[mitchellreid]

To all Techs and Owners,

This is for anyone just getting started or those who may be struggling at this time. I know everything seems to be driven by the numbers you produce. I see those numbers in the Dr. Vinyl Newsletters and hear them at the Conventions we attend. While I know many people see those numbers and wonder how are they pulling off those staggering amounts? I remember when I was getting started and I heard what seemed like unattainable sales totals. While I know some people are motivated by those, for me they were kind of discouraging because they seemed so out of reach. For that reason, I have been very quiet about any numbers that I produce. I know that they might help some techs strive for more. However, I have always been concerned about becoming a stumbling block for another. I have spoken to other Franchises where the techs talk to each other about what they did for the day or week and this helps them to push each other. This even happens somewhat in our Franchise. While I don’t normally remember my totals, this past month was a bit of a high for me. I hope that sharing this helps someone who might be in a similar situation.
The following is all true…

When I started years ago, I was having a difficult time getting the sales goals I wanted and that my Franchise Owners, Chris and Tera Hawkins, wanted for me. They did not pressure me for higher numbers. They just wanted me to do well and be successful especially in the long term. To this day, they still find ways to not only encourage me but to support me in whatever my goals are. While I don’t remember the record highs from the early years, I do remember the lows. My first week out on my own after training and riding with a mentor was $254. That is not a typo. My first full year was $52,000. Even by the standards of 25 years ago that number should have been at least double that number.

I know this sounds bad. For an encouraging story this is starting out very poorly. There is, however, more.

Along the way, there were daily, weekly, and yearly records. There were sales records attained over a single weekend. I don’t remember what they were, but I know I was happy about them when they occurred. There were awards at conventions and atta boys from my Franchise. These were all good things that happened in a normal progression. A great milestone for me was when I stopped having goose eggs on days that I went out to work. Now, the only goose eggs I have are on my days off. For those of you that don’t know about goose eggs, they are days with $0 totals. They are not fun no matter who you are.

Last month I hit a number that was a bit shocking to me. When I received the August monthly recap for my sales, I thought there had been a math error by the office. I had to go back and double check them before I wrote this article.

The month of August’s sales eclipsed the sales numbers for my entire first full year of sales mentioned above. Let that statement sink in a little before reading on.

I am not sure how that rates by other people’s standards but for me that was almost unbelievable. I have no idea if that will ever happen again, but I now know it is possible. If it is possible for me, it is possible for anyone. I am nothing special. I am a tech just like you.

For me, nothing erases the memory of that first week’s total of $254. I remember where I started. I start every week, month, and year with a $0 balance just like you do. It does get better. Things do start to align. Your biggest sales numbers are just around the corner. Keep trying. I am no one of consequence. I do not have some special innate ability which you do not possess. As a matter of fact, I am not a particularly good salesman. I just didn’t give up. I just kept on trying and things worked out better and better as the days went along. For the record, in our Franchise I have phenomenal owners and a great team of techs that back me up, encourage me, and help me on my way. I hope all techs and owners will keep that in mind. Your team is what makes you great. Get out there and do great things. I know you can.

Mitch Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

To all Techs and Owners,

In our Franchise we usually do work for individual car lots or restaurants. However, we also do work for some car lots and restaurants that are under some kind of umbrella. With car lots they may share a familiar name followed by the Vehicle brand (i.e. Rusty Wallace Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, etc.). With restaurants it can be a little harder to tell. While some restaurants of the same name (i.e. Panera Bread) are corporately owned and operated, there are many that are privately held by individuals or holding companies. It is those holding companies that I would like to discuss today. Prior to last year I worked for a handful of Panera Breads in the Knoxville area. Last year they were bought out by a holding company which was a new one on me. I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out. I thought they might do things differently and not need my upholstery services any longer. The reality of the situation was quite the opposite. They were very happy to have me not only continue at the previous locations but expand into some of their other locations.

