I have always believed I'm extremely fair with everyone I deal with, but have come to realize I have been cheating my family and employees for the benefit of my customers.

This revelation has come from realizing anytime I don't charge for my technicians' time and expertise, I am cheating myself, my family and my employees. I figure I've probably given away enough diagnostic fees to have totally paid for another house or maybe even a nice yacht!

I've been in the automotive industry since I was 17, which is about 27 years. I started out pumping gas in my dad's gas station in the '70s and eventually learned how to repair cars. Back in those days, whenever a customer's car didn't run right my dad would sell his customer a "tuneup." The price of a tuneup usually gave us enough parts and labor to fix the customer's driveability problem. If the car still didn't run right we would spend any additional time necessary to diagnose the problem without charging our customer. Most of the time, if the car still didn't run right it was some simple problem we had overlooked.

By the early '80s I had started my own shop. Just like my dad, I didn't charge for diagnostics, only for the repair. As cars became more complicated I found I had to start charging a nominal fee for "diagnostics." The "all-inclusive" fee was for whatever time it took my mechanic to diagnose the problem.

In the '90s I started charging higher and higher diagnostic fees to help cover the increased costs of training and diagnostic equipment. As I increased my fees, my customers became more resistant to paying for my technicians' time. I started getting fewer customers making appointments because of my higher prices. I also found my technicians spending many more hours doing diagnostic work than I was able to charge to customers. Most of my technicians did not want to learn more about diagnostics because it usually meant getting paid less than the guy in the next stall who was doing a clutch or brake job.

To help overcome this obstacle, some of my competitors started quoting customers three different levels of diagnostics. These shops were then able to initially quote the customer a lower price. This idea usually worked fairly well because it enabled the shop and the technician to get paid more if they had to go to the second or third diagnostic level. The problem with this scenario was that often the shop would have to pay the technician to spend many more hours than he was able to charge to the customer. Worse yet was when the problem wasn't found the customer usually didn't want to pay for the diagnosis, since the shop wasn't able to "diagnose" the problem. Since the shop knew the customer wouldn't pay, they would continue to work on the car for many days until the problem was found. Often a shop would buy many parts they didn't need in an effort to solve the problem. If the part didn't fix the problem, the customer wasn't charged for it.

If you're like me, you take pride in the fact that you can fix anything. Unfortunately, my pride has cost me, my family and my employees many thousands of dollars. I have recently repented of my prideful attitude and am now doing things differently. We no longer charge our customers for "diagnostics." Before you think I'm crazy, hear me out.

We only charge our customers for "tests." Tests may include compression test, fuel pump test, cylinder leak-down test, fuel injector test, scope test, computer function test, etc. Doctors have done this for years. You don't pay a doctor for a "diagnosis," you pay for the "tests" performed. If your doctor doesn't solve the problem, you still pay for the "tests" and feel you've gotten your money's worth.

By charging for tests and not diagnostics we can be totally fair to our customers, family and employees. If we don't solve the problem, our customer has still received a value. Some of the test procedures we do will sometimes involve replacing parts on a guess, especially with intermittent failures. Our customers are informed that replacing these parts is part of the testing process. We recently had a vehicle we weren't able to fix (the customer ran out of money). We ran every "test" found in the factory manual as well as using IDENTIFIX and iATN. After spending more than $500, the customer called it quits.

Are you cheating your family and employees for the benefit of your customers?

T.J. Reilly, AAM, is the owner of Same Day Auto Service, an ASA shop in Clackamas, Ore. Reilly has been an ASA member for 16 years. He can be reached at SDAS88@aol.com.

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