!

[satellite66]

Irony of ironies...In my post above a related how I hadn't received my order (door panels) from SMS Auto Fabrics that I had made and paid for 18 months ago. Low and behold I get an e-mail this morning saying they have been shipped! These aren't for my mopar but for a 59 Edsel. I just hope that they are correct. Part of the run around I got from them was that they did have the material on hand (they had sent me some that I ordered to have the seats redone). They said that they had the material and my previous order so they could match it up. Turns out they didn't have it. I had to send them swatches of the leftovers I had so they could find the correct material to use for the door panels. This is why I was perturbed with them. Not so much the length of time it took, but that they told me things that weren't true.

 

[Donny]

I don't think my posts was laced with "do it my way" or else. I think I'm way beyond the norm for communications and feedback to the customer. I have a Bachelor Degree in Organizational Development, so, I've spent a lot of time in this type of work pre and post Army, and of course in the Army. The problem I see is most of my peers are rather unskilled in these very departments, they think they know it all, when, they know nothing! The more you actually know, the more you admit you know nothing, and will show ability to absorb what the other guy (Customer) has to say as being valid.

 

[Pugly]

My first reply wasn't to aggravate anyone, just to point out there are always two sides to every transaction. Like stated earlier, I have owned my shops for over 30 years.

Some shops give others a bad reputation, that is true. Sometimes we give ourselves our own bad rep. Usually when we don't explain everything ... and I mean everything, that could or might happen and what to expect if it does. Even then the customer only hears what they want to. We started recording all of our phone authorizations for the forgetful customer who doesn't remember us telling them that or feels that because they didn't sign, then they don't really owe.

We used to use those recordings a lot. Now we very rarely use them. Mainly because we have learned how to deal with people and make sure they understand. We only pull them out now for those special customers who swear the never authorized that... Imagine the shock on their face, and their families face, cause ya know they dun drug down 15 of they family members to the shop to raise a ruckuss, when they hear what they "forgot".

Donny, I don't know you and really don't even know anything about you. I can only tell you to not let it get to you. Expect the customer to have money problems, don't ever threaten to push their pride and joy out into a muddy field for $50.00 a day storage. It just makes it worse. Be patient, understand their issues and stay the course. When they freak out, give them a couple of hours and call them back when they calm down.
Show and tell works really well. I know you don't want them down at your shop, but when they can touch and fell the bad situation their car is in, they understand a whole lot easier. Our shop has NO Problem showing you your wiped out transmission, rotted out radiator or brakes worn down to the rivets. It's an easier sell when they see it in person.

 

[Sonny Black]

Self employment is not always fun, I know, 45 years.:eusa_clap:
.....but it also can be vey rewarding, a feeling of accomplishment.
The bad part= DON"T GET SICK:eusa_naughty:, nor take an extended vacation:suning:. If you don't like the way this type
of life sounds you are not cut out for self employment.

 

[eric383]

Donny, i guess someone put a burr under your saddle. I guess I'm just happy that I'm at that point in my life where I can do work for friends and relatives and don't have to worry about the A holes.

 

[Cranky]

I was a project manager by trade for a very large firm for many years. I think most of you independent shop owners could take a class or two in expectation management and communication. A pile of money to be made there if you do it correctly and best of all at the end of the day, nobody is pissed off.

The attitude of "I know all and will do it my way" is a thing of the past. Most of your customers (Yuppies with cash to blow on the type of car they had in high school), are smarter than that. Learn to communicate with them, set and control their expectations then politely pull the cash from their pockets.

I mainly catered to the blue collar worker which for the most part were somewhat eddymucated in things mechanical but no yuppies that came calling were. And usually the ones with money were the hardest to convince that I knew what I was doing. Same thing happened at our furniture store and the ones with money were usually the worse to pay on time.....the ones that drove up in the nicest cars were the worst.

- - - Updated - - -

Self employment is not always fun, I know, 45 years.:eusa_clap:
.....but it also can be vey rewarding, a feeling of accomplishment.
The bad part= DON"T GET SICK:eusa_naughty:, nor take an extended vacation:suning:. If you don't like the way this type
of life sounds you are not cut out for self employment.

Amen....and I'm not a vacation kind of guy. After being away from home for more than a couple of days, I start smelling the barn! I hate sleeping in even the nice hotels. Bought a travel trailer and hate pulling that bastard so it just sits and yes, it's for sale. As for getting sick....once I retired from the refinery, I don't get sick anymore!

