Moving Words – Repairs

“It is the neglect of timely repair that makes rebuilding necessary.”  – Richard Whately

(English rhetorician, logician, economist, academic and theologian; reforming Archbishop of Dublin, Church of Ireland)

Moving companies and Van Operators of today have many challenges they face on a day-by-day and week-by-week basis. One challenge that can very quickly decrease your bottom line is truck repairs. While putting off a needed repair can be financially devastating, through downtime, lost loads, missed revenue opportunities, etc., not controlling repair costs can nickel-and-dime you into financial oblivion. As we all know, when you take your truck to a repair shop there’s that feeling of dread, that somehow, you’re at the shop’s mercy. We all have stories where we feel we were over-charged or gouged for unnecessary repairs. So what are some ways to avoid both the dread and/or the gouge?

Controlling costs before the repair:

• Insist on an accurate, detailed estimate of the repairs to be done. It needs to include the OEM’s SRT (Standard Repair Time).
• Insist on being notified beforehand and allowed to approve any additional repair or part that increases the cost of the repair.
• Ask that all replaced parts be saved for your inspection.
• Insist on a detailed bill when the repair is complete so you can match it to the original estimate. Then compare the SRTs of the final bill to the estimate. While it’s possible for a qualified mechanic to do a job more quickly than the SRT, most shops will charge time based on the SRT. But if they add time beyond the OEM’s SRT, then they will need to justify it. A slower, less-qualified mechanic is not a valid reason. The entire purpose of the SRT is to give some continuity to the time required to complete a repair, so the shop has a guide as to what their hourly repair rate needs to be and the customer isn’t overcharged due to delays unrelated to his repairs.

Keep in mind that a detailed repair bill is part of your truck’s mechanical history, so the more detailed it is, the more you will know about what’s going on with your truck’s eccentricities.

So how can you control the amount a shop charges you for labor? Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Have the primary shop for your truck be the dealership from which you purchase the truck. When negotiating the purchase, include a negotiation for what the labor rate will be on non-warranty work. This is the only time you really have any leverage in working out this kind of a deal; if they want the sale, they need to give you some additional value. If you know they have a trucking company for which they do all the maintenance and repairs, then ask to receive the same fleet labor rate as the trucking company. Also see if you can get discounts on things like PM maintenance or parts that you install yourself.
• Always ask for a discount on labor; the old line ‘if you don’t ask, you won’t receive’ approach. Not every shop will give you a discount, but some may have a special promotion for customers that, if handled diplomatically, can reap some benefit for you.
• Always be respectful. I know how difficult it is to have an unexpected breakdown, possibly a tow bill and now a huge repair bill. We’ve all been there. And while there are shops that will take advantage of a Van Operator in that situation, don’t assume the shop your truck’s in is one of them. Use the suggestions above to have some control over the situation.

The best advice for controlling repair costs is by having a strong relationship with one shop. And the closer that is to where you live, the better. It’s much more difficult to scam a neighbor, or someone whose kids go to school with yours or goes to the same church. And since most breakdowns tend to occur at the most inconvenient place both geographically and financially, isn’t it better that you have a trusted friend to call who’s also your mechanic?

“You can make a million excuses for why something didn’t go well, but ultimately, just fix it and get on with it. Be a solutions person.”  – Emily Weiss

Contact Tim Brady
at tbrady@writeuptheroad.com