Do you ever crack under pressure??

[fastfredracing]

So this morning, I had a little meltdown, the shop is super busy, and I had a problem car on my hands that came with an impatient owner. My phone rang off the hook all day yesterday, and I did not quite get finished ,so I had to finish up this am, I got to the shop, found two customers waiting, and the ups guy, all the while, my cell phone is ringing, I can hear the shop phone ringing, and this customer wants to know if their car is ready.
I kept driving past the shop, and threw my damn phone right out the window.(never did find it, so that little temper tantrum cost me $200) I had to ride around for about 30 minutes and regain my composure before I was ready to face the public again
Do you ever feel that what is expected out of you is just not possible, and kill yourself trying to meet unrealistic goals??
God, it really is a rat race out there. I am thankful to have work, but sometimes I feel I just need to come up for air.

[masraum]

Gooooosfrabaaaahhhh. (don't forget to rub your ear lobes)

Relax buddy, you'll be dead in no time at this rate. It's just not worth it.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

So this morning, I had a little meltdown, the shop is super busy, and I had a problem car on my hands that came with an impatient owner. My phone rang off the hook all day yesterday, and I did not quite get finished ,so I had to finish up this am, I got to the shop, found two customers waiting, and the ups guy, all the while, my cell phone is ringing, I can hear the shop phone ringing, and this customer wants to know if their car is ready.
I kept driving past the shop, and threw my damn phone right out the window.(never did find it, so that little temper tantrum cost me $200) I had to ride around for about 30 minutes and regain my composure before I was ready to face the public again
Do you ever feel that what is expected out of you is just not possible, and kill yourself trying to meet unrealistic goals??
God, it really is a rat race out there. I am thankful to have work, but sometimes I feel I just need to come up for air.

Sure fire indicater that you either need a vacation or you're in the wrong line of work.

I agree with Mas. If your job stresses you out to the point where it's taking years off your life, it's just not worth it.

[Rusty Heap]

But you found time to surf Pelican and post a long paragraph of well thought out hand typed words, instead of taking care of the 3 customers waiting in line and answering the phones?

[tabs]

Under fire I get cool calm and collected.

The only time I get really angery is when I have to clean up somebody elses mess. I don't want to have to take responsibilty for someone elses irresponsibilty or unwillingness to take...Now if it were my job and being paid for it, that would be a different matter.

[Rick Lee]

I don't understand how one man can run a car repair shop. I just don't get it. How can you answer the phones during the day when you're wrenching? Some things just can't be interrupted and require undivided attention. I know it's tough out there, but I'd try to find a front office person or someone to take care of the phones, paperwork and scheduling, if you're the only person who can turn a wrench. My local BMW bike indep. wrench now has two helpers and he still insists customers only ever show up by appt. He's a fanatic about it, but it keeps him focused on doing the work and not getting pulled in every direction with drop-bys and phone calls. Some of the Porsche shops I went to in VA I couldn't figure out how they made any money, since the mechanics took so much time to discuss things with the customers, sometimes as long as they spent working on the car.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I don't understand how one man can run a car repair shop. I just don't get it. How can you answer the phones during the day when you're wrenching? Some things just can't be interrupted and require undivided attention. I know it's tough out there, but I'd try to find a front office person or someone to take care of the phones, paperwork and scheduling, if you're the only person who can turn a wrench. My local BMW bike indep. wrench now has two helpers and he still insists customers only ever show up by appt. He's a fanatic about it, but it keeps him focused on doing the work and not getting pulled in every direction with drop-bys and phone calls. Some of the Porsche shops I went to in VA I couldn't figure out how they made any money, since the mechanics took so much time to discuss things with the customers, sometimes as long as they spent working on the car.

If you want to know how porsche shops make money, i'd be happy to tell you.

They charge you double the hourly rate of what a normal shop charges....that pays for a lot of BSing.

The markup on parts in one of those shops is also Immmmmmmense.

