How Do Other Shops Handle Comebacks Or Warranty?

[TurboTim]

Really wondering what other shops are doing when they have a warranty and need 2 invoices for the parts supplier. We have just been discounting down labor and parts on the second invoice so tech gets paid. Next question is I noticed there was a comeback report. How does this work and where do I log comebacks?

[ricmorin]

Really wondering what other shops are doing when they have a warranty and need 2 invoices for the parts supplier. We have just been discounting down labor and parts on the second invoice so tech gets paid. Next question is I noticed there was a comeback report. How does this work and where do I log comebacks?

Here is a link to a post I made a few months ago on how to initiate a comeback in Manager..

http://www.managerforum.net/viewtopic.p ... ack#p88267

Here is another link about warranty invoice methods.

http://www.managerforum.net/viewtopic.p ... t=warranty

Using search terms like comeback and warranty, you can find hundreds of posts and ideas on these subjects.

[Tim Martin]

Your post has two questions and since I do not use Mitchell Shop Manager in my garage, I will only answer your first question.

First of all, you want to keep comebacks to a minimum. As humans, there will be some as time goes on. In a comeback situation, the tech that originally did the job does it as a comeback. This gives him experience and he learns that way. We do not dock the pay for that tech so long as he is in a learning frame of mind. If he is the arrogant kind, that becomes a different situation where pay is docked. Regarding the parts, typically, with the relationship we have with the local parts places, we usually can get parts replaced at no cost to us or a discounted price. So far, in the 23 years of being in business, we have had a few comebacks but, as I mentioned, we treat it as part of the learning curve. Another thing, we do not totally fault the tech for the comeback because it may be a situation where I as the owner and manager failed to pay close enough attention to detail that created the comeback. Having said what I did, let me post a few suggestions.

First, purchase parts only from parts places, including OEM, that are places of integrity and that your garage can have a good working relation with. This greatly helps in a comeback situation. Second, the owner, manager, shop foreman, or whatever his title is must be aware of what his men are doing and how they are doing what they are. He needs to circulate every so often in the garage and be available when the tech has a question or seems unsure what to do. Also, if it is a comeback situation and the garage is at fault, be honest about it and don't attempt to defer blame on things that are not part of the equation. Just admit right up front what happened. Third, the garage needs to do all it can to cover the basics, including communication with the customer to help avoid comebacks. And, last, but not least is the issue of parts integrity. Parts quality is a must for us. We do not use economy parts. They fail. The quality simply is not there. Neither do we purchase from online parts places, and I am not gonna mention any names.

[timbre4]

Here are two related videos; Symptoms screen sets up the Comeback option.

Using Symptoms: https://youtu.be/dhChm4jTkTI
Comebacks: https://youtu.be/RnniA7J4hZs

I'm also gathering shop input here as to methods for warranty invoices as there is more than one way to do this:
http://managerforum.net/viewtopic.php?f ... t=warranty