In just two weeks during August, this holding company needed work done at a dozen different locations. They were all within about a hundred miles of each other and in areas that we already worked and serviced. So, while the distance I mentioned may seem intimidating to some, I think the sales totals might persuade even the most cautious tech to overcome any hesitation or reluctance to make the drive. The upholstery work done in just those two weeks was about $20,000! That is not bad for just a few days’ work during that time frame. To make the deal even sweeter the holding company started asking if we could do work at some of the other locations they had. I started doing a little research on them and found out they own about 300 restaurants in multiple states! I let them know if we couldn’t work certain locations that we could probably find another Dr. Vinyl nearby that could. Please be thinking about holding companies as another avenue to expand your current upholstery business. As I just found out, it can be very lucrative.

Mitch Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

To all techs and owners,

In our Franchise we do a something to help each other out. There are currently 15 techs in our group, and we do a lot of driving. We travel the highways and interstates over a 5-state area. Because we are normally traveling familiar routes, we don’t always use our GPS for directions. This can sometimes cause problems because of unexpected traffic delays due to accidents or construction. So, to help each other out if we get into some kind of traffic delay, we send out a group text to all our techs to alert them to whatever situation is occurring. That way other techs can take an alternative route or at least check the GPS before driving into a delay.

While I am not a fan of Group Texts, they do have their perks. One downside of Group Texts is everyone getting “dinged” each time someone “likes” a text you send. If you choose to alert your techs in this manner it is beneficial to train them not to like or respond to the text unless of course they have something to add that would be beneficial to the group.

Now your Franchise might have only one or two techs, and you may think group texts are not going to be beneficial for your group. If that is the case, think bigger. Include your neighboring Franchises in the group. Assuming they want to act collectively, it could be a great help to all.

I know it may be seen as a small thing but anything we can do to help each other out can be quite beneficial to all. This idea isn’t only limited to traffic snares but can include incoming inclement weather or new products found by techs to replace backordered ones. The possibilities are many.

At our Franchise we try to monitor all frequencies because we can use all the help we can get. This not only helps us as a group but brings a feeling of unity to our cause. Our motto is “We are all in the same boat.” It just takes one simple helping hand to remind us all that we can make someone’s day a little easier. You never know when the one who needs the help will be YOU!

Mitch Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

To all techs and owners,

We recently had some upholstery business referred to us. The referral business always seems to be the best kind of business because the customer seldom has someone already providing the service and usually is in desperate need of our work. In this case, the restaurant chain in the Birmingham, AL area had not had any upholstery work done since before Covid when like many customers they lost their upholsterer. So, they searched the internet for upholstery repair and found Corporate Dr. Vinyl. They spoke to our own Buster Coppage, who was very aware of the area we cover and the services we provide, and he gave them our number. Now, this may not seem like some great event. Isn’t Corporate supposed to forward our information to potential customers that call the main office? The answer is yes, of course. However, that is not my point. The point is to make sure Corporate, in this case Buster, is aware of the services we provide and the areas which we are trying to cover. It is very important that Corporate knows what you are trying to do within your Franchise so they can help you reach your goals just like in this case. If Buster had not known that we were actively looking to expand our upholstery work in these new areas of our territory, he would not have known to send those calls to us. This call from Longhorn’s in Birmingham was initiated due to an upcoming visit from their president. After doing this initial install, we have been in contact with multiple Longhorn’s in the Greater Birmingham area. You never know what one phone call will lead to.

Furthermore, don’t just let Corporate know, let your neighboring Franchise’s know what you’re trying to do so they can help as well. Just this week, I received a call from another Franchise that had done a great amount of work for a large holding company with many restaurants within multiple restaurant chains. They had noticed that there were locations owned by this holding company that were in our area. They gave me the company’s webpage which told me what restaurants were theirs’s and where they were located. This was a great help. I would never have known where to look or who to ask for this inside track of information. This was another great example of Dr. Vinyl’s working together!

