Seven Days a Week: How One Shop Owner Transformed His Business by Staying Open When Competitors Close

How many of you struggle to make ends meet every month? Maybe the end of the month comes around, and it feels like you're on pins and needles just hoping to break even on the 27th or the 28th? What if I told you you could have peace of mind around the 20th and have the rest of the month to just add to your revenue? And, on top of that, here's an extra three months per year to work on your shop. What's the secret? A seven-day workweek.

It may not sound ideal to you or your employees, but the way that Bill Brusard, president of JB Auto CARE, sees it is that we need to adopt a retailer's mindset. Auto repair shops need to be more customer-centric—that's where all the money is. The ideal customer is a dual-income family with kids, and when are they looking to take their vehicles in? Saturdays and Sundays.

Brusard didn't always have a seven-day workweek. When he started, he ran a traditional five-day workweek and then eventually added Saturdays. Two years ago, he decided to go all-in and added Sunday to the schedule and hasn't looked back since. It works for him—and his customers.

Backstory:

Brusard started his career in the automotive industry as a Toyota technician in the '80s. He eventually became a Master Technician and then worked for Lexus, where he was also a Master Technician. In 1995, he partnered up with a colleague, and they opened their own shop. He laughs that they realized on the first day that it was a mistake and that they didn't know anything about business. A coaching company helped with his business savvy, and he later ended the partnership and bought his own three-bay gas station in 2002—JB Auto. In 2005, Brusard met Todd Hayes of AutoShop Answers, and that's where he says his career really took off. Brusard now works as a consultant to other repair shops and has been at this location for 25 years.

Problem:

Brusard, like many, says that he often struggled with breaking even until the very end of the month. And, being located in the Northeast, a snowstorm or a holiday or a short month like February could make every month a nail-biter. He figured this was just how business was done.

Brusard had a five-day workweek until the idea of being open more days was introduced to him through Hayes, who had a chain that was open seven days per week. Brusard decided to adopt the "retailer's mindset" and become more customer-focused by opening on Saturdays as well.

Solution:

Two years ago, Brusard added Sundays, and now JB Auto CARE is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m.-4 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Staffing and getting his employees on board with the new schedule was an obstacle, but it wasn't terrible, he says. But it is a culture shift.

Brusard explains that it helps that he didn't make the switch overnight, and he was able to keep most people who preferred Monday-Friday with those hours and hire people who are used to working weekends, like the people he hired from Jiffy Lube. Then, once the hours were put in place, it became the hiring norm, so people knew what they were getting themselves into when they were hired. It also helps that Brusard pays his employees very well for the industry, and he's able to do that because he's open more. Being open more allows him to bring in more profit, which benefits the employees. He says when people are getting more money, they tend not to care as much about which days they have off as long as they have two.

Aftermath:

Adding weekends has provided eight additional days to bring in revenue each month, Brusard says. That's 100 days per year, which is roughly three months. Three extra months can add a lot to your bottom line. He now breaks even on the 20th of the month, a week before he used to. Brusard says his shop averages $500,000 per month, roughly $6 million per year. Brusard also says that the feedback from customers has been amazing and that they are so appreciative of the schedule. He says that so many people come on a Sunday because they desperately need their car on Monday. Because he's able to save the day and be available to them when other shops are not, he's won a customer for life.

Takeaway:

For those considering it, Brusard says, "Do it." If you're open seven days per week, you are open when your customers—your ideal customers—can come in. It pays off with customer satisfaction, and it can help relieve your financial stress as you make more money, and you're not stressed at the end of the month because you're worried you won't hit your numbers. It may not be the most ideal for certain staff, but sometimes the team that got you to where you are now isn't the team that's going to get you to the next step. You can also find people who are willing to work weekends, like Brusard did, by hiring from places that already run that way and make that expectation up front.