Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
I missed some stuff here, addy.
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I understand your point that you shouldn't have to pay for a garage that buys the latest and greatest equipment 'just because they have to have it' when more basic equipment will suffice.
However, modern cars ARE gettng much more complex to work on, so the line between 'necessary' and 'unnecessay equipment is becoming very blurred.
Yes, it is blurred. However, I would counter with this... The only reason to buy new tools/equipment is to enable you to service the newer and more technologically "altered" (advanced is a matter of perspective) vehicles. If you can't finance the cost of the new tool/piece of equipment by servicing the very cars that inspired you to buy it ..then it is a poor business decision. You just made every one of your customers pay for those few that you can now service. Now if you want to eat it, fine ..but this goes back to The Critic's assertion that rates are justified, partially, due to investments in tools/equipment. Tools are just that. They "enable" the wrench to make money. Just like any other investment. They may pay ..they may not. To make assured ROI on something by just charging for it ..isn't an investment at all. It's a bill for your tools.
I've seen many sides of this sector. I've gone through exploring becoming a Snap~On tool dealer back in the later 70's and knew dealers and industrial reps. The guy interviewing me asked, "why do you want to be a tool dealer?" ..when I said "because I want to make money" .. smiled a very big smile. I then quickly realized that as an independent tool dealer ..that I was actually a customer of Snap~On. They printed up the price lists ..printed up my costs ..and then attempted to do everything that they could to stretch and strain my resources and turn them into their bottom line. They also conditioned the dealers to think that they needed to do this to the mechanic. The philosophy was, "You need to constantly hammer your customers for MORE money than they can afford. If you don't get that $5 left in his wallet ..he's not going to save it for you. He's going to eat it or drink it ..or drive it to someone else. YOU NEED THAT $5 NOW! You not only need that $5 ..you DESERVE IT." ..and NOW was forever. It was the same deal for the dealers ..the sales manager ..his boss ..and his boss. All hammering for every dime all along the way and with no rationale other than wanting the dime. Gone were the days when you kept your wrench at a reasonable weekly bill ..and then gave them room to take advantage of that month's promotion. Nope, first you stretch them out to max extension ..THEN give them a deal that they can't afford not to bite on.
..and I'm supposed to pay for this "investment"??
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Getting more to the root of your above coment, your attitude is what is casng a lot of problems in the auto service industry. We hear reports all the time about how there is a labour shortage in this area of work.
I think that more of our problems are due to demographics. Too many retiring from the work force. But my basic point is that we're in for a collision of labor rates and the society's ability to sustain them.
That is, we're "techno'ing" our way out of business.
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He hasn't even started and you're assuming he's a rip-off artist!!!
No. He's just dancing to the tunes of industry/vendor promoted evolutions. Eventually he'll figure out why they play it.
I attended plenty of clinics "back in the day". When doing a starter replacement, (I forget the vendor) it was recommended to change the battery cables. As starter failures retreated into the brackground, the aftermarket found new "must do's" to fill the wallets.
Take Chris, he's just a regular swinging stroke like the rest of us, but he's already conditioned to replace perfectly good parts at added costs to prevent comebacks. When he says it's not worth it to save the $25 ..it's an ante he's placing upon the customer for his convenience. Not that I'd want to argue with him over it ...since it may indeed prove to reduce the comeback rate ..but it's a customer financed insurance policy.
We're getting "insured to death" due to "must do's".
Perhaps now you'll realize why I resist these programmed evolutions (shop fees ...blah-blah-blah) ..they all shift more costs on to the consumer.
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Gary leaps at opportunities to get on the soapbox.
No! Say it's not so
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Michael just happened to be the handiest one in this case.
I would not torture him so ..if it wasn't so much fun
You're 100% dead on right in everything you've brought up here, Gary.
I looked into becoming a Snap-On dealer years back as well. While I still stand by their tools and think they're the best in the world, I do not like their business ethics nor the way they push their suggestive selling. I was told by the rep that it's taught that if you go to a customer to sell one tool, you're still in the red. If you sell him an additional piece, you broke even. If you added on a third, you just turned a profit. I'm sure this is probably the way a lot of products are sold, but I don't agree with it.
I've seen a lot of agressive Snap-On and Matco dealers price over-eager new shops right out of business. "The dialed-in torque wrench is garbage, a big high-quality shop needs this 600.00 digital one, and you'll want at least three of them." Owner gets "sold" on these new-fangled tools and then tries to pass the buck onto the customer, who is in essence paying for the shops investment.