 

[Runner 68]

I mainly catered to the blue collar worker which for the most part were somewhat eddymucated in things mechanical but no yuppies that came calling were. And usually the ones with money were the hardest to convince that I knew what I was doing. Same thing happened at our furniture store and the ones with money were usually the worse to pay on time.....the ones that drove up in the nicest cars were the worst.

Agree with you there Cranky. My point was just that. They have the cash for reasons other than being mechanical but like most of us, choose to hang on to as much of it as possible. Because they're mechanical morons, they need a little more stroking, a little more hand holding. Their pockets are deeper, much deeper and worth milking.

 

[eric383]

I love going to visit my sis in law in FL. I always tell her just let me know what needs to be done. I have done brake jobs, changed plugs/wires, fixed a clothes dryer, central air unit, kitchen sink, elect. outlets, etc. You guys get it, I hate being idle.

 

[Donny]

Pushing his pride and joy outside would be a last resort measure, but, when and if the guy decides to take a month off, and, his car is taking up valuable and expensive and in short supply shop space, well, I can't be a storage facility. Usually, when the ignorance rears its head on pay, and making invoices good is a challenge, comes the amazement at something so high on their list of priorities (their car) never equals what they want to pay (always way less than actuality) that the reality of storage fees comes into play. Because of this, I went and had a Red ink rubber stamp made and stamped every single unused invoice, each copy with a statement of c/c fees, and storage fees, the % for processing a c/c, and, when storage fees will commence. All part of tightening up your shot group!

 

[Runner 68]

Pushing his pride and joy outside would be a last resort measure, but, when and if the guy decides to take a month off, and, his car is taking up valuable and expensive and in short supply shop space, well, I can't be a storage facility. Usually, when the ignorance rears its head on pay, and making invoices good is a challenge, comes the amazement at something so high on their list of priorities (their car) never equals what they want to pay (always way less than actuality) that the reality of storage fees comes into play. Because of this, I went and had a Red ink rubber stamp made and stamped every single unused invoice, each copy with a statement of c/c fees, and storage fees, the % for processing a c/c, and, when storage fees will commence. All part of tightening up your shot group!

What a poet! I just figured out the problem.
$hit Donny, you're in the wrong business.

 

[Donny]

hahahaha, actually, I do write and have penned a few articles that have been published.

 

[Dennis H]

Let me take this oportunity to slam Shelly's Auto Body in Danielsville, Pennsylvania. Scum sucking thief of a Chevy Shop. May he rot in Hell. That said, he shot the Coronet (back in 1988) and got runs in it. If he had called me and said there are problems I would have paid him a thousand or more to fix it. Instead, he re-shot the rear end and it got a higher gloss. I stopped payment on a check and lost. Had to give him a chance to "make good. He would have painted over all of the new gaskets etc that I purchased. If you fluck up, tell me.

 

[kb67mopar]

I won't deny the standard consumer is a moron, especially those with cash. A big problem with who you are talking to here Donny is we are all smart enough to know the difference between quality work (you) and a rinky dink shop who can't make good on their promises. And just like with politics etc, the "standard" consumer only knows what they see on TV...that you are getting scammed. And I have seen it happen A LOT around here. I've had shops try to scam me....went in to have a crack welded in my exhaust down pipe (before I owned a welder), asked for a price..."we'll have to look at it" puts it on the rack and won't talk directly to me, goes back into the manager, "he needs a whole new system, its all rusted out blah blah blah" I knew what I had, it had a stress crack near a hanger, the pipe was solid and 2/3 of the system I had already replaced with new. When I told the manager no way, get it off the rack, he told his goon "just weld it" (of course he got mad because he didnt get to scam me) but the manager didn't charge me anything...had I been a "standard" consumer I would have paid $500+ for a new exhaust system....so it happens...and happens often.

 

[Runner 68]

When I do need to go to a shop (rarely as I do all my own work) I always try to make sure I'm wearing a coat and tie just to bait them. Works every time. They see the white collar and think "This moron knows nothing and has $$". The gag is on them. I know much about many things and a little about everything, and have no$$.

 

[Dodge33]

hey i had a guys car in my shop for 4 years, no money,
won't call me back, even went to his house to ask him
to come get it or lets get a plan, 2years later NOTHING.
PEOPLE won't pay you,then bitch why is my car not getting worked on? you are the last one to be payed
when you do a resto project,if you get payed.
why are the materails so high? i give them at my cost.
don't use no cheap ****, but i don't want to spend that
much. pissing game. donny I am right there with you.
it sucks. at least I will eat good off my food card.
I AM WAY BELOW broke because people that have
money are cheap.

