I would normally agree but when we're talking up to 20-30k for a project it doesnt matter how big the company noone can afford to have that out of there cash flow for to long. You would think that would be an encouragement to get things done but in some cases obviously not

True True but when u get it back that all disappears trust me

understand what you guys are saying , however consider

you pay upfront, parts are bought on account lets say 30 days, wages should hit the books

as the hours are accrued on your job. The car then takes months to get ready.

Whose cash flow gets hit? Yours

IMO any big performance shop that can't carry $30k for a month to get a car to the customer completed

is flying by the seat of their pants or need a business manager and should stick to tuning only

yeah your right as far as the 30 day account & if the company was really bright buy the parts at the start of the month so they effectivly have 60 day til payment it would work out in so know ones out of pocket any more or no longer than necassary. But we all know these types of things as well planned as it might seem at the time always end up taking longer than originally thought.

Being in business you see the other side of things & you know what its like when people dont pay the accounts on time & the extra unneeded stress of carrying that extra money out of the cash flow. I felt obliged & was in a position to pay for most of it up front so I did cause I know what its like to be on the other end of the fence. Mind you the company that's dion mine cant be classed as a big shop so that played apart in me wanting to pay for stuff upfront.

Dont get me wrong Jules your right & if all jobs could be fiinished in such a time frame it would be perfect but it rarely works out that way.

mate, I suppose the underlying issue is if you book your car in with a large shop with an expectation to have the work completed within a designated time frame and assuming no serious dramas , a customer should not be hearing the dreaded another "2 weeks"

Should this be the case there are serious scheduling , resource and management issues.

So yeah we are probably somewhat in violent agreement

I know waiting is necessary, but a decent shop should be able to BOLT ON a turbo kit and fuel system, hook some guages up and do a tune in a few weeks max (all custom piping and exhaust took 3 days). the hardware was allready there...and when you see cars coming and going while yours sits in the carpark in the weather (even sat out in the duststorm and I had to go down and wash it myself after 4 or 5 days), you just cant help but get pissed off. I take being fed bullsh*t very personally and its always next week..next week..and you have to be nice about it so they treat your car with respect and not charge you out of the arse..all good I will just take it to somewhere that has a good reputation..

Where is your car?

Jules, I'm learning the definition of 2wks. lol

If we're talking big shops with descent resources you know what there really isnt any excuse for things dragging out to the types of lengths that we are hearing about. I think of everyone at the moment mines the only one that's been done in that 3 or so months bracket with some of the others up to 12 mths. The company doin mine would have to be one of the smaller ones around, I dont know how some of these companies get away with it what they do.

Quinn I really hope ya get it soughted asap we all cant wait to see how it goes.

John , clearly your project is being managed within your own expectations and this is a good thing

My point is that their is a distinct difference between being a good tuner/ tradie/ retailer, than being a good business person.

I have managed some decent size businesses eg $ 60m - $500m+ ( someone elses money lol), whilst that doesn't make me an expert on small business

the same basic fundamentals always apply regardless.

No doubt there are some less customer focussed practices occurring and that is no good for either party or the performance industry

In any business, clear timelines must be discussed and agreed upon regarding the objective, there is nothing wrong with paying for progress however in any build there should be clear objectives from the beginning.

Edited November 22, 200916 yr by Buf-Phoon
quoting post directly above

absolutly, I think the problem is with alot of these shops is that there run by great mechanics/tradies who started up from nothing & got where they are at being good at what they do but when it comes to the actual organisation of some pertty basic things like workshop timetables & ordering parts there not so experienced. I'm sure not all of them are like that but from some of the rescent stories it seems to be a common thing in the auto performance industry.

Dont get me wrong I would of liked to of had mine done in about half the time which was possible but im realistic & pretty patient id like to think so im not too worried just yet. Now that everything is done I would be abit annoyed if im not drivng it out within the next week or the dreaded 2 at the most. There always has to be a point of reason.

In any business, clear timelines must be discussed and agreed upon regarding the objective, there is nothing wrong with paying for progress however in any build there should be clear objectives from the beginning.

exactly , and succinctly put

sorry for my verboseness