'Reopening' Your Shop in a Post-COVID World

With the daily uncertainty of this evolving situation, shops need to stay fluid and flexible. In many places, the phases to reopening are well under way. But what does a phased reopening look like for shops everywhere? 

Don't Stop Protective Measures

Avoid getting complacent. The health of staff and customers needs to remain the top priority for your shop. While COVID cases may be down in some regions, a failure to adhere to guidelines could facilitate spread within your shop or between staff and customers. All practices that you had in place initially need to continue, especially if there's a resurgence of any kind in your area. As an essential business, your customers—and by extension—your community, look to you for support and protection. Continue to clean frequently, practice social distancing, and enforce the wearing of face masks. For more specific information on federal guidelines, we advise you to follow the CDC for further instructions. 

Keep Up Thorough Digital Inspections

With a decrease in car count, you've likely had the time to be extra thorough with your processes—DON'T STOP! We here at BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY have seen shops using more pictures than ever on their digital inspections during this time. Time and again our statistics have shown that if more photos are taken for a digital inspection, the higher the Average Repair Order. If you've taken advantage of this downtime to improve upon your process for digital inspection usage, be sure to not let that fall by the wayside as business gets progressively busier and busier.  

Digital & Distancing 

Social distancing and reduced capacity can be worrisome for owners wanting to increase car count back to normal levels. In the midst of this public health crisis, that morning rush feels like it could be even more stressful and cumbersome. Don't be afraid to require and stagger appointments in order to make socially distanced crowd management more tolerable. Additional tools, such as kiosks can help remove your service advisors from some contact if you feel this is an extra precaution you wish to take. 

Keep Up Your Spirits

With all the changes, procedures, protocols, and more it can feel stressful not knowing what the future holds right now. If there is a silver lining in any of this—it's that the practices that you hone during these uncertain times can help you thrive in easier times. We may not know when the light at the end of the tunnel is coming, but we're in this together to make sure we all succeed.