Good point Jeff.

When I ran the Service Department at a BMW motorcycle dealership I figured
out that it took a MINIMUM of 15 minutes for a mechanic to:
1) Pick up a work order
2) Find the key to the motorcycle
3) Move the motorcycle from the waiting area onto a lift (yes, motorcycles
go on special lifts)
4) Remove the motorcycle from the lift
5) Test ride the motorcycle
6) Return the key
7) Complete paperwork (even if it is just one sentence)

Actually, all of these things usually took more than 15 minutes.

I required all of my techs to test ride EVERY bike they worked on, even if
they only replace a bulb or made a minor adjustment. In addition, they had
to complete a safety check sheet on every bike (even if the bike had been in
the day before). We never charged for the safety check.

Most folks would be surprised how much work is done that is never charged.

Cheers,
Bruce
motorbruce
motorbruce@hotmail.com

>From: Jeffrey Schwaia <jeff@VANAGONPARTS.COM>
>Reply-To: Jeffrey Schwaia <jeff@VANAGONPARTS.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: The Thing About Shop Time (Long But Good)
>Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:42:32 -0700
>
>One more thing about shop time, many shops are now charging a "rack fee" in
>addition to the labor cost of the repair.  The number I've seen used the
>most is 15 minutes.  Not really unreasonable if you think about it, but it
>definitely is not old school.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Jeff