Training Comments

Comments made by GenesisFour clients about our training.

"Fred, I remember you saying that if I went with onsite training that we would feel comfortable with the system within 3 weeks, and that  you were being conservative in saying this. You were entirely correct. By the time Rick {the trainer} left, I was {already} confident and completely comfortable. We think we've made more than $1300 in extra profits just in the first 2 weeks. Thanks to you all at GenesisFour."

- Don Gould, Chatham Mobil, Chatham, MA
6/11/03

I am the service writer for our family-owned auto repair shop.  When I purchased the software from GenesisFour, I knew it was the right thing to do.  Before I used the software, I had to do everything by hand.  All my invoices were hand-written.  If I had to review previous repairs, it would take me at least an hour to find out what work was performed, when it was done and what mileage it had at that time.  I never knew if I was pricing the job correctly, but I knew I wasn’t paying the bills.  I couldn’t take this anymore.  I was so stressed because I owed money and I couldn’t take a paycheck.  Things were really bad.  I told my husband to go do his thing in the bays and to leave me alone to do my job.  If I didn’t get full control of my job, I told him we might as well just close the doors and find other work elsewhere.  He has a big heart and was giving all the work away very cheaply.  People loved us.  We went above and beyond any services done and he couldn’t understand why the bills weren’t getting paid since we were so busy.

After I purchased the software, I didn’t have enough money for the on-site training.  Things got better but I did lose some customers, the ones I didn’t mind losing.  However, my husband gave me so much grief over losing them.  He just didn’t get it.  My life was so much better.  Things were running much more smoothly; like a well-oiled machine.  However, when I gave a customer an estimate, it would take me about 45 minutes because I had to recheck the pricing to make sure it wasn’t too low or too high.  The truth is that I was always off.  Sometimes the prices were too high and I wasn’t getting the job or the job was too low and I pretty much gave the work away for free.  I had to gather up my strength and agree to the on-site training.  I do not like to owe people money and I just put myself back in debt to do this training.  I was so scared and so stressed and my husband didn’t make things any better by always being on my back about the pricing and now we were in debt to the leasing company for this training, but I felt it was worth it.  Things are still tight but I have hopes that it will all work out.

Rick came out for my training.  My husband didn’t want any part of it.  He didn’t want to learn the computer and here I had a computer installed in the bays, Rick’s idea, so my husband could log in and I could see his ACTUAL time spent on each car.  He hated the very thought of having to punch in and out but this was a big problem for us.  I never really knew how much time he did spend on each vehicle.  He went along with this finally and what a difference.  Now he sees how much time he actually spends on each car.  Before, he would tell me that he only spent a few minutes on one car, but I clocked him without him knowing it, and he spent ONE HOUR on it.  He didn’t believe me when I told him.  This is how I was giving the work away.  I wasn’t billing them for the time it took him.  He would just rattle off a figure and that is what I would charge the customer.  Now things are different.  Rick did make some adjustments in the matrix and now I am right where I should be.  If I see the job is more than profitable and I have some lee-way so I don’t overprice the job but still be profitable, then I come down a level.

I should have done the on-site training right from the start.  Things were tight then but they were still tight when I had the courage to agree to the on-site training.  Things would be so much better now if I did the on-site training right from the start.  The things that Rick taught me and my husband were lessons well learned.  I thank Rick for his patience and understanding.  If I could give anyone any advice it would be:  since you made the right choice to purchase the software, go all the way right from the start and get the on-site training.  What a huge difference it made for me and I am sure it will be so worth it for you also.  I tell everyone about this program and how it is tailored to suit our needs, for our industry, and in my opinion, it is well worth it.

Thank you Rick, for all the phone calls I put you through before the on-site training.  What a difference you made in my pricing and how you showed me to price correctly.

 - Mary Lynn, Denny's Auto Repair, Elmwood Park
3/30/05

"I just wanted to take the time to thank you for the training and support we received during and since our upgrade to Service2000. Old blue (Senior Service Manager) was great and we were excited to move on to Service2000.

When we purchased Senior Service Manager we decided to forego the training because we thought we couldn’t afford it. However, since upgrading and going through the training for Service2000, we quickly realized we never used Senior Service Manager to its full potential and consequently lost many thousands of dollars over the year and a half because we were not utilizing all the features. I’ve realized training is essential to hit the ground running and producing dividends from your investment from day one.

Like most shop owners, my day is consumed by putting out fires all day. I never had the time or energy to set up the system correctly. I just worked reactively. For example, every week I would think, “next week I’ll set up the parts matrix system,” and “next week I’ll set up the parts groups,” but I never got around to doing either.

Your system is not just software, but a shop management system. The training and support of your staff - Fred, GT, Dimitri, Rick and all we’ve come in contact with - have given valuable input with the insights of people who have been there. Please keep hiring experienced people. I don’t think the last software company I used had people with automotive experience. Companies like yours have a real leg up because you know what we are going through on a daily basis.

John Powell did a great job accessing our situation from the pre-installation interview to completion. Many times when we repair cars, we are able to make it look easy and customers often say, “How can you charge 1 hour of work for that?” They don’t realize the reason its looks easy is because we are trained and educated professionals who have many years of experience behind us. John made it look easy – he handled all the problems that came up and kept us running at the same time. If we would have done the conversion without training and the on-site support, it would have taken us many hours (and much grief) to only be in the same position we were before - not utilizing the system to its full potential. All this brings us back to the saying - the most money I every lost was the money I never made."

- Steve Braxton, Braxton Automotive Group, Inc., Atlanta, GA
5/20/04
                                                                                  (Former shop management system: R.O. Writer)

"Can't wait to talk to your trainer Rick again - he is the best.  I've got a couple other guys in town just about hooked."

- Scott Groen, Fixit1S, Fort Collins, CO
11/27/02
(Former shop management system: Jeff's Gasoline Alley)

"Just wanted to let you know that things are working out pretty well for us and that we are quite happy with Service2000. It is definitely helping me run the business. Thanks for your help. I also wanted to give your trainer some positive feedback. He worked hard when he was here, and did a nice job of training us. I think you have a very good guy on your hands. I was very satisfied with the training."

Thanks again for your help in getting us "launched!"

- Mike Maloney, Convenience Auto Service, Ann Arbor, MI
6/23/04

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