 

[Cranky]

Agree with you there Cranky. My point was just that. They have the cash for reasons other than being mechanical but like most of us, choose to hang on to as much of it as possible. Because they're mechanical morons, they need a little more stroking, a little more hand holding. Their pockets are deeper, much deeper and worth milking.

Well, milking someone never was on my list lol Just wasn't worth the time....

 

[Donny]

I look at the car as if it was my own, and do it like that. As such, this may mean a few more details attended to, which costs money. But, I decided early on that if my name is attached to the job, it will be the best job done so far, period. People will pay for a good job! One of my Brand X guys and I had a little talk the other day. I asked him what his budget is per month, not to fit mine into his, but, before he could answer I wanted him to have the full information; so I said "Before you answer this, please know that I can give you about 40-50 hours a month and if I surge about 60 hours in a month. This is because I have other stuff going on. Also, I could work your car for 40 hrs a week, but, most people can't afford that". Me saying this just made everything honest, he appreciated this, and said he could handle that equation per month no problem. Some guys won't even ask, they just send the bill out. But, the over riding reality remains, we all want top quality for el cheapo price. You can't have it cheap and good, and fast and cheap. I'm not cheap, and I'm not trying to get the car out of the shop to get the next one in. Oh yeah, you should see the GM stuff I'm working on, all three (can't handle more than this...and I'm not even touching my own projects) are Chevrolets! 49 Sedan, 69 Camaro, and 81 Corvette.

 

[tallhair]

I won't deny the standard consumer is a moron, especially those with cash. A big problem with who you are talking to here Donny is we are all smart enough to know the difference between quality work (you) and a rinky dink shop who can't make good on their promises. And just like with politics etc, the "standard" consumer only knows what they see on TV...that you are getting scammed. And I have seen it happen A LOT around here. I've had shops try to scam me....went in to have a crack welded in my exhaust down pipe (before I owned a welder), asked for a price..."we'll have to look at it" puts it on the rack and won't talk directly to me, goes back into the manager, "he needs a whole new system, its all rusted out blah blah blah" I knew what I had, it had a stress crack near a hanger, the pipe was solid and 2/3 of the system I had already replaced with new. When I told the manager no way, get it off the rack, he told his goon "just weld it" (of course he got mad because he didnt get to scam me) but the manager didn't charge me anything...had I been a "standard" consumer I would have paid $500+ for a new exhaust system....so it happens...and happens often.

Exact same thing happened to me at a Midas .. this needs an entire manifold to tail pipe system ... we can't weld to this weak rusted out metal , impossible, blah blah blah. All it needed was a new muffler !!! on a solid exhaust. I said show me you can collapse any pipe with a channel lock. Couldn't do it and I knew he couldn't. Ok, the pipes are more solid than we thought. $250 for a new muffler but you should really change the whole .. blah blah blah. Me: let it down you POS!

Easy fix on a solid exhaust (extremely minor surface rust on pipes at some connections) and they tried to convince me it was beyond gone and wanted $700. I took it elsewhere and $75 later I had a new throaty high flow muffler welded in to those weak pipes and and out the door. The exhaust was fine and those pipes were very solid. Brand escapes me but very good quality muffler.

 

[Donny]

There's lots of unscrupulous people and business out there that do rip their customers off, guess this has been going on since Adam and Eve. I just got taken for $1800.00 from CL from an asshole who said "This LS 6.0l engine ran good when I took it out of that Silverado". Well, I took the short block to machine shop for evaluation and clean up, Spun main bearing, and cracked journal, crank and block are junk. I called guy and he told me "No Warranty", I told him "But you said this engine ran". So, do I go take a Pipe Wrench to him, or, bring a lawsuit on him? So, I should have known better, but, the customer found this bozo, and asked me if the engine looked good, I said it did, but, I don't know the real deal until we get inside it. So, it continues! However, I've learned to go to swengines.com for the same engine for same price but with a 180 day guarantee.

 

[Donny]

Another thing, there are Dreamers on the other side of the coin too! Read my thread on that Thief, there's lots of scumbags out there that prey on other Dreamers and just take their money not delivering the goods either because they can't, or don't know how to. I've seen it first hand in The Thief. I have LESS respect for those scuzzbags than all!