When you choose to close your business for two or three days while you and your entire staff attend conferences or other learning experiences, consider hiring an off-site temporary staff person to handle scheduling and other repair questions during the time you are gone.

Some shop owners use voice mail to inform customers they are attending an out-of-state conference such as ASA's Annual Convention and also provide the date when they will be returning and are available to schedule work. This method, used by many shop owners, leaves us praying for lots of phone calls the Monday we return. Wouldn't it be a better idea to have a guarantee of the whole week booked upon our return? Here's an idea to make your return week one of guaranteed high profit:

Hire a family member or ask customers to suggest someone who is primarily captive in their home with small children or have some other limiting circumstances. Let's use an example of a stay-at-home mom.

She will be available to answer your forwarded phone calls from your business to her home from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Make sure she has a happy voice and coach her on the proper way to answer your calls. If there is kid noise in the background, she can simply explain to the caller why she is receiving calls at home.

Pay her well. Create an accountability form for her where she can document every call, the outcome and a calendar to enter scheduled appointments.

You will need to coach her for one to two hours on how to schedule jobs and provide her with pricing for regular jobs like oil changes, alignments, tire rotation, etc. Provide her with your cell phone number in the event she has questions. She is not to give out your cell phone number to customers. Check in daily with her while you are gone.

Picture this: You return from a wonderful learning experience. You check in with your phone person. Your next week is booked solid. It certainly paid to run your business smart, didn't it! See you at the next conference!

Margie Seyfer is an AMI instructor. She resides in Wheat Ridge, Colo., with her husband, Don, who owns Seyfer Automotive. To contact her, please visit her Web site at www.margieseyfer.com; send an e-mail to seyfermarg@aol.com; or call (303) 233-0836.

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