[Rick Lee]

I don't think $98 per hr. is even close to double what most other indep. shops charge. I've heard they make the most money on maint. stuff and not big repairs. The only time I ever had to take my 993 to a shop other than for alignments or insurance work, the bill was around $600 and it included no parts at all, pure labor and I know he spent more time on it than he billed me for and probably an hour on the phone with me. It was just diagnostics for fuel and CEL issues I couldn't track down myself. There may have been a $5 shop charge in there. No way they made money on me. Now, take a 993 in for a $450 oil change or $300 alignment and they probably have some margin on that. That's just a matter of how quick and good the wrench is. But they asked me when I brought it in for diagnostics how much I wanted to spend. I was scratching my head at this one. They said, they can keep tracking things down until the cows come home and if I don't want them to do any repairs, then they can't be sure what the problem is. Their work pointed toward clogged injectors, which I removed and had ultrasonically cleaned and that fixed the problem for good.

[Heel n Toe]

Fastfred, I know what you mean, but I don't know what you mean (because I don't run a one-man shop like you do), but perhaps I can offer some helpful suggestions.

One thing you can do to reduce the stress level by a huge percentage (I'm basing this on the scenario you laid out in your OP) is to let those phones work for you with some creative outgoing messages...

"Hi, this is FastFred and I would LOVE to talk to you right now, but as you can imagine I am earning my nickname by working to finish up someone's car as QUICKLY as possible. Leave a message, and the next time I roll out from underneath it and wipe my hands off, I'll call you back. I hope you understand."

Triage with a smile; when you roll up on a similar situation, prioritize who you need to speak to first (it would be the UPS guy), smile at the two customers, say "Lemme sign for this and I'll be right with you," and then after you've gotten him on his way, ask, "Who was here first?"

All this time, neither phone is bugging you because those ringers are OFF.

The customer who wants to know if his car is ready gets a smile, too. Even if he's just leaving a message.

And last, but certainly not least, you should have plenty of Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and James Brown CDs on shuffle to bring a little peace, love, happiness, and funk to the ambiance of the shop, which will cut the stress level even more.

Good God, y'all.

[bell]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

But you found time to surf Pelican and post a long paragraph of well thought out hand typed words, instead of taking care of the 3 customers waiting in line and answering the phones?

ummmmm he posted at 1:30 pm.......probably during lunch

hope you were kidding, i don't think that post was called for......

this board is starting to get silly......

[porsche4life]

Have you looked at some type of headset so you can talk and work? Or a answering machine/secretary would be best.

[peppy]

Yes, I have exploded at work. Phones usually take the brunt of the rage, but chairs have also been thrown.

[Cornpanzer]

I see this with so many small shops. The owner does most of the prime work and thus is the most valuable employee. Yet they spend half of their time doing a $10 per hour job (phones, scheduling, etc) instead of billing $80 per hour (or whatever the rate is).
They say they cant afford to employ the support staff, but ignore the fact that the biggest profit center in their business spends half his time answering phones

[rfloz]

I work in a three person office. If I didn't have someone to answer (and manage) the phone calls, I would lose my mind or quit.

Hire a high-school age+ kid to answer the phone and be a gofer/trainee. He will more than pay for himself.

Heh, just remembered, I once threw my cell across the office. My partner was a little shocked. I now leave the cell in the tow vehicle and have told the wife and kid to only call me at work if it is an emergency. That may seem a bit extreme, but I don't bring the office home, either. Works for me.

[Arizona_928]

You need an assistant. Get a High school student, and they'll be happy to get min. wage!


I would help, but i have to make sure my boss doesn't throw anything while i'm the clock. "he has a short fuse"

[widgeon13]

cracking serves no purpose unless it is an actual mental breakdown.

[rnln]

you need help. Get another person, can be an entry level.

[ramonesfreak]

if you cant do as heel n toe advises above,

study this over and over. it just might save your life

[911pcars]

I have a buddy who was running a one-man shop. He was busier than a one-legged man kicking ass, complete with phone calls and customer one on ones. He finally realized he'd be better off working for someone else. He is.

Life is too _________________________________________. (short)

Sherwood

[LakeCleElum]

Yep, years ago.....Can't talk about it except, my helper, the "customer" that thru a crowbar at me, and I all ended up at the hospital that night.........