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Best of luck in whatever path you take Posted by Chadwick [Email] (#569) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Chadwick) on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:57:42 In Reply to: Hey saabdoc! You still around?, John Myers, Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:36:47 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Never worked at a dealer, always did my own thing. I'm only 24, but I own my own shop (that I started with my own savings) and do most of the work myself. Over 150 customers currently. Never knew how long this would last or how long I would do this, but the recent bankruptcy has pulled the water from the roots and I'm sad I'll have to slowly watch the tree die.
We hear negative feedback about the dealers on a daily basis from our customers. That is why they are our customers, I suppose. Seems the constant lust after growth and market control always bring quality down and costs up.
That being said, it's almost never the technicians we hear bad things about, but the service writers. Given, the customers do not meet their technicians usually at large dealerships, and I know a few technicians who definitely bill their labor generously on some jobs, but that is the nature of the business. The service writers are the ones who try to sell sell sell and end up scaring off customers of leave people feeling ripped off or over charged in general.
Almost all of the best SAAB technicians I know are being pulled to other brands or retiring. That scares me as much as the parts availability.
Reading your posts here and your responses to my questions have been more helpful to me than you could know and have led to many cars being kept on the road or repaired. Thanks for that. I try to pay it forward when I give advice on here. Hopefully you'll stick around and keep giving advice here and there.
I'm still young and dumb enough to think that anyone can do almost anything if they really try, so maybe take serious consideration in working for yourself. It only takes a small yet loyal customer base when you start doing your own thing. Lease space to save money and give yourself flexibility. Get some good commercial accounts and make enough on the parts to cover the overhead and let the labor truly pay you for once.
Best,
-Chad
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