Mitch Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

To all Owners and Techs,

Last week I had the most interesting thing happen. I was searching for a vinyl color to reupholster some stools at chain of restaurants but could only find a close match, not the exact color. I checked in with the distributors I knew of and found only one who had access to this color. The reason is it had been discontinued in 2019. The distributor was very anxious to get rid of the yardage they had in stock. I knew I had several restaurants with this color with at least 14 stools per location. I knew this vinyl once sold for $35-36 per yard. I had accounted for $70 of material for my recovering of the stools. I only needed 2 yards at most, but I thought there might be something to be gained here. They had 10 yards in stock. So, I offered the distributor $6 per yard if I bought all 10 yards. They accepted! So, for less than the material cost I had planned for of $70 to do just the first set of stools, I got enough material to do 60 stools at a cost of $60. That is a hard price to beat. The distributor was happy to get rid of a discontinued vinyl; the customer was happy to get the stools recovered with a close match; and I was happy to get the vinyl at a well discounted price. By acquiring the vinyl at the price of $1 per stool we will be able to turn $60 of material into $12,000 of potential upholstery sales! With 10 yards we can only recover a little over 4 stores of stools. We may have to pick another color vinyl at that point, but we may also find another distributor at that time who might have a few more yards of discontinued vinyl. You never know. Now, I know what to do if that opportunity arises again and now so do you!

I don’t often get to turn lemons into lemonade, but that was quite the opportunity. I never knew that was a possibility until today.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
“All Who Wander Are Not Lost”

[mitchellreid]

To all Owners and Techs,

I had an interesting call last week. It was about an upholstery quote from a year ago.

Maybe some back story is in order. In September 2023 I was asked to quote some upholstery damage at an Arby’s location. I submitted my quote, and their response was they were surprised at the cost. I told them I understood and thanked them for allowing me to submit a quote. I did get the impression that they would have been more excited about doing the work if the price was lower. This has happened many times to me in the restaurant upholstery game. In the following weeks they did not call back, and I did not submit a lower bid. To be honest with you, after a while, I completely forgot about the job. Then last week, September 2024 I received a call from the same Arby’s regional manager. She referenced the quote and said they were ready to proceed. I was caught off guard to say the least. I pulled the file and started reading the details of the job. I told her I would honor the quote. She apologized for the delay and said she had a total of 22 locations in the area. She said that if I could, she would like me to do all their upholstery work from this point forward. I told her we could do. We start installing the first 2 locations next week!

The moral of the story, I think, is patience. Do not assume that because the job didn’t come quickly that it won’t come at all. Also, don’t lower your prices for a quick sale. If you do, you will probably always have to do so.

On another occasion, I have even been told that the customer has had a lower bid submitted, and I will lose the job if I don’t drop my price significantly. The customer felt the quote was negotiable. I did not. It was not that big a surprise when he called back 2 weeks later to say the lower bid was a fly by night outfit that could not do the job. Please understand, there was never another bid submitted. It was just a poor attempt to get me to lower my price.

The reason I agreed to honor the Arby’s quote from a year earlier was I bid it correctly the first time. I know the common question I always get asked about upholstery prices is
“What do you charge for a 4′ booth cover?”

Well, in this case, for this particular job the 4′ booth price was $275. It was an easy call to honor that old quote. It was a very profitable job.

Bid the jobs so you can be profitable not so you can just stay busy. You can be the busiest upholsterer around and not be making any money. Doing so will just put you out of business and provide less competition to your competitors. Let your competitors take the butt kicking on non-profitable work while you focus on making money so you can not only stay in business but thrive and watch them go under. Survive to become not only busiest but the most profitable one as well.

I am no one of consequence. I am not a Franchise Owner or an employee of Dr. Vinyl Corporate. I am simply an upholstery tech just like you or just like you could be. I do not perform some sort of magic tricks to grow our upholstery sales. I simply make sure we are making money at anything we do OR we do NOT do that work. Please keep this in mind on the jobs that come your way in the future. You owe it to yourself to succeed. Isn’t that the reason you joined Dr. Vinyl in the first place?

You will only know if YOU TRY. Best of luck. I can’t wait to hear about your success.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
“All Who Wander Are Not Lost”

[mitchellreid]

To all Techs,

One week after I dropped off the seats mentioned in the previous post, I had another car waiting at a sister dealership with the exact same circumstances as the previous car. The Manager at this store acted like he knew nothing about the work I had done last week at the other car lot. The price I told him about last week’s work did not faze him, neither did the time it would take. I don’t believe in coincidence. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. At least I knew what was involved this time. Having just done one last week the removal of the seats went about twice as quick. I guess it helped that I already knew what size sockets I would need and what electrical connections had to be disconnected before I even got started.

