The whole category in one page.
CALCULATE YOUR LABOUR RATE FROM COSTS AND REALISTIC BILLABLE HOURS, NOT BY COPYING OTHERS
You pay for every hour and bill only some of them. Assuming full utilisation produces a rate that cannot cover costs.
CHARGE FOR DIAGNOSIS, BECAUSE IT IS THE MOST VALUABLE SKILL AND THE ONE MOST OFTEN GIVEN AWAY
Offer it as a separate charge, deductible against the repair — and never read a fault code and simply replace the named component.
NEVER CARRY OUT ADDITIONAL WORK WITHOUT RECORDED APPROVAL
Unauthorised extra work is the commonest dispute in this trade. If the customer cannot be reached, stop and wait.
PHOTOGRAPH EVERY VEHICLE'S CONDITION ON ARRIVAL, WITH MILEAGE AND FUEL
Damage disputes are otherwise unresolvable, and this is precisely why the photographs exist.
CUSTOMERS CANNOT VERIFY WHAT YOU DID, AND THEY KNOW IT
Show the old part, itemise parts and labour separately, and explain what will need attention next. Declining unnecessary work is remembered and repeated to others.
NOBODY GOES UNDER A VEHICLE HELD ONLY BY A JACK
It is the hazard most likely to kill someone in a workshop, and axle stands are not optional.
COUNTERFEIT PARTS FAIL EARLY, DAMAGE OTHER COMPONENTS AND INJURE PEOPLE — RECORD WHAT WAS FITTED AND WHERE IT CAME FROM
TAKE A DEPOSIT COVERING PARTS ON SUBSTANTIAL JOBS, AND RELEASE VEHICLES ON PAYMENT RATHER THAN AFTER IT
AND MOVE VEHICLES WAITING FOR PARTS OR DECISIONS OUT OF WORKING BAYS, BECAUSE AN OCCUPIED BAY EARNING NOTHING IS THE QUIETEST LOSS IN THE BUSINESS
