November 2019

20 AFTERMARKET NOVEMBER 2019 BUSINESS www.aftermarketonline.net All the latest business tips, tricks and kit to keep you one step ahead BUSINESS ADVICE Sussex-and-Surrey based group CCM (Complete Car Maintenance) saw improvements in time management, staff efficiency and upselling opportunities in its first three months using TechMan’s garage management system. With three sites in Cranleigh, Ewhurst and Gatwick, Tina Drayson, Operations Manager at CCM was wanted to cut down the bureaucratic burden and get a clearer view on daily workload. Having decided on TechMan, Tina says that the garage saw instant returns on the investment: “From day one we began to really maximise the hours we had available. We were no longer overloading the workshop, which helped to minimise the pressure on our technicians and reduced the possibility of letting our customers down.” According to Tina, the reporting function was a major factor in her decision to adopt the TechMan system.The garage also now makes use of the MOT, service, and brake check reminders. Tina said: “These simply run in the background after being initially set up – they don’t require the continual weekly extraction of data in order to generate an email reminder.” Similarly, the diary system has allowed CCM to get to grips with all of the available hours that the business has to sell. Whereas the technicians’ schedules where previously sometimes overloaded, the company now has an instant snapshot of each staff member’s workload and availability at their fingertips. Tina added: “So far, adopting the TechMan system has had countless benefits for our business. It allows us to plan our working day more effectively, as well as making us far more efficient at upselling. For any business, being able to do both of those things at the front of house is absolutely invaluable. The TechMan team have been really keen to listen to all of our suggestions on how the system can be tailored to meet our exact requirements. Nothing has been too much trouble for them.” www.techmangms.com Cornering the market Somerset-based garage Cornerstone Autos is looking to corner the local engine decontamination market, and offer customers an additional service at the same time. With this in mind, the business, based in Ilton, has taken on an engine decontamination machine from EDT Automotive. Director Jeremy Gay says it is helping customers to reduce maintenance bills: “We wanted to offer our customers a way to keep costly annual vehicle inspection bills down, especially with the DVSA implementing stricter emission guidelines. After our initial demo, we could see that EDT offers instant results that the customer is able to feel straight away.” The business received its engine decontamination machine in December 2018, and has carried out more than 50 treatments since then. EDT’s engine decontamination technology cleans the oil system, preparing it to receive the new oil without impurities from the residue normally left after conventional servicing. Jeremy added: “Regular servicing is standard procedure for most people, but an EDT treatment brings extra peace of mind when it comes to preventing excessive fuel consumption and premature wear of internal components, as it reduces the chances of emissions being affected come MOT time.” CCM hails TechMan GMS