I’m not sure if this is going to be a continual thing, but I am glad to get another hefty invoice into this year’s sales totals. It is also very nice to be needed and valued by your customers.

To anyone looking for a little more work this year I would definitely recommend this high dollar repair. I hope you will give it a shot. I will be glad to give anyone who is interested detailed instructions on what I did.

Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can. Hope to hear from you.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Reid (931)-252-0879
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

To all Techs,

I seem to remember some discussion at the 2023 Convention by techs and owners about the inability to make more than $100 per car at dealerships. It didn’t come to me then but due to some recent events the following has come to mind:

I remember my trainer, Raymond Scott, saying if the dealerships are using you, it is because they are making money on what you repair. If they didn’t make money from what you did, they would have very little reason to use you. Your services are of value to your customers. Still, occasionally, even I have doubts. Then every once in a while, your customers will let you know how valuable you are. It normally happens something like this, or at least it did to me.

Last week a Sales Manager came and asked me to do something new. He asked if the badly stained seats in a vehicle could be extracted. I could tell that had already been tried and due to continued wicking from the foam to the seats that it was a complete failure. I told him it would have to be taken apart, cleaned, and put back together after it had dried completely. I said it would take a great deal of time and I didn’t know how long. He said to keep it as long as I needed to because he would have to wholesale it if I could not get it done. I asked him why he didn’t have his regular detailer do the unit. He told me this was the best they could do. I knew then that I had some room to work on this unit and an opportunity to show what I could do even though I had never done this sort of thing before.

So, I took the seats out of the car; removed the covers, foam, and electrical connections from the frame; took the covers off the foam; sprayed out the all the excess soap and most of the stains from the foam and covers; soaked the covers; washed the covers; dried the foam and the covers completely; then put everything back together being mindful to disconnect the battery when reconnecting electrical connections involving the airbags. It took about an hour to hour and a half a day for the next six days. I didn’t count the soaking, washing, or drying times since I was doing something else while these things were happening.

After the seats were back in the car, the Sales Manager made a special effort to thank me for doing something no one else could do. While he has always been appreciative of what I do on his car lot, this thank you meant a lot.

I guess Raymond Scott was right. If the dealership can make money on what you are repairing, they will always have reason to use you.

I almost forgot, the invoice for that one car was $950. I guess it is possible to make more than $100 per car.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

To all Techs,

I seem to remember some discussion at the 2023 Convention by techs and owners about the inability to make than $100 per car at dealerships. It didn’t come to me then but due to some recent events the following has come to mind:

I remember my trainer, Raymond Scott, saying if the dealerships are using you, it is because they are making money on what you repair. If they didn’t make money from what you did, they would have very little reason to use you. Your services are of value to your customers. Still, occasionally, even I have doubts. Then every once in a while, your customers will let you know how valuable you are. It normally happens something like this, or at least it did to me.

Last week a Sales Manager came and asked me to do something new. He asked if the badly stained seats in a vehicle could be extracted. I could tell that had already been tried and due to continued wicking from the foam to the seats that it was a complete failure. I told him it would have to be taken apart, cleaned, and put back together after it had dried completely. I said it would take a great deal of time and I didn’t know how long. He said to keep it as long as I needed to because he would have to wholesale it if I could not get it done. I asked him why he didn’t have his regular detailer do the unit. He told me this was the best they could do. I knew then that I had some room to work on this unit and an opportunity to show what I could do even though I had never done this sort of thing before.

So, I took the seats out of the car; removed the covers, foam, and electrical connections from the frame; took the covers off the foam; sprayed out the all the excess soap and most of the stains from the foam and covers; soaked the covers; washed the covers; dried the foam and the covers completely; then put everything back together being mindful to disconnect the battery when reconnecting electrical connections involving the airbags. It took about an hour to hour and a half a day for the next six days. I didn’t count the soaking, washing, or drying times since I was doing something else while these things were happening.

