It might sound simple, but it's true: smartphones and digital experiences have revolutionized the way people interact with businesses. We've all come to expect near-instant responses, simplified checkout processes, and visibility into what we're paying for.
And independent auto repair shops aren't any different. There's a unique opportunity where your business can meet customer's expectations with modern service and modern operations.
How Can You Make Your Auto Repair Shop More Modern?
We keep saying that word "modern," but what does that really mean for auto repair shops? When we step back and think about the modern independent repair shop, we could sum it up with three core concepts:
The freedom to run your business in a more contemporary way with data, industry knowledge, flexibility and independence to work as in whatever way is best for you and your shop.
The power to simplify your shop's operations can gain complete visibility, control and opportunity to determine the best path forward for every decision.
The best experience for your customers, every time, for every job, whether that's a coolant flush and pad replacement, or a turbo rebuild.
With the right tools in place, your team members won’t have to stress about extra oversight and can feel empowered to take the reins at work. And your customers can have a more active say in the repair process.
The features and capabilities found in modern repair shop software will fall into two main buckets:
Features that enable you and your team to work more efficiently
Features that enable you and your team to interact more smoothly with customers
Ultimately, the modern features we’re about to dive into will free up your time as a shop owner. Instead of stressing over small day-to-day details, you’ll be able to focus more on the high-level aspects of advancing your business.
Unlike traditional software that needs to be installed directly on your shop computer, which then needs to be maintained by that specific service provider in your shop's physical location, cloud-based software can be used on any device, from any location that has an internet connection.
With cloud software, everything is hosted on the provider's servers, but completely owned by and accessible to your shop.
Technicians can type inspection notes from their smartphones without having to leave their bays, service advisors can check on repair details, and owners can work remotely from anywhere with internet access.
And because all of your data is on the cloud, you’ll have more peace of mind that your shop won’t suffer from data loss if the hardware breaks down, and the platforms are always improving.
2. Real-Time Control with a Streamlined Shop Workflow
Just as a dashboard in a car allows drivers to see what’s going on with their vehicle, auto repair shop software acts as your shop's dashboard with a streamlined workflow. Shop owners gain total control of their business in real-time, while allowing service writers, technicians, and shop owners to see what’s coming in, what vehicle is in the garage, and what’s ready for pickup.
Because shop owners have a granular look at the status of each job at any given moment, they can gain a strategic view of everything happening in their shops.
Tekmetric also lets shop owners see the dashboard by day, week, month, and year-to-date, opening up a whole new level of forecasting with a complete view of how their business is performing over time.
3. Digital Vehicle Inspections For Enhanced Visibility
Digital vehicle inspections are an absolute game-changer for creating a modern customer experience at your shop.
Instead of handing guests a paper inspection, you can send a digital one straight to their device, where they’ll be able to read all the necessary details about the proposed repair work.
Tekmetric’s digital vehicle inspection feature helps you navigate that issue by bringing another layer of transparency to every interaction. Technicians can attach photos and videos to each DVI, so guests can see for themselves exactly what’s wrong with their cars. As a result, they’ll have peace of mind and trust your recommendations.
4. Simplified Parts and Inventory Management
Modern shop management software gives you an holistic view of everything happening in your shop for the ultimate level of management.
And successful parts management means you need to understand how your inventory is suited to the needs of your customer, the quality of the parts that are kept in the shop, and how to minimize inventory that is not being sold.
Modern shop management software makes parts and inventory management easy by combining every single aspect of running your shop, managing your inventory, and even ordering new parts into one streamlined workflow.
If you don't have a part in stock while working on a car you can quickly swap the part for a similar one in inventory, or instantly place an order for what you need and let you text the customer all the same system.
5. Instant and Digital Communication
These days, customers expect updates on the services they receive, such as shipping updates on their packages. Repairs are no exception. Customers are busy and want to know when they can expect to pick up their vehicles.
Thanks to true two-way texting, service advisors can give customers updates and even answer any questions that customers might have about their DVIs. Service advisors can update customers on the status of their repairs in seconds. They don’t have to dial a number or try to find customers in person.
Text-to-pay is touchless payment—customers can pay invoices directly from their smartphones. They don’t have to physically walk into the shop to hand over cash or a credit card.
Shops can take advantage of alternative payment methods to provide their customers with flexible service and simplify the payment process. Not only does this make it easier for your customers, but Tekmerchant even provides necessary protections to help shops prevent chargeback fraud, so you can have peace of mind knowing you will get paid for the work your shop did.
Running a Modern, Independent Auto Repair Shop
The ability for shops to track financial information, payment, and customer history will affect their success, especially as they take on new types of repairs on new types of vehicles.
As they update their repair offerings in response to new vehicles on the street, shops will need to keep a close eye on their metrics to ensure they are meeting their profit goals.
And of course, shops will have to respond to updates in consumer technology to ensure that they’re keeping their teams and customers happy.
With Tekmetric, you can modernize your shop and give your team and customers the flexibility and autonomy they want.
As a shop owner, you have the ability to tune into your shop’s performance metrics, employees’ bandwidth, and overall profit margins with a few clicks.
Lucas Underwood and David Roman, hosts of the ASOG podcast, recently sat down with Tekmetric CEO Sunil Patel at the Vision Hi-Tech Training and Expo in Kansas City, Kansas.
Sunil shared some key insights into facing challenges, embracing change, streamlining processes, prioritizing customers, and the power of “always starting with why.”
Note: the following answers have been condensed for clarity.
