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Building Your Business through Good Customer Communication

Have you heard the saying, “Fix the customer, not the car?” This comment appeared on Mitchell 1’s automotive shop management forum and it brought home the importance of customer service in the automotive industry. Of course it’s important to fix the car, but if the customer is not happy they’re probably not going to return in the future or refer others to the shop.

Too Hot to Handle: High Exhaust System Temperature Lamp

When a Diesel Particulate Filter regeneration process begins, the High Exhaust System Temperature HEST lamp illuminates and exhaust gas temperature may reach 1500 degrees F. That's hot enough to ignite and/or melt materials and burn people.

The main function of the HEST lamp is to alert the operator of extreme high exhaust system temperatures. It also common practice for the lamp to illuminate on and off during normal vehicle operation while the engine completes a regeneration process.

Share and Share Alike

Social media is all about sharing with those around you, more than once over time. Sort of like a teacher would teach their students about one topic, you don’t learn it all in one day! Over time, how kind that teacher is affects your opinion on them. They begin to become your favorite, and if you could choose- that’s the only class you would attend!

Management Software - The Diagnostic Scanner for the Shop Owner

In today’s world the complexity of running a shop is huge challenge for the shop owner and the right tools are essential for efficiency and profitability.  You can replace a set of spark plugs with a set of vice grips or you can use the right size socket and ratchet.  Either way, the job will get done, but having the proper tool will decide how long the job will take, if the job will be done right, and what profitability that job has. When you use the wrong tool, the job will take longer, won’t be done right, and your bottom line won’t make much or any money.

ProDemand Maintenance

ImageMaintenance The Maintenance module allows you to look at services required for a vehicle based on indicator, mileage, timed and/or additional services. The maintenance module returns service schedules, specifications and procedures for quick access to all information needed to service the vehicle.

Send your Profitability into Overdrive

Mitchell1’s manager is not just a tool to keep track of your customer’s repair orders. It’s a powerful profit machine- when used correctly. Have you ever set up your price matrix? The Price Matrix panel in Standard Tables allows you to apply markups to parts as they are added to orders and to inventory items. These markups can be structured based upon the item cost to create a tiered pricing structure.

To set up a Price Matrix:

Parasitic Draw Problems

Parasitic draw problems have changed a lot over the years. Way back before when electronic control modules were used on vehicles, there was nothing to draw current from the battery once the headlights, accessories and ignition switch were switched into the off position. Now let’s take a look at today, the places on a vehicle that can cause battery drain are an endless list of things you don’t want to read.

What is Facebook?

A natural extension of Facebook’s consumer popularity is that businesses are trying leverage that user base to help them meet uncertain marketing goals. And for many, it’s working. Recent data reports that 41% of B2B companies and 62% of B2C companies have acquired a customer from Facebook.

Facebook is currently the most popular social networking site with an estimated 750,000,000 unique monthly visitors, according to eBizMBA.

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