After the seats were back in the car, the Sales Manager made a special effort to thank me for doing something no one else could do. While he has always been appreciative of what I do on his car lot, this thank you meant a lot.

I guess Raymond Scott was right. If the dealership can make money on what you are repairing, they will always have reason to use you.

I almost forgot, the invoice for that one car was $950. I guess it is possible to make more than $100 per car.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

Teresa,

Sorry, I haven’t had any great success with these dashes yet. I will keep you posted if anything changes. Sometimes, trial and error takes some time.

Thanks for the post,

Mitch

[mitchellreid]

Techs and Owners,

Recently, I was installing upholstery at 3 different Arby’s in a town. While I was at my first stop, I received a call from another Dr. Vinyl who was in negotiations with the restaurant chain, Fazoli’s. He was dealing with a corporate VP responsible for several states who wanted 7 locations in his area serviced as well as a location far away from his territory in our franchise area. The Dr. Vinyl called me and asked if I would have time to look at this other location so that he could tell the VP that we could cover all the locations he was concerned about. I was surprised to hear that the location was in the same town I was currently working in. I was even more surprised to see that very location across the street from my second stop of the day. I went over to the Fazoli’s and took measurements and made patterns. It was so nice to be able to make this stop while I was in a town 2 hours away from my home. It saved me half a day of driving and at the same time brought me another account. Furthermore, this quick response made not only both our franchises look very professional but also made the entire Dr. Vinyl system look impressive. The customer realized within minutes that Dr. Vinyls were well connected to each other even if they were hundreds of miles apart. That spoke volumes to the customer who had already had a great experience with Dr. Vinyl in the past in another state.

What I am trying to say is that we not only represent each other nationally but also can impress customers by working together. In this case both franchises greatly benefited from this collaboration. One franchise looked very professional and well connected to a network while the other picked up an easy sale and a new customer while working at a location 100 miles away. Some might say it was just luck. However, it is my experience that there is no such thing. Two Dr. Vinyls met years ago and because of that relationship knew that they could call on each other when a need arose. If this sort of thing had only happened once, then maybe I could believe in the luck scenario. However, this has happened to me multiple times in the past. I have benefited by my relationships in the Dr. Vinyl family for no other reason than I have made connections with other Dr. Vinyls. Most of these contacts have been made at conventions but not all. Some of them were made through the Forums, while others were introduced through corporate contacts, owners, or even other techs.

I know we get used to working by ourselves or maybe at most, working with others in our own franchise. I promise you there is more out there…There is more out there for those who dare to reach out and make the connections to other techs and owners. I know this to be true because I have benefited from it greatly over the years. I know it seems easier to remain isolated in our own little world. I too used to be a lone wolf sort of operator. While isolation does keep our failures and mistakes a secret, it mainly keeps us from growing and prospering as a franchise. Try reaching out to someone, anyone, in the Dr. Vinyl system. See if they can help you or if you can help them. I promise either way you will gain from this experience. I know I have. There are so many Dr. Vinyls out there that are successful and want you to be also. Try and see. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the results. If you are a new franchise or just don’t know who to reach out, to ask corporate for a contact. If all else fails, you can call me (931-252-0879). I may not have the answers you are looking for, but I probably know someone who does. I know over the years I have certainly received more help than I have ever given, but I truly believe that is the Dr. Vinyl way.

Why else would a tech in Tennessee make so many phone calls to Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Kansas, North Carolina, and so many others?

Try and see.

Mitch Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

Techs and Owners,

A quick follow up to this article. I was installing covers at a gym today, and the same thing happened there that has been happening at the restaurants. While I was busy installing covers on the equipment at their gym, multiple people asked me if I could work on their boat upholstery. Another person asked about working on their motorcycle seat.

Don’t miss out. The opportunities are endless.