On Facing Challenges and Handling Stress
ASOG: We spoke with PJ Leslie (Tekmetric’s Business Development Director) recently, and he was talking to us about your ability to take anything that comes your way and overcome it.
PJ shared with us that no matter the circumstance, you’re always able to say, “We’re going to get through this, and we’re going to make something from it.”
You created an amazing thing despite the adversity that you’ve faced. How were you able to do that?
Patel: My wife and I went through some hard times with our daughter, Brianna, about a year ago.
And what I told my wife during that time was, “You know what? I’m ready to face this challenge.
We’re going to find the best doctor we can find and the best solution for her. And Brianna will live life one day at a time.
We’re not going to think about the future, we’re going to live life today.”
Since that day it’s been almost ten months and everything has been great. She’s doing beautifully.
A key component to handling stress is delegation.
You’ve got to let go of some of your responsibilities no matter how unnerving it is. Remind yourself that you can continue to keep your momentum on your shop, business, and goals by delegating.
That’s why you have a team—so you can tackle and conquer each task that comes your way.
On Embracing Change and Switching Gears
ASOG: You’ve gone from being a physician to a police officer to an auto repair shop owner, and now you’re the co-founder and CEO of Tekmetric. What made you want to go from physician to shop owner?
Was there a rock bottom for you? Was there a point where you decided, “I don’t want to be a physician any longer?”
Patel: I was fortunate that I never hit rock bottom. I’ve always tried to live in the moment. And I’m always intrigued by learning new things. With that being said, it took me going from industry to industry to learn the skills that helped form Tekmetric.
Let’s say you set a goal for yourself to go to the gym more often.
Now, if you don’t want to go to the gym, then you will keep training your mind to make sure that gym is just not your thing. It’s not until you have a breakthrough that you are able to change your mindset.
You have to train your reticular activating system (RAS), a network of nerve pathways located in the brain stem that mediates overall behavior, so that going to the gym becomes a positive activity.
Along with reminding yourself that you want to go to the gym, write down when you want to make the change and why.
Let’s say this is your goal, 'In March 2023, I will feel great, I will look great, my clothes will fit me better, and I can hear my family and friends saying ‘You’ve done a fantastic job.'
You have to recognize and reframe each limiting belief that is preventing you from achieving your end goal. An example of a limiting belief would be something along the lines of, "Ah, I’ve had a long day, I can just go to the gym tomorrow.' You have to reframe it to, 'I’ve had a long day, time to finish strong with a trip to the gym.'
You have to be very intentional. You truly have to want to reach the finish line.
This concept goes for shop owners, too. If you’re wanting to expand your shop, you’ll need to change the way you’re running your business. You can do that with shop management software.
Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Tekmetric Sunil Patel joined Editor Chris Jones on Ratchet+Wrench Radio to talk about how shop management software suites are changing the landscape of the auto repair industry, especially when it comes to building relationships and communicating effectively.
Sunil also touched on the history of some of Tekmetric’s relationships and how Tekmetric makes sure the voices of shop owners are heard.
Listen here, or catch some of the highlights below.
Note: some of the following answers have been condensed for clarity and brevity.
Relationship-Building 101: Laying Down a Solid Foundation
Jones: The last time we saw each other was at WorldPac STX in Orlando. And that’s where you guys announced a partnership with Advance Auto Parts. I know a lot of our readers have seen it, but can you share a little bit about the details with our audience, just from your own words and perspective?
Patel: So we’ve had a great relationship with Advance Auto Parts for a very long time. And we wanted to leverage the relationship to try to get more shops to use Tekmetric, and it just happened to be the right place, right time.
Side note: For those that don’t know, Advance Auto Parts actually owns WorldPac and Sunil Patel’s relationship with both goes way back. Before co-founding Tekmetric, Patel owned an auto repair shop that was one of the highest purchasers of parts from WorldPac in Houston for almost a decade.
Jones: That’s kind of cool to see how the relationship evolved over the years.
Patel: It’s a big company. It’s not like turning a speedboat, it’s like turning a steamship. Sometimes it just takes time to let some of these relationships play out. It affects so many people. We have to be absolutely sure of how this is going to play out, and how it’s going to work.
Using Shop Management Software to Get Everyone on the Same Page
Jones: So let’s talk about shop ownership a little bit. You were once a shop owner kind of in the Dark Ages before we had these robust shop management software suites. What was it like for you to operate on these limited tools?
Patel: You know, it was tough. Customers didn't always respond back, and we would always have to follow up with a phone call. There was always a disconnect.
We were probably ahead of our time 12 years ago trying to get some of this stuff out. Tekmetric used a combination of manual processes and text messaging. Text messaging was pretty popular back then, but MMS or multimedia messaging or picture messaging was not so popular.
So adding that in the mix with communications and whatnot into one platform has been very paramount to the success of our company because it closes the loop between the vehicle owner, the shop owner, the technician, and the service writer.
It keeps everybody on the same platform and communications thread. That way everybody has full visibility into what's going on with the repair of that vehicle to ensure a timely repair—ultimately making the customer happy.
One of the most challenging parts of being a service advisor is building trust with drivers. Many drivers already feel apprehensive about spending money on repairs, but you’re still tasked with letting them know exactly what’s wrong with their car. And sometimes, that means identifying more issues than they were expecting.
At Tekmetric, we’ve heard a lot of great tricks of the trade from service advisors like you. And we’ve designed Tekmetric with many of these insights in mind. By leveraging Tekmetric’s capabilities, you can more effectively upsell, cross-sell, and reach more customers—and see your shop’s ARO and gross profits rise.
Here are the best auto repair shop software features within Tekmetric to help you flourish in your role.
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