With bubbles bursting all over as we deal with what is the new normal, repair shops will soon be seeing confused car owners coming in trying to make sense of their servicing schedules. 

For the greater number of vehicles languishing in lockdown, the games have only just begun. 

And it is a game – of snakes and ladders. You and your customers will come out winners – hopefully – with safe vehicles, smoothed out, regular workflows and returning customers who value quality of work, fairness of price and efficiency of service. Your workshop’s stock-in-trade, right? 

Our snakes and ladders game gives you clues as to how your shop can get back on track.  You roll the dice and if you come to a snake, it’s a ‘this is not so great for business” consideration. A ladder, conversely, is good news, so here’s the first roll of the dice: 

Well, looky there! A six. You’ve slid down a snake but gone up a ladder. Cars have been sitting around in garages for about two months, so there’s going to be some deterioration through a lack of use, meaning potential work for you. 

Some of those cars will belong to customers of yours, it’s your call to contact them of course before they contact you. 

Now’s the time to make use of that fancy customer retention system you have. Just like you send out WoF reminders – and there’ll be a fair few of those going out anyway – take the opportunity to offer other services to your customers. 

You know the obvious one of course: battery checks. Those little black boxes contain gold for you, having been sitting there, oozing power like a dripping tap. It’s starting to get colder now too, and a weakened battery is going to cause real headaches in the upcoming months – best to let your valued customers know and then recommend replacement.

Next roll, ooh. That’s a four and that’s a snake; down you go. Your customer’s cars haven’t had a lot of use which means less wear and tear on things like brakes for example. Try another roll of the dice. 

Oh, good one! A five and a ladder, back on track! Now you can talk tyres to your customers. Tyres will need pressure checking at the very least and they may have suffered from ‘flat-spotting’.

You may have to explain this to some customers, so here’s the Deformation for Dummies version: 

Flat spots come about through excessive storage with the weight of the vehicle on them. The contact patch – the bit of rubber on the ground – loses its flex and becomes rigid and brittle. 

If the tyres are underinflated or the tyres are cold the deformation effect can be worse. Once the car is driven, the car may shimmy or show signs of vibration. 

The tyres will warm up with use, the rubber will become pliant and the shimmy may appear to have been reduced, but the damage has been done. The tyres should be replaced, the wheels balanced, and an alignment done to ensure the best result.   

Roll again. Ahh, not so great – not a snake nor a ladder. Just a little closer to the end of the game.

You’ve probably figured a lot of maintenance was deferred during Covid-19 including a car boot-full of WoF work; see the above point about timely reminders. 

There will still be a great deal of confusion on the part of Joe Public as to whether they should be booking their WoFs now or in October. 

While October is – at present – the maximum date for WoF extension, the advice should be that if the WoF expired during lockdown 4 or 3, motorists are encouraged to get them renewed as soon as possible during lockdown 2. 

This will prevent a massive influx of WoFs issued this October and 12 months later when they expire. 

Far better for everyone if the workload can be spread over the next few months, so the more you can encourage your October extension customers to get their WoFs done now, the better.

Time for another roll – you’re close now. And it’s a six. Skip that snake and up the ladder you go. 

We expect more people will continue to work from home, which will see less driving being done. 

But more people are choosing cars over public transport germ factories. More cars in service of course, means more work in your shop. 

While the new car industry struggles to get its wheels turning, we’re seeing people buying pre-loved/second-hand vehicles – all of which need regular servicing, maintenance, and repair. Opportunity knocks here almost as loud as pistons in a (insert your least favourite brand here).

Roll a three, you are so close to finishing the game. 

Had you connected the Government’s encouragement of local tourism with the success of your business? No? OK, there’s that knock again and a run up the ladder. 

Think of Kiwis travelling like you would think of a pre-long weekend service promotion. 

Get those cars checked before you travel, families. 

Nothing says “Dad, you’re a dick,” more than the wife and two kids on the side of the road with an overheated engine. Dads, you don’t wanna be dicks, right? 

Coronavirus was a catastrophe, but now’s the time to go in search of that cloud’s silver brake lining – are you up for the game?