There's more to opening a new auto shop than making sure you have a safe place to work on vehicles and drumming up some initial business. A variety of resources should be invested in that you may not have considered yet, such as the following.
Inventory Management Software
It's important to know exactly what parts and accessories you have in stock when customers come in for repairs or to purchase stuff to fix or upgrade their vehicles at home. You can always have your employees go to the stockroom and manually find out if a part is in stock when it's requested, but you will keep your customers waiting unnecessarily, and you may negatively affect your auto shop's overall productivity levels.
Investing in inventory management software will allow you to manage your stockroom digitally. When a customer requests a part or something is needed to complete a repair in the shop, an employee can access the inventory management system on a computer and find out whether their needed part is in stock and where to find it.
A Comfortable Waiting Room
If your customers don't have a comfortable place to spend their time while waiting for a repair to be made, the chances are that they'll take their vehicles somewhere else for service where they can relax and enjoy their waiting time. If you don't have space to create a dedicated waiting room for your customers, reserve a little space near the front customer service desk for waiting.
Make sure comfortable chairs, a television, and a vending machine that offers snacks and drinks is available. You should also provide free water and coffee as a courtesy if possible. Your customers will appreciate the comfort and will be more likely to stay for repairs when you recommend them.
A Wastewater Treatment System
When draining wastewater, oil, and other dangerous fluids from a vehicle during a repair, you have a legal and moral obligation to safely treat the liquid before disposing of it or reusing it in some way. Investing in a wastewater treatment system is a crucial component to focus on when starting any successful auto shop business.
Having an industrial wastewater treatment system installed in your auto shop will help ensure that you're able to meet all of your customers' needs and that you don't have to turn anyone away to the competition. In fact, you may gain some business from competitive businesses who have not invested in their own wastewater treatment system. For more information, contact your local wastewater filtration systems expert.