Small business owners-Closing?

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As a small business owner, I am a little confused on how to handle the work load (if any) for the next 2 weeks. I own a small european repair shop. As it stands now, we have only a few appointments this upcoming week, and all 3 of mine on friday cancelled. Wondering whats the point of sitting around in a shop all day, waiting for work that may not come. Going to see how Monday and Tuesday goes, but at what point do you shut down as well?
 
Close the shop and have all the phone calls that would go to the shop come through to your house phone or mobile phone. If someone needs work you have the space and the tools to do it but like you say there's not much point paying to light and heat the shop if no custoemrs are coming to see you.

If anyone does make a booking, ask them if they are sick before they bring the car to you - last thing you want is somebody with Covid to sneeze on the steering wheel 5 minutes before you drive it onto your ramp.
 
Lots of folks are going to work from home. Social distancing and all that will be the norm, maybe even some travel restrictions. But it seems like folks will still need to get around (walkable for many around where you are, but not for everything), and if anything, I suspect that folks might want to catch up on repairs.

Since they're now getting lifetime numbers on the virus, seems like it's prudent to go home, forward the phone, as was said above, and then ensure a sufficiently long wait time before getting in the vehicle or touching surfaces.
 
Was thiking about putting up signs that say "Call for service" My receptionist is already working from home for 6 months since she had a baby, so that would stay in effect. Thanks for the input, something to think about this week depending on how it goes.
 
I got an (unsolicited) email from a toyota dealer I didn't even buy a car from (got my info from truecar) saying how they're wiping down steering wheels with lysol wipes and whatnot.

If you have any sort of social media presence you can advertise something similar.

For small jobs you could let customers sit in the car, I guess.
 
A ‘call for service' sign would be helpful.
Business should pick up after **** starts to decline.

Don't forget in times like this people don't want to spend money on their vehicle, just gas up and go.
 
Having owned a small retail business for 17 years I would have welcomed a few days alone every so often to really get things in order, maybe rearrange some layouts, do some strategic planning, make phone called uninterrupted. Always did it on the fly. Of course this is different times. Only you know your customer base, how much is walk-in weekly, might you lose business, etc.

Much respect if you own an auto repair shop that couldn't use a bit of tidying up, some rearranging for efficiency, etc.
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Good luck and be safe.
 
We are an IT MSP (Managed Service Provider) and our office size is around 30-35. We are remaining open but certain employees can work from home if they want to.
 
Originally Posted by Audios
Going to see how Monday and Tuesday goes, but at what point do you shut down as well?

That's a case by case situation. How long can you afford to keep the lights on and the rent paid with the reduced traffic? Plan for the worst but hope for the best. It's gonna be rough for a while but we'll get through this.

Best of luck to you...
 
I agree with the close/forward phones so you can accommodate customers as needed suggestions.

When I was in Colorado in 2011, one of the shops in Silverton appeared to be using this method as its usual business model. And note the 9-5-ish hours...
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Originally Posted by eljefino
I got an (unsolicited) email from a toyota dealer I didn't even buy a car from (got my info from truecar) saying how they're wiping down steering wheels with lysol wipes and whatnot.

If you have any sort of social media presence you can advertise something similar.

For small jobs you could let customers sit in the car, I guess.

Yep. Life goes on, so just show you're doing due diligence with keeping things clean.

Heck, buy a case of brake cleaner, and find some plastic that doesn't stand up to the stuff, then make a show of what you use to clean your tools with.
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Ok, that's probably going to spread misinformation and not be the right thing to do, but at least as a bunch of gearheads I think we can get a kick out of the idea. Que a SMA video here of Eric O hosing something down with the stuff.
 
My corporate coffee company that services NYC will be open Monday and have been beyond busy but not sure how long it will last. Small operation on the tail end of my career so if it bottoms out I'll cash in my chips. My small car service company airport business is closed for now but business crashed anyway. Picked up three client's who are high executive's in NYC. We will pick them up from home bring them to work, drive them around as needed then home. That will provide cash flow for that business .
 
Took our new Rav4 to the dealership for its 5000 miles checkup yesterday. Appt. was a 9am and there were a lot more people in the waiting room than I thought they'd be when we got there.

It's funny how people are reacting to this situation. Everything seemed normal at the Toyota dealership and my local car wash seemed a little quieter than normal. Things are crazy at the grocery store. My son and some friends went out boozing for St. Patrick's Day last night. My daughter is staying home and keeping to herself.
 
How much walk-in/drive-up business do you get vs people calling to set things up ?
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
Maybe get creative and offer to pickup car from customer who wants to cancel? Think outside the box of normal.


That's what the Mercedes dealer is offering, pickup and drop off. Contact dealer for details. Guess they probably won't go too far.

He should probably call up those customers that canceled and get them to come back in.

Originally Posted by Olas
If anyone does make a booking, ask them if they are sick before they bring the car to you - last thing you want is somebody with Covid to sneeze on the steering wheel 5 minutes before you drive it onto your ramp.


Doesn't matter if they're sick or not, you can still be infected and show no symptoms. Just going to have to wipe down the cars before and after service in case the OP has it.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
Lots of folks are going to work from home. Social distancing and all that will be the norm, maybe even some travel restrictions. But it seems like folks will still need to get around (walkable for many around where you are, but not for everything), and if anything, I suspect that folks might want to catch up on repairs.

Since they're now getting lifetime numbers on the virus, seems like it's prudent to go home, forward the phone, as was said above, and then ensure a sufficiently long wait time before getting in the vehicle or touching surfaces.

What is this virus stuff?
 
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