business question.

[wed3k]

now if the business i work in gets way overwelmed in work, would it be an okay idea to shut down the doors and gates to the public and not take any more future orders till we catch up?

we have about a months worth of work to do however i dont want to kill our accouns or future customers. idk, it would be good timing around this time because spring break is around now.

[GenDBlade]

there was a shop in my town who did that for bout two weeks to catch up. depends on the owners

[Joey]

Depends on the type of business.
If it's possible you might consider advising incoming accounts that their (whatever you do) is backordered / delayed / on hold for a time and they'll just expect a later closing date.

[sackingz123]

a business is a business, u gotta open the doors when its open. but i think u have the right to serve or not

gotta talk to the big man on this

[wed3k]

automotive machine work.

we are backed up on motors and we spend a lot of time for consultation and advising. so pretty much we just want to ignore the bullshit, customers and everything else that takes us away from either machining or engine building.

likek i said, we have about a month's work of work to cram so the money is definitely there.

[sackingz123]

damn dude. u deserve a fawkin raise. tell the big man wassup, raise or im outta here. he knows he needs ur engine building ass. hahah

[wed3k]

hah, the problem is i want to be there. it isnt so much about the money however the money will be ncie and i will be cut a share when i work extra hard.

[Joey]

Maybe hang out after hours for a while?
Friends of mine who own a business are in their offices at this hour sometimes.

[wed3k]

i love the job, but i get sick of the plce after 8 hours. i dont do machine work when i cant focus or concentrate. i can get hurt or fuck something up (like the 35,000 dollar hemi we built)

[nghtrydr23]

designate a single person for the consultation and advising bullshit you guys get. have the employees rotate on it or just designated someone.

as a small business you guys can close your doors if you choose too for that reason of being behind in work. if people ask why simply state that you guys are behind a month's worth of work and do not want to accept anything else till caught up or you guys just don't want to be liable for their stuff either.

heck id just put a sign close for 2-3 weeks on the door to keep people away for a while and catch up because customers coming in will just further drag everything

[quickangel93]

you could simply tell customers that we're so backed up of work we cant do anything right now. maybe very small things, but motor builds have to be scheduled for an opening. i know i guy who lives not that far away from me that does engine builds and hes pretty backed up, be he takes in small work.

how much does port and polishing costs at your place? i want to rebuild my a6 head. 5 angle valve job, port and polish, regrinded cam.

[Gettin_faster91]

You just have to set the customers expectations. Chances are they are coming to your shop from word of mouth. Maybe friends had some great work done. People are willing to wait for great work they know what they are getting. If your are getting that backed up maybe its time to hire a new employee to handle the smaller details and free up the more experienced guys to do what they do best.

[deevergote]

It's better to turn away business and do what you have well, than to take on more than you can handle and do a poor job just to get it done.

That being said, I say turn away business why restructuring, and figuring out how to avoid a similar situation in the future. Hiring more people, or properly delegating certain jobs, will definitely help.


Turning away business sucks, but it's less damaging to the company's reputation than doing a whole lot of rushed work!

[Pandemic]

overtime. Try to turn away major projects. Take on quick jobs.

[d112crzy]

overtime. Try to turn away major projects. Take on quick jobs.

bad idea with an engine shop. The big projects is what will make their name.

Les Schwab does that during winter rush. It's gotten bad enough that by noon, they were already 6 hours behind. During those days, they would stop taking anything that wasn't going to get new tires/wheels by around 1 in the afternoon. If all you needed were to swap tires onto your existing wheels, or swapped wheels, then you were out of luck and needed to come back some other time.


I'd advice your manager to do the same. Close the shop a few hours earlier that way you're not completely out of business for the entire day.