Mitch Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
“All Who Wander Are Not Lost”

[mitchellreid]

Owners and Associates,

Recently I have received many calls needing upholstery work for customers we have never worked for before. I am not sure why, but perhaps their previous vendors have fallen by the wayside due to attrition caused by Covid or normal marketplace pressures. Either way I want to encourage you to be ready to take advantage of this unique time in upholstery as well as the other Dr. Vinyl trades, Interiors, Paint, Dents, and Wheels. There is an enormous amount of work to be had out there. I see it in Upholstery and Interiors, and I hear about it from our techs in the other trades. Please don’t miss out. It may mean traveling at little farther or working a little later than you have in the past, but I promise it will be worth. I just wanted to share with you a couple things that have happened to me recently.

I received a call…

…from our local YMCA about recovering parts of their children’s indoor gymnasium playground equipment. They had tried to purchase new pieces from the manufacturer to update their aging equipment when they found out it was just too expensive to replace everything they needed. So, they inquired about recovering with Dr. Vinyl and found it to be half the cost of new.

…from a Dave and Buster’s (not our Buster Coppage) who heard about us from one of their locations we service about 100 miles away. They needed some upholstery work done quickly before their CEO made his normal visit to their location in 2 weeks. It turned out to be a long install, all in the A.M., and one of the largest invoices I have written for a single night’s work. I thought there might be a question about the cost of the work, but I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction to the work and bill. The manager was so pleased with everything that he found some more work that he needed done. When I asked why he hadn’t mentioned this additional work earlier his response surprised me. He said, ” I needed what you did last night done first, and I didn’t want to overload you with the less important areas.” Furthermore, he gave me 2 rolls of vinyl to work with for future recovering of his store. To me that is a big step in a vendor/customer relationship. When they give you material for future work that means that you are now THEIR upholsterer.

…from an existing customer of ours, Panera Bread. They wanted to recover their aging booth backs while we there to service their normal booth bottom wear. This extra work multiplied their normal bill tenfold. They didn’t hesitate at the cost. They just asked how quickly I could get it done.

These are just calls I received last week. Please be ready the work is everywhere. Do whatever you can to be ready to receive this work.

This might even involve:
1.Seeing customers you have forgotten to check on in a while.
2.Updating your services offered or areas covered on the Dr. Vinyl website Find a Doc listing.
3.Considering reaching out a little further in the areas that you serve, not into another Dr. Vinyl’s territory but maybe beyond your own.

The possibilities are endless.
Only you will benefit from reaching out a little further.
Only you will gain from doing a little more.
Only you will know if there is more out there.

You will only know if YOU TRY.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
“All Who Wander Are Not Lost”

[mitchellreid]

About 3 1/2 years ago I wrote an article about attending the 2020 Convention. Then the world stopped for a while. We were unable to have a convention for several years. I wasn’t sure when, or if, we would ever have another chance to gather together. We have a chance this year. So I thought I might take another try at encouraging your attendance at this year’s convention. I used some of my original article and tried to add some new. I hope it will move you to come. I look forward to seeing you there. I could use your help, your advice, your experience. Maybe you could use mine. All I know for sure is that it has been far too long….

Techs and Owners,

I just wanted remind everyone how important Conventions are to the motivation and success of Franchises, Associates, and Owners alike. Our Franchise has gained so much from the information shared at each and every convention we have attended. We see it as an opportunity to bring things home to add to our arsenal of skills and knowledge. The more we know and can do in the Dr. Vinyl world the more we can help our customers and, of course, the more we can earn. Our hope is that there will always be a convention available for us to go to and to learn from. Participation is the key to each convention’s success. Hopefully, all Franchises will be able to attend the next Convention. If we can bring our knowledge together in one place and share with those that want to learn, we will always be successful.

The sharing of knowledge is a true “Golden Nugget”. This happens when someone takes the time to share some aspect of a job they did with another. Then later that person retells the story and shares how much of an impact it had on them. The originator of the story often times has no idea the weight or influence they had on another. They simply talked about how they did things. Sometimes the simplest thing you tell someone else is the greatest help you can ever give them. That is underlying theme of Dr. Vinyl Conventions: To tell people simple things they can do to be successful. It doesn’t have to be a new piece of equipment or a brand new idea……

It can simply be the one thing you didn’t think of, that someone else did.

