Preparing for the Christmas Break

11 December 2018

 

Are you already stressed about getting everything done and hanging up the spanners this year? Here our Top Tips to make the process a little easier!

 

 

Don’t let your Customers’ lack of planning stress you out

It’s human nature to leave the important stuff until the last possible moment, so you should know by now that you need to be prepared for the influx of customers who want their cars serviced or repaired before leaving on road trips, but have waited until a few days before you close to have it done.

The last few days before closing for the holidays can be particularly stressful, but you can largely avoid this by inviting customers to make bookings for services and repairs as part of your closing notification (read on). This might sound counterintuitive, as it invites more customers to make bookings but this means you can plan your days since you will only take in a fixed number of vehicles on any given day during the period leading up to you closing for the Christmas & New Year period?

Also don’t forget that your suppliers may shut up shop well before you do which could make sourcing parts for those final jobs difficult. Make sure you are aware of their trading hours and order parts in advance as required.  

 

Let your customers know your closing dates

Putting up a notice up in your reception area that wishes everyone well over the Christmas break and also announcing when you are closing for the holiday period is never a bad idea. However, the fact is that most people quickly forget the details when they leave or never notice them in the first place.

In conjunction with this, use all your existing advertising platforms, particularly social media to alert all your customers that you are closing on a particular date and time. Start the campaign a couple of weeks in advance, and repeat a few times to get the message across. Be sure to thank your customers for their loyal support over the past year, and that you hope to be of service to them again in the New Year. Also, Don’t forget to include the date on which you will be opening again! 

Another important consideration is to turn on an autoresponder for your e-mail and facebook page so you’re not feilding quotes and questions while you’re tucking in to your Christmas ham, turkey, or BBQ!

 

Prepare your workshop

Now is never a good time to look for equipment maintenance technicians to service and certify your workshop equipment such as hoists; they will all be busy and unavailable, and besides, this equipment should be inspected regularly throughout the year anyway.

There are however, several things that you should think about doing, such as:

•         Check all your tools and equipment, and make sure everything is packed away in their proper places and that nothing is broken or missing.
•         Give your workshop a spring cleaning in the last few hours before you close. You will appreciate a clean workshop when you re-open and kick off 2019 on a good note.
•         Check that the water traps on all compressors are drained, and that all A/C servicing equipment is in storage mode.
•         If you store chemicals, especially flammable chemicals, make sure all containers are sealed, and remove unsealed containers to a position where they cannot come into contact with other flammable materials. Better yet, organise a collection of any waste fluids.
•         Check for, and remove all dirty rags that may have found their way into piles under work benches, or in cupboards and bins to prevent fires caused by rags that may auto-ignite
•         If you have fridges, make sure all fridges are empty and clean on the day you close. This gives you an opportunity to dice any unclaimed food.
•         Switch off all fridges and water coolers on the afternoon of the day you close, but remember to keep fridge doors open to prevent mould and other nasties growing in them
•         Remember to turn off the water supply when you leave- the last thing you want is to attend to is a water leak on Christmas Morning. Think about evaporative coolers, hot water systems etc
•         Check that all access doors are closed, locked, and can be properly secured against unauthorised entry and that all alarms, including smoke alarms, are in perfect working order with fresh batteries. Makes sure you also notice any security monitoring services of your closure.
•         If you store your customer records and other important documents electronically, either back up all your data to a cloud-based service such as dropbox or google drive, or remove your computers and data storage devices to a secure location outside of the workshop for the holidays to prevent losing your data. Remember, data that isn’t backed up is data you don’t mind losing!

Conclusion

The Christmas & New Year break is a time for rest and relaxation. Implementing the tips in this article will ensure that your break is both restful and relaxed, but there remains only one thing more to do - don’t forget to switch off the workshop lights when you leave!

Are you closing down over Christmas and New Years or just the Public Holidays?

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