Wednesday, May 20, 2009

How One Engine Rebuilder Makes a Profit

Bob is an MIB customer and has been an engine rebuilder on the west coast for a long time. He looks at MIB just like any other tool in his business. Bob has seen one competitor after the next come and go over the years. I called Bob and asked him what he thought were the reasons that he had survived and others had failed. It seems to come from lessons that he learned as a kid in their family laundry and dry cleaning business. He said that they always did quality work but the business really started to grow very fast when they started offering one hour service with pickup and delivery to the major hotels in San Francisco. Bob built his engine rebuilding business around the same model. He does quality work quickly and has pickup and delivery. Bob described how he was able to sell what is now his best customer. He called on them many years ago and talked with the manager. The manager said up front that they were satisfied with the machine shop that they were using at that time. Bob asked the manager how long does it take to get a flywheel resurfaced. The manager said that it took about three to four hours. Also, the dealership had to drop off and pick up the flywheel. Bob said that he would pick it up, resurface it and deliver it within one hour. The manager thought about the two to three hours that he had a lift and mechanic tied up. He gave Bob a try and has been using Bob ever since then. In the area that Bob services there are about 15 new car dealers and 30-40 independent repair shops that are his customers. Some he deals with often and others may not call for many months. He also gets some jobs from his web site because he also specializes in vintage engines. In fact he had just finished working on the heads for a Corvair. In the old days Bob refused to work on Corvair heads. The slow down in the economy quickly changed that attitude and of course, flexibility is also part of making a profit.

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posted by MIB @ 4:43 PM