Next time your at Convention think about taking a pocketful of “Golden Nuggets” home with you.

Hope to see you at the 2023 Convention aka Golden Nugget Time.

Mitchell Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[mitchellreid]

Techs and Owners,

Recently I have spoken with several techs who have told me some tricks they use that have been of great help to me. I believe these techs intended for me to pass this information onto to others for their benefit. All of these techs have the same unique and desirable qualities. Those qualities are their intent to help others and pass along knowledge which they have come across in their travels in this life we call Dr. Vinyl. The funny thing is all three of them called me with their “tricks” during the same week. I didn’t think much of it then, but I have always been a slow study. This epiphany eventually came to me. These techs were intentionally giving me pearls of wisdom with the hope that I would pass it on. The only problem is how to pass this information on to ALL the other techs. If I had been quicker and wiser, I would have told them of a great way to get their tricks out to all Dr. Vinyl’s. The information highway I am speaking of is the Dr. Vinyl Forums on our very own private website. Since I failed to tell them this when we were on the phone, I will take it upon myself to share their information with you now.

One of our techs, Coleman Hawkins, made me aware of a much-needed service his customers have been allowing him to do. It is a very simple but profitable one. It is refinishing rusty trailer hitch receivers. At the first dealership he did 10 hitches at $48 each in 45 minutes! At the next one he did 14 hitches. That is about $1,150 in under 3 hours time. I started to notice the rust on hitches at my dealerships and thought “I sure wish Coleman was here”. Then I realized I could do the same thing. It was as easy as refinishing rusty wiper arms. I already had everything I needed to do this repair. Then I started seeing them on every lot I worked. While you might think that hitches are only on trucks, I am here to tell you they are on SUV’s as well as cars. A little cleanup and refinishing and they look brand new. Coleman calls this “Gettin’ Rich on the Hitch!!!” Coleman is never one to shirk away from work or making money. We can all learn something from this Young Gun!

Another one of our Techs, Bruce Dockery, told me of some difficulty he had starting a perforated leather repair because the tear went to a seam in the seat. He used some carpet tape on the underside of the perforated leather to hold it long enough that he could get leather filler to cure and hold in the damaged area and then proceed to finish the repair by our normal procedures. Sometimes all you need is a little ingenuity to get past a difficulty. I call Bruce “The Innovator” because when faced with a situation where some would say “It can’t be done”, Bruce finds a way. That is Innovation!

The third tech is from another Franchise, and I have to admit that he is really more than just a tech. He is Bill Hubbard. For those of you who know Bill you know what I mean. He is more of a legend. We were talking one day when he hit me with this idea that has made things so much easier when dealing with scratches in plastic. Many of you are probably familiar with heating up plastic to minimize the scratches that are so prevalent in cargo areas, center consoles, door panels, near ignition switches, etc. In black or really dark gray plastics with deeper scratches or heavily discolored areas I would have to take some extra time to mix up a color to redye. While this would redye the area it would not camouflage the extra damage as well as I would like. Bill let me know something that he has been doing that not only redyes these areas but also helps to disguise the more damaged plastic. It is Satin Black Chip Guard (item #39813) in an aerosol can. You can shoot it straight on the affected area if you need heavy texture or heat up the can to make the texture finer. I am here to tell you it works so well! I have been able to hide more damage and make things look much better than prior to this info. I would highly recommend this to any interior tech. Thank you, Bill! I am forever in your debt..

If you have any tips or tricks you use during your Dr. Vinyl work week, please share these on the Forums so all of us may learn from you. It has been so long since we’ve been able to get together at a Convention. There is no need to wait to share your knowledge. The Forums give us a way to share things NOW! If you’ve never been on the Dr. Vinyl Website or looked at the Forums, please call Buster Coppage at the Corporate Office (816) 525-6060 Ext. 130. Buster has been able to get even the least tech savvy guy, myself, on them. If I can navigate the site, then rest assured you can as well.

We in the field eagerly await your Posts of Wisdom on the Forums.

Mitch Reid
The Wandering Upholsterer
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

[Author]

Posts