When it comes to estimating or finalizing a customer's bill, you want to be sure to take into account the little things.
Even on the simplest of jobs, such as an oil change, there are many factors that can ultimately play into the total cost of the job for your customers, as well as for your business. For example, does the vehicle require a special weight or grade of oil? There are many cars today that require 5W20 oil. If you are involved in ordering or checking the invoice price of such a product, you realize the additional cost of that weight of oil compared to the more popular 5W30.What if the vehicle getting the oil change requires a special oil filter? For years, conventional spin-on filters were the norm, and the cost did not vary significantly. But now, in recent years, we are seeing many canister filters or special filters, and often they cost more and can be more time consuming to replace.What if the car has an air dam or shield that has to be removed to accomplish the oil change? Or what if it is an engine that requires an oil capacity beyond five quarts? Most shops still advertise oil change prices that include up to five quarts of oil. Ultimately, all of these things could factor into what you want to charge a customer and how much an oil change costs your business.Taking it further, because the technician is thorough, he is correcting tire air pressure and notices two valves missing their air caps. If it is a 2008 or newer vehicle that has a tire pressure monitoring system, the air caps must be the correct design for the valves and are not as cheap as old ones.Next, the technician is under the hood and tops off the washer fluid and maybe the coolant. Some shops include this in their oil change and other shops may not, but it certainly adds to the cost of the service provided. Is your shop accounting for these costs or collecting the additional monies if they are not included as part of your service?Vehicles are more complicated than ever, and this often causes what should be the most basic of jobs to cost a little more—and it all adds up. I am a firm believer that the price of a job should reflect the material cost and the labor involved. Unfortunately, with all the makes, models and engine configurations, and due to various designs, one price on any job rarely works.Today, it is important to work closely with your shop. Information has to pass back and forth to make sure that all the little things are taken into account and communicated to the customer. These issues likely will have an effect on the total estimate of the job. Realizing going into jobs the possibility, or probability, of such issues also is beneficial because estimates given are more accurate when you calculate that little things do add up.Bob Richey is owner-operator of Richey Inc./Goodyear Tire Center in Bellevue, Pa. This article, which first appeared in the Tire Dealers Association of Western Pennsylvania's newsletter, has been edited for length and clarity and is used by permission.SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
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