Warning: Hit 200 service calls in one quarter and something had to give

I run my own small repair shop out of my garage, and last month I crossed 200 service calls for the quarter. That number surprised me because I never tracked it before, just took jobs as they came. The problem is I started cutting corners to keep up. I had a client with a gaming PC that kept blue screening, and instead of running full diagnostics I just swapped the RAM and called it done. Three days later they came back furious because the issue was actually a failing PSU. That mistake cost me nearly $400 in refunds and a bad review. I realized hitting a volume milestone means nothing if your quality drops. Has anyone else ever had a big number blind you to the details?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew5519d ago

Man, "cutting corners to keep up" really hit home for me. I've been there myself and it's a nasty trap. The moment you start skipping steps to save time is the moment you start losing money and trust. That $400 refund and bad review probably cost you way more than just the cash, it cost you future referrals from that guy. Volume numbers are a nice ego boost but they mean nothing if half your fixes fail. I'd rather do 50 great calls than 200 sloppy ones any day. You gotta learn to say no or raise your prices when you're that backed up.

taylorc4019d ago

Wait, you're saying that $400 refund was just one bad review waiting to happen? That's wild man, because that's basically a whole weeks worth of groceries for some people just gone. And the bad review on top of it? That's like paying someone to kick you in the shins. I don't get why anyone would risk that kind of hit just to save a few hours of work. But I get how the pressure builds up, I've been there too where you think you can just power through and it'll be fine.

the_christopher19d ago

Building on what you said about it costing more than just the cash, that future referrals part is the real killer. People forget that one bad review can get picked up by Google or Yelp and sit there for years scaring off new customers, while that $400 is a one time hit you can work off. And the thing about volume numbers being an ego boost, that is the trap I fell into hardest. You start chasing that 200 call number for the feeling of being busy and important, but you're really just digging yourself a hole where every job is rushed and half baked. The real trick is to get comfortable with the idea that turning down work or pushing back timelines is a sign of confidence, not weakness.