Tomorrow never knows: TechMan eases GMS switchover for multi-site garage owner
Published: 13 April, 2021
The owner of a midlands-based fleet servicing specialist who felt that business development was being held back by its previous garage management system said fear of change held him back from switching to TechMan for two years, and now he has done it he is advising other garages in a similar situation to make the switch now.
Dave Christie, owner of GOES GSE said: “Changing such an integral part of your business is daunting, it’s why we stuck with our previous system for so long, but I can honestly say that changing to TechMan was easy. They did everything for us.”
With workshops based at Birmingham Airport and East Midlands Airport, GOES GSE specialises in the inspection and repairs of airport ground support equipment and vehicle fleets.
Dave continued: “The old system just wasn’t working as we needed it to. “It had so many glitches and was just too difficult to use. The support involved a WhatsApp group and they often fixed issues without any interaction with us, so we never learnt how to use it. After two years of this we had to make a change.”
Inspired by the success stories of other garages, Dave received an initial online demo of the TechMan Garage Management System before getting invited to the TechMan headquarters in Northampton for a deeper discussion about his business requirements.
Dave said: “TechMan sat down with us from the very start, they wanted to understand all of the issues we’ve had in the past and they really listened to us. You’ll still worry about changing systems but they are so professional. The TechMan guys have all the time in the world for you and the end result is faultless.”
The TechMan support team were on-hand to guide technicians through the GMS – offering further guidance for those lacking confidence in computer systems – to build the foundations for the successful implementation of TechMan for business growth. GOES GSE also takes advantage of free weekly online training webinars, ensuring users can fully exploit the long list of powerful and intuitive tools within the application.
Dave concludes: “The system itself is easy to work with, it’s self-explanatory. The guys love using the tablets and the service sheets are simple for them to use. If we do have any questions, TechMan’s support guys are there for us. Garage owners unsure or nervous about changing to TechMan needn’t be.”
Leo Freebairn of TechMan added: “We’re so pleased to be able to help garages like Dave’s move forward on their journey to achieving their business goals. It’s natural to feel anxious about changing such a key part of any business but we’re here to understand your needs, do the heavy lifting and deliver a system which streamlines operations and equips managers with the necessary tools to track workshop activity in real-time, review data and measure improvements.”
For more information about the TechMan Garage Management System or to arrange a demonstration, call 01604 666 720 or visit www.techmangms.com
- TechMan runs free webinar training series
- TechMan: GMS
TechMan is a garage management system (GMS), designed by an independent garage, specifically for independent garages. Its features expand beyond the boundaries of traditional invoicing software in order to offer improved business processes, all the way from booking a customer in, to ultimately taking final payment on a job. Its focus is to reduce many of the manual admin tasks performed by a workshop business on a daily basis, and assist these garages in improving their bottom line takings. Key features like tablets for technicians, making workshops paperless, clocking on and off jobs to track technician efficiency and seamless audit trails for parts ordering and returns, are offered by the TechMan GMS.
www.techmangms.com
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- Shifting demands, shifting gears
Garages that thought they would be veering away from MOTs in favour of essential repairs during the Coronavirus lockdown are still doing MOT tests at roughly the same rate, it has been suggested.
While DVSA figures showed a 78% drop in MOT performed between 30 March and 24 April, marketing agency Digital Incubator says the independent garages it works with that remained open during the lockdown have not seen such a steep drop.
“We have a lot of garage clients that have switched from MOT campaigns to clutch and gearbox work,” explained Jamie Stoulger, Sales Director and Operations Manager at Digital Incubator. “However, our clients are still generating a steady flow of MOT enquires.”
Campaigns
The marketing agency works with garages across the UK, and currently has over 1,200 motor trade campaigns ongoing. 80% of customers are in the independent sphere.
Jamie continued: “Regardless of the MOT not being relevant, people are still getting their cars picked up. A lot of our clients run a collect and delivery service. We are running that via the ad campaigns and on the website.”
There has been an impact, Jamie confirmed, but a mild one at best, and work overall continues: “MOTs have slowed down slightly, that just what it is, but regardless of us being in the middle of this pandemic, if someone still has to go into work and their car breaks down, they still need to get it repaired. They are not going to just leave it on the side of the road and deal with it six months later. You need it done. As a result, our clients are still generating leads.”
Performance
We asked Jamie he thought this has taken many of their garage clients by surprise. “I wouldn’t say so,” he replied. “There are a lot of franchised dealerships and service centres that have just closed their doors without even thinking about it. They just went ‘we can get funding, let’s just put everyone on furlough’. The garage businesses that decided to pummel through this, they are still performing. There might be a small dip in some cases, but across the board, our averages have not really dropped. I don’t want to make a bold statement and say it isn’t affecting anyone – it is – but they are on average not far behind where they usually are. It has hit them, but we are not talking about 50%. The drops in business are probably around 10% to 15%.”
Situation
On what has been in many cases blanket closure by across much of the franchised network, Jamie observed: “I worry about the outlets that are closing their doors without making the slightest attempt at generating business. It’s still out there. People forget that. Across the board, if you think about it logically, there might only be 50% of the business available, but if 80% of the outlets are closing down, the garages staying open will benefit. I think a lot of businesses are going to come back to a very big decline in their own customer base. Their customers have had chance to test another garage out. If they had a better service, I know where they will go the second time around.
“I think some businesses have taken things a little too far. There are things you can put in place, like contactless pick-up and delivery. Dealerships could have put in place what the independents have done to keep their workers safe and the customers safe. If you can, do everything contactless. A lot of companies are going to go bust because of this. The best bet is to do things safely, ensure it is all contactless, but keep the doors open. The business is out there, they just need to be a bit more open about how to get it.”
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